The Fall of Morninglight

(( This entry is dated December 16th of last year ))

The Empress and the Equestrian Diarchy break the Changeling Talisman

A new day has dawned; a day I have worked towards for many months – verily, since meeting Miss Silvermane in fact.

The breaking of the talisman was a success – and in this action the Silvermane Hive is no more. In its place is now a small band of ponies bound together through this adventure.

A family, of sorts, and they now have that equality with ponies they sought.

This did not happen as I had intended those many months ago when Miss Silvermane brokered her peace with me… In fact, the road to reach this place was certainly the one less traveled, fraught with much peril and difficulty. But the view as I watched some dozen new ponies cavort around Miss Silvermane after the transformation was simply astounding…

History measures us not by what we achieve, but more by how we achieved it. The happy ending of the legend is moot without an understanding of the travails involved in getting there.

And in this there is indeed history to recount, legends to be written, and a tale to be told.

As I sit here in my study and enjoy my afternoon tea, I think back over all that has transpired; the grand affairs of state as Roanoak and Equestria fussed over plans and ideals with regard to the Changelings, the turbulence within the Guard as Imperious departed leaving the Empire in the care of Changeling loyalists, and even the individual hardships that were endured as Morninglight fell to a fanged invasion... A perfect collection of events that all led, inexorably, to this one outcome.

Along the way friendships were forged and tested, allegiances were put to trial, and the course of an entire nation was changed. Both sides – not just the victors, are writing this history for the war is on going.

With this resolution for the Silvermane Family though, the lines in this conflict can be re-drawn. No longer are the guard tied to the difficult task of determining friend from foe when they can appear to be anypony. No longer shall there be worry of who is an acceptable risk and who is not. No more complications with regard to who is loyal to pony-kind and who is merely seeking to feed off of us…

With the option given to any Changeling who truly sought to exist in peace with pony-kind, to aid in some small way without bringing harm, to have a kinship with us to stand with Miss Silvermane as we ended the curse – those who were ‘protected’ in this conflict are no longer in the line of fire. And this means Imperious has been freed from the complexities of friendly casualties and the politics thereof.

We are now free to fight back, to carry this conflict to the Changeling invaders and remove them from our lands.

Saber rattling aside, this event has also had other repercussions – namely with regard to Miss Silvermane...

It took the combined power of the Equestrian Princesses and myself to unmake the Changeling talisman, and the resulting explosion of arcane power when it was sundered appeared to have resulted in the unmaking of Miss Silvermane as well.

The unmaking of the Changeling Talisman

As the light faded and the ringing in our collective ears abated, all that was left where the Changeling Queen once stood was a glowing burn mark on the carpet of my throne room.

Something akin to panic set in for the newest additions to pony-kind as they discovered that it appeared that I had completely and utterly destroyed their queen.

After a short time though she returned in a blaze of light to the place the Changeling Queen had once occupied; though smaller and much more of a pony than before – a pony that bore the mantle of the three tribes.

Ascension has certain rules: a natural leadership ability, a unique mastery of talent, demonstrated perseverance in the face of evil, and an encompassing humility that tends to have the newly ascended disbelieving that they could even achieve such a thing… And a pony must meet all of the criteria before there is even a chance of ascension, and even then it is exceedingly rare.

As I have come to know Miss Silvermane quite well, I can see how she would meet the requirements for ascension.

Her sacrifices to try to save her hive, which culminated in placing herself in harm’s way and being subjected to the forces that sundered the Changeling talisman seems to have been the catalyst.

As it is customary for our kind to both try to find and guide those who may be worthy of ascension, and to take them under our wings when they are found, I have made such an offer to Miss Silvermane as well.

And of last evening, after careful consideration on both our accounts, I granted her title within Roanoak and shall set about her education… Henceforth she is to be referred to as one with title in my lands, as according to the writ of law she is now my niece.

Fortunately for me, like Miss Sparkle, Miss Silvermane has a group of friends already with which to ‘practice’ upon. But I do require her to learn the vagaries of court and the methods of rule, and as such she will be spending much time at my side as I attend to matters of state.

It shall not be easy for her, for there exists nothing in this world with more weight than a crown.

So, in this I now have two students; Solstice, a princess in line for the throne in Andalusia and Silvermane, a princess in peerage for Roanoak...

This seems to mirror my contemporary in Equestria, Celestia, for she was at once training Cadance for the throne whilst Twilight studied magic at her hooves. In that regard, Solstice is my Cadance – she has courtly upbringing and a grasp of what is expected of her, some day, and is simply here to learn more from another mentor. Silvermane, on the other hoof, is my Twilight – for while she is older than Equestria’s newest Princess, this world of ponies is entirely new territory for her.

She has such a spark of life, such curiosity and a desire to do some good with the chance she has been given…

I am at once honored, and humbled, to guide her along this path.