Just over 33 years ago. In a forgotten castle in the frozen north, a shrouded figure sits at a dilapidated desk, writing feverishly on a scrap of parchment.
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Anger engulfs happiness. Darkness engulfs light. Death engulfs life. I could go on describing the intricacies of our fragile existences but then I would never get to the point.
I am one who has felt the sting of betrayal at the hands of those I felt I could trust, and from one that I felt I loved. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it through this with out forgetting why I started it in the first place, but this feeling wont go away, this voice wont stop, not until I get it out.
It all started with us and them. The alicorns and the draconiquis. We were born from the need of existence in an unformed land. Alicorns, created with an innate grasp of magic, conjured the world around us. The draconiquise, with their exceptional physical abilities, shaped and molded the world to help life flourish. All was peaceful, all was calm, and the two races coexisted for a time. Equestria as we know it was born from this relationship.
But the pony races and dragon kind were born from their war.
Jealousy fueled hatred boiled in the blood of the draconiquise. "Why do we have to shape the land? Why cant we create?"
Fear driven alicorn retribution. "They will wipe us out! They're savages!"
In the end, the gifts of any one side were not enough to decide the war, and so the king of the draconiquse had to seek power elsewhere. He delved into dark magics that predated existence it self. Using these dark spells he opened a door that was sealed by beings not of this reality. Beyond this door he found himself wandering a plane of unspeakable nightmares. And in his wanderings he found a power unequaled. The power to shape reality at will and twist existence with a whim. He bargained for this power greedily, unhindered by it's steep price. Victory over the arrogant alicorns was worth any price. But was it truly? For this power he had to give up the only thing guiding his actions, his sanity. As the deal was struck the terrible reality hit him all to late. As he watched, his form twisted into a hideous mockery of it's former glory. His horns were replaced by those of a dear and a goat. One of his dragon wings tore free of his body and fluttered to the ground. In its place grew a new feathered wing. His scales sloshed off in rivets of terrible agony remaining only on his tail and in their place grew fur of two different colors. Three of his legs began to twist and change. One became that of an eagle, one a lion, and the other a pony. His face lost its dragon figure and distorted into a cross pony/goat shape. And lastly was the change not visible, his mind. Like removing a splinter his sanity was ripped out. And for a moment he was calm, getting used to his new form and perspective. The moment after was filled with mad laughter as he appeared in his own reality once more. In this moment the monstrosity known as Discord was born.
With his newly acquired power he made quick work of the alicorns. Favoring the method of tearing their very being apart, splitting them into three. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. But with the loss of his sanity he did not recognize friend from foe. Only creatures that could, given the right modifications, serve his need for entertainment. He tore his own people apart as he did the alicorns, creating dragons and the other equine races that inhabit the world. And over these poor creatures, whom possessed nether the means nor the will to resits, he ruled. His reign of chaos lasted for hundreds of years.
That is until the last remaining alicorns found a means to free their unfortunate kin. Among the six survivers their was a mother and her two young daughters, a priestess, a warrior, and a young scribe. With their combined power they conjured a door, not to unlike the one Discord summoned, and found a realm of perfect order. There they too met a being possessing power beyond any they could have imagined, but it would not give them the power to destroy Discord. Its belief was that balance must be maintained and since Discord spreads disharmony they must fight him with harmony. He gave to them the seed of harmony and told them that if it found them worthy, it would supply them with the means to restore balance to their world through harmony. It told them to bury the seed and it would sprout and grow in six days. Each day one of them must prove to it that they are worthy of this power. And if it finds them all worthy, on the seventh day they must harvest the fruits that grow. These will give them the power they need to restore the balance. They returned home and planted the seed in a cavern to hide it from Discord's gaze.
On the first day, the priestess told the seed of her entire life, leaving no detail out, and creating no false truths. The seed sprouted into a seedling. On the second day the scribe told the seedling a humorous story that his mother used to tell him to cheer him up. The seedling sprouted into a foot tall sapling. On the third day The warrior told the sapling of his home. Of how he would help the children there, teaching them to fly, play games, and use magic. The sapling grew into a six foot tall tree. On the fourth day The older sister gave the tree her most prized possession, a pendant carved by her sibling. The tree grew to its full height. On the fifth day the younger sister swore to protect all those who's fears lingered after they brought harmony back to the world. The tree grew flowers. On the sixth day the mother used her power to summon a picture of her people before discords chaos. The flowers bloomed. Then on the seventh day from those flowers grew six crystals. Every crystal reacted with one of the alicorns. Each representing a virtue of harmony they presented to the tree.
To the mother, Magic. The magic of love, friendship, and family. To the younger daughter, Loyalty. Loyalty to protect those who she holds dear. To the older daughter, Generosity. The generosity to give all to help another. To the warrior, Kindness. The kindness to help any and all who are in need. To the scribe, Laughter. Laughter that can lift the heaviest heart from sorrow and give hope for a better future. And to the priestess, Honesty. Honesty that shines through any cloud of lies to lead the way to harmony.
Armed with their new power, the Elements of Harmony, they readied themselves for the confrontation to come. But nothing could prepare them for what Discord had planed. He had known of their actions as soon as they set hoof back from their little trip. He had prepared a special punishment for their rebellion. When they confronted him he cast a spell on them, one that took its sinister toll. It was designed to turn each of the alicorns into the opposite of the element they represented. The priestess became hollow and deceitful. Her form mirrored the change by producing holes throughout her body. She became a creature that has to lie to survive, a Changeling. The warrior's form twisted and putrefied into a half dead monstrosity. He became a Litch. A creature that spreads plague and suffering. The scribe's form became paled and shriveled. He became a Revant, a creature that emanates sorrow and cold. The mother began to fade. The element of magic represents not only the magic of love and friendship but creation it self, and so the opposite of her element is to cease existing entirely. But as she faded and the magic drained from her she cast a counter spell to spare her daughters. It succeeded in stopping the curse and her daughters took up their fallen comrades elements. With heavily burdened hearts they channeled all their power into the elements and used their bond and determination to bind discord in stone.
After the fall of Discord the sisters banished the fallen alicorns, having no way to revers the spell that corrupted them. The Litch they bound in a white moon stone and buried it with in the earth. The Revant they sealed in a castle in the frozen north. He was aloud some freedom since he didn't actively seek to harm others. And the Changeling was banished to the far side of the great ocean, left to wander a land where her lies could do no harm.
They then took up the title of Princess, in honor of their mother the Queen, and led the pony races together. They ruled in harmony for over a thousand years before the effects of the curse resurfaced in the younger sister. She had not been spared entirely and turned on her sister trying to claim the world as her own. The older had no choice but to seal her with in the moon.
.........
The rest is common knowledge. Well it seems I was able to get it all out after all. Perhaps I won't burn this one. I could justify that with the though that if anypony where to read it they would loose faith in their grand leader and sob in uncontrollable sorrow. Heh, or perhaps......I will burden this knowledge on the young filly that plays by the base of my castle. Yes that's it. Seeing the truth burning her happiness away will bring me great joy.
~