“There was a time, not so very long ago, when Equestria had far greater contact with the planes of reality beyond its own borders. In those days, a pony might easily acquire metalwork from the dwarves of Niðavellir, fine wines and liqueurs from the light elves of Ljósálfheimr, or the finest woven clothing from the earth spirits of Vanaheimr. Rock giants from Jötunheimr could be hired to perform astounding feats of physical labor for modest prices, and the warrior spirits of Ásgarðr often served as advisers and teachers to Equestrian soldiers. One might even see a human trader now and again, having made the long journey from Miðgarðr to sell his wears.
Yes, our world was truly a cosmopolitan one in those days. Unfortunately, all good things must eventually come to an end. From the realm of Svartálfaheimr, a land of shadowed forests and haunted caves, came the dark elves. A cruel, chaotic race that prized power above all, they rampaged across the realms led by their king, a powerful sorcerer known as Malekith the Accursed.
In addition to his people, Malekith commanded a host of dark creatures; trolls, goblins, frost giants, even fire demons from Múspellsheimr joined him in a campaign that would be known for ever after as the Wild Hunt. Flying through the night skies preceded by storms and the baying of demonic hounds, the Hunt would mercilessly slaughter any living creature caught in its path.
Though Malekith possessed great knowledge of numerous branches of magic, he was most proficient in the field of Necromancy, the manipulation of the dead. Using his infernal sorcery, Malekith would raise the souls of dead hunters and warriors wherever the Wild Hunt went, increasing its power to the point that he was eventually able to manipulate the very nature of reality itself. Using his powers to their utmost, he took control of the abstract forces of chaos, disorder, randomness, and formlessness and bound them together in the body of a draconequus, creating the entity known as Discord.
It was only then that we realized the full extent of Malekith’s ambitions, that all of the death and destruction he had caused were nothing more than the preface for his true agenda: godhood.
With Discord’s aid, Malekith planned to create and perform the ultimate necromantic rite, one that would grant him not only true immortality, but power on such a scale as to make him nigh omnipotent. He would accomplish this by summoning the spirits of every creature that had ever fought, had ever hunted, and had ever practiced magic to join his Wild Hunt using an eldritch horn created for him by Discord. Malekith would then consume their very souls, including that of Discord, adding their power to his own. This rite of ascension he named the Darkhallow.
Malekith was unable to implement his plans immediately, for the Darkhallow could not be performed on just any day. It could only be performed on the Convergence, a day occurring once every ten thousand years, when the barriers that divided all physical and spiritual realms reversed their polarity, leaving a small window where all were open at once.
But he would not be given the chance to bring this scheme to fruition. Equestria’s armies, aided by soldiers and weapons from the other seven realms, marched on Svartálfaheimr a week before the Convergence began. Led by King Dark Matter and Queen Star Dust, the united forces shattered Malekith’s host and decimated the dark elves.
Malekith himself proved much more troublesome. Even without the invincibility the Darkhallow would have granted him, he was still a sorcerer without peer. It took the combined power of myself, a dozen unicorn mages, and the Tree of Harmony to defeat him and Discord.
Discord’s physical body was unmade, and he was returned to the purely abstract existence from whence he’d come. Malekith, however, was not so easily disposed of. It would be almost pointless to attempt to execute him, as his powers of necromancy would offer him many different avenues of avoiding true death. The solution came in the form of the Spell of 7 Sevens, a banishing rite that would, in theory, lock Malekith in eternal stasis beyond all of space of time, forever. Bolstered by the Tree of Harmony, I performed the spell:
By all the seven deaths that Hela brings,
My foe encased in seven crimson bands!
Encircle him with seven roving rings!
As seven seas do circumscribe the lands!
By seven darkly shadowed Seraphim,
Whose seven veils the secret sigils hide,
These powers shall enshroud & prison him
'til seven seals at last shall open wide!
The dark elves, their population reduced to less than a tenth of its previous size, were punished harshly for their loyalty to their king. They were forbidden to practice magic, maintain an army, have more than one child per family, and from crossing the boundaries of Svartálfaheimr ever again. Failure to comply would result in the extermination of their entire race, down to the last man, woman, and child.
Dark Matter and Star Dust, sickened and weary from the death and destruction that Malekith’s war had brought upon our people, sealed off Equestria from the other realms, determined to keep their pony subjects safe from the depredations brought upon them by the other races.”
“Uncle Star Swirl!”
The old unicorn looked up from his papers and smiled at the two alicorns fillies standing in his doorway. As Archmage, it was his duty to instruct and train the princesses for the day when they would be called upon to replace their parents as guardians of Equestria, and it was duty that he very much enjoyed.
“I’ll be there in just a moment,” he said, “In the meantime, Celestia, you practice that earth spell I showed you last week, and Luna, be prepared to recite the chemical composition of star matter.”
The princesses ran off, and Star Swirl returned to his writing.
“Though Malekith has been gone for several centuries, I remain apprehensive. The Spell of 7 Sevens, while the most potent banishing spell I have ever devised, is not unbreakable. Malekith himself can do nothing, trapped in a dimension with no space to move in and no time in which to do it, but there are others who can. As hard as we have worked to stamp all magical inclination out of the dark elves, I would not be surprised to find out that some still practice it in secret. Many among the Accursed’s people remain loyal to him, and he would surely find his throne waiting for him if he were ever to return.
It is because of these dire possibilities that I now write this journal, for I have taken measures to ensure that, should Malekith ever threaten the Nine Realms again, there exists a power great enough to defeat him.
The answer to this lies within the Tree of Harmony. The Tree is the physical embodiment of order, discipline, law, and structure, the very antithesis of Discord. Its six Elements, the forces of Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic, are mighty artifacts capable of amazing feats, but I am certain that the Tree possesses even greater power yet unseen.
However, it is at this point on the path of knowledge that I am bound to go no further. The king and queen have blatantly forbidden me from further exploring the power and potential of the Tree of Harmony, their fear being that any who come to view to the Tree as a weapon will eventually find it too tempting to use it as such.
I have tried to persuade them to see reason, to impress upon them that my studies are purely theoretical, but they have made up their minds; I am never to seek out further knowledge or power of the Tree beyond the Elements of Harmony, nor am I permitted to teach Celestia and Luna what little I do know.
Thus, I leave behind this riddle, in the hope that it may offer salvation to the realms should Malekith threaten them again.
A box without hinges, only keyholes and lid,
The essence of life inside is hid.
The Six are great, but Seven is better;
This is the key to light unfettered:
Greed, Fear, Rage, Compassion,
Hope, Love, and the Willpower to action.
May the answers you find be the right ones. And pray that they are enough.”
Star Swirl closed the journal with a sigh, a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He was old, far older than even most earth ponies grew to be. He would continue to put off death long enough to ensure that Celestia and Luna were prepared for the trials ahead, then his body could pass away when it chose to.
Smiling, he donned his signature hat and cloak and joined the young fillies in the courtyard where they waited.
"So what were you working on?" asked Celestia, leaping onto to Star Swirl's back.
"Oh, nothing you need concern yourself with," he replied with a chuckle, "Just a little something related to the Darkhallow War."
"The one where you beat up that evil elf wizard all by yourself?" asked Luna.
"I wasn't all by myself, Luna," said Star Swirl, "I had the help of several unicorn mages and the Tree of Harmony."
"When are you gonna take us to actually see the Tree?!" whined the fillies in unison, "We've been waiting for forever!"
"Patience, my little dears," said Star Swirl, "You'll learn all about the Tree in due time."