Dear Princess Celestia,

I fear that this may be my last friendship report for quite some time. During these wonderful years spent here in Ponyville, I've learned quite a bit about the magic of friendship, but I've also learned a lot more.

I learned that Big Macintosh never truly got over the death of his mother. Once a fun-loving, joyous individual full of charisma and charm, he's now a hollow shell of what he once was. Today he shrouds himself in his work, showing little emotion and can seldom be seen smiling. His turmoil resides behind a veil of apathy, and will never shine through so long as his sisters depend on him.

With his mother's last words, long before Applejack had even earned her cutie mark, she had them both promise to take close care of Applebloom, who was still just a newborn filly. Their father perished before his wife's heart condition had developed while working in the mines, mining iron. He and over a dozen other miners were lost when a massive tunnel collapsed. The two have since been working diligently to keep their home and family afloat in these hard times.

Did you know Big Macintosh was once a singer? He traveled around from town to town singing and putting on quite a show, and all the young mares swooned over his voice and showmanship, or so I've heard. They called him Big Mac Heart-attack, and said he was to be the next big thing to hit Eastern Equestria.

Coincidentally, his mother died when being mugged at one of his shows. She was stabbed and her saddle bag was stolen, less than ten bits were in the bag at the time. The life of a beautiful mare and loving mother was taken for ten bits that she would have gladly hoofed over to anypony in need.

Some combination of the facts I previously mentioned and the fact that he now had to support the family on his own deterred him from creating his music. His band eventually moved on and found a new singer, and he never sang again.

He often finds it difficult to carry on, but something deep inside his heart pushes him forward. I believe that 'something' is just as powerful, if not even stronger than the magic of friendship.

Another thing I learned is that the magic of friendship isn't always necessarily something that can help us through our troubles. Two residents of Ponyville have had a very long and loving relationship, but in the end were forced apart despite the strongest form of friendship I've ever witnessed holding them together.

Lyra, a foalhood friend of mine from Canterlot, was living here after meeting the mare of her dreams. For six long years the two loved one another and seemed like the perfect couple. However one evening proved to be more impactful than all those years combined to one mare on the other end of that relationship. Bon Bon fell in love with another, and couldn't keep her dwindling passion for Lyra alive.

Immediately after the painful break up, Lyra moved back to Canterlot, however her dreams and ambitions were long since abandoned. My attempts to share friendship with her have proved to be worthless endeavors, as the more I tried the more she had estranged herself from all her friends and family. Now I must regrettably say that she took her own life after falling ill due to her deep depression. She intentionally overdosed using illegal narcotics bought off the city streets of Canterlot.

Something was holding her down. There was some sort of magic in her heart that was strong enough to keep the love and friendship that wanted to help her at bay, and that 'something' needs to be understood so we can counter it in the future. I believe if she had someone depending on her survival, she could have carried on. But much like Big Macintosh, she'd never be the enthusiastic fun-loving mare she once was.

There's anther thing as well. I've been having late-night talks with your sister, Luna. She tells me a lot about herself, and about the millennia she's spent on this world. I've learned things I never could have imagined were true through these talks, so many things you've kept hidden from me have been brought to light. I realize that deception is sometimes important to keep the masses under control, but you need to realize that some ponies can be trusted.

Starswirl The Bearded once sent you a letter just like the one I'm sending you now, letting you know he was moving on to his own projects and looking at the bigger picture. I wish I had known sooner that he was your previous student the way I am now. I understand that those are big horseshoes to fill, but it's also a great honor to know that you see in me what you saw in a stallion that revolutionized the entire world with his practices and speeches.

I want you to know that if you blame or punish Luna for this, I won't be so quick to let you get away with it.

She also told me something very peculiar that I wish to look into at some point in the future. I never made the connection, but after further research, Luna's words were completely accurate. Starswirl had a purple dragon with green spines as a companion as well, named Scheva. She was said to have been holding a single egg the day she died, nearly a thousand years after Starswirl passed away. Now I wonder, is that Spike's mother?

Celestia, I want you to know that I still love you very much and hold only the utmost sense of respect and humility towards you. That said, I plan to begin my travels flying across the world with Spike within the next few days. I'll make my way to all corners of the land and help anypony in need in any way I can on this trip of self-discovery. I also plan to write a book along with a series of spells that haven't even been imagined yet.

Starswirl's Legacy was Time Travel and Time Manipulation magic, changing not only the face of Equestria, but all of history.

My Legacy will be discovered during my travels, but more importantly, I'll discover ways to fight degenerative forms of magic that fester in the hearts of the brokenhearted, bringing light to their darkened lives.

As Spike and I take to the skies, we'll be eagerly awaiting your reply.

~[strike]Your Faithful Student[/strike]

~Your Loving Friend, Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia wiped a single tear from her cheek as she rolled the letter up. A proud smile stretched across her face as she stood up and grabbed a quill in her aura of magic. She pressed it against the blank white page and ink began to drip down, but not a word came to mind. After several moments, she took a seat once again with a grin and wrote out her reply.

I wish you the best of luck and may your discoveries enlighten us all, my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, The Enlightener.