Routine. It was an ugly word. A word that symbolized and showcased its rigid structure, its demanding nature, and its deceptively hidden addictiveness, all in two, short syllables. Yet nonetheless, it was a word that Celestia had devoted the vast majority of her life to. Once in a while, a situation arose where the safety of the country would be at risk and she would have to step up to the occasion. But even that wasn't really necessary, it was all done and over with. Celestia no longer wielded the Elements of Harmony; new guardians had risen to stand against evil and disharmony in her stead. Gone were the glory days of fighting spirits of chaos, gone were the adventures of discovering harmony, and gone was the hard, manual labour of helping construct Canterlot Castle brick by brick. Perhaps those days, too, were routines of their own; different actions, simply set in different routines. Either way, she'd gotten used to the droll tasks that she set out to complete every day.

As the sky turned from a warm, autumn red to a pitch, dead black, Celestia's quill finally stopped its furious scribbling, plummeting down on the desk next to half a dozen empty inkwells and rolling to the side. A stack of cluttered papers covered the rest of the desk, as well as a three foot radius around its floor, as Celestia finally slumped down and lifted herself out of her chair for the first time that day.

She sluggishly walked over to her coffee table, where her maids had placed a tray of food for her to eat. The tray had been set some time ago, and the food had long since gone cold. Still, it would be a waste. She couldn't even remember if she’d eaten anything at all today. Lifting a spoon with her magic, Celestia took a sip of soup from the polished silverware. It had gone cold, and the once rich aroma of the broth had faded, but it was still quite delicious. Finishing up her dinner, Celestia threw open her windows, preparing to complete her recently discovered nightly ritual.

Celestia closed her eyes and channeled her power through her horn, producing a visible stream of magic that flowed out into the sky. The stream gradually grew wider, turning into a river of dimly glowing arcane. With each passing second, a deeper furrow lined Celestia's face, the fatigue of exhausting her supply of magic showing on her features.

There was a soft but firm knock at the door. Celestia stopped what she was doing to take notice, cutting off the flow of magic and closing the windows shut.

"Enter." It seemed that she was getting an increase in late night visitors, she thought to herself, as she called out.

A young, purple-coated mare entered the room, an undecipherable expression on her usually familiar face. "Good evening, Princess Celestia," she said, stepping in.

"I've told you, Twilight, you don't need to be so formal with me anymore," Celestia told her former student. "You're a princess now, as well."

"That may be true, but it just doesn't feel right," the smaller alicorn replied. "At least, not yet. After all, it's what I've been calling you all my life. I'm sure I'll ease up to it, though… eventually."

"Well, if you see it that way, I suppose I am in no place to say otherwise," Celestia shrugged. "So tell me, Twilight. What brings you here today?"

"I just… wanted to talk to you about something, Princess Celestia. Are you free right now?" the mare asked uncertainly.

"I will always have time for those who find it urgent enough to knock on my door at this time of evening, Twilight. Tell me, what can I help you with?" Celestia asked, her tone calm and controlled.

Twilight's nervousness only grew more intense than before, her eyes darting around and unable to meet Celestia's. "It's… um, it's about…" her voice trailed off, unable to finish her words.

"…Yes?" Celestia asked, unaware of what was to follow.

"It's about… It's about Princess Luna," Twilight managed to get out at last.

"Oh." The words had caught Celestia off guard, but she quickly regained her composure.

Twilight took a deep breath. This was where it all began. In this elaborate game of cat and mouse, she would have to chase the princess in circles, and the only way she could win was to pin down and make speechless a thousand year old politician. If she succeeded, everything would be okay. Princess Celestia would be hurt at first, but her wounds would heal over time. If she failed, on the other hand, it would be a disaster. She would have to watch as the princess fell more and more into despair, denying that she needed help. Worst case scenario, the bond between her and Twilight could be shattered, and Twilight would find herself being pushed away by the one mare whom she'd known and revered for the majority of her life. No pressure.

“I know it must have been hard for you, Princess Celestia… and I know it’s going to be even harder for you to talk about it, but I’m here to help.”

Celestia sighed. “Twilight, I’m flattered that you’re worried about me so much, but honestly, I’m fine,” she replied. "Indeed, I loved Luna very much, but I’ve had my time to mourn her, and I’ve come to terms with her passing,” she stated simply.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

“And why would that be?” Celestia questioned.

“Because you’re not fine,” Twilight replied. “You haven’t come to terms with it. All you do now is stay locked up in your study, doing nothing but work, work, work. Laws, by-laws, economy, international relations… in fact, the only time I ever see or hear from you outside is at a diplomatic meeting, doing even more work. I’ve even heard from the castle’s chambermaids that you haven’t even been eating your meals properly. You’re as thin as a stick, princess. All because you use this work of yours to… to distract yourself with!”

There was a moment of silence between the two before Celestia opened her mouth in reply. “A leader of a nation has just passed away, Twilight. The twin crowns of Equestria have been reduced to one, and this time, for good. There are matters to attend to, and loose ends to wrap up. Ponies are asking questions. There are conspiracies rising about how someone managed to murder her. Equestria’s standing has lowered severely in the international field, and other nations are seeing us as potential targets because of these recent events. This isn’t the first time this has happened before, you know. The rise of Nightmare Moon caused the same problems a thousand years ago. My workload has simply increased due to these recent events, nothing more.”

Twilight remained unfazed. "We have government jobs for a reason. There are others to help you, Princess Celestia."

"And I don't doubt it," said the princess, equally undeterred. "But somepony has to oversee each and every one of those others, to make sure that they are doing their jobs properly. We cannot afford to make any mistakes, Twilight, now more than ever."

Twilight was left stunned at Celestia's reply. They were stuck at a stalemate, neither side in possession of any definitive evidence. Right now, all they could do was keep pushing the points they’d already made, Twilight’s word against the Princess’. There was no point to it, and it would eventually become a conversation without conclusion. And Princess Celestia seemed to realize it, too.

“I think that’s quite enough, now,” Princess Celestia said, turning away. “We both have the rest of our duties to attend to today, and I think we both understand that we shouldn’t dawdle with a discussion that isn’t going anywhere.”

No, No no no nonononono. This isn’t how it was supposed to happen, Twilight thought. She could almost see time itself slow down as Celestia walked away from her, drifting farther and farther apart.

Coming into this argument, Twilight had been determined to save Celestia from herself. Her determination never faltered, but she'd still gotten nowhere. All of her words and reasons had bounced away harmlessly against the Princess' ironclad defense. Twilight had seen her do this before, putting on a face of stone and refusing to let anything past it. There has to be a way, she thought to herself. I can't let it end like this.

Then, an idea blossomed in Twilight's mind. An idea that she quickly reprimanded herself for even having the gall to think about. It was a stupid idea, one that had less than an abysmal chance of working, and if things went south, the relationship between Twilight and her old mentor would be soured forever.

… It was the only thing she had left.

"…You know, I'm actually kind of glad that she's gone."

Celestia said nothing, but turned her head ever so slightly to reveal her cold, stone expression to Twilight once more.

"All she was was a waste of space and resources. I mean, What did Luna even do, anyways? Honestly, I never understood."

What was she thinking? She knew this was crazy.

"Ruler of the night? Princess of the moon? Those sound like nothing but superficial titles to me."

This was a straightforward, not even well planned out goad. It was nothing but simple provocation of poking at her mentor, in whatever way she could. It would never work.

"She paints the night sky with stars? Who ever cared about that? I mean, sure, ponies took a glance every once in awhile, but to be honest, nothing would really change if none of that was there. I know I wouldn't lose any sleep over it."

Princess Celestia was an ancient, experienced ruler of an entire country. She'd see through Twilight's shallow words in an instant.

"It's not like she ever did anything important in her life. I mean, she raised the moon for a while, but even without her, Equestria's been perfectly fine for a thousand years! And on the other hand, we had to give her a room in the castle, adorn it with everything that she ever wanted, and suck up to her whenever she came to visit anywhere. A little bit too much for somepony who didn't do anything to make herself important, don't you think?"

…and yet, it was starting to work.

"Twilight, this is both rude and disrespectful to an unthinkable degree. You will cease talk of this at once," Princess Celestia spoke coldly.

"Why should I?" Twilight pressed. "It's not like she's someone that deserves my respect. Even her own sister didn't care about her. Don't you think that says something about her?"

"I cared for Luna in all the ways that I could." Celestia's voice rose ever so slightly.

"Is that why you didn't even bat an eye after she died?" Twilight winced internally, knowing very well how much this was hurting her old mentor. However, she showed no sign of it to Celestia, determined to do the only thing she could to break down the walls she'd built up around hers.

"I've… I've had my period of mourning for her." Celestia's voice grew hesitant, yet flustered. Cracks were finally starting to form in her armor, and Twilight would pounce on them like a predator, chipping away at them until they broke.

"Oh, and what, it's over already?" Twilight scoffed. "I guess Luna really was pathetic, wasn't she? Nopony cared to pay any attention to her when she was alive, and even when she killed herself in a last act of desperation, the sympathy garnered from those closest to her didn't even last them one week. It's no wonder she was never loved by those around her. Luna died the way she lived her pathetic life, alone and unloved."

"That is quite enough! The fact that she's not here anymore does not give you the right to speak about her that way! Luna was a wonderful mare, who helped Equestria in every way that she could."

"She was nobody—"

"—She was my sister, Twilight! My sister whom I loved and cared for, and the one who meant more than the entire world to me!" Celestia finally exploded.

In the stunning silence that followed, Twilight's expression softened. "…See, you do still care."

Celestia's anger melted into anguished, desolate distress, tears forming in the pits of her eyes. "It was all my fault, Twilight. Luna broke once before because no one paid attention to her; because nobody cared about her. I… I knew that. I could — should. have saved her. If only I'd loved her more. If only I'd shown her that, she wouldn't… she wouldn't be…" her words trailed off into incoherent sobs.

"I killed her, Twilight. What do I do? What can I do? Tell me, Twilight, what am I supposed to do!?" Celestia shrieked, despondent tears flowing down her cheeks.

The question, as well as its desperate delivery, caught Twilight by surprise. She'd gotten Celestia to talk, but what now? What could she say to her in return? When Twilight failed to respond, Celestia slumped down, refusing to make eye contact and staring dejectedly at the ground.

After what seemed like forever, Twilight finally opened her lips to speak.

"You know, Princess Celestia, I don't think I've ever told you this, but when you first sent me to Ponyville, you know, back at the thousandth summer sun celebration, I hated it," Twilight began.

The words drew no response from Celestia, but she continued anyways. "It was awful. I was being sent from my life of comfort in royal, high-class society Canterlot, to this… dingy, rustic little no-name town that I'd never even heard of before. Instead of the extensive Canterlot Archives, I'd been moved next to a small, public town library with hardly any reading material. To be honest, I thought I was being punished, and throughout the whole flight, I was thinking of what I could've possibly done to deserve it," she chuckled. "…And then, it led to one of the best days of my life," she said, as a wide smile bloomed on her lips. "Through that experience, which seemed so horrible at the time, my life took a turn for the better, and I met my wonderful new friends, who all mean so much to me now."

"For a while, I was very happy, living with my friends, hanging out together, sharing laughs, tears, heartfelt moments… and that too, looked like it would last forever," the mare reminisced. "But just a month ago, everything changed again. I became a princess, and I moved back to Canterlot, leaving my friends behind. We were still close friends, but now I wouldn't get to see them as often as I wanted to. And because of that, I was able to help so many other ponies here in Canterlot, so much more than if I'd decided to stay in Ponyville for myself."

Celestia still showed no sign of movement, but there was now a thoughtful spark in her once dull eyes. Twilight decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, and continued.

"But what if I'd never decided to accept those changes?" she asked. "What if, instead of moving on with my life, I'd clung onto the past, what I knew was comfortable, and refused to change? I would have never met my friends, I would have never become a princess, and I would have been so much worse off than I am now."

"A wise pony once said, 'only a fool fears change, and only an even bigger fool tries to deny it'." Twilight felt a pulse of joy as Celestia's ears perked up from the familiar phrase. "My point is, nothing we do can change the past. Believe me, I've tried," she chuckled. "The only thing we can change… is the future. There are infinite possibilities of what the future could be. We can choose, quite literally, anything that's possible, and even some things that we don't think are possible, and what we choose determines the outcome of tomorrow. Don't you find that amazing? Think about it."

Twilight let out a deep sigh. "But, unfortunately for you, Princess Celestia, your options are a little more limited than others' are."

Celestia finally turned her head to Twilight in confusion, but was suddenly met with a big, warm hug.

"I love you, Princess Celestia. To me, you're a mentor, a friend, and a second mother. You've always been there for me. I've learned so much from you, and I've always felt so at ease when we were together," she said. Celestia could feel Twilight's hot tears falling onto her back. She was trembling, but she soon stopped when she returned the embrace. "I'm sure countless others feel similarly about you, princess. And… and as long as we're here, as long as you have a tomorrow, we're going to make damn sure that it's a happy one," Twilight concluded.

Twilight sniffled, speaking through teary eyes. "I'm not going to tell you that Luna's passing wasn't your fault. That's an issue that you can only sort out on your own. I'm not saying that it's bad to grieve, either. In fact, grieving is a normal and necessary way to deal with trauma. But you have to stop at one point, or else you'll never move on. You'll never change, and you'll never be happy. And I will not ever. Allow you to stay unhappy."

By now, Twilight was choking her words out between blubbers, and Celestia gently stroked her mane to calm her down. That's why it almost caught Celestia by surprise when her own eyes grew hot, and wetness splashed down on her cheeks as well. For the next few moments, the night was silent spare the sobbing of two grown mares comforting each other in stillness. They cried and they cried, until their tears ran dry.

Twilight and Celestia finally caught their breath, and slowly pulled away from the warmth of each other. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Celestia opened her mouth to speak.

"Twilight?" She called softly.

Her former student lifted her head to face her. "Yes?" she whispered.

"…Thank you."

A lone mare sat in her sister's study, gazing out through open windows into the night. If she was going to end things once and for all, this would be where she'd do it.

Celestia raised her horn, feeling the steady flow of magic that she'd constantly kept flowing into the Twin Sisters above. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. And then, she cut off the stream of power, halting it abruptly and refusing to feed it further.

Now, without enough magic to sustain them, the pair of stars lost their bright glow that pierced through the night. One of them blinked out completely, the other dimming drastically. The remaining sister would pay no heed to her companion's death, however, continuing to dance its solo performance in the skies.

As if the death of the lone star was the signal she'd been waiting for, Celestia broke her gaze from it. She trotted to the edge of the room, opened the door, and stepped through. "Goodbye," she whispered, to no one in particular.

Before she shut the door and trotted to her chambers to fall asleep in her bed, Celestia would spare one last, wanting glance back at the empty bed in the empty room.

But not for long.