Twilight Sparkle looked around. The palace was flooded with the scared and confused residents of Ponyville. The large hall they had been placed in was full of uncomfortable cots and various supplies like water, food rations, and extra pillows. Everyone was confused, including Twilight Sparkle, she had no idea what was going on. The only thing she knew was that less than a week ago, she had received a letter from the princess ordering the complete evacuation of ever pony, colt, and filly in Ponyville; and that they would find shelter in Princess Celestia’s palace in Canterlot. So she spread the word around town. At first she was met with resistance, but when a large outfit of palace guards arrived to help the ponies pack their things and offer “protection,” most of the ponies realized that Twilight was in fact being serious when she asked them to evacuate. It hadn’t been easy on anyone either, Fluttershy was over in a corner crying softly, worried sick about the animals she cared for that had to be left behind. Applejack was always uncomfortable in situations that required interaction with “higher society”, and here she was in the palace of Canterlot, surrounded by regal décor and intricately designed tiles and walls. But she kept herself busy, passing out buckets of water and calming the frightened little ones. Rarity looked like she was about ready to pull her hair out being surrounded by ponies that hadn’t showered in a few days, and not being showered herself. The ride to Canterlot had been fast and rough, and when the ponies arrived, they were told that the showers needed another day to be set up in order to accommodate so many ponies. Rainbow Dash was getting a little stir crazy, being stuck in such a small area for so long with so many ponies was not boding well for Dash’s sanity. She stood on her cot, above the other ponies, stretching her wings. She called them “pre-flight exercises”. Twilight was impressed that Rainbow Dash had come along, after all, Rainbow Dash had friends in Cloudsdale that she could have stayed with. But Dash had insisted that she needed to stick by her friends, no matter the situation. Twilight could hardly blame her, as she thought to herself about the option she had, to stay with her parents in Canterlot.
Twilight noticed Pinkie Pie on her bed, sleeping, she had the right idea. After all, the ponies had just taken a day long trip to Canterlot. Most of the ponies were probably exhausted from the stress of being uprooted so quickly, and then being rushed to a crowded refugee camp. Twilight thought about getting some sleep, and decided it would be a good idea to lay down and get a few hours rest before she went to ask and find out why it was so urgently important that they all had to leave so quickly.
Twilight Sparkle had only felt like she’d been asleep for a few minutes before she was rather roughly shaken awake by a palace guard.
“Excuse me miss, but Princess Celestia would like to see you in her private study.” the guard said.
She looked up at him, with a drowsy look in her eyes. “Oh, um yes, of course. Just let me grab a quick something to eat and I’ll be re-“
The guard cut her off, “She needs to speak with you now.” he said in an authoritative tone.
“Oh, if that’s what she wants then I’ll go see her now.” Twilight said, a little taken aback.
“The princess is in her private study, do you know where that is?”
“Yes, I’ll go there right away.”
Twilight got up, she was beginning to wake up more. She began to make her way out of the hall, when Applejack caught up to her.
“Twilight!” she yelled, weaving through the cots and refugees to catch up with her. “Twilight! Hold on a sec!”
Twilight slowed her pace a little, “What is it Applejack?”
Applejack caught up and began to walk with Twilight. “Where’re you off ta? Do you have ANY idea what’s goin’ on?”
“I’m afraid I don’t, but I’ve been asked to see the princess, so hopefully I can at least figure out why we’re here.
“Well thank goodness for that at least, I’m about to lose mah mind here tryin’ ta sit still an’ help other ponies.”
“Yes,” Twilight said, “It’s been hard on everypony, but your help is really appreciated Applejack, we should count ourselves lucky you’re always so dependable for help.”
“Well shoot, t’aint nothin’, I’m just doin’ mah part.” Applejack said gratefully. “But doesn’t somethin’ about this whole thing strike you as a little odd?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, look at these beds, and those blankets, they’re at least a hundred years old.”
“They are a little ratty I suppose.”
“But that’s not the only thing, Twilight. Look at how fast everythin’ was set up, look at how prepared the palace was to hold a whole village full of ponies. Now I know that Equestria hasn’t needed ta hold refugees like this in a time that anyone can remember, so why would they be so ready for us? Why would they know what ta do, when nothing like this has ever happened before?”
“I…” Twilight thought about for a moment. It was odd, but perhaps that would be explained when she got her time with Princess Celestia. “Applejack, I’m sure there isn’t anything to be worried about, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll try and find out what’s happening.”
“Thanks, sugarcube. I’ll go get Pinkie Pie ta help me take care of everyone while you’re gone.” And then Applejack turned away and headed into the crowd.
Twilight headed to Princess Celestia’s study.
It took a few minutes for Twilight Sparkle to get to Princess Celesita’s study. The study was almost on the other side of the palace, and it had been a while since Twilight had been to the palace, so it took her a little longer than she had expected to navigate her way through the rooms and halls. When she arrived outside the study, she was greeted by a group of five palace guards. They eyed her suspiciously.
“I, uh, I’m here to see Princess Celestia.” Twilight said nervously.
The guards continued to stare silently at her, giving Twilight Sparkle the distinct impression that her very soul was being scrutinized.
“Um…” Twilight laughed nervously, “May I go in to see the princess?”
One of the guards on the right looked at the on in the center. He gave a quiet, almost unnoticeable nod to the other guards.
“You are Twilight Sparkle.” The guard asked.
“Uh, yes.” Twilight said.
“Then her highness will see you now, she waits behind us, in her study.”
The guards stepped aside to allow Twilight entrance through the doors.
“Uh, thank you.” Twilight said timidly as she walked past the guards and gently pushed through the thick wooden doors and into the study.
The study was warmly lit. A few candles had been placed in holders amongst the bookshelves, and a fireplace on the far side of the room lit the surrounding area with an inviting glow. Princess Celestia was sitting by the fireplace, surrounded by a large pile of old looking books that appeared to be in delicate condition.
Twilight made her way across the room, taking care not to step on the various papers and books strewn across the floor.
“You wanted to see me princess?” Twilight asked as she got closer.
Princess Celestia looked up from the book she had open, “Yes, Twilight. I’m glad you’re here, I trust you had no problem settling in?”
“Well, you know, as little trouble as you can have when you’re forced to leave your home in less than a day.” Twilight nervously joked back.
“Yes,” Celestia said, “I’m sorry you all had to leave on such short notice. But some very important news had reached me just in time, and I couldn’t risk letting Ponyville become the Trottington of your generation.
“Trottington?” Twilight said, confused. “I’ve never heard of Trottington, is that in Equestria?”
“It was, but that was a very long time ago, and there are not many left alive who remember the name.”
“I… I don’t understand princess, this whole situation strikes me as very odd.” Twilight decided to get a little more bold. “I mean, first we’re asked to just up and leave our homes with less than a days notice, and then we’re forced into some sort of refugee camp with supplies that look like they haven’t been used since last century. The guards are on edge, I mean, they’re always really serious, but lately they’ve been REALLY on edge, like they’re scared or something, and this whole thing seems like it’s been planned for a long time and everyone is scared and dirty and confused and tired-“
“I understand your concern Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said, stopping Twilight before she lost her cool any more. “And that’s the reason why I called you here, I want to explain everything that’s going on.”
Twilight, surprised at the forwardness of the princess, had a somewhat confused look on her face. “You do? You want to answer my questions?”
Celestia chuckled softly. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle, I do. This is no time for me to be keeping secrets, and I’m afraid that I will be forced to make certain decisions in the near future that will not make sense if the citizens of this land do not understand some of the history that has been forgotten.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand, princess.”
“That’s ok, Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Celestia motioned to a spot next to her. “Have a seat Twilight. If you want to make sense of the current situation, you’re going to have to know about what happened in the early years of our country.”
Twilight sat down next to Celestia. “Is this about Discord? Or Nightmare Moon?”
“Not exactly, Twilight. This goes back about five hundred years before Luna’s banishment, when the world was a much more troubled place, and Equestria had to fight for its very existence on a daily basis.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“This may take a while to explain, but I have to start from the very beginning. You know, Twilight, I wasn’t always princess, and Equestria was not always a happy place.”
Twilight settled in a little. “I’m listening princess.”
“Good, because you are about to find out how Equestria came to be a monarchy, how I became a sun goddess, and how Equestria was almost conquered after only existing for a hundred years.”
And so the story began.
“When I was a young filly,” Princess Celestia began, “I didn’t know my parents, I grew up a poor orphan in the small village of Hoofton. You see, back then, Equestria struggled. Ponies didn’t laugh and play in the sun, and sleep peacefully during the night. Everypony was required to work from a very young age, and you didn’t get to do what your cutie mark showed. In fact, many ponies didn’t have cutie marks, they were a sign of status and happiness. If a pony was lucky enough to have a cutie mark, it meant that he or she was rich enough, or happy enough with what they did, that they could enjoy a life of happiness and comfort, knowing that the work they did was the work they had been born to do. The weather was unpredictable and often violent. Fierce unexpected storms could whip up out of nowhere and destroy an entire village overnight. And the creatures that dwelled in the forests between towns were as mean as they were deadly. A successful trade route could be ruined during a normal caravan ride, just because a hydra ate half of the travelers.”
“That’s odd,” said Twilight, “I never realized that Equestria was such a dangerous place.”
“It isn’t taught in classes to young fillies. The past can be a painful place to visit, and while some may disagree that the past should be hidden; the truth is, most ponies don’t want to hear about it anyway.”
“I can see why.” Twilight said with a shudder. “That doesn’t sound at all like Equestria today.”
“Yes, life was hard for everyone, especially if you had no family to watch over you. Luna and I grew up amongst the poorest of the poor in Equestria, and I doubt either of us would have survived if we didn’t at least have each other, most of the other orphans didn’t. But Luna was smart, and she saw the value of a decent education, so between stealing food from market stands and digging through the trash, she was often known to be snooping around some of the higher class homes for books.”
“Books? What kind of books?” Twilight asked.
“All sorts of books.” Replied Celestia. “Books on creatures, books on how to prepare food, or safely treat minor injuries and sicknesses. But she especially loved books on magic. Being unicorns, we knew that magic was in our blood, but without a profession to train in, or any knowledge of basic magic, the most we could do on our own was light up our horns for seeing during the night. Any other magic performed was purely accidental, and couldn’t be repeated on purpose. Luna never had a specific goal in mind when she stole books about magic, sometimes, the books she took didn’t help at all, only telling stories of magic. But every now and again, we would come across an instructional book, something that taught us how to perform certain tricks. These books were often purely about show tricks, as that was where we had gotten them from, the backs of traveling shows. But we read them nonetheless, and practiced how to create sparks and small flashes of light, even if they had no practical use to us. It didn’t matter though, Luna and I studied and practiced every spare second we could, learning new things and trying new spells. We quickly became very adept in the art of magic, and enjoyed showing off for the other orphans, but we had yet to find any books that taught anything very practical. Until one day, when Luna lifted a book off of a stranger visiting through town, he had come alone, and kept to himself…”