'All the world’s a stage,

And all the mares and stallions merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one pony in her time plays many parts,

Her acts being seven ages.' ~ William Shakespony

In the aftermath of banishing her corrupted sister, Celestia is left to tend to a land ravaged by fear of their own rulers, political discontent, racial tensions between the three tribes and her own crushing loneliness. A thousand years is a long time to wait for the return of the pony she was closer to than anyone else in the world; long enough that she needs to make other connections with other ponies to prevent herself from going mad and following her sister into corruption. The question is, can one pony ever be strong enough to rule a land for a thousand years and be both a good ruler and a good pony?

Written as a Patreon reward for Echo Located, who asked for a first person story about Celestia during the period of Luna's absence based on the poem 'The Seven Ages of Man' by William Shakespeare.