Wallflower and Trixie entered Principal Celestia's office, still holding hands.
The Principal's office had bright yellow walls with gold and brown near the floor, and a medium dark green stripe separating the wall from the office's ceiling. A big green flag stood behind Celestia's desk, as well as a dry erase schedule, filled with appointments and meetings. Bookcases lined the walls, along with a few trophies and diplomas.
A large mahogany desk sat near the wall furthest from Wallflower and Trixie. Carvings of the waves of the ocean, a shining sun, and a crescent moon were on its front. Sitting at the desk was a visibly exhausted Principal Celestia.
The Principal's hair was frazzled, slightly dulled by the stress evident on her face. Her hands were massaging her temples as she wearily gazed at her computer monitor. Celestia freed a hand, then took a sip of coffee from a mug with her Power Symbol on it. She heaved a sigh, then looked at the duo.
"Can I help you two?"
Wallflower and Trixie grit their teeth, then walked up to the Principal's desk. The two glanced at each other, sweating in fear. This was it. Their consciences had led them here, and it would be time for their judgment. The illusionist took a deep breath, then exhaled.
"We're responsible for all the craziness that's happened recently."
Wallflower tensed up until she felt Trixie run a supportive thumb up and down the back of her hand. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "We're Anon-A-Miss."
Principal Celestia's eyes widened as she nearly dropped her coffee mug. Silence filled the room for a good moment, until she spoke.
"Is this true," she asked.
Both Wallflower and Trixie nodded, then proceeded to tell the Principal everything. From their motivations, to their planning, to recruiting the Crusaders as scapegoats. By the time the two finished, they were shaking and in need of chairs to sit down on.
Principal Celestia sat still as she processed all that she had been told. "Both of you," she said finally, causing the two to jump slightly. "Go sit outside while I call your parents and think up a suitable punishment."
Wallflower and Trixie nodded again, then slowly walked out of the office. Once in the reception room, they both sat next to each other.
The gardener shuddered. "I... I don't think I've ever been this scared before, Trixie!"
The illusionist leaned into her friend. "I know how you feel," she said quietly. "I don't know whether I'm going to cry or throw up... but at least we have each other."
Wallflower snorted. "Yeah, that's if we aren't forbidden to see each other after all this."
Trixie's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of that! With a deep breath, she fought back a fresh wave of anxiety, then hugged her friend as she exhaled. "I don't want to lose you," she whispered. "You're the only friend I have right now."
The gardener returned the hug. "Same. And that'll definitely be the case once everyone in CHS gets word of us. And they totally will..."
The illusionist gasped as she broke the hug. "Y-You're right!" She paused, the rolled her eyes. "Wait. I'm already pretty much a pariah around here anyway, so what difference will that make?"
"That's easy for you to say... hardly anyone around here notices me!" Wallflower sighed. "Well... I wanted to get noticed, but not by the entirety of the student body!" She put a the palm of her hand to forehead. "Dammit, our parents are gonna kill us!"
Trixie shuddered. "And if they don't, the students here will!"
Wallflower scoffed. "They wouldn't. The staff would keep us out of harm's way." She hugged herself. "Even if we deserve it..." Sunset's scream echoed in her mind as tears began to run down her face. "God, I feel so terrible." The gardener's voice cracked and a sob escaped her lips.
Trixie slowly got off her chair, then held the gardener tightly as she cried. "I do too, Wallflower... I do too." She sniffled, then slowly broke down.
For several minutes, the receptionist's room was filled with barely audible sobbing as Wallflower Blush and Trixie Lulamoon cried on each other's shoulders. Once they finished, the two stared at each other.
"I doubt that's the last of our tears," Wallflower said sadly.
"Wouldn't be surprised," Trixie said in the same tone.
The door to Celestia's office opened, nearly startling the two.
"Come back in," the Principal said, her tone just as weary as before.
Wallflower and Trixie obliged, and shut the door behind themselves.
Celestia sat back down at her desk and tented her hands with a sigh. She looked at Trixie. "I've been willing to overlook your shenanigans because they were mildly irksome at best, but this is beyond the pale for you." She turned her attention to Wallflower. "And you. You should have known better than to do what you did. Do you both have any idea how hard you made things for not just me, but the staff as a whole? Not to mention Sunset and her friends?!"
Wallflower and Trixie nodded simultaneously, trying their hardest not to avoid eye contact with the Principal.
"Now... I can tell that you're both repentant, but there are still consequences for your actions."
Trixie and Wallflower nodded again.
"Your parents are on their way as we speak, so when we finish up here you are to go to your lockers and collect your belongings. Understood?"
"Understood," the two said.
"As for your punishment, I've decided that you're both to be suspended for a week, followed by six months of detention."
Wallflower blanched. "S-S-S-Suspended?!"
Celestia glared at the gardener in a rare display of genuine anger, causing her to shrink away.
"I-It's okay, Wallflower," Trixie said. "We knew we weren't going to get off easy."
Still stunned, the gardener could only nod in understanding.
"That will be all," Principal Celestia said. "Leave my office. Now."
Wallflower and Trixie departed, knowing that the worst part of the day was still ahead of them.