Princess Celestia, the alicorn ruler of Equestria, was enjoying a cup of tea in her royal garden where the birds sang almost as beautiful as if Fluttershy had directed them. The princess took a sip, skilfully levitating the small porcelain cup with her magic.
Then she heard the sound of quick hoof steps in the gravel. "Please don't bother me with nonsense. Please don't bother me with nonsense...." she whispered for herself, closing her eyes in a vain hope that she somehow would not be seen.
"Princess Celestia?"
She opened her eyes and saw a kneeling pony. It was a little white unicorn mare with some kind of ridiculous wig. Her cutie mark was a hand fan.
"Yes?"
"There is... it seems that... eh... it appears to have... happened some kind of accident involving a book that might have been damaged," she said while scraping with her hoof in the gravel.
"Please continue," said Celestia, her eyes narrowing.
Slowly the princess put her cup down. The unicorn followed it with her gaze until it stood firmly on the table.
"It was a book from the Canterlot Archives... The book that has been damaged is not damaged so much on the inside, as it is on the outside. A good book binder could probably restore it to its former appearance and..."
"And what book might that be?"
"The... Illustrated Incunabulum of Ce... Celestia's Wisdom."
"What?!" Celestia screamed, furiously looking around for an object to throw. "I personally donated that book to the library! Me and Luna wrothe it over a thousand years ago! This will end badly for the pony who did it!"
* * *
Spike knocked on Twilight's door a second time but there was still no answer. Slowly he turned the handle and opened the door. He peered into the room.
"Twilight? Are you there?"
The light was out and books were strewn across the floor. Papers and quills lay scattered on the carpet. There was no sign of the unicorn but the dragon had known her for so long that he could nearly feel her presence. He looked towards Twilight's bed on the landing near the window and noticed a darker shape among the shadows underneath it.
"Twilight... are you hiding under your bed?"
Slowly the lavender unicorn emerged, her mane ruffled and her eyes sad.
"Twilight, you can't hide in your room for all eternity. I have a letter to you from princess Celestia..."
With a gasp she crawled back under the bed, like a frightened tortoise retreating into its shell.
After a while Spike's patience had reached its limit and he just tossed the letter to her under the bed.
"Here you go. You can read it for yourself," he said.
Twilight's horn glowed in the dark as she red the letter.
"T. Sparkle.
I have summoned you to Canterlot Castle for a meeting tomorrow morning. Report your presence to the guard at arrival.
Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia, Alicorn Ruler of Equestria and Protector of the Crystal Empire, Goddess of the Sun, Divine Ruler of Ponykind, Domina et Dea, Guardian of Life Eternal."
That was all. No mention of the book or anything that would give her the slightest clue about the princess's mood except for the shortness of the text that somehow conveyed the impression of a very displeased princess. Twilight's heart jumped in her chest and her hooves felt shaky.
* * *
The same evening Twilight stepped aboard the Friendship Express. Her bags were packed with books, parchment and quills. A cold autumn wind played with her dark blue mane.
"Back to Canterlot already, Miss Sparkle?" the conductor asked.
"Yes... I have been summoned by princess Celestia," said the unicorn.
During the entire journey Twilight carried a vain hope that the train would somehow get delayed or misdirected to a far away corner of the realm. What would Celestia do? She could easily banish Twilight or put her back in magic kindergarten! Or maybe throw her in jail! She knew that she had caused damage to a valuable historical book in a way that was unacceptable for any pony, and the fact that she was a trained librarian only made it worse.
Then she came up with a desperate plan.
When the Friendship Express arrived at the Canterlot Station, glittering in the golden rays of dawn, there was no sign of Twilight at all. She wasn't on the train anymore.
Instead she was sleeping on a bench in a small station somewhere on the line, hiding from Celestia's wrath. The unicorn had used her bags as a pillow and borrowed an empty post sack to use as a blanket. The wooden bench was hard and she could just barely sleep due to the flickering light coming from a single light bulb in the ceiling. A tired, old station pony watched her from the ticket hatch across the room as the hours passed.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" he asked after a while.
"No, I'm just waiting for the train..." Twilight said.
"Which train?"
"The train to... to... Vanhoover!"
"Then you'll have to wait for a long time because that train just left the station."
"Excellent!"
The station pony gave her a stern look.
"Keep in mind that this train station is not a hotel or a homeless shelter. You can't live here, do you understand?"
"Yes, I'll leave as soon as my train arrives. I promise," Twilight lied.
"You'd better do. A week ago a blue unicorn was arrested by the railway police and thrown in the lockup for loitering. She claimed to be some kind of magician or something."
When the station pony had left Twilight realized that she could not possibly afford the ticket to Vanhoover with the few bits left in her bags. And what if the princess would put up wanted posters all over Equestria? In her imagination she could clearly see her being dragged away in hoofcuffs by Celestia's royal guards. Twilight leapt from the bench and started to pace around in circles. Small pearls of sweat emerged on her forehead.
"Oh, think think think!" she whispered.
Twilight knew that the only right option was to accept the blame and continue her journey to face Celestia. With dignity she should accept every punishment that the princess could sentence her to... But she didn't dare! What if Celestia would be furious and come at her, screaming with anger? What if she would banish her from Equestria forever? It was a possibility she had to take into account. Twilight feared it so much that she forgot all other possible outcomes. She would be banished from Equestria! And then she'll have to walk away alone, with nopony there to help her and to keep her company in the wilderness were she would desperately search for food until the cruel winter would seal her fate... The thought brought her to tears.
Then she got an idea! What if she'd come up with some clever disguise and a fake name? Then nopony would ever recognize her and she could continue to live In Equestria as if nothing had happened. That was truly a brilliant idea!
Exited, in a way that only a very desperate pony could be, she rushed to the public restroom and tied the old post sack around her neck like a cape and made a fake beard out of toilet paper. (ponies didn't use toilets but they still had toilet paper to blow their muzzels when they had a cold)
She looked at herself in the mirror and felt very proud of her ingenious disguise! She resembled an old wizard...
"I'm not Twilight Sparkle, I'm Twidalf the Grey," she said in a dark, fake voice.
When she left the restroom the station pony, who now was sweeping the floor with a broom, looked at her in bewilderment.
"What in all of Equestria are you doing? And why are you still here? The train headed for Vanhoover will arrive in any minute."
"I beg your pardon, dear sir! For I just arrived to this far and exotic location from a far away land."
"No, you have been here for a couple of hours already. And what is the toilet paper doing on your face? Have you a nosebleed?"
"It is my beard! And I am a powerful wizard!"
"Oh, no! Not another one..." the station pony sighed, hiding his face in his hoof. "I'll get the railway police right away."