Banished for a thousand years

by Sarcasmo

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 4824

An alternate history about the origins of Nightmare Moon.

When Twilight Sparkle gets to finally spend some private time with princess Celestia, she asks her a lot of questions she had on her mind for a long time, including some about the origins of Nightmare Moon.
Will she get her answers? Will they be what she expected? And what does princess Luna have to say about all this?

(Updated as of 3-7-12. Probably not enough for a re-read. Thanks to Professor Hugbox for his review.)

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-18 19:54:02 UTC

Banished for a thousand years

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student.”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight exclaimed, while nuzzling the alicorn's shoulder, “I'm so happy to finally spend some time with you.”

“And I am happy too, Twilight. I explicitly told the guards not to disturb us. Now then, should we go into the dining hall to get our brunch?” Celestia offered.

“With Pleasure!”

They entered the dining hall, which was a grand salon, being seven meters high and thoroughly decorated with golden chandeliers and oil paintings. The room had two lines of tables, giving room to hundreds of royal Equestrians. At the end of the hall was a single giant table, dedicated to Princess Celestia and her associates. On this day it was reserved for just her and her favorite pupil.

“I most certainly want to hear all about the adventures you had with your friends. All your letters have made me very curious,” Celestia said.

Twilight Sparkle began: “Since the time you assigned all of us with the studies on the magic of friendship, it has just been one adventure after another. For example, when Applebloom got the cutie pox...”

*  *  *

“Oh my! Looks like Spike was in a heap of trouble,” Celestia decided.

“Yes, but fortunately I managed to use my teleportation spell to get all of us out of there before the teenage dragons could get to us,” Twilight continued.

“I'm impressed! It seems you have also improved your magic abilities a lot, since you left Canterlot. I really want to see them for myself.” Princess Celestia started to look around the crowded room, where other royals were having their meals. “But perhaps we should wait for a little more privacy.” Both the teacher and the student shared a mild chuckle.

“That reminds me: When Luna visited Ponyville she used a spell to bring a number of toy spiders to life. I've never heard about such a spell and I've been dying to know more about it.”

“Oh Twilight, I wish you would leave that spell alone for the moment. It is a pretty dangerous spell, that could wreck a lot of unintentional havoc. If you really wanted to study it, you would need to devote all your time and focus to it,” Celestia warned.

“You're probably right,” Twilight declared. “There are still a number of spells I want to perfect first. But there were also a couple of questions I wanted to ask you about your sister.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“I never quite understood why you exiled her to the moon. Wouldn't it have been more convenient to lock her somewhere in the castle? Maybe even try to separate Luna from Nightmare Moon?”

“I couldn't keep her in the castle. She wouldn't let me. In the end it had to be done. It was what's best for Equestria,” the princess stated.

“I don't get it! How was that what's best for Equestria?” Twilight asked, a quizzical look on her face.

“Back then Equestria was in great commotion. A solution had to be found as quick as possible, even if it wasn't the best option at hand,” came Celestia's vague answer.

Twilight suddenly realized something: Princess Celestia's behavior was a little bit off. Somepony who didn't know her as well as her prime pupil might not have noticed it, but everything the alicorn said took her a fraction of a second longer to begin with. It was as if she chose her words very carefully.

She continued her questioning: “But still, a thousand years seem like an awful long time. Did she have to be banished that long?”

“That day of the Summer Sun Celebration was the very first day Nightmare Moon could return from her imprisonment. I couldn't have accelerated or, as a matter of fact, delayed her return.”

“Nevertheless, why were my friends and I the ones that would retrieve the Elements of Harmony and fight off Nightmare Moon? Why were you unable to help us?”

Most of the other royal ponies had already started to leave the dining hall.

“I'm very sorry Twilight, but I must now return to my royal duties,” Celestia declared with a hint of relief in her voice.

“But princess, there is still so much I want to ask you!” Twilight was obviously disappointed.

“My faithful student, you know I enjoy every minute we can spend together. But you know just as well, that my regal responsibilities have to come first.” The princess' voice was filled with autority.

Twilight sadly answered: “Yes, I know”

“If you do have any more questions, you should probably go and ask Luna. She should be in her room right now. It's in the Starswirl the bearded-wing. I'm sure you'll find it,” Celestia offered.

“Thanks, Princess! I will do that right away,” Twilight declared.

*  *  *

Twilight knocked on the door. “Excuse me Princess Luna. Are you in there?”

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle! It's good to hear your voice again. Please, do come in,” a voice from the inside replied.

She entered the room. It was truly a sight to behold: At the top of the room was a magical sphere, emitting a vibrant light. Still, the illumination was completely swallowed by the walls, making them as dark as the night sky, except for a number of carefully placed, little gemstones. Everything about it seemed to create an illusion of infinite space, that was only broken by the obvious openings provided by the door and a single window, facing the Canterlot sculpture garden. Under the window was a large wooden desk, one of only three pieces of furniture inside the room. The others were a simple bookshelf, as well as a queen-sized canopy bed with dark-blue sheets and white drapes, decorated with the lunar crest. Apart from that lay a couple of pillows on the floor, atop one of them the Princess of the Night herself.

Luna began: “I take it you like what I've done to the place. Although it still feels a little spartan.”

Twilight Sparkle was still unable to speak, gazing upon the wonders the room seemed to offer.

“So, what did you want to see me about?” Luna inquired.

Twilight quickly shook off her amazement and gathered her words: “I wanted to talk about the time when you were Nightmare Moon. I have a lot of questions about certain… ambiguities. I talked to Princess Celestia about them, but she had to leave me and suggested I should talk to you instead.”

“I see.” An unexpectedly long pause followed Luna's words. “What did she tell you?”

“She told me that all the events that led to your banishment were inevitable. But she was pretty vague about it,” Twilight answered,

“That's pretty much what I expected. Twilight Sparkle, you may ask me any question you want, but if I have the feeling my response would leave my sister or me uncomfortable I will not answer. But rest assured, everything I say will be completely honest. I don't feel comfortable lying about such a delicate matter.”

Twilight involuntarily blushed. “I'm sorry princess. I don't want to be rude by any means. I just wanted to know why you had to be banished to the moon for a thousand years. Did you have to be send so far away?”

“Yes, I wanted to... or rather had to be sent as far away as possible. It would have been bad if the ponies of Equestria had been constantly reminded of my existence.”

Twilight was confused by the princess' strange answer, but ignored it for the moment due to the amount of questions she still intended to ask.

She continued her questioning: “But one thousand years? That does seem like an awful long time. Could Princess Celestia really force you out for that long?”

“She didn't have anything to do with it. It was simply the first date I could return, and so I did. Nothing more to it,” Luna stated.

“When you did return whatever happened to Princess Celestia? Did you send her away? Couldn't she contact us? Wouldn't she have tried to stop you herself?”

“I'm afraid I can't answer those questions.” Princess Luna sighed deeply. “Twilight Sparkle, this whole matter is a lot more complicated than you think. All your questions are eligible, but I can't tell you what happened. Please understand that.”

This only made Twilight more curious. “Why can't you answer them? Are the answers too humiliating?”

“In some sort of way yes. Still, the truth could lead to some... dire consequences. Just...”

The conversation was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

“Twilight? Are you in there?” a familiar voice asked.

“Spike!” Twilight magically opened the door and rushed towards her assistant. “What are you doing here?”

Spike gave her a confused look. “It's already three o'clock. Don't you remember? We're supposed to meet up with your parents in an hour.”

“Ohmygosh! I completely forgot the time! I'm sorry to leave you so suddenly Princess, but thank you for the time you took for me.”

“You are always welcome in here Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied.

Spike jumped on Twilight's back. “Come on, we need to hurry! Your parents have promised me to try out a recipe for Lapis Lazuli Lasagna for dinner. I don't want to miss that.”

After everyone said their farewells the princess stared into the deep space that technically was nothing but her wall. She was thinking about telling Twilight Sparkle her entire story. Maybe she could understand. Maybe she would deal with it the way she deemed appropriate. And maybe she would believe her.

*  *  *

The next morning, Twilight opened the door to her room inside Canterlot Castle -it was the same guestroom she always got when visiting the capitol- and immediately trotted towards her assistant. She had been spending the entire morning wandering around town, looking for some book or some pony to help her.

“Poor Spike. I'd never have thought gems could cause food poisoning.” Twilight Sparkle tenderly caressed the dragon's scaly head.

“Twilight... please... make it... stop!” Spike muttered.

“Oh Spike! I wish I could do more for you, but ponies know very little about the dragon anatomy. I checked every book in the medical section of the Canterlot Library, but didn't find anything. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait it out. And remember to eat lots of oats.”

“That's always your answer... if you don't know... what else to do. Oats!” Spike cringed in pain.

“I can't help it. Whenever I was sick as a filly, my mother would feed me oats. And it really did help.” Twilight sighed. “I guess it'll be at least two more days until we can return to Ponyville. At least we don't have any appointments we could miss.”

“You don't need to stick by my side the whole time Twilight. You should... go... outside.”

“Don't be silly! I'm not going to leave your side again,” Twilight promised.

“Twi...” Spike's eyes started to fill with tears.

“No need to cry. It's nothing, really.”

“No... Twilight... it's...” Suddenly a burst of flame, as well as a letter escaped Spike's mouth.

“Spike! I'm so sorry!” Intuitively Twilight placed her hoof on her assistant's forehead. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“It's all better now,” Spike said.

“Still why would the princess write me a letter at a time like this. She knows that you're...”

Twilight held that thought. She noticed the letter didn't have princess Celestia's insignia on it.

“What the...? Who would...? How could...?” She simply decided to open the letter and read it:

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

you may not believe it, but what you hold in your hooves is completely true.

I never intended to write it down, but this is the real story of how i got "banished" to the moon for a thousand years.

First off you need to know a little more about my sister and me. We are the two Princesses, for we were born to the sun and the moon themselves. Celestia was born first, in the image of our mother. I was born as the heir to our father. You see, it is not us who actually raise the sun and the moon everyday, we are merely the earthly voices of the true king and queen.

This story begins in the old days, when the nation of Equestria was just newly founded.

My sister and I were the chosen rulers of this newborn home to ponies of all kinds. As she was the older one, Celestia took the more demanding duties of the daytime, lifting and setting the sun and helping the ponies with their everyday problems. I took the duties of the nighttime, watching over all creatures as they slept.

I was happy with my responsibilities, but I also had a lot of spare time to watch the Equestrians go about their daily lives. I watched them working hard, playing around, and spending time with friends which filled my heart with joy.

But then it dawned me: All the nighttime, which could be just as well spent as the daytime, was wasted by our ponyfolk by simply sleeping through it. It was a thought that plagued me for several weeks. What was I going to do about it? But then I had an idea. What if I simply filled the heads of all creatures with the fun they experienced during the daytime? And thus I created the dreams.

My sister and I were very happy with my new invention. After a hard day's work all the ponies drifted off into a happy slumber. Even during daytime you could see them being more productive and merrier. In fact they worked so hard, they had time to sleep during the day. But that's where the problems started.

After a few weeks, the Equestrians were enjoying their dreams so much, they wouldn't even stop sleeping during the day. They barely got any work done. As winter drew near, it was inevitable that the ponies would face a huge famine if we couldn't get them back to work.

So Celestia suggested instead of letting our ponyfolk dream about enjoyable things, they should also dream about their work and the problems they had encountered during the day. We immediately put her plan to work. We could have never imagined what hell we would break loose.

At first the ponies did get back to work, and harvested all the crops they would need for the winter. However, every once in a while a pony would experience her first nightmare.

Frightened, not knowing what to do, many suffered from insomnia and led a fearful life, slowly distancing themselves from others. Various ponies aborted their families and started hoarding their supplies, afraid that there where gruesome things to come.

Thievery and deception were now common sights in Equestria. Everypony only looked after herself, treating others with indifference, rudeness, or even manipulating them. Communities fell apart. All of Equestria was in a state of civil unrest.

Things were getting worse every day. Celestia and I deterred that we needed to remind the ponies of what was important, of what they had lost in these times. We thus forged five Elements of Harmony: The Element of Loyalty to restore the bond between ponies that created family and communities; the Element of Kindness to abolish the ignorant and rude behavior ponies had towards one another; the Element of Honesty to stop the thievery and other vile crimes; the Element of Generosity to bring food and shelter to the ponies in need; and the Element of Laughter to wipe out the fear that befell all ponies.

Immediately we wanted to distribute them among the land, but the ponies refused us. They would run away, lock us out, or even attack us. The few that would actually talk to us all said the same thing: “You brought this over all of us! We don't trust you and we certainly don't want your help.”

My sister and I were both heartbroken. How could it have come to this? And what could we do about it?

Celestia did her best. Whenever we didn't know what to do, she would just rush outside and try to reason with the Equestrians. I on the other hoof had my own plan.

If I could forge a sixth Element, in which I stored all my magic, the other Elements would be strong enough to connect with the ponies. It took me an entire week to complete, but I managed to create the sixth Element of Harmony –the Element of Magic.

When I told my sister she was surprised, but willing to try it immediately. She asked me to come with her, but I answered her, that I was too weak, since the forging wore me out. She told me that she would stay by my side while I got better, but I replied that I'd be fine and that we didn't have much time. So she took off and, as far as I could tell, she succeeded. With the help of the Element of Magic, the other Elements were actually strong enough to penetrate even the thickest walls and reach the heart of all ponies far and wide.

When my sister returned I was already lying in bed. She told me she didn't use all the power of the Elements of Harmony, and that I should absorb their magic power to get better. I declined her offer, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. I pretended to give in, since if I refused, it would only make things harder on her. I had very sincere thoughts to share with her.

I explained to her, that the Equestrians were still resentful towards us. Somepony had to take the blame and that pony would be me. Celestia didn't want to listen to this. After a heated argument we agreed to talk about it the next morning. I think she was onto me, because she left me with the words: “Don't do it sister! Please.”

I waited until sunrise. As it was the busiest time of the day for Celestia, she wouldn't be able to stop me. For dramatic effect I darkened the sky with thunderclouds and let a cold wind blow through the land, before presenting myself to the citizens of Equestria as my alter ego –Nightmare Moon. I told them it was me who plagued the land for these last month, and they could count themselves lucky that the Elements of Harmony foiled my plan. It would be a thousand years until Nightmare Moon returned and the ponies should prepare themselves for my reappearance.

I never knew how my sister reacted to this and I was afraid to find out at that time. All I could bring myself to do, was to write one last letter explaining my thoughts and feelings to her.

In that letter I told her how sorry I was that it had come to this, but I also spoke of my confidence that she could handle the tasks at hand. She had always been the more responsible and the more capable one. I would probably need a thousand years of rest to fully recover from creating the Element of Magic and that would be the day of my return. On that day I, as Nightmare Moon, wanted to see if Equestrians still stood up for the Elements of Harmony after all this time.

At this point Twilight you might feel sorry for Celestia or even for me, but remember that for immortal creatures a thousand years seem like the blink of an eye to you. And I could imagine worse places to rest than in the loving embrace of my father.

Now that you read the whole story it is your decision what to make of it.

Yours Sincerely,

Princess Luna

“Spike, I can not believe this!” Twilight yelled.

“You can't believe what?” Spike responded, seemingly feeling a lot better.

“Everything the Princess wrote in this letter,” Twilight explained

“If you want to talk about it, you'll eventually have to tell me what she wrote. Twilight?”

But  she was already gone.

*  *  *

Twilight Sparkle burst into Luna's chamber without bothering to knock. “Princess Luna, we need to talk about this letter you sent me.” As she spoke, the unicorn magically waved around the letter.

“Twilight Sparkle! How unexpected. I thought you would have returned to Ponyville already,” Luna greeted, not acknowledging her guest's rudeness.

“Do you care to explain?” Twilight angrily asked.

“What is there left to explain?” Luna's stern voice was filled with authority that reminded Twilight who she was talking to.

Twilight winced at her own thoughtlessness and timidly answered: “There are a number of things in your letter I don't understand. For starters how did you send that letter to me?”

The princess held a hoof up to tell her guest to be quiet. “I will answer all your questions this time. No strings attached! ...Except one. You'll have to answer me one question first, and you must answer truthfully.” Luna's voice became even more sinister.

The last of the anger and confusion faded from Twilight's mind and were replaced with an uneasiness that slowly grew into panic.

“Okay,” was all she could say.

“Now Twilight Sparkle, answer me this. Do you believe what I have written in this here letter?” Luna asked matter-of-factly.

“I... I...” Twilight was startled. She never expected this question. What should she reply? Was there a 'wrong answer' that would lead Luna to throw her out? And if so, what was the 'correct answer'? In the end she should just answer truthfully. “No, I don't believe you.”

“Good!” Luna happily stated.

Twilight was completely confused. “Good!? How is this good?”

“Well, if you came here believing what I told you, all you would have asked me for was some closure. But as you say, you do not believe me. Thus, you will demand solid evidence for what I stated in the letter. I would have expected nothing less of Celestia's favorite student. I don't want you to just believe me out of benevolence, I want you to completely trust me.”

With relief, Twilight started her questioning: “So, how did you send that letter to Spike?”

“I have seen my sister send letters to you before. It's quite an easy spell to copy, it's just not very useful. There aren't many dragons that would reply to a pony's mail after all,” Luna answered

Twilight took a second to evaluate that answer, since she was promised solid evidence. The answer might not have been solid, but she was satisfied with it, and would hopefully continue to be.

“You claim to have created all dreams,” Twilight continued. “It's hard for me to believe you really are that powerful. Can you actually prove it?”

Luna sighed annoyed. “And just how am I supposed to prove such a thing? I certainly don't have any idea. But I can tell you this: you have witnessed the powers of Discord. He mended the very fabric of space and time. And believe me, my sister and I are just as powerful. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to defeat him in the first place.”

While this didn't prove anything, Luna did have a point, so Twilight just went along with it. “That is kind of true. But what about Discord. Princess Celestia told us the two of you used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord. They also helped us defeat Discord a second time.”

Luna smiled at her guest.“Oh Twilight Sparkle. You have to realize, that in the end some stories really are old ponytales. I could tell you the whole story about Discord, but it would take a lot of time. It's best if we save that one for another day.”

This all seemed very dubious to Twilight. “What about the Elements themselves? When the Elements of Harmony were passed on to my friends and me, they were just left in the middle of the Everfree Forest. If they were really that important to Equestria, shouldn't they have been secured somewhere?”

“In the end most of the power of the Elements of Harmony was already released all over the world. The power you experienced is merely what my sister had saved up for me, because she didn't want me to remain hurt after the forging. Additionally, as you know the Elements weren't created as weapons. Thereby there was no necessity to guard them. Somepony could just recover them when they are needed.”

This didn't match with Twilight's experience at all. The Retrieval of the Elements was the main reason Nightmare Moon was defeated. “But when we did try to recover them, you did everything to try and stop us. What would have happened, if we wouldn't have reached them in time?”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! THOU SHAN'T UNDERESTIMATE US!” Luna's eyes started to radiate heavily, as thunderclouds gathered behind her, giving her speech a very frightening feeling. As she witnessed her guest ducking in fear, she returned to normal, just as quickly as she had changed.

Luna calmly continued: “Believe me if I really wanted to stop you, I would have. You may be the best magician I've seen in a thousand years...” Luna giggled. Twilight's smile quickly faded, as soon as she grasped the meaning of those words. “...but I have already forgotten more about magic than you will ever know. All I sent your way were trials. Tests, to see if you and your five friends really believed and embodied the Elements of Harmony. I was obviously very pleased with what I saw. That's why I actually created those pieces of jewelry for you, to bring around the Elements whenever you needed them”

“Are you trying to tell me you created those necklaces the moment we were able to defeat you?” Twilight's trust in the princess gradually shrunk. She was suspicious of what the princess had said before, but this had to be a downright lie.

“Yes I did. The very second you held that very motivational speech, truly showing you understood the Elements of Harmony I gave the necklaces as a gift to you. And especially for you I made a diadem. It only seemed fitting, since you impressed me the most, and you represented the most powerful Element. I mean did you really believe they just randomly happened to be shaped like your cutie marks?” Luna said with a grin.

Twilight reddened. The honest flattering lifted her spirit and made her forget about the disbelief she held just seconds before.

“If you did create the Element of Magic last and with a special ceremony, wouldn't that make it stronger than the others?” Twilight spoke those words with a mix of pride and shame.

“Yes and No. It is indeed a very special Element. That is why in art the other five Elements are usually centered around the Element of Magic. However, its might entirely depends on the other Elements. It can only channel and amplify their power,” Luna declared.

“But if all this were true, why didn't Princess Celestia tell anypony about it? Why did she lie?”

“I don't think she was happy about it, but she wouldn't have let my sacrifice be in vain. She   probably just went with it. Nevertheless, I'm almost positive she never lied to anypony. If I know my sister right, she never dared to speak foul of me or, as a matter of fact, even acknowledge my existence. If you think back did she ever bad-mouth me because I tried to wreck havoc among all of Equestrian or as a matter of fact ever talk about Nightmare Moon by name?”

“No, I don't remember any such occasion,” Twilight admitted.

Luna further explained: “You see, my sister and I are too lighthearted to directly lie to others. It kinda comes with being an all powerful alicorn. We only withhold the truth, if we think it might be hurtful to the pony we talk to.”

In the end all of Twilight's doubts had vanished. Even though Luna's evidence wasn't decisive, she now believed her. “Thank you, Princess Luna. After what you've told me, I believe you. I still need some time to think about it, but I believe you. If you don't mind, I think I should return to Spike. You see, he...”

Luna magically levitated a flask with an unknown content towards her.

“What is this?” Twilight asked

The princess explained: “Before you go, I want you to have this. It's Aqua Regia. It should be able to dissolve those gemstone without attacking a dragon's stomach.”

“But how did you...”

“Didn't I tell you not to 'underestimate us'? Now quick, bring it to him as fast as possible.”

Twilight Sparkle promptly took the flask and went out the door to deliver it to Spike. After a moment of hesitation, she turned around and faced Luna one last time.

“Thank you, my princess.”