//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Kingdom of Discord // by The Pirate Prince //------------------------------// The Kingdom of Discord By The Pirate Prince No pony has a complete understanding of where spirits come from, or why they exist. These mysterious beings defy the world's natural laws and exist beyond mortals' understanding of magic. Their interactions with the world and each other have mystified ponies since the dawn of time. So few are willing to burden themselves with the affairs of mortals, we may never have a complete understanding of these “gods.“ Some spirits have existed since the beginning of the world. Others are know to have existed long before that, having freed themselves from this reality or have been hidden away, dormant, waiting to return. Some are born when new aspects of the world appear or are discovered. Others come into being simply through the belief of lesser beings. However, there has only been one recorded case where a spirit was born into the world because it embodied something that didn't exist, something that had always been present before then, a void that needed filling. Ten years had past since the founding of the pony nation of Equestria. The noble unicorns, intellectual masters of magic. The brave pegasi, mighty warriors of weather manipulation. The strong and skilled, agricultural earth Ponies. These three great pony tribes came together to form a single society. Though the three tribes had cooperated in the past, they had always held each other in contempt, each seeing their fellow ponies' cultures only as rivals to their own. But now that seemed to have passed and Equestria was enjoying a golden age of peace and prosperity. Old disputes had been settled and all ponies joined together in the worship of the sun and moon spirits, the only spirits in the world to take the form of ponies. It was too good to last. Starting from Canterlot castle, stretching across Equestria and through the still thawing lands of the three tribes, there was a road. While the Canterlot end was paved with stone, it quickly became a simple dirt track. Though it became the most walked road in Equestria, nopony would traverse its entire length. Following this road would lead to the gates of a second castle, a castle few ponies dared to enter. On the eve of the country's tenth anniversary, a grey-coated pony walked this road. He began his journey in the wintry lands, with neither cold nor wind slowing his pace. As night came, the staving windigos descended upon him, but quickly fled from his presence in fearful panic. As he walked, he barely noticed the landscape changing from cold and lifeless to warm and green. All that occupied his mind was that feeling. He knew he had the power to reach his destination instantly, but he didn't care. Everything, including that hideous, revolting feeling was new to him, and he was savoring every moment. Every step in this new world. This world of magic and laughter, of generosity and kindness, reliability and honesty. This world of harmony.