It was the morning hours in Ponyville, with the sun slowly rising into the sky. Ponyville was starting to come to life, with the adults starting their work days, while the children filed into the schoolhouse. Shops like Sugar Cube Corner and Rarity’s Boutique were opening their doors to the public. The Golden Oaks Library however was a different story. There was a ‘we’re closed’ sign hanging from the door barring access.
Inside Twilight sat at the kitchen table, a cup of steaming hot tea resting in front of her. The unicorn used her magic to raise the calming beverage to her lips and took a sip as her eyes stared vacantly ahead of her. She was internally wracked with anxiety but was doing her best to maintain her composure. She was absolutely dreading the impending meeting with her mentor, Princess Celestia. Unpleasant thoughts raced around in her head.
‘What’s she going to do when I explain everything to her? How mad will she be at Rainbow Dash? Is she going to send her to jail? Or worse, send her to Tartarus! Or will she brush this all aside? After all, Rainbow is an Element of Harmony! We can’t just replace her can we? But that wouldn’t be fair to Anon!’
Twilight took another deep drink from her cup of tea. It was supposed to remedy her anxious tendencies to a degree, but it could only do so much, and this situation would make anyone a nervous wreck. For her credit, Twilight seemed handling it well on the outside, but on the inside she was freaking out!
‘What about Anon? Is there anything she can do to fix his injuries? She is the most powerful magic user in all of Equestria? Surely she might know some spell that could repair the damage, right? But if she can’t then…it really would be hopeless wouldn’t it?’
Twilight was so focused on her thoughts that she barely noticed the padding sound of her assistants feet as he walked into the room.
“Morning Twilight! I’ll get started on breakfast!” Said the young drake enthusiastically. Twilight didn’t reply, she just stared ahead. Time flew by for her, and before she knew it, a plate of toast and a bowl of oats where placed in front of her. Spike took his seat adjacent to her and dug into his own food.
While munching, Spike noticed the thousand yard stare of his caretaker and waved his claw in front her face.
“Yo, earth to Twi!” He called, trying to get her attention. When that didn’t work, he snapped his claws in front of her face a few times, which seemed to do the trick.
“Oh, sorry Spike, I was just…thinking….” She replied.
“What about?” He questioned raising a spoon of cereal into his mouth. Twilight glanced at her assistant before forcing a smile.
“I was thinking…thinking that it’s been too long since you’ve had a day to yourself! Why don’t you take the day away from the library and do something you enjoy! See a movie or something!” Twilight did her best to appear casual as she levitated a small bag of bits onto the table, in front of Spike.
“Wow, really? What’s the occasion?” Questioned the youngling as he picked up the bag.
“Oh you know, you work so hard around here, and I….”
‘I don’t appreciate you enough…you’re always doing whatever I tell you to with a smile on your face…you really should be enjoying your childhood.’
“I don’t let you know that enough. You deserve a day off every now and then. So you have the whole day for yourself!”
“Wow, thanks Twilight!” The dragon scarfed down the remainder of his breakfast, and gave Twilight a quick hug, before darting out the door, leaving Twilight alone. The strained smile on her face fell, and her head hung low.
The truth was Twilight did not want Spike to be present when the Princess and her had their conversation about the recent events that had plagued her mind. Spike knew a little about what had happened, but Twilight had kept the more sordid details from him in order to protect him.
But in that, she did realize that Spike really did deserve time to himself. He spent far too much time working for a child his age. What if something were to happen to him too? What regrets would he have? If he were bed bound like Anon, would he only have memories of organizing her books, and dusting her shelves? She didn’t want that for him. She was HIS caretaker, and he was more than just her assistant!
But those were concerns she could afford to postpone to a later date. She stared up to the clock that hung on her wall. It read 9:24am. The Princess would arrive soon. Twilight had to make herself presentable. She finished her breakfast as fast as she could, before levitating her dishes into the sink. She then placed another kettle of tea on the burner and made her way upstairs to brush her teeth and comb her mane.
Only a few minutes after she had finished, she heard a resounding knock at her front door. Her heart skipped a beat. It was the time she had been dreading. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“One moment!” She called out. She made her way down the stairs to the front of the library, and used her magic to open the door. Standing in front of the doorway, nearly glowing from the reflected sunlight was the Princess of the Sun; Celestia.
“Princess!” Greeted Twilight as she lowered her head in a bow. Celestia looked down at her apprentice with a warm, but sad smile.
“You really don’t need to bow every time you see me Twilight,” she gently chided. Twilight bolted up with a sheepish smile on her face.
“Right, sorry!” She apologized while rubbing the back of her head.
“Think nothing of it,” replied Celestia with a smile. The smile turned to a grimace with what she said next.
“Though I wish I was here on a social call and not something as dire as what you explained to me in your letter.”
“So do I,” lamented Twilight. She stepped aside and gestured for Celestia to enter her abode. The Princess ducked under the doorway and made her way inside. Twilight used her magic to shut the door behind her, and guided her mentor to a small coffee table with two floor cushions set across from each other. “Give me a moment, and I’ll bring us some tea!”
“Of course,” replied Celestia. The lavender unicorn trotted into her kitchen and a few moments later, returned with a tea pot and two cups in her magical grasp. She set everything on the table and poured two cups of tea. “Thank you Twilight.”
“You’re welcome Princess.” Each pony took a sip of their tea. Celestia lowered her cup and gave her student a serious look.
“Alright Twilight, we can’t postpone this conversation as much as I’m sure we’d both like to. Tell me what happened…please.” Twilight took a deep breath, and then recounted the story.
“I was here at the library looking for a book I needed for my magical research, when Rainbow Dash burst through my door. She was in a complete panic! She said she had ‘pranked’ Anon with a lightning bolt. She’s always pulling pranks on pony’s in town, and that’s one of her favorites, especially during Nightmare Night. Nopony ever got hurt from it before…except for now.”
Celestia simply looked at Twilight, even faced and listened to the story.
“She led me to the outskirts of town, where I saw Anon lying on the ground. He…he was just lying there…not moving…just slightly twitching…and the smell…the smell was….” Twilights eyes were now tearing up as she tried to recount the horrific scene she had witnessed. Celestia placed a hoof on her wither, and the two made eye contact.
“Take your time if you need it Twilight.” She offered a motherly smile to her student, and Twilight nodded, wiping her eyes with her hoof.
“He was burned Celestia. There was this horrible smell coming off of him! I knew it was bad….I asked Rainbow what would make her think this was a good idea! She told me she had no idea it would hurt him like this, when I had explained to her and the others that Anon didn’t have any magical defenses!” Twilight was yelling now. “But she didn’t get it, because I was using science terms instead of explaining it in layman’s terms! And now because of Rainbow Dash’s ignorance, and my failure to explain Anons situation properly, Anon’s lying in a hospital bed, unable to move, and his life is probably RUINED ALL BECAUSE OF US!”
Twilight felt a surge of energy travel up her spine as the anger and grief built. She felt like she was about to explode when she felt her mentor embrace her. He looked up with tears in her eyes to see Celestia looking down at her with an understanding and sympathetic expression.
“Twilight listen to me. This was NOT your fault. Nopony put Anonymous in danger except for Rainbow Dash. You are not to blame Twilight,” explained Celestia.
“B-but if I had just explained better-“
“I understand Twilight. But the recklessness of this situation was not on your part. It was on Rainbow Dash’s.” Twilight sniffled.
“I know Rainbow Dash would never hurt a friend on purpose, Princess! She didn’t realize what would happen!”
“I believe you Twilight. But that doesn’t change the fact that she has seriously injured some pony, and there needs to be consequences,” she stated firmly.
“W-what are you going to do to her?” Asked Twilight fearfully. Celestia closed her eyes in contemplation.
“I haven’t decided yet. First, I want to speak to Anon, then Rainbow Dash. I will make my decision then.”
“I understand,” said Twilight as the two disengaged their hug, and stood.
“Come, let us make our way to the hospital.”
“Of course Princess.” The two made their way to the door, before Twilight spoke up.
“Wait, Princess, there was one thing I forgot to mention!” Celestia turned to face her student.
“And that would be?”
“Well, you see…the thing is…” Twilight scuffled the floor with her hoof nervously. “Anon doesn’t know what Rainbow Dash did. He thinks she saved his life….” Celestia’s expression turned intensely serious as she looked at her student.
“What do you mean?”