Prologue - An Empress and Her Subjects
WARNING: For those who haven't seen the prequel go back and read it because this story will be even more violent, I don't want you all to not be warned So if you are sensitive to this kind of stuff then you have been warned.
Returning Home Arc II - An Empire of knowledge
Twilight strode down the halls of the Canterlot Castle at her side walked her friends. Rainbow and Pinkie walked on her right as Discord and Fluttershy walked on her left a filly in Fluttershys arms. Twilight took a deep breath as they exited the castle and were met with twelve figures in black armor behind them a carriage stood with two centaurs strapped into it. Seven of the twelve wore full armor in a ancient style while the others wore different uniforms. As Twilight approached them the group turned to her and immediately knelt before her.
"Empress Sparkle, it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." A women in robes said calmly. The women from the waist up was a Pony with dark tan fur while from the waist down she seemed to have the body of a lion, folded on her back were mighty eagle wings similar to those of a Griffon. "I am Mythic Force, Sphinx guardian of the Great Library and Leader of the Mage Guard." She said.
"Your Majesty, it is an Honor to meet you. I am Ebony Moon, I am honored to server under you as Commander of the Dusk Guard." A Pegasus Stallion said said calmly. He wore plain heavy black armor and a red cape signifying his as a captain.
The next to speak was a mare in lighter armor that was well decorated. "Empress, I am Lunar Celesteal of the Knights of Dawn, knighted by Master Loyalty. I and eleven others have each been chosen as your first Knights by the Masters."
"Why are you bowing to Twilight? She hasn't even been crowned yet." Discord asked curiously.
"That may be true but she's still the apprentice of the Masters." Said another of the warriors that appeared to be a nine tailed fox. "Forgive my rudeness your Majesty, I am Victory Moon Captain of the Imperial Guard."
"What the heck are you guys talking about?" Rainbow asked confused. "Mage Guard, Dusk guard, Knights of Dawn, Imperial Guard, what the heck are you talking about?" She asked angrily.
Lunar Celesteal sighed as she rose. "This is not the place to discuss such information." She said as she turned to Twilight. "The carriage is prepared for you and those who wish to accompany you. It would be wise to leave immediately as we have a long journey ahead of us."
"What about the Changelings?" Twilight asked.
"I have some guards getting them, they will follow shortly."
Twilight nodded and approached the carriage as Victory Moon opened it. Twilight calmly stepped in to it and her friends followed quickly after, once they had entered the for commanders followed as well with Ebony Moon stepped in last with the door shut behind her and the carriage lurched forward.
Twilight watched as the carriage moved quickly many of the guards and warriors fanned out in formation and they charged through the streets of Canterlot. "Now that we are alone we may discuss the finer details of our duties, however before that We would like to know how much you know, your Majesty." Ebony Moon said calmly.
Twilight nodded. "I understand, besides it would be best to bring my friends up to speed on the situation as well. However I must first ask what you plan for the Changelings. With Chrysalis's death at my hands they now serve me, will they be welcomed or shunned?"
"We have changelings already in the Empire." Mythic Force said calmly. "I see no reason we can not welcome them as well."
"Thank you." Twilight said.
"So can you now explain all this?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
Twilight nodded and clearing her throat. "I only know what my masters have spoken of on the Empire but I will explain. The Harmony Empire is an ancient empire that was founded by the original bearers and creators of the Elements of Harmony. The Empire consists of every race on Equus and is built upon four core principles: Unity, Duty, Ideals, and Truth.
Unity means to bring together all races of Equus and have them coexist together peacefully.
Duty means the Empire believes that duty is to be followed above all. Be it as a solder, scholar, or simply as a citizen of the Empire, Duty comes first."
"What about family?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"That falls into the category of Duty." Ebony Moon replied. "The Empires Duty is to Family first, knowledge second, and finally the Empire."
Twilight nodded and continued. " Ideals means the Harmony Empire believes that the beliefs and ideals of all are important as well as the pursuit of these ideals.
Truth means the Empire is forged on the belief that Knowledge is true power and as such citizens of the Empire travel throughout the world gathering knowledge and learning all they can.
The Harmony Empire also contains the largest archive in all of Equus. It contains every work ever written from fiction to non-fiction. Most of the Empires citizens are extremely dedicated to seeking knowledge and any new information they acquire is recorded and placed in the archives."
"So it's basically nerd city." Rainbow said with a sigh.
Twilight chuckled. "I doubt that you will have much of a problem with that Rainbow."
Rainbow turned to Twilight with a raised eyebrow. "Oh come on egg head, what can a nerd do?"
"Slaughter an army of Dragons." Lunar Celesteal said calmly causing Rainbow to freeze.
"The Harmony Empire is the only place on Equus that contains a non-bias history meaning that history is written as it was not as it is believed to be. As a result the Empire has many enemies who wish to destroy these secrets and prevent the truth coming out. Unfortunately for them the Empire is vary protective of the knowledge contained with in the archives." Twilight said with a smile. "In ancient times they were known as the only kingdom to not only defeat the Holy Romane Legions but to also as the destroyers of the Kingdom of Alicornia."
"Wait you mean that a city of book nerds were the ones to wiped out the most advanced race ever! I thought that the Alicorns destroyed it because they were so arrogant they claim to be gods." Rainbow exclaimed on shock.
Twilight nodded. "The kingdom of Alicornia was bent on destroying the Empire and obtaining the knowledge for themselves. Eventually the Empire was fed up with dealing with them so they gave then a choice, leave the kingdom and live or be wiped out. The Alicornians Laughed the threat off and the next day they were wiped out by the Empire."
"That is correct, your Majesty. As to your belief that they were wiped out by Alicorns, that was our doing." Mythic Force said calmly. "Now allow us to explain the roles that our groups play, I shall go first. Now as said earlier I am the leader of what is called the Mage Guard. The Mage Guard has one single purpose, to defend the knowledge of the Harmony Empire. Every book, scroll, scribe, scholar and researcher in the empire are under the direct protection of the Mage Guard. If necessary a Mage Guard has the authority to override the Ruling family and any officer. We take our job extremely serous as it is perhaps the most important on the Kingdom."
"As I said earlier my name is Ebony Moon." The Stallion said calmly. "I am Captain of the Dusk Guard, the Dusk Guard acts as police force and as the kingdoms main military might. In a sense you could say we are the Empires version of this countries Royal Guard only we are properly trained and always combat ready." The stallion said calmly.
"A step up from the Dusk Guard would be the Knights of Dawn." Lunar Celesteal said calmly. "Member of the Knights of Dawn are selected from the best of the Dusk Guard and are then knighted. While normally it would be you, as the Empress, that knights us we were selected by the Masters however if you wish to remove us or evaluate us them we will be willing."
"That's not necessary." Twilight said as she shook her head. "If my Masters saw you worthy then I see no reason to question their judgement."
Lunar Celesteal smiled and bowed her head. "We will not fail in your trust. We are called upon when the Dusk guard is unable handle a situation and also act as consultants or special guards. As a Knight of Dawn we are also given a rank within the nobility of the Empire."
"What is the Nobles attitude?" Twilight asked.
Lunar Celesteal smiled. "Unlike in other places they are kind and don't act snobby as a result they are well respected." She said with a hint of pride. "In the Empire Nobles are not given there titles by blood so they must earn there rank as a noble, since they must earn there place through work and labor most see it as a sign that they have led a honorable life and remain steadfast to their traditions and are well grounded and worldly. However if a noble chooses to abuse their power then they are severely punished."
Twilight nodded. "I see." She said before turning to Captain Moon. "I believe it to be your turn Captain Moon." She said surprising the vixen.
"Oh yes, I am Captain Victory Moon. I act as the Captain of the Imperial Guard." The kitsune said quickly before taking a breath. "The Imperial Guard are selected from the best of the Knights of Dawn. We are your personal guards and as such their will be at least one of us with you at all times."
Twilight nodded. "I assume that the other six out there are the other guards?" Twilight asked.
"Yes ma'ma." Captain Moon said with a smile. "Served with that bunch for years."
"Tell me about them." Twilight said.
"Well there is Sharp Eyes, she's a Griffon and our sniper. She pretty quiet and doesn't like crowds all that much. Next is Astral Mask she's a Windigo and act as our infiltration and stealth specialist. Unsurprisingly she is actually pretty cold to others but she can be nice and does have a soft spot for kids. Next is Dark Shadow, He's a Terrestrial and our assassin. He is trained in ninjutsu as well as martial arts and military CQC. No one has ever heard him speak. There is a rumor that he is actually mute however this is only rumor. Personally I think he simply prefers to not talk."
Twilight nodded. "Given their professions I assume Dark Shadow and Asteral Mask don't get along well being what they are."
Captain Moon sighed. "Yeah, since they're both spies they don't exactly get along well but when the mission requires them to work together they are perhaps the perfect duo. Watching them battle together is like watching a dance with no step out of sync and no movement wasted."
"I look forward to seeing what they can do." Twilight said with a smile.
Captain Moon nodded. "Next is Ebony Aura she is a unicorn and our Mage. Ebony is actually pretty weak in physical combat where she excels is in her powerful magic combat skills. One odd feature about her is that she has a natural ability to identify any spell that is used."
"That is a rare talent." Twilight said with a smile. "It's called Mages Foresight and allows the user to see the spells matrix as it's cast. this allows the user to identify the magic sometimes even before it is cast."
"Huh, didn't know it had a name." Captain Moon said. "Next up is the Hippogriff Star Breeze, our medic. Normal she's in the laboratory working on new medicine or healing patient she is just as capable in the field and is damn good at keeping us in the fight. Lastly we have our off site support, Aqua Starfish. He's an Earth pony technician and assists us in the field by running our comms and giving tactical information about the location. He provides everything from maps of the area to enemy placement and even tactical data."
Twilight smiled. "They sound like fine warriors but you forgot one." She said with a smile.
Captain Moon stopped for a moment before turning to Twilight confused. "No, I named them all and... oh..."
Twilight smiled. "Who are you Captain Victory Moon?" She asked.
The Captain sat quiet for a moment before chuckling. "Your just like how they said." She said with a smile. "My name is Victory Moon and as you know I am the Captain of Imperial Guard however I will also be your personal Guard meaning that I will be with you at all times."
"If I may ask, what exactly are you?" Fluttershy asked curiously. "I've seen foxes before but I've never seen one with none tails or that can talk." She said.
Captain Moon chuckled. " I am a Kitsune Vixen or as you say female. We Kitsune are the native species that lives where the Empire exists. Long ago we were not united but rather separate smaller countries that were ruled over by Lords. At some point the original bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the Masters, came and united us creating the Harmony Empire and the first Dynasty."
"Oh that's so fascinating!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Can you use magic?" Rainbow asked.
Captain Moon nodded. "Yes, we can use magic. When a Kitsune is born they normally have only one tail, if they are very powerful then they may have two but that's it. However as we grow older and wiser we gain more tails and subsequently more power, the most we can have is nine. To gain ones ninth tail a Kitsune must create a personal Magic that only they can use, have eight tails already and have great magic. After we have mastered our personal magic we are given the right of Ascension and if we accept then we gain a degree if immortality.
"So your a immortal being?" Discord asked shocked.
Captain Moon shook her head. "Sort of, a better definition is we gain agelessness as we stop ageing but and gain a accelerated healing factor but we can still die if our injuries are to great. So we can die but it takes a lot to actually put us down."
Discord nodded. "I've heard about such things but have never seen it, quiet fascinating."
"Sorry to interrupt this little nerd convention but where exactly are we going?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight smiled. " Beyond the Lands of the East and over the Edge of the World. To a land called Nihon Yamato." She said.
A changeling ran as fast as he could through the halls of the palace,once he finally stopped before the doors to the throne room. "I have urgent news for the Queens." He gasped out to the guards who opened the doors for him. The changeling stood their for a moment catching his breath before entering and approaching the thrones and Kneeling. "Queen Astrid of the Wulvens & Vulpines, Queen Rayla of the Black Changeling Hive, I bring word from Equestria. Twilight Sparkle has returned just as you predicted and slew Queen Chrysalis, she now makes her way to the Harmony Empire as we speak."
A changeling Queen with all black chitin looked to the other Queen seated on her throne, a wolf with dark blue fur. Slowly the wolf opened her eyes revealing them to be a glowing yellow. "Prepare my Chariot, I wish to greet the new Empress there personally."
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I could be naïve for thinking this but it sounds like the two queens are neutral.
Also has the Empire just been semi-dormant for the past 6+ millennia?
i like it. nice set up. i look forward to seeing where this goes. keep up the good work!
9279039
The Empire has been active but those who knew of it thought it was merely a legend. With it being confirmed that it's real means trouble for a lot of kingdoms. There is a reason as to why it simply seemed to stop doing anything but I won't be saying as it will give away far too much of what is to come.
All I can say is that if one looks between the lines them you can see what's been going on with them as well as to the name of the story.
I have a really big theory since you used Kerrigan in the prequel and you refer to something that is of some thing more dark can we expect Amon the corrupted xel’naga as like some rare species that was thought extinct
That would really seem interesting
Could business be picking up already? This sequel is gonna interesting
9279397
You can expect rare and different species but the Kerrigan thing was kind of a one off. This isn't really a displaced story or a cross over but I may or may not have plans for something similar to the xel’naga.
I loved the first one so I know I will love this one as well
Who is this other changling queen, I have an Idea but i won't jump to conclusions
Yes (I might know what your gonna do but I won’t spoil)
Also it wouldn’t be bad to maybe do a Starcraft cross over I’ve seen some good ones on this so I mean yeah but you don’t have to I’m just giving you an idea for a new story as you have done some cross overs (I think)
Holy 🦆 I just read the discription of this again and I realized that part of it is a mention to another story’s chapter
9281503
I don't think it mentions another story...oh, yeah it does reference the prequel a bit.
Lot of night or dark names for the imperials. A subtle protest against Celestia or coincidence?
9281769
Could see that
The Eternal Empire... I hope it does better than the one with same name in galaxy far far away)
9283144
I hope so.
RIP
i.ytimg.com/vi/OEnfDSg9LUY/hqdefault.jpg
Rip indeed
Every time I reread returning home the prequel to this story I just think of legends never die song in my head
makes one wonder, chrysalis had to of known of the harmony empire then.. if the other queens knew
Looking forward to this.
Hopefully Twilight doesn’t suddenly attempt a stab from changeling PTSD. Besides that I welcome the new Harmony empire and hope to some sort of deity that nothing goes wrong and everyone is happy. Nope no bad things ever. Can’t wait to read this bad boy!
9284035
nah chrysalis was incompetent
aww is this another dead story. oh wait it was published Thursday nevermind. wow I’m actually not too late
Serve under
Victory Moon, Captain of The Imperial Guard
Very protective, non biased
Dusk Guard
I've been waiting for this, glad it's back in action.
This is good, I like this.
More please
The end of this chapter just blew my mind Because i also a changeling queen OC by the name of Rayla that i made back in July what are the chances of that?
ohhh... by the sun-blasted Sands, you really need an editor...
those poor commas and apostrophes...
Very promising!
Tokoyami!!
Huh, I know someone with that character name