Exiled From Equestria

Twilight rests against a large oak tree. Thanks to the compass and map Amber Eyes gave her, she actually knows where she's going.

She stares at a strawberry bush. Five of them are plucked off their stems at once. Twilight nibbles on one at a time, though. After they're all gone, she reaches for more but is interrupted by a strange snapping sound. When she can't find the source, she gets up and searches behind trees and bushes. She eventually finds the direction where it gets louder and trots there.

The very curious pony regrets coming out when she almost stumbles into a large hole in the ground. The slightest noise she makes awakens a creature that looks like an indigo worm. It stares at Twilight, then opens his mouth. Three skinny black tongues that look like vines grab her foreleg.

"Agh! Tatzlwurm!" Twilight exclaims. The black tongue hanging onto her foreleg pulls her closer and closer to the worm's mouth. She tries zapping the black vine with her magic, but it only flinches. She frantically, desperately grabs onto the nearest tree trunk, but the worm is too strong as pulls her away.

Twilight looks at her sheath protecting her sword. The worm in mere tail-lengths away from swallowing her whole. "I don't want to do this, but you leave me no other choice." Magic swirls around the sheath. The sword levitates out. Twilight bites her lip, unsure if she really wants to use something so destructive. I'm just defending myself, that's all, she encourages herself.

The iron sword lifts up into the air. Seconds away from being eaten alive, the sword rescues Twilight by slicing one of its tongues off. It makes a strange screeching sound. Then reaches for Twilight again. Before it can grab a better hold of her, she cuts off it's other two tongues. It howls and pain. Blood drips from the three black tongues that flop lifeless lay on the ground. The tatzlwurm declares his defeat and slithers back into his hole.

Twilight wipes beads of sweat off her forehead. She looks down at the worm's blood on her foreleg in disgust. Sure, she'd zap his mouth or kick him no problem. But slicing off body parts? It sounds so horrid that it makes Twilight drop the iron sword stained with new blood spots. She backs away from it as if it's going to attack her, too.

Don’t fear a sword, that’s weak as a kitten, a disembodied voice says. She turns around. Nothing is there. She looks all over, but nothing is there. No pony is there.

"Where are you? Hello?" she calls.

Don't speak aloud, speak inside your head.

Twilight's eyes widen. Are you my conscious?

No!

Then what are you? Twilight asks. The voice doesn't reply. Hello?

Look in a mirror.

I don't have one.

Look in the stream.

Twilight feels her head as if to find a giant bump, but there's nothing there. She questions her sanity while slowly sheathing her sword. Then she trots up to the stream and looks at her reflection. She jumps backward at the sight. Dear Celestia, am I losing my mind?

No. That's your exact reflection.

Twilight trots up to the stream. She fixates again at her image and keeps herself from jumping back again. My horn…Why is my horn surrounded by a faint green and purple glow?

Because dark magic is slowly taking over your body each second.

WHAT? Twilight exclaims in her head. No no no, dark magic? Dark magic? I don't use dark magic! Only evil unicorns use dark magic!

And that it why Discord cast a very powerful dark magic spell on you. He plans to corrupt you into evil.

Twilight’s heart beat increases speed. Adrenaline courses through her body. A long silence passes. How do you know that? Who are you?

I am the dark magic inside of you.

How are you talking to me?

Magic.

The purple unicorn sways her head back and forth. Discord wants me to turn...evil?

Yes.

Why?

His plans. Other than that, I will say that if you stop resisting the corruption, the transformation will only take seconds. But if you keep resisting, then it will take weeks or even moons! Don't you want to just get it over with?

No! Twilight screams in her head. She can feel the dark magic pounding against her skull, dying to take over her body. It is all too much for her, but somehow, as strong as Twilight is, she is able to push back the dark magic far away. She almost faints from the effort.

Twilight looks back into the stream. The glowing purple is gone. Hello? There's no response. She congratulates herself for being strong enough to push the darkness out of the way.

The purple unicorn smiles to herself as she gallops through the forest on her way to Pearl Bay. This adventure is long and exhausting, she thinks. But it is nothing that I can't handle.

***

Discord bangs his fist against the cage holding Star and Midnight. He glares at the crystal ball, then turns to Queen Chrysalis with eyes full of rage. "That unicorn is the most annoying little thing I have ever had to deal with! I swear, if she wasn't part of my plans..."

"Why not just use one of the other bearers, then, Discord?" the Changeling Queen asks.

Discord, who is full of so much frustration that he can't bear it, makes himself fake a sneeze really loudly. The glowing mushrooms turn into glowing frogs that hop along the ground making cat meows instead of ribbits. Not a lot of chaos happens, but it's enough to relieve him a bit.

He stares at the black alicorn. "Because Fluttershy and Rarity are too weak; they'd never be able to kill Nightmare Moon. Pinkie Pie is too silly; she'd only laugh at the dark magic. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are too strong; the dark magic wouldn't even be able to get inside their heads at all. But Twilight Sparkle... Oh, Twilight is the most powerful creature in the entire world. She is not too weak, she is not too silly, but she is also not too strong. She's perfect."

"Then why are you complaining?"

"Because even though she's not too strong, she's still strong. I'm not sure if the dark magic will take control of her by the time she reaches Equestria or not."

"Why not just kill Nightmare Moon, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and Princess Celestia yourself?"

Discord has to snap his fingers and turn Midnight Blaze into a bunny to keep himself from exploding with rage. "Because I am not powerful enough. Did you not hear me say that Twilight is the most powerful creature in the entire universe? My magic is not strong enough to kill the immortal princesses or the Elements of Harmony. Only Twilight has the power to do so."

"I see," replies Chrysalis.

"Plus," Discord adds with a mischievous grin, "messing with ponies is fun."

***

Nightmare Moon trots back inside her castle and closes the gates. She turns to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy who are bound tight by her ivy.

"So, pathetic ponies. What do you think of your murderous plans now?"

"We don't want to kill you," Fluttershy squeaks through the ivy clamped around her muzzle. Tears stream from her eyes. "We just want Twilight back!"

"And I want my sister back, but is that going to happen?" Nightmare Moon bellows. "No. It won't."

"Please, Princess," Pinkie Pie shouts. "We don't mean any harm. Can you please let us go?"

"Let you go?" Nightmare Moon laughs in a sickly way. "Why should I do that?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

Nightmare Moon growls. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie wait for something horrible to happen as the ivy around them dissolves, sending them crashing onto the floor.

"Does...does this mean you're letting us go?"

"Of course it doesn't, fool!" Nightmare shouts at Fluttershy. The butter pegasus screams in fear. "I had to suffer with the death of my sister. Your punishment will be to feel this pain yourself!"

Two clear potion bottles holding white liquid appear in front of each of the ponies. They glance at each other. "Drink up my little ponies." Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy don't have time to react as Nightmare moon levitates the potions of their mouths and forces them to drink it. The results happen almost instantly.

Fluttershy opens her eyes. She forgets everything about Nightmare Moon. The only thing she can think about is what is happening right now.

She is laying down on dead weeds in a dead apple orchard. The sky is black. There are no stars, there is no moon. Fog thickens the air around the pony. At first she thinks she's all alone in the orchard, but then she hears a soft call.

"Fluttershy?" It becomes louder. "Fluttershy!" A purple blob seems to be running toward her. Once the blob in close enough, Fluttershy can see through the thick fog that it's Twilight. She would smile at her friend if she was not covered in bloody scratches. "Fluttershy, please help!"

"Twilight, Darling, is that you?" says Rarity, appearing from the fog on Fluttershy's left. She is just as beaten up as Twilight. Her eyes are full of shock and horror.

"Twilight, Rares! Thank Celestia Ah found y'all!" Applejack comes running in the same horrible condition.

"Twilight," Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash shout, zooming over.

Everypony is scared, scratched up, and bleeding, except for Fluttershy who asks, “what is going on? What has happened to you girls?”

They don't have time to answer. A teal dragon swoops in from nowhere, breathing fire. None of them can move, for sticking sand has grabbed ahold of their hooves.

It happens all too soon. The fire, the smoke, the screams. The dragon is gone, and Fluttershy is fine, but her friends are not.

Her friends lay dead. Fluttershy screams and tries to grab them, to bring them close, but the sinking sand is sucking them all under. Fluttershy's heart tears in half as her friends disappear below the sand. Then the sand swallows her, too, and everything goes black.

Fluttershy awakens. Pinkie Pie awakens. Their hearts are pounding, adrenaline is rushing through their blood. Their cheeks are wet with tears, their throats dried up from screaming. All they can do for the next couple minutes is crumple up into balls and cry. Then Nightmare Moon watches with pleasant eyes as their eyes flash white again, and they both go through the same scene of their friends dying.

Over and over again.