“Un-hoof me!” Starlight Glimmer protested as she, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Spike the dragon came crashing down on the map table in the Castle of Friendship.
Twilight did as asked, but not because Starlight had asked, but because of the rough landing.
“I was going to deprive you of all your friends. And it would have worked if not for those meddling fillies!” Starlight spat out. “I swear I will end you!”
“Twilight Sparkle!” Spoke a stern pony in the Canterlot voice. Twilight and Starlight righted themselves and stood up. Standing just within the entrance to the chamber were two royal guards. One was a day guard, and the other a night guard. The day guard held up a scroll in their magic, which befuddled Twilight to no end because they also had wings as well as horns and horned pegasi weren’t supposed to be able to do magic. It wasn’t Princess Celestia or Princess Luna as they hadn’t the stature, though the night guard looked suspiciously like the one who’d ejected Queen Chrysalis from the wedding hall at Shining Armor and Princess Cadance’s wedding.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, by the order of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna I do hereby place you under arrest for casting a time travel spell.” Spoke the day guard with stern conviction.
“Ha! Ha! Looks like I win after all!” Starlight gloated.
“But ... but,” Twilight said softly. “She was trying to change time. She was trying to change history?”
“Moi?” Starlight said feigning ignorance. “Why, I’d never ever do such a thing.”
“You’re the one who wrote this!” Twilight protested.
“And you cast it!” Starlight spat back.
“Kitsune-tsuki!” The night guard spoke. Her tone was quiet, calm, and deadly.
Starlight knew immediately she was in dire trouble as her body went rigid and the spell sheet containing the spell flew to the night guard.
“Starlight Glimmer, you are also under arrest.” The Night Guard stated. “You will stand there and do nothing until told to do so. You will not speak until spoken to. Is that clear?”
“Yes, mam.” Starlight squeaked out involuntarily.
“I can’t hear you?!”
“Yes, Mam!” Starlight shouted like she was answering to a Drill Sargent. And yes, she was definitely being controlled. She just couldn't fathom how.
“Starlight Glimmer,” Spoke the Day shift guard in a stern voice. “You are charged with Stalking, Conspiracy to Defraud, the unlawful removal of cutie marks, unlawful imprisonment of citizens of Equestria, the unlawful imprisonment of a head of state of Equestria. Namely one Princess Twilight. Conspiracy to commit assault on a noble of Equestria, conspiracy to commit an assault on a Bearer of Harmony, Conspiracy to alter time, Conspiracy to aid in regicide by said altering of time, Conspiracy to aid the invasion of Equestria by said altering of time, Conspiracy to throw a monkey wrench in all of Discords plans to better Equestria…”
“What?!” Twilight gasped at the last. Meanwhile, Starlight was beginning to look more and more panicked.
“He means well.” The night guard offered.
“Treason and conspiracy to commit treason.” The day guard finished off. “Princess Twilight, how plead you?”
“You can’t do this?” Twilight pleaded.
“Princess Twilight, this is a diarchy, not a republic, not a democracy. The power of the court lies solely in Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Both of whom are very disappointed in you. The order and punishment have already been signed by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both of whom are very disappointed in you. - Princess Twilight, did you or did you not cast a time travel spell even though you did not fully comprehend the full nature of the spell?”
“Guilty,” Twilight said with her head down. This was it, the banishment and imprisonment where she was banished to.
“Now hold on?!” Spike protested.
“Pipe down lava breath.” The night guard ordered.
Spike made to protest but was too indignant. That and he'd a hunch who these ponies were.
“Miss Starlight Glimmer, how do you plead?” The day guard asked.
“Plead guilty.” The night Guard ordered.
“Guilty.” Starlight said and then growled out her frustration at being manipulated against her will.
“Looks like you don’t have complete control over her.” The day guard observed as she removed her helmet.
“Sunset?!” Twilight gasped.
“Nope, sorry, I’m her little sister Sunshine.”
“Well I was only a filly at the time I pumped my magic into her and it’s hard to control raw rage.” The night guard offered as she too removed her helmet. If Twilight recognized Nova, and she should have, she wasn't showing it. For Twilight, just knowing she'd failed her mentor in her haste to find out what starlight Glimmer was up to was more than enough to keep her distracted.
“And now for the punishment stage.” Sunshine began anew. “Discord, if you will, the slate boards please.”
Sunshine’s request was answered a moment later by a very large chalkboard on wheels being wheeled into the dimension through a slit in the space-time continuum by none other than the god of chaos himself. Once he was satisfied with its placement he turned and retrieved another.
“Princess Nova.” Sunshine proffered.
“Starlight Glimmer, you will not leave this building under any circumstances, not for flood, fire, or disaster of any kind until you have filled one of these slate boards with the words ‘I will not muck about with time’ in normal hoof written size on both sides. You may take breaks to eat, sleep, bathe, and use the little fillies room. You will not hinder Twilight in her punishment. When you have finished you will not leave Ponyville until Summoned by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. You will do no harm to Twilight or Spike, their friends, or any law-abiding member of pony society, and you will do no harm to any property private or public. If by that time you can demonstrate that you are no longer the temperamental vindictive meanie pants that you presently are you may well save yourself a stoning.”
“Princess Twilight, you unwittingly facilitated Starlight Glimmer's plan by casting this spell." Nova offered as she looked it over. "Now here's the peculiar thing about time travel, anything you do in the past that could in any way alter history as it pertains to your own timeline is already part of your past and can not change because it already happened. Should any attempt to introduce a new element be successful it results in a splintered time stream. The original that will continue without you, and a new one that must now cope with whatever effect the new element introduced. Such as no pony to stop Nightmare Moon or no pony to rein in Discord, or no pony who could have spotted Chrysalis in time to stop that invasion."
"Not to mention Tirek. Try to imagine a world where ponies have no magic. We'd all devolve to simple beasts eating grass and running from predators." Sunshine offered. "Princess Twilight. You will have similar conditions to Starlight Glimmer. You are confined to the castle and you will write out ‘I will not cast spells I do not fully understand’ until you’ve filled your slate. And feel free to teach Starlight about friendship and why attempting to change events that are part of one’s own timeline is such a bad idea.”
“Yes, mam,” Twilight said with a quivering lip.
“Um, what about me?” Spike asked.
“Spike, you are still considered a minor and as such are not responsible for the actions of the pony who hatched you.” Sunshine offered apologetically.
“If it’ll make you feel any better I can punt you across the room a few times like when you were still a baby.” Nova offered.
Spike had to think about it for a moment. “Ya, those were the days, but no, that’s OK, I think I’ve kind of outgrown it.”
“You!” Twilight demanded her ire growing. She'd at least connected Nova to the filly who'd been... well she wasn't mean to Spike, just the opposite, but she was rather rough on the little dragon. Something Spike just couldn't get enough of, which confused Twilight's little filly mind to no end.
“What? It’s how dragons discipline their hatchlings.” Nova offered. “That’s their way of showing love. Now shouldn't you get started? You two Starlight, get started.”
"Can I ask who you are?" inquired Twilight. "I'd swear I've seen you around."
"I'm Princess Luna's daughter."
"And I'm Princess Celestia's daughter."
Poor Twilight, if she hadn't been already stressed enough the idea that both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia had done 'that' had broken her. Her jaw hung slack and her normally perfect mane was now sticking out all over the place.
"Best get started, you're going to be at it for a while." Nova prompted. She turned followed by Sunlight and Discord, and the trio headed for the door.
“I must say, I like your style.” Discord offered. Starlight grudgingly started writing, and Spike decided to follow after Nova and Sunshine to try to find out who they were. Twilight wouldn't snap out of her stupor until some time later.
When Twilight and Starlight got up the next morning they found to their horror that the slates were now blank.
"Spike!" Twilight called rushing into the kitchen where she found Spike having tea with Discord. Discord was upside down to include his tea, not that that made any difference, and sporting a monocle.
"Good Evening Twilight." Discord offered.
"Evening?"
"Well, for me it is. What can we do for you?"
"The slate boards are blank!" Twilight proclaimed.
"That's right." Discord offered with a smug smile. "Your slates were washed clean at midnight."
"Looks like you better write faster." Spike offered. Twilight's eyes went wide, she spun in place, and raced out of the room.
"The boards go blank at midnight!" Twilight shouted out in the hall.
"You know, that was downright diabolical." Discord offered and then filled his cup with tea that he'd apparently already drank. Yes, he was drinking in reverse.
"Meh, she'll figure it out," Spike replied with a grin. "Eventually."