The fillies balked at the castle door.

"I changed my mind. I wanna run!" Scootaloo said in terror.

"Ah agree!"

"So do I!"

"Now, girls." Fluttershy gently placed her wings around them and nuzzled them. "You know this is the right thing to do. But we'll stay here outside until you're ready."

The fillies took deep breaths, willing themselves not to bolt. Finally they nodded. Fluttershy opened the door and gently nudged them ahead of her, towards the library. Where there were voices. The noise stopped when the four entered. The Crusaders looked up, and then nearly screamed.

It made sense that all the Elements would be present. They expected that. And Spike. But what they did not expect was the regal white alicorn standing by the table. Not at all.

A nudge from Fluttershy jerked them out of thier shock. They slowly stepped forward.

"Girls? You ok?" Twilight asked.

"Ya'll don't look too good." Applejack observed, frowning.

"Darling, you look positivey ready to faint." Rarity said, eyes on Sweetie Belle, who did indeed look ready to faint.

"What's the trouble, Scoots?" Dash asked.

For a long moment, the three stood silent and still. Then, with a shriek, they flung themselves at Twilight's hooves, bursting into tears.

"It was us! We did it!" Scootaloo wailed.

"We disobeyed an' snuck into the experiment room!" Apple Bloom wept out.

"And we...we tried stuff and it all went wrong..." sobbed Sweetie Belle.

Twilight and the others looked utterly lost.

"What in Equestria are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

Drawing a breath, the fillies yelled in unison,"WE CREATED THE MONSTER THAT WRECKED PONYVILLE!!!"

Six pairs of eyes went impossibly wide. Six mouths fell open.

"What...how...when....you....WHAT??!" Twilight finally shouted.

"We're sorry!" Sobbed Sweetie Belle, while the other two couldn't talk at all.

"Wow." Spike muttered. "Just...wow."

As the Crusaders continued to cry uncontrollably at her hooves, Twilight looked at Fluttershy.

"Can you decipher this?" She asked.

"They came to me." Fluttershy said. "They packed up their little saddle bags and came to me. They said they were running and begged me to hide them. They said they did something awful and if you guys found them, you'd kill them. I got them to tell me what happened. Mostly. They created the monster we fought this morning."

Twilight looked down at the fillies, something they said registering. She teleported out with a flash, only to teleport back thirty seconds later. She lifted the fillies in her magic and glared into their eyes.

"My experiment room is a disaster." She said severely. "What. Did. You. Do?"

"Experiments." Scootaloo choked. "We...we didn't mean to make a monster, Twilight, I swear!"

Twilight set them down and scowled. They cowered close to the floor and waited for the wrathful explosion. There was none.

"Let me see if I have this straight." She said. "You three snuck down to the experiment room after I specifically told you not to; you used all sorts of dangerous chemical compounds without the slightest clue of the damage they could do; you created a monster that nearly demolished the town. And then you tried to run away. Did I miss anything?"

"N...no, Twilight." Sweetie Belle whispered.

"I didn't think so." Twilight began to pace. "Now, what do I do with you?"

That question only served to make them flatten their bodied further to the floor. Twilight suddenly straightened.

"I know what I'll do. I think you three need to face more serious consequences than a lecture from me. Considering your actions put Ponyville at risk, and all of Equestria, if we hadn't stopped that thing you created, you can answer to...Princess Celestia!"

The three frightened fillies shrieked as they were lifted in Twilight's magic and plunked down in front of the Sun Princess.

"Twilight, I really don't think..." Dash started, only to be cut off by a sly wink from Twilight.

Princess Celestia, recovering her suprise quickly, gazed down at the Crusaders, eyebrow arching.

The fillies dared to exchange looks, then Scootaloo, gathering what little courage she had, forced herself to meet the princess's stare.

"P..Princess Celstia, I...I..." she faltered, then gulped and tried again. "It w...was all m...my idea, so...so please just...just banish me t...to the m..moon and...and not them."

"No." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom managed to sit up next to their friend, eyes meeting Celestia's.

"It was all our faults." Sweetie Belle said. "We all chose to disobey Twilight, and we all chose to mess with her stuff. The monster was a result. If you're gonna banish one of us, then you're gonna have to banish all of us. And...and we kinda deserve it..."

"Yeah." Apple Bloom said miserably. "Wish we'd never had such a stupid idea."

Princess Celestia took a breath and flared her wings impressively.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders." She spoke firmly, and their ears pinned back. "What you did was very dangerous. You put the lives of everypony at stake, including your own. That cannot be left unpunished."

"Well, goodbye, girls." Scootaloo said sadly. "Guess I'll see you on the moon."

"That's not what I have in mind." Celestia said. "I think you should help your sisters and their friends fix up the town. I'll leave it up to your sisters to deal with you beyond that."

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom looked at their older siblings, who glared back intensely.

"You sure you can't just blast us to the moon?" Scootaloo asked. "Might be less dangerous."

Celestia chuckled. "No." She smiled around the room. "Since things are good here, I'll go."

She left the room. Twilight looked at the fillies.

"You and I," she said, eyes narrowing,"are going to have a chat." Her magic caught up the mane brush Rarity had used that morning. "And you are not going to like it."

The fillies gulped. They didn't like where this was headed!

"Hey, Twilight?" Applejack spoke up. "Ah am gonna take A. B. home, and Ah give ya my word she won't do this again."

"The same goes for Sweetie." Rarity said.

"And Scootaloo." Dash added.

Twilight turned. "Can I see you three in the hall?"

They followed while Fluttershy sat next to the Crusaders.

"Feel better?" She asked.

"Not really." Scootaloo said, eyes wide. "Twilight wants to tan our flanks! I mean, not that we don't deserve it, but man!"

"Yeah, well, our sisters are going to tan us anyway." Sweetie Belle said dismally.

Apple Bloom just sighed. A moment later, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Dash reappeared. Twilight still had the mane brush in her magical hold.

"We reached an agreement." She said. "You're each going to get three swats from me for disobeying when I said do not go into my experiment room."

"We didn't agree!" Scootaloo protested as Twilight sat down on a chair and motioned.

"Just stop arguin', Scootaloo, an' do like she says." Apple Bloom said, sighing in resignation as she started forward.

"Where are you going??" Scootaloo gasped.

Apple Bloom paused and looked back at her.

"Ah'm goin' to take my punishment." She said. "Ah ain't gonna argue when Ah know I got it comin'."

She trotted to Twilight and leaned over her lap without being told, shutting her eyes.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Ow!" Apple Bloom yelped on the last one. She stood up. "Ah'm sorry, Twilight."

"I know you are." Twilight hugged her and let her go, and she went to stand by Applejack.

Twilight looked at the other two. Sweetie Belle took a very deep breath and made herself walk to Twilight's side. That was the extent of her courage. Twilight understood and another glow of magic surrounded the trembling filly, lifting her and laying her gently in place on her lap.

Sweetie Belle shut her eyes tightly.

Smack! "Ouch!" Smack! "Ow!" Smack! "Gah!"

The now sniffling filly was hugged and sent to Rarity.

Scootaloo was, of course, last. She stood still, not wanting anything to do with the mane brush Twilight held.

"Scootaloo?" Twilight questioned.

The filly gulped. Why, oh why, did she have to have such stupid ideas and get herself and her friends in trouble! She shook her head.

"Scoots." Dash crossed her forelegs, frowning. "Its only fair that Twilight swat you a couple times. You did disobey her, and mess with her stuff. Now come on. Just get it over with."

"But its painful." Scootaloo said sullenly.

"That's kind of the point, sugarcube." Applejack told her. "So ya think before ya act next time."

"Its ok, Scootaloo." Twilight said. "It'll be quick, I promise."

Scootaloo sighed and finally came.

True to her word, Twilight made the swats land quickly. Scootaloo yelped once. After a big hug, she ran to Dash.

"Now then." Twilight said, facing the fillies. "If you ever, and I mean ever, enter my experiment room without my permission and mess with what's there again, you have my word that you'll get the full treatment with that brush. And I know for a fact your sisters won't mind. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." The fliies replied.

"Good." Twilight stretched. "I'm sure they still want a few words with you about your actions."

The three fillies found themselves in their sisters' grasps.

"Oh, there will be more than words." Rarity said.

"Eeyup. Alot more." Applejack stated.

"What they said." Dash added.

As the Crusaders were carried from the castle, they shared looks of dread, the same thought going through each of their minds.

We're not gonna sit for a week!

Author's Note

Alright. I intended this to be a final chapter, but I kinda ended it in a way that an additional chapter could be added later. If anyone wants an epiloque type chapter where we see each of the fillies get their punishments from their sisters, lemme know. I can write one.