//------------------------------//
// Prologue: Eclipse/Thunder 
// Story: The Chronicle of the Return 
// by DracoUnis 
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	It was a quiet night in Ponyville. Luna's moon was shining bright in among the stars, casting soft silver light along the empty streets. All the little fillies and colts were in bed, sleeping well after a long day of play and learning. Many of their elders had retired for the night after a day of hard work. However, some ponies had not yet gone to their beds. Among them was the talented unicorn Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight was curled up on a soft cushion in the second floor of her library, illuminated by the soft light of a firefly lantern. Her assistant Spike had already fallen asleep hours ago. The young purple dragon breathed evenly in his basket, occasionally muttering in response to his dreams. He had grown a little this past year, his spade-tipped tail poking out from the basket even though he was curled into a tight ball. Twilight was considering letting Spike have his own room soon, but right now she had her nose deep in a fascinating book.
Twilight's insatiable thirst for knowledge often kept her awake at nights, and to allow Spike the sleep he needed to grow into a healthy adult dragon Twilight's junior assistant Owlicious was currently on shift. The owl was perched near the window, alert for any call from Twilight but also keeping an eye out for any mice scurrying in the nearby grass. The books were carefully organized on the shelves and all of Twilight's research equipment was cleaned, sorted, and safely stored. Twilight had just finished a difficult and involved experiment, and reading was her preferred method of clearing her mind and organizing her thoughts.
Right now the purple maned unicorn was reading Myths and Legends of Ancient Equestria. Twilight had spotted the book under the library's mythology section and it had caught her interest as an interesting read if nothing else. So after she had tucked Spike in she had settled down with the book, a midnight-blue blanket, and a steaming cup of orange blossom tea. Now the unicorn sighed appreciatively as she finished a romantic tale of two constellations, taking a sip of her cold tea and flipping back to the table of contents to select her next story. She scanned the page with one hoof and stopped at one entry. On Humanity, and the Tragedy of Their Exile.
Intrigued, the unicorn flipped the dry pages towards the story's introductory page. She knew little about the creatures known as humans, beyond the fact that they once lived all over the world, and vanished seemingly overnight. Twilight whispered softly to herself as she read, an old habit of hers that developed when she was teaching Spike how to read. "'Humans are mysterious creatures'" began the introductory paragraph, "'that built a worldwide civilization long before the founding of Equestria. Although little is known about the specifics of their appearance, they were bipedal primates that lived in communities of all sizes. Ruins all throughout known lands have been attributed to their design, and many creatures agree apron the fact of their existence. Although the reason for the species disappearance is unknown, our distant ancestors passed down this myth to explain humanity's origins, nature, and disappearance.' Hm. Interesting." Twilight snuggled deeper into her cushion and kept reading.
"' Long ago, there arose the Firstborn, the most ancient and powerful creatures to walk the lands. The dragons, born of fire and stone; the balrogs, the World Serpents, and many others. The weakest of these creatures were born out of the Crossroads, where Land meets Sea and Sky, where the fires of the World and the fires of the Heavens mingle. They named themselves Humanity.
Humans were weak in body compared to their brethren, lacking claw and scale, inner fire or a shapeless form. But they could watch, and thus they learned. They Watched the World. They Watched the rivers flow and the Sea rise and fall. They Watched the Land sing and the mountains breathe. They Watched the Sky change as it's winds blew and the clouds shifted. They Watched as the Fire sparked and blazed. They Learned through the World the magic of the Elements, and in doing so changed themselves. They Learned the Sea's dance, the Land's song, the Sky's wonder, and the Fire's heart.
Humanity Learned and grew strong, and under the guidance of their King Ignus they built their Kingdom across the world. The Kingdom was good, for Humanity was generous and shared what it had Learned with the other creatures of the World. The creatures of the World bowed their heads to Humanity in respect to their wisdom. But no one knew of the darkness that dwelled within the Human heart, a darkness that could feed on their magic and swallow a human whole.
King Ignus was a fair and wise king, well known for his compassion and foresight. Despite the King's power, the Kingdom was too vast for him to rule alone. To help him rule fairly he granted jurisdiction of his lands to his chosen vassals, the Lords. The Lords were chosen for their power and wisdom, and ruled fairly in their King's name. Among them was a man known as Ceatus, who envisioned a World united under Human rule, and asked Ignus to grant him rulership of the other creatures dwelling within his tithed lands. King Ignus denied his vassal, knowing that the rule of other creatures was not Humanity's place. Ceatus was passionate, and argued for Ignus to grant his request. Ignus grew angry, and forbade Ceatus speak of his desire again. Ceatus obeyed his monarch's order and returned to his tithe.
Although Ceatus was a wise and just ruler, his foiled ambition caused him to grow bitter and sullen. The darkness began to consume him, and he secretly began to absorb other creatures into his rule. Ignus learned of Ceatus's actions and commanded him to stop, but Ceatus could not. His inner darkness had consumed him. Fallen Ceatus declared Ignus a false king, and marched to war against his former King. Ignus, distraught that one of his beloved Lords had fallen to darkness, marshaled his forces against the Fallen. At the battle, Ignus found Ceatus and slew him. The King of Humanity despaired that his people may never master their inner darkness, and wove a great spell of Exile. Humanity vanished from the World, to return only when the last change would bring those most worthy back to the World."
Twilight pursed her lips and tapped her chin with a hoof. The legend had disturbed her; ponies rarely fought among themselves, and a thing such as a civil war was unthinkable. Granted that humanity was a different species that may have had a different mindset. She knew dragons and griffons were more aggressive and willing to fight than ponies. But still, one creature killing another? The thought alone made her shudder.
She shook her head vigorously to clear such dark thoughts from her head. "Twilight Sparkle, stop being such a silly filly." She admonished herself quietly. "It's only a legend, I'm sure that's not what really happened to the humans." The unicorn yawned as she rose from her pillow, surprised by the lateness of the hour. "Owlicious, could you put this back for me. I really need to go to bed, I have to help Pinkie get everything ready for her "Fall has Fallen" party tomorrow. I'll need all the energy I can get."
Owlicious hooted his understanding and grabbed the book in his talons as Twilight used her magic to levitate the book up to his perch. Twilight turned off the lantern and sank into her bed, letting the somewhat disturbing tale vanish from her mind as she sank into a deep slumber.
It was not an hour until dawn when the thunder woke her up.
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What the hell was that?
My entire body is filled with pins and needles. I can barely see, were's the campfire? I can't be lost, can I? Maybe that lightning or whatever it was threw me clear?
Oh god. Is that the moon? It doesn't look like the moon. Oh god.
Okay, don't panic, remember. The guys called at about midnight. Those bastards knew I'd be up since I had to close the theatre. There was a lunar eclipse at some ungodly hour in the morning. Last one before 2012 said David. Him and his crazy stories and conspiracies. They wanted to go up into the mountains, camp out away from town to see the night sky. They tried to lure me with beer. Nice try guys, but you keep forgetting I don't drink. Not like you do.
Then David said Karol was coming.
Crap. Legs are going numb. I grab a low branch to keep myself up. I feel the rough bark faintly. I don't remember if that is a good sign or a bad sign. My thoughts are getting… fuzzy. I know that's not a good sign. Got to keep thinking. Remember.
The guys got drunk at the campsite. They had plenty of beer, and a bottle of vodka as well. I left to get some air and maybe actually see the eclipse. Karol followed me. She was tipsy, I had a little buzz myself from the shots. We talked as the moon turned red with Earthlight.
Then, everything started glowing. There was a crack like thunder, and I was here.
The branch snaps under my weight, and I'm on the ground before I know it. I take a planet to the chin and it hurts like hell. I'm barely hanging on to consciousness. My thoughts are slowing down and my eyelids are closing against my will.
I think I see something, bright against the murky forrest. Something yellow, too yellow to be from the woods.
I try to call for help. I should have thought of that earlier. I think I manage to make some kind of sound, but I'm not sure.
It's a shame. I almost kissed her.