> Returning Home II - Rise of the Eternal Empire
>  by Arceaion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 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."
> Chapter 1 - Darkness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia descended down the stairs and entered a chamber of darkness Sitting at the center a tall figure stood. He wore a black suit that was covered by a long coat that floated in a wind that didn't exist. "The plan is coming apart, Chrysalis destroyed everything." She growled angrily. 

"You must stop Twilight, she is the key to this prison and I have waited for too long for my revenge." The figure said.

"There's nothing I can do, she is growing stronger by the day and controls powers I wouldn't dare touch." Celestia replied.

"Do what you must but she must not rule the Harmony Empire." The figure said as he loomed over Celestia. "You know the price of failure."

"What's so important about the Empire, you act as if the Empire is truly a threat." Celestia said as she looked up at the figure. "And what is so special about her controlling it."

"Twilight Sparkle is a decedent of the original citizens of the Harmony Empire." The figure said as he turned away from her. "Long ago a Race know as the Immortal ruled this world. They were not physically strong, and what made them feared was their intellect. They created the original Empire, the Eternal Empire, and crafted the Elements. They were masters of both magic and science and were well respected." 

"What happened to them?" Celestia asked. 

"They grew over confident and arrogant, the Eternal Empire, was destroyed and from it's ashes rose the Harmony Empire." The figure said. "Twilight Sparkle is special, fate bends to her will and her destiny is forged by the actions of the present not by preordained circumstance. If she reaches full power she will destroy all we have worked to bring."

"I will not allow that to pass." Celestia said. "Discords madness, The planting of the Tree of Harmony, Lunas turn, I've worked to hard for some upstart to destroy everything I've built. I shall stamp out the chaos that corrupts this land no matter who stands in my way, be they friend or family." She said as she turned and exited the room. 

The figure watched as he exited the room and smiled. "You are so simple to manipulate Celestia. Without chaos then society will grow stagnate and cease to progress but you need not know that. The simple truth you can't see is that you light only blind you from the truth and it will be this blindness that will bring forth the very darkness you fear." The figure laughed as he faded into the shadows and disappeared. 

As the figure disappeared a Thestral dropped down from the ceiling. "Luna must be warned." They said as they ran through the door.





Rarity stood before her troops, at her side stood the officers that were wiling to serve her. "Mares and gentle stallions, I thank you for standing at my side all this time and I am honored that you would stand with me on this decision." She said proudly. 

"We would follow you to the ends of Equus General." A captain said proudly.

Rarity nodded and turned to the troops. "The war with the Changelings is over however the nobility and ruler ship of Equestria is to far gone, our only hope is to reach the safe haven of another kingdom." She said sadly.

The troops muttered and talked to each other for a moment before a captain stepped forward. "We could travail to the Empire of Princess Twilight, the Harmony Empire or if we must hurry the Crystal Empire is closer."

Rarity thought for a moment. "Prepare to move out, we will head to the Crystal Empire for now, the safety of my troops is priority and once we have a location we will head for the Harmony Empire." She said determined.

"The troops and their families will be ready within the hour." A lieutenant said. Rarity nodded.





Applejack sat on a create on the barn, in her hand was a half empty bottle of whisky and several empty bottle lay around her. Big Mac slowly entered and approached his sister. "You alright Sis?" He asked.

"I see them, Mac." Applejack said as she took another sip.

"Who?" He asked concerned.

"The Ghosts, the blood, the screams, I hear their screams! Their demand for more, the sound of battle." Applejack grabbed head as if in pain and downed the last of the bottle. "They won't go away, they won't leave me alone." She said. Big mac walked over to her sister and hugged her.

"It'll be alright, we'll get ya some help." He said as he rubbed her back.

"So much blood, I can't wash it off it won't go away." She said not even registering that he was their.

Big Mac sighed and simply hugged her tighter. From the door Applebloom watched in fear as her sister stared off at something only she could see. Since Applejack had returned she had been off. She jumped at shadows and was twitchy almost all the time, she would always have a weapon with her and on more than one occasion she had attacked someone seemingly at random. She had also been drinking a lot and was almost always drunk. Something was wrong but she couldn't tell what.





Luna stood on the balcony off the throne room watching the reconstruction of Canterlot, the sound of rustling fabric was heard and Luna turned to see nothing. Something was off. Slowly she turned back to watch only to spin around and grab a pony in solar guard armor by the throat. The guard gasped and dropped his knife as he clutched at he arm. Several more appeared and charged her only to be impaled by arrows from her Thestrals. 

Suddenly a Thestral ran in and looked at the princess in concern. "Celestias worse than we thought and is preparing to destroy all magic that isn't 'light'."

Lunas eyes widened and she looked to the Thestrals in the throne room. "Find my sister, we must stop her."
> Chapter 2 - Morality
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stood upon the dock of the old fishing village, she sighed as she watched the sun slowly rise and the dawn come. The sounds of padded paws approaching caused her to turn and see Captain Moon approaching. Twilight turned back to watching the sea as the Captain sat down next to her. "The ship is prepared for departure." Captain Moon said. "We may leave when ever you choose."

Twilight nodded. "Thank you Captain." She said tiredly. "We'll leave once the sun has fully risen." She said.

"Are you well, my lady?" Moon asked concerned. 

Twilight didn't say anything for a moment before responding. "No, no I'm not." Twilight said before turning to the Captain. "The power of an Alicorn is the vary culmination of our being, it is our potential, to do both right and wrong. Tell me Captain, if you could lock away that potential that risk, would you be the hero or the villain?"

Moon sat silent for a moment and Twilight turned back out to watch the sea. "Are you scared your not a good person?" Moon finally asked, Twilight didn't reply. Mon sighed and watched the sun rise. "I'm a guard, even more so I'm the Captain of the Imperial Guard. I've done a lot of bad things that were for what one would call the greater good but no matter the justification they were still wrong."

Moon turned to Twilight and smiled. "For what it's worth, I honestly don't think the concept of 'Good' and 'Evil' are so simple that's why there is the the middle ground, the gray, and an assigned purpose can't change that." Moon placed a hand on Twilights shoulder. "you can get lost in the glory of your own 'heroics' or find that your good intentions had their faults." Moon sighed and looked twilight in the face. "I'm sure there are plenty of stories of people like that, I've seen them and I think Celestia's story is in there too. Some of those stories actually do have a happy ending but most..." Moon trailed off sadly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's the results of ones actions that counts, whether we do it out of anger and hate or out of love and kindness, it's what comes out of our actions that is important. One doesn't need to be a 'hero', all one must do is choose to do good." Moon said.

Twilight was silent for a moment before nodding. "Thank you Captain." Twilight said as she rose. "I feel it's time to get underway." Moon nodded and followed Twilight down the dock to the small village they had been staying at. As they entered many of the ponies they passed bowed to her while others smiled and waved, twilight returned the waves and smiled happily. After passing through the town they reached the main port of the town and Twilight looked in awe at the ship that they had prepared. 

The ship was long and sleek, made from red wood the color and painted with black highlights. Many of Twilights entourage was on board the ship already preparing for departure while on the dock stood Discord and Rainbow who were speaking to some of the crew. When Rainbow saw Twilight she excused herself and walked toward her. "This ship is awesome Twilight!" Rainbow exclaimed as she approached.

Twilight chuckled. "It is impressive." She said.

Rainbow nodded. "I gotta ask though, the Harmony Empire is suppose to be some super secret place so how do these ponies know about it?" Rain bow asked curious.

"The capital of the Harmony Empire itself is hidden however the kingdom itself isn't, I mean the Empire spans a massive area. The Empire spans an entire island chain so it's not exactly hidden only hard to find beside that we have allies in all the kingdoms of the world and many of the world leaders and kingdom rulers know of our existence." Moon said calmly.

Rainbow looked confuses. "Ya know I got ask, why it that you know all this stuff and have allies in other lands?" She asked. 

"The duty of the Harmony Empire is to learn everything it can and record it." Twilight said calmly. "To do this the Empire sends out Seekers who's task is to discover, catalog and record all events and history that we don't have." Twilight said as he turned back to the ship an walked over to the captain. "Thank you for taking us to the Empire." Twilight said as she bowed. 

The Captain chuckled and bowed as well. "It will be an honor to take you, your Majesty." He said. "The boat is prepared and ready for your voyage to the Empire, we shall depart by your command." 

Twilight nodded. "Start final preparations and get ready to depart." Twilight said calmly as she prepared to board the ship only for the sound of running hooves on the dock to catch her attention.

"Empress Twilight, the Solar Guard is approaching!" A villager said as he panted. 

Twilight turned in surprise "What do you mean?" She asked concern laced through her voice.

"Solar guards in full armor with weapons are coming this way and it more than a few." He said after a moment. 

"How many?" Ebony Moon asked his concern rising quickly.

"At least a hundred." The Villager said.

The Captain turned to Twilight a look of concern on his face. "This isn't a coincidence." He said.

Twilight nodded. "The Solar Guard is under the direct command of Celestia, there her most loyal guards and are trained better than the Royal Guard." 

"This isn't a battle force, it's an invasion." Captain Celesteal said as she turned to Twilight concerned. "Would the Princesses actually declare war on the Empire?" She asked concerned.

Twilight shook her head. "Luna wouldn't however Celestia is another matter entirely. The Solar Guard only listen to Celestia which means she is behind this." She said as turned to the villager. "How long do we have?" She ask. 

"They'll be on us in minutes." The Villager said.

Twilight nodded. "Mythic Force, Dusk Captain Moon and Dawn Captain Celesteal, Gather your troops and evacuate. Imperial Captain Moon, prepare the Imperial Guard for battle and prepare an evac plan." She said calmly as the Berserker Armor ripped from under her flesh and she walked back down the gangplank."

"What would you have us do Twilight?" Flutershy asked. 

"You four go with with the Evacuation group." Twilight said calmly.

Rainbow grit her teeth and clenched her fists. "I'm staying." Rainbow said as she looked at twilight a fire burning in her eyes.

Twilight hesitated but forced a smile. "This won't be like the Changeling war Rainbow, you're not fighting changelings your're fighting fellow ponies. Stay if you wish but this I can't promise your be safe."

Rainbow nodded. "I know Twilight, but I failed in my duty once, I swore that I would never fail again." 

Twilight nodded and explosions sounded as the walls of the town were breached. Twilight turned to look at her troops a grim look on he face. "Eight again an army." She whispered with a sigh before addressing her troops. "Right, we need to hold off the enemy till the others have gotten away, once they are are away we'll pull out.  Protect the civilians and don't die, Commander Moon your up."

Victory stepped forward and smiled. "Well, it looks like you lumps are getting a chance to prove yourself before we even get to the Empire. Makes Empress Twilight Proud and don't do anything stupid. We're breaking up into five groups to maximize effectiveness so listen to your assignments, once you have it you may depart. Is that understood?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am!" The group yelled as they snapped to attention.

Victory nodded with a smile."Aqua Starfish you're on tactical support, give us targets and objectives. Ebony Aura, monitor all their magic and assist when you can. Astral Mask and Dark Shadow I want you behind enemy lines, eliminate critical targets and supplies. Star Breeze, Sharp Eyes, take defensive position and assist any teams that are in need of help. I will be going with The Element of Loyalty and Empress Twilight." 
Victory Moon turned but stopped and turned back to her troops. "One more thing," She said causing to team to pause. "For most of you this is your first actual fight, this isn't some training simulation or war game. these guys will kill you if given the chance, don't give them that chance. I don't want to contact you families saying you're dead." As she finished she placed her helmet on her head turned away. "Well what are you standing around for? Get going!" She yelled and the Guards scrambled to complete their objectives.





Celestia stood at the back of the Solar Guard on a hill watching the battle. Her golden armor shined in the morning light as she gripped her halberd and she grit her teeth in  anger. From what her guard had reported there were only six however they were holding their own easily and killing without hesitation. "Despicable abominations." She muttered her eyes filled with hate. 

"Princess," A guard said as he approached her and bowed.

"Yes my guard?" She asked with a smile.

"We have located Twilight, she is at the front leading the charge." He said . "Commander Dash is with her as well as some sort of multi-tailed fox creature." 

Celestia's eyes hardened and she smiled. "Good." She said as he turned back to the battle and began to walk down the hill she was on. "A traitor, and my fallen apprentice both in the same place." She smiled and spread her wings taking off and looking around before spotting Twilight. She narrowed her eyes and dove.





Twilight slashed her sword launching a wave of fire at the guards before her turning her to ash, her face was a grim line as she turned to the next opponent and blocked his attack before spinning and kicking him in the face. The kick disorientated the guard and Twilight swung her blade taking the guards head. Suddenly the ground exploded in front of her kicking up a dust cloud. Twilight raised her blade griping it with both hands. The fighting stooped and everyone froze as they watched the dust cloud, a breeze slowly blew and dispersed the clouded to reveal Celestia standing before them. 
Celestia raised her head and glared at Twilight. "Hello my student, been a while since we've seen each other." She said. 

Twilight frowned. "Why do this Celestia?" She asked angrily. 

"You are a threat." Celestia said as she walked forward. "An unchained dog with no master, no restrictions." She said calmly.

"That makes no sense Celestia. Luna would never agree to this, no pony would agree to this!" She yelled.

"NO, they can't see, none of them can see, but I'll show them. I'll show them all." Celestia said desperately. "You have no idea what I've done to achieve our goals, what I've given up for Harmony."

"You don't follow the path of Harmony Celestia." Twilight said as she raised her sword in a defensive stance. "I don't know what's going on here but you have to stop, whatever it is." Twilight pleaded.

"You can not rule the Harmony Empire, if you do then all I've done will be for nothing!" Celestia yelled angrily before taking a breath and continuing. "You have been deemed a obstacle in the plan and as such I shall remove you. I didn't want it to have to come to this but you left me no choice, you just had to learn the truth ab out your destiny. Just a little longer and this would never had have happened, you would still be my precious  student and it wouldn't have ended with your death." 

Celestia charged at Twilight only for a blast of light blue magic to slam into her knocking her backwards. "You want the Empress then you'll have to get through me." Victory Moon growled as she stepped between Celestia and Twilight. 

Celestia growled as she rose and glared at Victory. "Who are you?" She asked angrily

Victory smiled and raised her katana at Celestia. "Captain Victory Moon of the Imperial Guard and Personal Guard of Empress Twilight Sparkle." Shed said calmly.

Celestia growled and charged the Captain swinging her halberd in a wide sweep expecting to bat the guard away however the Kitsune simply smiled and met the strike and held her ground. Celestia roared launched a glowing white fire ball however Victory charged forward as her armor transformed and she met the fire ball head on and as it exploded a warrior in glowing bronze armor smashed through the flames and slammed into Celestia sending her back and crashing into a wall. Everyone gasped in shock as the armored form of Victory moon was revealed. The Armor was bronze colored and covered in runes that glowed blue, the armor not only covered the Kitsune body but also her tails and conformed to her body almost like it was more than armor but rather a second skin. The armor now had beautiful silver wings sprouting from her back and the helmet had a long Unicorn horn portending from the forehead as well.

Celestia screamed and leaped from the ruble trusting her halberd forward only for the Kitsune to grab the blade and snap it in half like it was a twig. "I am Imperial Guard Celestia." Victory said her voice was made echoey and distorted by her helmet. "It will take more than that to harm one of us." She said calmly as she punched Celestia sending her flying backwards. Celestia opened her wings and flew up only for one of her wings to be ripped apart causing her to fall back down. 

The sound of flapping wings drew her attention to a Griffon in armor similar to Victorys' and as he landed four others appeared. "Surrender Celestia." One who looked like an Alicorn said as he approached her a pair of knives in his hands. 

Celestia growled and looked around at her troops before smiling and glaring at Twilight. "Burn in Tartarus." She said Twilights eyes widened and she ran forward as her horn charged and released a massive fire ball. The Solar Guards screamed as they were disintegrated and the Celestia took to the air on her healed wing and shot away.

Twilight rose and looked around to see the Imperial Guards groaning but relatively alright, however someone was missing. "Rainbow?" she asked concerned. "Rainbow!?" This time she yelled in panic as she looked around.

"Now that was a blast!" Rainbow said as she flew down and landed next to Twilight and looked around. "She killed her won guards, that just... so uncool." She said as she looked at a melted set of guard armor. 

Twilight nodded and looked at her guards. "Let's get back with the others." She said sadly as she walked toward the docks. Rainbow opened her mouth to say something but slowly closed it and followed Twilight. As the group walked to the docks they saw the villagers standing by the docks a look of concern on their face. Twilight approached them and bowed. "I apologize for the damage done from the battle, I'd pay compensation but I fear I have nothing to offer." 

One of the villagers stepped forward and bowed to Twilight. "Homes can be rebuilt however thanks to your actions many of us are still alive and our families are safe, thank you Empress." He said with a bow. 

Twilight hesitated before she rose and smiled. "Your welcome however I still feel I owe you for what has happened."

The villager waved a hand and smiled. "Like I said homes can me rebuilt, you saved us that's all that matters." 

Twilight sighed and nodded. before looking to the ship. "It's time I left, Thank you for the hospitality you have shown us and for being so understanding." She said with a bow, the crowed bowed as well and dispersed into the town returning to the homes they abandoned to rebuild. Twilight frowned and walked to the boat boarding it with the guards and Rainbow not far behind. 

Quickly she walked to the captain and pulled him aside. "Problem your majesty?" He asked. 

Twilight shook her head. "No I simply wish to know how long the voyage will take." 

The Captain ran a hand through his beard in thought. "If the wind's are on our side it'll be week at best." He said in thought. "We'll be making land fall in a port off the coast of Dragonia. From there it's a bit of a strait shot to the borders of the Harmony Empire but it is far safer than me taking ya there, less likely to be followed and all." 

Twilight nodded. "So that's why The empire's remained hidden." She said with a smile. "It's hidden in the Mystic Sea."

The Captain looked at her with surprise but it slowly turned to a smile. "Do ya believe in Sea Serpents your majesty?" He asked.

Twilight chucked. "Yes Captain, I do." She said.

The Captain laughed and turned to the crew. "Make ready to sail boys, it's time we got underway!" He yelled. At his command every sailor dropped what they were doing and ran to get the boat ready, sails were lowered, ropes and knots checked and the captain walked to the wheel a smile on his face. 





On a distant mountain a group of wolves and Changelings with all black chitin crosses a small channel that cut through the range and provided passage. Ahead of them standing before the group were two figures. The wore heavy fur lined cloaks that billowed in the wind. "Come on boys!" Yelled on of thew cloaked figured as they turned revealing the blue furred face of Queen Astrid. "The sun's setting and time's wasting and we still have a ways to go!" She yelled as the figure next to her reached a chitin covered hand out and tugged on her cloak. 

"There not you Astrid." Queen Rayla said in a calm voice that cut through the wind. "Besides there is no need to hurry, The Harmony Empire is going nowhere fast and we have been making good time."

Queen Astrid grunted and turned to her wife. "It's not reaching the Empire I'm worried about but these lands. They're home to the Frost Giants of Niflheim." She said as a roar shook the earth. Rayla turned to see a massive hulking creature approach them and gasped in shock. Astrid drew her spear and charged forward a massive war cry common from her as she leaped at the Giant who roared once more and lifted a massive club.
> Chapter 3 - Routing a Serpent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Muffled screams echoed through the hall followed by a loud thump. Luna frowned and walked over the corps of another solar guard, before her walked two Thestral Night Guards their swords dripping the blood of their traitorous brothers as they advanced slowly. After continuing down the hall they came upon a set of doors emblazoned with a stylized sun and stopped, Luna stepped forward her hand crackling with lightning that she flung at the door blasting it open, as the doors flew off their hinges and she entered her sisters bed chambers her other hand glowed and she sent a pulse of magic through the room before frowning. "Search this room; report anything that's out of the ordinary." She said as several more Night Guards appeared behind her and knelt. 

"Princess, a report has just come from a small town off the coast." Noe of them said hesitantly. "The report stated you sister attacked with a division of Solar Guard." Luna grit her teeth in anger before closing her eyes and taking several breaths. 

"What were the casualties?" She asked her voice extremely calm causing the Night Guard to start shaking. 

"None Princess, Twilight Sparkle and a group of unknown individuals of multiple races protected the town the only deaths were from the Solar Guard and most of them were by your..." The Guard gulped before continuing. "They were by your sister’s hand." He finished.

Luna's hand began to spark as her eyes glowed white and for a moment the guard thought he would die however at the last second the enraged lunar princess turned and blasted the bed at the far end of the room causing it to explode, after a moment she collapsed to her knees as tears began to fall from her eyes. "Sister, what have you done?" She asked.

"Princess, I think you just reviled what we were looking for." One of the guards said causing her to look up to see that where the bed had been was now a set of stairs leading down. Luna wiped her eyes and rose before looking at the guards. "We will be going together, I do not trust that that this is a trap and I fear what lies ahead." She said sadly. The Guards nodded and as Luna began to descend they followed their swords drawn and their senses on high alert. 

Slowly the group descended taking each stair slowly and checking for any traps or spells, as they neared the bottom Luna's hand flashed and a sword appeared in it. Slowly they exited the stairwell and entered a large round chamber, the inside of the chamber was lit with several luminescent sunstones that it in a dull red glow. There was a desk and set of shelves containing parchments, ancient scrolls and tomes however at the center was an alter that showed a large human like being with massive wings and a heavy cloak, from the beings head were two horn. Luna looked at the statue cautiously before walking over to the shelves and began to run her hand over the titles till she came upon a black covered book with no name, picking it up and skimming through it she began to frown as she read farther in till she placed it down and took a deep breath. "Sister what have you done." She asked as she looked at the statue, her hand sparking with charged mana before she placed the book back on the shelf.

"Princess, what's going on?" One of the Guards asked in concern. 

"Tell me guard, when to many of something happens all too fast what would you call it?" Luna asked.

The Guard looked confused before thinking. "Coincidence or maybe bad luck." He said.

Luna nodded. "When something seems to likely then it probably is however, a thousand years ago the monsters sent after us seemed never ending and most often were friend or allies that had once sided with us." Luna said as she approached the statue. "Tirek, Discord, even Chrysalis, we all once were allies who swore an oath to protect our people and this world. Over time however our allies fell one by one, till only I and my sister remained. The first to fall was Tirek who seemingly went mad; he foretold an evil locked away before we were born returning with our aid. His brother was reasoned with and left peacefully however Tirek desperately tried to kill us, it got to the point we were forced to banish him to Tartarus."

"I thought Tirek was simply power hungry." One of the guards said causing Luna to shake her head. 

"Eventually he went mad, what you saw and what Princess Twilight faced was simply the shell of a once great stallion." She replied. "Can you guess who was next to fall?"

"I'd think it would be Chrysalis." the third guard said however again Luna shook her head. 

"Discord fell next, my sister received a strange crystal seed from somewhere and when planted grew what she named the Tree of Harmony however shortly after this was done Discord began to act strange. Eventually he went mad as well and threw Equestria into chaos till I and my sister took the Elements and used them, Celestia was rather hesitant to even touch them though I silenced her complaints by stating this was for the protection of our ponies."

The Guards nodded as they thought however one of them looked at Luna confused. "What about Chrysalis?" He asked. "How could you have worked with that monster?"

Luna bowed her head sadly. "She wasn't always like that. Like with Tirek what you saw was merely a shell of who she was, broken and mad for power. She was the easiest to deal with because she used armies and I lead our forces to victory against her however when we returned expecting a hero’s welcome we only received hate. We were branded as murders and monsters for our actions and Celestia did nothing, a short time later something consumed me and I fell into my darkness and the Nightmare consumed me."

"What does this have to do with any if this princess?" A Guard asked as he scratched his head confused.

Luna looked at the statue with anger. "Each of the one who fell, even me, all had the same goal in mind. We all fell to the same desire, power." She said anger clear in her voice. "We all fell do darkness and I now know how." Luna's voice was filled with hate. "Each of us was poisoned, our minds twisted by a single substance; Demon Fruit."

The guards looked at each other confused. "What's Demon Fruit?" the first guard asked.

"A substance that is corruption incarnate" Luna spat. "Long before I and my sister were born there existed a race known as the Demon, they were vile being and their threat was so great that it resulted in every race on the planet uniting together under the banner of a single empire. The war lasted for years and destroyed much of our world however eventually they were defeated and sealed away."

"So what makes you think they're behind this?" The guard asked.

"The demons didn't want to destroy the world instead they sought to erase all of Chaos from existence." Luna replied.

The second guard nodded. "Ok I thing I'm starting to understand. That shadow figure I saw with Celestia said something along those lines and Celestia said she was the reason both you and Discord went mad."

Luna nodded. "The journal I just read was Celestia's plans to do as such action and she claimed to use Devil Fruit." She turned to her guards revealing the tears falling from her eyes. "However the reason I know is because she speaks of the one who commanded her to do such things, Ragnarok the spirit of Order." The Guards looked at each other concerned. "Ragnarok was the ruler of the demons and his ambition nearly wiped out life entirely." Luna growled before looking at the guards. "Equestria is lost, there is no hope to save it but we might still save some of the citizens."

Luna turned and quickly walked away from the statue and up the stairs the guards quickly following. "If Equestria is lost then what do we do?" One of the Guards asked. 

"Contact the Thestrals enclaves and Hollow shades; Harmony Empire is our only hope now." Luna said as she reentered Celestias bed chambers. "If we can contact Twilight and inform her of what's to come she can aid us but we need to hurry." She said as she quickly walked out of the room only to bump into Celestia who was looking at her with a cold look.

"Hello sister, mind telling me why you’re in my room?" She asked in a cold voice. 

Luna glared at Celestia as she slowly backed away. "What have you done Celestia?" She asked her voice filled with anger. "Do you even realize who you serve?"

Celestia chuckled. "Of course I do, I serve the ruler of Order, and he will bring about true harmony to this world."

Luna frowned. "Sister, you serve a demon, they don't bring harmony they bring ruin and stagnation!"

"NO!" Celestia yelled. "They bring true harmony and when I free them from the prison they are in they will bring all ponies into an era of true peace." She said with a smile. "Imagine it Luna, no war, no conflict, and everypony will follow their true destiny work like that of a machine."

"A world void of free will or thought!" Luna countered as she glared at Celestia. "A world void of choice innovation and change, that is what you will bring! Those who cannot evolve or adapt die Tia, why would you choose this?"

"Why my dear sister, I chose it because it is harmony." Celestia said with a smile. "The world is filled with chaos and unknowns but under the Demons rule we would be masters of all. Imagine it sister, a perfect world free of all things, of want, need or desire imagine the golden age we would live in."

Luna looked at her sister in disgust as the Night Guards around her drew their swords. "And what of our people sister?"

Celestia smile grew. "The price for such a future, for true harmony and freedom, would be servitude to the Demons. They would be our eternal masters and as such things such as free will would be stripped from them but such is the price for true harmony."

Lunas eyes widened. "And what of us!?" She yelled causing Celestia to giggle.

"We will be treated as we always have been, as princesses only instead of princesses we would be pets." Celestia replied happily.

Luna backed away slowly a look of horror no her face. "Sister, why would you ever thing I or anypony would agree to such a thing?" She asked her voice barely a whisper.

Celestia tilted her head confused. "You can't disagree, we would be pets Luna and if a pet refuses their master then they are punished. Besides why would you want to resist?" Celestia asked.

Luna looked behind her and aw the doors to the balcony were open and slowly she began to back toward them. "Listen to your self sister; this is not harmony but slavery!" She said pleading with Celestia.

"Oh you’re just confused." Celestia giggled. "Don't worry; when Twilight did that seal break on me I was confused too. I thought I was wrong but Ragnarok helped me, he made me see clearly again." She said with a smile. 

Luna looked at Celestia carefully as she continued to back away her guards having realized what she was doing followed her every move closely. "What did Ragnarok do to you sister?"

Celestia stopped smiling for a moment and her eyes flashed with fear before the happy mask reappeared. "He fixed me, restored my mind from the chaotic state that my fallen pupal put it in." Celestia replied. "And it was so simple too; all he did was taking a glowing thing out of me." 

Luna froze and looked at Celestia in concern. "A glowing thing?"

Celestia nodded. "A crystal, he called it a Pura Anima crystal if I remember." She said happily. "After that it all became clear, no one understands but the demons will show everyone." 

Luna looked behind her and saw she was directly in front of the balcony; Luna grimaced and turned back to Celestia. "Sorry sister, but you sold your soul for a lie; I pray that you see this one day."

"Luna pleases, you must understand, a world free of suffering!" Celestia exclaimed. "In such a world death, you becoming Nightmare Moon, all of it would never happen!"

Luna frowned. "The world we live in is not meant to be perfect sister." She said causing Celestia to freeze; Luna lowered her head in shame. "We are meant to fall, meant to be beaten and broken, but we're also meant to rise up and face what made us fall." Luna looked up at Celestia as tears fell from her eyes and she smiled sadly. "But you would rather shift the blame and wallow in your failures; you broke and refuse to be put back together. You were harmed and in return you plan to never be harmed again, your nothing but a selfish child who cries when the don't get their way."

Celestia grit her teeth and her hand balled into fists. "You know nothing Luna!" She screamed in rage as she threw a ball of fire at the lunar princess. Luna trued to dodge but was hit in the chest throwing her on to the balcony and against the rail.

Luna chuckled and looked up. "I know better than you Celestia, after all I once fell to my own darkness." She said with a laugh as she couched up blood.

Celestia grit her teeth. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. You are just like Twilight, an abomination that simply need purging from this world!" She screamed.

"Do you really think that the ponies will want to go to war again and against the one whom saved them from the Changelings?" Luna asked as she slowly with the help of her guards.

"I care not for the ponies, they will either obey me or I will destroy like I destroyed that worthless town that protected Twilight!" Celestia yelled in rage however Luna simply smiled confusing the solar sister.

"Ponies aren't objects or slaves to be commanded and if you use them as such then I will oppose you." Luna said in a calm voice.

Celestia smirked. "You and what army?" She asked. "Those pathetic Thestral Night Guards of yours?"

Luna grinned. "No, all the ponies that just heard what you said." She said causing Celestia's eyes to widen as she looked over the balcony to see thousands of ponies standing in shock. "Checkmate sister" Luna said with a sad smile as shed spread her wings and dove over the raining and flew to the ground. As soon as she landed Night Guards quickly began to move out of the palace and join their princess. 

Luna sighed sadly and turned to the crowd. "Go and warn the nation of what's to come!" She yelled so that everypony could hear. "Warn them of what's to come, flee for the Crystal Empire. I will join you when I can." She said before taking off again and flying away as fast as she could, behind her thousands of Night Guards and Thestral flew fleeing the capital and following their princess.





Celestia growled as she watched Luna fly away. "Damn you Luna, We could have been a family again but you just had to choose the path of destruction." She said as she turned and walked back into her room. "Ragnarok will not be happy about this." She said quietly only to hear the sound of tapping behind her causing her to turn and pale.

"And what is it I won't be happy about?" The shadowy figure asked causing Celestia to gulp. 

"How long were you there?" She asked fearfully.

Ragnarok walked forward and glared at Celestia. "Long enough to know you failed not only in stopping Twilight but also in delivering me Luna." He growled. "I'm disappointed in you Celestia, the allegiance of Equestria was a key point in the plan and because of your sister this kingdom will be thrown into civil war. Now tell me, does a civil war promote Harmony?" He asked coldly.

Celestia trembled but didn't move away from the Demon Lord. "No, it doesn't." She said in fear.

The Demon growled. "Normally I would punish you for your incompetence but I will overlook it this time, your sister played you almost too perfectly and proven she is far more competent that either of us believed." He said with a tired sigh. "How has your search for the Seal gone?"

Celestia relaxed slightly as he spoke however when he mentioned the seal she stiffened again. "Well... there’s a slight problem." She said slowly. "The map to the Seal for your prison is ancient, originally I didn't think this would be a problem but because of how much time has passed the map is useless and even overlying it onto a present day map has shown that the continents shifted too much to determine where it's hidden." Celestia said.

"So not only is the map useless but do to the changing of the planet and continents there it's practically useless!?" Ragnarok roared causing the princess to shrink away. 

"Y-yes, from what the map shows the continents were once not only larger but there was less of them." Celestia explained quickly. "From what I could tell it looked as if the continents were shattered on purpose but that's something thought impossible!"

The Demon growled. "Oh, it was possible one upon a time and I have no doubt that it was done to prevent anyone from finding the seal." Ragnarok said angrily. "For all we know it will be at the bottom of the sea."

Celestia looked down in shame. "What do you want me to do?" She asked.

Ragnarok sighed. "For now gather power, build an army even of you must enslave creatures to do it. Remember Celestia all we do is for the path of true harmony." He said with a smile.

Celestia nodded. "Right, true harmony." Celestia said as she left to begin preparations.
> Chapter 4 - Duality
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stood at the bow of the ship watching the sea before her with tired eyes. It had been several weeks and there was little to see but after spending so many centuries around so few peo-ponies her tolerance for them had been significantly diminished. ‘I wonder how you can deal with the amount of crap that people are throwing.’ A voice said causing Twilight to smile.

"Hello Dawn, I wondered when you would wake up." Twilight said quietly.

"Sorry for my absence sis but when we left the void I was knocked out." Dawn said apologetically. ‘Woke up earlier today.’

Twilight smiled. "Well, if you want to stretch you can." Twilight said with a yawn. "You can take over for a while, I need a break." She said as she closed her eyes.

For a moment it looked as of the Alicorn had fallen asleep on her feet but slowly her mane and tail darkened to an almost black color as her coat did the same becoming an extremely dark purple. As Twilight reopened her eyes the pupils became dagger like and the irises darkened. The Mare shuddered as magenta fire ran down her wings and the morphed into a more draconic form and with a wet plat the armor ripped out of her body and slid into place. "Oh, that feels better." She sighed however her voice was a mix of hers and Twilights and she immediately put a hand over her mouth. "Twilight go to sleep!" She hissed out at the mare who giggled. 

‘Ok, I will.’ Twilight replied. ‘Still it feels good to be back in the armor.’ She said as she drifted off again, after a moment of silence Dawn felt Twilight finally fall asleep. 

Dawn looked up at the sky with a small smile. "To see the stars, to feel the breeze, it's wonderful." She sighed. "I see why Twilight loves the world so much; it has so much to offer." She said quietly as she leaned against the railing and closed her eyes a small smile on her face. 





Captain Moon sighed as she walked through the ship looking for Empress Twilight, she had searched all the below deck areas so that meant she was somewhere above deck. With a sigh she climbed up the stairs and looked around only to spot a mare at the bow of the ship. Captain Moon approached calmly however as she drew closer she realized that the mare was not someone from the ship but strapped to her back was the Empresses sword, the Kitsune narrowed her eyes and quietly drew her sword before advancing on the intruder. As she approached she leapt forward and pressed the blade to the intruders’ throat. "Don't move thief." She said in a cold voice causing the mare she trapped to chuckle. 

"Well done Captain Moon, not many can sneak up on us." The Mare said calmly before she quickly ducked out of the Kitsune’s grip and spun away from her strike. "Train a few more centuries and I believe you might be able to actually hold us. I would ask you to stand down, please." She said calmly.

Captain Moon narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get that sword?" She hissed. "Where is Empress Sparkle?"

The Mare paused for a moment before she relaxed. "Ah, I see." She said before bowing. "My apologies Captain Moon; Twilight's unharmed I promise, after all it would be hard to harm myself." She said with a smile.

The kitsune looked at the mare confused before looking closer at the mare and realized that aside from her darker main and coat she was indeed almost identical to the Empress. "I... what's going on?" She asked confused however she did not lower her weapon.

The Mare smiled warmly as she approached the kitsune. "Don’t worry little fox, I am Twilight, or perhaps a better way to put it is I'm her darker side." The Twilight look alike alike sighed. "All Alicorn have two sides to them; there is their base ‘light side’ and then there is their ‘dark side’. These two sides are appropriately names Angelic and Demonic." 

"That doesn't explain who you are." Victory said as she slowly lowered her sword bit kept it drawn.

The Dark Alicorn nodded. "When Twilight trained with the original elements, the Masters, she was given the armor worn by the Element of Betrayal."

Victory's eyes widened. "The Berserker Armor!" She gasped in shock and the mare nodded. 

"Yes, when she was given this armor her dark side was released as the armor bonded with her and in this process the dark spirit in the armor was not only bound and tamed by Twilight but was reborn as something new." The Mare smiled as she turned back to look out upon the sea. "I was remade into Twilights dark side; you could say I'm Twilights sister in a sense." She said.

Victory watched the mare for a moment before sheathing her blade. "Forgive my rudeness; I was not made aware of your presence." She said as she bowed.

"No, no bowing to me." The mare said as she glared at the mare. "I don't like that; Twilight doesn't either but still..." She trailed off in thought before shrugging. "You don't need to bow." She said with a smile.

Victory nodded confused. "So what are you doing?" She asked. "I doubt Twilight would simply let you roam free."

The Mare laughed however it wasn’t cruel like Victory expected, rather it sounded like chimes being moved by the wind. "Yes she lets me roam free." She said as she turned to the captain while leaning on the railing. "You see, unlike Luna's dark side which manifests as Nightmare Moon and was born from jealousy or Celestias’ who would rid the world of all she sees as 'evil', I simply wish to live life." The Mare explained with a sad smile. "Twilight and I are very similar in our goals and desires, we simply want to learn and be left in peace. No wars, no politics, no saving the world; all we want is to find a place where we can live a peaceful life, not free of responsibility but a place where we can live without the need to fight."

Victory looked at the mare confused. "So why become Empress of the Harmony Empire and if you are so similar then what makes you her dark side?" She asked.

The Mare nodded. "The Harmony Empire is perhaps the only place that we can find peace, if we remained in Equestria then Twilight would be forbidden to use her power at best or be locked away and seen as a villain and imprisoned by Celestia for all eternity." The Mare explained. "As for what makes me different, well... let's just say I'm not the nice one." She said with a chuckle. "Twilight is merciful while my way of things is what one would call an eye for an eye mentality, where Twilight grants mercy I grant vengeance. Think of it this way, together we represent the Alicorn of Harmony, a mix between order and Chaos. Twilight is the order to my Chaos and I in turn am the Chaos to her order, we are two sides of a single coin."

Victory nodded. "I see..." She said slowly. "So do you have a name or are you nameless?" She asked.

The Mare smiled. "I am Dawn Flare." She said with pride.

Victory nodded. "If I may ask, why are you out here?" She asked as she approached Dawn and looked out at sea.

Dawn turned back to look out as well and smiled. "Do you mean out of Twilight or out here on deck?"

The Kitsune thought for a minute before shrugging. "Both I guess."

Dawn smiled. "Twilight spent three and a half millennia in the Void; there aren't a lot of ponies and other creatures there." Dawn explained as her eyes turned sad. "Honestly Twilight has been taught how to lead, fight and battle for so long I feel like it's all she can do any more. Give her an army and she will lead them to victory, give her a kingdom and she will lead it into a golden age but give her friends or family and she will be completely lost on what to do." 

Victory nodded. "She seems somewhat distant to us and normally is meditating or training.” she said with a sighed. “She reminds me of Queen Artoria."

Dawn looked at Victory, a thoughtful look on her face. "I've heard that name before..." She said in thought.

Victory chuckled. "You should have, she was responsible for the creation of the Element of Generosity."

Dawns eyes widened. "Oh yes!" She said surprised. "Queen Artoria Pendragon was one of the four leaders of the Harmony Empire; she dealt with the military and was known as the Queen who never lost a war." Dawn chuckled as memories of a forgotten time passed through her mind. "Wasn't she called the Alicorn of the Steel due to her skills with the blade and abilities to control any metal?"

Victory nodded. "She was perhaps the greatest military leader in the history of our planet, if there ever was an Alicorn of War then it would have been her." Victory sighed. "To think Twilight was trained by her, it is a dream of every warrior of the Empire." She said in a dreamy voice.

Dawn frowned. "Someday I hope you see who Twilight was before she became what she is now." She as she looked out at the sky.

Victory's smile faded and she turned to Dawn. "What was she like when you met her?" She asked.

Dawn smiled sadly. "I met her toward the end of her training so I'll admit I don't know what she was really like but from the fragments I saw shine through she was once friendly, kind, maybe even happy." she said sadly. "Her training hardened her and the isolation made her a bit apathetic to others. When I was first given a body we were divided into two beings and told to work together, she helped me a lot early on and we fought together, blead together. We became like sisters but even during that time it was as if her very personality was being stripped away and replaced with a stranger." Dawn shivered as she sat down and watched the sea. "I’ve had a lot of masters in my time as the Berserk Armor but out of all of them I have only truly respected or even cared for two, my former master Guts and then Twilight who I see as a sister, to have someone I care about be twisted before my eyes and unable to do anything is... soul crushing."

Victory listened quietly to the dark Alicorn spoke and nodded. "I've seen it before." She said causing Dawn to look up angrily however before she could speak the Kitsune raised her hand. "I had a brother once, Astral Moon, he was perhaps the best guard to have come from the empire and I include myself in that. He was a prodigy of battle and military action, his skills bordered on the level of precognition, he out classed everyone around him and out stripped me by a wide margin but over the years he changed. Like you and Twilight I was forced to watch as my brother was twisted form a loving and caring dog into what I could only call a shell of his former self." Victory sighed and leaned heavily on the railing of the boat. "We never got along well, I was the second rate always one step behind and he was the prodigy killing machine that didn't care but even still I loved him. Then one day all that tension boiled over and we had a fight, things were said that should never have been said. I told him that unless he took a long look at what he became then he was no longer my brother, only a stranger wearing my brother’s skin. The very next day he was sent on a mission to the lands of the Frozen North, he vanished without a trace. We never found a body but I know he's still out there somewhere, someone like him wouldn't- no, couldn't be done in by a little cold weather." Victory turned to Dawn. "No matter what, make sure you and Twilight don’t follow that path." Victory straightened up and headed back to the stairs walked below deck leaving the dark Alicorn to the solitude of her thoughts.

Dawn looked up to the stars and closed her eyes. "Don't worry Captain, I made a promise to shoulder Twilights burden when it became too much. I won’t abandon my sister, not when for the first time I have someone who I can truly care about." She said.





Queen Astrid stood looking over the ocean as her troops prepared the boats for departure, as always at her side stood her wife Queen Rayla stood. Rayla breathe deeply with a smile. “Ah, the air is so salty but it smells so nice!” She said excitedly.  “I forgot how beautiful the ocean is.”

Astrid smiled. “I’m glad you approve.” She said as she turned and looked over the troops. “Once we set out across the ocean we will be on it for a while, we’ll need to go arum the Griffon Isles as not to disturb them. I just hope we don’t run into any Sirens along the way, they’re a pain in the ass.”

Rayla smiled and placed a hand on her wife’s’ shoulders. “We’ll be fine love, now let’s go prepare, oh this is so exciting!”
> Chapter 5 - Old Friend, New Ally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow yawned as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around, for a moment she was confused as to where she was before remembering she hadn't slept in her quarters but rather passed out in the cargo hold. "I really need to lay of that stuff she muttered quietly to avoid angering her headache as her hoof stepped on an empty bottle and she slipped falling back down. “FUCKING HELL!" She screamed as she slammed her head on a crate and groaned as the hangover hit her harder. Slowly she rose again this time being more careful and looked around to see several drunken crew men each lying in at least half a dozen empty bottles.

Rainbow 'carefully' stumbled through the minefield trying to make as little noise as she could and after several moments of careful walking brought from the experience of both doing this before and being a commander she exited the room and slowly shut the door. "How they slept through my bitching I have no idea." She muttered as she stumbled through the ship and to the gallery of the ship to get something to eat and maybe get rid of the hangover she was in. As she entered she immediately went to the food and grabbed whatever was available not even complaining or caring what it was before looking around, as she squinted she finally saw a yellow and pink blur that looked like Fluttershy and walked over to it. "Hey... Shy?" She asked in a hoarse voice as she squinted at the blur who sighed.

"Hello Rainbow, still drinking?" Fluttershy's voice asked in a quiet and disappointed tone. Rainbow grunted in response as she sat down next to her friend before slowly eating. 

After several minutes of silence from the hall a sudden and iconic pop of teleportation was heard and a voice dug into the ears of every sailor there. "GOOOD MORNING EVERYPONY!" A cheery Draconequus with a little filly in his arms yelled causing most of the sailors to cringe or groan in pain.

"Shut up Discord, it's too early for this!" A Sailor yelled and the Draconequus frowned. 

"Well I never." He muttered grumpily as the little filly in his arms giggled. 

"Now discord, they're just grumpy from the drinking they did last night, they didn't mean anything by it." Fluttershy said quietly.

"Ah, I see." Discord said with a nod as he looked to the crew who were glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. "My apologies everyone, had I known I'd of made a more appropriate entrance. Maybe the Seinfeld Kramer entrance..." Discord said with a shrugged. 

Rainbow sighed. "Where were you last night Discord?" She asked as she rubbed her forehead with a groan.

"Oh, you'd never believe me if I tell you but I took Screwball to visiting an old for mine. I see you got... what do they say these days wasted? Well at least you’re not a white girl."

"No that would be Rarity after a break up that you’re thinking of." Rainbow snarked back with groan as she stood up; grabbed her dishes and passed them over to the server who took them back into the kitchen. "Besides, that was a terrible joke." She said before looking at Fluttershy "You know where Twilight is?"

Fluttershy frowned. "No I haven't seen her all morning." She replied before rising and taking Screwball into her hands. "Discord, can you and Rainbow find her, I'll get her a plate and feed Screwball here." She said as the filly continued to giggle and smile happily.

Discord nodded. "I'm sure she's fine but if you insist." He said with a shrug before flashing into strange outfit. "Come along Rainbow, the game is a foot!" He said happily as he pulled out a magnify glass and left the gallery. Rainbow sighed and followed at a much slower pace than normal, she blamed the hangover.

The two looked around and asked some of the more active crew if they had seen Twilight however none of them except for the top deck crew had leading them to search above deck. As they looked around they spotted Twilight, her armor dawned as she sat cross-legged at the bow of the ship. The two looked at each other before slowly approached however as they drew closer Discord began to look more concerned before stopping, Rainbow looked at Discord confused. "What's up?" She asked.

"That's not Twilight." He said his voice dark. "I'm not sure who or even what that thing is but that is not Twilight." He said darkly before his claw crackled with magic that he shot at the mare.

As soon as the magic left his palm the mare leapt into action simultaneously flipping backwards over the attack and pulling the sword form her back as she spun in the air and landed facing her opponents. Rainbows eyes widened as she saw the face of the mare, everything about her looked like Twilight only it was as if she was looking at a darker more edgy version however what caused her to freeze was the mares’ eyes. The Mares eyes were slitted like a dragon and as her wings flared out causing Rainbow to gasp seeing the draconic appearance. "You would challenge me Discord?" The Mare asked in a voice that made the two shudder in fear. The voice emanated hostility, rage, insanity; it was as if looking at an evil Twilight.

"Where is Twilight Sparkle?" Discord asked his tone more serious that Rainbow had ever heard.

The Mare smiled. "You see her and yet you do not, for I am her in a sense, I am Dawn Flare the darker side of the one you call Twilight Sparkle." She said with a smile showing her sharpened teeth and fangs.

Rainbow grit her teeth. "Give her back." She growled as her mind pulled itself out of the hangover with the adrenaline. The mare now named Dawn Flare looked at the Pegasus with a form of contempt. Growling Rainbow flared her wings as she activated her wingblades and pulled out two concealed knives. "Give Twilight back!" She yelled as she charged.

"Rainbow no!" Discord yelled in fear as Dawn smiled and swung her sword.

Rainbow dodged under the blade her moves unsteady from the effects of the hangover that her body was still ridding itself of, however she managed to remain balanced and quickly thrust her right knife and wing up at the mare who simply dodged the attack with a smile. Quickly Dawn Flare released the sword and began to block the prismatic maned mares’ blows with her bare hands. "You're in no condition to face me little mare, and even if your body wasn't fighting your commands you are still centuries from facing me." She said with a smile as she grabbed Rainbows overextended arm and threw her away. 

As she did this Discord made his move and teleported in front of the mare with a grimace on his face. "My turn." He said as he snapped his fingers sending hundreds of magic bullets at the mare who smiled wider and dodged the blast her eyes glowing a dark magenta as she landed in a crouched position on the deck. Quickly she rose and released a wave of magic that cut like a knife through Discords next attack and slammed into him. 

Rainbow flew at her again and Dawn Flare sighed as she moved to throw the mare away again however this time Rainbow brought up her wing and slammed the bladed tip into her arm as with a powerful flap launched them both into the air. Dawn was thrown up with Rainbow however she quickly threw the mare away unfurled her draconic wings flapping them quickly to orient herself. "Not bad Rainbow Dash, I can see why Twilight respects your skills but if you think this gives you an edge then you're mistaken." Dawn said with a smile before she was blindsided from behind with a lightning bolt.

"Even Alicorn don't have as natural connection to the sky as a Pegasus, this is my domain bitch, now give back Twilight!" Rainbow yelled her eyes glowing white as her armor crackled with lightning and she charged the mare her knives crackling with electricity. Dawn grimaced as black magic condensed around her hands as two black crystal blades materialized in her hands just in time to bock the Pegasus’s attack. Quickly she disengaged the blade lock and shot back Rainbow following her eyes narrowed in anger. Dawn frowned before her eyes widened as Rainbow threw one of the knives causing it to slam into her and an explosion of lightning enveloped her before the world went dark. 

When Dawn woke she was tied up and Discord stood over her. "Now, care to explain exactly where Twilight is?" He asked.

"You're no fun." Dawn pouted however she was immediately slammed into the deck by Rainbow.

"You can either answer him or talk to me and I guarantee you I'm not in the mood for this shit." Rainbow growled.

"You all don't seem to get it do you?" Dawn sighed as she snapped her fingers causing the rope to vanish and she teleported reappearing a few feet away. "If I wanted you dead I'd of dealt with you like Twilight did Chrysalis, efficiently and without care or mercy." She said as she cracked her neck. "But Twilight would be mad if I hurt Discord and if I killed Rainbow I can kiss my life goodbye." She said as she sat down uncaring as the two eyed her.

"You were holding back." Discords stated and Dawn smiled as she nodded. 

"But I knocked you out with lighting, you can't fake that... can you?" Rainbow asked angrily.

Dawn frowned. "I don't know how you did that but no; I didn't fake it, you actually did knock me out." She replied. "That lightning was powerful enough to overwhelm my natural resistance and magical defense; however you did that I will be sure to never get in the way of your attacks again." She said with a smile at the end. "Also, next time you see Celestia give her one of those up her ass for all she put Twilight through, Twilight was too kind to that bitch last time they met." 

Rainbow blinked before smiling. "I like that idea." She said with a dark smile. "Ever heard of Spicy Pegasus wings? Well just wait cause there's a special request for fried Alicorn wings coming soon to an ass kicking near you." She said darkly.

The Alicorn chuckled at her comment however Discord frowned. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Dawn Flare, the darker side of the one you call Twilight Sparkle." Dawn replied. "Twilight was exhausted so I offered to let her rest and I'd take over, when she's rested she will be back but till then you have me."

Rainbow frowned. "So you're like a nerdier Nightmare Moon or something like that?"

Dawn chuckled but nodded. "Something like that, think Nightmare Moon but instead of being all evil and crazy I'm sane and simply wish to help Twilight. No take over Twilight's body scheme or rule the world plans. I'm the darkness that comes when Twilight's pushed too far, the little sister who only wants to protect her big sister."

Rainbow frowned. "Little sister?" 

Dawn nodded. "In a sense, Twilight is my big sister and I will do anything to protect my sister." She said darkly. "I was originally the spirit of this armor but when Twilight bound it to herself I became more of an actual being and became what you see before you, a separate personality that represents Twilights’ darker side, I only take control when Twilight can't handle something or she lets me."

Rainbow nodded. "Okay... I still don't trust you but I guess you're alright but if you try anything..." She trailed off as she raised her knife and sent a spark through it.

Dawn nodded. "More lightning, got it." She said with a nod.

"How long will you remain in control?" Discord asked distrusting.

Dawn shrugged. "When I took control Twilight spent several hours crying before drifting off so I'd say a while. She's been up since she returned to life, Celestias actions mentally broke her and... I'm kinda worried about her." Dawn finished as she looked down at the deck frowning. "Celestias betrayal really messed her up, more than you can possibly understand." She whispered sadly.

Rainbow frowned. "Why hasn't she said anything?" She asked. "She knows I'm here for her, hell even Discords here for her. She doesn't need to bottle it all up."

Dawn sighed. "I wish she would let you all help, I'm always there for her but even I can't figure out what to do." She replied. "And before you go and ask Pinkie to set up a part, just don't, she needs time to recover and heal."

Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, makes sense." she said. 

Discord frowned. "If I may ask what exactly do you plan to do till Twilight returns?" He asked.

Dawn shrugged. "Nothing really, I've been meditating all night so I got nothing."

Discord nodded. "Well my dear perhaps you would like something to eat?" He asked "I imagine you’re quite hungry."

Dawn tilted her head in thought before nodding. "Sure, I could do for a bite." She said with a sigh and the group moved down the decks. When they entered the Gallery they spotted Fluttershy sitting with a fussy Screwball who was squirming and trying to move away from her. Dawn smiled slightly as she watched the scene before turning to the food and grabbing a plate. With a sigh she took it over to the table and joined Fluttershy. As she sat down Rainbow and Discord joined her and she began to quietly eat. 

Once Screwball calmed down Fluttershy finally looked up to see Dawn and froze in place before a bow made of tree roots appeared in her hand and she quickly drew it back as an ethereal arrow of green magic appeared. "Nightmare." She growled as Dawns eyes widened. "Why are you here and in Twilights body?" 

Dawn slowly finished chewing the food in her mouth before swallowing. "Now Fluttershy, please calm down." She asked only for Fluttershy to release the arrow into the floor next to Dawn. "Okay, Rainbow, can you and Discord please explain the situation to the Element of Kindness before I get an arrow shot down my throat?" She asked as calmly as she could.

Rainbow nodded. "Shy, please put the bow down." She asked calmly as Discord rose and slowly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Please Fluttershy, you need to calm down." He said in a soothing tone.

"And let what happened to Luna happen Twilight?" She asked in a cold voice. "We just got Twilight back and I will not lose her to darkness." She said coldly.

Dawn sighed. "Okay this has gone on long enough." She said with a groan before she lit her horn and began to glow as a dark aura surrounded her. Dawn grunted as she grit her teeth and all ponies present watched in shock as she began to spit in to two beings however rather than blood a white mist began to flow from the split before finally with a pop the two halves came apart and everyone stood in shock. Lying beside the dark Alicorn was a mare almost identical to her only her fur was lighter and her wings were feathered Pegasus wings rather than leathery draconic ones. "Oh that hurt." Dawn groaned as she rubber her head.

"What the hell did you just do?!" Rainbow yelled in panic.

"Calm down Rainbow, I simply divided Twilight and I temporarily." She said in a nonchalant tone.

"That makes so much sense!" Rainbow countered sarcastically.

"Make sense?" Dawn asked quietly before looking Rainbow in the eyes. "What fun is there in making sense?" She asked. "Madness, chaos, insanity, all these are but half of who we are." She said with a laugh. "I am the Alicorn of Harmony, a living contradiction! I am sane yet mad, kind and cruel, two opposites coexisting in a way never meant to happen." She said with a smile.

Discord nodded. "Neither Chaos nor Order, you walk the path of wisdom but tread carefully for the path you walk is lined with thorns."

Dawn smiled. "Then it's a good thing I'm a pony." She said cheekily causing Discord to laugh.

"And you think that by doing this I will trust you monster?" Fluttershy asked her eyes narrowing. "If anything it gives me more reason to kill you." She said calmly.

Dawn raised her hands in a surrender motion as she looked at the Pegasus mare with concern. "That won't actually kill me but while it might not kill it'll still hurt like a bitch." She said calmly. "I promise I'm not going to do anything. Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye." She said as she made the appropriate gestures. 

As soon as she finished the pink pony herself appeared beside her and narrowed her eyes at the dark Alicorn. "Hmm..." She said as she eyed the Alicorn before nodding. "She's being serious but just know; I got my eye on you Dawnie." She said as she sunk under the table. 

When she finally vanished under the table Dawn bent over and looked under it to find no trace of the pink menace. Slowly Dawn straightened back up her left eye twitching erratically as some of her hair began to pop out of position. "How-she-what... She just disappeared." She said as she slumped forward in defeated as her brain failed to comprehend what just happened.

Rainbow placed a hand on the confused Alicorn. "Don't question it, it's Pinkie Pie." She said as Dawn nodded. 

"For both my sanity and Twilights I’ll try." She said as she rubbed her forehead in pain before returning to eating. After finishing her food she turned to Fluttershy. "DO you know where Twilight s quarters are? She needs to rest and I don't think she'd want to be on a bench in the gallery." 

Fluttershy nodded as she looked to discord and held up Screwball. "I'll take you to her quarters and then you and I are going to have a chat." She said with narrowed eyes. Dawn nodded and picked Twilight up bridal style as she followed Fluttershy.
> Chapter 6 - The Traveler
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and Dawn stood at the bow of the ship watching as the coast of the Kingdom of Dragonia come into view. Dragonia was a powerful continent that was ruled by the immortal Dragon Emperor Huǒ xíngzhě. 

As the ship drew closer to the docks Twilight spotted a large amount of soldiers and frowned. "That's a large amount of guards." She muttered.

"Let us hope they have no trouble with us." Dawn said quietly. "We don't want to draw the ire of the Dragonians."

Twilight nodded and turned to the captain. "Captain, bring the ship in and make ready to dock but inform the crews to be on their best behavior!" She yelled.

The Captain nodded. "So you saw it too?" He asked receiving a nod from Twilight; the captain sighed and turned to the crew. "Alright boys let's bring her in nice and slow, we got Draconian guards at the docks and we need to put our best hoof forward." He yelled receiving confirmation from the crew.

As they began to pull into port Twilight watched as the guards joined the crew in setting up final preparations or began to dawn their armor and weapons. Twilight and Dawn looked at each other and nodded as they began to glow and merge into one being; as the glow faded they turned back to watch their approach as the Berserker armor ripped out from under her skin however Twilight left the helmet removed.

"The troops are ready and your friends are getting prepared too." Victory said as she stepped beside Twilight. 

"Good, were almost in port." Twilight replied as she slipped on her 'regal' mask. "With any luck we can make the necessary preparations and leave soon."

Victory squinted her eyes before looking surprised. "Is that the Emperor?" She asked in surprise and pointed to a spot on one of the docks. Twilight looked however she two had trouble making out who was standing there. 

"I need a Pegasus over here!" She yelled however none of the crew was one. "Where's Rainbow?" She asked.

"Still below deck your majesty." A guard said calmly. 

"Go get her, quickly." Victory said causing the guard to salute and walk quickly to the stairs and move down. After a moment he returned with Rainbow who was fastening her blades to her wings quickly.

"You wanted to see me Twi?" She asked as she neared.

"Indeed Rainbow, I need your eyes for a second." Twilight said as she pointed to the dock they were nearing. "Can you tell me who's standing there?"

Rainbow approached the siding of the ship and looked over before frowning. "Well there are a lot of guards and some old Dragon dude with red scales and white hair. He's wearing some green robes that got some monster shoulder plates on them and swords like the ones Captain Moon has only there's two." She said as she looked at Twilight. "That help?" She asked with a smirk. 

Twilight nodded. "That's Huǒ xíngzhě, the Emperor of Draconia." Twilight said calmly. "What's he doing here?" She asked.

"Well were about to find out." Rainbow said as they pulled up to the dock the Emperor was standing on just as Discord, Fluttershy and Pinkie appeared from the stairs leading to the lower floors. 

As the crew moved to lower the gangplank and the troops stood in formation, Twilight calmly stepped off the boat and approached the Emperor. As the two calmly stood before each other they eyed each other silently till the emperor grabbed Twilight and pulled her into a hug. "Thank the ancestors you're alive!" He said with joy.

"Emperor Huǒ xíngzhě, it's been too long." Twilight gasped out as the dragon crushed her in a hug. 

"Indeed it has my dear friend, when I heard of your exploits and adventures I was shocked." The Emperor said as he set her down and patted her head. "To think that such a studious scholar like you could break from that shell of yours, it fills my heart with pride." He said happily.

"I'm still a scholar Huǒ xíngzhě, my love for knowledge and discovering new things still burns bright." Twilight said with a blushed as many of the draconian troops and even Twilights friends looked confused.

"Indeed, but a dock is no place for two old friends to catch up, I insist you join me at the palace!" Huǒ xíngzhě said happily.

Twilight looked away sadly. "I'd love to but at present we have to prepare to leave." She said sadly.

Huǒ xíngzhě's face fell and he looked sad. "So soon?" He asked sadly. "I had hoped you would at least stay for a few days." He said as he hung his head.

Twilight looked down as well. "I wish I could but... I have a throne to claim now." She said sadly. 

As Twilight said this Huǒ xíngzhě turned to her in surprise before the look changed to excitement. "Oh, Celestia finally decided to give you a Kingdome did she?" He asked only to see her cringe. "Twilight, what's wrong?" He asked in concern. "Did something happen to Celestia?" He asked.

Twilight looked away but nodded. "She..." Twilight fell silent and Rainbow and Pinkie approached her.

"Celestia's gone mad or something and is trying to kill Twilight so she doesn't take the throne." Rainbow said a hint of anger in her voice as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

Huǒ xíngzhě's eyes widened as he looked at Twilight and then at the troops with her. "Why would she do this?" He asked his voice calm.

Rainbow shrugged her shoulder and Fluttershy stepped forward with Discord at her side. "She is to be the ruler of the Harmony Empire." She said calmly causing the old dragons eyes to widen as he looked around.

Slowly Huǒ xíngzhě leaned close to Twilight and whispered in to her ear. "Twilight I must speak with you." He said quietly. "Please stay for a few days; I will have my spies monitor Celestia and Equestria as a whole." He asked.

Twilight hesitated but finally nodded. "Alright, we’ll stay for a few days but no more." She said.

Huǒ xíngzhě nodded and turned to his guards. "Prepare the carriages; I want the streets to the palace cleared immediately!" He ordered receiving salutes form the soldiers who quickly moved to follow his orders. 

Only a few minutes later Twilight and her friends as well as Discord and Captain Moon were seated in a carriage following the one holding the Emperor. "Okay Twilight spill, how do you know that emperor dude?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight blushed. "Well, every few years all the rulers of the countries across the world gather for a sort of royal conference." Twilight explained. "I met him there a long time ago."

"I've heard about that." Fluttershy said quietly drawing the others attention causing her to shrink slightly. "It's called the Summit of Royals, supposedly it's during that time that all the rulers of every race gather in one single location though I don’t know what exactly happens there."

"It's not common knowledge but yes that is true." Twilight conferment.

"As for what happens during that time, well I suppose I could explain better than others." Discord said with a smile. "During the conference treaties are renewed, borders are disputed and it's a load of boredom. I normally sit in the corner and watch the show but that’s not the point."

Twilight nodded. "It's also the place where the personal students of all the rulers gather to share knowledge, ideas and other things of value." Twilight said as she leaned back and closed her eyes. "We also meet the other leaders; the reason for this because of the many races only a few are immortal while others are simply long living or have a normal life. As such all those who are princes or princesses along with any apprentices of the rulers are required to join their mentors in the summit so that if something were to ever happen we may ascend to the throne relatively prepared since we will know all the current and future treaties, agreements and rulers."

As twilight explained the others seemed to realize just how little they actually know about Twilights life before she came to Ponyville. "No wonder you were such a stuck up grumpy pants when we first met!" Pinkie said. "You always had to act as a potential ruler and leader!" 

Twilight nodded. "When Celestia went missing and Nightmare Moon appeared I had a choice, gather the guard and face Nightmare Moon as a leader or play the part I did and try and find the Elements of Harmony; honestly I think I chose the better option." She said with a smile as he looked at her friends. 

"Honestly before I died I had no real idea on how to rule, I was a scholar and scientist not a ruler but thanks to my mentors I was able to become a far better ruler and leader."

"At the cost of your own self." Discord said with a frown. "Twilight, you may be more capable and much more powerful but your time with your mentors nearly stripped you of everything that made you who you are." Discord said calmly.

Twilight shrugged. "Nothing is free, no matter what a sacrifice must be made or a price paid." Twilight countered. "Give me a few decades and I might be able to regain some of my individuality and personality." 

Discord sighed. "I hope so; I knew who you would become but... I didn’t want this." He said with a sigh.

Twilight smiled. "I wish that I could have become the ruler I am now anther way too, from what I understand Chrysalis ruined everything." Twilight said. "She reeked of demonic corruption; I could smell it on her it was so potent." She said her eyes narrowing. "However the stench was worse from Celestia and when we last fought I smelled it so strong I almost confused her for one."

Discords eyes widened. "You think Celestia made a deal with them?"

Twilight looked out the window and watched as the city passed them by. "I don't know but if she did Luna had no knowledge of it as she has no trace of demonic taint."

Discord sighed. "Still bad but if we can warn Luna then we might be able to get answers sooner." Discord rubbed his eyes tiredly. 

"So... are we talking demons like mythical demons or real living demons?" Pinkie asked in concern.

"Real flesh and blood demons." Twilight answered with a sigh. "I suppose that I should explain how the Eternal Empire actually came to be." She said sadly as she took a breath and looked at the occupants of the charge with an unreadable expression. "What I say here is never to be repeated, understand?" She asked coldly receiving nods from ever creature with her. Twilight sighed and nodded. "Long, long, long ago there existed a race that now is known as the Immortal..."
> Chapter 7 - Forgotten History of a Forgotten Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long, long, long ago there existed a race that is now known as the Immortal that ruled the world. Before the time Ponies, Griffons and the myriad of other races that now populate even existed on Eques the Immortal were the only ones. Through science, magic and alchemy they slowly brought forth the races we now know and more however even though they created us they never treated us as equals. To them we were experiments, slave labor and animals created for their amusement; for years that was just how it was till twelve scientists grew tired of it and rebelled against their own leading the races to fight against the other Immortals. The war between the Races and Immortals lasted for centuries but ended when the Immortals capital city, Icon, was destroyed however such victory came at a price. 

In the final battle the Immortals who lead the Races were in a desperate rush to stop their own kind from unleashed a weapon of great power, power they had no hope to controlling. While the Leaders did manage to prevent them from fully activating the weapon they failed to stop them from using the power. The weapon was unleashed and as a result destroyed the City of Icon. Despite the futility of such actions the Races dug through the ruble searching for their leaders and what they found would lead to a war that would span time eternal for they not only found their leaders but also the first of the Demons. 

The desire to protect the Races caused the weapon to transform the leaders into the races they created however all other Immortals shared a different fate; with only darkness in their hearts the other Immortals were consumed and transformed into monsters that showed their wickedness both inside and out becoming the very embodiments of what they desired, they became Demons.

The newly formed Demons enraged at what had been done to them lashed out attempting to wipe all free will from the other races in an attempt to bring them back under their control but this time the races were not only ready but had the upper hand and so when the war start once more all the races united and sealed them away. However not all Demons were evil, and the ones that were not chose to unite with the races and earn their right to freedom. After the sealing of the demons the twelve leaders founded the Harmony Empire on top of the ruins of Icon, a reminder of the dark past of this world.

Time marched on and the races spread out across the world became their own kingdoms however the rulers grew to fear what would happen if the Demons ever were to be freed so the rulers of all the races gathered forming the first Summit of Royals and made a unanimous decision to activate one of six Doomsday machines created by the Immortals to crack the crust of the planet and alter the continents to a point they became unrecognizable. The Immortal who lead the races during the war, now the rulers of the Harmony Empire; used one of six keys they activate a device that cracked the crust of the planet and shatter he contents into the planet we now know today. In doing this they were abler to hide the seal and wiped all record of the horrid deed from all records. However even with this counter measure there had to be a guardian against this darkness and so the Harmony Empire was chosen to create and guard an archive detailing all events in history so that if the influence of the demons were to ever appear then at least one kingdom would know.

As time passed the knowledge of the Harmony Empires duty was forgotten, arrogant rulers rose in the place of once great kings and queen and soon all lusted for the knowledge the Harmony Empire safeguarded; many went to war for even a small chance to lay claim to such knowledge and power and as such the Harmony Empire was forced to protect it. During this time of conflict the Demons discovered how to influence the world and so the goal of the war changed from obtaining its knowledge to destroying. The Empire tried to fight the demons but their influence had grown too great so the rulers saw fit to erase the knowledge of the Empires location; in less than five years the location of the Empire was lost or forgotten as all records of it were destroyed. As the years passed the Empire faded from memory becoming a cautionary tale that rulers tell their descendants as a way to show what greed and desire brings. 

Time once more continued onward and eventually the Rulers of the Empire chose to travel across the world to explore and catalogue its history but just as it had been feared the Demons began to break the seal that bound them. The Rulers knew that it would only be a matter of time till the demons were freed so in their wisdom they took the six keys to the Super Weapons created so long ago and forged them into the Six Elements of Harmony. Uniting the power they were bestowed with and sealing it with in the newly formed Elements they sent this power away with the keepers of Magic and Necromancy who fled with two young children to lands far to the east, lands that would in time take the name of Equestria. Once the children were safe and the Elements protected Magic and Necromancy returned to The Harmony Empire for a final confrontation between the Demons and Leaders of the Empire. This battle is lost to history as the Harmony Empire was unable to record the events and Bearers have long since forgotten the specifics of the battle. What is remembered however is that the Leader of the Demons, Demon King Tartarica Inferos, personally took to the battlefield. The Leaders met in battle and while The Bearers were able to reseal the Demons they once more payed a price and were sealed in the Void, a place outside of time and space and between the realms of the living and dead.





As Twilight finished the story the ponies in the carriage sat in shock, Captain Moon sadly curling her tails around her body as she looked down. Discord seemed to take it the best simply leaning back and rubbing his chin in thought. After several moments of silence Pinkie opened her mouth to say something only for the carriage stopped and the door opened revealing a Draconian Guard  who bowed. "Empress Sparkle, we have arrived at the Palace." He said calmly.
> Chapter 8 - Broken Souls Who Play a Part in this Wicked Work of Art
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A stallion calmly walked over to the red barn of the apple family inside Applejack sat at small table next to a barrel of apple cider passed out, in her hand was an empty crystalline drinking glass while a bottle sat on the table in front of her. The Stallion sighed and slammed the barn door shut causing Applejack to jump awake and knock the bottle off the table. As Applejack reached for the bottle only just missing it the stallion calmly bent down and caught it just as it was about to hit the floor. The Stallion looked at the bottle for a moment before setting it back on the table. Applejack rubbed her forehead before reaching for the bottle however as she tried to pull it away she found the stallion hadn't let go of the bottle yet. "I've been cleaning up after you a lot lately." He said calmly as he let go. 

Applejack took the bottle and filled the glass she had in her hand not once looking at the stallion before her. "Leave it alone Mustang." She said coldly.

"Still having the same dream?" Mustang asked as he walked over to another table that was set up and pulled a chair from it over to Applejacks table and sat down on it with the back facing his stomach.

"I said leave it alone." Applejack growled.

"What happened in Appaloosa wasn’t your fault." Mustang said calmly.

"Which part?" Applejack asked as she looked at her second in command. "Where Brayburn got left behind or where ma' orders killed two hundred ponies?" She asked coldly.

Mustang didn't even flinch or frown as he looked at Applejack. "Same old bullshit; you ain't gonna listen." He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that he slid over to her before standing and walking away. As he reached the doors and opened them he turned to his commander and looked at her in sadness. "Do you even see what you're becoming?" He asked as he turned and looked at her.

"We are who we choose to be Mustang." Applejack replied as she took the bottle and poured herself another drink.  

Mustang looked down for a moment before looking back at her with anger. "well when you figure it out let us know!" He yelled at her in anger causing her to raise her head and look at him. "We're all waiting on you." he said as he turned and exited the barn slamming the door shut. 

Applejack sat in silence for a moment looking at where her second in command had stood before looking down at the object he had set in front of her carefully Applejack picked the object up and turned it over to see it was an orange crystal cut into apple shape, the Element of Honesty. Applejack stared at the Element in her hand for a moment trying to get her drunk brain to actually work and when it finally did she was unable to do anything except simply stare at the artifact. After what felt like years she looked down at the drink in front of her before for the first time in what felt like months she felt a bit of determination fill her as her sense of purpose returned. With a sigh and a groan the mare got to her hooves and looked at the Element of Honesty in her hand one more time before moving to exiting the barn. As Applejack left the barn the Element in her hand began to glow causing her to stop and watch in shock as it slowly changed shape into a five pointed star wrapped in a circle, the words veritas, probitas, iustitia written on the circle.





Deep in the desert of the badlands lay a ancient tomb sealed long before the Discordian Era, a tomb forgotten to all but the most ancient of beings. Here at the entrance of the tomb stood a solar guard named Golden Flame who had been given a special mission by his princess. 

He had searched long and hard, uncovered clues and secrets left buried and meant to be forgotten. He bore no knowledge of the Changeling War, Celestias rise to tyranny or even of her attack on her former apprentice; for he had been set out with a single mission long before such had transpired and at last he had found what his princess had asked him to seek.

Golden Flame smiled as he lit his horn and shot a beam of pure light into the crystal above the tomb sealed doors, as he did this the ground began to rumble and slowly the sealed tomb doors opened releasing a wave of stale air from within. Golden Flame grit his teeth and closed his eyes in concentration as he kept the beam up till the doors finally opened fully with a rumble. Golden Flame fell to his knees panting as he worked to catch his breath. After he finally did he looked at the opened doors with a determined look as he stepped for ward and entered the tomb. As he walked through the halls of the tomb he quickly realized that tomb was rather strange. 

The walls were not elaborately decorated like most tombs were, there were no artifacts of worth or items inside- in fact the entire tomb was empty. The deeper Golden Flame walked the more he became on edge and his hand drifted to the hilt of the sword at his side. After several hours of navigating the maze like corrodes of the tomb with knowledge he had gained over his travels he at last reached the central chambers where if one were to be buried their body would be kept. As he entered this chamber to magical braziers around the walls ignited revealing the room entirely. The room was a massive circular chamber with six pillars at the center made of glowing red crystals. Inside the circle of pillars was a raised dais where a pink crystal that shone with a kind light floated. 

As Golden Flame stepped deeper into the chamber he realized that the crystal was the only thing inside the room and slowly approached it. "Is someone there?" A voice called out causing Golden Flame to pause in confusion. "Please if some one's there say something!" 

Golden Flame looked around the room for whoever was talking but found no one. "Where are you?" He asked as he drew his blade and got in a combat stance.

"That voice... Golden? Is that you Golden Flame?" The voice asked in a hopeful tone.

"How do you know me?" Golden Flame asked as his eyes narrowed.

"I'm so glad you finally made it here! Please Golden come up to the dais and look into the crystal!" The voice pleaded. 

Golden eyed the crystal wearily however he slowly approached the dais and as he neared he looked closely into it only to see a mare inside. The made had pure white fur with a pink main and tail, on her shoulder was her cutie mark of a stylized sun however over it was a branded of chains. As Golden Flame examined the mare his eyes began to widen as he looked closer at the Mare. "Imposable..." He gasped out as he took a step back.

"It's been a while Golden, I'm so glad you made it to my prison." She said as he ran up the steps and looked at the crystals occupant. "Oh, my most loyal guardian; I'm so sorry that I was forced to send you on such a dangerous mission but I knew that time was running out." She said sadly as she looked at the stallion before her.

"How can you be here, when you sent me here?" He asked.

The mare looked away sadly. "What you saw was a shell, broken and empty. This Crystal is my true form and has been for thousands of years." She said sadly. "When I was but a young mare I was attacked by a Demon, the Demon took my soul and severed it from my body; my consciousness, thoughts, personality and soul was crystalized into this prison while my body beamed a puppet to the Demon. Since then I have only been a passenger in my own body, forced to watch as all I loved and swore to protect was corrupted and twisted."

Golden Flame shook his head in bewilderment as the mare explained to him how she came to be here. "But why did your pupated body send me here?" He asked. 

"It didn't, while this is my prison I can still influence my body in subtle ways. Ever since my sister became Nightmare Moon I have worked to influence what I can. Twilight’s apprenticeship and so much more has all been my work. And for a time I had regained control of my body but my connection to my body was fading and I knew that soon the Demons would make their move to insure my influence was removed. And so I called you Golden Flame, my most loyal guardian, you have always done what I asked without regard for your own safety and so I sent you on this perilous quest to free me." As the mare finished speaking Golden Flame bowed his head. 

"But how do I do that?" He asked.

The Mare smiled. "Shatter my prison, drive your sword into the crystal and break it freeing me form this life of imprisonment."

Golden flame hesitated before his eyes narrowed into determined slits and he drew his sword back before with a yell he thrust it forward and into the crystal driving it till the hilt was the only thing not inside. From the point where his sword had struck the crystal cracks splintered to life and he narrowed his eyes as with a grunt he twisted the blade causing more. Light shot out from inside the cracks and with a resounding crack the entire crystal shattered releasing the light inside which began to glow brighter forcing Golden to look away and cover his eyes till it slowly died down.

As the Light died down the mare stood before him, a motherly smile on her face as he knelt before the mare, a smile growing on his face as he felt her aura. Her very presence felt like that of a warm summer day and as she looked upon him he felt her care and love which seemed to be unending. "Rise Golden Flame, you do to need to me." She said kindly.

"Of course, Princess Celestia." Golden Flame said as he rose and looked upon his princess with joy and pride as he noticed that her cutie mark was no longer bound in chains.
> Announcement
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Hey Everyone, I'm putting this story on hiatus till I can figure out where to go with it. This story is a really big one and I have a lot of plans for it but right now I've hit the point where I'm having a hard time figuring out where I want to go with it. This story will be back but it will be a while since this is one of my bigger and more important stories and I want to do right by the readers who have stuck around.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Walter D. Arceaion
> Announcement 2
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So I made a large blog post about this but I feel I should cover it here as well since people have been asking. Returning Home II Rise of the Eternal Empire is being worked on but there is a lot to do with it and frankly it needs a total overhaul do to the issues that are plaguing it. 

I also plan to redo the original story Returning Home since the problems with Returning Home II are left overs from Returning Home.

If I do redo Returning Home I will be not just updating the story but adding in several scenes I originally cut. Not sure if I've spoken on this publicly but when I was writing Returning Home I actually cut several scenes, which would have made the story much darker than it was. These cut scenes would have featured Rarity being killed, Spike leaving for the Dragon Lands and learning under Dragon Lord Torch, and a lot more.

I removed them originally because I felt they were too dark for the story but they have resulted in me having several problems that manifested themselves in Returning Home II as such I plan to do a rewrite of the original story which will follow the originally intended path to solve these problems. I will still keep the original version of Returning Home up so just know a second version will appear eventually and that will signal that new chapters for Returning Home II - Rise of the Eternal Empire are going to becoming out soon.

Thank you for your patience and for reading my work.
Sincerely,
Walter D. Arceaion