The Morning After

Twilight shifted uncomfortably, half-asleep, as her mind swam toward consciousness. Slowly opening one eye, the first thing the unicorn noticed was that she wasn't in her room; a moment later, she became aware of a painful throbbing in her head. "Ugh... where am I?"

"Well Twi, Ah'm afraid we're all in the pokey." At the sound of the familiar drawl, Twilight sat up and glanced around; immediately she regretted the rapid motion as spikes of pain shot through her skull.

"Ooh! The pokey? I love the pony pokey!" The pink earth pony's voice betrayed no hint of the discomfort Twilight was currently feeling. "You put your left hoof in, you put your le-" Pinkie's enthusiasm was cut short by a stern look from Applejack.

"That's not quite what Ah meant; what Ah'm tryin' to say is that we're in jail."

"Jail?! We can't be in jail! Jail is a nasty, dirty place full of terrible ponies that do terrible things." As she spoke, Rarity hopped up from the bench she had been supporting herself on, and began moving around the room while shifting her hooves in a strange dance, apparently unwilling to touch anything in the cramped cell.

"Wait, if we are in jail, we must have done something wrong. Does anypony remember what we did last night?" Twilight glanced around at her friends, wracking her brain for the relevant memories and feeling as though somepony had stuffed her head full of cotton; thick, painful cotton.

"You don't remember?! Oh man, last night was awesome!" Rainbow Dash piped up, beating her wings and hovering around the small space.

"Oh really? What happened?" Twilight struggled to focus on the blue pegasus, but her constant flying wasn't helping.

"Right! So first we...we... uh...huh, that's weird." A confused look passed over Rainbow's face. "I can remember some stuff about last night, but it's one big mess I can't explain."

"Well, it seems perfectly obvious to me that we must have been drinking, Twilight dear." Rarity had finally snapped out of her panic over the cell's conditions, and had turned to face her friends, interrupting Rainbow Dash's attempts at recalling the previous night. "And I believe that makes this cell the drunk tank." The unicorn pronounced the words as though they were foul-tasting.

Twilight nodded, slowly this time. It was certainly true that her symptoms matched those of a textbook hangover, and the idea gave her some small comfort; she had been ready to panic over her missing memories. "Ok, that answers that question. Now does anypony remember why we were drinking?"

"Ooh! I do! I do!" Pinkie bounced on all four hooves, seemingly the only pony among them who wasn't feeling the effects of overindulgence. "It was for a party! We were going to stay up all night and have fun and play games and watch the sun rise in the morning! Today's the Summer Sun Celebration, silly filly!"

Suddenly, Twilight's eyes flew open, and an expression of shock contorted her features. "B-but that means that Celestia...and the sun...and it's already past dawn..." The unicorn felt herself sink down against the bench she was sitting on as tears welled in her eyes.

"Whoa now, sugarcube. What's the problem?" An orange hoof reached out to comfort the weeping unicorn.

Twilight struggled to respond through sobs. "I-I've never m-missed...the C-Cele-celebration before...sh-she'll be s-so disappointed!" Here the unicorn's voice cracked and for a moment she wept quietly, unable to speak. Applejack continued stroking her friend's mane, a concerned look on her face.

"Ya mean the Princess, Twi?" Twilight could only nod as she curled into a tight ball on the bench where she lay. Applejack searched for something comforting to add, but she was preempted when Rarity spoke up.

"Well, that settles it. We are simply going to have to find a way out of this dreadful cell and help Twilight explain things to the Princess." The fashionista's voice was full of conviction as she trotted over to examine the cell door, her horror at the dingy conditions apparently forgotten.

"Oh, but we can't do that!" Fluttershy's voice was soft, but laced with worry.

"Oh yeah? Why can't we?" Rainbow Dash continued hovering, her forehooves crossed in front of her chest defiantly.

"Well...um...it just feels wrong. I-I think maybe we should just wait...you know, if you want to..." The yellow pegasus retreated slightly from the challenge in Dash's eyes.

"You can stay if you want, but I don't feel like sitting around all day in some jail cell. This is a terrible place for a pegasus!" Rainbow Dash grimaced and gestured at the low ceiling and cramped quarters in disgust before drifting over to watch Rarity at work on the door.

Pausing for a moment, the white unicorn turned to her friends. "I don't suppose any of you would have a bobby pin, by chance?"

"Uh, Rarity? Ah don't mean to be rude, but this ain't exactly the time to worry about fixin' your mane."  

Rarity gave her friend a long-suffering look before explaining. "I didn't meant that, darling. I'm going to try to pick the lock, and they're always using bobby pins to do that in stories."

"Ah see." The farmer looked nonplussed. "Have ya ever tried this before?"

Rarity was about to respond when Fluttershy spoke again. "Um...Rarity? I might have one..." The yellow pegasus searched for a moment before producing a bobby pin, apparently still willing to help her friends despite her reservations on escaping.

"Thank you, Fluttershy dear." The unicorn magically plucked up the offered pin and levitated it toward the cell door. As she did so, she addressed herself to Applejack. "I might have practiced a few times. Just because I'm a romantic doesn't mean I always want to be the damsel in distress."

The room went silent for a few long moments as Rarity worked. Her posture was rigid and it was clear that she was using all of her telekinetic finesse in an effort to crack the lock. At the sound of tumblers clicking into place, a tiny smile appeared on the unicorn's face, but it changed into a scowl when the clicks were replaced by a snap.

"I'm afraid the lock is too difficult." Rarity's shoulders slumped as she levitated the broken halves of the pin back into the cell. "I apologize for wasting your bobby pin, Fluttershy."

"Oh no, it's alright. Maybe it's for the best anyway..." The yellow pegasus managed a timid smile.

"Or maybe Applejack can help!" Pinkie bounded eagerly toward her earth pony friend.

"Ah can?" The orange pony's expression was skeptical.

"Sure you can! You're the best applebucker in Equestria! Just give that mean ol' door your super-bestest buck, and it'll have to open!"

Applejack paused for a moment, seeming to think over her friend's suggestion. "Y'know, you might be right, Pinkie." The orange mare stepped closer to the door, positioning herself to deliver a powerful kick with her rear hooves. "Ok girls, watch out, 'cause here goes nothin'!"

Rearing forward, Applejack curled her back legs beneath her and lashed out, hooves slamming into the door hard enough to shake it on its hinges and make the metal ring. Even so, the lock withstood the blow, but the earth pony glanced back for only a moment before winding up for another strike. The second buck was even harder than the first, and the ringing of metal caused most of the ponies in the cell to clamp hooves over their ears.
A quick inspection revealed deep scratches in the metal around the lock, but the cell door remained firmly locked. "Ok girls, I got one more in me, but ya'll better cover your ears; it's gonna be loud." As her friends complied, the farmer gave one last champion applebuck, steel-shod hooves slamming against the door with a deafening clang!...but still the cell door held firm.

"Ah don't think Ah can manage it after all, Pinkie. That door's just too dern strong." Panting, Applejack sank back onto her haunches.

"Man! Now we're gonna be stuck here all day." Dash slowly descended to ground level, glaring at the door that blocked her path as she did so.

"Oh wait! I have another idea! ...except we don't have a pogo stick...or muffins... I guess we really are stuck here." The bubbly pink earth pony finally deflated a bit. "Sorry Twilight; we really wanted to help you."

Pinkie's apology produced murmurs of assent from the other ponies in the cell, but Twilight looked up with a wavering smile showing beneath puffy red eyes. "Really girls, it's ok. Even if I don't remember all the details, we must have done something to wind up here, and because of that I'm sure we deserve our punishment." For a moment, sadness threatened to overtake the unicorn again. "Princess Celestia probably won't be happy to hear about this, but I've learned my lesson and I'm glad I had you all here with me; I don't know what I would have done without you."

Just as Twilight finished speaking, the sound of hooves on stone began echoing down the hallway outside of the cell. Every head turned toward the door as the hooffalls drew closer, some wearing expressions of hope and others of fear. As suddenly as they had started, the noises stopped. Just outside the door the sound of a key turning in the lock was followed by the slow creak of the cell door on its hinges as it opened.

When a white-coated head dipped low to clear the doorframe, Twilight let out a little squeak; all the rest of her friends could only look on in silent shock at the alicorn filling the doorway. Quickly, the ponies in the cell recovered and moved to bow to the Princess. Twilight scrambled to her hooves, but her knees wobbled and as she lowered her head in a bow, the room spun and she nearly tipped over.

When the unicorn recovered and looked up again at her mentor, worry was etched into her features, and the words and apologies she wanted to say refused to come. Fortunately, Twilight didn't need to say anything, because as soon as her eyes met Celestia's, the royal alicorn trotted over and embraced her with a nuzzle and a wing-hug. The princess' smile was kind, and even a little motherly, and in that moment, Twilight knew that the Princess understood and forgave her. It was the happiest she'd felt all morning.