There's a guard at the base of the staircase leading to my throne. He's talking to me. Something about approving the orders I previously gave him. He asks me if I'm convinced of my decision. I tell him I am. He seems hesitant. I urge him to leave. He bows and proceeds to leave the room.
It has already been a year since I came back from my 1000 years imprisonment on the Moon. One year today to be precise. How things have changed since that day. It was hard at first, getting back to being the princess. A lot had changed in a thousand years. The laws, the traditions, even the land. Everything was different from how I recalled it. The hardest part to deal with was surely the way ponies reacted to me. I don't blame them, after all I had been reduced to little more than a fairy tale by that point. Still, I had wished at least my sister not to treat me like she initially did. But eventually that got fixed to, and now she acts towards me with the respect I deserve as princess of this land. It did take a very heated discussion between us to get to this point, but I think it was worth it. Having the royal guards get used to my presence was pretty hard too. I remember there were a couple of members who decided to leave their position rather than serve me, but for the major part they decided to follow the rules. And for those who didn't I decided to reintroduce some of the discipline methods that had fallen in disuse during my absence.
There's a series of letters resting on the table near the throne. A list of the current contents of the royal archives, an estimate of the amount of work and money some of the renovations I order are going to need, a couple letters from local administrators asking to change my policy on the stationing of armed forces in their territories. Nothing I care about. Things are going to get done the way I say they must be done, no matter what others say. There's also something else. It's a report from the head of the royal guard about the success of a mission. That one I care about. I requested that particular mission about three monts ago and I'm glad it was finally successful. The report was given to me twelve hours ago by a messenger, and I immediatley ordered the promotion of the one who led the team and allowed this to go the right way. At the present moment I'm awaiting the confirmation of one of my latest orders to be approved by the council. That's what I sent that guard earlier for. I'm sure they'll agree with my decision. And if they don't I'll just have to change them like last time. I'm not even sure why I established the council in the first place. I think it had something to do with the population not trusting my decisions.
I think the worst thing when I got back were the cultural differences. That was hard to get through. Everypony wore different clothes, spoke differently, acted a lot differently relative to what I was used to. It took a lot for me to get used to it and to not just force them to act like I wanted them to. But I couldn't do that, they would have never accepted me as their leader if I did so. I was however able to get at least my personal guards to behave according to the old customs. Seeing the way the landscape had changed was also a pretty big shock to me. All these new buildings and cities. The worst of all was definitely seeing the old castle in ruin. That's why I decided to have it rebuilt.
The guard enters the throne room again. He bows and waits for my instructions. He's wearing a set of dark blue armor, modeled after the ones used when i had yet to be sent to the Moon, with my sigil engrave on the chestplate. He appears to be extremely nervous. I tell him to come forth and speak. He carries a sheet of paper with the council's sigil on. He tells me this is the order I requested, which now requires my approval to be executed. The paper is passed to me along with the request of signing it. I look at the text written on it. Six names stand out near the top of the page: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack. I remember them.
I remember that day like it was yesterday, and yet it has already been a year. It was the summer's sun celebration's day. It was the one thousandth anniversary of the day I was banished to the Moon. It was the day I came back. I remember them. I remember the way they tried to stop me. I remember how they passed every trial I put in their way to try to stop them. I remember how no matter how hard I tried I wasn't able to prevent them from reaching the elements. I remember how they stood toghether in the face of danger, where any other pony would have given up, how they dared even to challenge me, Nightmare Moon, how they still had hope even when all hope seemed lost. Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if things had gone a different way. If I hadn't destroyed the elements and they had been able to use them. I wonder if they could have wielded them. I wonder if they could have saved me from the Nightmare. But it's useless to question the past. They weren't able to stop me, and all the ones who tried afterwards failed. Now I rule over the eternal night, my suddits obey me, my sister has been forced to approve of me, and now, even the last resistance has fallen.
There's a guard at the bottom of the staircase leading to my throne. He gave me an order from the council which requires my approval. I look at the page. It's a death sentence. I sign it.
