• Published 11th May 2013
  • 1,168 Views, 22 Comments

Why We Are - The Read Later List



1000 word story about the origin of the three races. (Fimifiction got the count wrong, it's 1000 words exactly)

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The Truth

I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had to explain things.

Your research has only left you with questions, of which I find difficult to answer.

Come, come. Take a seat. Perhaps it’s best if I start with a story of your ancestor.

It was a long time ago, when my land was lush, and my subjects obedient.

At this time, ponies were not divided into the three tribes, but instead, they were all the same breed.

One day, a young mare by the name of Avid grew tired of tending to her fields.

“Why must we till the crops and sow the seeds day after day?” She had asked.

“What law, written in stone proclaims us lesser ponies than the Sisters?”

“Are we not entitled to become more than simple growers of food?”

Avid’s brother, however, spoke against her.

“Why do you wish for more?” He asked. “Are you not happy with what the Goddesses have gifted us?”

“No,” she stomped, “and I will not stand idle any longer.”

With that, she began her campaign.

She traveled from settlement to settlement, gathering support for her cause.

Her brother, fearful of his sister’s machinations, began his own voyage, preaching homilies of tradition.

In time, each sibling gained substantial followers.

From what was once a loving relationship, sprouted a loathing rivalry.

Neither side was willing to falter.

A conflict loomed, and with no solution in sight, the brother returned home.

There lived the oldest sibling; a strong, working mare.

“Please sister, you must speak with Avid,” he pleaded. “You must tell her that she’s blind with power.”

The eldest knew not what to think.

She loved both her brother and sister equally.

Instead, she chose a path that wouldn’t force her hoof in the affair.

“I love you brother, but I do not wish to help you.”

“It is you and sister who have started this feud, and it is you who will have to end it.”

Upon hearing this, her tender hearted brother became furious.

“Hear my words sister! Let it be known that it could’ve been you who prevented a war.”

“You may say you wash your hooves clean of this debacle, but you share just as much blame.”

The brother left the farm and began his campaign against Avid’s army.

For twenty years, the two fought for the right to govern Equestria by their own ideology.

The brother, fighting for my Monarchy, and Avid for her vision of Democracy.

The fighting was bloody and the effects devastating.

Sides were chosen, lines were drawn.

Brother fought brother.

Sister killed sister.

My little ponies became cogs in a machine that taught them to despise one another.

Battles scarred the land and left it barren of everything but blood.

Eventually, it became a senseless war of scorched earth, rather than honor.

The war festered a quagmire of lost souls, each searching through the discordant ruins of their lives.

Fighting turned merciless and the line of ethics was smeared with the loser’s blood.

Numbers were decimated, and villages were burned for their allegiance.

Eventually one day, amid the usual gnashing of bones and skewering of flesh, a light shone down.

My sister and I had had enough. We descended upon our flock to cease the war.

We called for the attention of our disciples, and the attention of their apostates.

“My children, why do you fight? Why must you make us cry for you?” I asked.

A stern voice interrupted me and I witnessed a single pony emerge from the crowd.

“We do this,” spoke Avid, “because we wish to be more than what we were born to be.”

“We wish to have ambition. We wish to live in the world that we create for ourselves.”

My sister broke in. “Was your life so terrible as to cause this grueling conflict?”

We began to approach her, ready to wield the elements, but we were stopped by another voice.

“Do not deliver revenge where it is due, my Goddesses,” called Avid’s brother.

“Instead place the blame upon my head. Allow me to correct this wrong with my life.”

“But why do you wish to place her life above yours?” I asked. “Do you not hate each other?”

“I do so because it is my brotherly duty to remain faithful, even when it is her own undoing.”

This stallion looked towards me, adamant in his decision. Through his eyes, I found something I had forgotten even existed.

Unwavering loyalty.

“Do not fear, my son. We will not harm your sister.” I called.

“You have forgiven her trespasses, so we forgive yours.”

I turned my attention to Avid who bowed before me, tears in her eyes.

“This war has ravaged our land, and left our numbers meager.”

“You, my child, will repopulate our kingdom and bring about a new generation of ponies.”

“For your repentance, Avid, you will be granted the thing of which you desire most.”

“You and your children will grow horns to bend the world around you, and mold your own path.”

“And your brother, for his allegiance, we grant wings to live in the sky.”

“From now on, his children will fly my chariot across the land so I may watch over my foals.”

And then, those who followed Avid grew horns, and those who followed the brother grew wings.

But from the crowd came another voice.

“What of me?” Asked the eldest sister. “What do I receive for choosing neither side?”

With a look of disgust, I answered her.

“You… you could have prevented this conflict with your voice, my daughter.”

“For you, we gift nothing.”

“And for all of those who stood by idly, we award the same.”

“Let it be known that if you bear neither wing nor horn, then you are marked because of laziness.”

“And the best way to cure lazy, is growing crops and sowing fields.”

Does that answer your question, Twilight?

Are you satisfied with the truth, or do you prefer the lies.

Author's Note:

Hey there. I decided I'd give a 1000 word story a try. Let me know how I did in the comments. If you liked it, follow me to see similar stories and a few other projects I'm working on (some humor, some not). Thanks for reading.

Comments ( 21 )

Very poetic, well done sir. I do enjoy a clean cut, flawless story every now and then. :ajsmug:

That was really nicely done! Interesting side story to the races

The earth ponies got fucked over pretty badly...

This was really awesome! Gotta appreciate a beautiful, bite-size bit of literature now and again :twilightsmile:

Interesting, even if it didn't stuck with the cannon.

Well written and really well thought out.

So the Earth Ponies are lazy in a way. Hummm.....
This was really interesting. I like it a lot! :twilightsmile:

Congratulations from Princess Luna's personal spokespony! :coolphoto:

I am literal blown away with how well this story flowed, hum... I need to take a mental note of looking this over when I need to renew some of my inspiration and recharge so to speak. Please continue to write as I will continue to read your work. You have my respect and admiration sir. :ajsmug:

This is really well written. I commend you.:twilightsmile:

2564678

No sir. you have made mine Thank you.:twilightsmile:

2562958

MLP canon is so contradictory and poorly thought out, mostly from having several different writers that hardly ever communicate, granted...

But saying MLP has any kind of sound canon to stand on is like saying that the bible is word for word how to be a good Christian.

2736636
This is not what I wanted to underline, but I'm shy-natured and have the tendency to save my words, so it's probably my fault here to not have more developed my comment.

2740811

Duly noted and fair enough. :moustache:

Wow, that ending kinda threw me off guard a little bit. Clever, kind of reminds me of the Mormon explanation for the three races of earth.

Also, congratulations, this story has good enough grammar to be included in the Good Grammar Directory, a comprehensive list of gramatically-correct stories on Fimfiction. :eeyup:

2808474 Thanks, it was actually intended to be a biblical reference, but I forgot what I was trying to link it too. :rainbowderp:

Luz

headcanon accepted.

A pretty good story, but I can't help but not like how the earth ponies are basically called "lazy." I DO like how it melded in with the hard work ponies pull off, but I think calling them all "lazy," even the eldest, was a bit harsh. What if families didn't want their kin to get hurt or something? Would that make them lazy? I don't know. I'm still mulling over that part. I just think "lazy" was a bit too much, albeit where it leads up making up for it. Like I said, though, still trying to make an absolute opinion of it.

Either way, I really liked it! I like the creation of the types of ponies, so it's very creative. Good job!

I liked it

A great explanation to how those filthy mudponies came about

2908669 Well, when I wrote this I wanted to keep in mind the differences between literature now and literature 2000 years ago. Sure, nowadays people need more explanation, especially considering the varying range of morals. But back then, people's morals were still being shaped, so they weren't as lenient with punishments and who deserves what blame. Guilt by association was a theme I kept in my head while writing this.

2908766 That's a good point. Thanks for the perspective. Now considering that, I can see the reason behind it. :twilightsmile:

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