Sins of an Equestrian Empire: An Unexpected Journey

Chapter One – An offer she cannot refuse.

There are things that I wish I have never done and there are some that refuse to let me rest I only pray dear princess that these nights will be the last of our self-inflicted torment and that the price of harmony is one worth paying.

Star Swirled to Princess Celestia

date – unknown

A regular summer’s day glistened over the citizens of Ponyville as well as the rest of the peaceful citizens of Equestria, no one would suspect that this day was one of the last peaceful days for one particular pony.

Twilight Sparkle a student within the elements s well as the learning of magic was following her usual routine of sitting down to breakfast followed by waking Spike her number one assistant and finally journeying to the market to shop for the usual essentials of scrolls, quills and a daisy and daffodil sandwich to ease herself for the extra activities given to her by her teacher and ruler Princess Celestia.

The Princess has made it a usual activity recently to send weekly reports to a now more constant back and fourth responses usually about the history and arcane activities of one Star Swirled the Bearded an old unicorn long forgotten, but not by the most respected scholars in the Canterlot Archives.

This task itself thrown upon her one day seemed quite strange to her since the last talk with Celestia seemed to show that reports where only to be sent when needed and not on a frequent daily basis which somewhat worried the purple pony.

The thought of this one particular pony being forgotten by citizens of Ponyville has always left Twilight flabbergasted and usual pushing the mayor and the town’s council to incorporate more early historic lessons to the fillies of the town, a request that was always responded with the phrase “We’ll discuss this proposition later”.

However none of this mattered to Twilight at the current moment as she was heading back to her one and true home, the own library given to her by the Princess during the last summer sun celebration and marks her first true journey into friendship along with her being the bearer of the element of magic. She arrived at her home from her shopping and entered only to be tackled by a quick pink flash through the doorway.

“You are it!!” the pink and party balloon pony said to Twilight as she suddenly regained her bearings to be able to delegate a suitable response to this new discovery.

“Pinkie, what in Celestia are you doing in my library and where is Spike of all ponies?” her response being quick and direct in a harsh tone.

“Silly Twilight, Spike is not a pony, he is a dragon and a conniving one at that” she said this as her head swished back and forth looking for the little purple and green assistant.

Her moves where somewhat swift and almost ninja like as she was turning tables, chairs and somehow the kitchen sink upside down looking for the small purple and green dragon but to no success. The thing that astonished Twilight more was that she put the kitchen sink back without breaking it or rupturing the pipes.

“Well I’m sorry Pinkie” as Twilight regained her composure and gathered her groceries and quills all together.

“But Spike should be here, he has no plans at the moment unless he has ran off to the Crusaders or at least Rarity, still trying his own personal tricks to win her over, I believe he is onto number 42 already” she mumbled to herself.

“Well regardless”, Pinkie said.

“He is still out there” as her tone turned to one of a slightly dark tone along with the lights in the room immersing to an evil presence for some fourth wall breaking reason.

“I do not know where Spike is Twilight but I do have a particular set of hide and seek skills , skills that make me a nightmare for my pursuer , but if Spike does not reveal himself now , I will find him , I will get him and I will…..”.

“Kill him?” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes giving a somewhat hidden chuckle.

“Kill him, Twilight you do come up with the most random outcomes to the simplest situations” Pinkie said as she laughed it away and the room returned to its regular light tone.

“Now if you excuse me Twilight” as she assumed a heroic pose “The hunter has become the hunted” as she hoped, skipped and jumped away into the imaginary sunset out the door.

“That pony should have been the element of random” as Twilight said to her in a perplexed attitude. She then proceeded over to the kitchen table to set down her morning shopping only to see the a hidden cellar door suddenly glow green with a loud belch echoing all the way down the stairs.

“Aha , found you”, Twilight said as she used her magic to instantly open the hidden flap showing all the way down in the darkness a small purple dragon with two big illuminating eyes staring back at her.

“I-I-Is Pinkie finally gone?” Spike said in a cautious tone.

“YES she is and might I ask what in Celestia are you doing down in this cellar and more of how long have you known and not planning on telling me” her response being an angry and somewhat frustrated.

“Well…I have only known about it for at least a week, I only found it after moving the carpet to clean and decided to have a look inside, I was planning to tell you soon but these special research assignments have had you constantly occupied.” his response being cautious about his words with a lowered head towards Twilight.

“Oh well then , at least get up here and show me what mail you have received at least , unless it is not mail and your just eating more of those unmatured sapphires Rarity keeps finding recently?” Twilight said while walking over to the desk to open one of the many books borrowed from the Canterlot Archives.

Spike then decided to hit back with a straightforward response of “Well first I ate all of those sapphires last night and second, have you ever eaten an unmatured sapphires?”.

“Yuck and a bucket is what only comes to mind plus i think she keeps feeding me those things to keep me away” as he closed the cellar door and walked over to Twilight.

“And Yes to answer your question , Celestia does have a letter for you and it seems sealed in yet another one of those special ribbons ,still black rather than red ” as always he seemed confused over this reason for the sudden change from the other couple of hundred notes that where sent back and forth to the Princess.

“I know what you mean Spike” grabbing the letter from him to unravel its new secrets.

”But this black ribbon on the scroll is only used in times of dire need or at least war is coming which I predict is not in the slightest possible reason” she then proceeded to open the later and read the contents it contained.

Inside the letter was the usual questioning about Star Swirled and yet another book to read on the old and forgotten pony. The list went on and on throughout listing books and reports centred on that timeline. To Twilight it was almost like a riddle of sorts that needed to be cracked, she knew all of this was connected somehow and to what happened in recent events.

"Nightmare, Discord and Changellings , what could bring all these together along with Star Swirled?" she asked herself.

Needless to say studying was on the table and with that a mission for the Princess was also coming around the corner.

A week had passed and the library was scattered with books all around half of which were borrowed from the Canterlot Archives. Spike came to deliver the usual mail this time with no book in this other hand.

"That is weird" Twilight thought "But this letter might explain" unfolding it as she began to read.

My Dearest Twilight

Let me once again thank you for taking up this monumental task over your studies of magic and friendship for the time being. What I require from you is of the up most urgency and needs to be directly consulted by me and you alone in Canterlot.

Let me assure you that this extra work is related to this task and should shed some light on this random out of the blue request that has been thrown upon you. I look forward to your request and arrival to the palace as usual.

You are faithful Teacher

Princess Celestia of Equestria.

PS: An escort is currently on the way and should arrive within the hour.

She then lowered the scroll and her eyes widened as if Discord itself had suddenly appeared before her, but the only thing she saw was Spike just looking confused and befuddled.

“Well….Is it anything important?” he said seeming slightly anxious and excited at the same time.

“”Celes-Celestia wants me to go to Canterlot to discuss private matters it seems?, also she will be sending an escort to bring me there and that I must go alone” her voice turning slightly worried and pondering the Princess’s slight elusive attitude.

“Does this mean you will not be able to make it to the Applefest Rodeo down at Sweet Apple Acres then huh”, Spike said as he lowered his head.

His plans being to enter the apple pie eating contest to beat last year’s winners Applejack and Apple Bloom with Rarity along with Sweetie Belle competing alongside this year seem to crumble before his eyes.

“I’m sorry Spike but this is urgent business and the last thing I need is to be force fed apple baked goods all over again” her reply only ending with her tongue sticking out at the thought again of being force fed apple pastry when she first arrived in Ponyville.

“That is okay, I will be able to get Pinkie Pie to replace you in the meantime she can be competitive I can guarantee you that” his voice going from a slight disappoint to a somewhat relieved tone at the thought of this saving grace.

“But anyway Twilight, royal duties wait. I will get the preparations going right away”.

Spike then made his way to the kitchen to prepare Twilight for her journey as her chariot would arrive at any moment to collect her and whisk her away back to her old teacher. She prepared the usual for a trip like this, her latest book a few scrolls to keep notes and a quill or two for writing. She would have to rely on the teleportation spell to keep in contact with Spike but she overlooked this as it appeared secrecy was to be kept by the looks of Celestia’s letter.

As she finished saying this she began to notify Spike about his tasks in keeping the library tidy and that to feed Owlowiscious when he gets hungry and to not be bogged down by his constant questioning of “Whom?” She finally prepared herself and proceeded to wait for the chariot to arrive with the usual personal guard of the Princess to escort her on her way.

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After a wait of thirty to thirty-five minutes the carriage had arrived and Twilight prepared to leave Ponyville once again. She presented herself before the guards only to be presented by the usual cold look and then preceded to step onto the chariot as it prepared to ascend and depart from the library. The last she saw of Spike was him leaving the library to wave goodbye only to see the pink ninja of Pinkie descend in a body slam upon the baby dragon. The last words she heard where “OWW” followed by a pause only to be broken by the response of “YOUR IT!!”, coming from the pink four hooved party animal. Twilight could only help but chuckle at this late night shenanigans.

The flight itself took the usual amount of time to journey to and from Canterlot , Twilight herself was constantly looking over the letter that Celestia sent her and thinking of those extra activities on ancient Equestrian events and how this would be anyhow need to be discussed on today of all days. Events that occurred in the past have always come back to haunt Equestria, she remembered the likes of Nightmare Moon shrouding the land in darkness and how Discord was close to corrupting the elements along with dooming the land to chocolate rain.

Twilight after giving up on deciphering the message finally decided to put away the letter and just wait out the trip until the castle was in sight to await meeting the Princess to answer all her queries which where continuously spawning one theory after another within her mind.

The chariot lowered itself to reveal the castle and the city of Canterlot as it finally revealed itself like a city coming out of the mist of the dark and concealing clouds of the night, most likely the work of Princess Luna. The chariot descended more showing the entire city lit up as the city celebrated another night under the rules of the two Princesses. As the chariot made its way over the castle towers and skipped the towers, Twilight could only respond with a sudden shock with an alarming response.

“HEY, you just flew over the castle”, only to be ignored by the guards as they continued along their destination over the mountain and descended deep down into a dark and unknown gorge with finally flying though a waterfall to be met with darkness.

Twilights only response was to be confused and used her horn to illuminate the dark tunnel as the two Pegasus guards continued their destination deeper and deeper into the caverns only to suddenly stop and a round circular platform began to suddenly rise from the water with the chariot stopping right on top of it.

Twilight slowly stepped off the chariot to examine this new and recently discovered relic of the past to examine its engravings showing numerous marks , some of which seemed familiar others new and yet some to be there for ages on end sealed within stone.

The chariot lifted off and left Twilight in the darkness of this unknown cavern , her instant reaction was to shout “WAIT, DO NOT GO!” as the two escorts disappeared into the darkness never to be seen again. Twilight then begun to slightly panic but needed to maintain her calm and work out this new situation , she reignited her horn to surround the area in a purple gaze to further examine the symbols on this giant round glyph  , she could almost make out one of the symbols before being interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Notice something familiar do we Twilight ?” as the voice came more and more louder as a familiar silhouette walked up to her.

“Princess is that you?” Twilight asked in a worried tone as the Princess became more and more clear.

“Yes it is Twilight, sorry for the secrecy you know you cannot be too careful these days concerning these recent turn of events” her voice being one of showing a stern and yet approachable attitude at the same time.

Silence took the entire cavern as the sound of the waterfall took over the eerie silence of the entire conversation as the purple unicorn observed more of this new dark scenery.

“Twilight” Celestia asked being the first to break the silence.

“Do you believe in predictions?, you seem to be at first if I do recall.” the Princesses voice being one inquisitive and yet bold enough to question her student.

“Well”, she said as she gulped to construct an appropriate response “I only believe what I see and hear but during the past with ….. The last summer sun celebration I do not know what to believe in half the time especially with Pinkie Pie’s extra sense”.

“That is true, I do remember reading about that” Celestia said as she proceeded forward to fully expose herself to the light surrounding Twilights purple glow.

“But what if I told you that this very cavern is right above where Princess Cadence herself was imprisoned on her wedding day only to be freed by you her favourite filly” her voice presenting a lecturing tone to Twilight as her memories began to reconstruct that very image within her head.

“I would call it coincidence Princess” as Twilight was trying to construct what all this meant with her extra activities into past events possibly being linked to all of this.

“You just might be right Twilight, but then again how do you explain all this” as Celestia’s horn lit up the entire cavern did as well displaying all the secrets the cave had to offer with engraved symbols on the very platform they were standing on where both ponies where revealing before Twilights very eyes. Her only response was jaw dropping.

Hundreds of symbols surrounded the very room some eroded as others seemed indeed very familiar to her. She walked over to one particular wall to inspect it some more to clean it of the dirt that surrounded it to notice the impossible revelation before her.

“This symbol” she replied, “It… It...looks like my cutie mark and this looks like Applejack, Rarities, Fluttershy, Pinkie’s and Dash’s ones as well” her voice becoming more and more interested yet concerned in this new discovery.

“Indeed it is Twilight” Celestia’s response was cold and confirming “I believe if you look some more it will also show current events that have unfolded as well”.

Twilight’s looked upon the wall some more to witness Celestia’s suspicions becoming truth. With each turn she saw more events unfold. The turning of Nightmare Moon edged in stone exactly as it was performed, the fall of Discord and recently the foiled attempts of the Changelling Queen.

“Of course you remember Queen Chrysalis , Twilight the changelling who single handled infiltrated Canterlot Castle and almost brought ruin to the entire kingdom , sadly her motives have never been found ” Celestia now remembering a bitter memory suddenly returning to her mind.

“Why yes I do Princess, there have been wild rumours concerning the safety of the kingdom after that entire ordeal, Shinning himself told me to overlook the foolish political gossip”.

“Indeed you should Twilight , but some parts are more true than others that day also sought ruin for me as well , many of the Canterlot Elite have begun to see me no longer as a ruler of this kingdom and protector of the realms , truly my status was stained that day as Chrysalis bested me in that magic duel. I however may not be able to fix this right now but I can still run this kingdom with the care and attention that a mother would love her child” finishing her mild rant projecting a cold response.

Twilight confirmed the Princesses response with a frightened but yet affirmative smile, never before has she seen the Celestia so concerned over the simple matter such as Canterlot politics.

Fascination took the best of her as Twilight continued to tilt her head towards the ceiling. She began to notice more and more of these engravings, one of which were other markings of different ponies and their success of using the elements. One of which showed the taming of an Ursa Major, the casting out of the changelling invasion in another time, countless others where shown and each had a story to tell.

She continued across to where it suddenly stopped to reveal nothing but a blank smooth wall a common trait all the other events seemed to have as if the elements themselves have discarded the ponies entirely or have moved on to another that would inherit the title. She then turned back to respond to the Princess.

“What is this place?” she asked as questions in her head became more and more complex.

“I believe this is the archive of the elements if I am not mistaken, great stories told and immortalized in eternity is it not surprising that others have come before you to answer the call in Equestria’s darkest hour?. You could say I was lucky to find this. Cadence told me about her time in captivity , but constantly reminded me of a slight aura or guidance that told her to come here , I too found it weird and with security still recovering from the changelling epidemic I found it necessary to investigate ” Celestia said.

Twilight then walked over to where Celestia was standing and gazed behind her to only be shown the Princess’s story on the wall engraved just like hers as it happened a thousand years ago.

“Amazing is not it” her voice sounded light and full of hope “The battle between my own sister’s evil alter ego and some would call my nemesis but to others I would call sister.” Twilight could only look back at her and respond.

“How exactly could you no longer use the elements after that event” she asked with a curious tone.

Celestia’s face quickly turned to one of disgust and mourning as she remembered the battle between her sister, one of which she will never forget and the price that was paid to preserve peace. The response she gave was one of shock and pain.

“I discarded them Twilight, the pain I brought upon my sister and the jealously that those things created was one of the main reasons that monster was brought into this world”, her look slowly returning back to normal after saying those last words.

Twilight could only approach and comfort the Princess for this necessary evil that was inflicted on the land itself and the loss of one of its rulers. After a minute of silence the only words Twilight could ask was a quite curious question itself.

“But what exactly made the elements of harmony?” a thought she always wanted to ask the Princess herself but never had the time to properly query the Princess on this matter.

“The elements themselves long ago forged by the king and queen of Equestria, my parents or creators if you so put it. In a time long ago before the mountains and rivers even existed you could say they are even older than me and Luna” as Celestia said while observing Twilights delayed response before continuing to lecture her student more.

“However the elements themselves do not embody a physical entity they are only focused through a pony or an object such as your crown thingy as you once put it” the only response Twilight could give was an awkward blush absorbing all this new information. "As the mantle was passed onto me and my sister, the well-being of the elements was passed onto me secretly a fact that Luna somewhat did not entirely abide by once she learned of this. I also chose to appoint an overseer while running the kingdom along with seeing the teaching and learning of myself and my younger sister.” as she finished a huge weight seemed to suddenly lifted off the Princesses shoulders.

“An overseer, what pony could be skilled enough to handle such a task of managing all six elements and acting as your advisor” Twilight said as she finally broke her silence over her teacher.

“Why yes of course I’m glad you asked” the Princess’s replied. “And I believe you know the pony Twilight a certain researcher you have read up on” her voice becoming more and more of a tease as the final piece clicked into place.

“Star Swirled the Bearded!” Twilight suddenly being nearly unable to control her over this new found discovery a sudden clash of historical evidence hit her. “But..But why Star Swirled …..And when and which?” her speech becoming faster and faster nearly tripping over her own words sometimes, eyebrows raised in utter disbelieve.

“The Star Swirled family has served the royal family loyally for many centuries, always acting from the shadows as advisors to both me and Luna, Funny enough they preferred it that way since their research into magic always raised concerns to the magic ministry and the office of royal spell casting.” Celestia said being unsure of discussing this dark secret of friends of the royal family would affect Twilights attitude towards her friend and mentor. “Star Swirled was always as I remember him a true inspiration, unfortunately his expertise fell into the category in spells mainly of the offensive nature during his time in his role as an librarian. The bearded pony himself in truth hated being a librarian, it never suited him and he knew it. He helped me fashion the elements though encasing them in pure elemental stone a rare substance I do say so myself” Celestia took another breather allowing Twilight to answer more about this new trivia.

“Then how where you able to fashion the elements to be used to free Luna from her dark alter ego, I always thought six where always needed to empower and direct the magic itself”. Twilight said trying to make sense of all this unexplored knowledge flowing to her from the Princess.

The only response Celestia could respond back was one of worry and concern “Truth be told Twilight even some of the concept confuses even me at times, Star Swirled said himself that only I alone could use the magic of the elements to free my sister from her own captivity an ability I myself did not believe at the time and by you standing here glad I am proven wrong.”

“Then what of Discord should not he be freed in some manner from his chaos state and return to a more normal form”, Twilight just guessing the manners of this random effects of the elements power.

“Apparently from what Star Swirled described in his own research said that the elements will restore the pony’s state from a persona of chaos or evil back to one of pure harmony and peace. However Discord only embodied one of those elements and was imprisoned in stone as an only resort” as Celestia shed a tear before continuing her conversation.

“But Star Swirled disappeared during an accident during Nightmares Moon assault on the Canterlot Archives before her imprisonment; it is more likely that he is dead and long gone from this world.”

“Then what does all this have to matter right now with all the new learning I have received Princess?.” Twilight now skipping to the chase and finally focused on the present.

“Right , excuse me Twilight , you are correct , well as have been already told of the engravings it appears it follows a timeline constantly revolving down towards the centre of the very room which we are standing on , which coincidentally contains the next heir to the elements.” as Celestia said while illuminating the floor itself in its full splendor glory.

What Twilight saw was an image she would never forget a showing of a final stand-off between the new elements of harmony engaged in an overall fight for all of Equestria against a great darkness encasing all of the land, the only problem was what was shown, it did not seem the elements succeeding as all the previous have shown. It kind of showed them failing.

“Wait, all the others only show the past of what happened then that means that this one is showing?.” Twilight was suddenly interrupted by a quick response.

“The future Twilight, indeed but the real question is when and why of all is the most important question and even has me confounded.” theories themselves rushed to Celestia’s mind.

“It appears this evil matches the elements in strength as well as size but does not embody a form, it is indeed a possibility that the power of this evil stems from the sins of one particular pony Star Swirled.” Celestia being confident of the main culprit.

“But Star Swirled is dead, Princess and the elements rest safely with us, through us and no pony will stop that from happening.” Twilight standing confident in her believes.

The room once again fell silent as it had earlier but this time again Celestia broke the strange eerie silence a little too soon.

“No, there is another or rather a forgotten piece of the puzzle.” the Princess now revealing all her cards on the table and finally revealing a secret not even Luna knows.

“WHAT!!?” was the only response Twilight could give to the Princess upon this sudden bomb drop of information.

“But how the elements are only six pieces and we have all six , this seems impossible that more elements are undiscovered.” once again tackling this slight betrayal of the Princesses secrets along with the overall sudden diminishing trust in her mentor.

“Believe me Twilight, this guilt has lived with me along since I sentenced my own flesh and blood, if its anypony that should be banished for her sins its me,  but still this must be told.” Celestia’s attitude suddenly turning from one of self-destructive anger down to self-pity.

Celestia now begun to fully explain the task that was to be trusted upon Twilight.

“Star Swirled created the elements that enough is true, but he never created them overnight. It months and months of planning went into this creation while my sister’s hatred ran free upon the land.” Celestia continued to explain her situation even further.

“Many failed and many others were created but none were not of the desired output to even have the right effect to fix my sister from herself, in the end a solution was created with the slight chance of killing my sister and replacing her fully with that demonic monstrosity. In the end I used the elements but never to their full extend out of fear, I chose banishment in the end and Star Swirled agreed”.

Celestia now rested as Twilight now looked sad and yet astonished of the task that was set forth by the Princess and also pondered what she would have done in her situation.

“P-P-Princess I never would have known.” her eyes slightly watered at the idea of inflicting harm upon her family and living with the eternal guilt as to a goddess it seemed soul crushing to the small purple unicorn.

”Whatever you want me to do I will do it for you and Equestria.” her voice becoming reassuring to the Princess and yet rekindled hope in a small way to the ancient alicorn.

“Thank you Twilight” wiping a tear forgetting about her past sins “But we must focus on the present, it is my belief that this ancient evil is the direct cause of the rejected copies of the elements created by Star Swirled and will come back to haunt us in the future, in truth the sins of our past will come back to punish us or in more direct term me and all of Equestria.”.

“That is why I am sending you too the very places Star Swirled made the elements and assure that the failed experiments are kept safe and no evil has befallen them, if not then doom could already be cast upon us Twilight”.

Twilight now felt a sudden weight of the kingdom fall upon her shoulders and wondered if this is the weight and stress that the Princess feels on a daily basis.

“How are you sure there still there?, they could have being destroyed or at most moved, im pretty sure Star Swirled thought about this in advance” Twilight now trying to see reason and hopefully reassure her mentor.

“Still we cannot take that risk Twilight, you know that, also the hidden library is surround by hexes and ancient magic devices that would detect intruders. I'm afraid recently enough one of the hexes has diminished and I can no longer sense it and I fear the worst” as Celestia shot down Twilights logical reasoning even further.

“The ruins themselves Twilight are locked away underneath a secret spot within the Everfree Forest underneath the old castle about five clicks south of the location you fought Nightmare Moon, she believed herself that the old library was underneath the old throne but thankfully Star Swirled was too smart for that.”.

Twilight herself was making mental notes of this for future use.

The only response she gave the Princess was “Gotcha Princess you can count on me” displaying once again her overconfident attitude.

“Excellent news Twilight and be safely assured you will not be alone in this, my librarian and expert in ancient pony lore and architecture Lighting Guise will join you on this royal business. I can assure you he does not disappoint and finally the two Pegasus that brought you here will also deliver you to the old libraries last know location. I hope for you and me Twilight that this is all just a simple misunderstanding” the Princesses voice now returning to worry.

As the Princess said her last goodbyes to Twilight she lifted up her wings and flew off back into the darkness leaving Twilight alone, on a perfect timing the escort arrived back to pick up Twilight carrying another passenger more than likely Lighting Guise for this trip to the Everfree Forest. In Twilights heart she knew this night was not over yet.