The Secret History of the New Princess

By White Eyes

I write this, in my exile in Oatwheel, to posterity alone, for, though I wish I could reveal it now, the cost of doing so would undoubtedly be my life. I hope that it might still be relevant and useful to whoever finds it. Perhaps you future ponies find yourselves under the rule of the this alicorn. I hope that my fears about her intentions were unfounded, in which case this document will be a mere curiosity. But if they were not, I hope that you will be able to find some way to use it against her, and regain the freedom that is your right.

Fifty years ago, I was a young and foolish stallion of nineteen years, going by my birth name, Vorpal Pin. Born to an old and respectable family of minor nobility in the Eastern Dusts, I had been gifted with considerable and early magical aptitude, and already graduated from Radiance Magical College in my hometown with high honors. I began graduate studies at the Crooked Tower, but I was dissatisfied with the plodding pace of my work. When the lich Risen Bones passed through the area - I later learned he was following up on the progress of a centuries-old program of eugenics, of which my family and others in my hometown had unwittingly been a part - I was terribly susceptible to his promises of power and meaningful work. We traveled Equus, first as master and apprentice, and then also as friends, working on a great but obscure project involving magical technology. Occasionally, we visited Risen Bones' headquarters on Teardrop Island to resupply, and there I glimpsed the vast scope of his work, but we spent most of our time away from it.

One night, when we were camping in the upper abyss, Bones returned to me after his evening meditations terribly distraught. I asked him what the matter was, and he confided in me something which I can never tell another person. He told me that work in which we were engaged was not truly his own -- he had been recruited too, long ago, when he was still living. A vision in a dream, promising immortal power, had drawn him to Teardrop Island. Exploring the place, he encountered a mighty spectral being, who identified herself as the greatest unicorn archmage of her time, Dusty Tomes. The specter said that she sought to take an apprentice to aid in critically important work, and that he was being considered - but not he alone. Dusty had drawn seven other mages to the island, and stipulated that the last one surviving would take his or her place by her side. Bones said that he was at first reluctant to fight the others, but was attacked, and defended himself... and that he found his will to continued existence far surpassing his compunctions about the situation. He prevailed, of course, and began to serve Dusty and her cause.

Now, it turned out that Dusty's plans were many and complicated, and I do not recall how exactly my Master explained them at the time. But among them was a plan to enhance the magicality of ponies through selective breeding, and apparently this plan was nearing fruition. He seemed to want to explain more to me... yet, he could not, just stammering in fear and confusion. When he composed himself, he abruptly stopped telling me of his past, and insisted that I take a geas to not disclose to anyone what I had just learned. Stung by his distrust, I nontheless agreed, and it would prove to be the first of several.

Not long thereafter, we returned to Teardrop Island for an extended stay. I was left in charge while the Master went to the Isle of Yore. When he returned, it was with more than the technical books and magical reagents that I had expected. He had brought with him ponies, and these were here against their will. I thought this was really unaccountable; my Master had always been a decent person, and had we not more than a few years ago saved dozens of ponies from Camel slavers in the lowlands? But he said that it was necessary, for the greater good -- Dusty had commanded it. I did not think that this is something the beneficent spirit of a good archmage would command, and said as much. My master was incensed, and I thought perhaps he would put me out to find my own way in the world, for he said as much. I packed my things with the intention of leaving the next morning, but Bones came to me that night and said that Dusty herself interceded on my behalf, and hoped I would stay. He reiterated that I was essential to their work, and that work was in turn essential to the salvation of Equus. I thought I had made a grave error in judgement and apologized, humbled. But I could not forget the looks of anger and sadness in the eyes of the slaves...

With the new labor force, the work on the research facility was completed relatively quickly. We refurbished some of the old Equestrian naval facilities for housing them. We were able to sustain ourselves with agriculture using the magic of the Earth Ponies and Pegasi, though not abundantly. Much of my time was now occupied in helping my Master with his research - to what end exactly was not clear, for I was deliberately excluded from the overall planning, which purportedly took place during nightly meditation sessions in which Bones communed with Dusty. I saw the spirit manifest a few times, to help us at critical junctures in the work, but such manifestations are costly to spirits and were accordingly few. As the years dragged on, my Master made more than one trip to the Isle of Yore for slaves. I turned a blind eye, again, even when it became clear that the slaves were not there merely as workers, but as part of the eugenics scheme. Though not forced to participate per se, the rewards and privileges for doing so were so significant - and the penalties for sexual activity outside the program so severe - that few of them resisted. It sat very uneasily with me, but I did not have the courage to challenge what was being done - maybe out of faith that this was for the greater good, maybe out of cowardice; I still can't say.