Prologue: Secrets and lies.

Once upon a time, in the land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created an era of peace throughout the land.

The eldest, Celestia raised the sun at dawn, and the younger, Luna rose the moon at dusk, thus the balance of night and day was kept.

But as time went on the younger sister became resentful for the love that the ponies showed Celestia by playing and enjoying the day but shunning her moon.

One fateful night, Luna refused to lower the moon and make way for the dawn, talks of reason and peace proved useless, as the darkness in Luna's heart brought forth Nightmare moon.

This history, is well known but what many ponies today do not know, is that a civil war erupted shortly after Nightmare Moons rise, Ponies fought ponies in a war between the Solar Empire and the Lunar Republic.

Instead of instruments of peace being created, instruments of war were brought into being, dreadnoughts of great mechanical ingenuity known simply as Air Ships were used to try and dominate the air while on the ground, cannons of devastating power were utilised, causing many casualties on both sides.

Magic became a weapon to look for easier ways to defeat the enemy rather than a tool to bring forth peace.

In this war, two unicorn brothers stood out among the Solar Empires ranks, Warsong and Bladesinger, they fought with honour and skill for the glory of the Solar Empire and in their deeds they were given gifts of power by the goddess herself to serve their Princess Celestia, making them grow in both height and power as well as giving them long life. They were hailed as heroes on the battlefield, but in his pursuit for power, one brother fell from the light.

Bladesinger, in a constant hunger for power delved in magic deemed too dark and evil for the eyes of mere mortals, and in his hunger, he was corrupted by dark promises made by Nightmare Moon and turned from the Solar Empire

To gain an upper hoof on the battlefield between these two titans, Celestia created an enchanted blade for Warsong, a blade forged from a small meteor that passed through a solar flare and was brought down to Equestria by the sun Princess' magic, foreseeing this however, her sister did the same for Bladesinger, bringing a meteor down from the sky and forging it into a sword to counter the enchanted blade Warsong wielded.

The wielding of these legendary blades only made the brothers battles more fierce and dangerous and as the war was nearing the end, after fourteen years since it began, Princess Celestia was forced to use the elements of harmony to banish her sister, but for the elements to be properly used, Bladesinger was to be defeated.

Warsong pored over many ancient scripts of magic, searching for a spell to help him defeat his brother, it wasn't until Starswirl the bearded turned to assist him in giving him a spell he had created that would banish his brother to another dimension.

A final duel between the brothers took place on top of the ruins of old Canterlot, a duel that would have ended with Warsongs death, had he not used the spell given to him by Starswirl, after the spell was cast, the Elements of Harmony were activated against Nightmare Moon, banishing her to the moon, in the aftermath of the event rose the Everfree forest around old Canterlot.

When the war ended, Warsong knew that his brother would return some day and he needed to be at the peak of his powers to face him and finish him off, despite the protests of Celestia, Warsong petrified himself into an enchanted statue, and placed in the Royal Canterlot gardens where his statue came to be known as 'Duty' and the machinations made for war, were dismantled or were given more peace time uses.

Our story begins on the solstice of the summer sun celebration as a prophecy is about to come true.