"It's simply beautiful," Princess Celestia says in awe as she looks out the castle window to see the rainbow aurora flooding the sky. She then turns her gaze over to Twilight, who has her head down in shame. "I understand it wasn't you who brought the Crystal Heart to Cadance, but Spike, correct?"

"Yes," the unicorn replies somberly. "I could have brought it to her but I couldn't—"

"Couldn't find a way to bring it to Cadance in time," Celestia finishes. "I understand, but given the situation, you managed to find a way by giving the relic to Spike in order to make sure it made its way to Cadance. You didn't look out for yourself but made sure the Empire flourished, no matter the course you had to take."

"I knew there was a lesson to be learned here," Lavey says, standing off to the side with a chill attitude.

Twilight's eyes shimmer with an epiphany as a joyful smile spreads across her muzzle. "Does this mean...?"

Celestia simply gives an affirmative nod, which is enough confirmation for Twilight. The unicorn leaps into the air, her heart soaring with elation. Seemingly disregarding manners and formality, Twilight lunges at the Princess and envelops her in a loving embrace, profusely thanking her for everything.

"Ahem! Twilight," Lavey calls. Both mares look over at the hell-spawn as he stands at the double doors leading out of the throne room. "We'd better get going. I took my phone away from Chrysie twice and now I'm sure she's going to be very pissed. Can we go?"

Grumbling with apathy, Twilight releases her hold on her mentor and follows Lavey out of the throne room, waving farewell to the princess one last time, and letting the doors slam shut behind them.

Celestia releases a heavy sigh and marches up to her throne, where she rests her rump on the velvety cushion and relaxes. The events that transpired today were satisfactory, to say the least. Twilight is maturing quickly in the ways of friendship, just as she had envisioned. However, one subject has yet to be handled.

"GUARDS!" the princess booms with her Canterlot voice. Two guards open the massive door to the throne room, standing at attention and saluting the regal. "Bring him to me. I wish to have a conversation with our guest in private."

The guards bow and exit the throne room. Not even a minute later, King Lumiere enters the monarch's presence, still shaken up it would seem.

"Greetings, King Lumiere," the princess warmly welcomes. "It has been a few years, hasn't it?"

Out of fear and reverence, Lumiere bows before the regal, while still trembling with anxiety. "It is pleasant to see you still well, Princess Celestia." He looks up, searching the room for something amiss. "Where is Princess Luna?"

"Off to bed," the princess replies. "I had asked her to join us today but she was rather fatigued from her shift, so I let her be for now. Now, I wish to understand the reason you fell into the clutches of the Beast, Lumiere. I know it wasn’t entirely your fault, but that you were deceived.”

The king looks up at the graceful matriarch with regret in his eyes and bows his head solemnly, refusing to make eye contact. His lips quiver as he tries to explain his reasoning but no words escape.

“Please, Lumiere,” Celestia implores, "explain everything to me. We already forgive you, so please share with me the tale of your burdens.”

Looking up into Celestia’s glistening eyes, the king clears his throat and finally open his lips to speak.

“My wife was overcome by a strange sickness that neither me nor the greatest doctors or sorcerers in the kingdom had seen before. We tried every test possible and provided her with every herb and medicine know to pony-kind, but there was nothing we could do and her health was deteriorating by the minute.

“I was so stricken with grief, I started hearing voices in my head, making me believe I was going insane, until they started giving me directions and instructions that I’ve never known about. I traveled across Equestria and throughout Equus for different relics and objects the voices told me to find. I thought they would help with curing my wife’s illness but they turned out to be items for an occult ritual.”

“Then why did you continue if you knew what the voices led to?” Celestia questions, slightly confused by the king’s actions.

“I didn’t recognize any of the symbols or items, and by the time I had performed the ritual, it was far too late. I had already opened the portal and unleashed that creature into the world. However, it didn’t immediately take control of my body; instead, it made a deal with me.”

Celestia places a hoof on her chin as she ponders the events. “It has been told that demons make deals with those who summon them. What did it ask of you?”

Lumiere swallows a lump in his throat before continuing. “It promised that it would heal my wife of her ailment and make her whole again, in exchange for using me as a vessel. It told me it was a god, but I should have known such things were too good to be true.”

Celestia wants to chastise the king for his ignorant actions but realizes now is not the time. Watching tears roll down his face as he recalls the torturous memories, the matriarch holds her tongue and lets him continue.

“I would do anything for my beloved, so I foolishly took the bait. Not even a day later, my wife was running throughout the castle like a young filly. I’ve never seen her so happy and so energetic; it made my heart explode with joy.

“But I knew these happy days would not last. I could feel the demon’s dark spirit writhing inside me, forcing me to make blind and brash decisions. I've killed ponies who I thought were conspiring against me. Our army grew with harsh discipline and brutality. My mind was slowly being consumed by insanity and darkness.

"Before the demon could fully take control of me, I warned my wife and had her escape from the empire before I completely lost my mind. I banished myself and the Empire in the hopes of never having to harm another innocent life.”

“I am deeply sorry for your loss, King Lumiere,” the matriarch sighs, bowing her head. “If only your wife could see you know.”

Lumiere bows his head but doesn’t speak. The two rulers sit in deafening silence, unsure of what to do until Celestia finally speaks up.

“Why don’t you go ahead and rest,” she suggests. “After some rest and a good meal, we can help you with getting adjusted into the modern world.”

As if on cue, the same two guards enter the throne room and guide the worn out king to the nearest guest chamber to finally earn one thousand years worth of sleep.

As the doors close behind them, Celestia is left alone within her grand throne room. She looks outside at the aurora stretching across the sky and can't help but feel a nagging feeling in her mind. It soon evolves into a harsh throbbing in her skull that feels like her brain might explode.

Quickly, she rises up from her spot and teleports to her chambers. Stripping off her regal armor and allowing her body to breath the cool air around her, she decides now would be a good time to get some rest—considering what’s about to come. Hopping into bed and pulling the covers over her, Celestia tightly shuts her eyes, waiting for the throbbing to cease. Finally, the pain becomes unbearable and she blacks out into slumber.

The scene around her is enveloped in black but not similar to when one closes their eyes. There is nothing but an endless void in front of her; a void so dark that she can’t even see her hooves before her. A small speck of light appears before her and grows into a blinding illumination that floods the void, causing the alicorn to tightly shut her eyes, however the light simply pierces her eyelids.

As the light recedes, Celestia slowly opens her eyes to see another alicorn standing before her; this one looks similar to her yet very different. Her coat sparkles like a diamond and her mane flows like an endless stream comprised of all the colors of the rainbow. Her eyes are beautiful kaleidoscopes and her wings glimmer as if made of an assortment of gems.

She wears no royal armor but she is far greater than any measly alicorn regal. Her presence alone fills Celestia with warmth and comfort just like how the princess does with her own subjects. Her power is overwhelming and far more potent than any unicorn or creature she has encountered.

“It is good to see you again, Celestia,” the entity speaks. Her voice flows like a gentle stream and her words are as sweet as honey.

“Likewise, Concordia,” Celestia replies. “What news do you have for me today?”

“First, I would like to say how wonderful Twilight’s been maturing as a mare—making friends, going on adventures, and the like. Her maturation in friendship is going well, too."

"As you have shown me," Celestia says with a smile.

"Well, I’ve only show what you wanted to see," Concordia replies solemnly.

Something about the spirit's attitude strikes Celestia as odd. She's never heard her sound disappointed or somber in all the years she's interacted with the princess. Concordia seems to notice the princess's suspicion and releases a heavy sigh before indulging her.

“You remember how my 'visions' are just glimpses into different possibilities, correct?" the spirit asks.

"Yes?" Celestia replies, unsure of where this is going. "Viewing timelines, finding out the necessary ones needed to land us in a favorable outcome, all that?"

The spirit nods and continues with her explanation. "A timeline can be split up into many branches that all differ from each other in some way, creating what some may call a ‘multiverse’. I can view each and every timeline up to a certain point.”

Concordia ignites her horn in a rainbow aura, summoning a massive, celestial forest, as vast as the eye can see. The trunks of each tree have moments of the lives of different ponies as of this moment. Each extending branch displays future possibilities of each pony, and branches extending from those display consequences, and so forth.

However the only tree Celestia focuses on is Twilight’s. The moving image on the trunk shows her resting on Lavey’s back as they fly back to Ponyville.

“With the paths she has walked down, I do believe she may end up becoming the Alicorn of Friendship as you had intended,” Concordia states.

This brings solace to Celestia’s heart but that doesn’t explain the somber tone the Spirit of Order used to convey her message.

“If this is good news, then why the odd attitude?” the princess asks.

Instead of answering the question directly, Concordia clears out all of the trees, even Twilight's. Celestia is left even more confused but notices the spirit facing away from her.

"How do you know that being the Princess of Friendship would be best for Twilight?" the spirit asks without even batting Celestia an eye. "Ever since she earned her Cutie Mark, she was fated to become something great. The fact that she was able to wield the Elements with her friends, act like a leader, always diving so deeply into Friendship Lessons, those are all good. But is it really the best course of action for her to take your place as Equestria's ruler?"

"I... I don’t understand," Celestia stammers. "What are you trying to say? That she shouldn’t be the Princess of Friendship?"

Concordia looks back at the monarch with pain-filled eyes, something Celestia had never seen before from the spirit.

"It is true that Twilight has exceptional leadership and organizational skills, yet they come at the cost of her psyche. Do you remember when she struggled with sending you a Friendship Report when she had no Friendship Report to send?”

How could Celestia forget? Twilight nearly plunged Ponyville into Discord-level chaos when she imbued her old doll with a spell, causing everyone to gaze upon the object to be madly in love with it. Seeing the young unicorn so distraught and so stressed broke the princess’s heart. But where is this leading to, she wonders?

“Pressed down by work, having to deal with tasks that seem almost out of her reach, dealing with cataclysmic events such as Nightmare Moon and my brother and now Sombra, is not good for any pony to deal with on a regular basis. And now you intend to make her rule an entire kingdom in your stead? She should be ruling by your side, just as Luna is. After all, you saw first-hoof that working alone is not healthy for an individual—that goes for spirits as well.”

It hadn’t occurred to Celestia that her actions would have caused her pupil to feel so stressed in ways she could never imagine. She’s seen the signs but she’s been too focused on her current duties and guiding Twilight to even give them a second thought, let alone take them seriously. She just wanted to be rid of the throne already and give Equestria a clean slate with a brand new princess who can actually see it prosper.

“B-but I need her to be a better ruler than me, Concordia,” Celestia claims. “I’ve made monumental mistakes during my lifetime and I can not bear to live with those as a ruler. If Twilight were to rule in my place, she could bring Equestria and perhaps all of Equus into a time of peace and prosperity!”

“I am the Spirit of Order in this world, just as Discord is the Spirit of Chaos,” Concordia states. “We are not meant to meddle in the affairs of mortals as we have thus far. Where there is chaos to be corrected, I simply guide those to correct it. Where there is order to be tampered with, Discord will have his fill of fun. It’s a back and forth cycle.

"I only provided you glimpses into timelines to warn you of certain events—natural disasters, the Sirens, Nightmare Moon's return—all of which were warnings that helped ensure order remained and that chaos was mitigated. I even warned you of my brother's rampant behavior, though it pained me that he had to be imprisoned in stone instead of turning a new leaf.

“However, foreseeing the events of ponies to guide them into a path as drastic as Twilight’s, that is being preordained for them, is too much. You can not just take somepony’s life and bend it to your will. I'm afraid that I can not provide you with any more glimpses of the future, Celestia. I know you want to have Twilight become a princess and, while I do believe it is for the best interest of Equestria, I do not believe that is for her best interest to take your and Luna's thrones."

“W-what are you saying, Concordia?” Celestia beckons. “I need to know what happens in Twilight’s future. I need—“

“NO!" Concordia booms, startling the princess out of her skin. "You only want to choose her path instead of letting her choose for herself. You can not take her free-will like that and make her a mindless puppet like most gods do. I may not know much about mortals but free-will should never be taken away from anyone!

“However, I will provide you one final look at Twilight's future, just for your reassurance."

Celestia is surprised to see Twilight's tree reappear in the astral plane, though with only two branches shown with two different consequences for each.

In one branch, Twilight found the spell that Starswirl the Bearded wrote but never completed. In one extension, Twilight manages to complete the spell and achieve alicorn-hood. In the other extension, she can't figure out the right words to write in order to repair the cause of the incomplete spell.

The former would be the most preferred option for the princess, obviously, but she looks to the other branch. In it, Lavey and Twilight are in a dark citadel, most likely located in Hell. The hell-spawn is down on one knee and has a box with a silver ring in his hand. In one extension, Twilight hesitates and refuses the offer with tears of pain in her eyes. In the other extension, she leaps into Lavey's arms and graciously accepts his proposal.

This...is an odd possibility. Even though she saw the two starting their relationship back when Cadance and Shining Armor got married, the prospect of Twilight becoming an alicorn by marriage is too farfetched.

“Th-this is ludicrous,” Celestia says in disbelief. “How could this possibly—“

"This is as much as I can show you now," Concordia interrupts. "Again, it is best if mortals choose their own paths instead of having one planned out for them. I am sorry, Celestia, but that is the natural order and I can not break it."

Celestia remains frozen in disappointment and anger. Rage bubbles inside her heart as she looks to the tree displaying Twilight's possible futures. Everything she's worked towards, everything she's built for Twilight for her to be a better ruler than Celestia ever was and is, is about to be lost. She knows it will.

"Please, Concordia!" the princess cries out. "I need to see more! I want Twilight to be better than I am as a princess! Equus depends on it!"

"You are right," Concordia deadpans. Her form begins to erode and fade into golden specks of dust. "Equus will depend on it. She will most likely become a great alicorn, most likely better than you have ever been. It will be her fate to become an alicorn but her destiny will be written out by her and the influence of those around her. Have faith that your student will find a path beneficial for herself and those around her, Celestia. Farewell, for now."

At last, the Spirit of Order disappears and the astral plane begins to crumble. The ground gives way, causing Celestia to plummet into an endless abyss. She shrieks and cries out for help, even for Concordia to save her, but no one comes to her rescue.

“Sister! SISTER!” Luna’s voice cuts through the confusion and bedlam, forcing Celestia to pop out of her violent vision and back into reality.

She opens her eyes to see her bedroom but in a hazy field of vision. She pants and gasps as if she’s been waterboarded; sweat covers her face and fur as her heart beats out of her chest. She looks around to see Luna, a medic, and two guards standing by her sides with worried looks.

“W-what just...?” the weary monarch stammers. She attempts to sit up but the medic holds her down.

“Please, your highness,” she says, “you should lay and rest.”

“You were writhing around in bed muttering nonsense as if you were possessed, sister,” Luna reveals. “Your eyes were rolled into the back of your head and your lips were moving but only incoherent sentences poured out. What happened?”

Celestia keeps her mouth shut in fear that revealing her vision, somepony may spill her secret. Concordia’s words linger in her mind, causing a tinge of guilt to fester in her heart. If Twilight were to know about her plan to mold her into the perfect heir, what would she say? Would she be upset that her life was planned out from the beginning to spread the message of friendship?

“I don’t know,” she fibs. “I just lost consciousness and that was it. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Well, I recommend some rest for now, princess,” the medic states as they mark the sheet of paper on their clipboard. “The guards will stand outside your door to keep you from leaving and from anyone else from intruding. Only until I give you the a-ok that you’re fine, you’ll have to stay confined to your room.”

The princess nods in understanding and lets everyone leave her presence; all but Luna, who lingers just a bit longer to extract the truth from her sister.

“It was another message from Concordia, wasn’t it, sister?” she asks. “When do you think they will end?”

Celestia hesitates in her answer, unsure whether to reveal that they already have ended and that the Spirit of Order had abandoned her. She bites her lip in frustration, drawing blood and feeling it dribble down her snow-white chin.

“What was it about this time?” Luna inqures as she wipes the red stain off her sister’s chin with a napkin.

Celestia takes a deep breath and lets out some of her tension before explaining the session: Concordia’s warnings, her signs of regret, and the final timelines that were revealed to the princess. Luna stands still with a shocked expression until it fades into one of disappointment.

“I knew something like this would happen," Luna sighs, shaking her head. "You're too overbearing, Celie. You eventually manage to harm those around you with your actions."

Celestia looks at her sister with a questioning gaze. "How so?"

“Does Sunset Shimmer ring a bell?”

Celestia’s heart skips a beat and her throat tightens at the mention of her rebellious pupil’s name.

“She was your prized pupil until she rebelled against you. Do you wonder why she ever did what she did? She was enraged not because she didn’t get what she wanted, but because she never properly earned what she reaped. I'm certain she found out about the plan you preordained for her and left you to find her own path, and I'm glad she did so. Not all of us are lucky enough to escape self-absorbed deities, you know."

That was a stab in Celestia’s heart, having to hear such venomous, yet truthful words coming out of her sister’s mouth. Unfortunately, Luna isn’t done.

"Now you have another victim to play god with. I know that the minute she got her Cutie Mark, Twilight’s fate was sealed to be a bearer of the Elements. This whole ‘Princess of Friendship’ thing seems understandable if Concordia says it so, but making her your heir? You don’t know what Twilight wants, despite always claiming to have treated her like a mother.

“You know, I wondered why Twilight should be a better leader than you when you can just improve yourself and make yourself better than who you are now. Now I see why. You simply refuse to change your actions. Even after I turned into Nightmare Moon, you had no choice but to banish me instead of help me; you had to get somepony else to drag me out of my madness. Since you can’t rule with friendship instead of order and judgement, I’m certain young Twilight would be delighted to do so in your stead.”

If Celestia had Lavey's eyes right now, she could see a great red splotch for herself, writhing around in her soul. The realization causes guilt to fester in her soul. She hates herself for what she's done to her pupils, to Luna—only ever searching for her own best interests and not those of the ones around her. But one thing still perplexes her after all these truths were finally brought to light.

“Why do you still care for me, Luna?” she questions. Celestia looks to her sister, who still has a stonewalled face. “Even after what I’ve done—after disregarding your cries for help, banishing you to the moon for a thousand years, acting like such a damned fool—why do you still call me sister?”

Luna turns around and heads for the door but doesn’t open it. She stands still as she takes a deep breath and exhales her frustration before responding.

“Because that’s what a good sister does,” she says without even batting an eye at the depressed princess. “Even if one of us acts like an idiot dictating over the lives of ponies, one of us should still be the responsible one.”

Luna opens the door and leaves, slamming it shut and drowns the room in darkness, leaving Celestia in solitude and with her despairing thoughts. She lays in bed, still pondering over the plans laid out for her pupil and if what she’s doing is truly right and moral.

"All this time..." Celestia mutters, "...all this time... Why...why can't I be better?" Tears start to roll down her cheeks and stain her pillow as grief washes over her, drowning her in sorrow. "Sunset... I'm so sorry."

Author's Note

In this universe, Celestia knew she wasn't being the best leader and hoped that she could find an heir that could take her place. She abused Concordia's ability to see into different possibilities and planned out the fates of her pupils; only one of them managed to find out the truth in time and left her. Perhaps Twilight will learn the truth and she'll have a similar reaction.