//------------------------------// // Interlude. An Overdue Reunion // Story: Magic Tutor // by RainbowDoubleDash //------------------------------// Some months ago... As holding cells went, it wasn’t all that unpleasant to Twilight. It wasn’t very large, of course, but there was enough room to stretch out, if she wanted. The provided cot was only a little uncomfortable, and given that it was summer, the thinness of the blanket was actually welcome. The black-and-white bee-striped prison shirt she wore was surprisingly cozy. She even had a window, though it was barred, and only looked out into the constabulary’s courtyard, anyway. The food was terrible, but Twilight had eaten worse. And after the first day, when it had become clear to all police officers present that Twilight was being as cooperative as she could possibly be, were actually rather polite. One of them had even given her a few magazines to read. Of course, it was still a cell. The horn-ring that suppressed her magic wasn’t coming off for any reason, which meant Twilight had needed to remember how to use her hooves and mouth rather than her telekinesis to pick up and move things, something she hadn’t really done since she was a foal. That made meals rather interesting, as well as turning pages on a book, but she had re-learned quickly enough. Too quickly, actually. She had hoped that it would take longer, in order to distract her from what the police sergeant had told her this morning. Poniszawa had telegraphed to Canterlot that a pony claiming to be Twilight Sparkle had been arrested. The central police bureau in Canterlot had sent a courier with Twilight’s files and a picture of her, all of which confirmed that she was, in fact, who she claimed to be. Having done that, they were sending officers to escort her back to Canterlot for trial – and they had also let Twilight’s mother, father, and brother know where she was. They were on their way now to see her. They would see… The warden, an earth pony, approached her cell with keys, and another police officer had manacles. Twilight stood wordlessly, holding out her hooves compliantly as the warden opened her cell, and the officer put the manacles on her front hooves. “Your family is here,” he said. Twilight nodded, having guessed as much. She followed him, head downcast. All she could imagine was the disappointment she’d see. She was a member of the House Starlight, supposed to be the most upstanding noble family in all of Equestria, the viceroys of Latigo, its largest province. She had been a perfect daughter, always minding her manners. Sure, she’d annoyed Shiny sometimes, but that’s what little sisters did. She could remember how proud her father and mother had been when she’d made it into Luna’s Magic Academy. When she’d aced her first year – when she’d taken on additional subjects in her second, third-year subjects – when she’d simply been skipped to the final year. When she’d graduated with a perfect grade-point average, when Luna herself had been there to present her with her diploma, to name her as the brightest mind of her generation. Twilight gasped a little, quietly. They would be so disappointed, so angry…and they had every right. Every right. As she was walked through the constabulary and to the area where she’d get to meet with her family, she could already hear their scorn. And she deserved it. For making them worry, for disappointing them, for ruining her life and their reputations…the viceroy and vicereine of Latigo had a daughter who was a criminal. The Captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard had a little sister who’d nearly destroyed a town. They’d still love her, but they’d never forgive her… Twilight was lead to a pair of double doors, which opened inwards into a broad room full of tables, and with a catwalk overhead for guards, though only one was on duty – Poniszawa was hardly known for its criminal element. There were also a pair of double-doors on the other end of the room, leading out to the ‘public’ part of the police station. The police pony escorting Twilight stopped just inside the door as well. Twilight fidgeted a moment, before taking a few steps forward. She supposed she should simply find a table and wait for the inevitable. She hadn’t gotten very far at all, however, when the opposite double-doors opened, and three unicorns came in. Twilight locked eyes with them. Night Light, her father. Twilight Velvet, her mother. And Shining Armor, her brother. For an eternity, they just stared at each other…and then suddenly the three unicorns were moving, galloping across the room at full speed. Shining and her father were fast, but her mother outpaced them both, was on Twilight in an instant, almost knocking the younger unicorn over as her forelegs wrapped tightly around Twilight in the fiercest hug she’d ever received. “Oh, my filly…” her mother gasped, squeezing even tighter somehow. “Twilight, you’re alright…thank Luna, you’re okay…” Twilight blinked. “M…mom – ” she tried. Her mother released her, only for Shining to pounce on her next, hugging her, giving her a brotherly nuzzle. He wasn’t in his guard uniform, but he was still built like one, much stronger than was typical for unicorns, and Twilight was pretty certain that a few of her bones would crack before too long if he kept the hug up. And then, her father. He had been shifting from one hoof to the next anxiously, and finally the wait was too much and he pushed Shining aside. Shining didn’t begrudged him it as her father grasped Twilight, holding her close, putting a hoof on her head and running it through her mane. He was crying – they all were, and they weren’t doing anything to hide it. “I thought I’d lost you, Twilight…” her father gasped. “I thought I’d never see you again…” he pulled back from her after a long while, looking her in the eye, hooves on her shoulders. Her mother was as well, running a hoof over her neck and withers, and Shining was holding one of her front hooves in both of her own, heedless of the manacles. It was as though they were worried that if they broke contact with her for a second, she’d disappear. She looked to her family. “Y…you’re not mad…?” she asked. Her mother let out a slight laugh through her tears. “Twilight, I’m furious at what you did, what you put me and your father and brother through,” she said. She reached up a hoof and brushed an errant strand of Twilight’s mane from her eyes. “But…but that doesn’t matter right now.” “You’re safe,” her father said. “You’re safe now, that’s all that’s important.” Twilight looked between the three of them again…and after a moment, she felt something inside of her break. But it was something that needed to break. She lasted only a moment more, before she felt the tears in her eyes swell up, and nothing was going to stop them. She leaned forward, into her mother and father as they embraced her again. She struggled with her manacles for a few moments, they prevented her from hugging them. She settled on nuzzles instead, her tears disappearing into their manes and coats but being replaced in no time. “I…I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” she cried. “I…I don’t know what I was thinking, I shouldn’t have run, shouldn’t have…I’m sorry!” Twilight didn’t know how long she stood there, crying into her mother’s and father’s coats. She didn’t care. Shining Armor was there beside her, one hoof over her withers, rubbing her back as she let all the pain and misery and regret of the past few months just come pouring out. “We’ll…we’ll work to try and make things as good as possible,” her father said at length, when Twilight’s tears finally began to subside. He forced a smile. “We’ll hire the best team of lawyers in Equestria. We can get public support. Princess Luna herself said – ” Twilight, however, shook her head. “N-no,” Twilight said, waving a hoof – both hooves, actually, thanks to the manacles. “Dad, I’m…I’m going to plead guilty to my charges. To everything. I don’t need lawyers.” Her mother’s hoof, on her neck, tensed. “Twilight…” she said, “you were…you have some serious charges against you.” Twilight shook her head. “And I’m guilty. I’m completely guilty. We shouldn’t waste money.” “Even if you plead guilty, there’s deals to be worked out,” her father said. “Plea bargains, to reduce charges, or…and, Twilight, you really shouldn’t plead guilty. It should be nolo contendere. Lawyers are better at this sort of thing – ” “No,” Twilight said firmly, looking her father in the eyes. “No. I’m not running anymore. I’m not hiding anymore…not from anything. I’m admitting to what I did. I broke into restricted sections of libraries. I taught myself forbidden magic. I used it to bring a dangerous creature into a town. And then I ran. I’m guilty. I’m going to accept the consequences. I’m going to pay my debt to society, however long that takes.” Her father looked her over, staring at her, mouth hanging open a little. After a moment, he looked down, closing his eyes. “I…I see,” he said. “I…I don’t know if that makes me proud of you, or if that seems foolish. Both, I think.” Twilight chuckled humorlessly, nuzzling her father again, then her mother, then her brother. Her mother had fresh tears in her eyes, and hugged Twilight closely. “Let’s…” she said, as she guided Twilight over to a table, sitting down at it. Her father and brother followed. “Let’s use this time while we can, then. To catch up.” Twilight nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Um…s-so…anything interesting the past few months? Family events?” The three of them were silent for a moment, before her father suddenly let out a laugh – a real one, that startled Twilight. Her father grinned slightly, glancing at Shining. “Well,” he said, “your brother may have a marefriend in Cavallia, if that letter he was trying to write meant anything…” Shining Armor did something he didn’t do often – he blushed. “Dad…!” He groaned, glancing around nervously. Twilight couldn’t stop herself from giggling. She couldn’t forget what lay ahead, or what she had done, but she could push it aside for the moment, and just focus on her family. “Really?” she asked. “Anypony I’ve heard of?”