I tell ya, the inspiration for this one struck me like a bolt of bloody lighting; it was brilliant!
Anyway, this is post-Season 4, just so ya know.
Please, oh please, tell me what you think. Us creatives CRAVE feedback.
Chapter 01: Fear of the Future, Lessons from the Past
The nation of Equestria had returned to its idyllic state of affairs, with friends helping friends and stranger helping strangers. It had been a few weeks since Tirek's defeat and all of Equestria, from the Wonderbolts to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, had been rebuilding and recovering. Seeing her subjects' exhaustion, Princess Celestia had declared a national day of rest, an opportunity that most of Equestria took advantage of.
Simply put, all was well.
The chasms in the centre of the Everfree forest held a perfect silence. It allowed one purple Alicorn the perfect setting for her rest. Within the chasms sat an ancient, dishevelled it's vast library was sat Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. She was lying down in the reading room, warm fire beside it and book in front of her, levitated by the purple magic she enveloped it with.
Twilight had decided to use her time study up on history. She hoped to learn how other villains like Tirek were defeated. Though she and her friends had saved their country, Twilight felt dread when she considered how close they had come to defeat. She paused as she remembered seeing all of her closest friends at the mercy of the merciless centaur. Though it made her smile to know they were now safe, it made her shiver to know that they were put in such danger.
She returned to the book, 'The Nightmare Moon War'. As she flipped the page, the familiar sound of furling paper and smell of yellowed paper brought calm and composure to her. Beside her were two books she had already finished, 'The Fall of King Sombra' and 'Bringing Order to Chaos'. The books had taught her more than she had already known about history. But, as Twilight turned the last page she furrowed her brow in frustration: none of them discussed how the right solution to the nation's problems was ultimately found.
She stood and paced around the room, "I never realised how objective history books are. What else is there?"
Her horn practically flashed above her head as an idea struck her. "There's only one other way to learn history: go to the source."
Several hours later, Twilight was galloping through the regally-decorated halls of Canterlot Castle, landmark of Equestria's capital city. The various ancient vases, golden artefacts and paintings by various pony masters were only blobs in the corners of her eyes as she thought out her plan.
She slowed when she turned a corner and spotted the doors to throne room. The flanking royal guards bowed to Twilight and opened the doors. Twilight stepped inside and the door shut behind her. She saw colours across the floor as sunlight shone through the stain-glass windows on the long room's Eastern wall.
Twilight looked to end of the room, where a tall, lithe, white Alicorn sat on the raised throne, multi-coloured mane flowing majestically behind her and a quill levitating to paper with her yellow magic. Her crowned head turned to Twilight, and the Princess of the Sun smiled at her.
"Twilight," she happily called as she put the quill and paper down, "What a pleasant surprise it is to see you."
Twilight smiled back to her mentor. Despite her serious business, seeing the mare that made her the pony she was always worth smiling about. The purple Alicorn bowed briefly before approaching. "It's good to see you, too, Princess Celestia," she replied.
"What brings you here?" Celestia asked.
Twilight's smile drooped. She knew she was about to bring up some difficult memories in her mentor.
"I... need to ask you something. Something serious."
Celestia looked on, silent and attentive.
Instantly, the plans Twilight's plans went out the window, as most plans do. She reconsidered every word she might say. She breathed in and out, and the words came to her, "Ever since Tirek, how best to deal with threats like him. I've read the history books, but they only tell me so much."
Celestia's brow furrowed.
Twilight continued; she was in too deep to back out, "So long as I'm a princess, I'll have to confront others like him. So I want to prepare myself. To do that..."
Twilight hesitated.
Celestia saw Twilight's struggle, so she approached her. She placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Whatever it is," she began in her most gentle voice, "I am ready to help."
Her mentor's strength reinforced Twilight's own. "I want to know how you and Luna made the decisions you did in order to keep Equestria safe, in the past."
Celestia's eyes widened; she knew Twilight was serious, but she did not expect that.
Twilight's stomach twisted. "I'm sorry," she began, quickly and desperately, "I'm prying too deep. You shouldn't-"
Celestia's hoof pressed against Twilight's mouth. Celestia looked Twilight in the eye, perhaps deeper than ever before.
"I understand, Twilight. I desperately needed such advice when I was in your position. I never got it, but you will." She lowered her hoof, allowing Twilight's face to match her bewildered mind; she had never thought of her mentor as fallible, let alone desperate.
The white Alicorn breathed deeply, readying herself. "I will tell you all that I can. But, before I do, you must realise that there is much more to the battles I have fought than even you know."
Twilight nodded, enraptured already, but also trepidatous.
"Please, walk with me." Celestia began walking down the hall and Twilight followed alongside her. The clopping of their hooves against the hall's tiles gave Celestia a certain focus, allowing the words to come to her. "I am certain that you remember King Sombra."
Twilight snapped her head at the mention of the dead Unicorn tyrant. She still had the occasional nightmare about the villain that had haunted a civilisation with the threat of slavery by dark magic. But mostly, she remembered the door. The door to your worst fear.
"To know how Luna and I defeated him, you must know what we had to endure in order to free the Crystal Empire from his grasp."
Celestia stopped, looking to her side at a stained-glass window. It was on the Western side of the hall, so no light shone through it, ensuring it was as dark as the image it portrayed. On one side, it showed a nightmarish palace of black crystal, with sickly-orange clouds above and chained ponies beneath, along with an army of steel-grey ponies in black barding and led by another atop the palace. On the other side, blue sky opposed the clouds and an army of ponies in gold barding charged against the other, a pair of Alicorns floating above them one white and the other dark-blue.
Celestia stared at the display, and that dark day became vivid in her mind.