//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 - Sins of an Alicorn Empire 
// Story: Where Gods Rest 
// by Quick Fix 
//------------------------------//

"Wait, so there really are, or, were, alicorns besides the princesses?" Spike asked as Celestia led Twilight and him out of the solar point and back down into the castle.


Celestia was silent for several long seconds, the only sound coming from her being the gentle clacking of her hooves on the stairs. Then her ethereal mane went still for a split second, dropping onto her back and shoulders for the briefest of moments before returning to its usual flow. The significance was not lost on Twilight; one of the few things she'd been able to learn about alicorns was that the natural mane flow could be disrupted by intense emotion. Most commonly sadness.


"Twilight," She eventually said, doing her best to keep her voice normal. "I promise I wont be offended by your answer but, how old do you think I am?"


"Oh. Ah," Twilight stammered, so caught out she momentarily forgot the answer she had come to. "I've never really known, but all the research I did indicated that you could live for so long that you'd effectively be immortal."


"That's, not inaccurate. Even the meekest of alicorns would live to be five hundred years old and their lifespan only grew with their power. Forty thousand years was not unheard of, though I do not know what the true limit is."


Both Twilight and Spike were unable to find words through their surprise. The way Celestia was speaking about this for the first time, not only discussing an entire race of alicorns as they had existed, but also in that tense. Like they had existed. While they tried to wrap their heads around these developments as they moved back into the hallways, Celestia stopped a passing aide and asked them to reschedule all her meetings for the morning before moving on to her private chambers. As soon as the three of them were inside she cast a bubble of silence around the room followed by a glimmer cloak spell on the bubble, rending it invisible. Anypony who looked into the room would have no idea they were there.


"It has been so long since I've tried to remember my the days of my kind," Celestia continued. " I had hoped the great mistakes we committed for tens of millennia would be lost to time, a distant footnote for the scattered few who remembered them. Your discovery of the mural near the ruins though...You deserve to know the truth before we take action though."


"What truth? What action? Princess Celestia, I don't understand what all this is about!" Twilight replied, her voice bordering on pleading for her former mentor to speak some sense.


"Well, don't take this the wrong way..." Spike interjected. "But it sounds like it wasn't just the fact there was an alicorn civilization, it was that they were kind of evil as well."


Twilight gasped and rounded on Spike, ready to shoot that idea down. Dark magic didn't necessarily mean the user was evil, she'd used it before after all. Besides, how could he accuse Princess Celestia by proxy like that?!


Then Celestia motioned for her to stop.


Then she nodded.


"The alicorn race rose to prominence in these lands roughly fifty-four thousand years ago," She began to explain, waiting for a moment as Twilight and Spike composed themselves again and sat down to listen. "It was long before I was born and records no longer exist. I remember learning while I was growing up though, that they pushed every other race out of the lands that now make up Equestria. Minotaurs, caribou and hippogriffs alike, all of them driven away and the entire mainland of the continent claimed as the domain of the Alicorn Empire. Even though they never settled beyond one city."


"Why would they do that?" Spike asked.


"...Arrogance," Celestia replied sadly. "Most alicorns believed that their inherent power, magically, physically and mentally, entitled them to control the world over all other races. Those that didn't typically were the weakest and of the rarer few who spoke up about it were destroyed as soon as they were exposed."


"D-destroyed? They could just do that?"


"It will take a little more to explain, but anything that advanced the alicorn race was advocated. Even...Especially murder and even darker actions."


"That's horrible!" Twilight exclaimed, wings fluttering in anger as she got up. "No matter how powerful they were, nopony has the right to make decisions like that! It's an affront to basic pony rights!"


"It was, as I said, considered culturally acceptable," Celestria replied, though her tone made it clear she agreed with her former student. "Such actions were merely the most common. Population control was enforced due to our numbers and lifespans, so births were monitored. Those small numbers also meant genetic alterations could happen. What we see as unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, they saw as defects and encouraged the parents to 'Discard the mistake and try again', with everything that entailed."


Twilight put a hoof to her mouth, her rage evaporating into shock as she realised the implication. Spike shifted from sitting to lying down and took several deep breaths. It wasn't clear if he was keeping his emotions in check or trying not to throw up.


"For what little comfort it is, I was just as disgusted as you are." Celestia said quietly as she moved over to Twilight and sat down in front of her.


The smaller mare took the invitation and pulled herself into a hug with her former mentor. Celestia wrapped a wing around Twilight and held her closely before looking over to Spike and offering an open hoof to him. The dragon took a shaky breath as he got up and joined the other two in a three way embrace. It was a long, silent moment of both sharing the pain they felt from the truth and mourning for the countless lives lost for the most unjustifiable of reasons. The fact they may be the only ponies to ever do so only made it worse.


"How..." Twilight eventually said as she pulled her head back slightly, a million new questions running through her mind. After a few seconds she found one that she didn't worry about the answer to. "If you were so against all this, how did you survive?"


"Merely the fact I was useful," Celestia admitted. "An alicorn's worth, their place in society, was measured by their special talent. Those with talents considered mundane or no use were typically relegated to being the smallest and weakest of our kind. Those with more powerful or beneficial talents were the only ones allowed in leadership positions. My control of the sun could have allowed me to take control of the empire if I so wished. But I knew that few would accept my stance for long, so I settled for the fact such power meant almost everypony left me be without attempting to uproot my views. They knew angering me could bring about the end of the world if I used..."


Celestia's eyes widened slightly and she made a sound of sudden, unwelcome realisation. Both Twilight and Spike extracted themselves from the embrace and took a step back to check on her. Neither of them had ever seen the ruler of Equestria look so...Brittle. She had gone slightly rigid, her mane flowing reduced to a gentle flutter, her eyes locked in an unbroken stare. There was something more behind them too, a haunting glint as if something she had kept buried deep within had woken and she was fighting to subdue it again. Before they could say anything though, she clicked back into reality and shook her head quickly, looking down at the two of them.


"Princess?" Spike asked hesitantly. She simply took a long inhale of air and blinked rapidly for a second in response.


"Don't worry, I'm prepared this time," She told them, glancing down slightly as they shared a look of confusion. "What was I saying?"


"S-something about your power if you were angry?" Twilight said, watching to see if any similar reaction happened. This time, Celestia simply nodded with no further changes.


"The greatest mystery of the alicorn race. Nopony was ever able to truly understand it but, every alicorn had what we referred to as a 'Lekli'. The closest translation in Equestrian would be 'Superior'. The closest way to describing it I could come up with would be calling it a separate entity that lives within us, one that feeds off the impulses in a pony's heart while removing most of their inhibitions about using their incredible power when it is allowed to exert itself. It was largely treated as a power booster, but the effects if a lekli was allowed to take full control over their host could be disastrous. Though you know this just as well, you've already confronted two."


"Two? Who could-" Spike started, only to be cut off by a gasp as realisation dawned in Twilight's mind.


"Nightmare Moon..."


"Yes, though her real name is Tantabus." Celestia finished gravely. Both Twilight and Spike recoiled slightly at the revelation, both remembering their encounter with the Tantabus and how the combined might of all Ponyville had been useless against it even in a position where they could actually fight back.


"But, if 'Tantabus' is really that powerful, then surely she was holding back when she escaped from the moon and tried to bring eternal night as Nightmare Moon." Spike eventually said. Twilight thought about it for a second and realised he had a point.


"While she was recovering from her return, Luna told me how Nightmare was thinking, while she was kept in the darkness of her mind, a prisoner of her own body," Celestia said, pausing for a moment. "She knew as well as I that if Tantabus had returned to find me still leading Equestria, she would have held nothing back to try and dethrone me for good. By making it seem like I had vanished, she would consider herself to have no real opposition and underestimate you and your friends...I am sorry that I never told you."


"I see..." Twilight wanted to say more, but the way the princess wilted slightly as she finished speaking was enough for her to know she genuinely regretted what she had needed to do. The old Twilight would have been shocked to know her idol had played such a manipulative game, but she had learned from being a leader herself that actions that seemed illogical immediately often had a long term plan behind them. None of them would be where they were now without this one after all.


Then another thought came to her.


"If Nightmare Moon was using an assumed name...This may be reaching a little but, is Princess Luna using one too? Are you? I-I'm sorry if I'm asking things you'd rather forget."


"It's alright, Twilight. There are still some things I shouldn't forget, even as I tried to avoid them for millennia," Celestia managed to smiled gently, though her tone was wistful. "To answer your question. My real name is Vaeac. Luna's is Nezzari. I do prefer the names you're used to, if I'm honest."


"Makes two of us." Spike commented as he lay down and rested his hands across each other, settling to listen and learn again.


"Three," Twilight added. "I've never actually heard you talk about your past before. Though I understand why. This is a lot to take in."


"You've always wanted to know though, I can tell," Celestia replied, chuckling gently at her former student's eager little nod and relaxing somewhat herself. "I was born in the lone alicorn city of Viam Dei, roughly ninety-six hundred years before Equestria was founded."


Twilight could do the numbers in her head and they momentarily left her reeling. Her theory about extreme alicorn lifespans was more accurate than she had believed if Celestia was approximately fourteen thousand five hundred years old!


"It's been a long time since I've tried to remember my childhood," She continued. "Most of the details are still a blur. I remember my parents, Doress and Taliska. They were comparatively good ponies that worked as messengers within different sectors of the city. Unfortunately, by this time the alicorn race had adapted a strict hierarchy that was centered around your special talent, how you could contribute to the advance of the empire. My parents were among the lowest levels of the order due to how 'mundane' their talent was, while exerting control over the sun put me along the city's hightest elite. I was expected to treat those below me like servants at best and non-existent at worst..."


"Oh..." Twilight said softly, realising the implication. For all the problems she had faced in her time, an experience like this was almost beyond her comprehension.


"I was shocked to my core, but I could do nothing as even with my power it would be one alicorn against thousands. The rulers of the empire looked down on any attempts to affect their order..." Celestia closed her eyes and hesitated, her voice cracking slightly for a moment. "I wouldn't have minded so much if my parents hadn't started treating me like a temperamental goddess, instead of their daughter...It only got worse when Luna was born, her control of the moon put her within the same level as me and she was forced to endure it as well. She chose to isolate herself as much as possible rather than be treated like she was living perfection."


"Woah..." Spike said quietly, shifting slightly in place. His discomfort said enough.


"I actually did the same for several decades," Celestia admitted. "It was our belief against the worlds for hundreds of years, feeling like being born with a conscience was a curse. Then I met him."


Twilight didn't need to ask. The way it had been phrased, Celestia's reaction earlier, it could only refer to one pony.


"Vaire."


"The mural you both found was a marker commemorating the furthest north the alicorns had explored, little more than bragging rights for the three ponies involved. I was around fifteen hundred years old at the time, chancing upon their return from the north. Vaire was unlike any other alicorn I'd met, willing to talk with me normally despite being further down the order. His friends probably expected me to kill him for it, but I couldn't even if I wanted to...He was one of the few beings who had an outlook that could make me smile back then."


"I imagine it'd be too much to believe he also didn't follow the alicorn ideology?" Spike commented.


"Less than you'd think," Celestia replied as she stretched her wings, twitching them slightly as she smiled gently in reminiscence. "Vaire's usual role within the city was to monitor lekli use and report the rare instances they threatened the stability of Viam Dei. Mostly that involved making sure no unauthorized power jumps were taking place."


"I'm almost afraid to ask but, power jumps?" Twilight asked, pre-emptively sitting down.


"If a lekli decided that another alicorn's body with a weaker lekli would be a better host for it, they could move over to the new body, consume their original lekli and take control of it. This was approved by the empire's rulers as it often meant a powerful lekli would have a stronger physical body that could benefit the alicorn race..." Celestia paused for a moment, tucking her wings back in. "This was the main reason murder was overlooked. Due to the natural bond between alicorn and lekli, power jumps put the pony that had been abandoned under incredible stress, causing damage that very few survived. Not to mention the effects that could happen to the unlucky pony being targeted."


"Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually tried to make the process easier." Spike said, rubbing his arm awkwardly. Celestia simply gave a sad nod.


"Pendants were made that the lekli could place on their target and use as focuses for the jump. Part of Vaire's duty was to make sure these weren't used without express permission. Fortunately most have been destroyed since those days, only one is currently known to exist. One that was stolen from the castle two years ago, though the pony that took it hasn't been seen since."


Twilight gasped and shot up, pacing in place in a momentary panic before managing to calm herself as her rational thoughts caught up with her impulses. Odds were such an artefact couldn't be activated by anypony other than an alicorn and whoever had taken it almost certainly didn't know what it was used for. It was a concern, but there was nothing that could be done right now.


"Vaire may have followed the alicorn beliefs," Celestia continued, taking Twilight's little moment in stride once she was sure she was okay. "But he understood the dangers of the unrestrained power of the lekli, how close our race constantly was to disaster. It proved an extra layer of bonding for us and while most alicorns believed our marriage was a political one, we were truly close."


"Huh." Twilight simply said, looking down in thought before back up at her former mentor with a surprised glint in her eyes. Spike simply stayed in place, enjoying watching and listening. "I ah, didn't expect that."


"That I had a special somepony?" Celestia said with a slight chuckle as Twilight tried not to look too embarrassed. "It does look strange now, but I was once the lovestruck kind too. Only Vaire and I were trying to save the alicorn race from itself on top of everything."


"So, what happened then?" Spike asked as he stretched slightly. 


Celestia thought for a moment before a ghost of a true smile flickered onto her face.


"If you wish, I can show you."


"You can?" Twilight asked in surprise.


"The writing on the roof of the solar point describes a certain time from my past. Between that and my memories, I can reconstruct the scene in my magic whenever I'm feeling...Nostalgic."


Twilight mulled it over in her mind for a minute. While agreeing would mean prying into the personal life of the ruler of Equestria, something that was still such an unknown concept that just jumping in felt awkward, it was being offered willingly. There was also the fact that it meant taking a firsthoof look at a lost civilization. In the end her eternal drive for knowledge tipped the scales and both she and Spike voiced their approval. Celestia closed her eyes and focused, horn shining brightly with her magic before the world around them vanished in a flash.





When Twilight's eyes adjusted to the light, the first thing she noticed was that the hoof she had used to shield her eyes was now transparent. Likely an effect of being projected into this reconstruction. Then she noticed the layout of Celestia's memory around them.


The three of them were in a stone cobbled street lined with marble buildings that stood three stories tall, the sunny skies above reflecting off the purple and white paint they were covered with, banners of the same crossing between buildings. In the distance stood a stepped pyramid roughly fifteen stories tall, each level covered with buildings and topped by a statue of a colossal alicorn stallion reared up in a majestic pose. The streets were filled with dozens of alicorns in every colour combination imaginable, varying in size from four foot workers barely taller than the average pony to imposing ten foot individuals that could clear the entire street by walking with their wings out. Virtually the only constants between them were the fact they all had flowing manes and cutie marks. The fact those larger and stronger were often harrying those beneath them sent angry itch down her spine, challenging the sheer wonder that came from the sight.


"This was Viam Dei?" She asked, barely keeping her temper out of her voice. If Celestia heard it, she didn't comment.


"As it looked a little over twelve thousand years ago," The princess replied, a little longing creeping into her voice as she stared down the street. "A city where power meant everything, grand on the exterior but ultimately somewhere nopony today would want to call home."


Before Twilight could probe further, Spike drew her attention to back down the street where every alicorn, regardless of their seeming stature before, was parting to let a pair walking the center of the road together through. The figure on the left was a stallion with a sleek, seven foot build, an emerald green coat, an orange-red mane and tail, deep saffron eyes and a cutie mark of a white horn with a gold cap on it. The one on the right was none other than Celestia herself, though she was only the same size as Princess Luna was now, a full foot shorter than her companion. In addition, her mane was almost completely cyan with hints of pink around the edges and there was far less royal composure in her walk. She seemed almost carefree.


"Huh, not what I expected two-thousand year old you to look like," Spike commented. "I kind of like your mane now more though."


"Yes. When I was only known as Vaeac, I was still growing up in a sense." Celestia replied, her eyes never leaving the stallion by past hers' side, a few tears lingering in them as she watched. Twilight and Spike both knew better than to bring that up.


As they watched, past Vaeac and Vaire made their way past the trio's position, alicons still parting for them. The two of them entered a building like any other near the far of the street, any others who saw them go in being sure to give it a wide berth. The amount of respect they were displaying toward the pony who controlled the sun was astounding, even more respectful and wary than ponies today.  Celestia's horn glowed again and teleported the three of them to another location, inside the same house. The furnishings were lavish, sapphire, lazuli and onyx jewels adorning most of the fixtures in some way. Vaeac and Vaire were moving around a table to a third alicorn. Luna, or rather Nezzari, looking the same as she had when she had been reformed by the elements of harmony. 


"Sister, we came as soon as we could," Vaeac said as she hugged her little sister in greeting. The fact they were speaking modern Equestrian could be overlooked as present Celestia translating through her magic. "Has somepony caught on to our intent?"


"Worse, and I fear it will be even harder for you to hear, Vaire."


"Nezzari, how bad could it possibly be if they haven't found out what the elements are really for?" Vaire asked, his voice deep and stern.


"While you were in the outlands, I was approached by Viles, though Impersa was in control at the time. He mentioned you as well, Vaeac."


"Oh..." Vaire said, fuming at the name. "Let me guess, he wants Tantabus' help with another of his schemes for power, right?"


"He was even more evasive than usual on his intent, but the craven turncoat mentioned a lot of alicorns you've been monitoring. I think he's planning something big. I've been running the numbers since I asked for you both and in the past fifty years he's gathered enough of a following to match Emperor Garukan's guard, including some members of the elite caste. If he keeps this up, he could have the strength and numbers to attempt a coup within a century!"


Vaire's jaw dropped slightly while Vaeac looked down and closed her eyes in thought. From where she was standing, Twilight was starting to get a very uncomfortable idea of just what may have happened to the alicorn race.


"Vaire, darling..." Vaeac said softly as she moved round to her husband and placed a hoof on his shoulder, drawing his attention. "You know how charismatic Impersa is. If you report him now his supporters will move, lekli will clash and our race will be put into a position it would never recover from regardless. We need to focus on saving as many lives as we can now, even if it means-"


"No!" He declared firmly. "Taking alicorn foals to the outlands is one thing, but asking me to raise defects?!"


"Even if they don't look it, they're still alicorns too," She countered, a familiar tone of authority creeping into her voice for a moment. "You put your life toward ensuring the survival of our kind, would you let your pride allow thousands of deaths rather than giving them a chance to rise again?"


"I..." Vaire tensed slightly, deeply conflicted. A look toward Nezzari for advice was met with a silent, curious stare before he sighed. "Alright. For you, sunshine."


"Thank you, I know how hard that was to agree to." Vaeac said softly, nuzzling him lovingly. He returned it immediately, planting a kiss at the base of her horn.


"What can I say, you've rubbed off on me," He chuckled, holding her close for a moment before turning to Nezzari. "Alright, how else have things been here?"


Before things could proceed further, the scene faded to darkness around Twilight, Spike and Celestia.





After a few seconds the light returned and they were back in the princess' chambers. Without the memories to distract her a mind, a million questions flooded Twilight's mind at once regarding everything she had just seen. All of them died at once when she turned to Celestia. The princess hadn't taken her eyes off the spot Vaire had last been, ears folded back, mane still, eyes shining with regret. Regret masking grief.


"Too many responsibilities to spend my days with a dead stallion..." She said to a question that only she had heard asked, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths. 


Twilight realised that for the first time in years, she was the one who really needed to give the support between them and wrapped her front hooves and wings around her mentor as best she could. Celestia pressed her face into Twilight's mane and held it, several shuddering sobs audible. Spike came over the instant he heard and held Celestia as well, patting her back gently. The three of them held their position for several minutes before Celestia raised her head again, holding back the last of her tears.


"Impersa made his move against the emperor eighty years later," She explained, her voice shaky. "Vaire had developed a contingency plan to ensure my survival, using every ounce of his magic to place Luna and myself in suspended animation, safe within the heart of Canter Mountain until we were found again. He had no way to seal himself away...And the civil war within Viam Dei began before I could convince him to find another way...The last time I saw him was as he completed the spell."


"Well, maybe he survived if you were far enough from the city." Spike offered hopefully.


"It is a wishful thought, but when Luna and I were found and released during the Time of Chaos we spent years scouring Equestria for hints of what had happened. Seven thousand years had passed but we could still feel the traces of alicorn magic throughout the entire continent. If it lingered so long after the fact, there was no doubt the force that caused it would have been enough to kill anything in its path. It was only confirmed when we came to the badlands in the south east and found nothing but a wasteland tainted with dark magic, a hundred miles in each direction. The center of the badlands was the former site of Viam Dei, now nothing but a deep crater."


"Oh...Princess Celestia, I...I'm so sorry..." Twilight said softly, holding Celestia a little closer. 


To her surprise, she simply lifted herself out of the hold and wiped her eyes, taking a steadying breath before she looked down at them.


"Thank you, both of you. For allowing me to finally let that piece of history out." She said softly, her voice shaky but coming back to that caring tone she used so often.


"Thank you for trusting us enough to do so." Twilight replied.


"We, saw how much our actions had changed the world while we slept," Celestia continued once she had composed herself again, still tender but improving. "You heard mentions of what we had done in the past. Foals from parents who wanted theirs to do better, some who believed being raised by somepony of my stature would give them a boost, even a few of my own children with Vaire over the centuries. We raised them to be more peaceful, tolerant, in better control of their lekli. The three of us managed to establish a secret colony of these new alicorns beyond Equestria, in a region known as the outlands."


"Were, they affected?" Twilight asked gently.


"They survived the cataclysm that occurred. However, the effects of such concentrated magic had an adverse effect of their biology...When Luna and I investigated where the settlement had been, we found a city that bore Vaire's name. The heart of a nation called Outlani. A race with chitin over their skin, smaller bodies and a magic that allowed them to change their very physiology. We did not make contact with them as they had built their own lives without us. We had no way of knowing they would eventually come to us instead."


"Princess...Were they...?"


Celestia simply nodded. Twilight's jaw dropped while Spike rested his on his hand to keep from doing the same.


"We had attempted the same thing with 'defect' foals after the scene you witnessed," Celestia said, her ear twitching with nerves. "Those that we could save were raised far to the northwest, beyond the frozen north. With how low everypony else looked upon them, we could bring even more to safety. Enough to make multiple settlements."


"The pony tribes," Spike mused, pausing a second later as he realised what he'd said. "Wait..."


"What?!" Twilight exclaimed, coming to the same conclusion. "I...How..."


"Luna and I took great pains to ensure our presence was remembered as little possible. With the migration to Equestria, it's likely any surviving records were lost in the old home of the tribes."


"You know, that would actually explain some things I've wondered about," Spike interjected. "Twilight, correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't there a legend about a second tribe of earth ponies that split off from the original long before the foundation of Equestria?"


"Yes, that headed sou-" Twilight started, only to stop as she realised what he was getting at. "You think they were caught in the magic too?"


"The crystal ponies..." Celestia finished in surprise, just as caught out by the revelation.


"And, the whole lekli thing. That would explain a few of our friends more...Unusual moments," Spike added. "Like, say, 'Pinkamena'?"


Twilight was about to speak up again when she realised that he had a point there. She and her friends, not to mention other ponies they knew, had all suffered a number of moments where they hadn't been themselves, suffering outbursts that had left everypony dumbfounded. If they really all had alicorn genetics, a lekli that had been attempting to surface again...As far as theories went it was felt very convincing right now and she decided to try and move the discussion on before she let it take hold. There was one other thing mentioned in the princess' memory that she had noticed.


"Alright. One, last question for now. When Vaire mentioned 'the elements'?"


"One of the most common pastimes in Viam Dei was developing new ways to further the power of the alicorns. Both individually and the empire as a whole," Celestia explained. "The alicorn amulet is one such example of the results."


"Again, makes way too much sense." Spike commented, shaking his head.


"Luna, Vaire and I were able to use this as a cover to develop an anti-lekli measure. Strong enough to counter even the most powerful dangers through concentrated magic focused with the intent to do good. The result was so potent that we considered it a brand new element; harmony. We were forced to hide them in their current resting place when others began to take interest and created a magically protected area of land to guard them. While the tree of harmony that resulted from this remained safe underground, the effects of the rampant alicorn magic contained in the blast that destroyed Viam Dei corrupted the rest of the area and created the Everfree forest."


Twilight could only blink in surprise. She had no way of verifying all this that had happened millennia ago but she trusted Celestia's word implicitly and it did seem to match up with her own experiences. Plus, as Spike kept saying, it all seemed to make so much sense for filling in the gaps in her knowledge.


"Is that why you built the Castle of the Two Sisters? To guard the elements?" She eventually asked.


"That's two more questions," Celestia replied with a weak chuckle. "But yes. After Luna and I had discovered ponykind was deep in the Time of Chaos, we were both surprised that they had remained undiscovered for so long. Yet their magic was powerful as ever. After defeating Discord and deciding to remain and ensure the safety of our descendants, we decided having a dedicated space to protect the elements was best."


Twilight nodded and sat down, rubbing her forehead as she processed everything she had heard. While she had developed dozens of theories when she had first discovered the information about the mural, the fact it would lead to her to all of this had not been among them. While had lead to some revelations that had been rather tough to swallow and all three present were still shaken, they were helping each other through it and it had given her enough historical information to keep her busy for months.


"This is a lot to take in," She eventually said. "So for now, maybe we should take some time to let it all process and-"


"I'm afraid not," Celestia said, her eyes shut and her voice taking on a stern tone that instantly had Twilight and Spike worried. "The fact more evidence pointing to the alicorn empire has been found means their existence will not be hidden forever. Although the empire was destroyed millennia ago, there still exists one secret of their legacy, a last refuge of my kind that hides their greatest strength..."


There was a firm glint of determination as she opened her eyes again.


"... I need your help to destroy it."