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Unknown Recipient
Dear Princess Celestia,
You probably won’t- will not- I write to you with a- As you can see, Spike is currently away. I recently found a cache of my old letters to you - of course I made Spike write them in duplicate - and after reading them I felt I needed to write another. I have several things to confess to you. I have not been feeling very well as of late in recent memory, and I might finally know why.
I feel like I have been in a daze for the past… who knows how long? Every step I take and everything I do feels like it is guided not by my own decision but by something other. This is not about free will but about… a conspiracy? I have the distinct impression that, even if I were to sit right here and refuse ever to move again, the world around me would somehow move to accomplish the same outcome irregardless. Even if I stumble my way through everything I do, even if I make all the mistakes I can, I will still arrive at the same outcome.
Do I deserve what I have Did you know that, when I was a filly, I wanted to grow up to be a musician? My dad used to play the piano for me at my old home in Canterlot. One of his melodies has not left my mind since. I might visit today, if I get the chance - but every time I do, something prevents me. Every time I want to set my hooves to the keys myself and play the tune I have heard in my head so many times before, I am whisked away without second notice with my thoughts and actions immediately focused on another issue. I hear it even now, lilting as I return to this letter. But I have other matters to attend to. To one more item to be checked off the list.
I have a good hunch that I will never get that opportunity*. I cannot be a musician, because I am me.
How long has it been this way? Is there someone pulling at my strings from behind the curtain, always watching but never in the spotlight, making me dance for years on end only to disappear back into obscurity once the stage has been set? In hindsight, I think… it has been accelerating, whatever it is. All I ever do is dance now. Whenever I talk to my friends or anyone, I cannot help but think that something is missing. They lack substance, and so do I.
You see, after reading a few of my old lessons I felt my stomach pull up into a knot. I remembered none of them. Even now, several days after as I return to this, I cannot recall any of them. Taking any one letter - that I have dictated myself - brings a chill.Have I learned anything? Has learning ever been the objective, despite my thirst for knowledge? I have read thousands of books, and yet I can remember more of them than I do of my friends’ lives. Yet, we seem to do just fine. There has never been any strife between us that could not have been solved by a little magic or my presence or some token gesture - and if there were, I would not remember it. I do not know what I learned today.
I feel hollow, Princess. I don’t know what to do. Does it matter?
*especially not after today.
I have a Canterlot express to catch.
Ever your most faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
I feel like I have been in a daze for the past… who knows how long? Every step I take and everything I do feels like it is guided not by my own decision but by something other. This is not about free will but about… a conspiracy? I have the distinct impression that, even if I were to sit right here and refuse ever to move again, the world around me would somehow move to accomplish the same outcome irregardless. Even if I stumble my way through everything I do, even if I make all the mistakes I can, I will still arrive at the same outcome.
I have a good hunch that I will never get that opportunity*. I cannot be a musician, because I am me.
How long has it been this way? Is there someone pulling at my strings from behind the curtain, always watching but never in the spotlight, making me dance for years on end only to disappear back into obscurity once the stage has been set? In hindsight, I think… it has been accelerating, whatever it is. All I ever do is dance now. Whenever I talk to my friends or anyone, I cannot help but think that something is missing. They lack substance, and so do I.
You see, after reading a few of my old lessons I felt my stomach pull up into a knot. I remembered none of them. Even now, several days after as I return to this, I cannot recall any of them. Taking any one letter - that I have dictated myself - brings a chill.Have I learned anything? Has learning ever been the objective, despite my thirst for knowledge? I have read thousands of books, and yet I can remember more of them than I do of my friends’ lives. Yet, we seem to do just fine. There has never been any strife between us that could not have been solved by a little magic or my presence or some token gesture - and if there were, I would not remember it. I do not know what I learned today.
I feel hollow, Princess. I don’t know what to do. Does it matter?
*especially not after today.
I have a Canterlot express to catch.
Ever your most faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
I exist, and I find it nauseating.
Twilight is clearly unwell... She's commenting that her actions feel not her own, that they are ultimately meaningless, that a mental itch of hers keeps being prevented from being scratched, and her connection with her friends is surreal.
Looking for a direct connection to the prompt, maybe it's a rot of the mind? How does the title fit, where the first words on the page are 'Dear Princess Celestia'?
Technically, there are only a few flubs. Hyphens should be en- or em-dashes, a missing space after a period... little things.
I'm not sure what this story is trying to do. Is... is this a suicide note?
Twilight is clearly unwell... She's commenting that her actions feel not her own, that they are ultimately meaningless, that a mental itch of hers keeps being prevented from being scratched, and her connection with her friends is surreal.
Looking for a direct connection to the prompt, maybe it's a rot of the mind? How does the title fit, where the first words on the page are 'Dear Princess Celestia'?
Technically, there are only a few flubs. Hyphens should be en- or em-dashes, a missing space after a period... little things.
I'm not sure what this story is trying to do. Is... is this a suicide note?
This is plainly metafic about how MLP main characters suffer from failure to retain lessons learned in previous seasons, and continuity failures and characterization "rot". But I'm not sure whether it's metafic as in commentary, giving an in-universe look at a thing we've all seen and postulating an in-universe force behind it, or if this is total fourth wall breakage and Twilight is literally talking about Hasbro and the show's producers and writers.
I think it makes a difference. A story that provides an in universe explanation for Twilight and her friends backsliding would be cool; a story that only points out she's a fictional character in a poorly written show is just eh.
I think it makes a difference. A story that provides an in universe explanation for Twilight and her friends backsliding would be cool; a story that only points out she's a fictional character in a poorly written show is just eh.
A nice little letter that is big on mood but left me wanting to know more. What was it on this particular day that happened that prompted the letter? We don't really know and maybe it's not important but then again maybe it is.
In some ways the story feels meta but in others it also feels like something somebody who wakes up one day to find a whole lot of life has happened or passed them by while they worked and now it's like you're doing what you do because you have to pay bills, get the kids out the door, clean up a mess, do what your boss or some other boss that you never interact with says and so on.
It's interesting.
In some ways the story feels meta but in others it also feels like something somebody who wakes up one day to find a whole lot of life has happened or passed them by while they worked and now it's like you're doing what you do because you have to pay bills, get the kids out the door, clean up a mess, do what your boss or some other boss that you never interact with says and so on.
It's interesting.
The text of this one definitely does feel like Twilight, which is something that a piece like this absolutely needs. And the general pacing of this from one idea to the next is solid, IMO.
I'm a little less satisfied with the whole text strike-through gimmick. This sort of thing has always been a little immersion-breaking for me in epistolary fics, because I can't help but think that any letter-sender would surely not send out a copy full of errors they clearly didn't intend the recipient to read. I personally don't think that the written letter format is one well-suited to expressing these fleeting, moment-to-moment kinds of thoughts.
As for the subject matter itself, my interpretation is that it kind of straddles that line between meta and not-quite-fourth-wall-breaking. It's clearly a commentary about the nature of the world of Equestria. This kind of thing is not personally my cup of tea, since I often don't like being reminded that I'm reading a story,
I have to admit that in the end, the overall effect felt a little telly to me. Part of this might be that I'm predisposed against commentary/meta type entries, but I think some of it also comes from how simply Twilight lays out her psychological problems and insecurities. You do have another 150 or so words to spare, so I kind of want to see a little more space used to flesh out some of the ideas that we have here.
Thank you for entering!
I'm a little less satisfied with the whole text strike-through gimmick. This sort of thing has always been a little immersion-breaking for me in epistolary fics, because I can't help but think that any letter-sender would surely not send out a copy full of errors they clearly didn't intend the recipient to read. I personally don't think that the written letter format is one well-suited to expressing these fleeting, moment-to-moment kinds of thoughts.
As for the subject matter itself, my interpretation is that it kind of straddles that line between meta and not-quite-fourth-wall-breaking. It's clearly a commentary about the nature of the world of Equestria. This kind of thing is not personally my cup of tea, since I often don't like being reminded that I'm reading a story,
I have to admit that in the end, the overall effect felt a little telly to me. Part of this might be that I'm predisposed against commentary/meta type entries, but I think some of it also comes from how simply Twilight lays out her psychological problems and insecurities. You do have another 150 or so words to spare, so I kind of want to see a little more space used to flesh out some of the ideas that we have here.
Thank you for entering!