My name is Zenith Eclipse. If you’re reading this from the wasteland...well, you probably already know my story. Or at least a side of it. The bad thing is, you probably know about me for all the wrong reasons. For those who know my crimes already, I’d like to start by saying I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused and all the ponies I have killed. I’m sorry for killing innocents and even foals at times. I’m sorry for making an already screwed up Equestria an even worse place to be.

Reader, please understand, I didn’t mean for all this to happen. I thought it was all for the best. I wanted the good times to return, back to when things were peaceful and nice. Back when the times were much simpler. I failed miserably.

If I have any chance of making you understand my intentions and my actions, then I’m going to have to start from the beginning. Not from the start of my rise to power, not from the start of conquest, but from the very beginning. Please, reader, hear me out. I ask not for forgiveness, just... a continuation of my goals. Without any further ado, here we go.

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I walked down the Ponyville Main street, on the way home from Twilight’s errand. I caught quite a few stares from the ponies of the town, just for walking down the street. Their stares had long since grown uncomfortable. It was times like this that I wished my coloring were less distinctive; a pale pink or blue instead of jet black.

My mane and tail were colored like that of dark, deep sapphires which contrasted rather sharply with a deep black coat. My eyes were colored blood-red. I tried to keep them hidden under my mane or otherwise occupied. They tended to freak other ponies out. Hence, why everypony seemed to want to avoid me.

An amethyst pendant hung around my neck on a delicate golden chain, a present from Twilight’s former apprentice and one of the few who had given me a chance. Spike had helped me adjust to Ponyville and Twilight. From there, we had grown close, becoming fast friends. Even to that day, we had corresponded by letters. I updated him on the lives of those in Ponyville and he told me about his life with the dragons.

“Twilight!” I called, shouldering my way in through the front door of the library-treehouse at the dead center of Ponyville. “I’m back!” Two canteens were draped around my neck, carefully kept from clinking together. The canteens were filled not with water, but instead more noxious liquids needed for some experiment or another. Who knew what my mentor did during all of her hours? None of these ingredients grew locally in Ponyville, but only in the middle of the Everfree forest. To make the whole errand more annoying, no pony knew how to make these mixtures except a zebra named Zecora who had a habit of rhyming every sentence. I really hated wordplay.

“Come on upstairs, Zenith. Slowly though, remember my warning!” I heard my violet colored mentor yell from the bedroom. Twilight was always such a worrier. Ever since I had began living with her she had acted more protective than any mother. Not that her rules ever stopped me of course. You didn't stay inside and go to bed hours before everyone else when there were books on lock picking literally feet away from where you slept. Twilight could sleep through nearly anything. Rolling my eyes, I started to head on up.

I carefully navigated the stairs, monitoring the tops of the flasks with extreme prejudice The brews contained within were toxic to anypony that touched even a single drop, with only Zecora knowing the cure. After a stressful minute, I reached the top of the stairs to view the room beyond, exhaling a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

My mentor stood in the center of a six sided star, much like her cutie mark, on the right side of the room. Directly in front of her, bound by its own pentagram, a swirling eldritch-green vortex rotated in stasis. Our two beds and other necessities had been roughly shifted to the only remaining free side in an attempt to scavenge as much space as possible. Twilight's horn sparkled with purple magic, overglowing several times around revealing how powerful she truly was. Not only that, but she did it effortlessly, something that other unicorns had to struggle their entire lifetimes to achieve with an entire day’s expenditure of energy.

Time had been kind to Twilight thus far. The tell-tale magenta streak in her mane and tail had began to hint at gray  from her stressful lifestyle, but otherwise she had been largely untouched, retaining the vigor of her youth. “Careful.” Twilight warned, keeping her attention on the vortex. “Don't want you getting sucked in. Can't tell what will happen.” I nodded in response and concentrated on not spilling the flasks. I started to trot on over to a tiny alcove from the library, probably originally intended to be used as a closet. Twilight however, had converted it into a room to store for potions and other such things in.

Shelves lined the walls, reaching to the ceiling. On each of the shelves, bottles and various other containers filled the shelves. Carefully, I wrapped the canteens in a protective sheath of my blood-colored magic and levitated the pair into what I felt was the most secure spot, which equated to pretty much the only open spot. Twilight always impressed upon me how careful I needed to be in here, some of these were pretty explosive. Twilight said she'd show me how to make some this stuff later.

Which was one of the many things she had told me she'd eventually teach me. She even said she'd teach me shape shifting, a way to hide my rather... unique experience and maybe get a little bit less stares from the villagers. She was just tedious, always demanding the basics be mastered before any interesting spells could be learned. She tried to slow us down to a bit of a normal pace, despite the fact we could both go faster. It did make sense; magic could be pretty dangerous if handled badly, but I felt like I could go faster. At least she had finally gotten around to teaching me that interesting storage spell for my journal and some snacks. With only a low amount of energy, space could be folded around objects to keep them easily transportable and weightless. I mentally checked the stores of my ‘pocket’ before heading back out to Twilight.

I returned to my mentor's side, thoroughly exhausted from the long trek. “All set?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. She just as quickly had to shift her attention back to the vortex, to ensure that it wouldn’t break from her iron-tight control.

I responded to her earlier question with only another unenthusiastic nod, feeling rather fatigued from the long walk and a little bored as well. I had thought being the apprentice of the goddesses' student and magician would be much more exciting than studying all day and doing odd errands..

From downstairs, I could hear a knock on the door. “See who that is, alright?” Twilight asked, her gaze still locked on the vortex.

“Fine.” I answered. I had just gotten back to the house and didn’t have a single second of rest. I plodded down the stairs and opened the door, admitting a great, blue alicorn.  “P-princess Luna!” I stuttered in surprise. Ever since my time in Canterlot, I was always a bit scared of the princesses, having seen the Summer Sun Celebration in person. Probably irrationally so; they had never harmed anyone I knew. But still... that much power was terrifying. Even unicorns who weren't that magically attuned could feel it radiating outwards. “W-what brings you here?”

“WE REQUIRE- I mean, I would like to speak to your mentor, little Zenith.” Luna started with a yell, before dropping to normal volume. I cringed back, ears not expecting such a shock.

“Y-yea. I’ll show you to her. She’s a little busy upstairs.” I explained, stepping aside to let the alicorn in. I led the way upstairs trying to not look at Luna. I was still scared that one of the princesses would smite me down. “Twilight? It’s Luna.” I announced as we reached the landing.

Twilight turned for a second in surprise before quickly focusing again. “Princess! Give me just one second to lock this down!” Twilight said rather frantically. She always did this. Whenever something didn’t conform perfectly to schedule she flipped the hell out. To be honest, it wasn't that bad every now and then but sometimes, it got a little out of hand. Twilight’s horn grew brighter for a moment before winking out, as the vortex shrunk to a single point of green light. “OK Zenith, you can leave now.” She added, more as of a command than a suggestion.

Miss out on a golden opportunity like this? If the princess was visiting Twilight, it had to be important. I made a show of going down the stairs and then carefully crept back up staying just out of sight. I might have missed some of the conversation, but not much.

“Again?! This is the third time this month!” I heard Twilight exclaim, sounding exasperated. “If she keeps going like this, the bureaucracy will be nonexistent!”

“That is what I have been telling her Ms. Sparkle.” Luna responded, in that funny little accent of hers. “I looked over the records for the last one thousand years for which I haven’t been around. At first, her claims were accurate and she really did give away quite a bit of her power. But recently, she’s been gathering it all back around herself.”

“We need to do something about this! I love her to death but she has no idea what the common pony needs. Maybe if she didn’t spend all the bloody time cooped up in that castle of hers she’d have an idea. Did you know that Applejack’s taxes have finally hit the sixty percent mark? She can't handle that with a farmer's profits! She won't even listen to me about it!.”

“I know Twilight, and if you and I cannot convince my sister, no one will be able to. I am gathering support but it will take quite some time. Before then... I’m afraid we’ll have to grin and bear it. I’m sorry I can’t do more. I’m also sorry that I can’t stay any longer than such a brief visit. We truly haven’t had enough time together since this mess started. For now though, goodbye and stay safe.” Luna finished, her voice growing progressively more hopeless.

“Stay safe Luna.” Twilight muttered in reply. I heard a loud pop of teleportation and assumed Luna had departed.  “Zenith...” Twilight started, voice sounding dangerous. “I know you’re there. I can feel your magic from a mile away.” My eyes widened as I felt myself suddenly gripped inside a violet telekinetic field, bringing me into the main bedroom.

“I am very disappointed in you.” Twilight lectured, bringing my body to eye level. Struggle as I might, both magically and physically I couldn’t break free from her hold. It felt like trying to break steel with my bare hooves. Twilight had way too much power for her own good. “I told you to leave and you disobeyed me. That was a private conversation between two adults and not for your ears. When I tell you to do something, you need to listen to me, whether you like it or not understand?” She finished. I returned my own stare at her stern gaze. I blinked first.

“Yes Twilight.” I muttered, shifting uncomfortably in her telekinetic hold. Feeling all that magic around me felt oppressive at the best of times, even more so when said pony was angry at you.

“You’re grounded. If I feel even a spark of magic form you, there will be a lot of trouble.” Twilight warned. She set me on the ground and let me have control of my body again. “Now don’t you have chores to be doing?” I nodded, keeping my head low and went back downstairs. I had actually finished my chores before going to Zecora’s but I would use any excuse to get away from Twilight right now.

I slumped down on the downstairs's couch. It couldn't have been that big of a deal, could it? I mean, it was just a conversation, and in our shared room nonetheless! Who'd she think I would tell anyways? Too tired and frustrated to read or otherwise entertain myself, I let myself fall asleep.

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The next few days passed with me being nearly bored to tears. I had literally nothing to do but read and I had long since read most of the fiction books in the library. Now on to..ugh.. spell theory. Sure, I was considered a child prodigy, even with my slow progress, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed the process.

Finally, after four days of being grounded, I caught a break. As I was making my way to the bathroom, Twilight called me over.

“Zenith, wanna help me out a bit?” Twilight asked, still scribbling notes down about her vortex.

“Sure! Whaddya need?” I asked, desperate to actually do something with my magic. It had been pent up for the last few days to the point where the was a constant, annoying buzzing in my head.

“Good. Now, we need to do this very carefully understand? Levitate that parchment through, but don't get close to the vortex alright? If this works, it should show up a few minutes later downstairs.”  My teacher instructed, stress filling her voice. It was almost as if she expected it to not work. Then again, half the stuff she attempted in her now-a-days went wrong in some way or another. Too much experimentation.

I moved forward slightly within the outer circle of the vortex's influence. It was just like Twilight to stress about the smallest of things. Only a novice would approach a magical vortex without protection and get close enough to be sucked in. We had done this kind of delicate work before, surely I wouldn't make a mistake now. My horn glowed a softer red as the parchment floated through the air, towards the vortex. Unfortunately, the scroll stopped it's forward crawl several feet from the center of the room just outside the range of the vortex's grasping tendrils. The vortex limited the magical range of unicorns nearby due to how much energy was swirling around it’s nethers.

With a growl of annoyance, I began to physically move closer in an attempt to further the range of my magic without exposing myself to the all-consuming nightmare in the center of the room. Stupid limitations. If Twilight had been teaching me at my own pace this wouldn't a problem, my magic would have plenty of a stockpile by this point. She insisted on taking my education so bloody slow.

“Zenith! Stop moving right now!” Twilight snapped, panic filling her voice. Oh, she was such a worry wort. If I was that close to the portal something surely would have happened by now. I was sure everything was fine. With a popping noise, the parchment disappeared as I took what would be my final step on this world. I turned back around to face Twi with a smirk of triumph. Funny, despite the fact I knew my range was fine, I thought I felt a slight pulling on my tail.... With a bored glance, I turned my head. I did a double take and gasped as over half of my tail had already disappeared into the swirling green mass. Shock flooded my body and my mind blacked out.