Prologue: The Feeding Shadow
Years had gone by since the threat of eternal night was banished from the land of Equestria. Princess Celestia, the ruler of the sun and now sole leader, had been forced to now sit alone in a castle built for two. It took little time for the events of the past to start taking their toll on her mind, filling her with sadness, regret, and guilt, until she just couldn't take anymore. Those feelings lead her to make a decision that would change her kingdom as it was known then, the decision to leave it all behind; leave the castle, the elements, and all connections she had to her lost sister, and find a new land where she could rule over her little ponies, alone.
Followed by her most loyal of subjects, the princess traveled into the unknown reaches of her land, searching for the best location for their new home. Eventually she had found what they had been looking for. A large field, sitting by the base of a mountain, stood before the group. The ponies immediately saw the potential in the land, as did the princess, so they started to build in the empty territory, creating a new capital city where Celestia could rule over Equestria and all her subjects; the capital that would soon be known as Canterlot.
Within only months, the capital had been created, and the castle was nearing its own completion. As the princess looked down on the land she came to a grave realization. No matter how well the capital was made, unlike her, time would take its toll eventually. It was then that she decided on a new traditional event. Every century of her rule, she would have the capital renovated, and if needed, remodeled, in order to prevent it from becoming anything other than Equestria's shining beacon, as it was created to be.
On the dawning of the seventh century of her rule, it was time for Celestia to choose the group of builders for the new renovations. She had decided on a small family of builders, highly recommended by her advisers, and revered by many other ponies. She took these praises to heart and gave them all her trust in the project as well as giving them access to all parts of Canterlot, including her own castle, which would prove to be a mistake. One of the youngest workers took that as an opportunity to sneak into the castle's library and steal one of the spell books from the forbidden archives before escaping the castle, avoiding all pursuers, and vanishing out of Canterlot, free to use the book as he saw fit.
Years later, the greedy pony finally did return wielding a powerful and dark energy given to him by a symbol found in the stolen tome, and now going by the name Minucorn. As he traveled through Equestria, the shadows of the dark energy would infect all ponies near by and force their darkest of feeling to the surface, only so they could be fed on by Minucorn's mark. Once the Princess finally confronted the evil sorcerer, she pleaded for him to end his rampage, but he would not listen, even attempting to feed on her as he did the rest, but she would not falter. Celestia knew there was no reasoning with the pony, so she did what she had to end the horrible event. Using every bit of strength she had, the sun princess cast a powerful sealing spell on the evil Minucorn, trapping him within his own darkness and sealing him far beneath Equestria's surface, never to be seen again, or so she thought.
It is said that the seal lasts only one century. Every hundred years, Celestia returns to the spot the seal was cast, and carefully recasts it to hold for another hundred. Below the surface, Minucorn can only wait for the day the seal truly breaks, and he is free to feed once again.
