Many centuries before, there lived legends. The legends that are forgotten, and are buried, never to be found. Until one little determined unicorn will uncover the hidden secrets of the world.
In the fresh, clear sky, a little unicorn filly named Twilight Sparkle trotted to Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns. "Good morning Twilight," Princess Celestia greeted her as she came in. "Hi Princess Celestia!" Twilight greeted,as she took out her books.
"Today, we will be reviewing the history of Equestria," Celestia said. "Good morning, sister," Princess Luna said as she walked into the room. "Good morning Luna," Celestia greeted her sister. "Oh, Luna, could you please help Twilight review her work, I just remembered I need to run some errands."
"Of course, Celestia," Luna sat in Celestia's place. "Princess Luna?" Twilight asked. "Yes?" Luna replied. "I know this sounds a bit silly, but is there some history that hasn't been known?" "Hmm... Actually there is," Luna answered. "It is a story." "Ooh, can you tell me?" Twilight asked eagerly. "I don't know, Princess Celestia told me you have something else to do," Luna pointed out. "Pleeeeease?" Twilight begged. "Alright, fine," Luna said. "This story is about The Forgotten."
"Once upon a time, long long ago, there lived a magical land. The ponies had finally found land after years of searching the seas. Empress Equestria, their alicorn leader, had found the land, and then was made empress. She had a white coat, a red and green mane and tail, and a shiny golden pirate telescope as a cutie mark. There were friendly ponies, a mix of all, living together in peace and harmony.
"Then one day, the ponies finally voted on what they had wanted to name their new found land. The majestic name they gave it was Equestria, in honor of Empress Equestria. They threw a big, grand party. It had been a year since they moved into the land. Then, they again threw The Equestrian Celebration, that was what they had called it.
"They decided to hold the celebration in the place we know as the Everfree Forest. Which was also located near their villages, and very close to the Empress's castle.
"All of the ponies joined together, and were having the time of their lives. Empress Equestria had an older sister, Sparkly Jewel, a selfish, greedy unicorn who wanted everything for herself. She had a green coat, a blue and white mane and tail, and a purple jewel as a cutie mark. She hated the The Equestrian Celebration, because it was all because of her sister who found the land in the first place.
"On that night, Sparkly Jewel chanted the spell of the Wicked Witch, who appeared after she had summoned her. The alicorn had snake-like green hair, a black coat, and no cutie mark. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my Sparkly Jewel. What do you desire this night?" She asked. "I want to rule Equestria for myself, everypony shall bow down to me!" Sparkly Jewel requested. "Very well then," Wicked Witch said before she cast dark magic from her horn that wrapped around Sparkly Jewel, that transformed her into a sphere.
"Darkness rose into the air, and frightened the innocent ponies, who ran for their lives. Out from it all, came a deep black alicorn, whose dark blue mane and tail snapped in the air, and eyes were light blue with green sharp shards like pupils. Her cutie mark, gone.
She laughed a maniacal laugh, and beamed in a demonic voice, "I AM YOUR EMPRESS, AND YOU SHALL ALL BOW DOWN TO ME!" Empress Equestria rose into the air. "Sparkly Jewel, how could you? Why would you turn into a monster just to feed your selfish greed?" Empress Equestria inquired, "I AM NOT SPARKLY JEWEL, I AM NIGHTMARE DARKNESS!" Sparkly Jewel indicated,"She cast dark lasers against her sister."
"Empress Equestria shielded herself with her ball of light, and shot magic to attack Nightmare Darkness. The two sisters fought, and everything was destroyed. Finally, Empress Equestria fell, Nightmare Darkness's magic was too strong for her. "NOW, TO FINISH YOU, DEAR SISTER, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY!" And with that, she destroyed Empress Equestria once and for all. Then, She cast dark magic from her horn, which came and wrapped innocent ponies into spheres, and reformed them into her dark minions."
Celestia walked into the room. "Twilight, have you finished your reviewing?" "Princess Celestia, is it really true that Equestria was named after a ruler called Empress Equestria, and that her sister turned evil and used dark magic to take over the throne?" Twilight asked. Celestia grabbed Luna to a corner. "How much did you tell her?" Celestia whispered. "Only half of it," Luna replied. "She's not ready yet!" Celestia hissed. "But she had to know at some point," Luna pointed out. "But not now!" Celestia said. Twilight sat staring at the two sisters arguing in a corner.
"Twilight, that all was just a fairy tale that Princess Luna and I were told when we were fillies. It's not real, don't worry about it," Celestia said, glaring at Luna from the corner of her eye. "Now, let's get back to our history lesson, shall we?"
Twilight returned back to her senses for her next lesson. She thought more about the story Princess Luna told her, and was eager to find out more. She saw Princess Celestia teaching some other students. Twilight saw Princess Luna, and walked over to her. "Princess Luna, can you finish the story?" Twilight requested. "I don't know, Princess Celestia said you have some important lessons to get to," Luna replied. "Pleeease?" Twilight begged again. Luna glanced at her sister, and thought for a moment. "Then, she said, "I'm sorry Twilight, I promised not to tell, and besides, you do have some studying to cover up." Twilight frowned, and walked back to wait for her mentor to come.
But she just had to know more about The Forgotten. She craved for the knowledge. Celestia finished up with her other students and walked over to Twilight. "Today we will be reviewing more about the history of Equestria. Take out your notes Twilight."
The next day was an uneventful Saturday. Twilight sat on the floor of her bedroom, with a dull expression across her face. She peeked out the window. Then Twilight thought about The Forgotten. She grew more curious each day, and hated not to learn more about it. Then Twilight thought as she looked through the window. "Today, I'm going to the Everfree Forest."
Twilight packed a saddlebag that contained a daisy sandwich, water, and a notebook to record her observations. 'A smart filly always packs an emergency pack,' Twilight thought as she went downstairs. "Hello Twilight, are you going to play outside?" Her mom, Twilight Velvet asked. "Yes, I'll be back in the evening," Twilight replied as she trotted out of her mother's sight.
Twilight grew a little bit frightened as she entered the Everfree Forest. The horrendous trees almost made her jump out of her coat, and the cryptic whispers through the forest sent chills down her back. But Twilight knew she had to be gallant if she wanted to know more about the unsaid history. She stood a little straighter, and walked with confidence as she entered the forest, assuring herself that she will be safe.
It started to rain a great extent, and Twilight ran for cover. She huddled into a tight ball and tremble as lightning started to strike. Don't worry Twilight, everything will be alright, a smart pony never panics, and always tries to find a solution, Twilight thought to herself, and kept saying it over and over again. A solution! Twilight thought, with a gleam of hope in her eyes.
Twilight looked around her surroundings, trying to find something that can be of use to her. She took a step back and suddenly tumbled down a hole. "Oof!" Twilight put a hoof on her head to make sure she was alright.
She looked around at where he was at. "The ancient ruins," Twilight whispered to herself. There stood houses, worn away, and covered in vines. And in the center of it all, stood a very ginormous, ancient castle. Twilight could see that it use to be lined with gold on some sides, but it had caught rust over the years. Twilight's gaze lingered a little bit more, then she tore her gaze away and tried to start finding something useful to help her.
She walked towards the castle, and stepped in. Her steps echoed through the walls. The floor creaked as she stepped. Twilight tried not to make a sound that would awake some pony, she feared that she may be in-cognizant of she she may unexpectedly meet. Twilight looked around. She could've pictured the castle from before, based on the visual of the castle she was currently seeing now. Twilight could see a faint light shining in the distance.
Curious, Twilight want in the direction the light was guiding her in. Then, she could see that the light was displaying a grand ancient book. Twilight gasped in a low voice no pony could barely hear. Twilight slowly stepped towards it. But then, a thought had crossed her mind. 'What if it's a trap?' Twilight remembered all of the action books she read about, and remembered characters falling into traps, mostly to retrieve something, something especially like a book. Twilight gasped her little gasp again, and alarmingly stepped back. She put her hoof near toward the direction of the book, her curiosity winning over her. Then, very slowly, she stepped towards the book and opened it up. Twilight sighed, wiping off imaginary sweat of her forehead.
Twilight soon found out that this was the missing history of Equestria, the incomplete story Princess Luna didn't finish telling her, and flipped through the pages until she stopped at the part where she recognized Princess Luna didn't finish. Twilight's eyes dug into the book, wanting to devour it all. She began to read in her mind, lost in the book, and unaware of what was going on in her surroundings.
Nightmare Darkness's dark magic spread everywhere across Equestria, trees burned down, the land became dry, the sky was forever dark, with no stars lighting it. But, two alicorn fillies were left behind. One had been born in Equestria to raise the sun, was named Celestia. The other, the moon, was names Luna. Even though they were young, they still were powerful. Powerful than Nightmare Darkness's magic.
'Celestia and Luna both raised the sun and moon. They were most powerful now, and with that energy, they sealed Nightmare Darkness deep down into the core of the world, where the castle had stood. They also had to seal her minions as well. Since the two fillies did not know much spells to reform them back, they were forced to seal them. But, that world not hold them for long. Just before they sealed Nightmare Darkness completely, she said her last words, "YOU WON'T SEE THE LAST OF ME! MY MINIONS WILL RISE AFTER FIVE THOUSAND YEARS!" Both sisters agreed to never speak of this again.
Twilight closed the book, and stared at it, unable to digest it all. Behind her, a voice spoke.
Twilight gasped. When Twilight dared to look back, she saw a stranger wrapped in a black cloak with glowing yellow eyes watching her. Afraid, she ran off without a second thought. The stranger behind her made no move, but only watched her go.
Twilight ran far away from the castle. She ran as far as her legs could carry her. After a long time of running, Twilight gasped for breath. She looked behind her, seeing that there was no pony behind her. Twilight let out a sigh off relief, and set her saddle bag on the floor. "I think I'll just have a nice little nap," Twilight said to herself before she dozed off into deep sleep.
...
Twilight rubbed her eye she she woke up. Even though she slept for a few hours, the day was still the same color as it was before Twilight went to sleep.
Twilight glanced back to the direction of the castle. Come on, Twilight, don't be a baby. This is what you came for, Twilight thought as she tried to muster up the confidence and courage to go back to the old castle.
Twilight picked up her saddle bag and put it on her back, the she began walking back to the direction of the ancient ruins. The trees were curved, like they were reaching out to grab her. Huh, Twilight thought. I never saw the trees like this before. Maybe it must be my own imagination. One of the branches tugged at her mane. She tried to pull the part of her hair tangled on the branch out. She tugged hard, but the branch would let go. It was like there was some kind of force that tightly gripped on a part of her mane.
Stay with us...
Twilight heard a whisper through the air.
We just want to protect you...
It was as if the trees were saying that. Twilight turned around to find who really said that, but all that was there was just the wind. Fear gripped Twilight's heart, as she frantically tried to pull her hair out of the tree's branch. With Twilight's very own eyes, she saw the curly branch curl tighter around her hair. All of the branches on the trees grew sharp and curlier. Sweat started to form on Twilight's forehead. She whimpered in fear.
Suddenly, a sharp cut separated Twilight's hair from the branch. The curly branch fell down, and it burned into ashes. Twilight's instincts told her to run as fast as she can. Twilight ran out of the scary forest, gasping for air. The sky was now suddenly dark. There were no stars, but only a red moon. A red moon? Twilight thought. How is that even possible? The moon looked like as if it had been painted by blood.
There was nothing were Twilight was standing. Only just a blanket of black. It was like she ran into the middle of nowhere. The darkness suffocated Twilight as she tried to find a way out. She began running north, thinking there might be a way out. But after hours of running, there was still nothing left. So Twilight decided to run west, but there were the same results as last time.She ran east, but there was only the black void of darkness that was waiting in the end. Twilight decided to run south. She was sure there would be a way out, there has to be. But no, there was nothing, just as before.
She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She tried again, but there was no sound, the void muted it all. Tears formed around Twilight's eyes. I just want to go home, Twilight thought. I should've never went here. I should've been a good filly, and just believe that this whole story as a myth.
Twilight began to sob, her cries were still muted. I wish there was a way out, Twilight thought. Suddenly, a door from out of nowhere opened up, as if Twilight had magically wished it had. A big smile was displayed on Twilight's face. A way out! She thought excitedly. I hope it leads to home! It must lead to home, that's why it must've opened up in the first place! Twilight eagerly ran towards the door as fast as she could. But all her hopes were crushed when she found out that the door led her back to the ancient ruins again.
It started to rain heavily. Thunder struck from the sky. Twilight knew she had to take cover quickly, and the only option was the castle. Twilight didn't want to take shelter in any of the other houses, because there were skeletons of ponies inside. Twilight began trotting inside the castle, her fear was again gripping her body. Twilight shivered.
Last time was pretty scary. Twilight really didn't want to run into that scary pony again. There was a door at the end of the path. Before Twilight could fear o have a second thought, her curiosity took over her, and she opened the door.
Twilight gasped as she took in the sight laid in front of her.
