//------------------------------//
// Help from Celestia. 
// Story: The Internet 
// by Hodd 
//------------------------------//

"Twilight? Twilight you in here?" called out Applejack in the doorway of Twilight's library. The shades were closed, and no light filtered in, despite the daylight outside. She creeped in, a chill running down her back. "Twi, if you're playing a prank on me, it ain't funny." Applejack found herself at the bottom of the large, circular staircase carved into the tree itself. Her hoofsteps echoed around inside the library as she made her way step by step into Twilight's room.

"Twi? You in here?" she asked out timidly. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for a hint of her friend. Through the darkness, she spotted a small lavender lump shaking furiously in the corner of Twilight's room. "Twi? Is that you?" Applejack called out once more. She approached the small form, and indeed, it was Twilight Sparkle.

"Hey, Sugarcube," she began. "You allright?" Twilight shuddered in response. Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder, quieting the unicorn's shaking some. "What happened out there in the Everfree, Twi?" she inquired, desperate for answers. Twilight choked out a few sentences between sobs. "I went to a place that they called... 4chan. I saw button that led to a place called /b/... and I clicked on it!" Sobs rocked the unicorn.

Applejack still couldn't understand what had happened. What was a 4chan? And what did 'clicking on something' mean? "Twilight," she began. "I don't understand. What was that thing anyway? What did it do to you?" Twilight held her weeping for a brief moment, and choked out a response. "It... It was furry Friday!"

More inconsolable weeping took over the unicorn. Applejack had never seen her this way. Whatever that thing was, it was bad, and it had to be removed! She shuddered at the thought of returning to the Everfree, however, despite the explanation about the whole "Keep the plot diverted from the Everfree" speech that Twilight had given her. 

She needed help; powerful help. She needed Princess Celestia.

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A loud knocking interrupted Princess Celestia's careful handwriting. "Hello?" she called out. "Who is it?" An orange head poked through her chamber doors, a certain uneasiness was about her. "Oh uh, hello Princess," Applejack began. "I need your help. Something bad has happened, real bad. Twilight found this thing in the Everfree forest. Whatever it was, it spooked her pretty bad."

Princess Celestia's face contorted in both confusion and thought. "What was it?" she asked plainly. "I think it was called an... internet or something like that," Applejack responded. Princess Celestia gasped quietly. The internet. She thought she vanquished that foe long ago.

"Princess?" began Applejack. "What's wrong?" Celestia let out a sigh, and then began. "The internet is the makings of Discord. It's essentially an invisible web that connects these devices called computers all across Equestria. That thing you found in the Everfree must have been a computer, one of the last surviving devices. At first, when the internet first came about, it was brilliant. Anypony could post something funny, or scary, or intriguing, or whatever! It connected ponies like never before!"

The Princess' stature lowered. "But then it all turned down a dark path. Ponies started abusing the newfound power they had. They began purposefully angering and agitating other ponies purely for the sake of amusement! We began calling these troublemakers trolls.

"Before long, nearly all ponies who ad access to a computer began to troll. Even I found myself seduced by the sheer hilarity of seeing another pony freak out on the other side of a conversation. Ponies even took to calling me Trollestia."

The Princess shuddered, remembering the acts she had committed. "It was then," she began. "That I decided to end this plague on Equestria once and for all!"

"What did you do?" asked Applejack, intrigued by Celestia's story.

"I trolled the internet into Oblivion," replied Celestia, shame still evident in her voice.

"Is that what you have to do now?"

The Princess nodded in agreement. "I'm afraid so."

Applejack's face once again contorted in thought. "Well what about Twilight? She's still mortified from what happened."

Celestia sighed. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. What's done is done. She just has to cope with it herself."

"So now what?" asked AJ, eager to find out the next step in their plan to banish this evil from Equestria once and for all.

"I'm going to need some Mountain Dew," replied Princess Celestia. "If I'm going to have to do this again, I'm going in prepared. In the mean time, try and live life as normal. The worst possible thing you can do is let this whole situation get to you. The trolls feed off of your misery. Anyway, I'll be here, preparing. This is going to get interesting."