An Ancient Threat

by Professor Tacitus

History Lessons

The clock struck noon as the train sat at Ponyville station, patiently awaiting its passengers to board so that they could disembark. Six mares stood, with the exception of Rainbow Dash who was floating, and waited for the last member of their group to arrive. Twilight tapped her hoof against the ground, her patience beginning to wear thin as she keeps taking glances at the clock.

“Where is he?” she asks no one in particular. “I told Tacitus to be here at noon so we could get to the Crystal Empire before nightfall.”

Just as she finished her sentence, she sees a large figure approaching. It takes her a moment to see that it’s Tacitus, who was wearing an impossibly large saddlebag bursting with books, papers, quills, and even some statues and pottery.

Twilight looked at him in disbelief. “What in Equestria are you doing with all that stuff? I said to only pack the essentials.”

Tacitus looked back at her incredulously. “This is essential. I need all of this for research.”

A loud slap is heard as Rainbow face-hoofs. “Tacitus,” said Twilight, “you can’t bring all of that. We have to travel light.”

“Fine,” Tacitus said with a sigh of regret. He took two books, one quill, and a few sheets of paper from the huge bag and put them into his smaller saddlebag. He had to bring something with which to do research. He was thinking about how he was going to get the rest of his luggage back home when he heard a crash come from above him. He looked up and saw Derpy pulling herself free from the hole in the roof of the station that she had made when she crashed. He waved to her and she waved back before falling off the roof and landing in front of him.

“Hey Tacitus!” she said as she sprang back up after what looked like a nasty fall. “We still on for muffins later?”

Tacitus gave her a sad look. “I’m sorry Derpy, but I’ve got to go up north for a little while. I’m not going to be able to make it today. I promise we’ll have lunch as soon as I get back.” He gave her a small smile to show that he meant it.

One of her eyes looked down in disappointment while the other one went to the center of the eye. “Oh. It’s okay, I understand.”

Tacitus started thinking about how he could make it up to her when he saw the overstuffed luggage he had brought with him. He had an idea.

“Hey Derpy, can you help me out with something? The train will be leaving soon and I don’t have time to take this back home before it leaves. I need somepony that I trust to take it back to my house for me. Can you do that?”

She beamed at him. “Really?! You trust me not to drop it or break anything?!”

He hesitated for only a moment before swallowing loudly and smiled at her. “Of course I trust you.”

She saluted him. “You can count on me! I’ll get this stuff back to your home in no time!”

She dashed off as quickly as she could, grabbing the large bag and carrying it as she flew into the air…in the wrong direction.

Tacitus called out to her. “Derpy! My house is that way.” He pointed her in the right direction.

She changed her course. “My bad!” A few moments later, a crashing sound was heard followed by an “oops.”

Tacitus put his hooves together in a praying fashion and looked into the sky. “Dear Celestia, there are priceless historical artifacts in that bag. Please, please, PLEASE don’t let anything be broken.”

“I can make no such promises,” spoke the voice of Celestia herself, who now stood right behind Tacitus. He yelped and jumped in surprise at the unexpected response. He quickly regained his composure and bowed as low as he could.

Celestia just giggled. “I’m sorry for startling you Tacitus, but I just couldn’t resist. And you don’t need to bow every time you see me.”

Tacitus’s face was so red with embarrassment that he wanted to just keep bowing so no one would see, but he rose nonetheless. He still wasn’t used to being so close to one of the Royal Sisters who had ruled Equestria for millennia. That reminded him: he really needed to see if he could interview the princesses one day. Living as long as they have, they must have experienced countless historical events personally. The things he could learn from them.

Celestia looked towards Twilight. “Are you and your friends ready for your journey?”

Twilight nodded. “I believe we are. Tacitus, did you clear up everything with Cheerilee?”

Tacitus had needed to tell Cheerilee that he most likely wouldn’t be back by Monday in order to teach the class, and that he may miss a few more days after that.

He nodded to Twilight. “Yes, I did. She completely understands.” Tacitus thought about what a great boss Cheerilee was. When he had come to her and told her what he was doing, she didn’t even hesitate before telling him that he was covered. Part of him was disappointed that he wouldn't be teaching for a little while, and that he wouldn't be seeing his students either. He missed them already.

Twilight’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Alright then, everything’s settled. Let’s get going.” Just as they began to make their ways towards the train, they heard someone call out.

“WAIT! Wait for me!” Spike was running as fast as his legs could carry him, a backpack strapped to his shoulders.

When he finally reached them, he slumped over, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. After a few breaths, he straightened up and looked at Twilight. “I want to come too.”

“I don’t know Spike,” she responded, “it could be dangerous. Besides, I need someone to look after the castle.”

Spike looked at her with pleading eyes. “Please Twilight, please let me come. I wanna help, and Princess Celestia said you’d need all your friends to help. Please let me come with you.”

Spike gave her a puppy-dog gaze in a desperate attempt to change her mind. Tacitus felt the need to help his friend and joined in his stare with the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster. Pinkie also joined in, but whether it was to help Spike or simply because it looked fun was anyone’s guess.

Twilight gave a relenting sigh. “Fine, you can come along. Just promise me you’ll stay close to us.”

“Thanks Twilight! I promise I will.” Spike quickly made his way to the train, anxious to get aboard before Twilight changed her mind.

“Somepony still needs to be here to keep an eye on things while I’m gone.”

Twilight began to swat at a fly that was buzzing around her ear, but stopped when she heard it speak. “Watch it princess!”

Twilight gasped in surprise before she recognized the voice. “Discord! What the hay are you doing?”

A small sound like tiny fingers snapping was heard, and where the fly once buzzed, Discord now stood. “I couldn’t help over-hearing that you need someone to look after things while you and the others go off on your epic quest. I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

Twilight looked skeptical, but she agreed nonetheless. “Alright. I’m trusting you to keep an eye on the castle and on Ponyville.” She shot him a warning look.

“I promise to keep several eyes on it.” As he said this, dozens of eyes began appearing on various buildings, terrifying the ponies that saw them and causing them to run away screaming. Before Twilight could reprimand him, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

“What have I done?” Twilight asked herself as she covered her face with her hoof.

“Don’t worry Twilight,” Celestia told her. “I believe that Discord means well and I trust him to watch over the town for a while.” She noticed something in Twilight’s eyes. “What else is troubling you Twilight?”

Tacitus looked over at Twilight and saw a much more worried look spread across her features.

Twilight looked at her teacher with nervous eyes. “It’s just…I…I know that we’ve gone on quests to save Equestria before, but…ponies lives have never been at stake before. If we don’t succeed, they’ll all…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence.

Tacitus walked up to her and put an affectionate arm around her shoulder. “I feel the same way Twilight. This is a huge responsibility, and it’s also my first time doing something like this.” As he spoke, the rest of the gang gathered around them and wrapped their arms around each other. “But I know that I can do it because I have all of you. And I know that you can do it because you have all of us. I know we’ll succeed Twilight.” He gave her a warm smile and the embrace between all of them tightened.

Twilight smiled back at him and looked at Celestia with fierce confidence. “We’ll be back with a cure and whoever or whatever is behind this before you know it Princess. I promise.”

“I know you will Twilight. You truly have some excellent friends.” With that, she disappeared in a blinding flash of golden light, leaving the group of friends alone on the platform.

***

The train sped through the open field, barreling towards its northern destination as smoke spewed from its top. Inside, the train’s eight passengers all busied themselves so as to pass the time until their arrival. Spike sat next to Rarity and read a comic book, while Rarity herself was sketching something on her pad. Rainbow Dash was reclining in her chair, shades covering her eyes, and was joined in her relaxation by Applejack, whose eyes were covered by her hat. Pinkie was coloring in a coloring book, making great use of the color pink. Fluttershy was watching the various birds and other wildlife that passed by as the train continued its trek, and Twilight had her nose buried deep in a thick book. Tacitus was anxiously looking out the window and bouncing in his seat like a moron.

“Are we almost there?” he asked for the twentieth time.

“No,” everyone responded for the twentieth time.

“Argh! Come on! Why can’t this train go any faster?!” Tacitus continued to bounce around anxiously.

Twilight closed her book. “Why are you so excited anyway?”

Tacitus gave her a dumbfounded look. “Are you kidding? I’m finally going to see the Crystal Empire!”

Applejack tipped her hat up so that her eyes could be seen. “You’ve never been there before?”

“Well, technically yes, but the last time I was there was before the Empire came back. I was actually on an expedition to find some Crystal Empire artifacts, but I ended up finding the ruins of Nova Domus instead. Found one empire while looking for another I guess.”

“But why are you so excited to see the Crystal Empire?” Twilight asked.

“Seriously?” he asked her. “Twilight, the Empire was gone for a thousand years and now it’s back. It’s a lost civilization that’s no longer lost, and it’s filled with ponies that lived a thousand years ago. This is a historians dream!”

Twilight thought on this for a moment. “Huh. I never thought of it like that. Unfortunately, we won’t really have time for historical studies.” Tacitus’s face dropped slightly. “We’re only going to stay long enough to get supplies and some information from Cadence and Shining Armor and then we’re heading out walking the rest of the way to the ruins.”

He ceased his bouncing but still looked excitedly out the window. “Still, to see a piece of history, to see ponies that lived a thousand years ago. I can’t wait.” He was silent for a few moments. “Are we there yet?”

“AAAAHHH!” shouted Rainbow as her glasses flew from her face. “Tacitus, if you ask that one more time, I can’t be held responsible for what I do! So please, for the love of Celestia, find a way to entertain yourself and stay quiet until we get there!” She settled back into her chair, although not quite as comfortably.

Tacitus gave an impatient sigh, before an idea donned on him. He had the perfect thing to keep himself entertained. He levitated his saddlebag and took out a stack of cards that were bound together by a rubber band. He looked at them excitedly.

“Anypony want to play some flashcards with me?” He waved the cards around and expected everyone to accept his offer in a heartbeat. However, all he heard was silence and murmurs of rejection. He looked disappointedly at the deck until he heard someone speak.

“I’ll play.” Tacitus looked and saw that it was Twilight who had spoken. He smiled at her. He knew she’d be game. She set down her book and took the seat directly across from him.

“Alright, so here’s how we play,” he said as he took the rubber band off the cards. “Each card has an important individual form history on it. You have to guess who it is.” Twilight nodded in understanding and Tacitus drew the first card. It depicted a short pony with a fancy blue military uniform and an oversized hat. He had one hoof stuck inside of his shirt.

Twilight answered almost immediately. “That’s Naponyon.”

“Correct!” He pulled out another card. This one showed an armored pony that had an arrow in its heel.

Again, almost immediately, Twilight answered. “Afillies.”

“Correct again.” This went on for a few more minutes with Twilight guessing correctly each time. It wasn’t until a card that depicted a goat wearing an ornate headdress and carrying a crook and flail did she not answer immediately. She sat there and rubbed her chin for a while before she finally spoke.

“I give up. I honestly have no idea who this is.”

“This is Ramses,” Tacitus explained. “The first and only goat to rule Equypt. He was the advisor to the previous pharaoh, Amanehotep, and was made his successor when he didn’t have any children of his own. A lot of ponies weren’t happy being ruled by a goat, but he proved himself to be a very effective leader. He’s even considered one of the greatest in their history. You know…” He stopped himself as he realized he was ranting. “Sorry,” he said in embarrassment, “I get carried away sometimes.”

Twilight just giggled at him. “It’s okay. I actually enjoy a good history lesson every now and again. But how about we move to a different subject now?” She levitated her own saddlebag over to her and pulled out, not one, but two stacks of flashcards. “I always bring them on long trips, but no one’s ever played with me till now. Let’s do science first.” She set one of the decks down and pulled from the other one a card that depicted an uppercase B and a lowercase e. “Which element is this?” Twilight asked.

Tacitus just stared at the card for a few moments before sighing. “I have no clue.”

Twilight looked a little surprised. “It’s beryllium. Okay, let’s try this.” She held up another card that showed: F= _ X a. “Force equals what times acceleration?”

Again, Tacitus just stared at the card, his mind utterly blank. “Twilight, ask me about any ancient civilization; their language, their culture, their great leaders, the wars they fought; and I can tell you everything. History is my passion, but in other academic subjects, I’m very average. Except science, which I am just terrible at.”

Twilight was undeterred. “Alright then, we’ll try astronomy.” She grabbed the other deck and pulled out a card showing a pattern of stars, that to Tacitus just looked haphazardly placed and formed nothing. “What constellation is this? Hint: it’s a famous hunter that wears a belt.”

Tacitus stared at the card, but this time it wasn’t due to him not knowing the answer. Instead of looking at the stars, Tacitus was staring at the darkness that made out the background. It was the same pitch blackness that covered the eyes of those sick ponies. The eyes of his parents.

His ears flattened against his head and his eyelids drooped slightly. “Hey Twilight, I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like playing anymore.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned away from her and went back to staring out the window.

Twilight put down the cards a looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong?” The others had noticed the shift in tone and were beginning to inch closer to him in their seats.

“Nothing,” he lied. “Just not good at astronomy is all.”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” said Pinkie.

“Tacitus, you can talk to us,” said Twilight. “I thought you would have known that by now.”

Tacitus looked and saw all of his friends looking at him, waiting for him to explain himself. He had to tell them. He sighed before he spoke.

“I was just remembering the eyes on those sick ponies.” A collective shudder overtook them all as they remembered the sight of the patients. “Those ponies had the same symptoms my parents had when they died.” He absent-mindedly grasped his scarf as he spoke. “The eyes, especially. They had those same black eyes. That’s why I wanted to come, because I want to know what it was that killed them. I want to know where the sickness came from.”

Twilight put her hoof on his shoulder. “I promise we’ll figure out what caused it and we’ll find a cure.”

“I just wish someone had done that when my parents were sick.”

Everything was silent for a few moments, no one knowing how they should respond. Rarity finally broke the silence.

“Tacitus, since you’ve been there before, why don’t you tell us a little bit about Nova Domus? I’d love to hear the riveting history that it must hold.” She gave him a kind smile.

Tacitus smiled in return, thankful for the opportunity to change the subject. “It is actually a fascinating story. But, first you’d need a brief history of the Roamen Empire itself before you hear about Nova Domus.”

“Great,” said Rainbow. “A boring egghead history lesson. I got enough of that when I was studying for the Wonderbolts exam.”

The others glared at her, but Tacitus gave her a cheeky grin. “You know Rainbow, this story is pretty exciting. It has heroes and wars and intrigue. It’s kind of like a Daring Do novel.” She had taken his bait. Rainbow now sat upright and seemed to pay more attention than anyone.

Tacitus felt like he was back teaching in Equestria University, and he began to speak. “The area that was the Roamen Empire was a vast stretch of land that lied north of what one day would be called Equestria. It was a powerful empire that was almost constantly at war with its barbarian neighbors, but it was internally peaceful and stable. However, during the reign of the last true Emperor and Empress, the alicorns Solarus and Noctus, they were betrayed and murdered by their greatest general: Imperius.

“Imperius was a unicorn who was born with a strange mutation; some sources say two horns while others say three eyes, which gave him incredible magical power. He disappeared for five years and returned as a master of dark magic. Some say he was the first unicorn to use dark magic, and others even say he created dark magic. Regardless, he used that power to usurp the throne and raise an army of the undead to enforce his will.

“He attempted to kill the two princesses as well, but they managed to escape, although they became lost and were alone for centuries before they revealed themselves and took their birthright as rulers. Although they became the rulers of Equestria rather than Roam.”

“Hold on a minute,” interrupted Applejack. “Are you sayin’ that Celestia and Luna were the princesses of the Roamen Empire?”

Tacitus looked somewhat surprised. “Yeah, they are. I thought everyone knew that. Starswirl the Bearded confirmed from Celestia herself and wrote about it in his book on ancient civilizations.” He looked around and saw all of them, even Twilight, shaking their heads. “Well anyway, Imperius ruled with an iron hoof and destroyed anypony who got in his way. Immediately after he seized power, he decided he needed a way to scare the empire into submission; a display of his power that would destroy any thoughts of rebellion. So, he used his magic to cause the volcano Mount Vehoovius to erupt. It destroyed the city of Ponypeii and killed everypony in it.”

He paused for a moment to let that sink in. A horrified look was present on the faces of all his listeners. “However, it had the opposite effect. The citizens of Ponypeii became martyrs. To those that were unsure whether they should fight, they now knew that they had to, but they needed somepony to lead them.” Tacitus began searching through the deck of cards he brought with him until he found the one he was looking for. “Luckily, they found the perfect pony.”

He showed them the card, which depicted an armored unicorn wielding a gladius. “That looks just like the pony in the statue we were studying earlier,” said Twilight.

“That’s because they’re the same pony. This is Aeneighus, the Roamen Empire’s greatest hero and close friend to the previous ruling family. He led the rebellion against Imperius, but it took time to build up a sufficient force, gather intelligence, and pick the right moment to attack. Years went by as the rebels engaged in guerilla warfare with Imperius’s forces and various rebel spies infiltrated his ranks.

“During this time, a group of refugees attempted to escape from Imperius’s regime and fled south to the very edge of the Empire’s borders. They scaled the mountains, and on the other side established a city they called Nova Domus, which means ‘New Home.’ The refugees made contact with the rebels, and agreed to let them use the city as their base of operations. The city became a bastion and headquarters for Aeneighus and his allies.

“But they were discovered. Under torture, a captured rebel spy revealed the location of Nova Domus. Imperius sent a force of dragons that he had corrupted to serve him to wipe out the city. They succeeded. Fortunately, a series of tunnels built under the city allowed most of them to escape. Shortly afterwards, the rebels made their move.

“They attacked the Imperial City of Roam itself. Aeneigus faced Imperius in single combat and destroyed him, but lost his life in the process. Imperius was defeated and his army of the dead became dust.

“But it was hardly a happy ending. With the princesses still missing, there was no proper heir to the throne and the nobles began to fight amongst themselves. And with Aeneighus dead, there was no one who could unite the empire and the empire fell into chaos and civil war. Eventually, the Roamen Empire was no more and in its place were the Three Tribes. The rest, as they say, is history.”

His friends appeared to be enraptured as he ended his tale, even Rainbow Dash.

"That was actually a pretty cool story,” Rainbow said.

Tacitus grinned at her. “History is the greatest story ever told, and it’s completely true. More or less.”

“Pulling into Crystal Empire Station!” called the conductor.

The excitement of seeing the Crystal Empire returned to Tacitus and he grinned from ear to ear. “Yes! Finally!”

He and the others made their way towards the door of the train and stepped out into the Crystal Empire.

Comments

[The Hat Mann]

No spelling mistakes (once again) and a good chapter all together. Good work.

[balletdivagirl]

I noticed that no one else has commented about this, so I will. Your use of our history and myths made to fit Equestria is excellent. I love Classical Myth and Roman History so I'm totally geeking out over how much you know!

[Professor Tacitus]

4970852 Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I'm a huge history nerd, so I thought I'd put my own spin on Equestria's past.