//------------------------------// // Rise of the Empire pt.2 // Story: Nightmare Empire // by devil001 //------------------------------// Rise of the Empire pt.2 Nightmare Moon watched as the carriage carrying Twilight and company flew past the window, things were starting to occur that even she couldn't control, but she could certainly stack the odds in her favour. "Gentle-ponies, tomorrow is the celebration of the rising of the Equestrian Empire which has stood a thousand years strong" Nightmare Moon turned from the window and faced the generals of her army, whom sat around a large table showing a large map of the world with flags placed around certain locations, showing which places had be conquered and made part of the Equestrian Empire. Smaller flags showed where they had outposts which watched the borders of the empire, though no other force in the world could match the might of the Empire it's always best to watch your enemies. "Now is the time to increase the borders of my Empire even further, with the spirits of our soldiers and citizens at their highest we shall be an unstoppable force. We must use this opportune time to push my borders beyond what others thought possible" "If I may your majesty, do you mean to say you wish us to push into the waste lands?" A young general spoke up nervously "we have none in our, I mean, your army that can survive long in such a barren and harsh environment, and as far as we can tell no creature can live there' Nightmare Moon walked around the table and stopped behind the young general, who tensed as he felt her stand behind him and look down on him, her presence sending a shiver up his spine. "No general, that is a land to be conquered another day. I aim for a prize far greater, one ponies and other creatures have thought impossible to capture, to beat." Defying the light, Nightmare Moon's shadow slid across the floor and moved over the table, pushing a flag to the middle of the most northern part of the map. "We shall go to the north and take the City of The Great Bears, birth place of the Ursa Majors." ---Break--- Twilight sighed as she sat in her own corner of the carriage as Spike listened to Rarity talking about Ponyville and what she's done for it in the past, Twilight herself had no interest in the small town and the ponies who lived there but like all good citizens of the Empire when she was given an order by the Empress she followed it to the letter. Not wanting to listen about the recent increase of Griffins in Ponyville Twilight pulled The History Of The Equestrian Empire out of her saddle bag and opened to a random page, once she started reading a book it took something big to break her concentration. In the past that had earned her both good and bad praise from Nightmare Moon. 'As the Equestrian Empire came upon the home of the Zebra's, Empress Moon herself met with the leaders of the different tribes, extending them a hoof in friendship and offering them a place in the Empire. It should be noted the meeting itself was in private and only the Empress and leaders of the clans were allowed into the hut, but it has been said that once the meeting was over it was heard the leaders of the Zebra tribes calling Empress Moon a Nightmare Dream Demon that was trying to trick them into giving away their spirits. Even with being called such insults Empress Moon did not attack the Zebra's, instead meeting them separately months apart after setting up command posts, showing them that the Empire could have taken their land and food by force but wished for them to join peacefully. After much negotiations each tribe joined the Empire separately, realising the benefits and protection they will receive from the Empire. The elders of each tribe were resistant to join but as they started to speak of the Empress invading their dreams their tribes started trusting their decisions less and less until their tribes replaced them.' Twilight remembered Nightmare Moon telling her about the Zebra's, though their home wasn't abundant in fancy food or life style the land itself held a lot of metal and jewels, and though she could have taken everything with a flick of her horn she had told Twilight you need the right strategy for the right culture.' "Twilight? TWILIGHT?" Spike shouted snapping Twilight back to reality "we're here" Looking out of the window she saw the bustling town around her. "Good, the sooner we get this done the better" closing the book Twilight put it back in her saddle bag as she opened the door, as she stepped out she saw the large tree that held the towns library and her temporary home for the day. "Ms. Twilight Sparkle?" A large pony asked "I am head of the guards of Ponyville, this is my lieutenant Applejack." Twilight looked at the pony and saw that he and his lieutenant were wearing armour similar to the guards of Canterlot but wasn't as fancy looking but looked as if it would do its intended job. "Your temporary lodgings have been fully prepared for you and should you need any assistant simply ask any of the guards" "Yes thank you guard-captain, but as you can see I have Rarity if I have any questions so your services are not required" turning to enter her new home Twilight stopped as she heard the guard-captain say "That is all good Ms. Sparkle but we guards would not be doing our duty if we let the student of Empress Moon walk around our town without an escort, therefore for the duration of your stay Lieutenant Applejack will be your escort and bodyguard" Turning to face the captain Twilight glared into his unblinking eyes as he kept his poise. "Are you telling me I Need a bodyguard? Do you think after all these yours of training under Empress Moon I am unable to defend myself?" "No ma'am, but it is the sworn duty of the guards of Ponyville to protect its citizens and visitors. For a visitor such as yourself a bodyguard is mandatory, if we ignore our duty to those in Ponyville then we ignore our duty to the empire" Opening her mouth to argue Twilight felt someone nudge her in the side, looking around she saw Spike giving her a 'just go with it' look. Sighing Twilight grabbed him with her magic and placed him on her back "fine, let's just go. Rarity where does, Fluttershy, live?" Pulling out the list of ponies she had to visit Twilight looked at the first one, who was in charge of organising the animals for the music and parade. ---Break--- "I tell you it will work," a general argued with another "a couple of platoons and two weeks and we'll have the city. Magic users combine their power and cause an avalanche, before any bear knows what's happening they'll be digging the city out of stone and snow while the Empress takes the throne." "You always think your bull-headed, strong arm tactics will work" another general spoke up "I've got informants on the inside of the city that tell me they have protective spells to stop such things from happening. To take the city and beat down the Great Bears we need muscle of the mind, not hoof" "Of course you think that, we all know you prefer to sneak in and poison the enemy to take the fight out of them, but what of the citizens? You risk their lives as much as the soldiers, what is the point of ruling a kingdom if there's no one to rule" "ENOUGH" Nightmare Moon shouted, her voice echoing like rolling thunder through the room, all the generals were instantly silent not wishing to incur her anger. "You are generals in my army, not colts in a school yard" Her face had changed slightly, her teeth were all sharp and her tongue was more serpent-like, her eyes were brighter than usual and she seemed to have no eyelids, she just stared at each pony unblinking. "If no pony can permeate an idea that can get us through the protective spells, defeat the army of Great Bears inside and minimise the death rate of civilians then keep your mouths closed until you do" Saying nothing the generals sat in an uncomfortable silence looking around at each other, as the seconds passed they could sense their Empress getting angrier at their inability to formulate a plan she would agree on. Hearing someone clear their throat everyone watched as the eldest and most war-scarred pony stand. "Your majesty, I believe I have a plan that suits your needs." "Very well, speak your plan" Nightmare Moon's appear turned back to normal, General Scroll was her most decorated and eldest general, not one to back down from being on the front line and always new how to demoralise his enemies. If anypony had earned the right to speak it was him. Using his magic he positioned several flags to represent the City of The Great Bears. "When we go to the meeting of the leaders for their inevitable decline of our generous offer for them to join the Empire, we sneak in several crates of Parasprites which are under a sleeping spell. Then when you leave the city several platoons of soldiers will wait on their doorstep." Moving more flags he positioned them in front of the flag-fort "with their backs to ice and stone the Bears will not be able to leave the city as their defences will constantly be shielding them. With the Empire so close to their own kingdom you will be able to prevent the sun raising which, after several days, will make the ice too thick for them to brake through and fish for food. If they are able to collect food through the ice that is where the Parasprites come in, after several days of waiting that is when we will attack creating enough noise to awaken the Parasprites, who will feast and reproduce. Soon the food will run out, the Great Bears will have problems of destroying the Parasprites and keeping the shield up against our forces, keep control of the city and their strength up. Within two weeks I promise Empress Moon, The City of The Great Bears be yours" Raising the flag the represented the main city Nightmare Moon used her magic to float it in front of herself "a great plan General, and a lot of preparation needed. Go now and prepare the supplies you will need, and have a list to me by tomorrow" ---Break--- As Twilight walked up the path to the cottage of the pony known as Fluttershy, she could hear and smell the animals she looked after and trained. Rarity had told her about Fluttershy, quite and shy to other ponies but to animals she acted like their mother, she could get them to listen to her in such away she trained creatures like Manticore's for the army. As Twilight knocked on the door Spike jumped off her back and the small group waited, after less then five seconds Twilight knocked again, harder. "Perhaps she's in her garden tending to the animals" Rarity offered as Twilight raised her hoof again, a clear intention on the face that the door would be opened or she'd break it down. Saying nothing Twilight lowered her hoof and gave Rarity a seething look, turning she walked quickly around the cottage and was surprised to see the amount of animals in the large garden, which had been split into two; one half was for the smaller animals to relax and have fun, the other was for larger and more dangerous animals to train and practice, and if hurt, recover. As Twilight walked up to the pink maned pony she saw she was wrapping a large bandage around a Manticore's front leg and heard her say "now you stay off that leg until it fully heals ok, who's mommas brave soldier?" Before being picked up and receiving a large lick on the face before it flew away. "I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Empress Moon, you are Fluttershy the pony in charge of the music and parade correct?" Twilight spoke boldly making Fluttershy jump and cower slightly as she looked at her "is everything ready for the celebration?" As Fluttershy stuttered she tried very hard to avoid looking at Twilight "um, that is, well-" "Are you trying to tell me the preparations aren't ready?" Twilight cut in, loosing patience quickly "this is the celebration of a thousand years and you're not ready? Are you even taking this seriously? Empress Moon herself will be gracing this town with her presence and expects a parade and music, and will not be pleased to hear that everything isn't ready" Around her the animals had become quiet as Fluttershy shrank more and more at Twilight's loud words, a few of the larger, more dangerous animals began growling at her. "Er Twilight," Spike said as he stepped out from behind Applejack and Rarity "I think you should relax and apologies" Looking around Twilight realised what was happening as Fluttershy looked up and saw Spike, gasping loudly her wings shot open as she dashed forwards and grabbed Spike, pulling him into a tight hug. "A baby dragon, I've never met a baby dragon before. I want him, I'd love to train him into a big, strong soldier" she squealed happily as she floated in the air above the small group "He already has a job, he's my assistant. Now is everything ready for Empress Moon's arrival?" Twilight asked again talking the opportunity to get a clear answer from Fluttershy "Oh yes, everyone's been working so hard to get the right notes and march in time and order, I'm so proud of everyone" Fluttershy spun around as the garden echoed with different animals calls and roars. "Well that's finally cleared up, so now we can leave" using her magic Twilight pulled Spike out of Fluttershy's hug and placed him on her back as she turned to leave "now to find the next pony on the list" "Oh but I haven't asked him any questions yet," much to Twilight's annoyance Fluttershy started to follow them, flying and keeping eye level with Spike "I want to know everything about you" "Well I hatched from an egg, like all dragons, but it was Twilight that hatched me" Spike began his life story as Twilight gave a disgruntled sigh. "Isn't there a way for me to get rid of her?" Twilight asked Applejack who marched next to her "Sorry ma'am but once Fluttershy becomes interested in a new creature only the Empress would be able to stop her" ---Break--- As Nightmare Moon walked through her hallways the guards saluted and the staff bowed as she passed, she saw no fear on their faces and none had a reason to, all were her loyal subjects that would obey any commend given. But she had been in their dreams, seeing their greatest and worst nightmares each with a different taste and texture to them, to her they were such moorish treats that no normal pony could comprehend the divine taste of true fear and dread, with each dream and feast she felt herself refreshed and at full strength again allowing her to rise and lower the moon and sun for a thousand years. As she entered her throne room Nightmare Moon looked at the paintings and statues of some of the bravest heroes the empire had seen, some had turned battles around with simple words or the act of sacrificing themselves, others had made the plans that won them fights before they even began. And right at the back of the room to the left of her throne at the bottom of the stairs was her old battle armour, she had worn it when she started the Equestrian Empire, back in the days when she herself would fight in the front lines to show the world that even its Empress was willing to fight for the Empire. Closing her eyes Nightmare Moon could still remember the sweet decadent taste of war torn nightmares; the fires that burned the world, the screams that rattled the soul and the bloodshed, only seeing a pony cut down in front of you and have their dead eyes burn into your very being could make a nightmare so sweet even the Gods would fight for it. She could hear the war screams around her as she remembered the dreams, she could remember perfectly the suffocating feeling of hopelessness surrounding the body. She gulped as she felt sorrow and dispare of seeing a loved one die in your hooves as her wings spread wide and her teeth turned sharp ready to tear into her next meal, she could feel the hunger in her stomach and the want in her consciousness of the deeply terrifying and horrifying dreams that she hadn't tasted for centuries. She could easily reach out with her mind and open one, she had stored some of the Old Dreams for celebrations or if the nightmares ever stopped, she just had to imagine opening the box and tasting the dream, tearing mouthfuls of it and letting its sweet, unique flavour fill her being. Or better yet, let the dream spread to others, let them feel a true war and battle, allow them to make their own and give her the rush of an unending supply of forbidden fruits. But No. Opening her eyes Nightmare Moon lowered her wings and turned her teeth back to normal, sighing deeply she knew if she let that happen no pony would be able to fight for her Empire, and she would be unable to stop herself from gorging. She had so few of the Old Dreams left now, she needed to save them for true celebrations worthy of them. "Guard" she called out as she sat on the throne readying herself for some of the more menial tasks of being an Empress, as a guard approached her he saluted. "Call for the finest blacksmith in the city, I wish for my armour to look its best before the end of the celebration." "At once your majesty" the guard saluted again before turning and racing out of the throne room as several old unicorns walked in hovering several scrolls each. ---Break--- Twilight grit her teeth as all around her ponies and dragon talked and chatted away working on her last nerve, as unlikely as it was Applejack had gotten into a conversation about jewels with Rarity or to be more specific, the mining of them. Applejack was against the fact that Rarity only found the jewels and left all the hard work to others while she made dresses, Rarity countered with saying it took a constant team of unicorns to allow them to know how many jewels were in an area and how deep down they had to dig and it was a lot harder than Applejack thought to cast a continues spell over a large area even in a group. Fluttershy was talking, or more accurately listening, to Spike talk about every second of his life. Twilight was slightly surprised he'd managed to memorise his life so well yet was unable to remember where he'd placed a book not five minutes ago, she'd have to remember dragons have such good memories the next time it happened. Opening her mouth to shout she flung her head upwards so she would be screaming to the heavens when she noticed something. Twilight was sure it was supposed to be a cloudless sky for the celebration yet she saw clouds all over, using her magic she pulled the list out of her saddle bag and scanned down it. "Everypony shut up!" Twilight shouted abruptly putting a stop to everyone's conversations and making them look at her "where is the pony in charge of clearing the sky? Where is this, Rainbow Dash?" "Oh. Um, she might be napping on one of the clouds" Fluttershy spoke meekly as Twilight looked at her "she likes to nap a lot" "Well then Fluttershy since you've decided to tag along with us you might as well be useful, and check the clouds to see if she is napping" Twilight held an angry, unblinking look at Fluttershy, a small trick she'd picked up from Empress Moon. Yelling at people was a good way to portray your anger but to not yell and stare unblinkingly seemed to give others the impression you were angry at them. Stuttering to find words Fluttershy spread her wings and flew into the sky quickly, flying from one could to another until she found her blue, rainbow mane friend, Rainbow Dash, napping and snoring gently. Raising a hoof to gently shake her awake she quickly lowered it deciding against it, taking a big breath to yell at the top of her lungs that would be heard for miles around Fluttershy's voice came out a quiet whisper as she said "wake up Rainbow Dash" that couldn't even be heard over Dash's snores. "Oh my, I didn't know she was such a heavy sleeper" Fluttershy said to herself as she grabbed the cloud and pushed it downwards towards the small group "perhaps they can wake her up." Landing in the middle of the small group Fluttershy presented Rainbow Dash to Twilight with a weak smile, earning her a stern stare and a twitching eye. Twilight's horn began to glow and she blasted the cloud causing it to separate and Dash to fall to the ground and wake with a painful thud. "Rainbow Dash I assume?" Twilight looked down at Dash with a serious unamused look that made it clear to the blue pegasis she thought she was better then everypony "What the hay was that for?" Dash asked as she rubbed her head and stood up, glaring at Twilight. "You are supposed to be clearing the sky of clouds for the celebration tomorrow and all your doing is sleeping. I think the reason is clear enough but if you want me to spell it out for you I will" Twilight glared back with equal intensity, only to be blocked by Rarity's hoof "Ladies please, we are all civil here. Rainbow Dash this is Twilight Sparkle personal student of Empress Moon, she has been tasked in over seeing that all is ready for the celebration tomorrow. Twilight Sparkle this is Rainbow Dash, one of the fastest flyers in all of Equestria and the only pony to be forbidden to re-enlist in the army" Twilight broke her glare with Rainbow Dash and gave a questionable look to Rarity "how did that happen?" "I'll tell y'all how" Applejack cut in and stepped forward "Private Dash here was a member of reconnaissance, they're supposed to fly over and gather info on their given targets. Problem was she always engaged the enemy causing them to scatter and the army had to waste time trying to find them again. If Dash wasn't such a good flyer she'd still be grounded to this day" "Let me guess, you checked my record, lieutenant?" Rainbow Dash snorted, Applejack was the type of pony that annoyed her the most, the kinds to stick to the rules by each individual letter. "The day you arrived" Applejack hated ponies that picked and chose which rules to follow, it was those types that put others to risk. "Yes, alright I get the idea" Twilight cut in "but I still haven't received an answer as to why there are clouds in the sky" "That? Pfft I can clear the sky in 10 seconds flat" Dash said smugly as she spread her wings and shot straight up into the sky as if she were shot out of a cannon, Twilight could barely keep up as she watched the so called fastest pony proved her title, and true to her words Dash landed again in front of Twilight within 10 seconds leaving the unicorn gob-smacked. "Told ya" "That was awesome" Spike said as he looked at Rainbow Dash with new found admiration. "If you could have done that so easily why didn't you do that before you took a nap?" Twilight restrained herself from shouting Dash simply shrugged and replied "I like to get some exercise soon as I wake up" Twilight stammered to find the right words, unable to comprehend not completing all work and tasks given to a pony before sleeping. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out she asked Spike "what else is there to check?" Checking the list Spike ticked off Rainbow Dash's task "just decorations and food left" "Good. Rarity, show me the decorations in the Town Hall" Twilight demanded. "Rainbow Dash I've had such a good day, I got to talk to a baby dragon" Fluttershy spoke cheerfully and pointed to Spike as the small group began to move. "Hey, a dragon" Dash smiled as she noticed Spike for the first time, a few questions popping into her mind like what's it like to have scales and if she could watch him burn something with his fire. Twilight was thankful they were already in town as it meant only a short distance to the Town Hall and she didn't have to spend long trying to ignore conversations starting up again. As they all entered the town hall they saw a pair of ponies putting the last few ribbons around the hall, which Twilight had to admit looked perfect for the Celebration. "Impressive is it not Ms. Twilight? It took me a week to design and make sure we had everything we needed" Rarity smiled proudly as she looked around the room, but faulted as she saw a unicorn putting a bow on either side of a doorway. "Now wait just one minute, I told you to do everything by my design" Rarity's tone turned sharper as she stamped up to the unicorn and glared at her "what do think you are doing putting up gold ribbons? "Empress Moon will be entering from here, I thought it-" the unicorn tried to explain but was cut off by Rarity "I told you not to go against my design for a reason, those golden ribbons goes against everything in this room not to mention the Empress's dress, which I just finished making." Using her magic Rarity untied the golden ribbon's and placed them neatly next to her understudy "now darling think, which ribbon is appropriate to use?" Looking around the unnamed understudy looked at the decor and tried to think quickly, slowly she said "Black?" "No Not Black" Rarity screamed out making the pony jump "do you see any black here? No, you see blue. Dark blue. Nightsky blue, that is the colour you use for the ribbons donning the entrance the Empress will pass through, so you will return to my boutique, make some fresh nightsky ribbons with silver stars in them. NOW!!" Tumbling past Rarity the unicorn ran past the small group with a face full of panic, as Rarity rejoined the group she sighed heavily "the dear shows so much potential but never focuses on the full picture, only a small corner. Now Ms. Twilight as you can see the decorations are nearly complete and the ribbons will be done before the Empress graces us with her presence tomorrow" "Good, Spike cross decorations off the list and tell me who's in charge of the food" Twilight asked only for Applejack to step forward "Actually ma'am it's my family's duty to prepare the food for tomorrow, we own the apple farm outside of town" "Oh goodie, that means Applejack can take you there while I observe my understudy" Rarity smiled as she headed for the doors before Twilight could say anything, in truth Twilight was torn. On one hoof Empress Moon had told Rarity to guide her around Ponyville, but on the other Applejack was more suited and one less pony around her meant one less talking pony. "Um, I hope you don't mind, but I have to leave too, it's nearly time for flying practise" Fluttershy spoke up in her soft voice, only to be obscured by Rainbow Dash "Aw yeah I love flying practice, especially with the manticore's. Can I come?" Dash begged "Well, okay, but please don't tease everyone again when you win" "I guess it's just the three of us ma'am, if you'll follow me I'll lead you to Apple Acres Farm" turning Applejack led Twilight out of the hall and through the town as Spike whispered "Twilight, you sure we can't go with Rarity?" "While I would prefer Rarity complete the task assigned to her by my Empress I think lieutenant Applejack can fill the role easily enough, then afterwards I can have a quiet evening in the library with a book" "Okay" Spike sighed already missing Rarity, Twilight rolling her eyes. As they walked through the town and towards the Apple farm no one said anything, much to Twilight's delight as she doubted a small town solider like Applejack had anything of interest to say to her though she wished Spike would stop sulking. As she walked up the long path leading to the house Twilight could see ponies kicking the tree's while others caught the falling apples. As they reached the house Applejack lead them to a table with one long table, grabbing a spoon Applejack rang a triangle which could be heard over the whole farm and shouted "Soups On Everypony" Looking to see who was shouting everypony smiled and charged towards them, stopping just shy of trampling them. "Alright everypony today we have a special guest with us, this here is Ms. Twilight sparkle the personal student of Empress Moon, she's here t'see that everything is ready for our Empress's arrival tomorrow" Each pony looked at Twilight and saluted her as one, which impressed Twilight and reminded her of the guards back in Canterlot. "Is this your whole family?" Twilight asked as she looked at the various ponies "Whole family ma'am? These are just the ones that could make it, the rest weren't able to get leave to help. Allow me to introduce the ponies that are here, this is Applefritter Applebumpkin, Red Gala,Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp" pausing for a second Applejack took a lung full of air as not to pass out " and my big brother Big Macintosh, little sister Applebloom and finally Granny Smith" Twilight had to step around the giant pile of food that had been placed in front of her on the table to see the eldest mare she'd ever seen sleeping in a rocking chair, Applebloom walked up to her and gently shook her awake. "Eh? What? Time for fightin'? Somepony fetch my armour" Granny woke with a start and slowly raised herself out of her chair, blinking confusedly for a second "Granny sometimes gets confused, she sometimes thinks she's back in the army" Applejack whispered to Twilight, who had a look of deep thought on her face "Smith? I've heard that name before. Wait she can't be General Smith, one of the most decorated officers in the history of the Equestrian Army" Twilight had to look at the slow moving pony again. General Smith took the army by storm, quickly raising through the ranks and proving mares could lead as well as colts in and out of war times, she'd practically become a living legend and an inspiration to fresh troupes on what they could achieve no matter your background or circumstances "She sure is, each Apple family member is trying to make her proud as we serve in the army" Applejack said proudly, standing tall along with her family as Granny Smith slowly sat at the table. Looking back at Granny Smith Twilight sighed, realising the harsh truth of meeting a living legend. "Well it seems you've got the food fully prepared and ready for tomorrow. Spike, cross it off the list and-" looking around Twilight realised Spike wasn't next to her. "Twilight you've got to try this stuff, it's delicious" Spike muffled voice rang out, looking at the table she saw him stuffing a whole caramel apple into his mouth. "Spike what are you doing?" Twilight shot him an angry look and spoke through clenched teeth "we have to leave. Now" "You mean you ain't stayin' for dinner?" The young Applebloom asked Twilight, looking up at her with wide sad eyes. Looking between Spike gorging himself on the various apple treats, which seemed to be pleasing the Apple family, and Applebloom's sad eyes Twilight sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll stay. If only to hear General Smith's point of view from her past battles." Twilight suddenly found herself forced to sit at the table as the Apple family cheered around her, in between bites of food she tried to talk to Granny Smith but the older mare seemed to have trouble remembering where she was let alone battles from nearly half a century ago. Once most of the food had been eaten and Spike had had his fill, whilst the Apple family talked amongst themselves Twilight used her magic to place a groaning Spike on her back and sneaked out. Once she was down the path and on her way back to Ponyville she let out a deep sigh. "Finally, I can get away from all those crazy ponies" Twilight walked quickly and had to use her magic to keep Spike on her back, having gorged himself on too many treats to be able to do anything himself. "What about General Smith?" Spike asked woozily as he let out a burp "No offence to her but I think she might be the craziest pony around. all I want now is to get to the towns library and find a good book and have a quiet evening. Is that too much to ask?" Twilight asked "I guess not" Spike sighed as he fell into a light slumber, snoring softly as Twilight trotted through town. By time she got to her temporary lodgings it was getting dark, Twilight wished she was back in Canterlot watching as Empress Moon lowered the sun and raised the moon. As Twilight closed the door behind her she let the quiet darkness wash over her, a whole day of chattering, idiotic ponies had made her more stressed than when she had an up coming test of Nightmare Moon, but now she had the peace and solitude of the library. Suddenly a bright light filled the room and made Twilight blink sharply as loud cheers rang out, as her eyes focused again she could see the library full of ponies, and to her disbelief, right at the front was Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who was now out of her guard armour and wearing a Stetson hat. A pinkie pony bounced in front of Twilight with a huge grin on her face and giggled "did you like the surprise? Did ya did ya did ya?" "What is going on here" Twilight spluttered as she tried to back away from the grinning, bouncing pony "It's your surprise 'welcome to Ponyville' party that I made just for you, when I heard you were coming to Ponyville I thought 'I bet she doesn't have any friends here' and then I thought 'if I throw her a party she'll make lots and lots of friends'. Then I thought about fireworks and cupcake frosting for about an hour then I went all around Ponyville and invited all these ponies to your party and its SO GREAT" Twilight couldn't understand half the things the pony said but what confused her more was her ability to endlessly talk without pausing for breath "who and what are you?" "This here is Pinkie Pie ma'am, Corporal Pinkie Pie, she's in the explosives division." Applejack stepped forwards and introduced Pinkie "You let Her handle explosives?" Twilight asked in disbelief "Trust me ma'am there isn't any pony better with explosives than Pinkie Pie" Applejack smiled but faulted as she saw Twilight's face fill with anger "I can't believe this. First I'm forced to come to this backwater hick town and spend the day chasing after ponies who are the weirdest bunch I've had the mis-fortune of meeting. Said ponies then decide to follow me around all day driving me insane with their constant chattering, one of which I'm sure has 'relations' with the animals she trains. Just when I think I can have a quiet evening and relax, I find that a pony that seems to be the living definition of ADHD is the towns explosive expert, and broke into my lodgings to throw a surprise party." Twilight exploded with anger the stress and problems of the day finally being vented now that the given task from Empress Moon had been complete and the need for interaction was over. "You... you mean you don't like your surprise party?" Pinkie asked sadly as she sat down, her mane loosing some of its poof "Enjoy it? What kind of sane pony would enjoy a surprise home invasion party after the day I've had? Everypony leave, or I swear by the Empress I'll teleport you all to the middle of the forest" Twilight threatened as she walked through the crowd of ponies without really looking at them, climbing the stairs to the bedroom and slamming the door behind her. ---Break--- Twilight opened the door to her bedroom several hours after the noise had stopped and saw no pony had stayed after she'd warned them, though the library still needed cleaning thanks to the short lived festivities. Finding Spike sleeping on the floor where she'd dropped him she used her magic to place him on her back "come on Spike, it's nearly time for the sun to rise" "Oooh, I ate too much pie" Spike groaned as his stomach hurt "That's your own fault, now we have to leave or else we'll miss the Empress rising the sun and I'm sure she would hate for her personal student to be late to such an important event" as Twilight exited the library she moved quickly but smoothly, not wanting Spike to throw up on her. As she moved through Ponyville the few ponies that were still travelling to the town hall stared at her and whispered to each other, she could guess what they were talking about but she didn't care, after the parade she'd be able to leave Ponyville forever. As she entered the Town Hall Twilight saw it was packed with ponies and guards, which included Griffins and Minatours that were placed around the room in pairs away from the pony guards, the food was spread out on a long table and she saw the birds that were going to sing sitting on the large by the window with Fluttershy talking to them. She saw Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash talking to each other but turned and didn't give them a second glance, though Pinkie was bouncing around the room Twilight tried her best to ignore her. "You ok Twilight? You look nervous" Spike asked as he jumped off her back "I just hope my Empress took some precautions against Celestia, she said nothing to me of what she was going to do and just sent me here. I know she's the most powerful being on the planet but I feel I should of done more" Suddenly the birds started singing loudly, the conversations instantly stopping as the towns mayor took the stage and all eyes locked onto her. "Fillies and gentlecolts. Ponies and guests, it is my honour to announce to you that on this day one thousand years ago our ruler, Empress Moon, rose the sun on what was then the newly formed Equestrian Empire. With her leadership and the diligence of her citizens that empire has stood strong and grown, incorporating and accepting others into its fold." Mayor Mare spoke with pride as she recited her well rehearsed speech, she could see the suspense growing in peoples eyes as she dragged it on as long as she could. "And on this day, the celebration and anniversary of the Empire, the Empress herself has graced us with her presence and will be rising the sun, so now I graciously present our leader Empress Moon" Turning to face the balcony, Mayor Mare bowed with everyone else as the large curtain was drawn back to present Empress Moon, but after a few seconds of hearing nothing a few ponies risked looking up and gasped loudly "The Empress is missing" one pony shouted, causing the rest to look up and confirm it. A hushed babble rose as random questions were asked about what to do and where to look for her. Suddenly everyone stopped as sun light shone through the window. Everypony was confused, knowing the sun wouldn't rise if the Empress wasn't around. As some ponies strained their eyes to look at the sun a few saw a figure flying towards them, but as it got closer they knew it wasn't their empress, but something else. it was confirmed as a pure white alicorn landed on the balcony that was supposed to hold Empress Moon, her pastel rainbow coloured mane shimmering like liquid though there was no wind. "Citizens of Equestria" the alicorn spoke loud but softly so everyone could hear "your princess has returned" She looked down on the ponies to the confused and shocked faces, she had not expected much of a welcome but thought there would be more than silence. "Does no pony recognise me? Am I truly forgotten to history and cast from the mind from the ones I once tried to protect?" "I know who you are" Twilight shouted out, anger, nervousness and dread on her voice as the crowd parted so everypony was looking at her. "You're the princess that ruled us before the Empire was started, the older sister to Empress Moon, Princess Celestia" As the crowd whispered to each other Celestia sighed and closed her eyes "Empress. Is that what my sister calls herself? I fear to imagine what has happened in the last thousand years" "What has happened is that she united us, made us strong while you, you gave our enemies our homes, food and resources" Twilight shouted in anger, silencing the crowd and making Celestia stare at her in surprise "Princess Celestia bowed to our enemies and gave them gifts so they wouldn't attack us, letting them take what was rightfully ours. The more that came threatening at her doorstep the more she gave them" Celestia looked at the crowd and could see hatred and anger growing in their eyes and faces, unable to believe her subjects had changed so much in her time imprisoned. "No, my little ponies. I did not simply give away resources, I bartered peace treaties and made equal trades so we could live in peace" "We do live in peace, respected by our subjects, feared by our enemies and we do not trade with others. If a land has something the Empire needs we make it part of the Empire. We have no need for you Celestia, fallen princess of the sun" Twilight spat, her horn beginning to glow "We need and want strong leadership, we want our Empress and I know you've imprisoned her. Guards, apprehend her" Jumping into action pegasis and griffins jumped into the air and fly straight for Celestia while unicorns blasted stunning and freezing spells at her. Closing her eyes Celestia spread her wings and released a bright blast of light from her horn, blinding everyone for a second. As everyone's vision came back they saw Celestia was gone and there were burn marks on the wall where the spells had hit. "What do we do now?" One pony asked from the crowd "Isn't it obvious? We have to find Empress Moon" Dash shouted as she shot into the air "everypony spread out" "Now Hold On" Applejack shouted as she grabbed onto Dash's tail with her teeth stopping the rainbow maned pegasis from flying away "if Celestia has hidden the Empress then she could be anywhere, and ain't no normal pony that's got a clue where she could be. In fact, the only pony 'round here that's got any clue what's going on, is Twilight Sparkle" Everypony turned and looked expectantly at Twilight, hoping for some kind of answer to a question no pony asked.