//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Harmony of Third Earth // by ladyarcana //------------------------------// They say ponies once lived in peace and harmony. That they frolicked and played together all day long. No worries plagued their daily lives as princesses protected them from even the smallest danger. Values of “friendship” were sought after, while chaos was a dear friend to liven up their routines. It’s said they were “happy” with this existence. Then the ponies were captured, and discovered the truth. That they lived on a planet called Equis. A planet ruled by the magic of four alicorns and shielded by a sleeping alicorn called Faust. The sun and moon were satellites, augmenting the powerful spell hiding this place from the universe. The unique pony species was greatly valued for its rare natural magic. This was our undoing for the day HE came. The day peace and harmony was destroyed. The day their planet was lost. The time of Eternal Sorrow. The end of the Alicorn Reign. It became: The Era of Mum-Ra! The Ever Living! Mum-Ra told them they were invaluable. That they were his special slaves, kept separate from the others. He had to keep them on a separate sister ship away from his, so other slaves would not be tempted to eat them. They were precious, needed for his ultimate goal. A goal only magic could achieve, the combined magic of their species. From initial captivity, they were kept enslaved in one pony plas-metal cages. Traveled in space a spaceship following the master/mothership. Every moment of sleeping and waking, watched by omni-lens cameras and bipedal cats, all controlled by master Mum-Ra. The inverted sphere setup ensures visibility of the others anytime. Gem infused shock collars, have been placed on them. Horseshoes were forced on hooves to ensure additional obedience outside the ship. Control was not all by necklets and shoes. It was also done by consumption of the weak ponies, in front of any suspected acts of rebellion. Mares refusing to quietly give up foals, got to care for it after their babies were skinned. Sometimes the father of the foal was included in the act of removing the baby’s flesh. Though it seemed that some of the cats found were of diverse minds; so some fed extra medication to the foals, others “slipped” with the surgical laser at vital arteries. Reproduction is no longer a result of two ponies finding their special somepony. It is an artificial stimulation of the males and forced impregnation of selected females, for their own safety. The mothers were allowed to give birth in a computerized room designed for optimum monitoring of vitals. The mares raised the foals until six months of age, from then on she lost physical contact with her baby. As the smaller ship followed Mum-ra’s, the most powerful unicorns were brought out. Commanded to use magic to follow contrails of power, and exposed to radioactive debris. Walking the outer walls of the ship’s perimeter in space. The heavy shoes, nailed on their hooves, kept these ponies from floating away. When a suitable planet or solar system was found. The cats would ride the unicorns’ hornless brethren. Electric reins, attached to the necklets, gave the cats better control while exploring the power sources. They were ridden hard to cover the dangerous terrain often found. Any lame ponies were on the planet; left there as it was reformed into a power gem. Many times these journeys would require the felines ride the pegasi ponies. Featherless wings could handle the winds of space. So those stallions without feathers were milked and used to breed more featherless offspring from the breeding mares. The best pony, of each breed, was used as the leader in all jobs. Superior in magic detection, stamina, and flight in varying atmospheres. Of all the ponies alicorns were the hardest to make or breed. They were also the most stubborn, even after the youngest was made an example. The ponies were constantly experimented on and bred. A multitude of attempts were made to increase their number, until these mares were just mindless drones. Soulless creatures no longer needing control devices. They were dying, all of the ponies. This species could not survive forever off planet. They needed a connection to land, water, fresh sky; the elements needed for the magic Mum-Ra used. As the ponies’ magic faded the value of these creatures receded. The care of the ship declining apace with their usefulness. Except for those necklets and shoes, those tools of enslavement were always pristine. Always on the ponies and placed on them from the first hour after birth. The cats knew when to have the devices fixed. Knew when a foal was ready for indoctrination. They even recycled the contraptions after an old mare or stallion died, ready and waiting for the next pony to wear. ################################################################################### A white unicorn once said that we were: Protected by a loving hoof too tightly. As she bowed her head after seeing what had come. Her head still hangs. It’s kept preserved in an electrified orb floating in the middle of unicorn sector. Some of the ponies rumored that it was her powering the ship. Her mind integrated into the computer’s matrix motherboard. An immortal prisoner imprisoning her own kind for Mum-Ra. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen Majesty Data Logs: Transmission to Book of Omens: Complete Backup Data: Deleted Secret Storage Backup Data: Triple Encyrption; Enabled, Access with Harmony Code Required Emergency Tripwire Progam: Enabled Memory Space; 80% Available Welcome User, how may Queen Majesty serve you?