Canterlot's ruins. A once great city destroyed by its very inhabitants. A sad reminder of the wildest instincts of the equine nature. Its scorching bonfires now extinguished, the ashes mixed themselves to the dust making the soil gray as the clouds. The silent streets mourned those deceased during the fierce revolts, adding their corpses to the melancholic picture.
Buy despite it all, the city's situation had improved. Both Celestia's return to governance and Luna's reappearance by her side had a remarkable effect on the capital's population. For some, just seeing their leader again was all they needed to regain hope. But the royal sisters' effort didn't end there. Stopping revolts, reconstructing homes, rescuing the injured... Those were a few of the things they did after their return. And yet, an obstacle still remained on Canterlot's road to redemption. And this obstacle wasn't the easiest to get rid of.
The cultists. Weakened by Celestia's return, but present nonetheless. Many ponies still believed that the Entity's grace could only be gained by the Princesses' sacrifice. Some even considered their lack of selflessness unworthy of such a high status. Their ceaseless attacks on the castle gave the royal guard no time to rest. Many others intervened during royal appearances, preaching their demented beliefs and making even the most loyal citizens doubt of the Princesses' sovereignty...
Observing the somewhat mended city, Celestia remained saddened. She may have regained the city's trust, but the only reason she lost it in the first place was herself. Luna's presence was the only thing stopping her from sinking in endless abyss of grief and guilt. Every time she woke up, greeted by the blackened skies and eldritch Eyes, the Entity's words reemerged in her head.
"YOU will be the cause of your subjects' doom." this sentence never left her mind, endlessly echoing in her brain. What if it was true? Once again, she sent Twilight find the Elements of Harmony, waiting for them to defeat their enemy. Important as it was, restoring Canterlot wasn't nearly as critical as saving the world. And what if the Elements weren't enough? What if another solution was required? What if her inaction would really be the cause of their defeat? What if the cultists were right...
No... she already got over this, going down this path didn't lead to anything good. She needed to calm down...
"Inactive as before I see." No, it wasn't happening again! Not now!
"Denying the truth won't save you from it, Princess. Useless is the only thing you truly are. Not even able to take care of your own city. Pitiful creature. Hoping that your worthless trinkets will be able to stop me, how naive of you. Now suffer as your hopeless subjects return to you, pleading for help. I can see this isn't something you will be able to give them."
It was too much. Celestia has reached the breaking point. The guilt, already creeping in the dark corners of her mind broke free, completely submerging every inch of her psyche. But it wasn't all, to the overwhelming guilt and shame adjoined determination. Cold, desperate determination. Not the one able to get you through any tough situation, the other kind. The one that makes you do things you would have never thought yourself capable of, the one destroying your morality and altering your judgment to a point where even the cruelest of actions seems acceptable. This feeling, the unstoppable whim to reach a goal, slowly lurked into the Princess' mind starting to take hold of her intellect.
SHE needed to act, SHE needed to find the answer to this problem, SHE needed to destroy this being that tortured her subjects, menacing to destroy this world. But this time, there will be no tears, no desperation, no giving up. And this time, none will interrupt her research...