Escaping from Celestia

Five minutes after Celestia had been banished into limbo, Twilight and her "sisters" arrived down in the courtyard where they would be greeted by an ecstatic set of parents. Velvet embraced her daughter, "Where have you been Twilight? We've missed you so much!"

Night Light too embraced her, "It is so good to see you sweet pea!"

After they were done embracing Twilight began, "Mom, dad, now that you know what happened involving her, I can tell you why I just up and left." The two nodded and Twilight continued, "You see, I knew about this dense forest in the far south regions of Equestria and since the tyrant was afraid of dark forests, I took off there to hide so she couldn't capture me and molest me again." She then motioned for the others to join her and said, "And these three are ponies I have grown close to."

Radiant first extended her hoof out, shook their hooves and said, "My name is Radiant Hope, I was Celestia's very first protege and since everything is over and done with, I am the queen of the new nation of Unicornia."

Sunset then greeted them, "Hi, I'm Sunset Shimmer. The tyrant did to me exactly what she did to Twilight. I too knew about the forest and her fears. That is why I ran off down there, for safety."

Moonlight then did the same, "Hi, my name is Moonlight Tulip and I was a protege of hers and she did the same thing to me that she did to everypony else except the queen."

Night Light then introduced himself, "My name is Night Light, Twilight's father."

Velvet then did the same, "My name is Twilight Velvet, Twilight's mother." Velvet then turned to Twilight and added, "You know sweetie, had we known Celestia......"

Twilight interrupted, "Could you please not say that tyrant's name around us. Just because she is gone doesn't mean hearing it won't bring back bad memories."

Velvet nodded, "I understand sweetie." She then turned to the others and apologized, "I'm sorry I said that name around you, I didn't know it bothered you."

Radiant replied, "There is no need to apologize." She turned to Sunset and Moonlight and added, "Right ladies?"

In unison the two commented, "Right."

Velvet then became curious about something, "Twilight, with her being banished into limbo for all eternity, will you be moving back to Equestria or will you be returning to what is now Unicornia?"

Without hesitation Twilight replied, "Mom, dad, you know I love you but my home is in Unicornia. I relate with everypony so well down there and after spending five years there, Equestria just isn't for me anymore." She saw sad looks on their faces and added, "I'm sorry but I just don't want to return. Yes the threat is gone now but I feel safe down there and I have grown to like the dim light down there."

Moonlight added, "Twilight has become like the rest of us, she feels safe there and relates with everypony."

Radiant saw the looks on their faces and sighed, "Well while we normally aren't fond of visitors but with the tyrant being gone, we'd gladly welcome you to come down and visit her" she paused for a moment before adding, "hell, since you're unicorns I'd be perfectly ok with you moving down there to be with her."

Twilight's eyes grew wide as she asked, "Really, they could move there even though they were never wronged by the tyrant?"

Radiant nodded while Night Light and Twilight Velvet were whispering among one another. Twilight wasn't sure what they were saying but had her concerns that it might not be what she would want to her. They then turned to Radiant and asked, "We really love it here but what would we need to do to come visit. Could we just come there or do we have to ask permission."

Radiant gave the two a smile, "I figured that would be the case but getting there won't be easy. The easiest option would be to take the train to Dodge Junction, then walk out east to the gullies and then turn south. That will lead you to the forest. You'll just head on in and chances are you'll be greeted" she pointed to Twilight and her friends "by these three and then they'll lead you on into our community."

The two looked at one another and sighed in frustration. The very thoughts of having to do that much walking did not sound all that appealing to them. They turned to Twilight and asked, "The thoughts of having to do that much walking doesn't sound real appealing to us." They saw Twilight begin to look sad and added, "We're not like you Twilight. We can't handle miles and miles of walking but would you ever be up for coming up here to visit?"

That was one thing that Twilight was really hoping that they wouldn't ask as she really didn't like the idea of leaving what was now Unicornia, especially for an extended period of time. She knew that there had to be some sort of compromise. It then hit her, Dodge Junction wasn't a horribly long distance from the edge of Unicornia. She suggested, "Hey, how about every Hearth's Warming Eve you could travel to Dodge Junction and I could head there, although I'd likely come with a friend." She saw her parents' faces drop as she added, "It isn't that far away and it isn't cold and snowy."

Her parents looked at one another and then back at Twilight. They knew that despite Twilight being happy to see them that this was likely the best they would get. Night Light sighed, "Well sweet pea, if that is what you want, we can do that. We can get there by train and I know you've never really been fond of the cold so we can do that."

Twilight embraced both of them and exclaimed, "That is wonderful." She then turned to Radiant and suggested, "Think we should get going? I'm not sure how much longer the power of the crystal will protect us, especially you."

While they still had a few more days worth of protection in them, she could tell that Twilight was wanting to get out of Canterlot. She replied, "Yeah, we probably should. With as old as I am, being away from it for too long would be a death sentence."

After one final embrace, they parted ways. After they were out of earshot, Twilight sighed, "I know my parents love me and I love them but if I never set hoof in Canterlot again, it will be an eternity too soon."

Moonlight was in the same mindset, "I hear you Twilight, if I never see this place again I'll be perfectly happy. I didn't exactly like it back in the day and I don't like it now."

Sunset however was quiet while they were talking about it. She was twitching her tail back and forth nervously and Radiant saw this. She asked, "Sunset, are you ok? Something seems wrong."

Sunset remained quiet for a moment before finally opening up, "You know, I like it down in the forest but I'm going to admit, coming back to Canterlot does bring back some good memories and I do miss the city life in general."

The eyes of the other three grew wide as Radiant asked, "Sunset, are you saying what I think you are?"

Sunset sighed, "Yes, I am. I'm thinking of talking to Luna about going back to the magic school since she is probably running it now and seeing if she would take me in as her protege." She saw frowns of disapproval coming from Twilight and Moonlight and continued, "I'm sorry, it is just that coming back here makes me realize how much I miss it here."

The two sighed in frustration while Radiant seemed more understanding, "Well if that is your choice, just know that I wish nothing but the best for you. I know Luna will be waiting for us at the station and you can talk to her there."

Sunset gave her a smile and replied, "Just know that I will wish you the best too and may Unicornia prosper."

Very soon they were approaching the station. Sunset was admittedly nervous that Luna may not let her back into the school, assuming she was running it. She also had her concerns that Luna may not take her in as her protege given her past but regardless of what her fate was going to be, she made a decision that she was not going to return to Unicornia, she missed the city life too much.