Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

A/N: This is the first MLP fanfic I am posting on the site, but it is not the first I have written. It is darker than most, but it is not and will not be the darkest. If you don't like this particular story by me, do not use it to judge my stories as a whole. I am quite diverse in subject matter and tone. There will be lighter stories to come, mostly Fluttercord however since they are my OTP.

Anyway, read and enjoy and let me know if anything confuses you so that I may clarify it.

The fog that had descended upon the crew of the Leona congealed around Twilight's disheveled mane as the ferry trudgeumd across the loch. She had long since given up the fight against her restraints - magical and otherwise - and was coming to terms with the fate awaiting her beyond this eternal mist.

Finally the island came into view. Trees like charred pikes jabbed the fog, spilling its guts into thinner wisps than its water-hovering brethren. Twilight's eyes followed a cobblestone path up to the reason she'd been sent here. A wall of mottled gray-black towered over the scorched earth, its obsidian eyes hungry for a fresh soul. Twilight shrank back against the bottom of the boat, but the oarsman struck her with an unintelligible yell.

A moment later, the hull of the ferry breached land, and Twilight was thrown onto shore.

"Ow!" she protested, rubbing her horn, "You don't have to be so rough."

"Twilight Sparkle, I presume."

Craning her neck, the pony followed the greeting up a long, slender body and to the face of what she could only describe as Frankensteinian. "Who are you?"

The mismatched beast bowed, keeping his face out of reach. "Dr. Discord, the local physician, so to speak. I will show you to your quarters after a quick once-over."

Twilight stepped lightly around the doctor. "Okay, but it may take me a while to follow you in these restraints."

"Nonsense." Dr. Discord snapped his fingers, and Twilight's bindings vanished that instant. He smirked as the pony studied her hooves in astonishment. "Best be going now. We don't want to keep the warden waiting."

At his words, Twilight put her hooves down and trotted along after him. "So what are you, if you don't mind me asking."

"I'm a draconequus. Never be afraid to ask a question Miss Sparkle."

Twilight nodded as she followed the doctor inside her new prison. "What do they call this place?"

Dr. Discord gave a moment to thought before answering. "Some call it sanctuary. Others call it prison. A few - such as myself, the warden, and the head counselor - think of it as home, as a place where we can help those society gave up on."

"I can see why you're not head counselor," Twilight grumbled.

Dr. Discord chuckled briefly. "I see potential for you, Miss Sparkle. I only hope the counselor sees the same."

After the health inspection, Twilight was given garments and toiletries along with a few choice necessities for her stay. She was getting her own room, which was standard procedure according to the attendant who had helped her gather her things.

So far she had nothing to complain about, other than the fact that she was being held against her will in this forsaken place. Her room was sturdy and clean, with no pests to speak of. The uniform, while bland, w/as comfortable. The mattress, of course, left much to be desired, but at least no springs nor bars dug into her when she relaxed on it. And she had a solid door so that she could dress in privacy, which was more than she'd expected.

Upon further examination, she realized the room had no removable pieces save the mattress. The bed frame was in fact a single solid shelf implanted immovably in the wall. It was the only shelf, actually, as nothing else adorned the walls. Twilight noted with much disappointment that there was no other furniture in the room, and certainly not a bathroom. It struck her then with horrifying clarity that she would have to use a communal bathroom. Her skin crawled at the thought.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," she thought aloud, pacing her room, "Maybe we will get cubbies, and the other girls will be nice, and they'll separate the genders. Oh please let them separate the genders!"

"Twilight Sparkle!" A wrinkled pony with a white mane and gravelly voice unlocked and opened her door. "The Counselor will see you now."

Twilight followed the old mare through the halls of the asylum, taking in as much of her surroundings as she could. But after a while she got bored with the redundant decorations that made each corridor identical to the last.

Finally, they came into a room which was larger than all the rest - a real room and not just another endless hallway. Several doors lined the walls of this central station. The old mare took one on the right, which opened into a hallway different from the rest. This one was smaller, cozier, and seemed to hold offices.

The old mare knocked on one of the doors and said, "Twilight Sparkle is here to see you, mum."

"Send her in." The voice on the other side of the door was beautiful - regal in a sense Twilight had never known. She stepped gingerly through the doorway as the mare opened it for her, and then shut it and left without another word.

If Twilight had ever doubted her sanity, she would have believed this place a mirage. The office was warm and comfortable, alight with ethereal magic that permeated not only the room but the atmosphere and psyches as well. Twilight instantly felt more at ease. She surveyed the room slowly, relieved that the office had a more personal touch to the decor and was nothing like the bleak images adorning the rest of the hospital.

At last her eyes fell upon the reason she was here. A gorgeous alicorn pony stood before her, smiling in amusement as she watched the smaller mare's expression change from shock to embarrassment. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. I am Counselor Celestia. I am here to help you adjust to your new home, and to aid in your rehabilitation so that you can go back to a normal life. Please, have a seat."

Twilight took a comfy chair opposite the counselor. "How did someone like you end up in a place like this?" Twilight asked, immediately regretting her outburst.

Fortunately Counselor Celestia chuckled at her question. "I came willingly, as did my sister. You will meet her tonight at dinner. Any more questions?"

Twilight shook her head.

"Very well. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

Twilight shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

Counselor Celestia sat back in her seat in a relaxed stance. "Anything you want to tell me. I'm here to help you, Twilight Sparkle. The better I know you, the easier that will be."

Twilight gestured at a manila folder on her desk. "You have my file. It should tell you everything you need to know."

"I doubt that very much. Especially since this is not your file." The alicorn flipped open the folder, revealing a stack of empty coloring book pages. Twilight's attention snapped to Counselor Celestia's hoof as she opened a drawer and withdrew a box of coloring pencils. "I just really like to color. I find it soothing. Would you care to join me?"

Twilight's checks burned, but the counselor maintained her pleasant demeanor. Humbled, Twilight picked up a pencil with her magic, then immediately dropped it. "My magic! I thought it had been taken from me."

"We gave it back," Celestia explained simply.

"But why? I thought I'd never be trusted again after..." Twilight trailed off suddenly.

Celestia smiled knowingly. "What happened is in the past. We believe in fresh starts here."

Twilight's eyes began to water, and she turned her head so that her bangs covered her eyes. "I never thought I'd get a second chance. The people of Ponyville were so angry with me. I damaged their homes too many times. I was just trying to help save them." Tears fell onto her purple coat, leaving tracks of upraised fur as they slid toward the floor. After a moment, she continued, "You can't know how much this means to me."

Counselor Celestia only nodded, offering the purple pony a box of tissues. Twilight accepted and returned to her coloring with the counselor.

A/N: Thank you for reading my story. The next chapter will cover another of the Mane Six and how she came to live at the asylum on Shattered Island.