Celestia lifted her hoof and knocked. The door looked ordinary. The house looked ordinary.  The small purple filly who opened the door also looked ordinary. "Hello there.  You must be Twilight Sparkle.  I'm Princess Celestia.  May I come in?"

"Did you come to visit Mom and Dad?"

"Actually, I came to visit you."

"You did?" The filly seemed to perk up at that.  "Did you know it's my birthday?"

"I did not, no,"

"It is!  We're going to have ice cream!"

"That sounds nice."

"You can have some too, come on!"

Celestia ducked slightly and stepped inside.  The house was the sort of house that most middle class ponies in Canterlot lived in.  A colt with a white coat and a blue mane sat curled on a cushion on the living room, levitating a book.  He was turned away from Celestia, and he seemed engrossed in what he was reading.

"That's my brother. He was in an accident, so all he does is sit and read now.  It's nice, I know he enjoys reading. Books are wonderful." Twilight beamed at Celestia.

"Yes, they are." She smiled carefully back.

The pair continued into the dining room. A stallion with a blue coat was setting plates out on the table.  "Daddy!  It's my birthday today!" shouted Twilight happily.

"Another birthday?  Do we really..."  The stallion stopped when Twilight scowled at him.  "Of course, it's your birthday.  Ice cream for dinner, right?"

"Right!"

The stallion trotted into the kitchen.  Looking after him, Celestia saw a gray  mare with a purple mane.  She had dark circles under her eyes.  "Honey," said the stallion, "it's Twilight's birthday today.  And we have a guest for dinner."

"...birthday?"  The mare looked up, looking a little dazed.  "Oh, yes, of course.  I'll get out the ice cream."

"Do you have ice cream for dinner often, Twilight?" asked Celestia.

Twilight giggled. "Only on my birthday!"

"I see.  Would you like to show me the rest of your home?"

"Twilight, dearest," broke in her mother, "maybe you could pick out what flavor of ice cream you want, while your father shows the princess around?"

"Okay!"  Twilight bounced a bit on her hooves, apparently delighted.  Celestia noted that the freezer seemed to be entirely full of ice cream.  She walked beside the stallion as he led the way out of the dining room and up a flight of stairs.  Books were piled here and there on the stairs. At the top he paused.

"Princess... please help us.  She's a monster.  She can..."
	
"You shouldn't say that."  The voice behind them was high, but dark with menace.  "Why did you say that?  I don't want you to be my daddy anymore!"  One of the books floated up in front of him, gasped in a magical field that was so strong it was almost white.  It flipped open to an illustration of a dragon breathing fire.  Suddenly the stallion vanished, and the illustration held a pony, twisted with pain, in the fire's path.

"Twilight... please, don't do this."  Her mother's voice was shaky.  "Please.  Bring your father back.  We'll give you ice cream every day, or anything else you want, I promise."

"I'm not bringing him back!  He called me a monster!"

"Twilight, we love you, really we do, but you can't do these things.  Please!"

"I can!  I will!  You'll see!"  Her horn glowed again, and Celestia watched as Twilight's magic turned her mother into a potted plant.  Then the little filly rounded on the towering alicorn.  "Grownups are all the same, they all want to tell me what to do!"  Her horn blazed, and her eyes began to glow.  "I hate it!  I hate everything!  I want it all to go away!"  Her magic raced out, a ring of white fire that left empty space as it expanded.

Twilight and Celestia were left standing alone in a blank nothingness.

"You're going to tell me what to do now, I know you are."

"No." Celestia shook her head.  "I want to teach you what you can do."

"I can do anything."

"Perhaps.  You have a very special gift.  If you learn how to use it, you can make the world a wonderful place, Twilight.  Let me teach you.  I promise I will never simply tell you what to do."

The little filly looked up at the giant alicorn.  For a long time she said nothing.  Then she finally stepped close and leaned against Celestia's legs. 

"Okay," she said, and the world returned.