"Lieutenant, you may let the next petitioner in," Princess Celestia instructed from across the throne room.
"Yes, ma'am."
Two unicorns made their way through the massive door as it slowly creaked open. One was sapphire blue with a navy blue mane and a two moons of differing sizes as a cutie mark. The other had a light gray coat with a white and violet mane and three small stars on her flank.
"Night Light! Twilight Velvet! How nice to see the two of you," Princess Celestia said happily as the two unicorns approached her throne and bowed. "How have things been going?"
"Everything has been quite well for us recently. We're actually going to Las Pegasus for our second honeymoon in a few weeks," Night Light said as he nuzzled his wife.
"That's great to hear," Celestia beamed. "I always love hearing that the ponies of Equestria are doing well. So what is it that I can assist you with this wonderful day?"
"Well, Twilight hasn't written in a couple weeks and we were wondering if you might have heard anything from her," Twilight Velvet said to the large alicorn.
"Honestly, I haven't," Princess Celestia replied. "It's kind of odd for her not to contact me a least once a week."
"Likewise," Night Light said, his brow somewhat furrowed. "We were wondering if you had looked into this lack of communication from her yet."
"With her busy schedule as the Princess of Friendship, I'm sure she's just having difficulty finding the time to get letters written to everypony," Celestia said with a touch of nervousness in her voice.
Twilight's parents looked at each other before Velvet spoke up. "Okay, but have you looked into this lack of communication from her yet?"
"I was planning to give it until the end of the week to hear something from her before sending somepony to Ponyville to investigate," Celestia said as a small bead of sweat began to form under her flowing mane. Luckily for the princess it wasn't noticed by Twilight Sparkle's parents.
"Oh thank you so much, Princess Celestia," said Twilight Velvet as she breathed a sigh of relief. "We appreciate this. Have a pleasant day."
"I wish you the same," Celestia replied as the bead of sweat was slowly began making its way down the right side of her face.
"Oh there is one more thing," Night Light said as he turned back around. "I forgot to mention the fact that we just returned from Ponyville and we also know why Twilight hasn't written. Take a look for yourself." Night Light levitated a newspaper out of the saddlebag he was wearing and held it in front of Celestia's face.
The newspaper was a copy of the Foal Free Press and the headline of the main story read:
LOCAL HERO ADMITTED TO MENTAL WARD
Accompanying the headline was a photo of Twilight Sparkle, her mane in shambles and a deranged look on her face.
"You see, Twilight's friend, Applejack, mailed this to us two weeks ago after our last letter from Twilight," Velvet told Celestia as her tone began to shift from pleasant to angry. "We just spent the past week in Ponyville to see if this story was true and to try to find out what the hay happened to send her over the edge."
Celestia began to sweat a little more as she became increasingly nervous.
"Did you know about this?" Night Light asked as his anger slowly began to build.
Celestia thought for a moment before answering. While she had already known about her beloved student being treated for a mental breakdown, whatever her answer was, would definitely affect the relationship with Twilight Sparkle's parents.
"Y-yes," Celestia conceded hesitantly. "I learned about it the day it happened."
Velvet then charged the throne before being grabbed by her husband's magic.
"Y-you... you... how the buck could you do this?" she raged. "She's our daughter! She may be a grown pony but she's still our daughter! Why didn't you have the decency to send us a letter or better yet, bring your cowardly body to our home and tell us yourself?!"
"Easy dear."
"No way! Twilight is in a room with padding on the walls and a ring around her horn so she won't hurt herself. And... and this chickensh-"
"Language dear," Night Light interrupted as he began losing the magical grip on his wife.
"To Tartarus with my language. We've ponied up thousands of bits to her for our baby girl to study under this... this... yellow bellied ruler," Velvet shouted. "And the fact that she knew about this whole incident and didn't tell us is complete bull-"
"Language."
Celestia sat on the floor in front of the angry parents of her most faithful student, waiting for the best time to respond. Between Velvet's rage and the lump in her throat, however, she didn't know if or when that moment would arrive.
"I can't believe you would keep something this important from us," Velvet continued as tears began streaming down her face. "Have you kept this from Shining Armor and Cadence as well? Or are they in on this little conspiracy also?"
Celestia remained silent as the tongue lashing continued. Shining Armor had been present when Twilight had broken down but under orders from the ruler of the sun, he had kept it from his parents. She had hoped that Twilight would be in and out of the hospital before any of the newspapers caught wind of the event.
"Are you just going to sit there on your fat posterior or do you plan on giving us an answer at some point?" Velvet asked as her vision worsened as more tears filled her eyes.
After a couple more minutes of Velvet's tirade, Night Light finally added his two bits worth as Velvet turned to cry into his neck. "So now for the sixty-four thousand bit question. How many times has this happened to our daughter?"
As Celestia's eyes darted back and forth between the unicorns, she swallowed hard and gave her reply.
"Mommy! Daddy! Help me!" shouted Twilight as she ran into the house.
"Twily what's wrong?" Twilight Velvet asked as she wrapped her forelegs around the six-year-old filly.
"I-I was reading my...my science book under my favorite tree and...and..." Twilight cried as her body shook in fear.
Night Light joined his wife in comforting their daughter as her crying continued to increase.
“There it is again!” Twilight shouted. “He won't leave me alone!”
“Sweetheart, there is nopony here besides us,” Velvet reassured. “Shining is at the castle hanging out with Cadence.”
“B-b-but I know I heard a...a stallion's voice call my name,” Twilight insisted. “And it was really, really creepy. Daddy, please call the police to arrest him.”
“Nighty, would you be a dear and see if you can find somepony creeping around outside?” Velvet asked her husband who simply nodded and left the room. “Twily, everything will be okay. Your father is going outside to see he can find anypony.”
Twilight sniffled and buried her face in Velvet’s neck while continuing her fearful sobbing.
“When is Shiny going to be home?” Twilight whimpered.
Velvet gently rubbed her daughter’s back as she answered, “He’s going to be coming home after dinner. Don't worry.”
“Can...can you see if he can come home now?”
Velvet normally wouldn't accept this type of request from either offspring but considering the sheer terror that Twilight had been in minutes earlier, she obliged the request as soon as Night Light returned from outside.
“Thank you, Mommy,” Twilight whispered. “And you too, Daddy.”
A couple hours later, Shining Armor finally returned home. However, he didn't arrive alone.
“I'm so sorry it took this long to get back here, Mom,” Shining said. “Cadence insisted on coming along after Dad told me what happened. So we had to wait for some guards to become available.”
“How is she?” asked Cadence.
“We ended up having to give her one of her anxiety pills to finally get her calmed down,” Velvet replied quietly. “She fell asleep about an hour ago and Night Light laid her down on her bed.”
“Do you mind if I sit in her room with her for a little bit, Mrs. Velvet?”
“Not at all. Whatever happened to her was stressful and seeing either you or Shining, when she wakes up, would probably be a welcome sight,” Velvet answered.
“Where's Dad at?” Shining asked as Cadence made her way to Twilight's room.
“He's talking with Twily’s doctor to see if she may have had some sort of anxiety attack. He should be back soon.”
“I am truly sorry I didn't come home right away, but Cadence insisted on coming and-”
“I understand. I was a lovestruck teenager at one point myself,” Velvet interrupted. “And I'm pretty sure your father understands as well. How about you join Cadence so that you both can be there for her when she wakes up.”
“Sure, Mom,” Shining said, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and then headed toward Twilight’s bedroom to join Cadence.
Two years later…
Twilight sat in the office of Dr. Psych for her weekly visit, her right eye twitching occasionally.
“How was this week, Twilight?” Dr. Psych asked as he sat down on the chair next to her.
Twilight rubbed her hooves together and looked at the artwork on the cherrywood panels covering the wall. It had been a rough week for her and she wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of having to share it.
“It was...okay,” Twilight answered.
“Did anything exciting happen? Like a family vacation or trip to a sporting event?”
After thinking for a moment, she replied, “Well, I met somepony at the library that likes books as much as me.”
“Really? That's great to hear,” Psych said.
“She's my age and we might be getting together at her house this weekend,” Twilight told him.
“That's good that you are making friends other ponies your age,” Psych praised. “How have the other things been?”
“Well, the, uh, other pony...he, um, introduced me to a, um, a friend of his,” Twilight said nervously as her eye twitching began to increase steadily.
“Oh? And when did this happen?”
“HE JUST WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FRIEND!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs. “So stop complaining.”
Dr. Psych took note of both the outburst and the twitching and scribbled a few notes on the parchment in Twilight's file. “What did he say?” Psych whispered.
“He...he got mad that I told you about his friend,” Twilight said quietly. “I forgot that she was supposed to be a secret.”
“Quite alright. I won't ask about his friend. I'm just wondering how you and he are getting along,” Psych said.
“Well...he's been kinda weird the last couple days.”
“Weird?”
“Yeah, it seems like, I don't know, like he doesn't like me anymore. He tells me that stuff that's bad for me is good and stuff that's good for me is bad,” Twilight said as she subconsciously drew circles with her right hoof.
“Okay then,” Dr. Psych said before a brief pause. “Can you tell me what some of those things are?”
“Mostly like cleaning stuff but that can make you really, really sick,” Twilight elaborated.
“Uh huh,” Psych mumbled as he jotted some more notes down on the parchment. “Tell you what, Twilight. I'm going to end our meeting early today so I can talk to your parents. Will that be okay?”
Twilight nodded before giving the psychiatrist a quick hug and trotting out to the waiting room.
“Do you think she will be able to handle the stress if she gets accepted into CSGU, Dr. Psych?” asked Night Light worriedly.
“In her current state, no,” Psych replied flatly. “However, there is a support group for young colts and fillies that have psychological disorders that I recommend that may help.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Velvet said to her husband. “She could make some new friends while she's there.”
“There is one more thing I’d like to recommend. I'm not sure if you will be open to the idea though since we've had this discussion before,” Psych said.
Night Light and Twilight Velvet looked at each other, frowned and then returned their attention to the doctor and shook their heads.
“I'm sorry but we aren't adding to the amount of medication that Twily is already on,” said Night Light.
“While I'm supposed to keep our meetings confidential, I can discuss parts of the meetings with their parents if the patient is an adolescent,” Psych said before letting out a deep sigh and continuing. “Twilight had an episode during our session today.”
“An episode?” Night Light asked.
“Yes, I asked about her ‘friend’ that has been ‘talking’ to her for the last two years and she had a sudden outburst. It was though she was shouting at somepony else that wasn't in the room,” Psych explained as he crossed his hooves on his desk.
“She…she did that?” Velvet asked.
Dr. Psych closed his eyes and slowly nodded.
“How will it affect her ability to perform spells if we agree to try her on this medication?” Night Light asked.
“I'm not going to lie. It may set her abilities back slightly but not enough to keep her out of CSGU,” Psych replied.
Velvet looked at Night Light and asked, “So what do you want to do?”
Twilight Sparkle bounced excitedly around the tall, snow white pony as she walked through the corridors of Canterlot Castle. She had not only passed her entrance exam to Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, became Princess Celestia's personal pupil but she had also gained her cutie mark. It was the perfect day.
"Where are we going, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked eagerly.
The alicorn smiled at the filly's enthusiasm as she knew that she was destined for greatness within the next ten years. As the pair reached the doors to the courtyard, Twilight lit her horn in an attempt to pull the doors open. She tried with all her might for about a minute before giving up.
"How about we try opening the doors the other direction," Celestia said with a light chuckle. Celestia raised her hoof and pushed the oak door open with ease.
Celestia began to walk through the door when Twilight suddenly screamed in panic.
“Twilight?” Celestia said, turning to look at the petrified filly.
“Where am I?” Twilight whimpered.
“SURPRISE!” shouted nearly a hundred ponies as the lights in the room came on.
Twilight stood in the doorway, paralyzed in fear, as she tried to figure out what was going on.
“You a’ight, sugarcube?” Applejack asked as she tried to set a hoof on the unicorn’s back.
Twilight quickly pulled away and darted underneath a table, covering her face with her hooves as the rest of her body quivered in terror.
“Twilight, darling, whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked gently as she poked her head under the table.
“Who… who are you?” Twilight asked as she peeked out from under her hooves.
“It's me, Rarity. I redid your mane a couple hours ago, remember?”
Twilight slowly shook her head as tears began running down her cheeks.
“I don't know any of you. I don't even know where I am. I want my mother, please,” Twilight said as she began crying harder.
Fluttershy slowly crawled under the table and draped her left wing over Twilight's back. “There, there. It's going to be okay. I'll stay here with you while everypony else looks for your mom.” said Fluttershy softly.
Twilight nuzzled up to the yellow pegasus as her crying continued.
“I really think we should end the party now, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said, returning the nuzzle. “There's something really wrong and the whole town being here probably isn't the best idea.”
“Awww, but I worked so hard on this,” Pinkie whined.
“Hate ta say it but she's right, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “This here crowd ain't gonna do any favors in calmin’ th’ girl down.”
So one by one, each of the Ponyville residents began exiting Golden Oaks Library.
‘I just want to go home,’ Twilight thought seconds before another bright light filled her vision.
Once the light that had blinded Twilight dissipated, she found herself inside the ruins of an ancient castle. Still terrified from her ordeal at the surprise party, her fear intensified tenfold upon hearing the evilest laugh anypony could imagine. She looked toward the direction of the laughter and saw a black pony with five light gray stones on the ground in front of her.
“Who are you?!” Twilight screamed in terror. “Where did you bring me?”
“Who am I? You should know, you little foal. You're the one who introduced the entire town to me,” the mare said with a laugh. “I am Nightmare Moon! And I guarantee that you will never see the sun nor Princess Celestia ever again! Mwa ha ha ha ha!”
Twilight, uncertain of what to do, bolted for the nearest pile of rubble that she could hide in. ‘What is she talking about? I never saw her before in my life,’ Twilight thought frantically. ‘I'll do anything so I can go home.’
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” Nightmare Moon taunted. “You can't hide forever.”
“TWILIGHT! WE'RE COMING! HANG ON!” came the sound of Applejack's voice from a nearby stairwell.
‘There's that nice farm pony that I met a few minutes ago. She'll be able to help me,’ Twilight thought as she wiped her tears away.
As Nightmare Moon slowly stalked Twilight, five more ponies entered the chamber, ready to do battle alongside their newest friend. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be found.
“Do you five really think that you can defeat me? I have the Elements Of Harmony in my possession and now…” Nightmare Moon reared back on her hind legs and then forcefully slammed her forehooves to the ground, shattering the orbs. “...they are scrap. The only thing you have to show for your journey is broken stones and a little purple unicorn that's too terrified to show herself.”
“Don't count yer apples b’fore they fall, Missy,” said Applejack. “Fluttershy, you an’ Pinkie find Twilight an’ help calm her down. The rest of us will keep Miss Moon occupied while Y'all work yer magic.”
Just as the group of friends split up, another bright light filled Twilight's vision, blinding her once more.
“Twilight? Are you okay?” Celestia asked as she knelt down in front of the purple filly.
Twilight just stood in front of the doorway, staring off into space in a trance-like state. The only bodily functions that showed, aside from her breathing, were tears that began rolling down her cheeks.
“I don't know any of you. I don't even know where I am. I want my mother, please,” Twilight whispered. “I just want to go home.”
Celestia tilted her head in confusion from Twilight’s actions and what she had said. “Do you really want to return home, Twilight?”
“Who are you?!” Twilight screamed in terror. “Where did you bring me?”
Twilight continued to stand in the doorway, petrified, as her cheeks became darker as more tears flowed down them. It was clear to the princess that something was wrong with the young filly but she couldn't figure out what it was.
“Come with me, Twilight,” Celestia said softly as she levitated the catatonic filly onto her back. “Let's go see Dr. Insight so she can find out what's bothering you.”
As soon as Twilight's hooves touched the princess's back, however, her demeanor changed almost instantly.
“No! Stop hurting my friends! PRINCESS CELESTIA! WHERE ARE YOU? HELP US!” Twilight shrieked as her hallucination continued.
Celestia stopped walking and turned her head to face Twilight. She had to act fast to help her apprentice before it became too late. She looked around and noticed one of the castle guards standing watch over Princess Luna’s bedchambers.
“Centurion!” she shouted to get the other pony's attention.
“Yes, Your Highness?” he replied.
“Find Cadet Shining Armor and bring him the emergency ward. I also want you to have Dr. Insight meet us there,” Celestia commanded.
“Right away, princess!”
“Please, Princess Celestia,” Twilight begged. “We need your help before Nightmare Moon takes over Equestria. Where are you?”
“I'm right here, Twilight,” Celestia said calmly as she began a brisk walk toward the castle emergency ward. “There is nothing to be afraid of. I promise.”
“Cadet Shining Armor, reporting as ordered, Your Highness.”
“Cadet, I need your help, however, what you see stays between you, me and the doctor. Is that understood?” Celestia told him.
“Yes, ma'am,” Shining Armor answered.
Celestia looked him directly in the eyes and warned him, “If what you see is disclosed to anyone, including your parents, you will be dishonorably discharged for insubordination and imprisoned in the stockade.”
“Understood, Princess.”
Princess Celestia then lead Shining Armor to the room where his sister was continuing to experience a terror-inducing hallucination.
“How… how long has she been like this?” Shining asked with a look of shock on his face.
“About twenty minutes. Has this ever happened before?” Celestia inquired.
“She, um, used to hear voices until her psychiatrist prescribed her some antipsychotic medication last year,” he replied as he approached his sister. “She’s never had any type of premonition or hallucination before, though.”
“This is your last warning! Leave me and my friends alone!” Twilight shouted as a bright pink glow began to surround her horn.
Celestia realized what was about to happen and quickly erected a shield in front of herself and the young cadet.
Twilight aimed her horn in the direction of her brother and discharged the energy that had built up. A powerful beam of magic left the filly’s horn and hit the shield, causing the entire room to shake. The beam lasted approximately fifteen seconds long and when it finished discharging, Twilight collapsed onto the bed she was standing on.
“Are you okay, Twily?” Shining softly asked as he cautiously approached his sister.
It had been almost three years since Twilight’s hallucination that caused her to be admitted to the children's psychiatric ward of Canterlot General Hospital for over a week. Now twelve years old, she would have an occasional flare-up every now and then with the voice that talked to her before she got her cutie mark but nothing beyond that.
That is until Twilight met her.
She had been out in the castle gardens playing with her friend Lyra Heartstrings, whom she met in one of her therapy groups when an older filly approached them. Lyra excused herself from Twilight’s presence momentarily to greet the other pony. After a few minutes, they both returned to join Twilight. The older pony extended her right hoof as Lyra introduced her.
“Twilight, I'd like you to meet my tutor, Sunset Shimmer,” Lyra said with a bright smile on her face.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Twilight. Lyra’s told me a lot of good things about you,” Sunset said.
Sunset Shimmer? Why does that name sound familiar? Twilight thought as she cautiously extended her hoof. “Likewise.”
The instant the two ponies’ hooves made contact, everything changed. Visions of the pony standing in front of her filled her mind. The sights and sounds were so vivid that it was like Twilight was present in those visions.
One vision showed Sunset chasing a crown through a mirror. Another vision showed Sunset bullying some terrified creature. A final vision had Sunset transforming into some sort of demon and throwing a fireball at her.
Twilight then quickly pulled her hoof away and fired a powerful magic beam at Sunset, aimed directly at the orange pony’s heart. Sunset went flying backward into a tree, knocking her out.
“Sunset!” Lyra shouted as she bolted to her tutor. “Are you okay?” She stopped between them so that Twilight couldn't hit Sunset with another blast of magic, turned her attention to Twilight and angrily yelled, “Twilight, what in Equestria did you do that for?”
“Lyra, she's not a pony. She's one of those human things you're always rambling about in our group sessions. She bullies other humans and can transform into a demon,” Twilight argued. “She's dangerous and you need to get the royal guard.”
“No! She's been my friend long before you,” Lyra said. “I don't trust you not to harm her any more than you already have if I leave. If you want the Royal Guard, you go get them.”
A soft groan came from Sunset as Lyra continued to guard her.
“Twilight, I think it's time for you to leave. I'm not even sure I want to be friends with you anymore,” Lyra continued to chastise as tears began filling her eyes.
“But-”
“No buts. Just go. Now,” Lyra interrupted.
Twilight took a long look at the two ponies by the tree then slowly turned and walked away. Why won't Lyra believe me? I saw what that Sunset pony did when she touched my hoof. Tears began filling her eyes as the reality sunk in that instead of gaining a friend her condition caused her to lose one.
[Three Days Later
There was a light knock on Twilight’s dorm room door, startling her.
“BE RIGHT THERE!” she called before turning her attention to an empty space in the bedroom. “I'll be back. It's probably one of my classmates wanting help with their homework… I know I can't help them because of what I did… okay but just hang tight. I promise that I'll be back as soon as possible.”
Twilight slowly walked to the main door, capturing a book in her magic, ready to defend herself if the pony behind the door decided to attack her. After all, she came close to unintentionally killing another pony just days earlier so why wouldn't anypony want to return the favor. She turned the door handle and peeked through the small space between the door and doorframe.
“Shiny!” she shouted as she flung the door wide open.
“Hi, Twily. What's with the book?” Shining Armor said as his sister let him in.
A sheepish smile appeared on Twilight’s face. “Oh, that?” She set the book back on the desk where she got it from. “I thought somepony was here to hurt me and I picked it up to defend myself.”
Shining placed a hoof between his eyes and shook his head. He let out a heavy sigh before addressing his sister. “Look, Twily. I'm not here on a social call. I heard about what happened between you and Princess Celestia’s other protegé and this is the first chance I got to talk to you.”
Twilight looked down at the floor in shame as her brother continued. “Twily, this is serious. They're going to be giving you an exam tomorrow.” Twilight’s ears perked up momentarily. “Not that kind of exam. Dr. Insight is giving you a psychiatric exam that your previous psychiatrist should've done years ago.”
“Can you wait here a minute, Shiny?” Twilight asked before trotting to her bedroom. Shining heard his sister mumbling something but couldn't make out the exact details of what she was saying.
“Everything okay?” Shining asked when Twilight returned.
“Yeah. I just remembered something that I needed to take care of,” Twilight said nervously.
Shining pulled his sister’s chin up to look her in the eyes. “Have you been taking your medicine?” The look in the younger unicorn’s eyes was clear. “Twily, you've got to remember to take them.”
“I… I'm sorry, Shiny. It's just… I get so caught up in my studies that I sometimes forget,” Twilight apologized.
Shining released her chin. “Did you take them the other day when you had your episode?”
Twilight nodded.
“Twily, do you remember what happened the other day?”
Twilight rubbed her left foreleg with her right hoof nervously. “I… I remember playing with Lyra. Then the older pony joined us. She reached out to shake hooves with me and I did the same. And then… I… I don't remember. The next thing I knew, I was crying and walking away from Lyra and her friend, who was knocked out.” She paused a moment as panic began to grip her. “Shiny, do mom and dad know about this?”
“No, they don't. And they won't know.”
“Why not?”
Shining took a deep breath and spilled the beans. “Because I am under orders by Princess Celestia herself to keep any instances of your episodes from mom and dad.”
“What happens if you tell them?”
“I get dishonorably discharged and imprisoned indefinitely for insubordination.”
Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth in thought before what her brother said clicked in her mind. “So we're part of a consistency?”
“Conspiracy,” Shining corrected. “And yes, we are. For whatever reason, we are involved in one.”
"So...anything else happen while we left our daughter in your care?" Twilight Velvet asked as Night Light continued to hold her back with his magic.
By now Celestia's face was covered by a nervous sweat. The lump in her throat had grown exponentially as she told Twilight Sparkle's parents about some of the events that had taken place. "We, well, Dr. Insight managed to diagnose some of her conditions," Celestia managed to get out.
"Wait! Conditions?" asked Night Light. "You told us years ago that she had a social anxiety disorder. Now you're telling us that there's more?"
A nervous chuckle escaped the alicorn's mouth as she nodded her head. "They're not too bad."
Velvet looked at her husband before responding. "Not too bad? By whose definition?" she deadpanned.
Celestia began drawing circles with her right front hoof on the floor; which did not go unnoticed by the ponies in front of her.
A fire raged in Velvet's eyes as she shouted, "I want to know what in Tartarus did you two found wrong with my little filly!"
"Dr. Insight has diagnosed schizophrenia-"
"We already knew about that one," interrupted Night Light.
"Yes, um, he also found signs of dementia, multiple personality disorder, social anxiety, and catatonia," Celestia sighed.
"Catatonia?" Velvet asked; still seething.
"It's what causes her to become frozen in place while she hallucinates," clarified Celestia.
"So you're telling us that you sent our daughter - who should have been institutionalized - to Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration?" asked Night Light. "And then left her there after the fact?"
Celestia swallowed hard and slowly nodded her head. In response, Night Light and Velvet both shook their heads in disbelief.
"What were you thinking?" Velvet asked.
"Well, she had expressed interest in visiting other parts of Equestria and she hadn't had any episodes in nearly two years. So I asked her if she was interested in taking charge of the Summer Sun Celebration. When she said yes, both Twilight and I cleared it with Dr. Insight and sent a copy of her records to the psychiatrist in Ponyville," Celestia explained. "I go to Ponyville to check in on her on a weekly basis to make sure she is doing okay. The doctor there has assured me that she had been showing up for her weekly sessions."
"That's all well and good, Princess," began Night Light, "but why were the letters that we received from her addressed from Canterlot?"
Celestia let out another nervous chuckle at his question.
"She mailed them to you and then you switched envelopes, didn't you?" asked Velvet.
"Sort of. She mailed them to me in an envelope that had the envelope addressed to you inside," Celestia said.
Twilight's parents just sighed and shook their heads. The fact that their daughter had been part of a conspiracy to keep her condition hidden from them was beyond belief. Velvet and Night Light whispered to each other back and forth as the snow-white alicorn looked on.
After a few minutes of hushed discussions, Night Light finally spoke up. "What about Shining Armor? Does he know about all this foolishness?"
Another bead of sweat rolled down the right side of her head as she debated whether or not to tell the truth.
