When aunt Celestia granted me control of a kingdom, I wasn't expecting an empire! That's really...! Wow. Heh. I don't know what to say. It's been almost a year and I'm still just so stunned by it! That doesn't mean I haven't made myself comfortable though. I admit there were a few... "complications" moving in. What with the previous ruler coming back in the haze of darkness to try and take it over, and the whole wedding mess right before that. But a kingdom isn't built without a few broken backs. In this case it's an empire though... I... Imagine that's not as bad, right?
Oh, no matter. The crystal ponies have done wonders for making me feel at home. They call me the "Crystal Princess" and everything. They're a loyal lot, but very secretive. They don't hide anything major from what I can tell; they just have some small problems with trust. Who can blame them? Their previous ruler was a tyrant. I just hope I can help sow the seeds of hope back into each of them. It would do great things for north Equestria. Honestly, the north has been very stagnant the past -oh- thousand years or so. That's probably why Celestia passed it down to me.
If anyone can turn this relic of a kingdom around, it'll be me and Shining Armor. Lately, Shining Armor has been turning a lot of the crystal ponies into athletes. He says they're all pretty ropy and lacking muscle... I say let him do what he wants. He doesn't have his Royal Army behind him anymore; he needs a new hobby. Heh. It's good for him and the citizens. I on the other hand have been spending every hour I can in the library or the archives of the empire to learn about the past of it all. Surprisingly, the Crystal Empire's records date far further than anything Canterlot has. Although, it is missing a lot of modern texts.
For example, the Discordian Era is only referenced in the 'newest' of books here. It makes sense seeing as the empire only came back into reality not too long ago. However, this does present a lot of good opportunities. For starters, one of the oldest books here tells about before Equestria was named. It talks about warring tribes, monsters with the power to turn stone to life, dragons living in peace with ponies, and of a kingdom made of gold. Amazing. I would guess that the Crystal Empire is the only place we know of with texts like these because it didn't evolve with the rest of Equestria.
I don't really understand that... But maybe the crystal ponies just really valued knowledge. You have to remember they were trapped in some kind of limbo for centuries... You have to do something to pass the time, right? But, then when you have texts like that, you come into some strange and brow raising stories. I know it's unthinkable, but I just find one page of history very strange... A time where the sun and moon set on their own? That's... So strange.
But, really? That's the fun of it for me. It lets me have the chance to talk to my subjects about what they know. What some ponies forget is that the crystal ponies are living relics. All of them are at least one thousand years old. They're all older than me! Heh. That's pretty interesting. Even though they're older, they still treat me like I'm some sort of princess... Well, I am... But you know what I mean. It's pretty interesting to just sit down and talk with some of these ponies and hear what it was like to live in a time where Celestia and Luna where at their prime and saving the world with the Elements of Harmony...
Oh, Makers! Please don't tell Celestia or Luna that I said they weren't at their prime anymore! They are! They are! It's just... Well... I've been reading through a lot of the history before Discord's sealing... And there's a lot of powerful things I've started to learn about... Like that story about the creature that walked out of nowhere into a war between all the races. From what the history books say, this 'thing' walked out into the middle of a battle and stopped it all by just talking. It doesn't say she used magic... Just said "stop".
When I read about that, I asked some of the elder ponies in the empire about what that 'thing' was... Makers, did I get an answer. Many of the older crystal ponies told me about it. It had golden hair, fair skin, and walked on two legs. It was called a "human"... And, well... It was the empress of the Crystal Empire before Sombra made himself king. That's... Breathtaking news... I can't even begin to think about a kingdom like the Crystal Empire or Canterlot being ruled by something other than an alicorn. Maybe that's a little self-pride... But it just seems so strange to me.
Heh. Aunt Celestia may be a little disappointed with me if she knew I became a regular bookworm after getting an EMPIRE to rule. But... Maybe that's what I should be doing. Maybe the Crystal Empire, Canterlot, even Equestria would benefit from a little ancient history. And, as it turns out, the empire is bursting with ancient history... Starting with this one piece I'm absolutely engrossed in...
It's an old book, maybe the oldest one here. The keeper of the archives, a crystal pegasi, told me the book hadn't been touched in many a millennium. It may mean robbing Shining Armor of some 'loving' and telling Twilight I can't take her in for any visits... But I just feel like maybe this history has something for me and the Crystal Empire... Those that don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it after all, right? So... Let's read the oldest piece of history to date...
"The First Empress: Megan the Bright".