Denounced

Being the student of Princess Celestia itself had its perks; a direct line of communication being, by far, one of the most useful. Having been picked up by a sky-cart flown by the fastest pegasi in the royal guard, Twilight was now galloping through the castle on her way to the throne room.

Still her mind raced on as she ran, unable to rest or relent. A thousand thoughts flashed through her head each second, and every single one of them pointless without action. What she needed right now was straight ahead and through the enormous doors.

Charging up her magic as she ran, the doors easily slid open, allowing her passage into the throne room. Not a single guard was present within the enormous place. In fact, there was only one other pony occupying the room. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, watching her fuming student rushing straight towards her.

Once within speaking distance, Twilight abruptly stopped and inhaled deeply. “Where is she?! Did they arrive yet?!”

“The court is over, my faithful student.” Celestia spoke calmly and caringly. “The mare is in the dungeons.”

“WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed. Despite her excessive running, she still had plenty of strength left to yell. “But, but I was going to fix it! I was going to help her! I, I could have… How could you just do that?!”

Celestia sat completely still as she watched her student vent all of her anger. The only muscles she moved were the ones used to conjure and warm smile on her lips.

“You can’t just put her in the dungeons! Give her a second chance! Please!”

“Twilight.” Celestia got up from her throne and slowly began moving towards the purple unicorn.

“We, we could have… The Elements! O-Or a spell of some kind! Anything!”

“Twilight.” Celestia spoke not as a ruler in this moment, but as the loving, caring mentor she was. Every step she took dampened the volume of Twilight’s voice, until it was just a unicorn speaking quietly.

“Anything but the dungeons. She doesn’t deserve that.” Although she was not personally affected by the events, Twilight could still feel the tears welling up in her eyes. It became increasingly difficult to keep them back the further Celestia came closer.

“My faithful student,” Celestia said quietly as she came within touching distance of Twilight. “I have never met a more good-hearted pony in all of my years.”

Twilight sniffed once and wiped her eyes before looking at her mentor again. “Why? We could have helped her.”

“Being a ruler isn’t just about parades and shaking hooves with important ponies. Sometimes –“ Celestia sighed heavily “- Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions. And sometimes there’s always a pony who gets hurt, no matter what you do.”

Twilight slumped to the floor, sitting in front of her mentor, listening to every word like a filly in school. Her mind finally slowed down, calmed by the voice of the pony she adored more than anyone.

“I did what was best for everypony.” Before Twilight could interrupt, Celestia continued. “I know that it might not seem like it, but believe me when I say it was for the best.”

“She’s all alone in the dungeons,” Twilight responded quietly. “How is that for the best?”

“I don’t like it any more than you do. But sometimes the best solution isn’t the optimal one. I’d like nothing more than to see every single pony happy. There simply is no way for me to achieve that.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t find the words. She so desperately wanted to say something, anything, yet nothing came to her. The words of her mentor had left her unarmed and unfit to comment any further. Every solution she ran through her head left her with the same answer: somepony would get hurt.

The lavender unicorn sighed and lowered her head. “You’re right… I’m sorry, princess.”

“Twilight.” Celestia lifted the face of her student with a gentle hoof. “There is nothing you should feel sorry for. What you have showed me today, is that you are a pony with remarkable virtue and a desire to help. That is nothing to apologize for.”

Warmth spread slowly within Twilight as she stared into the beautiful eyes of princess Celestia. It was a special, fantastical warmth that only the goddess of the sun could ever invoke in any creature. Like a blanket it slipped over her, comforting her cold and aching mind.

“Sometimes, there is nothing you can do to help, and that is not your fault.”

Sometimes, the world can seem unfair and unjust. When one is a member of the royal guard, however, there is little room for questioning the commands being given. Sometimes, instead of patrolling the beautiful gardens in the lovely weather, one has to stand in a damp and dark room, making sure nobody enters or leaves without permission. Sometimes, life can be cruel.

The guard stared intently at the stone brick wall in front of him. His eyes hadn’t left the spot in any of the three hours he had been standing here already. Looking away for even a second would be detrimental to his job. One wrong thought or move could send him down the path of being branded a traitor.

In all of his many years as a guard, he had never before been given such a terrible assignment. Standing guard in the nearly empty dungeons was nearly torture in itself. The dungeons themselves weren’t so bad, but the one single prisoner within them was worse than a banshee. Her wailing and cries echoed through the room, bouncing off every wall and into his ears.

Three hours had passed, and not a single moment was without the mare voicing her sorrow. Three hours’ worth of heart-breaking cries for her child and pleas to be let out. The guard knew very well what she had done, yet now that he stood here on his own, listening to those soul-shattering sounds, he cared not. Never in his life had he heard or seen anything like it, and he shuddered to imagine what actually being her was like.

On and on she went, crying, screaming, and slamming her hooves against the bars. However she got the strength to keep at it for so long, he had no idea. It almost seemed as if she got stronger with each passing second. Then again, earth ponies were well known for their resilience and strength. Whatever the reason, the guard looked forward to the end of his shift. Nothing was more tempting than to simply open her cell and let her be free. Not for his own sake, but for hers.

Despite being a kind pony, he also knew the repercussions for doing such a thing. However much he wanted to help her, and his entire mind screamed at him to do so, he had a family of his own. They would be waiting at home with dinner ready and stories to tell. His beautiful wife, his loving kids. There was no way he could ever give them up.

The guard spat out the most foul of curses under his breath. He stomped a hoof hard into floor and sighed. There was still a whole hour left to go.

Sometimes, nobody wins.