Twilight wasn't sure how much time had passed as she and Grogar continued to wander the seemingly empty city of Tambelon. It seemed everywhere she went, the filly only ever saw ruin and decay.

This was to say nothing of the ever present darkness and the strange malevolence that hung in the air. During their trek, Grogar had told the filly a tale of a land far more ancient than the one she came from.

He told her of a land once populated by all kinds of creatures the filly had never even heard of before. He told her of the strange pig-like creatures known as troggles, the short and stumpy gnomes, the small furry bushwoolies, the beastly yet friendly grundles, and of course, the ponies of old.

He also spoke of the creatures known as 'humans'.

At this subject, the demonic ram's visage visibly darkened into some terrible emotion that made the filly whimper and shrink away. Still, as scared as she was, Twilight was no less curious about these 'humans', as well as the other creatures Grogar had mentioned.

Unfortunately, Grogar had opted to move on to other subjects. He told Twilight of a strict but fair king who was betrayed by the very subjects he had sworn his devotion to.

Cast from his throne and banished to the Shadow World in a violent coup, he became bitter and villainous—seeking revenge upon the subjects who had betrayed him.

He managed to escape once, but in the end, he met defeat once more and was cast back into the Shadow World where he and his kingdom remained to this day.

Over time, the land he once called home came to be known as Ponyland. A few millennia passed and the land began to drastically change once more.

Flutter ponies, seaponies, and many other races of Ponyland either died out or mysteriously vanished from the land. Several of the creatures that remained migrated away from Ponyland and formed new nations of their own.

The peace of the remaining pony tribes became strained and eventually a cataclysmic blizzard scattered what little peace was left to the winds. The rest of the story and how Equestria came to be was something Twilight already knew from the history books.

The rest however, was completely new information to the filly, and she found herself fascinated by what she heard. At the same time however, she couldn't help but feel overwhelming sympathy for Grogar's plight.

The ram had been in this horrid world for thousands of years—never seeing the beauty of the lands beyond, never basking in the warm glow of the sun above, never experiencing the quiet serenity of a starlit night or the majesty of a full moon.

For so many countless years, he had only ever known darkness, decay, and bitter failure. To be betrayed by the citizens he cared for so much... Twilight couldn't even imagine how painful that must've been.

She wondered if she would've reacted the same way Grogar did.

As she thought on the matter, her attention to Grogar's story waned and she gazed out over the many ruined buildings—both standing, and not—that lined the stone pathway they trotted.

The city itself, for all its dilapidation, was massive. She could what were once great theatres that no doubt once held fantastic plays, and large ornate structures that most likely used to be museums, government buildings, schools, and so much more—all reduced to so much debris among a dead land.

It all made Twilight miss Canterlot that much more.

Grogar, for his part, watched the filly as she ruminated on these thoughts, her expression downcast and her ear folding back against her head. The ram suddenly chuckled, catching Twilight's attention and causing her to frown in confusion.

At her look, the ram shook his head and returned his gaze to the path ahead as he spoke.

"You ponies," he said with a hint of amusement, "always so quick to sympathize, so quick to pity the less fortunate—to stick your collective necks out to help those in need."

"Well, yeah," Twilight replied uncertainly, "that's how ponies are. That's what we're all taught to do. My... m-mommy and daddy taught me that kindness and compassion were important facets of Harmony... a-and—"

"Let me tell you something, child," Grogar interjected, his red eyes still looking ahead, "though I've been trapped in this place for countless ages, I've been observing the Land of Light for some time now—watching the time pass and the world change from what it once was."

He finally turned and glanced back at Twilight from over his shoulder.

"I've seen countless nations just like yours rise and fall time and time again, and do you know what causes the downfall of a nation more often than not?"

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, only to realize that she didn't know. She wasn't a dumb filly by any stretch of the imagination, but most of her intelligence rested comfortably within the confines of thaumatology and the sciences.

She was a student of magic, not government or politics.

Reluctantly, she closed her mouth and shook her head. Grogar nodded as if he had expected the answer, and turned away before he began speaking again.

"Stagnation," the ram continued, "the leader's unwillingness to allow their nation to grow and innovate. A lack of conflict can be just as costly as a nation rife with it—if not more so... given enough time, that is."

"But... what does that have to do with—"

"Harmony and Order, without Disharmony and Chaos to balance them, breed stagnation, Twilight Sparkle," he said, cutting the filly off once more, "and that my child, gives way to the decay and eventual death of a nation far more often than any great war."

"But... but wait," Twilight replied, slowing to a stop and furrowing her brow, "Princess Celestia's ruled Equestria for over a thousand years, and nothing like what you said has happened all that time."

"Hasn't it?" Grogar responded, raising a bushy eyebrow at the filly's words, "how far have you traveled outside of Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight paused and looked away, shuffling her hooves uncomfortably. Truth be told, she had never left the city, and everything she knew about what lie outside Canterlot, she had read about in a book. Feeling that he had made his point, Grogar continued speaking.

"It is true that under Celestia's rule, all has been well among you ponies for the most part," Grogar's frown deepened, "but do not doubt that there are those that suffer despite this, Twilight Sparkle... never doubt that there are always those that suffer, no matter how utopian the society may seem.

"The Sun Princess could rule as she has been for another thousand years, but in the end, if she does not learn to balance the two opposing forces of Order and Chaos, she will eventually fall, as all rulers must someday."

Twilight didn't respond as she thought about Grogar's words. She tried to grasp the gravity of what Grogar was saying... but found she couldn't.

She just couldn't see how Celestia's continued rule was a bad thing. From what she had been taught, Chaos and Disharmony brought nothing but pain and misery.

How could that possibly have been a good thing?

"I still don't understand," Twilight finally said in a quiet tone, "if the Princess can rule for another thousand years, doesn't that mean her way of doing things is working? I mean, one thousand years is a long time."

"Indeed it is, child," Grogar replied with a knowing nod, "and many things can change in a thousand years. Do you think Celestia's rule was all peace and no strife for the last thousand years she ruled so far?"

"Well,there might've been some issues that may have popped up every now and then... but still—"

"You don't even know of her sister's fate, do you?"

Twilight blinked.

"Her... sister?"

Grogar, who had stopped when Twilight did, turned and began trotting back they way they came. He motioned for the filly to follow, and after a second, she did, listening to Grogar as he explained.

"It appears your Princess had much she neglected to tell you and the rest of her citizens," Grogar said with a grin that had just a hint of maliciousness behind it, "not even owning up to her own mistakes."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, somewhat afraid to hear the answer, "what 'mistakes'?"

"Were you truly not aware that there were not one, but two rulers of Equestria in the past?" Grogar asked, genuinely curious, "did you really not know that Equestria was once ruled by a diarchy? Two sisters, one of the Sun and the other of the Moon?"

When Twilight shook her head, Grogar shook his own in disbelief.

"Astounding," he said, resuming his pace as he trotting along, "that the noble and benevolent Princess of the Sun would wipe away the memory of the sister that once shared her throne. What astounds me even more than that though, is the complete ignorance of her subjects."

"Hey!" Twilight cried indignantly, "there are some really smart ponies in... Canterlot..." she trailed off and took a nervous step back at Grogar's look, "...I'm sorry."

"I speak of willful ignorance, Twilight Sparkle!" Grogar growled, "I speak of complacency, of the damning contentedness that's taken hold of Equestria and its citizens!"

He paused and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep calming breath before opening his eyes once again and speaking in a more controlled tone.

"They do not desire to learn the cold hard truths of their world, as blinded by Celestia's stagnant rule as they are. They do not know of the terrible trials and tribulations other creatures face just outside their borders—and even within their own nation."

He stopped and turned to look Twilight in the eye, and the filly found she had trouble looking away. Grogar eyed Twilight with a thoughtful expression for a few moments.

"They lack the will to think beyond what they're told outright—what Celestia tells them to think," he finally said in a slow, measured tone, "they lack the spark that drives a creature to seek something greater than what they are given, and that, Twilight Sparkle, is why Equestria will fall one day."

The demonic ram turned a solemn gaze towards his ruined castle in the distance.

"Someday, Equestria will be tested," he continued in a grave voice, "and when that day comes, it will be found wanting. When that day comes, Celestia will be forced to realize her folly all too late, and when that day comes... I will be the one to sit upon that throne."

He turned back to the stunned filly with a dark grin.

"It may not be now, or even in the near future," he intoned, "but know this, child... once we are prepared, and once you have gained the strength and will to do what needs to be done... we will be the ones to test Equestria on that promised day."

Twilight stood before Grogar, completely speechless at what had been said. She didn't know how to feel right at that moment. Horrified? Awed? Disgusted? Enlightened? Unnerved?

She felt all of those things, and she didn't like it. Still, she couldn't deny many of the ram's words—not when they were spoken with the absolute certainty and wisdom of a being far older than even Celestia.

"Come, Twilight Sparkle," Grogar commanded as he trotted towards the desolate city's exit, "I believe it's time I told you more of what you've become, and what I will expect of you in the days to come."

Twilight stood there for another moment before quickly trotting after the ram. As she trotted up next to Grogar, the ram cast her a side glance.

"Before you truly begin your studies, I want you to keep this in mind, child," Grogar said suddenly. Twilight looked up at him with a nervous frown and he gave her a solemn frown of his own as he spoke, "those tenets of Harmony you cling so dearly to..."

He gave the filly a knowing grin, and Twilight shivered—an unexpected chill running down her spine at his next words.

"You will toss them all away... whether you want to or not."

Yes, I'm skipping over all the other generations. I don't believe this was a surprise to anyone, and if it was... surprise?