Equestria Divided

Prologue

A mood that descended upon Equestria was a dark in tone. The sisters had both disappeared without a trace and surprisingly the sun and the moon cycled still. At first there was panic and disorder, from that unbridled uncertainty the fabric that had been so meticulously maintained was falling apart. The mane six were looked too for answers, mainly Twilight Sparkle. She had none. Rebellion sparked and became rampant throughout Equestria. Questions had been asked and several ponies began to answer, fracturing the the once whole country with ideas and misinformation. Soon factions were pushing and pulling, attacking one another in the streets and on the roads. Nowhere was safe. Twilight survived an attack that her parents unfortunately did not.

She had a simple idea then since Cadence was not the leading type. Ascend to alicornhood and rule alongside her friends… make all of them Alicorns and nopony would dispute their claim to power. Applejack refused outright, condemning it to be an act of desperation. Twilight, not wanting to kill her, had her banished and branded a traitor. Fluttershy left to help the refugees that were gathering by the Everfree forest. Rarity refused because of a developing illness, but decided to help by other means. Rainbow Dash accepted, hoping to put a quick end to the conflict just as much as Twilight did, but Pinkie Pie was unsure. Blackmailing Pinkie, Twilight threatened to put all the blame of current events solely on her shoulders and so she participated in the experimental transformation. The transformation went horribly wrong. The magic burned and scarred Rainbows face and chest while Pinkie's body gave out and she died. Twilight escaped unscathed to everypony's surprise.

Rainbow distanced herself from everypony, soon gathering like minded pegasus ponies whose militaristic view was to rule Equestria in the absence of the sisters. Building airships and training several ponies in complex flight patterns, she soon was elected as the commander of the group that soon called itself House Stormwing. Their first act as a house was influenced by information given to them by Twilight, who said the rebellion was being lead out of Ponyville. Ordering a sudden strike, Rainbow had the town flooded, killing hundreds to root out the problem at its core.

Twilight focused her studies into the arcane, hoping to solve the problems happening to Equestria with powerful magic. She summoned and chained the soul of her mentor’s mentor, Starswirl the Bearded. Pinkie Pie was laid to rest in a sarcophagus in a tomb meant for honored ponies. A year after her body was laid to rest it was stolen by a group of skilled thieves. Twilight had many search for it but it was never seen again. She then redoubled her efforts into her studies, blocking both Cadence and Shining Armor out of her life, who had both taken up stations as the leaders of the house they named Moon and Star.

Applejack, after hearing the fate of Pinkie, made a solemn choice to remove unicorns from Equestria, believing their magic was more harmful than helpful. When the town of Ponyville was attacked and flooded by House Stormwing, Applejack and her family along with survivors of the attack retreated to family in Dodge City. There, Applejack became a loud voice of outrage. Her words turned to action and reached the Buffalo tribes, who more than willing to join the cause. During the agreement between the two races, as a gift the tribe had Applejack join in a sacred ritual where she was contacted by a spirit of justice who offered his help in return for her right eye. Giving her eye, the spirit bestowed the vision of true sight; the ability to see through any lie told to her or plan that was made to cause harm to her family.

Fluttershy had spent her time helping the refugees of the conflicts around the country. They had pooled resources to better care for everypony. On a return trip from a neighboring refugee camp she came home to find her own camp ransacked for supplies by an Earthborn scouting party. In a fit of rage her cry was answered by the beasts of Everfree who she had hunt down the perpetrators. Many ponies had seen the Everfree forest as a sanctuary and many tribes sprang up, but all would answer to Fluttershy. She asked for nothing but to defend their home when asked. Having the sisters’ old castle restored as her home, she began to hear a voice she came to call The Everfree liege. Fluttershy then began to ask that the forest expand and then Equestria would become one forest where everypony was equal.

Rarity had other plans when it came to taking a piece of power. She found her way Blue Blood’s heart, and the two were married. Their marriage was not long spent for the prince met with an untimely demise. Rarity was left as sole heir to Manehattan and its gem mines. Soon after she began to fall ill with a disease called Crystallization. Her body would slowly become encased in a crystal that would slowly drive her insane. She has yet to succumb to the crystals only thanks to her little sister Sweetie Belle. Rarity's temper was known to flair uncontrollably, but Sweetie Belle would always be able to calm her.

Not much is known about what happened to Pinkie Pie's body, but hushed whispers speak of a mare with a smile that promises happiness and laughter for all of Equestria. Her name is the Laughing Mare, and she is the only true name behind a dark Cult known only as the Cult of Laughter.

The land has fallen into shadow, war, and famine. Pestilence runs rampant in this world, but there are those who know nothing about race or allegiance to one pony kind. Nurse Redheart tries her best, with the help of volunteers, to help the wounded and the downtrodden in a area only known as Redheart’s Refuge located in the center of Equestria and all of the main houses’ territory. The dark times are ahead, but all is not said and done when Equestria is Divided.