The Canterlot High School Board of Education landed back in their seats gently.
“Well that was interesting!” exclaimed Discord. “You know, it’s not every day you get to meet royalty. You should consider yourselves lucky!”
“Yeah, we feel honored,” drawled Blueblood, meeting Discord’s gaze. “What a waste of time that was! You haven’t shown us anything that helps your case.”
Shining Armor silently stepped out of his chair and walked over to the tiny window at the end of the room, right behind Discord’s chair. He leaned his shoulders against the windowsill and stared out into the empty night. “How much time has passed since we left?”
Discord teleported right next to him, also glancing out the window sill. “Time doesn’t move the same way in Equestria as it does here, so I’d say we’ve jumped forward a couple hours or more.”
“It’s almost midnight,” said Fancy, checking his watch. “How much longer are we going to be here?”
“As long as we need to,” the draconequus responded. “You haven’t actually been at this for six hours. Sorry for messing up your sleep schedule in advance,” he said, “but I don’t know how much sleep you’ll get tonight.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’m technically on vacation until next week, so I can readjust,” said Fancy Pants.
“This isn’t the first all-nighter Ah’ve had to pull before,” added Granny Smith.
Shining turned to face Discord, his face blank. “I’ve done enough night shifts not to worry about it. Hey, Discord? I’d like to speak with you privately.”
Discord grinned slightly at the man and turned around to the rest of the group. “Everyone, let’s take a quick break again. Get some water or something, and let anyone at home know we’re going to be here later than expected.”
The other members made to move out of their seats, but Blueblood held up his hand. “Hold on,” he said, choosing to silently keep an eye on the two at the window. “I can’t think of what you could possibly say to him that we’d need to leave for.” His gaze lowered at Shining. “Unless there's something you're not telling us.”
Celestia crossed her shoulders in annoyance. “Everyone, can you give them some privacy?”
Blueblood huffed and got out of his seat. However, as the rest of members of the Board started up from their seats, Shining sighed. “You know what, no, he’s right. You all can stay. It’s not as if any of you are going to go and spread this around.”
Celestia leaned back and nodded. “Carry on, then.”
Shining turned back around and kept his eyes peeled on the window. “I just wanted to say that I see what you’re doing here, Discord.”
“And what’s that?” asked the Draconequus.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Not a single police officer besides me has been able to even get near Canterlot High. At first I thought it was an odd coincidence, but that clearly isn’t the case, is it?”
“Tell him the truth,” Principal Celestia added.
Discord rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “Fine, you got me. Yes, I didn’t let any other officer in the school.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m here to make sure Sunset doesn’t get arrested! Do you think I’m going to just let the police stroll on in and cuff her?” he flashed a nervous grin.
“That’s not what I’m asking,” Shining said, meeting the draconequus’s eyes. “Why me? Why am I the only one you allowed in?”
Discord’s smile fell off of his face. “I think you know why.”
“I want to hear you say it. Tell them, too.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary,” he responded bashfully, “They’re all smart cookies, I’m sure that they can—”
“Do it, Discord,” ordered Celestia.
He sighed, and turned to the rest of the members. “I let Shining Armor in the school and this meeting today because of his connection to Twilight Sparkle.”
“So that’s why I’m here?” he asked. “You chose me because you think that I’m the easiest officer to sway toward your side?”
“No—” At the start of his sentence, Celestia started to stand up out of her chair. “Okay, yes, we did choose you because we wanted to capitalize on your relationship with Twilight. Like I said, you got me right in the act.” He threw his hands up in the air in mock arrest. “Don’t forget to read me my rights, please.”
Shining turned to silently gaze out the window into the night. Although the outside was completely dark, the yellow light from the room bled outside just enough to see small specks of snow flittering toward the cold ground below. “It’s the first snowfall of the year,” Shining commented.
“A winter start-up, some might say.”
Shining continued to gaze silently out the window, his face contorting into several different expressions, somewhere between confusion, anguish, and disbelief. The Board watched on silently, and even Discord wasn’t sure what to say next.
After a significant pause, Shining turned back to Discord. “What I need you to understand is that whoever that Twilight was, she was not my sister.” He glanced back to the window. “But she also was. It’s like what she could have been if she taken a different path.”
Discord climbed himself back up to the window and peered outside. “Even the smallest of changes can cause wildly different effects. That’s one of the many definitions of chaos, you know.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I guess it is.”
Silence, beyond the gentle hum of the overhead light working overdrive to keep the room at a reasonable brightness. Filthy Rich straightened out his tie and cleared his throat quietly. Granny Smith rocked back and forth in her chair, even though it wasn’t built for rocking. Celestia kept a close eye on the two creatures at the window.
“The last time it snowed this early in the fall was several years ago,” Shining said suddenly. “I remember because it was the night I took Twilight to Crystal Prep’s school dance.”
“Did Crystal Prep have Fall Formals too?” asked Discord.
“No, we called it a Fall Festival, and there was a different vibe to it. Some years we didn’t even hold the dance if it lined up too close with Homecoming. But it was essentially the same thing as the Fall Formal. I went every year with my friends.”
“But you took Twilight one year?”
“Yeah,” he said, a smile gracing his face, “It was her first year in high school, and I wanted to show her the ropes.” He chuckled. “She wasn’t very happy about that, thought it was a waste of time. She started to dread it so much that she looked like a walking husk the whole week before. It's always been . . . tough, for her to do things like that. It still is, really.
“But when the day of the dance came, she took the effort to get in a nice dress and do herself up. And when we finally drove over to Crystal Prep she seemed even a little excited. It was nice to see her interested in something other than studying for once.” A flicker of pride crossed his face.
“How’d the dance go?” Discord asked.
He grimaced. “She sat alone in the corner all night. There wasn’t a lack of freshmen at the dance or anything. She just couldn’t find anyone to have fun with.”
Discord placed a paw on his shoulder. “Not everyone’s made for that kind of thing. At least she tried.”
“I should’ve known, though. It was stupid of my mom to force her to go—just to embarrass her all night. Of course, we didn’t actually stay the whole time,” he explained, “After an hour or so she came up to me and told me to look outside. It was snowing, so she wanted to leave early to beat the storm.”
“And you let her?”
“Well, it was the first snowfall of the year. We hadn’t prepared for it at all, and the radar did say that it was going to come down hard.” He knit his brow. “That wasn’t really what she was asking, of course. She was pleading with me to get her out of there, to save any of the dignity she had left. The second that snow started falling, she saw an out and took it. So I said fine, and we headed out to my car. We drove around for a couple hours until it was time to go home, and we told our parents that we had a great time. And from that point on, I didn’t tell my mom about any school dance until the very night of. And Twilight always had something busy with her research to do, so she couldn’t make it.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Twilight Sparkle we just met,” said Principal Celestia quietly.
“No, it doesn’t. Princess Twilight was someone—or, somepony for that matter—completely different than my sister. But I could still tell that it was her, or at least that she started from the same place.” He stepped away from the window and turned to Discord, meeting his gaze.
Discord smirked. “It’s surprising to see how much one person can change throughout their lives, isn’t it?”
Shining turned back to look out the window silently, a myriad of expressions crossing his face. Eventually, he turned to Celestia. “Principal, I came here because I genuinely wanted to help you with this case.”
“And you have,” she said.
Shining shook his head with a chuckle. “No, no, I’ve haven’t really done much. I . . . don’t feel comfortable voting on this anymore. Now that I know why I’m really here, I can’t trust anything about this case. I feel as if I’m compromising the whole meeting.”
“What will you do, then?” asked Discord. “Leave?”
“No, I won’t leave,” Shining said, “I don’t want to. I still have things I want to say.”
“We won’t hold it against you, Officer,” Celestia said. “You can walk out of here and forget everything. You don’t need to be present any longer if you're not comfortable.”
Shining shook his head. “No, I really want to stay. In fact, I’d like to clarify a few things, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Go ahead,” said the principal.
“You asked me here to offer council and advice about Sunset’s situation, correct?”
“Yes,” Celestia said, “And any other input that your perspective could bring to this case.”
Shining smiled. “Good. And, if I’m correct, the only people who are required to vote by your policy are members of the Board. And I am not a member of the CHS School Board in any sense of the word.”
“That’s also correct,” said Celestia.
“Then I’m abstaining from voting,” Shining said calmly. “You asked me here for advice and counsel, and I will willingly offer that to all of you, but I can no longer in good conscience vote for either side after our previous trip. It would be unfair to all of you. Just think of it as me voting ‘present’.”
“Present?” Blueblood gasped. “You’re just going to say that you’re here? Don’t you see that this gives Discord an edge? Every vote away from us might as well be one for him!”
“I understand your sentiment,” Shining responded, “but I’m making a decision based on what I judge to be the best for this situation. Princess Twilight told me to trust my head and my heart. And they are both telling me that any vote I cast won’t be a result of any genuine conviction on my end. I’m under no obligation to vote, so I see no reason to force myself to do so.”
“Then why are you still here?” asked Blueblood. “If you don’t want to vote, then go.”
“He has a right to stay, Blueblood,” Celestia warned. “I did ask him here, and although it was assumed he would vote alongside you, he is not a member of the Board and it is not specified in policy.” She turned to Shining and smiled. “Good job, Officer Armor. I’m always impressed when someone chooses to stay true to themselves, even if it means they have to remove themselves from a situation.”
Shining smiled back in response. “Thank you, Principal, that means a lot to me.”
“Hold on!” Blueblood exclaimed. “If you’re not going to vote, and instead offer counsel, then I expect some counsel. So explain to us what you think is best, here.”
Shining rubbed his chin in thought. “Okay, let me get my thoughts in order. I’m saying this as a police officer. I don’t know what you members of the Board have to deal with, and I’m not going to factor it in too much, but, I’ll try my best to give you some sound advice.” He cleared his throat.
“If what Discord says is true, then the criminal case against Sunset Shimmer is going to go nowhere. The file may be left open in case we catch her doing something else illegal, but I doubt she’ll suffer any consequences on the judicial side of things. Unfortunately, all witness testimony that declares Sunset as the culprit in regards to the school’s damage is unreliable, because they all mention ‘magic’. So that’s going to leave Sunset’s discipline up to all of you.
“Now, from what Mister Rich and President Blueblood have stated, the school policy demands Sunset’s immediate expulsion and removal from school. I won’t argue if that’s what you all decide on, but as Discord and Granny Smith have pointed out, there might be other less extreme options to pursue. Are you all familiar with the concept of restorative justice?”
“Yes, very much so,” Principal Celestia said. “I am always striving to implement it more when I can.”
Blueblood scoffed. “That only works with small crimes, like petty thieves and litterers. Sometimes people just earn their punishment, if you ask me. An eye for an eye, you know.”
“Maybe you’re right, Blueblood,” said Shining, “and using this with Sunset may certainly be a hard sell to the community at first, but I think it would be worth looking into. Sunset is remorseful, and that is the only foothold you need in regards to repairing the broken trust in this community. We have a girl here who is willing to take a chance and improve herself and understand the consequences of her actions. That isn’t always the case with juvenile delinquency, so if we can create an example in this school, it may help set a precedent for the future.”
“How will the rest of the students feel, though?” asked Fancy Pants. “Do you think they’ll take it easily, especially since we’ve expelled students for far less in the past?”
“They probably won’t accept it right away, but if Sunset is truly willing to make amends, then we have to insist she try until they come around. And I don’t hold any knowledge of your previous expulsions, but I don’t really think it should affect this case too much. Perhaps right now is the time to employ a new strategy.”
“How do you know she’s remorseful?” asked Filthy Rich. “She could just be putting on a show again.”
“I’m going to trust Princess Twilight’s words on this one. This magic stuff goes right over my head, but all evidence since last Friday points to Sunset wanting to turn over a new leaf. We could at least entertain the thought.”
“So you’re really voting for her to stay, then?” said Blueblood. “After all of that talk about not making a decision, it sounds like you want this girl to stay enrolled after all, huh? Don’t be a coward and just admit it.”
“Hey, now,” said Shining, “I’m not saying I believe she should stay. I’m just saying that there are alternative methods of penalty and discipline out there. Princess Twilight reminded me of that fact. Since two of the voters here today don’t want to expel Sunset, I am trying to describe a possible middleground. That’s all.”
“Middleground? There is no middleground!” Blueblood exclaimed. “It’s all or nothing! Either she stays or she doesn’t. You know, I thought the police officer would be one of the strongest advocates for giving this girl what she deserves.”
“What she deserves? She isn’t a demon, Blueblood. She’s a juvenile delinquent, and she deserves at the very least someone willing to entertain several different forms of discipline.”
“So this is the state of the force nowadays?” growled Blueblood. “Why, maybe if you did your job we wouldn’t have kids doing any of this in the first place!”
Shining jumped out of his seat, glaring daggers at the president. “Now you listen here, Blueblood, I won’t be talked to like that by anyone, much less by an arrogant—”
Filthy Rich jumped up and placed himself between the two, holding Shining back. “Woah, woah, calm down. Blueblood is just an excitable person, is all. He doesn’t mean it.”
Blueblood slid out of his seat and stormed to the door. “I’m going to take another break. Continue without me if you want.” He left, slamming the door behind him.
The other members of the Board glanced at one another. “So, that’s three in favor of expulsion, two against, one abstaining,” said Discord. “We’re almost even.”
Principal Celestia stood up out of her chair. “I say we take another break until Blueblood’s ready again.”
The members of the Board got out of their chairs to stretch. Discord flew over to his chair and sat back down, silently watching the rest of them.
“Well,” Fancy Pants said, “This sure has been interesting. I am surprisingly less tired than when I entered this meeting,” he admitted. “Maybe this is all a dream?”
“I’m starting to wish it,” said Shining Armor. “When do you think we’re getting home tonight?”
Granny Smith shrugged. “I’d say we settle in ‘til morning. At that point, I’m taking a nap whether you all are still fussin’ over this or not.”
Filthy Rich sighed. “I suppose someone should go check on Blueblood. If we want this to go smoothly, we have to make sure he’s in the mood to debate, not hurl insults.”
“Good luck,” Discord murmured from his chair.
Filthy made his way out the room and down the hall, opening up to the bathroom. Inside stood Blueblood at the sink furiously scrubbing his hands together.
“No good, rotten kids these days,” he muttered under his breath.
Filthy walked up to the sink next to him and peered into the mirror, straightening himself out. “You need to stay logical here, Blueblood. Discord may have the power of the emotional plea on his side, but we still have the cold hard facts. He can get everyone against us, but if the rulebook still says Sunset has to be expelled, then she has to be expelled.”
“I feel like I’m talking to wall,” said Blueblood. “Can’t they see that this girl is the biggest threat to the students we’ve had in years? This is the type of thing the Board is literally made for. It’s our job to protect students from kids like her, not welcome her back with open arms. They’re all a bunch of incompetent fools, I’ll tell you.”
“It’s Discord that’s doing this,” Filthy said. “The others are getting swept up by his novelty. That’s the only way he can win them over, by overloading them with tricks. Alternate planets, horse dimensions, I can’t make any sense of it, but I’m not going to let myself get roped into it. We just hold steady until he runs out of tricks and the shock wears off, and they’ll come back around.”
Blueblood snorted. “I can’t believe it. Ponies! And Princesses! It’s nonsense.”
“It’s quite odd to hear him say that the principal of a small city school is the supreme leader of a different universe, yes,” said Fancy.
“Well Auntie’s not a princess here,” responded Blueblood. “And I certainly didn’t get any of the perks that would come with being the relative of a princess. Auntie wasn’t even a principal when I was in school, just a teacher.”
“So what you’re saying is that you weren’t raised in a castle with maids at your beck and call?” Filthy joked.
“I wish,” said Blueblood curtly. “I wasn’t at the top of the food chain in school, or so to speak. But anytime I got kicked around, I fought back. You know, that’s why I decided to run for the Board in the first place; I consider myself decent at wrangling people to do what I want. Everybody was a bit more thick-skinned back in the day. Whatever we dished out, we could take back. Not anymore, though. It’s all about protecting their feelings.”
“It seems like that’s what is important to kids now. They’ve all toned the fighting down, even the bullies. Well, most of the bullies,” he said, thinking back on the flame-haired girl who caused their mess in the first place.
“I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that,” the President sighed. “It’s our job to make the next generation grow up in a healthier environment than ours.” He let out another sigh and massaged his eyelids. “Fat lot of good we did, though. You work your life out to help them, but some of these kids just can’t help themselves and mess everything up. . .”
A silence settled between the two men, neither feeling like speaking, but also not wanting to return to the chaos back in the main room.
“I think this fiasco has knocked some sense into my girl, at least,” said Filthy. “She doesn’t seem too keen on playground insults anymore. Hopefully she’ll come around and start learning about the business with me in a few years.”
“You thinking about passing it on to her? I thought you wanted to control the Barnyard brand until the day you die.”
“Well, I want to continue on the legacy. She doesn’t seem too interested, but I’m sure she’ll come around for me. That’s why I’m doing so much expansion into the real estate around the city. It’ll set her off on the right foot come twenty or thirty years down the road when she takes charge.”
“That’s smart,” Blueblood responded. “She’ll appreciate it eventually.”
Filthy let out a sigh and walked over to the towel rack, cleaning his hands. “Alright, enough of this. Let’s go face the music.”
“Agreed. I’ve got a trick up my sleeve that might just work, though,” Blueblood rubbed his hands together excitedly.
The two men headed back to the meeting room and opened it up to find all members of the room talking candidly with one another. Discord was floating above the table dressed in what appeared to be a toga, with a glowing halo atop his head. “So I roll this golden apple onto the dance floor at a whole gaggle of ponies, and they just trip all over themselves to try and catch it. So that’s how I invented bowling! Oh, ponies don’t party like they used to anymore.”
Upon seeing their general merriment, Blueblood stormed in. “Hey, what’s going on? Why are we laughing and hooting like a friendly get-together?”
“Oh, hello Blueblood,” said Discord with an impish grin. “I was just sharing some old stories with my friends here. We were just waiting for you to finish.”
“Ugh,” Blueblood growled. “Fine.” He turned to Fancy Pants, who was chuckling along with the rest of them. “And you! Aren’t you on our side? Why are you laughing with them?”
Fancy Pants placed his hands up, taken aback. “I don’t think I need to be rude to them just because I disagree. That’s just basic courtesy, after all.”
Blueblood opened his mouth to continue, but clenched his jaw and silently returned to his seat. “Okay, okay. Let’s get started again.”
After Filthy also took his seat, Discord snapped his fingers and turned back to his normal outfit. “So are we aware of the current standings in regard to everyone’s opinions?”
“It’s three to two, with one abstaining,” said Celestia in the back. “Blueblood, Fancy, and Rich in favor of expulsion, with Mrs. Smith and Discord in favor of admittal.”
“How about this,” said Blueblood with a grin. “It’s already past midnight. Let’s come back tomorrow morning, and since we’re basically split, we’ll bring in a few more Board members to help decide the vote. We could all use some sleep.”
“No siree, Blueblood,” said Granny Smith. “Ya can’t cancel this now that the odds aren’t stacked in your favor. We’re gonna see this through, or die tryin’.”
“Now hold on, I need my sleep!” Blueblood retorted. “It’s not fair to force me to stay up this late!”
“Our trips to Equestria have sped up time, remember?” Discord said. “We’ve really only been at this for a few hours total. You should have plenty of juice left in you.”
“There’s also another reason we have to finish this tonight,” said the principal.
“And what is that, Auntie?”
“It’s Friday night. The school is closed to everyone for construction tomorrow. And I need the verdict on my desk by Monday morning, or we’ll have far bigger issues on our hands.”
“Well then what do we do?” said Blueblood. “We’re at a standstill.”
“You could go over it again,” suggested Shining. “Couldn’t hurt to refresh ourselves.”
“Anyone object?” asked Filthy Rich.
Several noncommital sounds rang throughout the room.
“Okay,” said the businessman. “Feel free to chime in if you think I missed something. Our student, Sunset Shimmer, has been bullying the school and gaslighting its teachers for several years now. Last week, when she did not win Fall Formal Princess, she went into a rampage which led to the destruction of the school grounds and the school’s entrance. Fortunately, no students were hurt, and they even continued the Fall Formal afterward. According to our esteemed guest,” he motioned at Discord, “and his acquaintances, there is some otherworldly magic involved in this story as well. I don’t believe that changes any of the basic facts, however.”
“Way to suck all the fun out of it, man,” said Discord. “You’re pretending everything I’ve been showing you isn’t important.”
“It isn’t, as far as I’m concerned,” Filthy responded. “So, any more tricks up your sleeve?”
Discord frowned and reached up a claw to stroke his goatee. A lightbulb popped over his head and his expression lit up, but it just as quickly fizzled out and his face darkened. “Well, I didn’t want to use this next trick, because somepony isn’t going to like it very much.”
“Discord,” warned Celestia.
He turned to the principal. “Sorry, but if you thought that I would follow all of your orders perfectly, you don’t remember who this draconequus is.” And at that phrase, he snapped his fingers.
With little warning, the Board of Education found themselves hurtling through time and space again. Someone let out a loud scream as they felt themselves twist and turn into soft-serve ice cream. And then they landed on cold marble flooring back in one piece.
This landing was actually quite soft. “I think I’ve got the right balance down, now. You know, I knew this trip would lead me to sharpen my interdimensional navigation skills.” They had landed in a palace hallway in front of two grandiose doors. The walls climbed up to the sky, with windows that seemed to reflect the afternoon sun and light up the whole interior.
“Discord, stop this,” ordered Celestia, approaching him menacingly.
“No can do, Celly! I played by your game and got two of them kinda sorta on my side, but now it’s time for the extreme measures. You should’ve expected this.”
“Auntie, what is the meaning of this?” Blueblood exclaimed. “What’s really going on with Discord? You need to tell us! We have that right.”
Celestia turned away from Blueblood and bit her lip nervously. “. . . Fine, Discord. It’s clear you’ve already made up your mind. But we will be having a conversation about this afterward.”
“Oh, you’ll thank me later,” he said. He flew over to the giant double doors, and with a deep breath he grasped the handle, preparing himself to step inside. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my esteemed honor to be presenting to you today, the honorable, the guardian of the sun, defeater of Nightmare Moon, and Ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia!” He threw open the double doors to reveal a vast throne room, which featured a large, fountained dais at its end. However, upon the throne sat no one. Discord deflated. Celestia rolled her eyes.
“Ah, phooey. I really thought she’d be there. Magic, y’know? If I was her, I would’ve just teleported in quickly or something. Well, come on in anyway.” He flew inside, the Board and Celestia following behind him up to the throne.
Most of the members had never been in a room so large, and as they walked down the corridor they stared in awe at the gigantic stained glass murals adorning the walls. The Sun, the Moon, several historic battles, and many important figures appeared before them in gigantic works of masterful artistry.
“Hey, is that one you, Discord?” asked Granny Smith, pointing at a mural of said draconequus with a shocked expression on his muzzle, getting zapped by several ponies at once.
“Ah, yes,” he uttered, “Bad day. Not my proudest moment.”
Shining Armor pointed a little farther down at a newer purple alicorn. “Isn’t that one Twily? Wow,” he breathed.
“Yes indeed!” Discord added. “I’d love to give a tour of the whole castle, but we have important matters to attend to.”
“Well, where’s Princess Celestia, then?” asked Filthy Rich. “Are you going to teleport her here too?”
Discord smirked devilishly. “Oh, there’s no need for that. You see, someone here hasn’t been completely honest with you all.”
Celestia sighed defeatedly. “Just turn me back, Discord.”
“Sure thing!” He snapped his fingers.
Where once stood Principal Celestia, leader of Canterlot High School, towered a beaming white alicorn, the sun flowing through her mane: Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria. She lowered her head to gaze upon the Canterlot High School Board of Education and smiled down upon them.
“Members of the Board, I apologize for deceiving you. I am now glad to make your acquaintance under no false pretenses.”