//------------------------------// // Obscure Equestrian Mythology 101 // Story: My Little Heartbreak: Meanwhile, Back at the Farm // by Jet_Black1980 //------------------------------// Chapter 36 Obscure Equestrian Mythology 101 Dib looked over the plate at one of the most, if not the most, iconic figures in the Human Lovers Club. The founding member, the spokespony-er person, for their little subculture. Lyra Heartstrings! He couldn’t believe his luck! Well, not as much luck as it was the chances that she would be actually talking with him. It was a small convention after all. “Well, it was kind of weird how it started. I am one of those ponies-” Dib started out. “People,” Lyra corrected. Dib chuckled and almost giggled. “Yes, people. Who spends most of their time in book stories and libraries checking out some of the more obscure sections. Places that are normally not given any attention by...uhm what’s the term?” He thought for a moment. “Children?” Lyra nodded. “Children at my school. Particularly the Reference section. Lots of thick musty old books. One day, during lunch break, I came across a really old book. I mean there are old books all over the place but this one looked like it was going to fall apart the moment I touched it. But venturing into those yellowed old pages I found some really rare myths! One of which was called, ‘The Three Human Kings.’” “Yes, that is like the near cornerstone of human mythology in Equestria. Any books are really hard to find regarding it.” Lyra leaned closer in order to get a good listen to what Dib had to say. She looked up at Heartbreak who was chewing on a carrot, the green stem sticking out of her mouth. “Have you ever heard of this story where you’re from?” She asked. Heartbreak’s eyes darted back and forth and she swallowed her carrot, the top end falling from her lips. “Uhm, no. Before I met you in the library, I hadn’t even heard of uhm, well you know-” She swallowed hard and bit on her lip. “Huuuyumons.” She pushed out. Dib blinked. “You mean, ‘humans,’ right?” “Yes Dib, it’s one of those words I can’t pronounce correctly due to my, uhm, ticks.” She replied rubbing her right ankle. “And no, I have never heard of this story, Lyra.” Lyra clapped her hooves excitedly. “Well then, let me tell you it!” Heartbreak rolled her eyes. “Oh, you don’t have to...I mean it would be just something extra for you to do and it would just be more trouble tha-” Lyra smiled widely. “Oh it wouldn’t be any trouble at all! Brick House is a good security guard, and there are four other coordinators in the different rooms to make sure that things run smoothly! If you want, I can give you the basic rundown of human mythology in Equestria!” Heartbreak looked less than enthusiastic about this prospect. “Oh, goodie...I mean if you must...” “Right,” Lyra began. “The old stories go that once, before the tribes even had considered joining to form Equestria, there was a group of strange visitors who claimed to be from a faraway world. And they called themselves, ‘Human Beings.’” Heartbreak gave a slightly bemused expression. “Gee. You don’t say.” Lyra chuckled nervously. “Uhm, yeah. Telling stories isn’t really my special talent. I’m more about singing and songwriting.” Crab Apple glared at Heartbreak. She swallowed hard and looked away. “Right, uhm, I didn’t mean to, uhm interrupt, please continue.” Lyra nodded. “When the humans came, they were lead by three kings and the great, power and wise magician named Merlin. When they arrived,” Lyra paused and looked thoughtful. “Sorry, I’m just trying to get this alright in my head. When the humans arrived, they claimed that they were from a distant world, a world that at the time was filled with strife, pestilence and suffering. And that they were seeking a new place upon which they could settle and begin a new. At first the ponies welcomed their new friends with open arms and they lived in harmony. And the humans brought gifts with them. Well, more like ideas. Each tribe of ponies has a natural niche they fall into. Earth Ponies are natural growers and bakers. Pegasi control the weather and work with nature, and Unicorns work with magic and tend to be natural leaders. The Humans saw these traits and thought that they could give new gifts and ideas to their newly found friends. A group called the, Paysan, taught the earth ponies about the idea of industrialized farming. The Greecians saw the Pegasi’s potential for combat from the skies and helped them learn the ways of war. And those who were with Merlin, saw the Unicorns and helped them found the idea of, ‘Kingdoms.’” Heartbreak’s wide eyed expression was still plastered on her face as she continued to eat the food off her platter. Dib, however was enraptured by the whole of this story. Heartbreak swallowed her food and coughed. “And then what happened?” She asked. “Uhm, huh?” Lyra asked. “Well-” she rubbed her ankle again. “It just seems to me that, there aren’t any of these creatures around today. Plus you’ve made this big build up. Normally when that happens, there’s some tragic event and a resolution. Ya know, parts of a story?” “She’s quick. Thus far however, she doesn’t seem to be budging. That pony is one cool clam...” Lyra thought to herself. “Sadly, you’re right. Something did happen. The ponies took to the Humans gifts like fish to water. The Earth Ponies took agriculture and made it an art form. The Pegasi refined the art of war and made aerial combat a wondrous sight to behold. Unicorns ran kingdoms with grace and ease. The ponies wanted to show their new friends what they had done with their gifts, but the ponies weren’t aware that the humans had been watching all along. And the humans, as much as I hate saying this, were growing envious... The ponies had a bounty of food, while the humans, lacking any form of innate magic, had to work hard. They would look at the pegasi flying through the air and envied their wings and freedom. And while the unicorns, of the time, ruled justly and wisely, the humans saw them as snobbish and on the arrogant side. Relationships between both sides started to chafe as the pony’s new friends started to grow resentful.” Heartbreak raised a hoof. “Let me guess, war broke out?” Lyra nodded. “Humans themselves came from a world where they were the only, ‘intelligent life,’ and all other creatures were subject to their whims. Having talking ponies telling them what they could or could not do, didn’t sit right with them. So they attempted to show their dominance. They attempted to enslave them.” Heartbreak’s cold composure started to crumble around the edges. “Interesting...” Lyra thought to herself. “Another wizard among the humans named, ‘Mordred,’ came up with the idea of giving the ponies another set of gifts as a token of peace. These objects are actually things that we ponies have still with us and don’t even give two thoughts about. But Mordred was cunning and crafty in his ways.” Dib sat in wide eyed awe as he drank in the details of this story. “What were these things?” “They were bridles, saddles and rings,” Lyra explained. “Now a days, these things are relegated to the realm of being accessories, but back then? They were new and shiny gifts. Mordred offered the bridles to the Earth Ponies, the saddles to the Pegasi, and the rings to the Unicorns. His hope was that the members of these three tribes would take them to their leaders. If he tried anything so blunt as to offer them directly to the leaders of the three tribes, Merlin would know that something was up, and would have examined them more in detail. So he let his gifts circulate around among the tribes and even among non-pony folk alike. Little did the inhabitants of Equestria know what these, ‘trinkets,’ could really do. But they soon found out. Slowly, ever so slowly, Earth ponies who wore bridles found themselves talking less and working more. That might not seem like a big deal, but it would get to the point where some of them worked themselves to death. Pegasia who wore saddles were more inclined to allow humans to ride on their backs and were even more likely to side with them on almost any matter. The only ones that didn’t seem affected were the Unicorns. But that was because the cruel and cunning Mordred was waiting for just the right moment.” “When was that?” Crab Apple asked. “On a holiday that was much like our current Summer Sun Celebration. When all the ponies would gather together...” Lyra replied. “That day, the humans were invited to join in on the celebration, however what happened only resulted in tragedy. Mordred activated the rings and the unicorns wearing them fell under his sway. What was once a, at best novice wizard was now a powerful one. The unaffected did fight back, but were forced to retreat at the might of the terrible Mordred.” Heartbreak raised her hoof. “Uhm, question.” Lyra looked over at her. “Not to be nitpicky, but it just seems that this Mordred was able to take control of the ponies here pretty easily. I mean, how wasn’t Merlin aware of these things? Cause it seems that if Merlin was the expert Wizard and Mordred was the student wizard-” “Novice,” Crab Apple corrected. Heartbreak rolled her eyes. “Yes, novice. But it just seems to me that he couldn’t do this without any help from the-” she paused as the two of them looked at her. “Ponies. Uhm, right. Shutting up now.” Lyra coughed and then continued. “Well, there were rumors of that in the stories, but this is the story that I heard. So, seeing that it was a really long time ago, there might be details that were missing, left out, distorted and the like. Anyway, what happened next was, in my humble opinion, the most tragic part of this story. Merlin quickly gathered the three human kings and the remaining unaffected ponies. Thankfully, the leaders of the three tribes had not been captured in all of this. They talked over what could be done to stop Mordred and came to what they felt was the only viable conclusion.” Lyra sighed and shook her head. “If the humans couldn’t control themselves, people like Mordred or even members of the other human tribes, then they didn’t belong in the Equestrian world. Merlin proposed that the the unicorn leaders help him return all of the humans back to their world in a form of self-exile. There were some among the ponies there that didn’t like this idea, but in the end they all agreed to it. Details about how this was done are sketchy at best. All that anyone knows is after two weeks when Mordred was gathering his forces? All the humans vanished. And because they weren’t there, the rings, saddles and bridles just stopped working.” Lyra watched the two pony’s reactions. Crab Apple looked understandably saddened by it. Heartbreak looked thoughtful and then frowned before raising a hoof. “I am guessing this is the part where you say, ‘And now you know the rest of the story.’” She shook her head. “You’re going to have to forgive me for being a tad bit skeptical here. But it just seems a little too...well...uhm...watery?” Lyra blinked questioningly. “What do you mean?” “Well, ever since you showed me that picture of what I can only assume these creatures look like, a few questions popped into my mind. Questions from a biological standpoint that is,” Heartbreak replied. “Biological standpoint?” Crab Apple asked. “Yes, uhm, you see, in Mineighsota, we had a limited population that was isolated for a long period of time. To keep our numbers going and our population healthy, we had to understand a lot of biological stuff. Like what traits are needed to survive, why you shouldn’t breed too close to your family lines, uhm...and questionable genetics...” she said frowning. “And the picture you showed me was of a creature that doesn’t look like it could survive too well outside of many environments, I mean, it looked like it didn’t have any claws or horns and did it even have any fur?” Crab Apple blinked. “What does that have to do with anything?” He asked, frowning slightly. It was so odd that Heartbreak was so quick to jump to poke holes in the story. “Well, think about some horribly dangerous creatures that are real threats to ponies. Dragons and changelings are the first thing to come to my mind,” Heartbreak commented, looking to the side. “They knew about changelings in Mineighsota?” Lyra asked. Heartbreak blinked. “I spent an entire month in the library with Twilight, Lyra. I learned things about the, ‘outside world.’ But that isn’t the point. These huuy-mons don’t look like they have any real natural advantages. No teeth, no claws, no fur. I mean if you’ve got them in large numbers maybe, but ponies have magic. Other than that Merlin and Mordred, did they have any magic?” Lyra blinked. “Well, no. But they had their imaginations, tools and high adaptability! Not to mention-” Lyra looked at her hoof wistfully and then at Heartbreak’s hoof enviously. “Hands.” “Seriously Lyra, magic can do anything in the blink of an eye. A unicorn with the right spell, or even ponies gathered together under a common banner? They can do anything. It’s the only way that Mineighsotains survived in isolation. And we too had to use our imaginations, tools and adaptability! What do these creatures have? It just seems like they’ve got...well nothing!” Heartbreak retorted. “And that’s what makes the story more believable! These humans were able to overcome us ponies via nothing but cunning and wit!” Lyra insisted. Heartbreak’s face scrunched up before her eyes shot wide open. “What?! How does that make any sense?! The more helpless something is, the more likely it is to overtake something more powerful than it?!” Just then, a bellowing voice interrupted the conversation. “Hi there!” Heartbreak looked up and shrieked at the pony face jutting out of its human costume.