• Published 8th Feb 2012
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Equestria: A Flux Tale - Star Sage



A Tiny Human lands in Equestria. Why? What? Who? Questions to be answered, and a quest to be found.

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History Lessons from Luna

“Long ago, longer than I like to think about, there was an age when ponies of the three tribes fought one another in terrible battles. In those days there was little harmony, even within a single tribe, as various leaders fought one another for the right to wield the power of their ponies against the others.”

The view is split there ways.

In one third stands a group of earth ponies, their bodies sagging a bit, their legs shaking in some of them, showing that they are malnourished. One among them, a female you think, is talking, slamming her hoof down on the table in front of her, while beside her whispers a stallion, obviously concerned for her, and getting her to calm down.

Beside that scene is another, this one of unicorns. Many among them can barely make a spark with their magic, save one decked out in what has to be some kind of soft metal forged into a dress, the silvery sheen of the stuff almost blinding to behold, while beside her stands another mare, in what you can only describe as wizard's robes, her voice inaudible, but deep lines of concern etched onto her face.

The final view is of pegasi. Not a few either, but a whole army's worth, flying in maneuvers, and practicing formations. Again they look like they need more food, but it is less pronounced with them, probably owing to the military life they all seem to be leading. At the front of the army, two stallions lead, one with a harsh expression, with you almost able to hear him bark orders at those behind, while beside him, his assistant seems to be trying to tell him to listen to reason.

“Three among them took charge, and each tried to lead their ponies separately. No harmony existed then. The story of this forms the basis of what Our ponies call, Hearths Warming Eve. For the three leaders all set out to a place where they could found new nations, away from the others. In so doing, however, they forged a union stronger than any could imagine.”

The scene shifted again, now the three leaders and their aides were huddled together withing a cavern of ice. About them swarmed ghostly, almost demonic, equines made of frozen wind. Each of the leaders fought alone, and were frozen for their efforts, but the aides, pushed together by the phantoms, fought as one, eventually causing the unicorn to burst outward with a magic like a rainbow of light, which destroyed the evil ones, banishing them back to the abyss they spawned from.

“This story is well known, even if the details of it are lost in time. However, there is a greater tale than most are aware, for while the leaders took most of their ponies with them, a few stayed behind, either due to age, or simply an unwillingness to leave the lands that had been theirs for so many generations. One in particular stayed to continue his studies, to find a magic great enough to protect everything, pony, buffalo, griffon, dragon, and all the world.”

The scene focuses on a unicorn, his face and body racked with age. Lines of sagging flesh hang off him, more from his status as an elder than hunger, and around him are arrayed a thousand and more books. Tomes with text you cannot read float about him, flashing by fast as lightning, while in front of him floats a smaller tomes, into which he inscribes something, the quill held by his magic flying furiously across the pages.

“In the new kingdom, Equestria, Clover the Clever began to study this strange power, this thing called Friendship. But in the homeland he had left behind, Starswirl the Bearded studied a magic of the world's birth, and with what he thought was proper care, he began to forge a spell that would give him the strength, both physical and magical, to lead the world into a new age.”

The scene leaps forward, the books now seem to have aged, but the unicorn in them almost looks younger, as he finishes his own book, the words in it glowing with arcane strength. One his face is an expression of determination, as he stands back, and begins to cast a spell from within the book. His horn glows like the sun as about him runes set into the floor begin to shine in unison.

“He found the magical power to do what he wanted, but such strength was greater than he had anticipated. In casting his spell, he set in motion events that would shape his world forever. The power he unleashed, power that dated back to the Dawn of Time itself, lashed out at one who would try to control it, while also flowing outward, forming two small lives who would come to be called gods.”

The scene of the older stallion faded into light, but in that light you could see the silhouette of the unicorn start to change, the last afterimage of him being something stretching outward, like a snake, while his horn split down the middle, coming to rest on either side of his head. Then it was gone, and you were staring instead at an open clearing in a forest.

“Those two live were Ourself and Our sister. Newly born though we were, we had been forged by the very essence of nature, and by the power of a unicorn who had only wished to help his ponies in a world that had spiraled out of their control. His memories informed Our choices as we were born, and so we took on a shape that he had desired for himself, something that had aspects of all three tribes.”

The clearing began to glow in front of you, a soft warmth like that of a dawning sun, or a full moon. The light slowly coalesced into a single sphere in the center of it, that then split like a cell down the middle, forming into two smaller bubbles of light that popped with an almost explosive quality, pushing the grass and plants away, even as the burst of illumination forced you to cover your eyes.

When you could see again, before you were two forms. They looked like and unlike the Royal Sisters. You could see who they would become, one light blue obviously being Luna, yet somehow, softer, gentler, and with a grin on her face, while beside her stood Celestia, the two equal in height, as well as the joy evident on their face.

“Thus were born the Goddesses of Equestria. We knew who and what we were intrinsically. It was part of us, as we were part of the world about us, and with that power, we quickly began to forge a destiny for Ourselves as we set out to find the man who had birthed us, to show him that his spell had succeeded beyond even his wildest dreams. Such was the folly of Our youth that we didn't consider that the power that had made us, had touched him as well.”

The scene returned to the room where the unicorn had been before. He wasn't there anymore though. Or rather, he had changed into something so different, so alien, that you wondered idly if anything of his own mind remained. Where StarSwirl the Bearded had stood before now stood another god, like Luna and Celestia, but one of Chaos rather than Order. Discord was born, and he wore an evil grin on his face, as he began to laugh.

“Our travel was slow, for we were new life in this world, and though we wielded great power, it was still untested power. On Our trek through the woods of Our birth, we stumbled on more newness. The Kingdom of Equestria, recently founded, with ponies who looked upon us with eyes of wonder, as all could feel the power of Our making. Thus we were directed to the preeminent scholar of the land to answer her questions about us.”

The two sisters came to what looked like a very primitive Canterlot Castle. The walls didn't shine as they did today, and appeared to be fashioned from bricks, rather than seemingly grown from the mountain itself. Inside, they were met by Clover the Clever, older than before, but looking now like StarSwirl had, powerful in the magic of the world.

“We explained both who we were, and how we came into being. This she took with a grain of salt, yet she had felt the magic of the spell that birthed Us, and showed us that not only had he been born, but gems, formally rarities, now dotted the landscape. These gems were pieces of the magic that had made us, and thus had proven to be great helps to Clover's research into the Magic of Friendship.”

“Still, rumors spread from the Old Home of the tribes that something had been birthed as We had been. Some grand and terrible, that was slowly stretching forth its hand and unmaking Order within Our world. So with Clover and her friends we made Our way back to that place to find horrors that defy description, and reigning over it all, Our father.”

The scene shifted again, this time to a land that looked...well, battlefield would be underselling it. It was like the ground had been beaten on with some giant stick, and everywhere debris littered the ground. It wasn't like an explosion had scattered things though, for the debris seemed like it had melted into the stone and earth. Everywhere there was chaos, with ponies moving back and forth without purpose or reason.

“Discord had been busy, making himself his own little Kingdom of Chaos, as he liked to call it. The borders of his influence grew with each passing moment, and Our sister and Ourself fared the worst of all as we passed into his power, for the instant we stepped over the threshold, he felt us, and he knew us for what we were. His daughters, and yet, so much the balance to what he had become.”

The scene shifted to show the Alicorn sisters and Clover as well as an earth and pegasus pony walking beside her. The five, as they stepped into the blasted landscape, were assaulted by flashing lights which tore randomly at the ground around them, with the sisters raising their magic against the Chaos, and creating a bubble of Order that shouted defiance at the thing that had made it. Said thing appeared with a belch in the air above them, looking down at them with an expression of utter hatred you remember from your meeting with him.

“He knew what we were, what we represented, the end of his beautiful Chaos, and so he made to unmake us. Luckily, Our sister was far quicker on the uptake than us, and was able to teleport us back to Equestria, but her magic only called Discord's attention to the realm, and within weeks we found our borders being assailed by his Chaos Legion.”

Another shift, and you were looking at Equestria from above. You recognized it from the view on the hill outside Canterlot. Yet, something was off now, and it took you a moment to realize that the cities weren't shining as they should be, probably because none of the cities you knew had been built yet. Then your attention was drawn to a small flash of light, and you almost cried when you turned to look at it.

Chaos Legion, the name given to an amassed force of Discord's minions. You'd heard the term before, but the sight of them, this glimpse into the past. It was horrifying. Things that were just...nightmares made flesh walked alongside ponies, griffons, and dragons, all of whom looked to be almost as warped and twisted as those things, as they tore apart the very fabric of the world.

“Commander Hurricane led his army against the Legion, but his troops could only take so much before they broke, each time getting driven further and further back, every comrade fallen adding to the enemy's number, as Discord twisted all who fell to his power into the madness he felt. Still, such efforts were not completely in vain.”

The shift, and you were looking in a lab like the Professor's, only much more medieval. In it stood Clover the Clever, looking over a book you recognized as the one that had been in StarSwirl's possession when he'd cast the spell that turned him into Discord. Idly, you mind wondered how they had retrieved the tome, but then you watched in awe as light poured out of Clover's body, into six gems arrayed about her.

“Through the study of Clover, who had spent the years of Equestria's founding studying Friendship, she was able to distill that power down to its basest Elements. Gathering them up, she forged them into a thing of Order. A power was created then that would change everything, as we gave her Our power as well, gathering more and more energy, until the Elements of Harmony were born.”

The gems around her suddenly shifted in shape, taking the form of gems much like the ones found about Equestria, but somehow, older. You had felt their making when you let them flow through you, and knew that while Clover was forging them, the Elements had always been there, always been part of this world, it was just Clover was giving this power Form, and then the Alicorn sisters gave it Flesh, as they walked over, and touched three of the Elements each.

“Our bodies, forged of magic itself, were the only vessels capable of taking on the heavy burden of the Elements, and so we claimed them as Our own. To me fell Laughter, Loyalty, and Honesty. To Our sister went the Element of Generosity, Kindness, and most importantly Magic.”

“With the Elements in hoof, We went off to face Discord, who had conquered much of the world already. So many nations fell before him, the life of the citizens, and even the plants and animals twisted by his magic into something horrible. The Parasprites were his creation, made to weaken an enemy from within, while outside, beasts and monsters would pound away, with no way for anyone to fight back.”

Luckily, you are spared those scenes of horror this time, as they view shifts to Celestia and Luna, cloaked in light, standing before the one who had made them. Tears were in their eyes as they fought him, using their magic against his, and then falling. It seemed odd to you, but then Celestia said something, and Discord laughed in her face, pointing to himself, as if asking her to give him her best shot.

This was the trick, they had fooled Discord into letting them get this close, and with their Elements, they created a Rainbow of Light, which slashed out of the sky, and froze the foul being in mid laugh, leaving him encased in stone for all time, as the sisters just stared at each other, their bodies coated in sweat, but still able to stand, and then walk out into a world that needed their help.

“We spent many years afterward cleaning up the world that Discord had so broken, setting right all the things he had set so wrong, and in time, we came to be called Queens, but my sister, ever aware that we needed to keep ourselves grounded in this world, rejected that title, accepting only the moniker of Princess, until somepony could rise to claim true leadership of Equestria, and we could become the land's protectors, rather than it's rulers.”

“In time, we settled Ourselves into Our roles, her as the Shining Light of Day, and Ourself as the Cold Quiet of the Night. And we were happy, for decades on end, we were truly happy. Then things started to emerge. Darkness made real. It possessed a unicorn of great skill, and turned his heart black as night, such they he became a conquer, who took the name Sombra, or rather, Shadow.”

The scene shifted, and you were suddenly looking at the Crystal Empire, a place you had seen only in pictures up to this point. Instead of shining light everywhere though, it was a horrid place, with black crystals growing everywhere, and a dark cloud that looked like a storm ready to open up and drown the ponies below it in a sea of darkness.

“He unmade the Crystal Empire in a single day, subjugating the citizens, and ousting the ones who ruled it, a family of Pegasi who understood Love as Clover had come to understand Friendship. Only one of their number escaped, with Our sister and Ourself called in to stop Sombra's dark reign. We did this, but at a terrible cost, as the Empire was tossed in time, and all that remained was sorrow.”

The scene shows you the Royal Sisters appearing above the cloud, and using their power to blow it away, eventually having to fight Sombra, who flew on a cloud of darkness sized for him. The battle of magic was just a beam of war style thing, but it ended with a spectacular flash, which shattered Sombra's body, dispelling him into smoke, which covered the Empire in a second, and then moved on, flowing into the ice, leaving only barren land behind.

“Still, we had underestimated the Darkness. Sombra was merely the lure, and the Empire, the bait. It was Ourselves that were the true prize, and it took root in my heart, soon turning all my thoughts to darkness, and making me fight my sister. It felt so odd, like a dream that I couldn't control, as every feeling I had turned against her, and I was forced to do battle with her time and again.”

There is no scene this time, the Void is not truly the Void though. It is Darkness, deep sorrow and sadness, enough to swallow the heart of even the most pure soul, and drown them.

“With the Elements of Harmony, she was able to send me away as we had Sombra, sealing me inside the moon which I controlled, and making it so I wouldn't hurt Our subjects.”

Slowly, the darkness faded, and you were once more in the Void. Floating rather than standing, while next to you floated the Lunar Princess, in her small filly form. You had no idea what to say to that, her voice at the end getting so low, the scenes refusing to play for those bits you doubted she could face herself. Thus, you did the only natural thing, and put your arms around her neck, hugging her, as she cried onto your shoulder.

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