Part 4: Denouement
A stray beam of sunlight landed on Twilight’s eyes, and caused her to squeeze them shut tighter. She felt her warm cozy covers, and relished the feeling in her state of half-sleep.
“Are you awake, my faithful student?” a familiar voice asked in a stern but motherly tone.
Twilight mumbled something and pulled the covers over her head. It took almost a minute before she realized there was only one pony who called her “faithful student.” Her eyes shot open.
“Princess Celestia?!” Twilight threw up her covers and bolted out of bed, to find the Princess herself sitting by her bed.
“What are you doing here,” Twilight quickly added, “your majesty?”
“I wanted to make sure you were safe, my dear Twilight,” the Princess responded.
“Safe… safe from what?”
“Twilight. Do you know what you did?” asked Celestia.
“Princess… is everything okay?” Twilight asked, getting nervous and approaching her mentor.
“What do you remember?” Celestia probed, remaining at hoof’s length.
“I… I was having a nightmare…?” Twilight answered unsurely.
Celestia sighed. “No, my faithful student. It was no nightmare.”
“Then… what happened?”
“You attempted necromancy, and unfortunately… you succeeded.”
“Oh my… I… I…” Twilight stammered.
“You must realize the gravity of what you’ve done,” the Princess said, visually restraining herself. Twilight felt a shiver run down her spine. Celestia wasn’t happy.
“Princess, I’m sorry, please don’t hate me, I-” Twilight started, before being cut off by her mentor.
“Twilight. I am deadly serious.” Twilight’s ears went back as she swallowed hard. She wasn’t going to get off the hook easily this time…
“H-how did you find me? And how did you know to look for me?” a confused and overwhelmed Twilight asked.
“Spike sent me a letter. He heard you leave and saw the book in your room. Realizing what it was, and thinking it was why you were acting strange, he sent me a letter asking for advice. He… believed you were going to attempt necromancy. The moment I was notified, I chose to intervene.”
Twilight was ashamed. She blushed and tried to hide her face, but Celestia caught it and turned her face back to hers.
“You must realize the severity of what you did,” Celestia paused for a moment before continuing, “Luna and I found you in the process of being possessed by… whatever it was you summoned. You… you were almost at the point we could not have saved you very easily.”
Tears welled up in Twilight’s eyes. She knew trying the spell would’ve been a mistake, but her accursed curiosity clouded her judgment.
“I’m sorry… I’m just so sorry…” Twilight sputtered, but the levee broke and she began sobbing.
Celestia let go of Twilight’s face and let her cry her emotions out for a moment. Twilight pulled herself together after a minute or two, and Celestia continued.
“I cannot simply let this matter go. You violated one of the most sacred oaths of Unicornian Magic by dabbling in dangerous and forbidden magics. You knew what you about to do.”
Twilight felt the words of her mother figure hit her like a sledgehammer. Pangs of guilt washed over her as the sobs threatened to return.
“And you did it anyways. I know your curiosity got the better of you, my faithful student, but with such power comes great temptation to use that power for selfish purposes. You must realize this danger and always be on guard for it. I thought you understood this already,” lectured Celestia.
After a breath, she resumed.
“Now, as for your punishment-“
“Please don’t let them take me away!” Twilight cried out, lunging at her mentor and embracing her in the desperate hug of a frightened foal.
“Hush, it’s all right, Twilight,” Celestia cooed as she ran her hoof down her student’s mane.
“I’m so sorry… please don’t hate me,” Twilight choked between sobs.
“Of course I don’t hate you, my faithful student, and of course I forgive you. I understand what it is like...” Celestia held her student close. They embraced each other until Twilight stopped crying.
Twilight stood back up, wiped her face with her hooves, and tried to straighten her unruly mane. Celestia grinned and fixed Twilight’s mane for her. They both smiled, but the Princess quickly returned to a more royal demeanor.
“I sent the book back to the Canterlot Archives where it belongs, safe and out of circulation. I also took the liberty of letting Spike burn your notes. There’ll be no more of this, do you understand me?” asked Celestia in a strict, but loving manner.
Twilight shrank back a little, and hung her head.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now, in regards to your punishment: you will write me a report listing every reason why such magics are forbidden, your royal allowance will be docked for one month, and your privilege of visiting the Royal Canterlot Library unsupervised has been revoked until further notice.”
That last one stung Twilight to the core. Reports she could handle. She had enough bits in her savings to get by for over a month, and Celestia knew this.
The first two “punishments” were for show; something to be put on Twilight’s permanent record to prove she was punished. But the third one Celestia knew would pain her beloved pupil, and that fact broke Celestia’s heart. Hopefully it would be enough to make Twilight understand how dangerous it is to let one’s curiosity out of check.
Twilight sniffled, holding back tears. She knew she lost her mentor’s trust, and as she thought over the events of the past few days, she couldn’t help but weep. She felt like a shamed and scolded foal back in magic kindergarten. Then it dawned on Twilight: she had failed the Princess of Equestria. How could she ever recover from this?
Celestia raised Twilight’s chin up with her hoof, and looked her in the eyes, sensing what Twilight was thinking.
“There is nothing you can do to make me no longer love you, my dearest Twilight. I am deeply disappointed, but I love you no less. I believe you have learned your lesson.”
Twilight nodded. She didn’t really feel any better about it, but she was glad that Celestia had truly forgiven her.
“Thank you,” Twilight offered meekly, but quickly added, “Where is Princess Luna? She helped save me as well, right?”
“My sister returned to Canterlot after you were brought here, to attend to royal matters in my absence. I… didn’t know how long you would be asleep. But I will extend your thanks to her personally. You’re a good pony, Twilight,” added Celestia with a reassuring wink.
A smile crept onto Twilight’s sticky, tear-stained face.
“Now, I must return to my official duties,” said Celestia. “Goodbye, my faithful student.”
“Goodbye, Princess.”
With Celestia gone, Twilight sat in her room and reflected on the past few days. Mistakes were made, and lessons were learned. She was given another chance; one that she did not deserve for her folly. The image of that baleful face would never leave her, and perhaps that was penance enough. That, and her mentor’s trust which she had foolishly lost. Neither of these ghosts would fade for a terribly long time.
Her ears pricked up at the sound of Spike awaking. Twilight shook her head to clear her mind and opened her door. Then she left her room, a sadder and a wiser mare.