Prologue
The crack of the pickaxe no longer frightens Twilight. She has been working down here way too long for anything less than a guard to scare her. She works all day, every day. This new ruler, Celestia, has created a less than ideal lifestyle for the ponies of the land. She has put in too many unfair laws against the citizens of Equestria. If only somepony was brave enough to bring in a revolution to overthrow such a tyrant. It doesn’t even matter because Celestia has control over the entire Equestrian army. She could wipe out any rebels with a flick of her wrist. She keeps everypony busy enough with her routine laws.
Everypony must follow a routine put in by Celestia for her so-called “united workforce”. Twilight felt sick at the thought of such a horrible lie. Every morning, Twilight must wake at precisely 5 o’clock and be awake by 5:15. She must then quickly eat breakfast before waiting outside her single-roomed hut. The royal guards come at exactly 5:30 to gather the groups for their specific jobs. Twilight has been following this routine ever since she was a child.
She remembers the time when she fell behind on her routine and the intense beating that came afterwards. Never again, she thought to herself. She touched one of the many scars on her once beautiful face and sighed. She barely remembers a time before Celestia took over. She heard a guard nearby and quickly returned to mining. She knew she couldn’t mine forever. It was only a matter of time before she knew she couldn’t go on.