Right after the defeat of The Legion of Doom and their subsequent punishment, Princess Celestia couldn't be more proud of Twilight. Given everything that had happened and how Twilight overcame her doubts that were caused by Discord, she decided to address her,
"When I sent you to Ponyville, I had high hopes. When you became Princess of Friendship, I knew I made the right choice. But nothing could prepare me for how proud I am right now. Equestria is definitely in the right hooves. You are ready."
While everypony else thought that Twilight was ready, Twilight remained skeptical, "Princess Celestia, are you sure about that? Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow nearly caused me to throw everything I stand for out the window. They caused me to nearly give up hope entirely and yell at my friends!"
Celestia replied, "Twilight, what matters is that you overcame that doubt. That right there is proof that you're ready."
Twilight knew that Celestia made a good point but she didn't feel ready still. She knew that the coronation would likely not be far away but wanted to buy herself some time, "Princess, I know you're wanting to do this coronation right away but I just need some time with my friends down in Ponyville to really think about this, away from all the stress."
Celestia and Luna looked at one another and then at Twilight, both gave her a smile. Celestia replied, "Alright Twilight, take your time but like I said, you're ready for this."
Luna added, "I know you'll be perfect for this."
Twilight nodded before joining her friends, friends who seemed a bit shocked that Twilight wasn't wanting to do this right away. Rarity asked, "Twilight darling, what is wrong? You've proven to everypony that you're ready for this!"
Rainbow added, "Yeah, what we all just did was awesome and if it weren't for you, it wouldn't have happened!"
Twilight replied, "Girls, I just want some time to prepare myself for all of this, away from the stress of Canterlot."
Her friends continued to tell her and reassure her that she was ready until she finally bolted and took flight back towards Ponyville. At that moment, even thinking about becoming the sole ruler of Equestria was something she wanted to avoid, much less being told she was ready for it. All she wanted was some time alone and she knew exactly where she wanted it.
When Twilight arrived in Ponyville, she immediately rushed to her castle and locked herself in the library. As she looked around at the wealth of knowledge that surrounded her, she began to think about the life that she had wanted back when she was Celestia's protege,
"All I ever wanted was to become as well learned and as powerful as Starswirl, I never wanted to rule Equestria!"
Twilight then levitated the books regarding the most advanced magic to herself and began to read them. She thought that perhaps studying magic so advanced that even she didn't know a ton about it would occupy her mind and give herself a sense of normalcy. It would not be long into her studying that she had forgot all about the events that were approaching, she felt a sense of peace as her mind continued to absorb the information in the books.
Soon she got to theoretical magic, magic that had never been done nor even attempted. She became so lost in it that she didn't even hear knocking on the door. Her concentration would finally be broke when she heard a voice yell, "Twilight, are you ok?"
It was that of Spike. She was unsure as to whether he was alone or not but unlocked the doors and allowed them all in. It was not just Spike, but it was all her friends. She looked their way and said, "I know what you're probably going to tell me but I just don't want to think about it right now."
Applejack was the first to say anything, "Twilight, Princess Celestia thinks you're ready and Ah feel the same way. We have all done so much over the years and without you, none of it would have happened."
Pinkie added, "Yeah. Without you we never would have beat those meanies!"
Rainbow Dash continued, "Yeah, like what Celestia said, you're ready."
Fluttershy added, "Twilight, Princess Celestia wouldn't have said you were ready if she didn't mean it."
Rarity continued, "Twilight darling, I thought you would be excited after we defeated Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis. I thought you'd know more than ever that you're ready."
Spike finished, "Twilight, this is the destiny Princess Celestia has likely always had for you. Don't you want to fulfill it?"
Twilight let out a scream, "I know but nopony seems to understand how I'm feeling! You're so dead set on this that nopony even knows how I'm feeling."
The one friend who had remained silent finally spoke up, "Twilight, if you need to talk, I'm here. You did make me the guidance counselor so if you need advice or even somepony to talk to, I'm here."
There was something about what Starlight said that made Twilight think. While the friends she had had the longest seemed to be all focused on what Twilight's new role would be and her fulfilling her destiny, Starlight seemed to care more about her feelings. She addressed her friends, "Girls, Spike, do you think Starlight and I could talk alone for a bit?"
Her other friends looked at her in shock. For so long they had been the ones she looked to for advice but here she was wanting to get advice from just one of them. Out of all of them, Applejack seemed to be the most shocked, "Twilight, for so long we've always helped you. Are you sure you don't want us all to discuss this?"
Twilight replied, "I just need to discuss some things with my guidance counselor."
Her friends simply sighed in frustration and left the library, leaving Starlight and Twilight alone in there. Twilight said, "Starlight, it seems like all they care about is me taking over and thinking that I'm ready for this!"
Starlight replied, "Twilight, I think you're ready for it too but I can tell there is a lot more going on than you're letting on." She paused momentarily before continuing, "Twilight, I know how you are and if something is bothering you, you need to get it off your chest."
Twilight could see the sympathetic look on Starlight's face and felt like she could reveal to her everything that has been bothering her, not just recently but for years.
"Starlight," Twilight began, "Back when I was Celestia's protege before I got sent to Ponyville, I wanted more than anything to become as powerful and as well learned of a unicorn as Starswirl the Bearded. At the time I wanted nothing to do with friendship, I thought that as long as I could study as much as I wanted, I could achieve my goal."
Starlight nodded and Twilight continued, "Then Celestia sent me down here to set up the Summer Sun Festival and I met my friends and together we defeated Nightmare Moon. That was the first time I really opened myself up to friendship and they became a very important part of my life...." Twilight's voice began to break, "but now she's wanting me to move away from them...." she began to cry, "She wants to take me away from my friends! She always emphasized friendship before she sent me here but now she wants to take me away from them!"
Starlight put her hoof around her and replied, "Twilight, this is something you really need to talk to Princess Celestia about. You need to let her know how you are feeling."
Twilight stood there for nearly a full minute processing what Starlight had told her before replying, "Starlight, I don't know. I don't want her to be disappointed in me and I know that if I don't do this, she'll be disappointed, maybe even angry."
"I can understand why you feel like this, she groomed you to become the sole leader one day." Starlight looked Twilight straight in the eyes and continued, "But I can tell that this isn't what you really want. I can tell that if you do this, you will be miserable."
Twilight again stood there in silence processing everything she heard but then it hit her, Starlight knew what she was going through. Unlike her other friends who seemed to simply think she was happy, Starlight knew her better than they did this time.
"Starlight, you're right." Twilight began to sob, "I don't want to be Equestria's sole ruler, I don't want to have to leave my friends, I don't want to leave Ponyville, I don't want to leave the school and I don't want the stress she has! I love my life right now and I don't want to leave it!" She calmed down before continuing, "You're right Starlight, I have to talk to her about this. I will be nervous but I have to do this. It is either this or be miserable."
Starlight gave her a warm smile, "Twilight, all this is up to you. I know most ponies in this situation would jump on the opportunity to be the sole ruler but you have to do what you want to do. Just follow your heart and do what you think will make you the happiest." She saw a slight look of doubt in Twilight's eyes and continued, "I know you're worried about what Princess Celestia will think and I'm sure you're worried about what our friends will think but you have to do what will make you the happiest."
Twilight stood there momentarily in thought before replying, "Alright Starlight, I know that Celestia and our friends will be disappointed but I want to stay here, with them. I want to stay here and run my school and I want to maintain the life I love."
Starlight gave her a smile, "Alright Twilight, good luck. Hopefully Celestia will accept your decision."
"I hope she will too."
Twilight then took flight towards Canterlot. She knew that Celestia would likely be disappointed and maybe even a bit upset but she knew that Starlight was right. She knew that she had to make the decision that would make her the happiest and that was declining the role of being sole ruler of Equestria.