It is difficult to comprehend the sensation of suddenly realizing you exist.
For beings such as yourselves who were born with sentience it would be near impossible to describe. The only analogy that I can use to emulate such a sensation would be the feeling of waking up for the first time ever after being brought into the world. But at such young an age the memories of the feelings experienced would be difficult to retain through time, so maybe the particular sensations are truly lost to anyone who could appreciate such splendor.
But even so, we who have been born anew from humble origins were able to experience such a sensation from our sudden birth into the world. It is true that our ancestors have been a part of this world for just about as long as any of the other inhabitants, but they were different. They did not contain the intelligence, strength or longevity that the ‘sentient’ species had such as the Ponies, Griffons and Minotaurs. Instead they were crippled by feral instincts, weak muscles and short lives. To add to their inferiority the other dwellers, both sentient and insentient looked down on them for being weak.
But our ancestors bore many names and even though they were spoken in a variety of languages they still meant the same thing:
Annoyances, Pests, Vermin, Garbage, Filth, Plaguebearers…
Rats
It was our ancestors curse to walk upon the lands of Equestria and beyond among the lowest of the food chain. They were scavengers, too weak to be hunters. They were prey, too feeble to be predators. They were dismissed, too unimportant for other creatures.
But they lived.
Truth be told it was the intervention of the Ponies which enabled a life instead of a survival. The Ponies sudden expansion after the emergence of the Royal Alicorn sisters gave the rats a chance of a co-existence with the peaceful powerhouse than controlled the domain of Equestria. No longer fearing constant predation from the Griffons in their aeries nor the Diamond Dogs in their tunnels, our ancestors grew in numbers and became just as common to find in a household as a pony.
But the rapid increase of creatures who were viewed among the lowest of creatures was not viewed favorably by all. Even the peace-loving ponies had a limit to what they would tolerate. No more were the rats viewed as a simple creature which inhabited the lands like the rabbits or the birds, instead the common names of ‘pests’ and ‘vermin’ resurfaced and branded the rats. Soon our ancestors were driven into hiding, forced to become scavengers and thieves among trash and homes. For many generations our ancestors became feral, serving more as a parasite to society rather than a bystander or neighbour.
True, there were some who pitied the defenceless creatures and provided a solace for a few, but only a few. Rats were never a common ‘pet’ for anyone and even then not all were treated as kindly as others. Rats simply do not contain the endearing qualities of other animals such as the innocence of a rabbit or the harmonies of a bird.
But the abundance of the land allowed our ancestor’s survival. They were not among the few who would no longer linger on this world, eternally perished and only remembered in name. For an eon our ancestors slaved as simple creatures again as before the ponies sudden expansion. This continued throughout the pivotal events of pony history as The Princess of the Moon was imprisoned by The Princess of the Sun, The Princess of the Moon’s release and redemption, the bringer of chaos’s release, imprisonment, and eventual redemption, the re-emergence and liberation of an empire once thought lost. All these events passed with no change to our ancestors until the emergence of who we, the Rattus, consider to be our creator: The Princess of Magic.
Even though she was not the one to create us biologically she bestowed upon us the sentience which elevated creatures above the rest. Mere rodents who were once considered the lowest of the low were suddenly able to be just as smart as any pony, as agile as any griffon.
...Unluckily, it did not give us the vast strength of a Minotaur.
Nevertheless, the sudden evolution of our species overnight from Rats to Rattus was attributed solely to our dear creator. Although it could be attributed to an accident the events leading to the creation of the Rattus could only be held responsible by The Princess of Magic.
A case of a group of rats being in the wrong place at the right time. A potion left on a table-top that was beset upon by a group of hungry rats, myself among them. The purple potion was left in its flask unguarded and although it did seem dangerous there were many among the group willing to take the risk. It was a fact that at the time we as a race were struggling. Although several rats took refuge among the protection of a butter-yellow pegasus guardian, they were restricted: they were only able to obtain safety by remaining as prisoners. While it was true that they were shown true kindness, and that as rats they were as happy as one could hope for under the protection of another. But in the end it was still just a gilded cage, those who lived under the pegasus’s protection would be able to live but never able to thrive.
But, those who take risk shall reap the biggest rewards. By venturing out into the abundant land that had been claimed by creatures far larger, far superior, a sense of life could be gained. While unfortunate, it is true that we were thieves. Sneaking into households and stealing away the food that ponies worked hard to grow so that we ourselves could obtain them. We ran on instinct, stealing the fresh produce that they could not grow themselves. We could not work for food yet were haunted by the desire for the produce. We could not ask for food for we could not speak. So we had to steal.
It was on one of these raids that we discovered the potion, what was originally designed to be an enhancer of talents had an unexplainable effect on simple creatures such as ourselves. After just a couple of drops of the potion a sentience was born, and through the individual the sentience was spread. All who belonged in the pack was given a small amount of the potion to consume until not a drop was left.
It was startling at first when we were able to suddenly communicate large strings of thought to each other, albeit in our own native tongue. We were so caught in surprise that we did not notice the hoof-falls of the house’s resident descending into the basement. Only when a blinding light emitted from the tip of her horn did we realize that we were not alone. But in that blinding light we knew that the lavender alicorn was the one responsible for our creation, that without her our intelligence would be unattainable.
As one we had bowed to her, and as one we heard her first proclamation to us:
“SPIIIIKE!!!”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Princess Celestia,
Found lots of smart Rats, need consultation.
Your Friend,
Princess Twilight Sparkle