Thousands of years before the time of Twilight Sparkle, two children are born: The first natural alicorns in millennia. At the same time, a great evil dwells... A scientist, tapping into the taboo, creates an army of living shadows, ready to wage all-out war on all of Equestria... And the only ones who can stop it are the Princesses, Celestia and Luna. With Equestria in their hooves, will the young Princesses be able to cope with their newfound power, as the race they were born into collapses before their eyes?

NOTE: This story stars a villain from G1 MLP known as Grogar, who was initially a goat, but in this fic he is portrayed as a Unicorn. The reason for this is spoiler-y.

Formerly titled "Alicorns: The Fall of an Empire"

The cover art was made by myself (by fiddling with a Celestia vector)

Special thanks to my proofreader River Road (whose work can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/mwxmejl). Without his input and guidance, this fanfic probably would never have happened.