The Rising of the Brothers of Light and Dark

by Dark Dienen

Prologue

Before the rise of Twilight, the rule of Celestia, the betrayal of Luna, the greed of Tirek, the anarchy of Discord, the slavery of Sombra, the birth of Harmony or the taming of nature; there was darkness, light, and the four kingdoms. Each kingdom was ruled by the three pony tribes of old and each shunned the other, save for the Crystal Kingdom, which welcomed all within. For generation upon generation, each of the kingdoms had been at war upon the other. Until the days of Nightshade.

Arriving from across the seas, a stallion named Nightshade brought his army of horses to the world of the ponies. Upon arrival, he made clear his intentions upon becoming king of all he surveyed. And with those words declared war upon the ponies.

Although each kingdom fought valiantly, the horses unique skills of might and magic were too much for the ponies. Each of the kingdoms had lost precious ground to their invaders. After years of war, each of the tribes saw advantage in making peace with their neighbors against their common foe.

And so it was decided that Rune, champion amongst the earth ponies, would lead alongside Twister, fearless leader of the pegasi, Arcane Bolt, arch mage of the unicorns, and Clear Skies, commander of the Crystal Ponies. With their combined might, they not only managed to halt the invaders advance, but reroute them back to the sea. As each inch of ground was regained, the invaders numbers dwindled with each passing day. However, they underestimated Nightshades ambitions.

In a last desperate and cowardly move, a small force of Nightshade's troops invaded each of the kingdoms in the dead of night. Although most of the force had been eradicated, they had managed to accomplish their mission of kidnapping the heirs of their royalty. Nightshade demanded the surrender of the kingdoms, claiming he would murder them by Summer's End if his terms were not met. Realizing that he was unlikely to keep his word, the generals amassed their forces and marched upon the invader's stronghold. Clear Skies returned to the Crystal Kingdom with promises of reinforcements upon her return. After a week, the generals dared not wait any longer and took matters into their own hooves...