A Brief Chronicle of the Arcane Era of Equestria

by Show Stopper

A Brief Chronicle of the Arcane Era of Equestria

Long ago, before the reign of Discord, when Alicorns, Draconequi, Wyrms, and other powerful creatures roamed as commonly as ponies do today, there ruled a single king over the whole world. One day, The Great King grew ill. He called together a council of the greatest of all the races and spoke to them. We are dying, The Great King said, and one of you shall reign in our stead. We propose a contest, in which each of you shall craft a new race of creatures to inhabit this world. Whomsoever among you can craft the most impressive creature in my sight shall become my heir, and inherit my kingdom.

Among those at this mighty council were three Alicorn brothers: Stormy Skies, Living Earth, and Arcana. The youngest, Stormy Skies, said to himself, My race shall be great and impressive! They shall fly through the heavens, as do I, and the elements of the air shall bend to their will. They shall cause thunder to boom and lightning to crash to announce their presence, and they shall rest upon the clouds. Surely they shall win me the crown! And so, Stormy Skies took of the clouds and the wind and fashioned creatures of speed. And Stormy Skies became the father of Pegasi.

The next brother, Living Earth, said to himself, Our younger brother is loud and arrogant. Surely his race will make a great show and spectacle. Though We are not the performer that he is, our subtle ways are just as great, if not greater! Therefore, our creatures shall be just as subtle in their grandeur. They shall channel the powers of Mother Earth to their will, that she may give them strength in their legs and in their backs. What is more, she will give readily of her fruit and grain and all forms of vegetation, that my creatures shall be prosperous. Surely they shall win me the throne! And so, Living Earth took of the stone and gems of the earth, and fashioned creatures of strength. And Living Earth became the father of Earth Ponies.

The oldest brother, Arcana, thought to himself, Though I do desire crown, throne and kingdom, I desire more so that any beings of my creation shall be happy with their lot. Therefore, i shall craft beings who can perform in the arcane arts to their full extent. They shall not have the power of an Alicorn, but they shall rival even us in their chosen field and school. Surely their power, and my forethought for their well-being shall impress The Great King, that He may make me His heir. And so, Arcana took of the power of the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars, and crafted creatures of magic. And Arcana became the father of Unicorns.

The day came when The Great King called council again. Each of those who would be an heir brought forth the best of their creations for The Great King to see. He beheld the Pegasi, the Earth Ponies and the Unicorns. He beheld also Dragons, Gryphons, Deer, Changelings, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, and many other races. For each The Great King had both praise and criticism. After all had been seen, The Great King announced his decision. I have seen the creatures that you have brought before me. Each of these beings is impressive in my sight, and I cannot rightly name one as greater than another. Therefore, I have decided to split my kingdom.

For each race there shall be a land appointed, with three exceptions. The Great King turned to look upon the three Alicorn brothers and their creations. Though each of these creatures is impressive in their own right, I can see that much good may come from them working together. Therefore, to the three races of ponies, I will grant that part of my kingdom which is choice above all other lands. They shall live and work and play together, and if there is harmony between them, theirs shall become the gretest of all nations.

The council was dismissed, and each heir took their creatures to their respective lands. Shortly thereafter, The Great King died, and each heir began to reign in their lands.

And thus ended the Great Era of the World.

But soon, Stormy Skies grew restless. He feared lest his Pegasi should grow to love his brothers more than he. What is more, he still desired to rule alone, rather than share the honor. One day, as they sat together at court, he said to his brothers, Arcana. Living Earth. My brothers, you seem weary. Dear brothers, this life is too hard on you. Why not abdicate from your thrones and place the burden solely upon my shoulders. I am young still, and it is a load that I would be happy to bear for you.

Neither brother was fooled as to Stormy Skies' intentions. Living Earth also desired sole rulership, and he turned to address Arcana. Arcana, my brother. Behold, our younger brother doth desire to rule over us! What is more, by his speech he doth make us to seem weak! Arcana, thou knowest of our brother's impulsiveness as well as us; surely thou seest that such a course would be folly. 'Twould lead us to ruin! This he said that he may discredit his brother, and grow closer to sole rulership.

Now Arcana knew his brothers well. He knew of Stormy Skies' impulsiveness, but he also knew of Living Earth's subtlety, and saw through his plot. Arcana did not desire sole rulership as did his brothers, for Stormy Skies' words had rung true with him; Arcana was beginning to weary of rulership. My brothers, I know that you do both desire to rule alone, but not one of us is able. Stormy Skies, thou dose follow thine heart, regardless of what others may think. This quality is one of thy greatest strengths for thyself, but 'twould prove disastrous for a king. Living Earth, I fear thy reign all the more, for your subtle ways are dark works which may lead to paths which are darker still. Brothers, I love you both as my own flesh, but I cannot abide the thought of any one of us ruling alone. Let us continue on together, as we have done since the death of The Great King.

Unfortunately, rather than soothe his brother's desires, Arcana's words only angered them, for he had spoken true, and both were offended. Stormy Skies, true to his name, stormed out of the palace that they shared and took to the skies. Living Earth stoically hiding his wrath, walked out as well. Arcana sighed sadly, and returned to his own home. And that was the last peaceful meeting of the three brothers.

Now each brother, before rising to rulership, had lived in great and impressive castles of their own. Stormy skies lived in a majestic castle of cloud in the sky: vast floors of stratus, towering columns of cumulus, and vaulted ceilings of cirrus. Around his castle, he had caused a great city to be built for his Pegasi. He had named this city Cloudsdale, and it was to this city that Stormy Skies returned to sulk.

Living Earth's home was quite different. Most of his castle was underground, with few entrances on the surface. Though nothing impressive from without, the rooms and hallways of the castle were decorated with the riches of the earth: gold, silver, crystals, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, amethysts, and many besides. He had caused his Earth Ponies to build for themselves a city above his castle. He had called this city Phillydelphia, and it was to this city that Living Earth returned to sulk.

Arcana's home was different as well. He had built for himself a beautiful castle of enchanted marble, and placed it high on a mountainside. Placed on the border of earth and sky, the castle seemed almost to hang in the air. A beautiful waterfall fell from the base of the castle, and the building's many turrets and towers offered wonderful places to study the night sky or practice in the arcane arts. Arcana had labored with his Unicorns to build a beautiful city for them on the mountainside. He had named this city Canterlot, and it was to this city that Arcana returned to be with Cosmic Beauty, a Unicorn who he had taken to wife.

I know not what I should do, lamented Arcana that night. Both of my brothers desire the throne for themselves alone, and all that I wish is to remain here with thee and my other Unicorns.

Fret not, my love, spoke Cosmic Beauty. Thy brothers know of the truthfulness of thy words. Let them murmer for a time; soon they shall see reason.

Now none of the three brothers truly understood the connection that they shared with their ponies, for while Stormy Skies fumed, his Pegasi grew heated and angry towards the other races; while Living Earth plotted, his Earth Ponies became more cold and cruel towards the others; while Arcana lamented, his unicorns grew more sorrowful for the contentions between their brethren.

As the next year passed, Stormy Skies and Living Earth continued to contend for the throne and Arcana turned away to let them be, hoping that they would eventually cease. At the same time, Pegasi and Earth Ponies grew more hostile towards each other as unicorns withdrew from their contentions. Despite Arcana's hopes, hatred and tension grew between the two brothers - and thus the two races - until they rested upon the line between hatred and warfare.

With a single accident, that line was crossed. An Earth Pony was dead, a Pegasus was blamed, and war began.

The war lasted for several years, Stormy Skies and Living Earth themselves joining the fighting at times. The unicorns remained in their cities, refusing to be drawn into the conflict. The Pegasi saw them as traitors for not aiding them, as they felt wrongly accused. The earth Ponies considered them cowards for not joining them in what they considered to be a righteous crusade.

As the years passed, Arcana tried to reason with his brothers, but to no avail. Instead, he tried to ignore the war as best he could by focusing on his Unicorns, his wife, and his four beautiful children: two handsome Unicorn sons, and two beautiful Alicorn daughters. However, the day arrived when he could ignore the conflict no longer. He sent a proclamation throughout the cities of his beloved Unicorns, asking them what they would have him do, or which side they would have them join. When he received their reply, his heart was swollen in pride and great joy.

The whole of the Unicorn race had pleaded that they might not be forced to do battle against their brethren, but that Arcana might use his magic to craft a great and powerful spell to turn the hearts of the warring ponies toward peace and harmony. Knowing that a spell of such power would be impossible for Arcana to perform alone, they pledged to lend to him as much of their magic as each was able to give to support the spell. When Arcana heard that this was the desire of his Unicorns, he felt to leap and shout for joy, for he had feared lest his beloved Unicorns should be forced to shed the blood of their brethren, and his soul had been wracked with torment and sorrow at the mere thought of having to face one of his brothers in combat.

For the next year, while war continued to wage across the land, Arcana and his family labored to craft a spell that would touch the hearts of every Pegasus and Earth Pony, casting out all evil, chaos, and disharmony. Finally, after a full year of work, the spell was ready.

That day, upon the completion of the preparations for the spell, Arcana received two epistles, one each from Stormy Skies and Living Earth. Both armies were converging on Canterlot for one great and final battle, and they intended to force Arcana to choose a side. If he did not, then both armies would raize Canterlot to the ground, and destroy Arcana and his Unicorns. Grieved by the wickedness and hatred that his brothers' conflict had caused, Arcana prepared his Unicorns for the casting of his spell.

The next day dawned as the two armies marched into Canterlot from either side.. However, much to their surprise, they found the city deserted. Both armies marched toward the castle, thinking to find the Unicorns there. They arrived at the same time, and were just drawing their weapons and preparing to charge when a shout was heard from the gates of the castle. HALT! Both armies turned to see Arcana standing at the gate, along with Cosmic Beauty and their children: Dusk Shadow, Dawn Sky, Celestia Sol, and Luna Starlight. They lit their horns and shouted as one, FOR HARMONY!

At this signal, every unicorn in Canterlot Castle lit their horns, directing their magic towards the six at the gate. The six began to glow with power and rose into the air. Both armies stared in wonder and fear as the power of the spell grew greater and greater, threatening to tear apart the very mountain upon which they stood.

Suddenly, a prismatic wave burst forth from the six and washed over the assembled armies, bathing them inn a rainbow of colors and continuing on to spread throughout the land. When the light faded, the Earth Ponies and Pegasi stood dazed for a moment as their senses returned to them. They stared around in confusion, as if waking from a dream. The war, shouted Arcana, is over! As one, the two armies threw down their weapons of war and cried out in lamenting and sorrow for the things which they had done. They rushed to embrace one another, begging for forgiveness and giving it freely in return.

Stormy Skies and Living Earth had been amonst their troops for this great and final battle, and while the spell did not affect them, Stormy Skies was moved to remorse for that which he had done upon seeing the sorrow of his Pegasi. He threw himself at Arcana's hooves, begging forgiveness which Arcana immediately gave. Despite Arcana's protests, Stormy Skies abdicated from his throne and swore loyalty to Arcana from that day forth.

Living Earth, however, was not so moved. He felt no remorse for his actions and the suffering that he had caused. He only felt cheated out of his throne. Despite the pleas of his Earth Ponies and his brothers, Living Earth sealed himself inside of his castle in the ground, allowing none to enter. The Earth Ponies and Pegasi swore loyalty to Arcana, and harmony once again prevailed throughout the kingdom.

The spell that Arcana had cast was far more powerful than he had imagined, for after purifying the hearts of the ponies, the residual magical energy condensed to form six artifact of immense power. Together, these six exceeded even the power of The Great King who had reigned before. After much study, Arcana discovered that they could only be fully wielded by six who shared a close bond of friendship, and each could only be wielded by one who possessed an abundance of a certain attribute. Arcana named these artifacts The Elements Of Harmony, and named each of them after the attribute needed to wield them: Kindness, Humor, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Power. Many years passed, and Arcana and his family used the Elements many times to combat external threats to their nation, while internally they enjoyed great peace.

Meanwhile, Living Earth schemed. He knew that he could not best his brother in magic to take the kingdom by force, especially with the Elements at his command, and so, to take the throne, he devised a more subtle plan to discredit Arcana and his family in the eyes of the ponies. This, he reasoned, would cause them to seek a new ruler, and he would be there to humbly accept their offer.

His first target was the beautiful Celestia Sol. All who looked upon her we enamored by her exquisite beauty, and her radiance rivaled that of the sun at noonday. Alas, her would-be suitors courted her in vain, for she toyed with the hearts of many, but gave her own heart to none. Quite shallow at this early age, she loved to bask in the adoration of those around her. Unfortunately, she held only disgust and contempt for those who were not ponies. Despite her father's disapproval, she openly mocked those few of other races that tried to win her hoof.

Amongst her many admirers was a young Draconequis named Scrodid. Although he admired her beauty, he saw her cruel treatment of those not of ponykind and remained a distant admirer. Living Earth, through his scryings, learned of Scrodid's admiration and hatched a plan. He carefully devised a spell that would cause those it struck to instantly fall in love with each other. Surely a courtship between Arcana's most beautiful daughter and a motley creature such as a Draconequis would bring shame and embarrassment upon Arcana and his family. On a beautiful day, near the end of the summer, Living Earth came disguised into Canterlot and, seeing Celestia surrounded by admirers and Scrodid a ways off, cast his spell.

But Living Earth had forgotten one thing; Arcana knew his brothers well. Arcana had forseen an attack on his family and had placed powerful protective spells around them. Though Living Earth's spell struck Scrodid and affected him in full, the spell rebounded off of Celestia, hurtling back at it's caster. Living Earth quickly erected a shield and deflected the spell, now a chaotic mass of arcane energy, to Scrodid. When it struck, it fused with Scrodid's mind and magic, causing him to become quite ill. Living Earth returned to his castle, fuming at his failure. Scrodid returned home where he lay sic upon his bed for several weeks as the chaotic magic fused with him. Celestia, through it all, was oblivious.

As soon as Scrodid was recovered, he went to Celestia and proclaimed his undying love for her, saying that she was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen. Celestia responded with disgust and cruelty, telling poor Scrodid that he was the most hideous MONSTER that she had ever seen before turning and flying away. For the next season, Scrodid tried time and time again to earn Celestia's affection, but all in vain as she continued to reject him and call him a MONSTER.

By the time winter fell, so had Scrodid's hope, and he fell into deep despair. As the winter passed, the chaotic magics within Scrodid warped his sorrow into hatred. He began to despise Celestia, a feeling that soon grew to include all Alicorns, as well as ponykind. As the winter grew colder, so too did his heart. He thrust himself into the study of powerful and ancient magics and fell into the dark paths of chaos. Over the next several years, he studied and perfected the ways of chaos. He began to exercise his power upon ponies, causing them to fight against each other and forget friendships. He took upon himself a new name: DISCORD.

This did not go unnoticed by Arcana and Stormy Skies, and they began to fight against Discord's magic. To their great astonishment, however, they found that only their most powerful magics could affect him at all, as he had gained a large part of his power from Living Earth. They hastened to send epistles to Alicorns in every corner of the world, kindred and friends, to call upon them to fight this menace. The Alicorns eagerly responded to the call, more than willing to aid their brethren. They also called upon the Draconequi for aid, but the race of the Draconequi had been dwindling for millennia, and Scrodid, now Discord, had been seen as likely to be the last of his kind ever to be born. Nevertheless, they rallied behind the Alicorns to stop this daemon of their own kind.

Discord was enraged by the betrayal of his kin, and ceased his campaign for a time. He hunted down and challenged the Draconequi one by one, killing them and draining their magic. Eventually, he was the last Draconequis upon the face of the world. Then, Discord's true reign began. He found the great prison of Tartarus, and released the Three Terrors, Slaughter, Famine and Plague, upon the land.

Each of the three Alicorn brothers had been given power by The Great King over one of the Three Terrors, as the entrance to Tartarus was located in their kingdom. To Stormy Skies had been given power over Slaughter, and so, sensing Slaughter's release, he went alone to confront the Terror and sealed him away once again. Alas! He had fallen into Discord's trap, for as soon as Slaughter had been sealed, Discord was upon Stormy Skies. Many an Alicorn had already been slain by Discord's claw, but for Celestia's beloved uncle there would be no such merciful end. Stormy Skies was tortured, twisted, and mutated under Discord's power until he was little more than a spiritual cloud of evil, envy, and hatred. Discord named the corrupted shade, NIGHTMARE.

Slaughter was sealed, but Famine and Plague raged throughout the land. Arcana dared not confront Plague and suffer the same fate as his brother, for whom there was much mourning. Living Earth did not confront Famine, but for a different reason. Near the beginning of the conflict with Discord, Living Earth had sent word to Arcana that he would not join in the fight unless Arcana named him, Living Earth, sole king of the land. Arcana had refused even to answer Living Earth's epistle, for he would not have Living Earth to reign with none to check him.

As the war continued, many Alicorns and ponies fell to disease, starvation, and the general disasters caused by Discord's magic. A few short years after the sealing of Slaughter, there remained only four Alicorns left alive: Arcana, Living Earth, Celestia Sol, and Luna Starlight. By virtue of their youth, Celestia and Luna withstood the plagues and remained strong despite the want of food, but their mother had passed, and their father and uncle were beginning to succumb: Arcana to hunger, and Living Earth to a horrible disease that had taken root within him.

One evening, as Arcana flew home alone from an unsuccessful campaign against Famine in New Yoke, he contemplated the state of the war. He realized that, unless something was done soon, Discord would win the war and destroy everything that he loved. It was during this evening flight home that he decided upon what must be done.

That night he called his beloved daughters to him. Celestia, he said. Luna. My beautiful sun and moon. This war has taxed me greatly, even beyond my ability to bear. I constantly hunger, and the conflict causes my body to weary. I am dying. My power is still great, but my body is too frail to channel it as I once did. I can no longer fight against Discord, and you are not strong enough to stop him on your own. This land is lost.

But not for good. Since the passing of your dear mother, I had feared that The Elements Of harmony were lost to our use. But thou, Celestia, art loyal, generous and humorous. And thou, Luna, art honest, kind, and powerful. But not powerful enough. You each possess enough magic to wield only one Element besides your own, and I am too week to channel the Element of Power any longer. The Elements Of Harmony are all that can stop Discord, and you must be the ones to use them.

But how? asked Luna. Thou hast said it thyself. We do not possess the power to wield them alone. Where shall we obtain such power?

Arcana smiled sadly. My flesh is weak, but my magic remains powerful.

Celestia did not understand, but Luna did. No! Father, thou canst not! Please, do not do this!

Arcana closed his eyes and lit his horn for the last time. When it is finished, hide yourselves amongst the Dragons. When the power has transformed you, return and conquer Discord. Establish Peace. Rule with justice. He opened his eyes and gazed lovingly upon his daughters one last time, the one fighting back tears, and the other looking on confused. I love you both. With those final words, the spell, composed of his power, will and very being burst forth, shredding his body to ruins. It struck Celestia and Luna, infusing them with Arcana's final gift. There was no time to mourn. They quickly gathered the Elements and fled to the land of Dragons.

Arcana's spell did not go unnoticed. Both Living Earth and Discord felt the explosion of magic in Canterlot, and when they could not find Arcana, Celestia or Luna with their scryings, (for magic has little effect on Dragons or their lands) they both reasoned that Arcana had destroyed himself rather than suffer at Discord's claw and had taken his daughters with him. While Discord fumed and raged in anger, for he had told himself that he would take great pleasure in torturing Celestia, Living Earth rejoiced. The kingdom was his for the taking! All that stood in his way was what he considered to be a pestering Draconequis. And as the last of the Alicorns, he would return not as a mere king, but as a god! So sure was he of himself that he hunted down Famine and imprisoned him just to draw Discord's attention.

It worked.

The battle was great and terrible, destroying mountains, splitting valleys, and burying canyons. Living Earth attacked Discord with the body of Mother Earth itself, while Discord used all of the chaos at his disposal. After many days, and many upheavals of the land, Living Earth lay defeated. Discord stood over the unconscious Alicorn, he himself drained from the battle.

Suddenly, a cry rang out, and an army of Earth Ponies surrounded Discord on every side, determined to rescue their father, Living Earth, and defeat Discord in his weakened state. It would all be in vain, for as the army was about to charge, Discord reached down and grasped the unconscious Living Earth by his horn, and began to drain him. It was Living Earth's spell that had given Discord such great power at the first, and it was his life force, as well as the last vestiges of his power, that fueled Discord now. The army watched on in horror as Living Earth crumbled into dust.

But Discord was not finished. So far as he knew, he had just destroyed the last of the Alicorns, and now he intended to make an example of these ponies to show the world what happened to those who dared to oppose him. Using the powers that he had just stolen, Discord caused trees to begin growing around, throughout, and even into the Earth Ponies that surrounded him. When he was done, he was surrounded by a forest of imprisoned Earth ponies, trapped within the trees. He ironically named this forest, Everfree, and there he placed his castle and throne.

For the next ten years, Discord reigned uncontested. Nopony dared to oppose him, and no other nation wanted to incur his wrath or draw his ire. Though he remained within the nation of ponies, he was regarded as the true ruler of the world. Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna were slowly changing. Their father's magic was slowly working on them, and they began to learn to wield it. Not only that, but the magic was strengthening their bodies so that they were no longer subject to disease, hunger or thirst. After ten years amongst the Dragons, they were finally powerful enough to wield The Elements Of Harmony by themselves. It was time to return home.

When Famine had been sealed, Discord had caused a drought to take his place while Plague continued to run rampant. Having inherited power over Plague from their father, Celestia and Luna sealed him away and used their magic to end the drought. Discord was surprised and delighted to discover that Celestia was alive. He had grown quite bored of uncontested rulership, and was quite eager to start another war. He rallied his minions of chaos and began making preparations for warfare. He was thus caught off guard when Celestia and Luna, rather than rally the ponies to arms, came for him directly. They chased him from his throne in the Everfree Forest. They never let him rest, not even for an instant, lest he turn and begin a counter attack. Finally, he could go no further, and he turned to face them. It was then that he recognized that they bore The Elements Of harmony, and he mocked them, supposing that they could not wield them by themselves.

He underestimated them.

When the light cleared, Discord stood trapped in stone, and harmony had been restored to the land. There were still some probems to deal with. During Discord's reign, his magic had seeped into everything in the land. Plants no longer thrived as they had before. Most animals had lost many of their instincts necessary to survival. The weather stod still, and even the sun and moon had forgotten their natural cycle. From that day forth, it became the duty of Pegasi to take care of the weather, while Earth Ponies took care of plants and animals, all except for in the Everfree Forest, from which Discord's magic never fully disappeared. Celestia began to raise the sun every morning, while Luna raised the moon every evening. The ponies named Celestia and Luna as queens over the land, and named the reformed country EQUESTRIA. And so, Queen Celestia and Queen Luna ruled over Equestria in peace and harmony.

That is, until Nightmare possessed Queen Luna. But that is another story.

And thus ended The Arcane Era Of Equestria.