Queen Celestia hated her little ponies.
Well hate is such a strong word. Celestia was annoyed by her little ponies at times, but she never outright hated them. Those were the thoughts of the ruler of the Solar Empire as she walked to her balcony that overlooked the whole of Canterlot and began her daily duty of raising the sun and lowering the moon simultaneously for her subjects. Her precious foals who she loved with all her heart. Her precious foals who were so fragile that they could not exist without her. Her precious foals who were giving her a headache with calls for war against another species.
As the new day dawned and it's light touched her empire, she walked back to her chambers and laid back down on her bed for at least a few more hours of rest before she had to deal with her subjects. Her little ponies weren't always so demanding and xenophobic. She remembered a time where they loved and tolerated all who came to visit the Solar Empire. A time where her ponies were satisfied with how they lived. Of course that had all changed when the Age of Free Chaos began 1000 years ago.
Queen Celestia closed her eyes as she remembered it like it was yesterday. The war with Discord.
"Surrender now Discord and you will be given mercy," Celsetia shouted as she flew above her army of ponies numbering in the thousands.
"You can't even get the Elements of Harmony to work can you Celestia?" Discord questioned with sneer crawling across his muzzle. "Why would I surrender when it's obvious who will when this war. Your thousand pony army or my one million discorded ponies."
The loss of pony lives.
Celestia stood in the middle of the now carcass filled battlefield, bloodied swords and broken bows and arrows stuck firmly in the ground. Her eyes wide and shimmering with tears as her lower jaw was clenched in sorrow and anger. Her golden armor dented and pierced in some places after her fight with Discord and eliminating some of the Discorded ponies. The war was over, but at what cost? The Discorded ponies all killed. Her army, now less than 200 remained.
Only one Captain had survived with his company and that was Captain Golden Appleseed. His normally tan brushed coat covered in the entrails of his foes, his brown mane deepened black by his own blood after surviving a glancing blow to his temple by a sword. Golden Appleseed's usual bright blue eyes darkened as he scanned the battlefield filled with his dead comrades, ponies he fought with, dined with, and shared dreams with. As much as he wanted to stuff his hoof down Discord's mouth he had orders to restrain him and try not to respond to the monsters taunt. Him and his company were currently tying up a defeated Discord with chaos magic inhibitors Celestia had made herself in preparation for this moment. As she limped over to him Discord looked up at her with a grin on his face despite the blood trickling out of his mouth from internal wounds.
"How could you Discord?"
"You say that like this is my fault."
"This is your fault! Look at what your chaos has wrought!"
"Wrong. If you had been able to use the Elements of Harmony this would never had happened. All these ponies are dead because you weren't good enough. Remember that Celly."
"How do you even know of the elements Discord?"
"That's my little secret Celly...unless you wish to bargain on who sold you out in the first place."
Celestia stood still as he listed her failings and spoke of a potential betrayal in her ranks. As much as she hated to admit it this disgusting beast was right if she had been able to use the Elements none of this would have happened...maybe. Celestia put a magic binding over his mouth to make sure he would spout no more of his nonsense and helped her ponies bury the dead. It took 2 days.
The attempted binding of Discord.
Celestia looked up from the book she was reading and glared at Discord hard as he lay unconscious chained to the stone floor of the basement of the Everfree Castle. Candles she had cast a spell on to float giving her enough light for her to read out the incantation of the binding ritual. She wasn't sure this would work but this was all she had. Celestia began chanting out the incantation and squinted in horror at what she had done.
Celestia's body ached in remembrance of that moment. Discord's writhing body had spewed out black and dark blue chaotic magic destroying her castle in the Everfree forest and had spread throughout the world changing it forever. All that was left at the decrepit castle was the now dead body of Discord, incapable of rotting somehow, a deranged smile on his muzzle as if this had been his plan all along. The Sun Queen had placed numerous spells upon the basement after she had escaped it, to seal the body from anyone foolish enough to explore the deadly Everfree and to hopefully trap any more chaotic magic that had not yet seeped out. It was to little, to late the entire world had been changed by the now free chaos magic that had dwelled within Discord.
Pegasi could no longer move the clouds nor manipulate weather. Earth Ponies while they could still farm food, no longer had that deep connection with the earth and plants. Unicorns were the ones who had the least to lose at first, if anything their magic grew stronger and unfortunately as a result they also suffered, many young unicorns that suffered from too much magic built-up could end up brain dead or the built up magic could result in an exploded horn causing unbearable pain for the unicorn with a chance of death.
The weather, unpredictable, the earth they farmed, never as abundant as it once was, if anything it grew hostile. Unicorns, now filling the growing number of mental institutions. All of this change in Equestria, all of it made them struggle harder for survival. She had managed to keep control of the sun and moon through her sheer power and force of will. However the freedom of the wind and earth from her little ponies hooves made other countries test her rule all too often.
The Griffon Kingdom had many a time tried to assassinate her during her in many ways for the first 20 years after the Age of Free Chaos had begin in an attempt to have her release her control over the sun and moon when negotiations failed between them. Celestia had considered releasing her control over them, but with her empire in such a fragile state she couldn't afford giving up any advantage she had over the other countries that were hostile to them.
Ponies all over Equestria didn't take the news of their Queen, who had saved them from the tyranny of Discord being attacked in such a manner and despite the fact of the uncertainty of the their new lives in the Empire they weren't willing to give up their savior without a fight. Golden Appleseed stuck with an aged body, but still maintaining his sharp mind formed a militaristic based secret society for protection against all groups/countries that would threaten Queen Celestia's rule with said Queens permission. He gathered all the able bodied ponies of all three races he could find and hunted down those who would cause harm to the newly formed Solar Empire and it's queen.
Over the course of a year the secret society, which had been named D.I.R.E which stood for Deadly Inquisition Ready Equines, had captured and tortured information out of many griffon assassins and over time had enough information to cow the Griffon Kingdom into submission for centuries. For Golden Appleseed's great service for his time in the war and protecting the Solar Empire from another war he had been made an honorary member of the royal family and his family forever hailed as loyal servants of the Empire.
In fear of an invasion from others Celestia ordered the masses to reproduce in an effort to raise numbers in the hopes of some of them joining the Royal Gaurd or D.I.R.E. Despite the fact no more attacks were made on the Empire xenophobia had set in deep into the minds of many of her little ponies and outsiders were met with hostility and suspicion. Soon other species just...stopped coming to Equestria and those who lived in the Solar Empire were chased out by ponies in fear of them plotting against them and taking their jobs.
Celestia got up from her bed when she heard a knock at her chamber doors.
"Who is it?" Celestia asked with a yawn blinking sleep out of her eyes as she stretched out her long fore limbs.
"It's Sunset Shimmer, Beloved Mother. I'm here to escort you to your breakfast."
A soft yellow glow surrounded the door handles and the doors were gently opened to reveal a bowing unicorn with a light orange coat with a matching mane and tail both red with yellow streaks going through them. Celestia knew that although her eyes were closed were they opened Sunsets aqua eyes would be glowing with admiration and love.
"My most loyal mage you know that I do not like it when you call me that." Celestia stated with a raised eyebrow as she walked past her and down a long hallway filled with the Solar Empires achievements over the centuries. "Tell me, where is the maid Dew Feather? She is the one that usually wakes me up in the morning. Did something happen?" Celestia inquired as Sunset trotted up beside her to keep up with the Queens long strides.
"Dew Feather has taken a day off at my command...Sol Invictus," Sunset whispered tentatively as the doors glowed aqua and swung open at her command. "After your breakfast your advisors would like to have word with you about the Changeling situation. There is much to discuss, my Queen."
Celestia walked into the Dining Hall and sat down at the head of the table, her Red Cap oatmeal and Chanterelles wrapped in lettuce, simple yet filling. "I see. You are dismissed. Tell them I will arrive as soon as I can."
"Of course, my Queen," Sunset whipered as she bowed out of the Dining Hall.
A single tear slid down Celestias cheek. If she had been 5 centuries younger she was sure she would start crying uncontrollable. She sat there staring at breakfast which was slowly getting cold and yet she didn't care. A few weeks ago the changelings had foolishly kidnapped foals and even old ponies all over Equestria for food. One of the changelings snuck onto the Apple Farm only to be captured by a resident D.I.R.E member, resulting in a call for war that spread all over the Empire. While she was angry about what happened she wasn't an idiot. Her advisors have been clamoring for the extermination of the changelings for years now. Surprisingly not for any xenophobic reason, but the fact was that they lived south of the border to them and Equestria was getting a bit too crowded nowadays.
She could refuse, but then again they were in dire need of more land. The homeless population was starting to rise and she couldn't even bear going outside nowadays because of the inevitable homeless pony that would plead with her for help. Celestia regretted that command for mass reproduction all those centuries ago. It was biting her back in the flank hard and she didn't like it. These ponies were suffering under her poor judgment and here she was sitting here crying over giving them more space to live. It was times like this that Celestia desperately wished she had somepony to talk about her problems and indecision to. Everypony either always agreed to what she said or put her up on a untouchable pedestal. It was lonely and her little ponies weren't exactly a big help in keeping the loneliness away.
Celestia straightened out her back causing a snapping sound that echoed out throughout the dining hall and began eating her cold Red Cap oatmeal in silence. As the Queen of the Solar Empire she had to do right by her little ponies. No matter how gruesome or what her stance was on the subject. Everything she did was for her little ponies, her precious foals. They needed her to survive. (I'm tired.) No matter the mistakes she made they were fated to happen anyway. (Were they really?) They needed her. (I just want to rest, please.)
Queen Celestia loved her little ponies. What would she do without them? (Be Free.)