Dear Princess Celestia
Twilight needs you. Starlight Glimmer returned. We beat her, but she had to do something really bad to win. She’s shut in her room and won’t come out.
Please hurry,
Spike
Princess Celestia cancelled all her appointments for the day as soon as she read the letter. All manner of situations ran through her head, none of them pleasant, but only a handful of them untenable. After informing Luna and her subordinates of her imminent absence, she left.
Opting for a teleport over an attention-grabbing arrival by chariot, she appeared in the entrance hall of the Castle of Friendship.
Nobody was around. She immediately made for the throne room, assuming that Twilight’s friends would be there.
She was correct.
“Princess Celestia!” called out Spike, Twilight’s draconic little brother. The rest of Twilight’s friends immediately stood and made to bow, but Celestia held up a hoof.
“None of that. I’m here as Twilight’s mentor, not a Princess. Now, will somepony please tell me what happened?”
All of them immediately turned nervous, looking to each other for a volunteer. Celestia expected one of the more willful ponies to speak, but it was Spike who filled the silence.
“It was Starlight Glimmer,” he said. “She stole a time travel spell scroll of Starswirl’s, and changed it so she could change the past. W-we ended up back during Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom, and no matter what we tried, Starlight would stop it, so everypony wouldn’t get their cutie marks. Each time, we would get sent back to an Equestria where everything went wrong. Twilight...she...she tried her hardest. Starlight, she showed us why she hates cutie marks, and Twilight tried to get her to see reason, but…”
“But she chose evil, and so Twilight made a decision,” Celestia said.
Everyone hung their heads, but Spike nodded. “Yeah.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s in her room, she won’t come out.”
Celestia nodded. “Thank you, but I meant Starlight.”
Spike cringed. “Oh. S-she’s in the back.”
“Thank you Spike.”
She started to leave, but he interrupted her.
“Twilight’s not in trouble, is she?”
Celestia turned and smiled at him. “No, Spike. I trust that Twilight only made this decision after considering every other alternative. I am just worried about how she did it. Please put on a pot of Twilight’s favorite tea. I’ll be back shortly.”
She left to inspect Starlight. She desperately wanted to see to her former student, but it was imperative to determine exactly how the deed was done. It would serve as a guide for how exactly she would aid Twilight through her trying time.
The air felt stuffy in the back storage room, but Celestia paid it no mind as she approached the sheet covered body. She didn’t hesitate, and took it off, inspecting her former subject.
A single, small burn mark on her hoof. Anyone unversed in lethal magics would wonder how this would cause death, but Celestia knew better. A quick scan with her magic confirmed it.
Celeri Mortus. A spell as old as magic itself. Instant, painless death. Twilight had protested vehemently when Luna demanded she learn it, saying she would never need it.
Celestia sighed. Another one of her students forced to take a life for the good of the realm, but she felt her worst fears alleviate. Twilight had used the most merciful spell possible.
She studied Starlight’s expression for a moment. The shock told her all she needed to know. This one didn’t expect the heroine to take such a final action, just like many before her.
She replaced the sheet and stepped outside, returning to the throne room.
“Spike, paper and a quill, please,” she said.
“Is...something wrong?” he asked, putting the tea set down and doing as he was told.
“No, Spike. I just need to get the guard here. Twilight isn’t in trouble, but there is a procedure to follow.” She quickly scratched out a message to her sister to come. Luna needed to head this, as Celestia was too close to Twilight to not have a conflict of interest. Once done, she sent the letter off, and turned to the assembled group.
“Under no circumstances are we to be interrupted. Understand? When my sister arrives, tell her that Twilight will make her statement when she’s ready.” All of them nodded silently. She gave them a small smile and picked up the tea, heading upstairs.
Twilight’s door was locked and warded for war. With a calming breath, Celestia knocked two times, then three, then two. An old code they used when they needed to speak to one another, no matter the circumstances.
A few seconds went by, and nothing happened. She was about to try again when the wards disappeared, and the door unlocked with a click.
Celestia entered silently, locking the door behind her.
Twilight had her back to the door; she was staring at a display case, her crown setting within. As Celestia got closer, she saw the still fresh tears soaking Twilight’s cheeks, and heard her unsteady breathing. She walked over and sat next to her, setting the tea set down and pouring two cups, handing one over.
Twilight took it silently, but did nothing else.
“Drink,” Celestia gently ordered. Twilight did so, but continued to say nothing. The two sat there in silence for about half an hour, sipping at the tea and looking at Twilight’s crown. Celestia was certain what was going through Twilight’s mind, and was just waiting for her to make the first move.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, just barely audible.
“Why?” Celestia asked, just as soft.
“I…” She started to choke up. “I failed you!”
Celestia set her tea down and pulled Twilight in with her wing, keeping it draped over her. Just like they used to when she was but a filly.
“Tell me what happened, from your perspective.”
“I...I tried to save her! I tried so hard to show her the magic of friendship, but she wouldn’t listen! She just wanted revenge for us stopping her cult, and her hatred of cutie marks…” She sniffed. “When she was little, she was hurt badly. She lost the only friend she had, and thought that cutie marks had caused it. I-I think, when she heard my lecture on our cutie mark connection she just...snapped. She pulled us back in time, stopped the rainboom, and every time we got sent back to the present, each was worse than the last!
“Each time it was a villain that we stopped. Sombra, Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, Tirek, Discord. In the end, we ended up in a wasteland, and she still wouldn’t listen! Her hatred of cutie marks wouldn’t let her see what she was doing to the world.”
Twilight went silent after that, and Celestia waited patiently.
“At the end, I-I thought I was getting through to her. She was about to tear the scroll in half and trap us there, but she stopped. She was listening a-and I thought she would finally see reason but-”
She could say no more, and broke down sobbing. Celestia quietly stroked her wing down Twilight’s back, choosing to be her rock.
“I’m sorry, Princess, but I’m going to have to abdicate.” The case opened, and Twilight’s crown began to float over to Celestia.
Celestia had expected something like this. “Why, Twilight?”
She shook her head. “I’m not worthy of being the Princess of Friendship. Not if I failed this badly at my duties.”
Celestia eyed the crown for a moment before taking it, and promptly setting it on Twilight’s head.
“Princess?” she asked.
“Twilight Sparkle, at no point did you fail,” Celestia said.
“B-but I k-killed somepony! I couldn’t talk her down! I couldn’t-”
Celestia gently laid a feather over Twilight’s mouth. “Twilight, the burden of the crown is many things, one of which is making sure our subjects live in peace and harmony. But there is another aspect to it, a dark aspect. An unfortunate truth that any ruler must learn to accept.”
“W-what?”
Celestia smiled sadly. “That sometimes, difficult decisions must be made. Not everypony can be reasoned with. Not everypony can be stopped without lethal force. We must seek all other alternatives, for all life is precious, but we must be prepared to end it if necessary.”
“But I didn’t! I could have stunned her, or hit her with a sleep spell, or I could have stayed in the past to help you!”
Celestia nodded. “Those might have worked. They might not. We all have new ideas after we’ve made difficult choices, believing them to be better. Hindsight is a cruel friend, always telling us what could have been, but it’s something we should listen to for the future, not dwell on the past with.
Twilight looked down. “I...I don’t know.”
“I know, Twilight. I had the same dilemma the first time I had to take a life. Before, I swore to myself I would always rule justly, and that that meant never taking life, ever. But somepony took advantage of that, and forced my hoof. It was, at the time, the most difficult decision I had to make, but I would make it again, for the good of the realm.”
Twilight was silent for several minutes in silent contemplation. “Does it ever get any easier?”
Celestia looked away for a moment. “Unfortunately, to an extent, it does. The first is always hardest on your heart, and you’ll never forget it. The next time you’re in a similar situation, you will remember that such actions are necessary when there is no other alternative, and act accordingly. But always allow yourself to feel the pain. Never numb yourself to it. Morn those that pass by your hoof, for you must remember that they are victims themselves. Nopony is born evil, Twilight. Villains are made by their life experiences.
“Always love your subjects. Always. Even the ones that must pass on so the others may live. Especially them.”
“I still feel like I failed you.”
“Twilight Sparkle, you did everything but fail. You ended a threat to Equestria through lethal force, but you did so after pursuing every other alternative you could think of at the time. You had an impossible choice forced upon you, yet you did not freeze. You did not stop. You burdened yourself for the good of the realm. That is the mark of a true princess, to accept the realities of rulership, and continue on despite your misgivings.”
She pulled Twilight into a tight hug.
“I couldn’t be more proud of you if I tried.”
Twilight looked uncertain, but eventually nodded reluctantly.
“Okay. I don’t like it but…” She sighed. “What happens now?”
“There will be an investigation, but I’m certain that circumstances will show that you were in the right. You have nothing to fear from the law. There will be a debacle in the newspapers. Your leadership will be praised or questioned, depending on who is speaking. Wild rumors will fly. You’ll either be the next King Bullion or Sombra. You must maintain a clear head in public until this dies down, lest you make a scene and reinforce the fears against you. Starlight’s family will almost assuredly try to sue the state, and you must be prepared to eventually appear in court.
“Here? At home? Expect the populace to distance themselves from you for a while. Even in self defense, ponies fear those that take lives.”
Twilight looked down. “My friends must be terrified of me.”
Celestia smiled. “They’re right outside, waiting for you.”
Twilight perked up. “Really?”
“Really really. Would you like to see them?”
A hesitant nod. Celestia turned her head and unlocked the door, opening it. Sure enough, five ponies and a dragon were waiting outside.
“Can you stay?” Twilight asked, looking her in the eye for the first time.
Celestia smiled. “As long as you need.”