It was a horn.

Staring into the mirror, Ruby realized that she now not only had wings, but a horn as well. She didn’t really know where it came from, but what she did know was that she was an alicorn. An alicorn!

Her body lit up, a large wave of electricity flowing through her, the power surging to her brain, her heart beating fast. When she fell to the floor, her hair was slightly brown, cooked from the shock.

The rest of the room was completely white, one window shining bright sunlight into the room. Ruby crossed the small space to stare out the window. She stared into nothing. It was the same nothing that she had beheld for many years, now.

Her memory wasn’t like what it used to be, but she knew why she was in here.

She had singlehandedly taken down the New Lunar Republic, taking Princess Luna’s power in the process. Just a normal Earth pony, she couldn’t handle the alicorn magic that surged through her. She had gone crazy, making a rampage on Equestria. That was when they came and took her away to this room.

For years, she stared at white walls, listening to the screams from the war that echoed in her head day and night. Where had it all gone wrong?

She remembered when Twilight Sparkle became a princess. She remembered rising up against the Republicans. But when did she have the time to kill that many ponies!?

She continued to peek out the window, looking at the dark sky and the Earth that seemed so far away.

Celestia had banished her to the moon, just as she had done with her sister. But she didn’t deserve it! She was only following her destiny! Princess Celestia was a fraud, and Ruby Star was going to expose her!

Ruby’s large horn lit up, her wings spreading across the expanse of the room. She screamed in rage, the walls bursting into feathers around her, the night sky illuminated in such a way that it could be seen from light years away.

Except, as soon as all the feathers fell to the ground, another house appeared around her. It was hopeless. Until the spell wore off, she was cursed to live in this house for her sentence. She did get the daily three meals and a bed to sleep on at night, but it didn’t amount to Equestria.

She had loved all of her friends, and she was only doing what was right. Did it really make sense that she would get banished, when Celestia herself said she wasn’t to get involved? She sighed, sitting down on the bed, just large enough to fit her in a sleeping position.

She was banished for less than Luna had been, only getting a sentence of 500 years, but it was definitely more than enough time to think over the things she had supposedly done.

She was thinking about a new way to escape when she heard a knock at the door, which had suddenly appeared right next to her. It wasn’t able to be opened, but it had a small slit that she could poke her eyes through. Opening it, she hesitantly called out.

“H-hello? Is somepony here with me?”

She didn’t hear a response back; Only a letter flew through the small slot. The writing on the front was neat, her name printed in fine letters on the front. She rushed to the crack to find the pony, but none stood there, and the slot slowly closed up.

Without much hesitation, she rushed herself to the letter, slashing it open with her horn. 200 years of solid nothing hadn’t been very exciting, and this was new to her. There wasn’t much writing on the inside, save a few fine words.

“You have to wake up, Ruby Star.”

Her eyes widened, her screams returning.

~~~

She sat up, the air crushing her under its weight. She was still in the field of the town she had fallen in. This time, though, the bustling sounds around her made it evident that she wasn’t alone.

The blazing lights of the signs around her advertised everything, from neon light signs to spells of the highest power.

Ruby reached up to her forehead with her hoof, surprised to find that there was no horn there. In her dream, she was an alicorn, trapped on the moon. She remembered thinking that she had killed tons of ponies in the war of the empires.

Ponies trampled around her, all shouting at her to stay away from the road as if she was a drunk. She stood up, her eyes adjusting to the bright lights that hadn’t been there when she blacked out.

The first thing that she noticed was the abundance of trees surrounding this area. She stood up, focusing on trying to figure out where she was. By the large amount of words on each sign, it wasn’t very hard to tell where she was. The most noticed of the signs was the one that advertised apple cider.

“Coming straight from Sweet Apple Acres to your beautiful city of Baltimare, we bring you fresh apple cider! It’s the best around. Only two bits a mug!”

So she was in Baltimare, huh? This was the city that Celestia stayed in when Luna took over and began to reside in Ponyville?

Looking around, Ruby didn’t even know where to go. Her best option would be to go to Princess Celestia once again and help her locate all members of the New Lunar Republic.

She couldn’t think straight, the sounds of ponies fighting filling her ears. She turned around to face the fight, gasping at the sight.

On one side of the fight, ponies with suns on their flanks stood, wood in mouth. On the other side, ponies with moons on their flanks stood bravely, their horns glowing. It was kind of weird. All of the ponies in the New Lunar Republic, save one, were unicorns. The only one that wasn’t a unicorn was their captain. The one leading them all was a Pegasus, her rainbow mane poking out from her helmet.

Ruby Star recognized her instantly. The pony under the helmet was Rainbow Dash, Equestria’s leading weather pony, her being the fastest and all. It was no wonder the Solar Empire was being demolished. Most of the strongest ponies in Equestria were part of the New Lunar Republic. First it was Twilight Sparkle, and now Rainbow Dash was on Luna’s side!

Ruby Star ran up, right before all began to charge, and screamed at the top of her lungs. “STTTTOOOOOOOPPPPP!!!”

All of them stopped, snarls on their faces, to look at Ruby, who had just interrupted a huge battle. Ruby opened her mouth to speak, interrupted by a scream as she saw a spear fly through the air towards her. She closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, hearing the sounds of every other pony gasping. She saw a lot of pink surrounding her, the spear lying on the ground in shattered pieces.

There was a protective spell around her, and the only one to blame was herself. Her body was lit up, the large bubble encasing her shielding her from the outside elements. Now she had time to talk, and talk she did.

“Ponies of the war, why do we fight? We have taken sides so that one princess can stand to rule across Equestria, but that is not the plan. The princesses rule together happily, and we have taken this battle to a whole new level.

“I, myself, am on no side. Both sides have caused enough strife in Equestria, and have caused many casualties in the process. I know you all mean well for each other, but is it worth the lives of every other citizen for one princess to rule instead of coexist?”

Each pony looked at one another, shrugging their shoulders. Ruby’s eyes brightened, the realization that she was making a difference really kicking in.

“You’re crazy! Only Celestia will rule Equestria!”

This single comment sent every other pony into an outrage. They all raised their weapons, charging once again towards each other. Ruby ran out of the way, watching as the bloody fight began. Swords smashed against each other, the loud clangs echoing over the street. Stones flew on both sides, hitting the others square in the head.

Ruby watched as ponies from both sides fell down, their blood flowing into the drains. Heads butted together, the sounds of screams ringing into her ears. She watched as her friends fell. The only pony not hurt was Rainbow Dash, who flew above them all, dropping lightning bolts on unsuspecting ponies’ heads.

The smell of charred fur hit Ruby’s nostrils, making her cringe her face in disgust. A tear fell onto the ground beside her, and she raised a hoof to her forehead. She was saluting all of her fallen brethren, dying for the greater good of Equestria. She knew that the Solar Empire had no chance against Rainbow Dash and the New Lunar Republic, so she opened her wings and flew away.

~~~

“Discord, why do you not help me? I desperately need it!”

Ruby had been hearing these voices in her head for hours. They didn’t really bother her as much as they gave her a headache. She didn’t know where they originated from, as she had never heard them before. She tried her best to ignore them and continue her flight, but they became increasingly louder with each flap of her wings.

What surprised her more than mysterious voices in her head was the fact that she had learned to fly so quickly. She had achieved her wings a short time ago, and she was already basically an expert on flying, even if just slowly.

When the town of Canterlot was in sight, she flew down to the ground, determined to walk the rest of the way. As soon as her hooves touched the ground, the voices stopped. She was relieved, but also worried. Could something worse be coming now that the voices stopped?

For a short period of time, she walked in the light of the dawning sun, enjoying the warmth on her bright coat. The grass gave way to life once again in the comfort of the sun’s rays. The extravagant colors of spring sang to Ruby, her face becoming mellow with the world around her.

The castle was just up ahead, and she was going to walk in and march straight to Celestia. No matter what, Celestia would lead the revolution and save all of Ponykind. She took one step into the colorful field of flowers-

And stepped right into the throne room of the crystal empire. Princess Cadence stared down at Ruby, her face a look of pure shame.

“Ruby Star, leader of the Solar Empire. You have disappointed the rulers of Equestria.”

Now Ruby was really confused. She had disappointed them, but exactly how did she hamper their spirits? She looked up to Cadence, an odd look on her face.

“Princess Cadence, I am very sorry if I offend you, but how did I vex the Princesses? I have done nothing.”

Cadence stood up, stepping down with her husband, Shining Armor, to stand in front of one very scared Ruby Star. “We know that you were at the marred battle in Baltimare. As leader of the Solar Empire, it is your duty to fight with them. Instead, you watched as your army was destroyed, and then you ran away.”

Ruby’s pupils went small. It was true. She had run away from a battle, but not because she was scared. She didn’t want to fight. All she asked for was peace within the two sides, and that was a lot to ask for.

“Princess, I cannot fight. It is against all that I find true to battle and kill the ones who I have known for so long.”

Princess Cadence brought her head down, shaking it slowly from side to side. “Do you know how many are gone, because of you, Ruby Star? I almost lost my husband to the Solar Empire! It’s a wonder I’m even conversing with the likes of you! Get out of my castle!”

Her horn flared up, and Ruby was back outside, but not where she was before. She found herself in a desert, surrounded by apple trees. It would be a wonder for her not to know this place. She was in Appleloosa. And now, she was surrounded by the one type of pony that she never wanted to be affiliated with. Cowponies…

All around, she heard “Howdy” and “Welcome to Appleloosa.” Her headache wasn’t getting any better, and she was being crushed to death by a bunch of ponies who were a little bit too social. This brought back memories of her days with Twilight. One time, at the Grand Galloping Gala, everything went to discord when Twilight and her friends destroyed most of the event. It made her happy, as it was always too boring for her, but still made all the other guests a little irritated.

For a second, Ruby thought she was going to die, but then a voice spoke out above the rest. “All right now, everypony, it’s time fer dinner! Let’s get off the young lass and she can join us.”

Ruby felt relieved, jumping up to hug the pony who had saved her. Opening her eyes to face the savior in the eyes, Ruby jumped back, half knocking into the dirt. The pony who had saved her was the exact same pony that had kidnapped her just the other day. AppleJack was in Appleloosa!

“H-hello again, AppleJack. How have you been?”

“Why, I’ve been mighty fine, Ruby! It’s good to see ya again! What brings ya ta Appleloosa?”

Ruby smiled, realizing that AppleJack was no longer a threat to her. “I don’t really know, AJ. I was just at the Crystal Empire, talking to Cadence about the Solar Empire, when I found myself here, in Appleloosa. I guess I can stay for some food, as long as it’s not all apples.”

AppleJack laughed, putting a hoof around one of Ruby’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, sugarcube, we have hay, too!”

They both laughed, making their way to the mess hall for some grub.

~~~

“...and then I said that’s an apple, not an orange!”

All the ponies around the large table burst out in laughter. It wasn’t fun to be laughing about Pinkie Pie, but Braeburn sure knew how to tell a good joke. Ruby stood up from the table, her stomach hanging low. She was full from that hearty meal, and she was ready to make her way back to Canterlot Castle.

“Does anypony know which train will take me back to Canterlot?”

With that remark, everypony, yet again, crowded around Ruby, all trying to give her directions on which train to take and at what time she was to take it. Her best bet was to go to AppleJack, and that she did.

“Hey, AJ, which train will get me to Canterlot the fastest?”

She just laughed and galloped off, Ruby following, very slowly, behind her. Once she reached the train station, AppleJack shoved a couple of tickets into Ruby’s mouth.

“These tickets will get ya there the fastest, but unfortunately, due to a water shortage in Appleloosa, the train is rerouted to stop a couple miles from ‘ere! So I got ya a ride to the train stop!”

She pointed to a cart, two stallions pulling, and shoved Ruby in. With a yip and a holler, they were off to the train stop.

“YEEEEEEEHHAAAWWW!!! I’ll be seeing ya ‘round, Ruby!”

Ruby waved a shaky hoof to AppleJack, bouncing up and down as the cart hit at least a million rocks. By the time they arrived at the station, Ruby was on the verge of being sick. She stumbled out of the cart, the ponies walking by having to catch her to make sure she didn’t fall over. Thanking them, she walked over to the platform, awaiting the train’s arrival.

Her eyes darted back and forth, suddenly being aware of how much all the ponies stared at her. It wasn’t her weight, that was for sure. She had probably burned off all of those calories by now. Ruby turned to the pony next to her.

“Hey, why are all of you staring at me?”

The mare next to her had the accent of a snooty pony, probably from the town of Manehattan.

“Well, not to alarm you or anything, but did you ever notice that you’re an alicorn, my dear?”

Ruby Star sat up straight, reaching both hooves to her head, only to feel the smooth texture of a horn protruding from her head. Her dream was coming true! She didn’t want to be banished to the moon!

She jumped up, holding in silent screams. To stop herself from attracting attention, she took a cupcake from a pony nearby and shoved it in her mouth. It calmed her down just enough so that she could run to a bathroom.

Staring into a mirror, she didn’t think she looked half bad. The horn was a pretty cool addition, and she had to agree that it went well with her white coat. Another large power surge made her jump, her hair standing on edge. It didn’t bother her anymore, having gotten used to being struck with power. She felt bigger than the rest of the ponies when she was filled with power. It made her feel alive.

She felt the ground shaking, a loud whistle in her ears. She knew the train was coming, and she couldn’t miss her one shot to Canterlot. She hurried out of the bathroom, just in time to climb onto the train.

As soon as the train was off, Ruby began to relax. Her troubles were over for the next couple of hours on her way to see Princess Celestia.

“Hold up! Get on the ground, everypony, and no pony gets hurt!”

Ah, great...the universe wouldn’t let me off the hook for even one measly second...

Author's Note

Yet another chapter successfully completed! Please enjoy, all of you! I cannot wait to write another soon! Oh, and thank you all for inspiring me to write this :)