The Void, a place of nonexistence between the realms of Life and Death. The void was constructed like a mountain divided up into six realms each under the control of two of the original bearers/creators of the artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony.
The first realm was controlled by Honesty and Deception and was known as the Realm of Earth. The Realm of Earth was an endless desert covered in barren sand, stone mountains and gorges. Those who walked it would find themselves parched of thirst and suffer from the great heat.
The second was ruled by Generosity and Greed and was named the Realm of Crystal. The Realm of Crystal was a world of ice and snow that underneath was a labyrinth that was made of crystal. Those who entered would be lost forever in the endless maze.
After navigating the maze one would enter the Realm of Chaos which was controlled by Laughter and Sorrow. The Realm of Chaos was a maddening world where everything held a logical reaction while also being completely illogical. As a result it often drove any who entered mad for a few thousand years.
Were one to survive the Realm of Chaos and not go mad the traveler would be greeted with the the realm controlled by Kindness and Cruelty, the Realm of Fire. The Realm of Fire was a realm where fire engulfed everything, the land was volcanic and the rivers were that of lava. The heat was intolerable and any cloths one wore would burn away from the ash and fire that permeated the air.
Those who lived through the fiery depths would reach the Realm of Magic controlled by the twin magicians, Magic and Necromancy. Their realm similar to the void in many ways, it was a was vast and empty, the senses were muted and the world was quiet. The Realm of Magic was a place of peace and meditation, a place to reflect upon ones path in life and the choices they'd made thus far.
Once the traveler passed through they would come to the 'summit of the mountain' that made up the Void and enter the final realm, the Realm of Shadow. The Realm of shadow was controlled by Loyalty and Betrayal and was an endless world of eternal night The ground was littered with thousands of bio-luminescent plants and trees while the sky shone with thousands of stars. While there was no moon in the sky the stars provided plenty of light. Unlike the other realms, the Realm of Shadow had many structures and creatures that prayed on the unaware. It was a dangerous place.
Deep within the Void at the tip of the 'summit' a mare sat in deep meditation. The mare had live with in this void between life and death for almost three thousand five hundred years. She had trained and learned from each of the Elements and now stood preparing for the final journey. The mares name was Twilight Sparkle, the Alicorn of Harmony.
Slowly the Alicorn opened her eyes to see all twelve beings standing before her, slowly rose to and knelt to the figures. "I assume it is time I leave?" She asked.
"It is." Loyalty said sadly. "We will miss you dear friend."
"I will miss you as well." Twilight said a tear fell from her eye.
"Before you go there are things you must know." Magic said.
"Twilight Sparkle, within your world is a place where we are in contact with." Kindness said. "It is an ancient place links to this world. It was here we founded the Harmony Empire."
"The Harmony Empire is an empire that we founded and was welcoming to every race on Equus." Cruelty said.
"For to long the throne of the Empire has been vacant." Loyalty said. "However the time has come for the ruler to take the throne." Loyalty gazed at Twilight with what felt like pride. "Twilight Sparkle, we ask you to take the throne of the Harmony Empire and lead it."
Twilight stood shocked. "I-I don't know what to say." She said slowly before bowing deeper. "Yes, I will take the throne as you have asked."
The group nodded. "Thank you Twilight." Honesty said. "We contacted the Empire a time ago and told them of you and they they asked you to take the throne. We have lead and advised the Empire from afar but due to us being confined here we can do no more. With you ruling them The empire will flourish."
"You should know however the Harmony Empire has a great responsibility. You see when we created the Empire we built its Archives to be vary special." Necromancy said cheekily. "The Harmony Empire contains the largest archive in all of Equus containing every work ever written from fiction to non-fiction. Every story ever written is there even if there is only one copy ever created. The Archives was created specifically to protect all knowledge from being erased permanently"
Twilight gasped at this.
Deception laughed. "Most of the cities citizens are extremely dedicated to seeking knowledge and any information they acquire is recorded and placed in the archives. The Harmony Empire also contains a non bias history meaning that History is written as it was not as it is believed to be."
Loyalty sighed. "As a result The Empire has many enemies who wish to destroy these secrets and prevent the truth coming out. The Empire is vary protective of the knowledge contained with in the archives. If you become their ruler then you will be tasked with forever guarding this archive."
"I accept this task, and will make sure that such knowledge is never destroyed" Twilight said happily.
The ancient beings laughed. "We know you will dear." Generosity said.
"However we also give you a warning Twilight, Celestia has actively steered you away from your destiny as the Alicorn of Harmony." Greed said.
Twilight frowned. "That makes sense, as Harmony it is my duty to keep order and Chaos in check and Equestia is far to orderly, honestly I can see why Discord hates it so much. Celestia would certainly try to prevent me from learning what my true destiny was."
"Why do you say that my student?" Sorrow asked with a smirk.
"Please, you trained me in politics so you already know." Twilight scoffed. "The reason is it goes against everything she has built for Equestria, it also would leave her in a political bind that she couldn't get out of."
Sorrow nodded. "Good."
"Well with that warning it's time you return home, farewell dear friend." Loyalty said.
Each of the beings raised their hands and a beam of light shot from them and hit Twilight. As the last beam hit her she vanished in a white light. The twelve beings watched the place where Twilight stood a sad look on their faces.
"Come on, if we sulk to much we'll miss the show!" Laughter exclaimed causing the others chuckled and nod.
Slowly she turned to see a mare in armor made from hundreds of interlinking plates with a helmet that was fashioned to look like a wolf. The mare stood as tall as Celestia and her mane and tail appeared as if it were alive shifting through the colors of dusk and dawn as it floated in a ethereal breeze. Her wings were outstretched there tips were a deep purple that faded the higher it went.
In her hand was a weapon though it was to large to be called a sword as it was the size of her, the weapons blade was a double helix with one of the blades glowing a light violet while the other glowed a deep purple almost black. slowly the helmet pulled back on its own revealing the face of a mare with purple fur and violet eyes.
Everyone in the room stared in shock at the mare before them as the walked forward slowly her steps holding a natural grace to them that made her appear seductive while also deadly. The mare slowly approached the Queen her eyes not once leaving her. As she neared the Queen began shacking in fear her eyes wide and glued to the approaching mare.
Celestias Eyes widened as she finally focused on the figure.
"Twilight." Luna gasped in shock.
"Impossible, I killed you." Chrysalis growled.
Twilight laughed. "Ya, you did and it hurt like a bitch but guess what cunt muffin, I got a round two something you aren't getting."
The helmet slowly extended and locked in place the eye glowing red. Twilight drew the sword on her back and held it out as Chrysalis screamed and charged. The Queen drew closer approaching Twilight with the intent to run her blade through the Alicorn but at the last second Twilight swung her sword. The slash ripped through the walls and ceiling and flung Chrysalis out of the throne room.
Twilight turned to followed launching her self at the queen who summoned her magic firing beams of it at the Alicorn. Twilight used her blade to block the beams and redirect at the queen hitting her, Chrysalis cried out in pain as she was rocketed into the ground. Twilight came down on top of her the Changeling Queen barely able to role out of the way. Twilight used the momentum to flip over the blade while simultaneously ripping it from the ground delivering a blow that sent a shock wave out.
As the dust settled the onlookers gasped ad the saw the Queen still standing though a deep slash was cut across her torso, green blood gushed out of it as the Queen glared at the Alicorn.
"How? HOW ARE YOU SO STRONG?!" She screamed as she charged the alicorn.
Twilight snapped her fingers and three swordfish fired at her before she summoned a glass of chocolate milk, as the glass hit the ground a chocolate tornado erupted around the queen.
"Three thousand five hundred years of training to kill you, tha'ts how." Twilight growled as the tornado dispersed.
Twilight waved her hand in an arcing motion and seven miniature suns appeared and fired at Chrysalis who charged slashing the suns. As the suns exploded miniaturized black holes opened and ripped the queen apart. Twilight smiled as she charged the queen and thrust her sword into the queens chest.
Chrysalis screamed as the blade was thrust into her and quickly teleported away. As she turned her eye widened as the blade met her head cleaving it in two, her remaining eye popping out and hanging there. The Changeling Queen form gurgled before falling of the blade.
Twilight eyed the dead Queen as she flung the blood off the blade and sheath it on her back. Slowly she knelt down and grabbed the Alicorn Amulet and examining it before squeezing her hand and the shattering it. She then turned away from the body and unfurled her wings before flying back up to the throne room.
As she landed the group in the room stared in shock as helmet retracted around Twilight s faces and the armor sunk into her skin. When it finished Twilight sighed and stretched. "Well that was quick." She sighed. "And here I thought she would actually be a challenge."
Celestia ran over to Twilight and pulled her into a hug as tears ran down her face. Slowly the others realized that Twilight was actually there and approached the mare. Twilight smiled and turned to them.
"Good to see you guys." She said with a smile.
"It would seem that much has happened since you were last with us." Luna said as she approached them.
Twilight chuckled. "You don't know the half of it." She said.
A sudden buzzing from behind them drew there attention and they turned to see thousands of Changelings floating in front of the opening. Slowly a few landed and approached the group.
"What do you want." Celestia asked coldly.
The lead changeling looked at Twilight and then knelt down. "In accordance with the laws of the Hive the one who slays the Queen becomes the Queen. We pledge our Loyalty to you, Twilight Sparkle."
"Oh ya, forgot about that rule." Twilight said as she sighed.
"What!?" The group exclaimed in shock as they stared in shock.
Twilight ignored them and thought. "Ok, do nothing hostile to anyone, right now you need to surrender. I'll explain the situation to the other rulers." Twilight said to the changelings.
The changelings nodded. "As you command our Queen." The Changelings said.
Twilight turned to the group who were staring at her in shock. "Gather the leaders and commanders. This is going to be a long story."
Several Hours later all the leaders stood around the long meeting table. At the head stood Celestia and Luna while the others took there seats. In the corner stood Twilight Sparkle supposedly back from the dead.
Celestia sighed and turned to Twilight. "We are all here."
Twilight nodded and walked to the table. "The first thing I want to know is how long was I gone."
"It's been a little of one an half years." Celestia replied.
Twilight nodded. "This helps me. When I died I was not taken to the underworld, instead I was taken to a place known as the Void. The Void is a realm between the realms of the Living and Dead, it is here that I met the original twelve bearers and the creators of the Elements of Harmony. They offered me a choice, die and move on or Train to be who I really am and take the role as the Alicorn of Harmony. I accepted the later option and have spent the past three thousand five hundred years training. Now I have returned."
"So what was with the Changelings suddenly surrendering?" Cadence asked.
"The Changelings approached us and said that Twilight was there new Queen, she told them to surrender." King Raven said.
As he said this all eyes turned to Twilight.
"In the hive there are two rules. Rule one: The Queen word is law. The Queen is the overriding will of the hive, no changeling can disobey the Queen whether they want to or not. The second rule is that the one who slays the Queen becomes the Queen. As I killed Queen Chrysalis everything she has is mine by right of conquest." Twilight explained.
"So you are to be the ruler of the Changelings." Dragon Lord Inferno said in thought. "Okay."
Everyone stared at him in surprise.
"What?" He asked. "I trust Twilight to not abuse her power and authority and honestly who else would be there leader?" He asked.
The other leaders looked at each other shrugging.
"Your point is made, Inferno." Celestia said.
"While I appreciate the vote of confidence I already have a throne to claim and it is one you can't deny me." Twilight said calmly.
Everyone turned surprised. "And what is that?" The Minotaur chancellor asked.
"The throne of the Harmony Empire." Twilight said calmly as several leaders gasped or fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Twilight I forbid you from even speaking of that place." Celestia growled.
Twilight turned to stair at her and Celestia froze. "You have no right to do such, The Creators of the Elements of Harmony placed me in the position as the Empress if the Harmony Empire. Besides you have little right to order me around after all you have done."
Celestia eyes widened in fear as the others rulers looked on confused except for Discord who growled.
"You knew!" He yelled angrily. "You knew her destiny and attempted to interfere!"
"Auntie what's going on?" Cadence asked "What did you know?"
"Celestia knew I was the Alicorn of Harmony but instead attempted to stall me and change my destiny because of what Harmony is." Twilight said coldly. "Harmony is balance between Order and Chaos. Because of this I would eventually have to interfere with Equestria."
"Why would you have to do this." King Raven asked.
"Equestia has always walked the border between Harmony and Order, sadly however it has gone to far into the later." Zecora sighed "This Is why I was sent her, Chaos has nearly disappeared."
Twilight nodded. "Equestria has fallen out of Harmony, my job is to keep that balance."
"Sister, why do this?" Luna asked concerned.
"I don't need to explain my actions to you or anyone else!" Celestia retorted angrily before turning to Twilight. "It's clear you have gone mad Twilight, since the Elements won't work unless they are together we will have to contain you." She said as he hand glowed and a set of ethereal chains appeared around Twilight.
Twilight sighed and ripped the chains apart as if they were paper. "Celestia I am over three thousand years old while you are only two thousand, I am both older and more powerful than you." She said calmly.
Celestia growled and her halberd appeared in her hand, Twilight sighed again and raised her hand. Magic arced around Celestia creating a cage that imprisoned her. Celestia screamed and slashed at the cage.
"Sister stop!" Luna exclaimed.
"Alicorns have two sides, a Angelic and Demonic. When you and Celestia sealed away your Demonic half you became unbalanced. For you, the unbalance resulted in Nightmare Moon. For Celestia anything that has any evil or isn't perfect she seeks to destroy or contain." Twilight said calmly.
Slowly she approached the screaming alicorn and raised her hand. "The simplest way to stop this is to break the seal." She said as her magic flared and a loud shattering sound occurred.
Celestia froze before fainting. Twilight dispelled the cage and Luna ran over to her sister and hugging her. "Thank you for the help Twilight." She said as she looked up.
Twiight nodded and smiled. "Happy to help."
A sudden knock at the door came and a guard walked in. "Sorry for the intrusion but a group of guards in black armor have arrived. They say they are from the Harmony Empire and are here to greet their new Empress."
Every one turned to Twilight. "Tell them I will be coming soon." She said as she turned to her friends. "Want to come with me to the Harmony Empire?" she asked.
The group looked at each other in shock.
"Sorry Twi but I can't, I still got to take care of the farm." Applejack said.
"Sorry dear but I must see to my troops first however perhaps we will join you at a later time." Rarity said
"I'll go as long as Discord comes." Fluttershy said.
Discord smiled. "I'd gladly come."
Fluttershy smiled and turned to Twilight. "Then I'll go."
"Road trip!" Pinkie cried out excitedly.
"I'll come Twilight. My Loyalty is to you." Rainbow said before turning to Luna. "Princess Luna, I Commander Rainbow Dash resign my Position as Commander of the Pegasus Military."
"Commander Dash, you are honorably discharged, may your Loyalty guide you." Luna said with a smile.
Rainbow saluted and walked to Twilight as Pinkie skipped over and Fluttershy and Discord approached.
Suddenly Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Oh, um, Twilight is it okay if our daughter comes?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight smiled and nodded. "Yes she can go." Twilight said with a smile.
Twilight then turned to the guard. "Take us to my subjects." She said.
The guard nodded and turned, Twilight walked out of the conference her friends at her side. The next great chapter beginning as she strode confidentially forward a look of determination on her face
Sequel Now out
Rise of the Eternal Empire