Biography of Imperatrix Twilight Sparkle

Twilight Sparkle

Imperatrix of the Greater Equestrianic Imperium

Reign: 2 April 2004 - Present
Coronation: 14 September 2012
Predecessor: Celestia

Born: 23 June 1984 (age 39)
Birthplace: Canterlot, Equestria
Religion: The Way of the Old Masters

Twilight Sparkle (born 23 June 1984) is the immortal, godlike Imperatrix of the Greater Equestrianic Imperium, having assumed the throne in 2004. The foal of a minor noble house in Canterlot and the ward and student of the previous princess, Celestia, she came to the throne during a critical time in Equestrian history, and has reigned during a prolonged period of stabilization and improvement brought on by increased international interaction and support.

Early Life

Twilight was born in Canterlot, Equestria, and was the second child and first daughter of mare Twilight Velvet and stallion Night Light. She has an elder brother, Shining Armor (born 14 June 1982), to whom she is devotedly attached. During her early years, it become apparent that she possessed extremely powerful magical abilities alongside an incredible thirst for knowledge and love of books, which resulted in her being accepted into Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. So great was her prowess there that she was eventually taken on by Princess Celestia herself as her personal student.

In 2002, Twilight moved from Canterlot to the nearby village of Ponyville, where she would meet those who would become her closest allies and supporters, colloquially known as the ‘Mane Six.’ Together they would be responsible for several acts of heroism around Equestria, including halting the return of Nightmare Moon and thwarting both Discord and the changeling Queen Chrysalis from conquering the country. Throughout these endeavors, however, Twilight did not lose her fascination with learning and magic, becoming even more powerful over time.

During her time in Canterlot and in Ponyville, she cared for the dragon Spike, whom she had hatched as a prerequisite for attending Celestia’s School; many considered Spike to be Twilight’s first friend and surrogate younger brother.

New Discord and Chaos

Only six months after defeating Queen Chrysalis in 2003, a new and more terrifying enemy manifested in Equestria; King Asdf, occasionally referred to as New Discord, appeared and rampaged throughout the kingdom, causing untold death and destruction to the populace. Princess Celestia attempted to fight the demon herself, but was brutally murdered after being overpowered. Princess Luna, Celestia’s sister, reportedly suffered a mental breakdown as a result and fled from Equestria, leaving the country to its new overlord. Twilight and her friends, with the notable exception of Rainbow Dash, were quickly captured and imprisoned during Asdf’s terrifying two-month reign over the country.

During her imprisonment, Twilight and her friends were treated to horrifying brutality and violence, allegedly being forced to watch the torture and execution of several other ponies, including Fluttershy, one of Twilight’s closest friends, as well as her brother Shining Armor and sister-in-law Cadence. After two months, however, Asdf departed as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving Equestria a smoldering ruin. Twilight and her remaining friends managed to escape incarceration and, upon learning of the devastation, formed the first new government of the post-Asdf Equestria.

Princess and Uprisings

With Princess Celestia dead and Princess Luna unaccounted for, Twilight took it upon herself to continue the traditional monarchy of the state; she declared herself Princess of Equestria and moved the national capital to Manehatten, which had been largely spared the ravages of Asdf. With Equestria torn apart by warlordism, Twilight was forced to make several shrewd but unpopular decisions; she allied with the diamond dogs, whose wealth allowed her to fund the recreation of the Equestrian Royal Army (headed by Rainbow Dash, whom Twilight named Field Marshal), and then instituted a policy of servitude for the Earth Ponies to rebuild the country’s shattered infrastructure. This however created massive discontent across Equestria, led primarily by Applejack, another one of Twilight’s close friends, and inevitably resulted in a large-scale civil war between Twilight and the Earth Ponies that lasted almost two years. Technological superiority eventually allowed Twilight to claim victory, and Applejack and nearly 2,000 other Earth Ponies were executed for treason in 2006.

Twilight then turned her attention outwards toward the numerous factions that had been set up after the fall of the central government. Utilizing both military conquest and diplomacy, Twilight managed to take control of a fair number of the warlording states, rewarding those that allied with her with power and prestige and punishing those that defied her. Some speculate that these events, coupled with the First Earth Pony Uprising, were what transformed Twilight from a bookish and mildly naïve unicorn into a feared and respected politician.

Despite her conquests, one mare repeatedly avoided her grasp; Pinkie Pie, another one of her close friends, had managed to break free from the servitude imposed on the Earth Ponies by Twilight and create her own state, leading to the two repeatedly sparring for control of the territory in question. After many years of combat, however, Twilight managed to capture Pinkie’s capital of Ponyville in 2011, but the Earth Pony managed to escape her and elude detection until the 2nd Zombie Outbreak in 2013.

International Forays and Acceptance

As Twilight managed to secure control over Equestria, she began looking abroad for financial and military assistance. However, she frequently found little to none; to the west, Council of artaeum, led by Dictator Izan and carved from the former western province of Equestria of the same name, could provide little due to its meager local resources, and few other leaders were willing to give the sentient lavender unicorn any support whatsoever. This led Twilight to adopt an isolationist policy for many years, preferring to repair and restore Equestrian infrastructure alone; due to serious constraints, however, this policy greatly hindered the nation’s recovery, and it was not until 2010 that Equestria managed to recover sufficiently to pre-Asdf levels.

In 2012, however, Twilight found two important allies in her endeavors; the first was the human Emperor Constantine of Valcouria, who had recently overthrown the republic there and established his own monarchy. Curiosity as well as intuition led the Emperor to begin funding Twilight’s recovery efforts, greatly boosting her local industry and leading to an economic boom for the first time since the destruction rendered by Asdf. The second ally, her former enemy Discord (who had broken free from his imprisonment once again and now ruled a realm of his own, Naggoroth), lent his support to Twilight gaining control over the remnants of Equestria still outside her grasp, finally managing to reunite the entire nation under one ruler for the first time in nearly a decade.

In September of 2012, Discord transformed Twilight into an alicorn, completing her ascension to the Equestrian throne.

Alliances and Wars

Twilight, now as an alicorn, continued to maintain friendly relations with Valcouria, and even visited the country in November of 2012. In response, Valcouria continued to give generous contributions to her government and industry, making her more and more popular with the upper classes (the unicorns and the pegasi). However, she still maintained the caste system against the Earth Ponies, keeping them in servitude despite overtures by Emperor Constantine to end the policy. Twilight remained hesitant, however, for fear of destroying her newfound economic stability.

In April of 2013, the 1st Zombie Outbreak swept across the region; Twilight and most of her inner circle managed to escape to Valcouria after she freed the draconequus Arawn, who was responsible for the outbreak and had promised an end to the carnage only to betray her in the end. Once the zombie hordes were destroyed, however, she realized her nation’s lack of security and defense against such an enemy. For this reason, she was one of the original founders of the Grand Alliance, an association of nations committed to collective defense of its members. Many surmise that this was Twilight’s highest peak in her foray into foreign affairs, and indeed afterwards she would devote more and more of her time to internal matters.

As time went on, Twilight became more and more obsessed with scientific experiments to craft new weapons of war and a possible cure for the zombie pathogen. She began neglecting the Equestrian government and became more and more reliant on advice in making official decisions; in September of 2013, she finally relented to Emperor Constantine’s requests and abolished slavery in Equestria. However, this produced an unwanted effect in that many Earth Ponies saw a chance for power in their new freedom, and in early October of 2013 managed to overthrow Twilight’s government; Twilight herself was confined to a dark void by magic during this time. Applejack, who had been resurrected by Arawn thanks to Emperor Constantine, took control of the state, but after fruitless negotiations with Emperor Constantine, Discord, and Dictator Izan, was overthrown herself by Discord, who single-handedly managed to destroy the rebellion and replace Twilight on the throne. However, her time in the void had caused her serious mental distress, and for nearly a month she was incapable of ruling, leaving Discord to rule in her place.

During her recovery, the 2nd Zombie Outbreak swept across the region; at Emperor Constantine’s urging, Twilight, now reunited with her original friends (including Fluttershy, also brought back from the dead), managed to overpower and incarcerate Arawn once again via the Elements of Harmony. She was fully recovered thereafter, and managed to gain the forgiveness of both Applejack and Pinkie Pie for her actions.
New Government and Current Status

After Twilight’s recovery in November of 2013, her government remained unsteady and unsound; many provincial leaders were pressing for secession due to a lack of coherence in the central government, and Twilight was afflicted with serious guilt as a result of her forcing the Earth Ponies into servitude. Again, she found solace with Emperor Constantine and Discord, who urged her to retake the mantle of power. In particular, Emperor Constantine assisted in the drafting of a constitution, the first in Equestrian history, which Twilight accepted and promulgated across the country. It was quickly accepted by nearly all ponies of every class, and marked her formal restoration to the Equestrian throne.

As Twilight reestablished her power, the Crystal Empire, a nation formerly (if nominally) under Equestrian sovereignty, suddenly declared its independence; its ruler, Prince Sombra, had recently returned from his own banishment and had retaken control of the local government. Despite offers by several of her allies and requests by Field Marshall Rainbow Dash to crush the uprising, Twilight surprisingly made the decision to allow the Crystal Empire to leave Equestria peacefully, ratifying the decision in Paris, France on 6 December 2013. The Crystal Empire later rejoined Equestria.

In August 2016 all Equestrianic nations in Tyrannia joined together to form the Greater Equestrianic Imperium. Princess Twilight assumed a new title of "Imperatrix" and now reigns as the highest Equine authority in the world.

Personal Life

Well known both domestically and internationally for her love of knowledge and books, Twilight is considered to be highly intelligent, if a bit naïve, and generally friendly to foreign leaders, even if such cordiality is not repaid in kind. After her transformation into an alicorn, she became more regal and finessed into both appearance and demeanor. Due to her intelligence, she has a high degree of mastery in the practicing of magic, an ability that is considered to be her special trait.

Twilight, despite her good relations with her brother Shining Armor and sister-in-law Cadence (who alongside Applejack and Fluttershy were resurrected by Arawn), has yet to marry herself and has no children.