[i] There was something, back when I was still Celestia's student, that might help you understand, sweetheart. Many years ago, I was having tea with her, a winter afternoon. [/i]

"Your majesty?" A young Twilight's sweet voice asked.

"Yes, Twilight?"

"I've wanted to ask this question for quite a while, but I'm not entirely sure I'd be... Appropriate for you, or me."

"No question is inappropriate, Twilight. You're always better off knowing more than less."

"Why don't you have any friends?"

The question stunned Celestia, left her breathless. Unusually, the princess smiled nervously, looking around with the same feeling. She scanned the large study room, making sure no one else was there than she and her pupil. She closed the curtains with her golden magic, and the shadow covered her face along with a graver expression. Twilight's pupils grew larger as the room got darker. "Are you alright, princess? I'm terribly sorry if I've upset you..."

"Don't worry, Twilight, you haven't upset me. You may not see it, but I'm actually very glad you've asked this question this early to me. It could serve very well if you decide to continue under my tutorship." The princess lit an amber crystal chandelier hanging above them. "So, you want to know why I don't have friends anymore?" Twilight nodded her head gently. "Well, I did have some friends before, a very, very long time ago. They've left me now, all of them, very long ago, way before you or your parents were even born."

"B-but... Why, Princess? You're so talented, kind, encouraging... Why would any friend leave you?"

"They didn't choose to leave me. They would have stayed, I would have wanted them to stay, but they went somewhere. Somewhere I couldn't go, somewhere you might not too. They left, one by one, silently or loudly. They just carried on, onto an adventure I would have wanted to embark on with them. Sadly, not every door is open, not even for me."

"But your majesty, you're the Princess! You're making the sun rise and the moon fall, keeping Equestria under the stars and over waters. You're ruling over all the known world, couldn't you have followed them?"

"I couldn't, and you've said precisely why. There is a plce, not in Equestria nor Tartarus, where all ponies go one day. Your grandparents have gone there, your parents will along with all your friends. One day, you might too. But not me. I won't join you there, nor will I join any of my friends. Everyone goes here, except princesses. Do you understand?"

"Majesty, does that mean I'll stop studying with you one day? Does that mean we'll never talk again? Is there any way for me to stay with you?"

"There is, Twilight, there is. If you become a princess like me or Cadence, you'll stay with me and her, we'll always be together. But you must know one thing; This also means you'll never see your friends as I will never see mine. You'll stay for eternity away from them, away from everyone you've known and cherished. Being a princess is not a privilege; It's a burden. Do you understand?"

"I-I... I don't think I'm ready to yet, your majesty. I can't yet understand everything we're talking about. I don't think I'm ready yet to be a princess, I don't know if I ever will."

"It's perfectly normal at your age Twilight. You might one day. You might not. But you must remember one thing; Whether you're a princess or not, whether we stay together or you quit, it doesn't matter. You might leave them, they might leave you, but they will always be with you, deep inside you.  Do you understand, Twilight?"

"This I can understand, your majesty. Thank you."

[i] Years have passed now since this event, decades even. My granddaughter asks me if she is in my heart too. I smile at her and nod, then lift her up on my back with my magic. I watch the hole in front of us, and the coffin hanging over it by some boards. We walk next to it, laying some flowers down and paying last respects to yet another one leaving us, leaving me forever. I can't help but to shed a tear, knowing they walk in peace, far away from anything my wings or horn can reach .[/i]