“There are hundreds of them, most of which are detailed in these pages. They call themselves many things, Linnorms, The Tane, Overfiends, The Asura, Brahmii, and others that defy casual pronunciation. But collectively we refer to them as Titans, Things that Came Before.”
Raj scanned the pages in front of him, his own rudimentary knowledge of pony script blocking even the simplest comprehension. He said nothing, letting Luna continue.
“They created the soil, the sky, the very wind. All that is was built by a Titan long ago. For what purpose, it is not for we to say. Their motivations could only be speculated upon, for whom can gauge the desires and thoughts of beings who were ancient enough to see the birth of mine sister's sun. But Briarus,” she tapped the page “his wants and needs are plain to see: he exists for naught but destruction and violence, a true terror upon this or any world. That I have witnessed firsthoof.”
Twilight nodded “Back during the Forming Wars, right? Long before Equestria was... well, Equestria?”
“Indeed Twilight Sparkle, your words know truth. It was mine privilege to stand alongside The Faustmare, Mother of Alicorns and progenitor of all things Equine. It was she who cast out those Titans that had not yet left for the far flung reaches or lain down to wait out this iteration of the universe, banishing all those that stood in the way of peace to Tartarus.” She turned a page with a swell of magic “Briarus amongst them. From what my mother deigned explain before her ascension, that bellicose beast was the most difficult to restrain.”
Raj studied the next page, seeing a smaller illustration of Briarus, each limb bound in chains. “Alright, interesting, but why did you attack me? I'm not a thousand feet tall and made of arms.”
“Nay, thou art possessed of but four extremities, that much is plain. But you are unmistakeably a spawn of that beastly titan. Of that, there is not doubt.”
Raj sneered a bit “No, I'm not. My parents were Bhupinder and Aasa and, I can assure you, they were not Hekatonkheire.”
She gave him an icy stare “We were not speaking of thy parentage Rajrishi, but the progenitor of your race. All creatures count at least one Titan as their progenitor, and Hoomans-”
“It's Humans.”
“-Humans undoubtedly sprang from Briarus' numerous loins.”
“Okay, first of all, gross, that's gross. Don't say that kind of stuff. Secondly, that doesn't answer my question. What does some ancient monster that may have created my species matter? Why did it make you attack me?”
Luna paused for a second and nodded, like she was affirming something to herself “Briarus's rage was only challenged by his libidinous nature. He spawned dozens of races, the Naga, the Centaur, the Harpies, all were birthed by Briarus in times long ago and share qualities that mark them as such.” she turned a page and pointed “Hands, each with five fingers or a permanent mark of such on their form, such as the coloration on the rear of a Naga's hood or a Harpy's five taloned claw. Second, a flattened face, constructed similarly to wrathful Briarus himself. Thirdly, a hunger for the flesh of other creatures, regardless of it's source.” She looked at Rajrishi evenly “We have smelled the blood on thine breath since the moment we met thee, so it is certain as well.”
“So I eat meat, big deal. Lots of things eat meat. I don't see what-”
“And lastly,” she interrupted “all of Briarus' spawn are possessed of destructive natures and an aptitude and willingness to commit violence against beast, sentient, and pony alike.” She set her hoof “There has been not a single Briarus-spawned race, not even the redeemed Minotaurs, that have not cursed Equestria in some way with their mere existence. The Underhoof Wars by the Diamond Dogs, the Zebrican Rebellion by the Centaurs, Ponies kidnapped and eaten in the night by Nagas, the list is never ending, the atrocities committed by that vile beast's lineage are too many to count. Even after most have been locked away in Tartarus with their ancient parent, they continue to plague Equinity into the present day.” She said matter-of-factually, not letting her face betray any emotion.
Luna lowered her head and let out a breath “That is why we assaulted you Rajrishi, from mine eyes an unknown creature spawned from the most dangerous beast to ever exist appeared before us in the presence of one of our precious few friends. We believed you to be an escaped prisoner from Tartarus and we, or rather, I... reacted poorly. Once again, you have our apologies.” she lowered her head.
Raj frowned “Been there actually.”
“I can only imagine. As stated, we owe you a debt, regardless of thine lineage. Mayhap your kind are an exception to the rules as we know them. For that, I pray.” her horn sparked and the massive book closed. “Twilight Sparkle, we will not do you the disservice of presenting such a massive reservoir of knowledge and remove it before you have had an opportunity for study. We shall leave the Book of Titans in your stewardship for the time being. Peruse it at your will.”
Twilight beamed and hopped in the air, her legs flailing underneath her. “Oh my gosh, thank you Princess!”
“Think nothing of it. It is the least we can do as we will be forced to postpone the aid we promised. Our combat and following healing has left us quite fatigued. Likely the return to Canterlot will leave us largely drained. My apologies Twilight Sparkle.”
“Apologies are not necessary Luna. Despite the... unpleasantness I learned a great deal today.” Twilight bowed and Luna returned it slightly.
Luna looked at Raj curiously for a few moments before saying cryptically “We shall likely return in a few days. We will send correspondence by your dragon. Farewell.” she clopped out of the blasted-off door and flapped hard, launching herself into the sky.
Raj crossed his arms and watched her fade into the sky. “Don't think I like that one very much.”
“That's understandable. She did attack you with the intention of locking you up in Tartarus, but she had a legitimate reason.”
“Yeah, which pretty much boiled down to racism. I got enough of that crap back home.”
She cocked her head “People thought you were a dangerous beast back on Earth?”
Raj opened his mouth to respond, thought about it, and shrugged “Actually, yeah. Some did, but even where I live they're considered cranks.”
“Oh, that's... awful. Well, anyways, at least we made progress today and got a useful new resource.” She tapped the book “Hopefully it will be useful in getting you a way home.”
Raj leaned back in his chair “Don't see how it can.”
She furrowed her brow “What are you talking about? This is a huge discovery!”
“Yeah, academically. Knowing an old story is interesting I suppose, but it's not going to tell me how I can get home. So the legend of Equestria is that some ancient gods made every race and passed some traits on. Big deal.”
“Rajrishi, how can you be so short-sighted?” she closed the massive book with a burst of magic “What if the legend ends up being true?”
Raj blinked “I don't follow.”
Twilight rolled her eyes “Rajrishi, if Briarus is the Titan that made humans, then Briarus has to have moved between both Earth and Equestria! That means the connection we've been theorizing on is real, there is a way to move between the two worlds.”
Raj leaned back further “Ohhh, damn. I hadn't thought of that.”
She stuck her tongue out “Well, that's what I'm here for. I'll have to read this book cover to cover, see what's known about Briarus' abilities and if hopping between planetary bodies was something he could do, but it's a lead Rajrishi. Our first one.”
“Our first real lead...” Raj leaned into his hand, face blank from thought. It was flimsy, apocryphal, based on information literally thousands of years old, and relied on him ignoring everything he knew about human history and development, but it was something. “Thank you Twilight Sparkle.”
“No need Rajrishi, this is all fascinating to me. I'll- ack!” she exclaimed as Raj grabbed her by the withers and pulled her into a tight hug, smiling blissfully.