//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Divergent Ways 
// Story: In Place Of A Princess, You Shall Have A Queen! 
// by Seahorn 
//------------------------------//

18th of the fourth moon, 1519 A.E.(After Equestria) 10:a.m. - Canterlot Castle

Princess Celestia of Equestria, possibly the greatest pony to ever live, was about to collapse. After Pillar ran away, she had to calm the crowd from forming into a mob. She had to organize a search party in the dead of night, with the few royal guards that were available. She hadn't got any sleep last night, yet that wasn't what caused her to suffer so gravely.
She was a strong mare. Her subjects had called her kind, wise, and most of all, patient. After her sister's disastrous attempted coup and subsequent banishment, she had gradually won back the hearts and minds of her ponies, and had reimbursed some confidence in herself. That was the sturdy foundation she relied apon during her thousand-year-long lonely reign.
The events of last night, however, had shaken that foundation to its core. She had sworn to the stars above that she would raise Pillar right, to soothe her pain and dissipate her anger. Yet last night, she tried to stop Pillar from her dream of princesshood that she had installed on her. She charged Pillar with ponyslaughter knowing that she was influenced by the corruption of the nightmare. A nightmare only brought to life because of her magic. 
Celestia had her reasons for doing both of these actions. For the first one, her sister, Luna might have been hurt. For the second one, she needed to calm down the angry crowd. She would have silently released Pillar once the public upheaval was over, and would have helped her find a new life. Yet, that did nothing to reduce any of Celestia's pain and regret. She had thought she learned from the Nightmare Moon disaster. She had thought she deserved some of the credit her subjects were giving her. But towards the one mare she raised like her own, she was cruel, unwise and impatient. It seemed, that she hadn't truly changed from 950 years ago, and she had to face consequences. Consequences, such as comforting the closest relative of the deceased. 
Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance, had asked for a private audience this morning. When Celestia saw her letter, she suspended all her other duties for this mare. She was Pillar's best friend, and had her father taken by the same pony. Although she was dreading it, Celestia was prepared for harsh words and hateful glares. Frankly, Celestia thought she deserved it, since she was responsible for Pillar's actions, perhaps wholly. 
Instead, when Cadance walked through the doors of the small room, what Celestia received was a long silence, than a blunt "Why?". Cadance, with her swollen eyes and tired disposition, had apparently cried herself dry last night. "Why would she do that?" she asked, almost looking dazed. Celestia gulped, then started, "Ms. Cadenza, I know it is hard to deal with this tragedy-" but Cadance cut her off. "Please, it's just Cadance, and forgive me, princess, but I simply can't believe it! Any other pony, I might understand. Sure, I would hate the guts out of them, but I do understand that some ponies are bad, and do bad things. But Pillar would simply never do something like that."
Celestia was intrigued. "Why do you think so?" she asked. "At first, when we met, I recognized her immediately, but I kept quiet, afraid that I might lose her friendship if she discovered my parents had essentially murdered hers. Yet throughout our school days, she was an amazing friend. She found out about it when she had a night's sleepover at our house, and when she saw my parents face to face, I was afraid that she would rage at them, calling them out for their treatment of her parents. However, she simply apologized that she hadn't notified them of the sleepover, then went out onto the raining night," said Cadance.
She went on, "I followed Pillar onto the streets, hoping that she hadn't actually realized the truth, but she had, and was absolutely livid at me and my parents. Yet she didn't do anything because she didn't want me to be in trouble. She has that kind of pony."
"That is why I come to you today, princess. I sincerely can't believe Pillar did such a horrible thing. You've raised Pillar for many years, haven't you? Can you tell me what really happened? I simply could not believe it, princess," she finished, tears forming on her flustered cheeks once more.
Celestia was torn. Celestia knew that Cadance had been really close to Pillar, at least until the big revelation. She certainly deserved to know the truth, and it would lighten her sadness and misery considerably. On the other hand, it would mean telling a barely qualified pony the darkest secret of Equestrian royalty. 
Normal Celestia wouldn't dare to. She would simply tell her that Pillar made a mistake, and make vague promises about how everything would be okay. However, today, not only had Celestia lost her closest pupil, but also she had utterly compromised her plan to bring Luna back from darkness. Pillar was supposed to become a princess, hold the remaining three elements, and help her when Luna eventually returned from the moon. The year was 1519. According to her calculations, she only had 31 years before her sister's return, and she was getting desperate.
Celestia took a deep breath. "Ms. Cadenza- I mean Cadance, have you heard of the legend of Nightmare Moon?"
"Well, it's an old foal's tale, right? I had to tell some children about it during my job as a babysitter. Why do you ask?"
"I ask you because it is no foal's tale. Everything in the tale is real, and Nightmare Moon was once my sister, Luna, that got corrupted by the influence of the nightmare, which is simply put, alicorn magic combined with strong negative emotions. That same nightmare compelled Pillar to attack her most hated person on the spot, which was unfortunately, your father," said Celestia, with a pang of guilt in her voice.
"What... but how? How can she gain access to alicorn magic if she's an earth pony without... oh," Cadance was speechless as realization dawned on her.
"Yes, it was me. I presume you already knew that Pillar used her prosthetics to write things down at school? I charged her prosthetic with alicorn magic, and when your father asked Pillar to move the moon as her final test, I blocked her from doing it, for fear of injuring my sister, Luna. Unfortunately, I had gravely underestimated the grudge she held against your parents, and her desire for a better life. That is what the nightmare feasted apon, finally breaking through her admirable kindness and self-control."
There was a long silence, as both of them contemplated what this meant. It was Cadance who finally broke it.
"I... I still can't believe it, princess. It is a lot to take in. Is it truly real, then? Is Pillar, somewhere out there, still under the influence of this 'nightmare'?"
"No. I mean it is real, but I could sense the nightmare emanating from Pillar, and purged it from her. Unfortunately, that was why the nightmare commited the murder, as a last-ditch effort to amplify Pillar's negative emotions."
"Then... did you cleanse your sister when you banished her to the moon?" asked Cadance.
Celestia chuckled. "If I had been able to do so, I wouldn't have banished her at all. The nightmare has a will of its own, and it takes a tremendous amount of magic to overpower. Pillar's nightmare was just in its infancy, and hadn't took hold of her fully. Luna's, on the other hand..." She shivered at recalling one of her most terrible memories. 
"Let's just say... it wasn't pretty. Such full-scale corruption requires much more magic than one pony could ever provide, and only the magic of friendship, the most powerful magic known to ponykind, would be able to break it, and Luna and I held three keys each to unlock the power of such magic."
"Wait, the tale said that Nightmare Moon would be imprisoned for a thousand years... How long has it been since she was imprisoned?" Cadance asked with worry.
Celestia was impressed. This mare certainly was able to think clearly, even when she was stricken with grief. "Glad you asked. She was corrupted exactly 550 years after the foundation of this country, on the same day as the Summer Sun Celebration."
Cadance counted down the years, and shouted, "That means there is... only 31 years left! Did you need Pillar to hold Luna's keys for you? If so, then why couldn't you give the keys to competent councilors?"
"The magic of friendship only works if multiple ponies possess specific qualities that match the keys, or rather, elements. They are Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, and finally, Magic. When I first met Pillar, I felt my elements of kindness and generosity resonate for the first time in 950 years. So I finally had hope. I hoped that Pillar could fill the hole left by my sister. Hoped that she could one day learn to laugh, to be honest and loyal..."
Celestia's eyes began to water, as she could finally see the full scope of her mistake through the help of a pure angel named Cadance. "That... was my biggest mistake. To demand something to Pillar that I failed to achieve, even with all my years, and even with my own sister... No single pony should bear the responsibility of having to possess three admirable qualities at once. After all, we're just ponies, not gods. I was... blinded by my own pride, and that took away two of my best friends and family." She openly began to sob now, for the first time since her sister's banishment.
She flinched as she was interrupted by a small tap of a hoof from behind. It was surprisingly similar to Pillar's delicate touch. "Don't worry, princess. You're right. We're just ponies, and that's why we can pull through. 31 years may be a drop in the bucket for you, but for a normal pony like me, that is plenty of time to start over."
Celestia felt slightly ashamed. She accepted Cadance's offer of a private conversation to get her through her grief, and to apologize to her as Pillar's legal guardian. The mare had lost her father, after all. However, she ended up getting consoled for both her fresh and thousand-year-long wounds. Unbeknownst to them, as they would find out later, this day had also already planted the seeds of her salvation. 
"Oh, my apologies, princess. Now I have to go and prepare for the funeral. My old neighbors, Mr. Night light and Mrs. Twilight Velvet have arranged the services while me and my mother were mourning, and I don't want to waste their time any further...."