"Stained Glass of Inspiration"
By TwilightSparkle3562
Princess Celestia laid in her bed one evening with her mind still racing and processing over the past several days since Lord Tirek was sent back to Tartarus after having been on the loose for a period of time. Equestria had been placed at his mercy as the demonic centaur ate up every ounce of magic he could get his claws on. She had sent Discord to find and recapture Tirek, but that backfired and she and the other princesses, Luna and Cadence, did the ultimate sacrifice by transferring all of their magic into their youngest equal, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
What followed was a tense several hours banished into a cell in Tartarus with only Cerberus, the three headed guard dog for company. Ultimately, Twilight eventually sacrificed all of their magic for the freedom of her friends and Discord, despite his betrayal. That, in turn, led to them finding the rainbow power that had emerged from the chest at the tree of harmony that defeated Tirek and gave Twilight a castle and a title: the Princess of Friendship.
However, the physical and emotional damage that Tirek and Discord had caused was affecting Celestia greatly. She still had the thoughts of Tirek barging his way into the throne room and mocking her, Luna and Cadence before shipping them off to Tartarus for the crime of putting Tirek in prison to begin with as well as for the death of Tirek's close friend, King Sombra.
Unable to sleep, Celestia got out of bed and knew that there was only one way to clear her mind.
"I can't sleep with all these thoughts," Celestia moaned to herself as she slid on her bathrobe and her slippers. "There is only one way for me to clear my mind."
So, Celestia left her bedroom and made her way down the darken halls of Canterlot, the only light coming from the lanterns that were being carried by her little sister's night guards. Whenever Celestia came into view, the guards saluted her as she walked by. Some would ask why she was doing up, but Celestia ignored them.
Soon, she had arrived at her destination: the Canterlot throne room where all of the stained glass windows depicting many of Equestria's historic events and milestones. Every day, Celestia would walk by these windows and she would feel inspiration coming from all of them, telling her why she would want to be a princess.
But, there was one window that Celestia held very greatly in high regard and had made her the most proud: it was the window depicting Twilight's coronation that Discord had struggled to repair after Tirek had melted it once learning of Twilight's existence. As she looked up at the window, she could hear the sounds of herself singing to Twilight before she was turned into an alicorn princess:
You've come such a long, long way
And I've watched you from that very first day
To see how you might grow
To see what you might do
To see what you've been through
And all the ways you've made me proud of you
Indeed, Celestia knew that Twilight had indeed came a long way. To Celestia, it seemed like only yesterday since Twilight had accepted her offer to become her personal protégé. Now, her she was: a princess and now she had a castle to call her own as well as a title of the Princess of Friendship. But, it was not just any of the windows that told a great story, this window told the story of the greatest day in her youngest equal's life, the day she became a princess.
Closing her eyes, Celestia began to think back to the day Twilight was coronated as a princess. She could well remember trying to hold the emotions in her voice as she announced Twilight and her procession walking down the aisle while beholding Twilight to the crowd of ponies that were gathered. Celestia had never felt more proud than that day, seeing Twilight walking down the aisle, dressed in a beautiful pink and white gown.
It seemed if only for a moment, Celestia would turn back the clock and go back to that period in time. It would erase all of the bad memories of recent and make her feel happy again. Twilight was more than just a student, she was like a daughter to her. Celestia had tried to find a unicorn worthy of being able to learn the magic of friendship, but time after time, she would fail. One unicorn left to pursue her own destiny in another world, while another abandoned her studies to make Equestria her own equalized society.
Then, Celestia began to think of Twilight's speech after her crowning. All she wanted was for Twilight to say a few words, but instead she had gotten a heartfelt speech that almost made her tear up.
"There was a reason to why Twilight would give up our magic to Tirek," she whispered to herself. "Her friends were more important than any magic that ever existed. I taught her that years ago and she took that lesson to heart when confronted."
It was then that tears began to form in Celestia's eyes. All that flowed through her mind was guilt, guilt for sending Discord after Tirek instead of Twilight and her friends, guilt for sending Twilight into hiding when Celestia could have told Twilight to rally her friends and confront Tirek themselves.
"Why did I do what I did?" cried Celestia, bending down and sobbing quietly. "This is my fault! I put Twilight and all of Equestria in the palm of Tirek's hand, because I was trying to be protective!"
Just then, the doors of the throne room opened and a set of hoofbeats were heard as they approached Celestia. As she cried, Celestia felt a wing drape around her shoulder and opening her tear filled eyes, Celestia looked up to see Twilight Sparkle with a concerned look on her face.
"You were being protective, Princess Celestia," she said. "I respected your decisions that you made. What you did was right for the good of Equestria."
At that moment, Celestia got up and sniffled a little bit as she tried to pull herself together from crying so much. At the same time, she could not believe what Twilight had said about being right in her decisions.
"How could you say that, Twilight?" remarked Celestia, her voice still choked up. "Seeing your window melted by Tirek was a reflection of the decisions that I made. It didn't matter if Discord would restore them or not."
"We all make mistakes, Princess," replied Twilight. "I came here tonight because I couldn't sleep myself. I've been worried about you a lot and I wanted to see if you were doing all right. But, I guess I could see that you weren't."
Struggling to pull herself together, Celestia attempted to produce a small smile, but she couldn't. However, to Twilight, she wasn't bothered by that at all.
"It's good for you to let it out, Celestia," said Twilight. "Sometimes, we have to release our feelings that we have built up inside ourselves for some time. Didn't you teach me long ago that it's okay to release your emotions sometimes?"
Celestia nodded in reply as her feelings continued to get the best of her. However, she could feel that with Twilight here, she felt secure and safe.
"Yes, it's true Twilight," replied Celestia. "I've already cried long enough, but this was an exception to the rule. I made a grave mistake choosing Discord over you and your friends. It got to the point where I just can't sleep because I am always thinking about it."
Twilight was shocked that Celestia would say such a thing. There had been plenty of moments where Celestia had been subjected to cruelty and was able to brush them off because Twilight would often come to the rescue.
"But you have to let it go, Princess," suggested Twilight as Celestia looked over at her. "You can't hang on to this guilt that has been inside of you forever. All that matters is that Tirek is back where he belongs and you, Luna and Cadence are back where you belong."
Celestia couldn't help but feel better upon hearing those words as she turned her attention from Twilight back to the coronation window. It seemed that in her moment of despair, Celestia had been taught a lesson from Twilight that she can't hang on to the past.
"Although I will have to admit," confessed Twilight. "That giving up the alicorn magic to Tirek was not an easy choice to make. But, I couldn't risk seeing my friends being used as bait, even Discord. Yes, we both know what he did was wrong, but I couldn't chance seeing him suffer. He is always going to be a troublemaker, but that is just what he is. He is a troublemaker, but he is a troublemaker who at least has a heart."
Celestia then realized that maybe perhaps that what Twilight was said was true and her mind soon turned back to Twilight's coronation window. If Discord didn't care about his actions, then he wouldn't have attempted to fix the windows, including this one.
"Yes, you're right, Twilight," said Celestia, now pulling herself together. "Discord will always bring chaos to Equestria, but not for evil purposes. I'm just happy he learned his lesson."
It was then that Twilight began to wonder about something else, the fact that Celestia had her eyes fixated on her window. The youngest princess was very humble about her princess status, but it didn't hurt to at least try to understand why Celestia took a keen interest in her window.
"Actually Princess," asked Twilight. "I cannot help but wonder why you like my coronation window so much? Isn't it like all the other windows in this hall?"
"It's much more than that," replied Celestia. "Ever since it was first revealed at your coronation, Twilight, I have come to accept it as a source of inspiration to me. Whenever I am feeling down like tonight, I come down here to look at the window and it makes me feel better. Your coronation ceremony was the best day in my life, seeing you walking down the aisle to receive your crown was the proudest moment of that day."
Twilight sighed at this, knowing that Celestia was right. The thought of becoming a princess of friendship was still fresh in her mind, but the fact that her coronation made Celestia feel relaxed also gave Twilight a sense of hope as well.
"I'm glad my window gives you inspiration," replied Twilight. "Just like you give me inspiration, Princess. I knew that fighting Tirek wasn't easy, but I felt your presence at my side helping me make the best decision."
With that, Twilight hugged Celestia and the two princesses fell into a long embrace as they stood at the window, in all its majestic glory inspiring both princesses to move on from the events that had transpired. As long as the window continued to stand proudly in Canterlot hall, it would continue to give Celestia inspiration and hope for the future of Equestria.