Sunset?
***
Twilight, I hope you are recovering well. I’ll have to ask you to come see me before class on Monday. There has been a fire in your laboratory, and Principal Cinch wants some explanations. And frankly, so do I. Dean Cadance
***
Hey Rarity, this is the daily life sign. Not coming to school today. SS
***
“Come in!”
Twilight hesitantly opened the Dean’s office’s door. This was untypical of her—she liked Dean Cadance and got along with her really well. But today…
Despite Dean Cadance’s text to come see her immediately that morning she had taken a quick detour to the basement. It had not been a pretty sight. The door of what used to be her laboratory had been replaced with raw wooden boards, and the walls around the opening were blackened. The entire basement hallways smelled of smoke, and the linoleum on the floor was swollen and soaked from the firefighters’ water.
If it looked that bad on the outside, Twilight thought, there was probably nothing left on the inside. Her computers, her equipment… at least all her data was stored safely in the cloud. She wondered if the power surge that had occurred after the accident had caused some component that wasn't designed for those power levels to overload.
As she entered Dean Cadence’s office, the dean immediately put down the piece of paper in her hand and stood up. “There you are, Twilight,” she said solemnly. “Let’s go right away.” Dean Cadance was usually a warm and friendly woman, almost as bubbly as a teenager at times. Seeing her act so seriously, so coolly, was even scarier than the prospect of a scolding by Principal Cinch.
Seemingly for the first time the other students seemed to pay attention to her in a different way than just purposely bumping into her, or calling her names behind her back. Instead they looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. She wondered if they knew. They probably did. Rumors had a way of getting around at Crystal Prep.
Dean Cadance didn’t even knock on Principal Cinch’s door, and if Cadance’s cool manner hadn’t been an indication of how much trouble she was in, then this was.
“Miss Sparkle,” Principal Cinch greeted her without warmth. “Sit down. Dean Cadance, please stay with us. It won’t be long.” She fixed Twilight with her gaze like a predator.
“Principal Cinch, I would like to apologize for—“
“Miss Sparkle, I have no interest in your excuses.” Principal Cinch opened a folder lying on her desk and began reading out. “Cost of commandeered school property that was destroyed in the fire. Firefighter attendance charge. Damage to school rooms. And not to mention the immeasurable damage to our reputation as a high-class, safe institution of educational excellence.”
She closed the folder. “Miss Sparkle, am I correct in assuming that you willfully left unapproved technical equipment running, during the weekend, in a basement room that was not qualified for any hazardous operations?”
“But it wasn’t hazardous, it was just—“ she tried to explain, but Principal Cinch interrupted her.
“I’ll take this as a yes.” Principal Cinch stared at her for several seconds with a raised eyebrow. When she continued, her voice was deceptively calm, almost soft. “Miss Sparkle, I understand that this is as much my fault as it is yours. I was lenient and allowed your little side projects to continue. I was hoping, against my better judgement, that something would come out of it—a scientific paper maybe, something presentable.
“Of course there wasn’t anything. You’ve never been a team player, have you, Miss Sparkle. Always on your own, not caring about the greater good, or about this school that has done so very much for you.
“And instead of showing but the tiniest bit of gratitude, you set my school on fire.”
Principal Cinch, who had not raised her voice during her speech, slowly adjusted her glasses. Twilight realized that Principal Cinch was angrier than she had ever seen her. She had always known that Principal Cinch didn’t like her, but the hardly concealed disdain was uncommon, even for the principal.
“Principal Cinch, I—“ she started again, and again the principal didn’t let her continue.
“Miss Sparkle, you are responsible for wanton destruction the likes of which this school has never seen in its more than formidable history. I will not tolerate such behavior. There is no room in this school for the likes of you.”
“What?!” Twilight felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn’t mean—
“You are expelled from this school, effective immediately. Dean Cadance, please escort Miss Sparkle to her locker and make sure she only takes her belongings. Then see to it that she leaves the premises right away.”
“Principal Cinch—“
“Miss Sparkle, as it is I am hard-pressed to find enough time for my students, so I clearly can’t waste it on some outsider. Dismissed.” Principal Cinch closed the folder and picked up another sheet of paper, not paying any attention to Twilight anymore.
Feeling numb, Twilight stood up and followed Dean Cadance outside. As she walked through the halls, following Dean Cadance to her locker, she tried to understand what had just happened. She was stunned, too stunned to even cry.
Expelled.
But I’m a good student? How can I be expelled?
***
Sunset? Please reply!