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// Introduction 
// Story: Magic Has Two Sides 
// by Jazzy Mellows 
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	A long, long time ago, there was a force that kept peace throughout the lands. They were known as the Equuleus Knights, which was usually just shortened to Equines. They were a rare occurrence where a pony was born with a horn. If it happened, then the Equuleus Knights would take them from their families and train them to become keepers of the peace and users of Good Magic.
Within the Equine, there was a council. Its members were the strongest, most elite of the Equine, and as proof, not only were their horns magnificent, but they also had wings. They were the masters: the Alicorns. To become a master, not only did the Equines have to fight for the good of everyone, the Alicorns had to judge them and see that there was no darkness in their hearts. If they passed, then they became Alicorns.
Magic had its own physical manifestation of balance in a mismatched creature known to many as Disharmony. When the Magic was leveled towards the good side, he would become more evil. When the Magic shifted towards the bad, he would become good. He could never be perfectly neutral, and was in a constant state of flux. He was feared by many, but intended no harm of his own free will.
To keep everything reasonable and safe, the Equines decided to split the groups of ponies into three separate kingdoms, hoping that it would prevent wars from occurring, and usually sending a few of the trained Equines to watch over them and keep the peace. The kingdoms went as such:
There were the Skylands, where the residents all sported wings, but no horns. Of course, there were one or two Alicorns there for peacekeeping purposes, but never more than that. They had a high standard with politics, and were known for their very effective method of choosing rulers, electing their  parliaments, who would then in turn elect a King or Queen, depending on the candidates.
On the ground, there was Alderein, which consisted of normal ponies with no special features whatsoever. However, every once in a while, a horned pony would be born, and they would be sent off to learn the ways of Magic. Again, there was always at least one fully trained Equine in the town, but never more than two.
Then, there was the magnificent city of Canterlot, where the ponies who were gifted with the powers of Magic would be sent to learn its delicate ways. It was always bustling and busy with students learning the ways of Magic and the teachers always walking around. It always looked like the most populated area, but it only appeared that way because everything was so tightly packed together. The Skylands and Alderein were more spread out, giving the appearance of a less populated region.
Everyone in these places was good and kind to one another. There was hardly any bickering, and the Equines made certain to keep crime rates as low as possible. Quite often, they succeeded.
Unfortunately, there were those who did have darkness in their hearts, and many times they were so outraged by the Alicorns' decision that they left the Equines, and turned to Dark Magic. The most common side effect was that their horns would crack, sometimes breaking off completely, as the Dark Magic corrupted them. They would flee to the Outerlands, places beyond the reach of the Equines, and there, they would plot their revenge as the Dark Magic took hold of them more and more. 
Some of them had become so jealous of the Alicorns that they tried to turn themselves into them, but ended up with misshapen wings, and twisting their horns into irreparable shapes, and not knowing how to properly use the transformation, would use bits from their own bodies to make their wings, leaving gaping holes in their legs, hoofs, tails, manes, anywhere they took the matter from.