When Twilight Sparkle and the other residents of Ponyville suddenly find themselves uprooted by the Royal Guard, Twilight searches for the answers as to why. Princess Celestia, more than happy to help, explains to Twilight that much is at stake. Equestria has found itself in a predicament not seen in over one thousand years. Grudges older than Canterlot are starting to surface, and Celestia alone can not stop the powers that are beginning to work against her kingdom. In order for Twilight to understand though, she must understand Celestia's own past. What she learns, breaks her belief that Equestria was always a peaceful, prosperous land. That the world she lives in is much more dangerous than she could have ever believed, and that magic the likes of which have not been seen in over a millennium, and so powerful that Discord himself was to afraid to dabble in their destructive power, are at play in the fate of Equestria.

This is the story of how Celestia became known as Princess Celestia. How the Elements of Harmony were found. And how Equestria rose from a small, unstable republic, into the powerful, peaceful kingdom it's been known as for the last fourteen hundred years.