//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Path of the Unforgiven 
// by HeatseekerX51 
//------------------------------//

	

ß is pronounced as a double 's' sound (ex.hiss) / Æ is pronounced like 'ey' (ex.hey)



“Once upon a time… within the borders of the magical land of Equestria, was the realm of Thule. Thule was ruled by two royal Unicorn brothers powerful in magic, who reigned together, harshly but justly. The elder brother used his wisdom to govern the land, the younger used his maleficent cunning to defend the realm from enemies. Thus the two brothers maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects. 
But as time went on, the younger sibling became jealous; the ponies praised the leadership and strength his elder brother upheld, but shunned and feared him for the ways he kept their kingdom safe from without. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to attend his duties, and demanded to rule his own kingdom. The elder brother tried to reason with him, but the bitterness in the young one’s heart transformed him into a wicked stallion of shadows: King Sombra.

OVER 1,000 YEARS AGO

In the harsh lands of northern Equestria, lay the kingdom of Thule. After the foiling of the Windigos, and the settlement of the rich southern lands wherein the ever-contentious pony tribes finally found peace, there remained unicorns that stayed true to their ancient soil. Thule, as it came to be called, far removed from being the domain of the selfish and spoiled told of in modern myths, was inhabited by brave and hardy unicorn ponies. These used their magic not only to move the Sun and Moon, but also keep at bay the multitudes of creatures that desired to wreck havoc and destruction on the helpless lands to the south. 
Thule, while a part of Equestria by extension, never truly submitted themselves to be ruled by their southern kindred, instead preferring their condition of virtual autonomy. A single lineage arose from the ranks of the former nobility to become the hereditary kings and queens. Realizing that administering Thule and the constant vigilance required to protect Equestria was too much for any one pony, co-regents split the tasks. 
Now Thule had steadfastly maintained its ancient faith in their pantheon of deities, nameless gods and goddesses of the mountains, the ice, the wind, of fire. And even after the coming of the Alicorns and the defeat of the chaos demon Discord, Thule remained faithful. Though they did acquiesce to the Alicorn sisters becoming the rulers of all Equestria, and thusly, their overlords.
And so they lived for generations, keeping the realms of Pony safe from the north while other threats emerged from elsewhere. 
There came a time however, when evil would finally find its way into the stoic kingdom. It was during the reign of Æclypse and his brother ßombra. 
Æclypse, despite being a member of the royal bloodline, began his legacy among the Thulian Guard, proving himself an capable fighter, and adept leader of ponies. His greatest feat came when he alone stood in the howling mountain winds between a Fyre Drake and a column of fleeing civilians. Æclypse defeated the drake, and smote his ruins upon the mountain. It would be the last time a Fyre Drake was seen. 
Despite his combat ability, Æclypse was always more disposed towards philosophy and the realities of running a kingdom. And when the time came, his mother and father who had ruled as king and queen before him, crowned him as Principate of the Kingdom. His younger brother however, could make no such claims to glory. 
ßombra, unlike his brother had taken full advantage of his station and enjoyed the privileged life of luxury. Pampered from birth, ßombra eschewed the dedication and effort Æclypse displayed, and favored the assertion of his birth right to get what he wanted. Never one to lower himself to the paltry ranks of the Guard, ßombra pursued types of magic that would empower him personally. 
But that’s not to say ßombra had the magical advantage over his brother, far from it. More than once Æclypse found it necessary to restrain ßombra when a bout of rage overtook him, the result of one slight or another to his princely status. In truth the brothers were two of most potent magic wielders unicorns had ever seen, and Thule braced itself for the oncoming reign. 
When a new Principate of the Kingdom is named, they are granted the right to appoint the Principate of the Guard, a role subordinate only to the former. To the astonishment of all, Æclypse named his brother as Principate of the Guard, over the objections of the royal court, and the questioning of his parents. Æclypse justified his decision by telling the detractors that they underestimated ßombra, and that he had full faith in his brothers capability. 
In time, Æclypse’s wisdom would bear true, as ßombra used his varied magical abilities to confound and ruin those malign forces that thought to capture Thule and spill into Equestria. And while ßombra was still feared and mistrusted, no one underestimated his capabilities anymore. 
Æclypse himself became renown for his wise administration of the kingdom, and his firm but fair ministering of justice. He showed mercy on those who deserved it, and showed none to those who did not. Thule grew prosperous under his reign, and he was recognized as one of finest rulers in all Equestria, second only to Celestia.
But ßombra grew malcontent in his position, and desired not to switch places with his brother, but to conquer and rule his own kingdom. The far northern lands of the Yak tribes were unattractive to him, being mostly useless, sparsely populated tundra. The southern lands of Equestria were off limits, as the Alicorns would surely take notice of him seizing control of a major city. There remained one option, an independent realm that occupied a similar position between the far north and the south, the Crystal Empire. 
The Empire used a powerful magic spell to protect it from the elements and enemies, but ßombra, cunning and devious, figured out a way to bypass the spell’s protection. At first he approached Æclypse with his plan to annex the Crystal Empire and rule it himself, thinking it to be a coup to rival his brothers accomplishments. But Æclypse saw great folly in the venture, and declined to aid him in any way. 
For a while ßombra stewed, his desire for independent power growing. The use of dark magic had long taken root in ßombra, and intensified his feelings of jealously and drive for conquest. Finally, ßombra could bear his inner demons no more, and set his mind to dominating the Empire with or without his brother’s permission. 
One day, ßombra refused to carry out the duties of the Thulian guard, and made one last demand on his brother to join him. Again, Æclypse refused and tried to make ßombra see reason. But the zeal for his ambition was too deeply entrenched, and ßombra stormed out of the Kingdom of Thule amidst a cloud of darkness, never to return.
So ßombra conquered the Crystal Empire, disposing of the radiant Queen Amore, declared himself King, and bound all the inhabitants to abject slavery. 
Æclypse was petitioned high and low to venture out and put an end to his brother’s madness, just as he had in their youth. But the Prince declined, saying that it was not the place of Thule to interfere with sovereign territories outside of Equestria. But most knew of another reason, that the only way for ßombra to be stopped, would be to destroy him, an act that only Æclypse could manage, and only Æclypse would shun. 
As ßombra had predicted, the royal Alicorns Celestia and Luna, upon hearing of ßombra’s cruelty, set out to depose the self-declared king. While Luna went ahead to scout the Empire, Celestia traveled to Thule for the first time in generations, to appeal to Æclypse personally. The meeting unfortunately, would only make things worse. 
Words were traded between Celestia and Æclypse, the Alicorn switching between pleas to justice and imposing her rank as demi-goddess. Æclypse was only angered by her attempts to intimidate and bludgeon him with virtue. He reminded her that Thule recognized her rule as a gesture of good will, not because they felt any particular loyalty to the southern lands. He further reminded her that while she had been ruling peacefully since the fall of Discord, Thule had remained a breeding ground of strong, warrior unicorns, and that any attempt to coerce Thule into anything, would result in a terrible war. He then told her that those who raised arms against their kin were despised by the gods, and doomed to catastrophe. 
The ponies of his court were shocked to hear him speak to their arch-ruler that way, though they agreed that he was correct nonetheless. Dismayed, Celestia warned him that after they defeated ßombra, they would return to administer royal justice to the good prince who allowed evil to prosper. 
Luna and Celestia did defeat King ßombra, banishing him to a prison of eternal ice and snow. But ßombra had laid a trap, putting a curse on the city that caused the Crystal Empire to vanish. With the despot cast down, but their victory hollow, the Alicorns returned to Thule to punish Æclypse for his refusal to act. 
Celestia declared an end to the hereditary royal line of Thule, and exiled Æclypse from Equestria for the rest of his life. As further punishment for his decision not to stop evil despite the ability to do so, she dubbed him: ‘Æclypse the Unforgiven‘. His former citizens now bowing to the Alicorns, Æclypse left Thule to travel the world, never to see his homeland again. 
The once great kingdom became desolate as it’s denizens left to settle in the warm, fertile southern lands, and eventually, Thule was lost to history. 
In time, the Crystal Empire and King ßombra would fade from memory as well, until one day, when ßombra’s curse finally gave out, and those who were forgotten, returned.