To Know Who I Am...

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Twenty years before Nightmare Moon...

What is it? It looks like nothing I hath seen before.

I know not, but it appears to have been injured somehow.

Indeed it does, we should bring it inside before it catches it's death out here.

Yes, come, we shall take him to one of the guest rooms. You there, go fetch us Hooves, tell him it is urgent.

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Princess Celestia sat atop her throne and let out a soft, sad sigh. It had been over one thousand years since she had lost those closest to her and yet the feeling of emptiness was ever present. She let her eye's wander the grand hall, taking in the bright colors and stained glass windows that showed the founding of Equestria. She sighed again and settled in as the first of her subjects entered and bowed. Far below the hooves and unbeknownst to all, a magical energy was slowly reaching it's capacity.

)0(

Celestia sat in front of her mirror and used her magic to run a brush through her long flowing mane. Sure she didn't need too, but it had become a habit over the last five hundred years, one she took great comfort from. Having finished her evening ritual, she crossed the room to her bed and climbed in, curling up and magicing the blankets over her. With one final spell, she  ousted the lights and lay her head down, hoping to find a reprieve from the world in her dreams . On this night though, that would prove to be a foolish endeavor. For far below, the source of magic that had been building for the past one thousand six years was ready to burst.

It started with a tremor or two and within seconds escalated into a full blown earthquake that shook the very mountain Canterlot was perched on. Had it not been the magic in place to prevent the city from falling, it would have surely been lost to the lake below. Celestia was, needles to say, thrown out of bed from the violent quaking. Her horn flared up as the first wave of magical energy pulsed up through the floor and across Equestria. The second wave was much more concentrated, sending her and every unicorn it touched intoa wide range of intense emotions, ranging from giddy to downright cross.

The third and final wave, the strongest of them all, exploded forth, knocking every magical being it touched out cold. Minutes ticked by before Celestia opened her eyes. She groaned in discomfort while sitting up to a sitting position. "What in the name of Discord was....!" She shot up  to all fours and teleported out of her room. She arrived at her destination in a golden flash, leaving her standing in a circular room made of black stone. Surprisingly, there was not a single mark upon the wall, floor, or ceiling; but even more surprising was that there was something laying on the floor.

Celestia's breath caught in her throat and her hearts skipped a beat. There, laying in the center of the room was a human. He was laying in a heap on the ground and seemed to be asleep. He was dressed in a pair of camo BDU pants, a camo jacket with the sleeves rolled up. A pair of olive colored sleeves covered the rest of his arms and ended with holed cuffs that his thumbs were poking through, indicating he was wearing a long sleeve shirt. His black hair was slightly long , though no where near long enough to have bangs.

The human let out a yawn and stretched before sitting up and scratching his head. When he opened his eyes, the first thing to come into focus was a six foot tall white alicorn with a flowing multi-colored mane and tale. He smiled up at her and gave a wave. "Hello.", he said. "H-hello.",Celestia replied. The human slowly stood to his full height of six foot six. Celestia's eyes widened in shock at his height. The human stretched out with a loud groan before fully focusing on Celestia. "Who are you?",  he asked.

She smiled at him and apologized.  "My name is Celestia, and who might you be?" The human's eyebrows knit together in concentration as he searched his all but empty brain for the answer. 'Name, name, name, name....' His face darkened in concentration as he struggled to remember such a basic thing. After about five or six minutes, he brightened up. "My name, is Honor Guard", he announced with a hint of pride while missing the brief flash of emotion that passed over Celestia'a face.

"W-well i-it's very nice to meet you Honor Guard. Do you remember anything besides your name though?" Honor squinted his eye's a bit as he tried to find out  what he could remember. "Not...much...Just my name, the parts of my body, and what to and what not to touch and eat." Celestia nodded and was about to ask another question when she realized that at the moment her subjects were probably freaking out. "Come Honor Guard I have business I must attend to and I should think that you wouldn't want to stay down here for very long." Having said that she activated her magic, and in a flash of gold, teleported the two of them into the Throne Room.

As Celestia had predicted, her guards were running around in a frenzied in desperate search of her. Upon her entrance she was instantly approached by Shining Armour. "Princess! Are you alright?! After the earthquake a patrol came back saying you had van....ished." Shining had finally taken notice of the muscular behemoth standing next to the princess. Currently he was staring around with wonder in his eyes and mouth agape at everything he saw. "Umm, princess. Not to be rude or anything, but what in the hay is that thing?", he asked while never taking is eyes off of him. Honor looked down and gave shining armor a huge smile before walking off to get a closer look at some of the tapestries and windows.

"I shall explain that later Captain, but first send out the guard and return to me with a damage and casualty report. Also, get Rapid Response in here as quickly as possible so we can begin planning...." Honor lost interest in what Celestia was saying in favor of a golden statue of Stone Beak, third king of the Gryphon's. He reached his hand out and touched one of the talons. When he pulled his hand back he noticed some red stuff coming out of his hand where the skin had slit open from the apparently sharp talent. He frown at it and touched it, coming up with a red finger. 'Hmmmm...this seems like  it would be an inconvenience...." He imagined the skin closing back up and the red stuff vanishing from his hand and the floors so nobody would have to clean it up.

To his delight the cut sealed up without a scar and not a trace of blood. His stomach let out a rather loud gurgle, startling the two conversing ponies. Celestia looked up with a hint of amusement, and something that neither the pony or human could read. She bowed her head to Honour before stamping her left front hoof on the ground. The resulting sound of metal on marble summoned forth a horde of servants ready to carry out Celestia's every whim. "Would you be so kind as to escort my guest here to the kitchens and have Cuisine prepare his best dish please?"

The senior servant, a steel grey pegasus stallion with a light blue mane and a blank flank, stepped forward and bowed before leading the Honor away. Within a few minutes, he watched in awe as Honor tore apart a fresh wild salad fit for Celestia herself, that is to say alot. "My my, you can certainly put it away can't you.",he remarked with a hint of amusement. Honor set the plate down with a happy sigh. "I'm sorry, it was just really good.",he replied a bit sheepishly. the servant chuckled and waved a hoof dismissively. "You are fine. My name is Indentured Service, and despite the name I am here of my own accord."

Honor nodded slowly.  "Sorry, I don't really know what that means. But as long as you are working willingly, I guess it doesn't matter. Oh, and my name is Honor Guard" Indentured chuckled again and nodded. "That is one way of looking at it. It is also a pleasure to meet you Honor Guard." Another salad was brought out and set before Honor; who looked over at his new friend before offering him a seat. Indentured gratefully sat down and joined in eating the salad when offered. "You know not many here would offer to share a meal with someone of my station.", Indentured told Honor.

The biped looked up with a look of confusion. "Why not? I see no reason that they wouldn't.", Honor asked. Indentured sighed and floated a berry up to eye level and examined it. "Equestria may be a place of love and equality,  but there are those that see themselves above other because of where and how they live. Also, I don't have a cutie mark yet either.", Indentured explained and showed his flank. At honor's blank look here merely smiled. "Our Princess will most likely explain when she comes to collect you. In the mean time, if you are full I could take you on a tour of the castle."

Honor's face lit up with a huge grin at the prospect of seeing more of the grand structure he was in and nodded enthusiastically. Indentured clopped his hooves together twice and a younger mare came from behind one of the dining hall's pillars. "Duster, could you inform our Princess that I will show our guest around and that we will be in the gardens when she has need of our friend here." The unicorn mare nodded and left to deliver the message. After she had left, the two embarked upon their tour, stopping first at the throne room. "This", Indentured started, "Is the throne room, here Princess Celestia holds both the Day and Night Courts. Here Ponies come from all over Equestria to either request aid, update the princess on the goings on and other such things."

The Throne room was a titanic hall over three hundred feet in length. The room was over sixty feet in width with pillars half the size of redwoods made of white marble placed every thirty feet apart. in between the two lines of pillars was a red carpet that led up to two thrones that sat atop a dais that rose ten feet from the floor. Atop the dais were two extravagant thrones. The first was obviously Celestia's; It was made of pure gold with a red velvet cushion. Atop the throne was a sun made from gold that resembled Celestia's cutie mark. The other one though was made of obsidian with a midnight blue velvet cushion. Atop this throne was a full moon with what looked like a unicorns head in one corner of it.

"Who does that throne belong to?", Honor asked his guide. Indentured bowed his head and shed a single tear. "That  would be the seat of our beloved Princess Luna who is no longer among us." ... "What happened to her?"

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One Thousand Years ago.

Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters

Princess Luna lay on her be with her pillow clutched in her front legs as heavy sobs racked her body. Her door was slowly pushed ope and Celestia stepped inside. "Lulu....I am sorry that it didst come to this. Please believe me when I say that there was no other choice...and he was the one who made it " With these words spoken,  something inside the Night Princess broke. Thousands of years of her subjects shunning her beautiful night like it was some form of twisted evil that hid monsters ready to natch up and eat an unsuspecting pony; While at the same time praising Celestia constantly for bringing about the day and chasing away their  unfounded fears. To top it all off though, her only friend in the entire world was gone.

And Celestia said it was his choice? A beam of dark energy hit Celestia square in the chest,  ejecting her into the hallway with a loud bang. The Sun Princess slowly stood on shaky hooves and groaned in pain. In her current state she was barely able to avoid a black substance that came from Luna's room. It was a good thin she did as the wall  the goop  hit began melt away with a loud hiss. Celestia  looked up in disbelief, then horror as out stepped what had once been her beloved sister. "L-Luna, what is wrong with thee?!", she all but screamed.

"You insolent foal, I am longer Princess Luna. I am NIGHTMARE MOON, MISTRESS OF THE NIGHT!", Nightmare moon roared while charging up her magic. "For far to long I have lived in your shadow, always being second best to the mighty Celestia", Nightmare moon spat out angrily while firing off a beam of pure dark energy. It was deflect by  Celestia's own magic in the form of a golden shield. "For year's I have suffered, never being good enough, never strong enough, always the "Other Princess!" Celestia was forced to retreat down the hallway as Nightmare moon summoned a veil of blackness that filled the entire hall and gave chase.

"For to long everypony has shunned and feared my night, they told tales of monsters and evil that lurked in the darkness when NO SUCH THING IS TRUE!" Black tendrils shot from the wall of darkness and tried to trip Celestia or drag her back only to be blasted away by golden beams of light. Celstia eventually reached a dead end and was forced to blow a hole in the floor to escape. She fell in a shower of dust and chunks of stone to the floor of the Throne Room. She picked herself up off the floor only to be thrown back when two powerful hooves lashed out and connected with her chest. She was sent through the air and slammed into her throne, snapping the back off.

"And then,after I finally find somepony who enjoyed being around us, who loved our night more than anything... and you killed him.... AND SAID MOCK ME BY SAYING IT WAS HIS CHOICE!" Nightmare moon stomped her fore hooves into the ground and splitting the stone beneath her. "But I can fix all of that right now. Her body coursed with magic, creating an unnatural black void to appear above all of Equestria. Celestia  could only look on in horror as her once beloved sister brought forth terrible creatures into existence. From the void fell  all manner of beings, The Timberwolves who were made of completely of wood so as to hide before striking and carrying off anything that could not escape. The manticor came next, great winged cat's with scorpion like tails, giving them  the ability to strike from a distance and poison anypony who was hit by it, much like their fear had poisoned Luna.

Soon Equestria became home to not just these two, but countless others like the Ursa's, the Hydra's, the Cockatrice, and many more. Celestia snapped out of her stupor when she felt something truly evil begin to make it's way to the void. Whatever it was, waves of powerful negative emotion washed over the entire country,  adding to the fear that had by now struck  everypony. "And with this last monster at my side, The night...will last...FOREVER HAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Nightmare moon though,  was unprepared for what came next and would lead to her downfall.

Chains made of pure light shot out from Celestia who was glowing with magical energy. They slammed into nightmare moon and interrupted her spell, sealing off the portal. "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!" Nightmare Moon summoned forth a sphere of darkness that fired a series of black rope that moved to intercept the chains. Dark clashed with Light, shaking the foundation of the castle and causing parts of it to crumble. Seeing this wouldn't work, Celestia gathered her magic in her hooves and slammed them into the floor.

Beams of hardened light shot up from the ground headed for Nightmare Moon who quickly dropped her spell  to dodge out of the way. The beams followed her relentlessly though, sprouting from the walls and ceiling as she took flight. Knowing she had only a small amount of time, Celestia teleported out of the throne room. She reappeared deep below the castle in front of a large stone door with a small hole in the center. Steeling herslef Celestia pushed her horn into and flared her magic. A loud click was heard followed by the doors sliding open to reveal a room with a single table in the center. She quickly went in and made her way to the table.

Sitting atop the table was a mahogany box just large enough to hold a tiara. Slowly she opened it to reveal a golden tiara with six gems on it. "The Elements of Harmony...", she whispered while gently levitating it out and placing it atop her head after removing her crown. An explosion from behind prompted Celestia to turn and behold an enraged mare of darkness. "TREACHERY! I KNEW YOU DID NOT FIRST YOU KILL HIM, NOW YOU PLAN TO DESTROY US! DIIIIIEEEE!

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Present Time,

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room

Indentured had stopped his story to wipe the tears that now fell freely from his face. Honor, not knowing what else to do rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. The contact brought with it a feeling of deep pain that cut the pony in front of him to his core. Acting on instinct he summoned up the few positive feelings he had discovered in the few hours he had been awake and willed them into Indentured, calming the stallion greatly. Indentured wiped his eyes and gave a sniffle before looking up at the smiling biped. "Thank you.", he said, not knowing what had just happened. "Anyways, I think we should continue our tour."

Indentured led Honor around the castle, showing him the library, the portrait hall where the paintings of Equestria's most famous ponies such were kept. They moved on to the observatory and were headed towards the gardens when Honor stopped in front of a plain wooden door that was a little bit shorter than he was, though not by much. "Indentured,", he said to  grab his attention, "What is behind this door?" Indentured  came up to look at it and scratched his head. "Huh, I honestly don't know, I have never seen it before." Honor reached out and pulled on the ring handle. The door swung open and stale air rushed out with a hiss,  indicating the door had not been opened in some time.

Slowly he made his way in closely followed by Indentured. The room was relatively small compared to most in the castle. It was furnished with a simple chair and table in the center and two empty bookcases that rested against one wall. One thing though caught his attention; sitting atop the table was a chunk of blood red crystal with what looked like a silver smoke floating around inside. Slowly he reached out to touch it, his hand making contact with the cool crystal and everything went dark.