//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Abstract // Story: Equestria: A History Revealed // by Hoofry_Poneigher //------------------------------// From the very beginning, all of what traditional Equestrian history had told us was filled with lies and deceit. Every inch of history, every word that scholars had analyzed to death; it was all to propagate a twisted lie. With the help of secret sources and Larry who lives in a box behind the donut shop, I have pieced together a history that no pony had dared to even think of. The ramifications of its release could be catastrophic to the regime. But I stand true to the idea that as scholars, we strive to approach the truth. And so it must be done. Despite the tremendous help from Crazy Larry, this essay mainly utilizes forgotten sources from the Crystal Empire, whose libraries and volumes of academic work remained unscathed by Celestia’s alterations of history for a millennium. Of course, once the Crystal Empire reappeared, with its rapid re-assimilation into Equestria through its puppet ruler, Princess Cadence, the contents of its grand libraries were purged by the Equestrian Royal Guard within a week. In fact, it just so happened that the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor himself, also “happened” to be the husband to that ruler, therefore allowing him to move his agents effortlessly into the kingdom to destroy her state secrets. Luckily, I was able to enter the Empire unmolested, and take dedicated notes to document Celestia’s secrets. So don’t bother checking the Crystal Empire libraries because my sources aren’t there anymore. But they were totally real. Believe me. I’ve got those citation doohickeys and a bibliography at the end of this essay to prove it, so you know it must be legit. There is a lot of ground to cover, from the secrets behind the establishment of a theocratic state, to the very nature of Celestia and Luna’s existence. The full extent of their lies can be seen as far up into the Pre-Equestrian Age, truly spanning across history.