Exiled From Equestria

Two royal guards stand outside the party room. Twilight shows her invitation from the princess to the guards. They back away and open the doors, leaving the curious and excited ponies.

Inside the gigantic party room, there are somewhere from 200 to 300 ponies. The ceiling stretches 10 tail-lengths from the floor, and streamers hang from every inch of it. There is a tables with refreshments, a dance floor with a DJ, a bouncy house for the foals, and a pool with a water slide. Unlike the Grand Galloping Gala, there aren’t just classy ponies with classical music.

“This is awesome,” Rainbow Dash says in wonder. The six ponies trot to the center of the room and scan all the party activities. While Pinkie Pie scatters to the bouncy house with the fillies and colts, Princess Celestia walks up to the other friends.

“Welcome, ponies. I’m so glad you are all here. How does the party look?” she asks in a soft tone.

Applejack looks around. “It looks like one of the best parties ah’ve ever seen. Thank ya kindly for invitin’ us all.”

“My pleasure. It wouldn’t be the same without you six.” Princess Celestia smiles. Twilight is about to say something when a midnight blue mare with flowing blue hair prances over. It is none other than Princess Luna.

“My sister, the cakes who baked your birthday cake told me to come get you. He said he wanted you to taste the cake–to make sure it’s perfect.”

“Oh, yes, well, I met them once at a party. They get nervous about royalty.” Princess Celestia turns to her sister. “Where are they?”

“They’re out in the garden,” she replies, pointing to the back doors. The older sister nods.

“I will be back in one moment.”

Suddenly, Pinkie appears right next to Twilight, making her jump. “And happy birthday!”

Rubbing her ears, Twilight looks at Princess Luna. “So. When is your birthday?”

“Three months from now. She is six years older than me,” Princess Luna answers softly with no hint of the royal canterlot voice from Nightmare Night.

Twilight’s friends wandered off to different parts of the party while Twilight chatted with the princess. “I thought so. Do you have a similar party?”

“Fairly. Tia had hers in different locations each year. I only ever have my parties in Canterlot now, for when I came back home after a thousand years of living in the moon, all my friends were gone.” Luna sounds so sad, yet shows no sorrow in her facial expression. Twilight wondered what a thousand years could do to a pony.

“But times are better now, Miss Sparkle. I have made new friends from Ponyville,” she says with a warm smile. Twilight smiles back. With nothing else to say, she says goodbye to Luna and trots over to the crowded pool.

Compared to last night, today is great for the unicorn. She sits down on the cold pavement and watches Rainbow Dash do a crazy spinning dive into the pool. Water splashes everywhere within five feet of the pool, soaking Rainbow’s dress sitting messily on the edge of the pool, and Twilight Sparkle. She groans.

Unsure if the fabric will shrink and not wanting to shake water all over the other ponies, Twilight gallops through the back doors and into the garden.

Outside is much more quiet. Crickets and an occasional bird chirp sound. A few garden lamps, moonlight, and starlight brighten up the night. A soft breeze blows through Twilight’s mane and rustle the fallen leaves. The party music from inside is muffled out here. All is peaceful.

There is no pony else outside in the tall bush and flower garden except for Twilight, so she shakes herself dry. The dress in still damp, but is no longer dripping.

Soon it is no longer silence. A loud scream fills the air, startling Twilight. The scream sounds all too familiar. Her heard starts pounding, her blood turns hot, and she is overwhelmed by adrenaline.

There is no time to think. Twilight leaps from her spot and races to the other side of the garden. She was sure that it was where she heard the scream, but all she could see were flowers and bushes.

“Oh, Twilight. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you,” says a voice from behind. She spins around.

No pony is there.

“Show yourself!” Twilight exclaims, narrowing her eyes at nothing. She recognizes the voice. She remembers the evil laugh she heard earlier when she was with Fluttershy, and now she can place it with the voice. “I have no time for games.”

“But games are fun. Don’t you like games?” the voice asks. Now Twilight knew for sure who was there.

“Come out, Discord!”

He did. He floated down like a piece of paper onto the ground in front of her, being weird as usual.

“What are you doing here? How did you escape from the stone?”

“Oh, now come on, Twilight, do you really think I’d tell you such important information?” The draconequus slithers onto a bush next to Twilight and gives her a questioning eye.

“What do you want?” She pauses for a moment. “Does this have something to do with Princess Celestia’s–” Twilight stops talking and thinks about what she just said. It is Celestia’s birthday. She goes outside into the garden where no pony else is. She doesn’t return for awhile. The cakes aren’t outside. There’s a familiar scream, and Discord shows up.

This can’t be good.

“Discord,” Twilight says with a stern yet shaky voice, “where is Princess Celestia?”

“That pony? The pony who helped turn me to stone to rot? In fact, the same pony who banished her own sister when it was her own fault that Luna was acting that way? Why would you care about her?”

“Stop it! Stop talking about her like she’s a monster!”

“Well, I guess you’re right. Compared to you, she’s not all that bad.” Discord smiles evily, thinking about his plans. “I mean, you were the one who turned me to stone next. Oh, Twilight, I would’ve seen better in you.”

Twilight grits her teeth. “Whatever you’re trying to do, stop. Tell me where my mentor is and your punishment wont be as severe.”

“Do you know how boring it is to be frozen in stone for a thousand years? That princess deserves a harsher punishment than what she gave.”

“Don’t you dare insult her!” Twilight shouts, leaping and Discord. Unfortunately, he teleports on the bush beside that one, leaving Twilight to jump into the prickly bush. This enrages her even farther.

“And don’t get me started on your friends. My, how rude your rainbow one is–”

“SHUT UP DISCORD!” Twilight’s horn glows and aims a magenta beam at him. He dodges it, and Twilight is left glaring at him ever more so. “I don’t know what you want, but whatever it is, tell me now.”

“But it’s so fun to anger you. Oh, well, I guess I must move on to the next part of my plan.” Discord snaps his fingers and a large red book appears in his paw and claws.

Twilight shivers. “What’s that?”

“Oh, just a book full of dark magic.”

“What?”

“Ah, yes. Here we are.”

Discord smiles oh so very evilly at Twilight. The purple unicorn’s horn glows and fades again and again as she tries her best to teleport away, but then Discord slips a magic-proof collar around her neck.

The Spirit of Disharmony casts a spell. A green fog floats over to Twilight’s head.

Then everything goes black.

***

Princess Luna glances around nervously. No pony has seen the birthday pony for an hour now, and she was the only pony who seemed to notice. She thinks that maybe Twilight Sparkle could help, but she can’t find her anywhere either.

Luna takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Blocking out the loud party music, she imagine the last time she saw Tia. It was when she had told her to go outside.

Her eyes spring open. She must be outside, she thinks. In the garden.

There are many ponies in the room. Dancing, singing, eating, drinking, swimming, bouncing, talking, laughing, smiling, frowning, and partying. It is tricky to gallop in between the small spaces between all the ponies, but she is finally able to reach the back door.

A turquoise glow covers the door as it opens. The princess runs into the large square of plants surrounded by tall hedges.

Princess Luna is quite shocked at what she sees. There, in the middle of a bed of flowers, lay Twilight Sparkle.

But Twilight Sparkle is asleep and surrounded by large white feathers and pink, purple, blue, and green hairs. Twilight is also wearing Celestia’s golden crown, shoes, and necklace. All these things are stained with red splotches and had belong to the princess. She cannot believe her eyes and stumbles backwards, falling on what she would think to be a patch of grass. But she lands on something soft and squishy. She leaps away and turns to see what she had just landed on.

Princess Luna puts a foreleg to her mouth. Tears well up in her eyes.

What she sees is none other than the lifeless body of Princess Celestia.

Princess Luna’s heart stops. Time slows down. She cannot hear anything but high-pitched ringing, and cannot see anything other than blurs. It cannot be. Princess Luna falls to the ground and stared at the sky in horror. Tears form in her eyes.

No, Luna whispers in her head. She squeezes her eyes shut and collapses to the ground. No.

While Luna lays in shock and cries, Princess Celestia’s body changes. Her purple eyes fade to yellow with red pupils. Her tail becomes a lizard tail, and two horns grow from the head, along with two wings on her back.

It was Discord. “Framing Twilight was all too easy.” Discord snaps his fingers and Princess Celestia who is tied up in rope and whose mouth in bound by a cloth appears next to him, screaming. Her mane is messy and torn, her crown, shoes, and necklace are gone, and many feathers have been taken from her wings.

And the best part, Discord thinks, is her pure look of terror.

“Oh, don’t worry, Celestia. This is only the beginning.” Then he snaps his fingers and they’re gone.

***

Princess Luna stops weeping. Our sister is dead. Sniffle. Our sister whom we loved. Sniffle. Thou Twilight murdered the last of our family. The powerful alicorn opens her eyes. She stops sniffling and picks herself off the dirt and grass, dusting herself off. Thou Twilight shall pay for thee’s crimes!

Suddenly, the clear sky becomes full of clouds as a thunderstorm appears before Luna. She flies into the air above Twilight and glares. “Awake from your slumber, cruel unicorn!” She booms, loud enough that some ponies from inside the party come outside.

Twilight Sparkle opens her eyes groggily and stretches. When had she fallen asleep? And why was it suddenly so windy?

“Look at me, pathetic pony!”

Twilight is fully awake now. She looks under her hooves and realizes that she has been sleeping on a small pile of very pale pink feathers and strands of hair. Upon looking down, something falls off her head and lands in her view. Celestia’s crown? Twilight notices something around her neck and looks at it. Celestia’s necklace? She slides the antique off her head and stares at it in horror.

“Are you deaf? Look at me!” Comes a voice above her head. She sees a crowd of ponies come trotting into the garden, also looking horrified at what they see. Then Twilight looks up at the sky and gulps. Princess Luna is flying amongst a storm. Not to mention it’s night. Who knows what she can do at night? “Why has thee killed my sister?”

Gasps of shock come from the ponies’ mouths. When Twilight turns to them with tears in her eyes, they back away in fear. She looks back at Luna. “Please, Luna, I didn’t kill your sister! I know that’s how it looks, but–”

“Thee tells of lies. Twilight is killer and lier!” By now, half the ponies are crowded around the garden, whispering and murmuring. Warm tears spill from Twilight’s eyes. She is scared for Celestia, confused at what is happening, and fearful of what Luna will do.

“I loved Princess Celestia as much as I love my friends.”

“Loved? Past tense, Sparkle!”

“Because I don’t know if she is still alive!” Everypony stops whispering as Twilight cries. “It was Discord. I don’t know what he did, but the only way to find Celestia is to find him!” She screams over the roar of thunder.

“Fool! Discord is trapped in stone; you cannot blame him for your crimes,” Luna says. Her eyes glow white and the roar of wind and thunder become louder.

Twilight suddenly feels a warmth surrounding her. She opens her eyes, and beside her she sees her five friends all hugging encouragingly. “Please believe me when I say I didn’t do it,” Twilight shouts.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. We’ve got your back no matter what! There’s no way you would ever do that,” Rainbow Dash replies. Twilight smiles a little as Fluttershy wipes her tears.

“Unfortunately, Princess Luna doesn’t seem ta believe ya!” Applejack cries out, turning to the Princess in the sky who was now inside a large ball of clouds. What the hay is going on? she thinks.

“What happened, darling? We need proof of your innocence,” Rarity howls.

Pinkie Pie puts a hoof to her chin. “It must have been Discord, right? I mean who else?”

A big burst of light suddenly strikes in the middle of the group hug, sending the ponies flying into the hedges. Twilight spits out leaves and turns to the sky, whispering, “Oh, no,” for Princess Luna is no longer there. In her place is a taller mare black as night with a bigger, flowing blue mane. She has pointed teeth and dragon eyes, as well as armor. The mare glares upon Twilight.

“Nightmare Moon?” Twilight whispers. All becomes silent. The wind and thunder stop as the mare floats onto the ground before Twilight Sparkle.

“With Celestia dead, I am the next princess in charge,” Nightmare Moon bellows. This time, Twilight fears, Nightmare Moon doesn’t want the night to last forever. Instead, she wants revenge. “I, Nightmare Moon, hereby decree that Miss Twilight Sparkle is banished from Equestria!”

“What?” Rainbow Dash exclaims. Nightmare Moon turns to the rainbow pegasus sprawled in the bush. “You can’t do that. She didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Nothing wrong?” Nightmare Moon asked, levitating Rainbow out of the bush with her turquoise magic. “She killed my sister!”

Rainbow Dash was about to argue when Nightmare Moon used her magic to throw her onto the ground so hard that the wind was knocked out of her. Twilight sat and watched, not moving, not crying. She was too stunned by the turn of events.

“Twilight is one-hundred and ten percent innocent, you’re highness.” Applejack stands in front of the mare who is twice as tall as her with no fear, only determination and grief. “Whatever happened to Celestia is not her fault.”

Nightmare Moon bared her teeth. “For the pony of honesty, you are full of lies.” In the blink of an eye, Applejack is hit by a small lightning bolt in the back, sent by the alicorn. She falls to the ground and lays weakly, still breathing. “Anypony else?”

“Stop!” Twilight shouts, galloping to Applejack. She examines the gash on AJ’s back and sighs of relief when she sees that it wasn’t too deep. “I’ll go.”

“Twilight, no!” Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all leap to Twilight’s side.

“Don’t make her go.”

“She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“She wouldn’t hurt a pancake,” says Fluttershy, Rarity, then Pinkie. Rainbow Dash, who is now able to talk again, also trots up to Twilight.

“Send me instead,” Rainbow declares. Twilight puts a hoof on her cyan shoulder.

“No, Rainbow, you can’t do that.”

“I can, and I will.”

“How sweet, but I won’t accept you.” Nightmare Moon stomps her hoof on the ground. “This is Twilight’s punishment.”

“Then... then ban... banish me with her...” Applejack murmurs half-consciously. All the ponies start saying the same thing, to let them go with her. Finally, Nightmare Moon can’t take it anymore.

“Enough! Twilight will leave alone, and if none of you can handle that, then she’s going now.” Nightmare Moon aims her horn at Twilight, and before anypony can move a muscle, she teleports her far out of the boundaries of Equestria. She stares at the place where Twilight was just sitting and smiles.

“Twilight?” Rarity asks no pony, because she is not there. Her once five friends stared wide-eyed and gaped. Tears formed in their eyes.

“But you can’t do that!” Rainbow croaks. Tears welled up pour over her checks. She turns to Nightmare Moon, now screaming. “Where is Twilight? Bring her back!” She spreads her wings and is about to leap at the mare, but her friends grab her shoulders and hold her down to the ground. Rainbow struggles, crying and screaming at the same time.

“Rainbow,” Applejack whispers in her ear. “I pinkie promise you that we will find her, and bring her back to Ponyville.” The cyan pegasus sniffles and stops struggling. “And I really do mean the truth.”

Nightmare Moon flies off into the night, leaving the five friends hugging and crying while everypony else stands, too shocked and scared to lift a hoof.

“I promise.”