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// Prologue 
// Story: The Tears of Gaia 
// by Redback Spino 
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Here follows the account of Starswirl the Bearded on the origins of the Alicorns, the creation of our world, the coming of the Blight, and the forging of the Elements of Harmony. All information is gained from first-hoof interviews with Their Majesties Princesses Luna and Celestia.





In the beginning, in the time before time, there was the Vita. For an eternity, the Vita was without form, alone in an empty universe. Then, as it gathered together, pressing in upon itself, it gained physicality. And thus Cosmos came to be.

From its own body, Cosmos formed a book, not of paper or leather, neither bound or pressed. This book simply was and was so created to give form to the words written upon it. To sate its own bodily desires, Cosmos came to write of Others with the power to create, Others who would do its bidding without question.

To each of the Others was given a book similar to that of Cosmos, along with the command to create. So the Others set to writing of whole worlds and other, lesser creatures to live upon them, and all that was written of came to be. For endless ages, the Others would preside over their subjects on their own worlds.

On one world in particular, many of the Others concentrated their works, aspiring to make a world free of flaws. Lands were divided and given to each race to preside over, though with the freedom to travel to and fro from land to land. The task of maintaining these lands and races was shared between the Others who toiled over it. Many would write of physical forms for themselves, so that they could go among the lesser creatures that inhabited this world. To ease their interaction, they would take on a form similar to those with whom they would work. Of all the Others, nine were those who worked with this world. Six frequently took the forms of the creatures they loved above all others for their humility and willingness to learn. These creatures were known as ponies, and predominantly inhabited the northern half of the largest continent in the world, where we ponies mostly still live today. These six Others took similar forms, though with greater perfection and stature than their subjects. They referred to themselves as Alicorns.

The first of the six was Augustus, who took on a form with fur the colour of clay and a mane that flowed grey like smoke. He (for the Alicorns assumed genders as well as physical forms) would teach the creatures of the world the ideas of civilisation and economy, so that each race could grow beyond simple living and work towards expansion and greatness.

The second was called Marina, who would preside over the seas that surrounded the lands. Blue was her coat, and blue also was her mane, which flowed and rippled like water. She would control the wild waves and calm them so that creatures could travel across them, as well as filling the seas with life of their own.

Then there was Iudex, the third. He took it upon himself to teach morality and law to the creatures, and help each race to determine rules of its own. His coat was orange, and his orange-and-yellow mane raged and writhed like fire.

The fourth was Gaia. Her Alicorn form was one with light green fur and a mane like white clouds. Her dominion was over the very earth itself, for she adored all that nature had to offer. She taught the creatures of the world to respect and care for the world they lived in. But since Augustus taught them expansion and civilisation before, they found Gaia’s teachings difficult to follow. So she cordoned off areas of the world where no civilisation could grow, and the land would forever remain wild and free. The best known was the area of untamed wilderness we now know as the Everfree Forest, but many other such wildernesses were created throughout the world, including the Southern Forests of Cervidas and the Sea of Sand in Zebrica.

Lastly there were the sisters, who called themselves Celestia and Luna, after the great bodies they controlled. The elder, Celestia, was pure white with a mane of endless colours. She would control the great star that was nearest to the world, the Sun, so that it would rise and illuminate the world. Luna, the younger, would control the smaller body known as the Moon, whose glow would light up the dark. Her body and mane were both deep blue like her dominion of dusk. The sisters would alternate the rising and falling of their respective spheres, creating day and night over the world. But they loved the creatures of their world, the ponies more than any others, and longed to live among them. So, against the advice of their kin, they forsook their divinity, giving their books to the other Alicorns and taking their physical forms permanently. They lost their power of creation, but retained their immortality and their power over the Sun and Moon. In these forms they went among the ponies, sometimes as kin, sometimes as rulers.

Now, there were three Others who ruled alongside the Alicorns. But their indecision over the race they loved the most drove them to take on a different form to their Alicorn kin. They would take on many different forms at once, so that they appeared made of parts of many different creatures. With this in mind they took the name Draconequus, meaning Dragon Horse.

The first of the three was Morpheus. His body was long and sinuous like a snake’s, with a horselike head and large, membranous wings. He held sway over the dreams of all creatures, so that they could emulate the Others in creation but within the safe confines of their own imaginations.

Then there was Thanatos. His form was unknown, since he always went among creatures cloaked in black. His power was over the end of life, of mortality and what lay thereafter. It was his task to escort those who had reached their end and guide them to the Lands Beyond, where they could live eternally in bliss.

The last and most powerful was known as Eriseus. His form lived up to the name Draconequus the most, being like that of a large grey pony, but with the hindquarters and tail of a red dragon. Great wings stretched from his back and horns sprouted from his head. He reigned over the greatest asset of the lesser creatures: their desire to create and expand, and aspire towards greatness and power. He taught them to desire creative abilities and would then teach them these abilities himself. Thus he became greatly loved by all creatures for his benevolence.

So these nine Others, the six Alicorns and the three Draconequi, ruled over the world and its creatures. And for endless ages, life was good for all beings. With the Others to guide them, the creatures of the world forged great empires and dominions in peace and harmony.

But sadly it was not to last.

One fateful day, as they guided the ponies in the art of mining and the use of ores and precious stones, Eriseus and Augustus delved too deep into the earth and awoke something. It was impossible to describe, save for one word: Corruption.

Eriseus and Augustus tried desperately to shut away that which they had discovered and to herd their subjects away from the abhorrent place, but the Corruption spilled forth like a great cloud, and took hold over both Others. Augustus escaped its grasp, but Eriseus was not fast enough, and was consumed. Taking root, it poisoned his mind and twisted his body into something hideous to behold. Gone was the kind and loving Eriseus, and now awoke the monstrous being of madness and chaos known as Discord. Under the control of the corrupting Blight, he went to each of his Draconequus brothers. The Blight spread and twisted the three into monstrous and ugly forms. Morpheus of the dreams became Decay, destroyer of all that the Alicorns had created. And Thanatos, for the first time, tossed back his hood to reveal a pale, fleshless skull; no longer did he escort the aged to their just reward in the Lands Beyond, but instead brought an end to life itself as Death.

The Draconequi came together in their newfound hatred of the Alicorns, who strived for harmony, truth and life. To them, the Alicorns represented everything they now stood against. They rose up, claiming the world by force before the Alicorns had a chance to react. The world fell into ruin and disarray under the twisted rule of these monsters, destroying all the hard work of the Alicorns and causing unrest and unhappiness wherever they went.

Finally, the Alicorns could gather their full strength, summoning many great creatures to their cause, before launching a mass attack upon the Draconequi. But the three brothers had themselves been highly creative, forming many lesser Draconequi of their own, and endless hordes of savage monsters. And so a great battle was fought in the heavens between the Alicorns and the Draconequi, led respectively by the embodiments of order and chaos. Races and species came and went, and whole lands appeared and disappeared as the battle raged on.

After what seemed like an eternity the Alicorns were victorious, subduing two of their corrupted kin as the third fled to the lands in the south. But because the Alicorns were willing to be merciful, they made an offer to Death and Decay. The two Draconequi were told that they may be forgiven and allowed to continue their ways (Under careful scrutiny, of course), provided they would turn in their brother Discord and surrender their own books. Seeing no way out, the brothers agreed and turned in their books, giving the location of Discord and what remained of his army.

The sisters Celestia and Luna took five jewels from the earth, and channelled into each jewel the power of one of the aspects of harmony and love that the two Alicorn princesses had come to hold in highest regard. These five jewels became known as the Elements of Harmony, representing Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness and Laughter. Through these five jewels, the sisters discovered that they could generate the most powerful force known to Other or lesser creature, the force we now know as magic, which they then channelled into a sixth jewel. Discord and his army of monsters battled stubbornly on, but in vain, as the Elements of Harmony cleaved through any who stood in their way. Finally, Discord was all who remained to fight.

Celestia and Luna could not, however, destroy their fellow Other, and so made one last appeal to Discord. They promised that he may be allowed some sway over the world, if he would only hand over his own book of creation and surrender. But in response Discord consumed his book, absorbing the power of creation into himself. The Blight lunged forth from his body, grabbing at the Alicorn sisters to corrupt the two. Celestia evaded its grasp with ease, but Luna was caught in its grip and nearly consumed, before Celestia stepped forth and launched a barrage of magic. Discord and the Blight fell back, and in this brief moment of hesitance, Celestia and Luna saw their chance. Rising up and harnessing the full power of the Elements of Harmony, their magic blasted the body of Discord, and encased his essence in stone. What remained of the Blight’s monstrous army was gathered together and herded to the place now known as Tartarus. There they were sealed away behind great gates of iron and stone, where they remain to this day.

The Alicorns were victorious, but at a price. Each of the three Draconequi had taken a considerable hold on the world, which was reduced to a hollow shell of its former glory. Of all the Alicorns, Gaia was most saddened by the destruction of her beloved world. Her weeping was long and loud, as in her grief she held her lands closer and closer to her, her grip tightening until she became one with the very Earth she so loved. In her memory, the Alicorns took her tears and forged them into a great green jewel to preserve the legacy of their fallen sister.

It was then that the Alicorns departed from the world for the last time, their work done, shedding their physical bodies and joining their fellow Others. But before they did so, each of the Alicorns would leave behind a trace amount of their magic, which fused with the Tears of Gaia, as one final gift to their world. But what was a small amount of magical power to an Alicorn was near infinite to any lesser creature, and so the great jewel grew to be more beautiful than any other in the world, and was a reservoir of more magic than any other known artefact in existence.

Celestia and Luna remained behind, unable to join their kin since they had forsaken their divinity. It was at this time, however, that a new nation came to be in the world. It was a united nation of the three pony tribes: the winged pegasi, the magical unicorns and the industrious earth ponies, and was known as Equestria. So the sisters came to the ponies to help this flourishing new nation, and were immediately hailed as the new rulers due to their power, majesty and benevolence in the past.

And so from the ashes of the war with the Draconequi, a new world emerged, greater and more bountiful than ever before. With the Alicorn sisters, known now as the Royal Princesses, ruling over their peaceful new nation, and the Tears of Gaia safely hidden away, life returned to the world once again, and thus it has been ever since.