Guilty as Charged - Epilogues

Then Celestia delivers her judgment.

The last inches of the scroll closed with a final-sounding rustle of parchment, and Celestia peered over it at her student with an unreadable expression. Twilight shifted nervously in her seat, ears pinning uncertainly.

"Do you... do you like it? Never mind, that's a stupid question. Of course you don't. It's a terrible story, terrible things happen, you probably think I'm a terrible pony for writing it..."

"Twilight." The mare's babbling halted as soon as her mentor spoke. "Walk with me."

Celestia stood from her place, and Twilight followed her lead silently. They exited the private library and turned west, down one of the multitude of hallways that crisscrossed Canterlot Castle. It was empty except for them and the occasional guard.

"You were very brave to show that to me."

Twilight studied her hooves. "It... seemed like the right thing to do."

"It was. And so was writing it in the first place."

"It... was?" Twilight looked up in surprise. Her mentor's expression was serious, but not disapproving. In fact, there might have even been a hint of pride... no, surely that was only her imagination.

"It was," Celestia confirmed. "Although I would recommend against trying to publish it." A wry smile crossed her features briefly. "Other ponies would certainly get the wrong idea."

Twilight laughed nervously. "O-of course."

Celestia paused, inspecting her student for a moment, then brushed a reassuring wing over the young mare's back before she resumed her walk. "Everypony has great darkness in their heart, Twilight. You are not alone in that. Even I have desires that I must never act on. It's simply a part of equine nature."

Twilight looked up, searching her mentor's face for any sign that she was joking. Surely, she must have been joking. "No you don't," she asserted, but it was more question than statement.

Celestia just smiled sadly. "Of course I do, Twilight. If I am a good pony, it is because I don't act on them, not because they aren't there."

"You're a good pony." Twilight was certain of that, and her voice reflected her conviction. Celestia laughed and leaned down to nuzzle her affectionately.

"I am. And so are you. No, Twilight, don't argue, you really are. But the darkness in the heart of even the purest pony can fester if left unchecked. And do you know what one of the best ways to put reins to that darkness is?"

The question was obviously rhetorical. Twilight shook her head silently.

"Writing. By letting our imagination run free, we expose feelings that we have been hiding even from ourselves. We may find ourselves confessing, through the mouth of another pony, to thoughts and desires we didn't even realize we had."

They stepped through a grand glass door that opened onto a west-facing balcony and came to a stop. Above them, the sun was just beginning to set. Celestia met her student's eyes, and Twilight stared back raptly.

"The story you wrote wasn't about me," Celestia continued. "Nor was it about Joe, for that matter. It was about you."

Twilight confirmed it with a quiet nod.

"And it's not about me taking you as my lover."

Twilight shook her head quickly. "I know you wouldn't really--"

"I know you do. But the point wasn't whether I would."

Celestia paused, and Twilight knew that she was being prompted. It was a another test, like almost everything Celestia did was, in its own way. "The point was... that you could," she ventured, and she knew that it was true as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Precisely. Because what you wrote is true; I have great power over you. If I wanted that of you, I could take it, and you would do nothing to stop me." Celestia leaned in closer, and the light of the setting sun shifted, casting one side of her face into shadow. Twilight stepped back, suddenly nervous.

"Y-yes..."

"And maybe you thought to yourself, 'What if she did want it?' " Celestia's face grew closer, the ruddy light eclipsing her features. "Maybe you thought, 'What if she took it? What would I do? What could I do?' And you though maybe, just maybe... you wouldn't... mind."

Twilight realized that their muzzles were almost touching. Suddenly, her story, her innocent little story about something that surely couldn't really happen, flashed through her mind, and her eyes widened in horror. She froze, unable to move to escape the monster that had somehow replaced her beautiful, gentle teacher. Celestia pursed her lips, and another emotion lurked just beneath the surface of her expression, fighting to escape. Then...

"Boo."

Horror turned to surprise, then to confusion. Twilight fell back onto her haunches and stared at her teacher as that hidden emotion bubbled to the surface and burst forth, erasing the shadows and chasing away all traces of seriousness on the older mare's face.

It was laughter. Bright and cheerful, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, Celestia was laughing. Soon Twilight joined in, first with an embarrassed chuckle, but quickly moving on into full-fledged mirth. It hadn't even been that funny, but the relief, the feeling of sudden lightness as her fears and worries were washed away, were more than enough to send her into fits of laughter, finally leaning against her mentor's side for support.

Eventually the laughter became giggles, then chuckles, and then it faded into a comfortable silence between the two. In that silence, Celestia laid a wing over the unicorn beside her, pulling her against her side and smiling gently at her.

"You are stronger than you think, Twilight Sparkle," she said. "By writing your fears, and daring to bring them to light by showing them to me, you've dealt them a blow from which they will never recover."

Twilight smiled up at her. "I do love you, you know, Princess."

Celestia returned the smile. "I know. I love you too, Twilight. And one day, when you have become more than my student, when we stand together not as teacher and pupil but as equals, I hope that love will blossom into friendship as well. And then who can truly say what it might become, if we find that we both want it to? But for now..."

Twilight knew it was another of Celestia's little tests, in that gentle way of hers. But she had no need to pause to give this one thought, because the answer was written in joyful lettering across her heart. "For now, you're my beloved mentor and I'm your faithful student. And that's the most wonderful thing there is."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, my faithful student."

And so they laughed, and lay together on the balcony, the little purple unicorn nestled against her princess's side under her great white wing, and watched the sun set as beloved mentor and faithful student.

And it was the most wonderful thing there was.