• Published 1st Dec 2012
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And that's how Equestria was made! - The Collab Cage



This is a collection retelling the creation, recreation, or random events of Equestria's creation.

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Realm of Shadow and Light


Picture by TakaiWolf.
***

Written by Masterweaver

There was a time, long since past, when the world had no light, no song... no life. There was no day, no night. There was no joy, but neither was there sorrow. There was... no thing.

Into this world stepped our mother. What a magnificent creature she was, young ones, her legs thin and graceful, her wings broad and powerful, her form a living white in shade. With eyes whose color to this day resides in the sky, she looked upon the darkness; the horn that grew forth from her elegant blood red mane emitted the first light the world ever knew, forming into a great quill. She was the Writer.

And so she took to writing. Hither and thither did she fly, sketching small stories out of light itself, and those stories became living worlds. Look up into the night sky, and you shall see them yet; a million upon a million upon a million of individual tales, so far as to look as pinpricks to mortal eyes; not even I have seen them all. Oh what wonderful and terrible things did she make in those first few eons, the dawn of time itself, all in balance and in harmony. Oh what amazing and horrible creatures spawned upon those realms, realms that not even the most long lived and stern willed pegasus can ever touch... It was an age of glorious balance, youths. An age that I wish I could have seen with my own eyes.

Hmmm? No. I am not as old as that.

The Writer made all these worlds of their own nature, but with every realm she poured her heart into she grew exhausted. The dwellers of the world would either acknowledge her not or grow demanding upon her, and she would eventually leave for her next tale. But even in her pain, she gained a constant entourage; true friends, from whatever world she wrote, who understood her and kept her happy. Though always they were mortal, they lifted her spirits; whenever they passed away, she would encase their bodies in great mound of crystal ice. Hmmm? Yes, the comets of the night sky still remain to this day, so much more then any pony has seen... some have taken to collecting them as trophies, much to my ire.

It came to pass that the Writer grew tired of watching her companions succumb to time. Why was it that she could survive forever, but they could not? She sought the answer within herself; she sought it in the lights of the stars. And then she saw the truth: Life was not merely existence, but song. She herself was a great song, and so were the lights in her wake. The friends she had made were melodies, yes, but they were only part of the song; when the song called for them to end, so they would go. In her quest she found their souls resided even yet, watching from the stars that hosted the multitudes who had passed from their respective worlds. But when she tried to gather them up, the stars quavered; the souls of the dead assured her they were happy, and always would hear her, but they could no longer play a part in the orchestra.

What? Oh no, you misunderstand. What you see as stars are in fact the suns, the core of the worlds. Deceased ponies reside not amongst them, but rather glow forevermore on the surface of my sister's sun.

What does the moon do? Little ones... The moon is kept clear so that if a great evil comes, I can call upon its full power. What great evil? Patience, patience!

All that I have said, all that had happened in that era, I know because my Mother told me. You see, she took it upon herself to write two new songs. The first she called Celestia, for she was meant to be a bright seer of the future, able to know of all the potentials. The second, Luna, a contemplation of past failings and successes, disasters and glories. Together the songs were to advise her on her course of actions. But unlike the other songs, which were worlds, these were beings of their own right; she imbued them with more then any of her previous creations, and so did they take portions of their form and make mimicries of her own. To be quite honest, Celestia's was always a tad flashy for my taste, I prefer a more subdued aesthetic. Remind me to tell you about the millennium she chose to be pink--

Well, yes, in a very real sense I am the moon. But you can't very well have a conversation with a celestial orb, can you? Hmmm. It would be best to think of this body as... ambassador? Extension? Call it my face, if you will.

My sister and I flew alongside our Mother, experiencing the variety of worlds. Wherever I landed, the inhabitants grew a taste for the sciences, a curiosity of the underpinnings of the world. Where my sister landed, songs and the arts took form, all exploring the nature of the self. We usually landed together, and would seek to encourage friendship, but sometimes one of us would stay behind to let the other influence a realm. Sometimes we would land after a while, sometimes not. Our journeys were long and amazing, the three of us.

Then... came Discord.

How to explain him....

Every world is a song, little ones. I have said this. A song and a story. And while our mother wrote them all, she did not keep her eye upon them; she had meant for them to become their own stories, and they did. But sometimes, a mortal would find their world's song. Sometimes, a mortal would learn how to... write, and they would rewrite themselves. We did not know of this, but over the ages legions of these risen beings began to fly between the stars. They called themselves dragons, after the beat of one of the most ancient stories. Dra... gon... dra... gon...

Yes, little ones, even this world has a beat. The tribe of the Earth Pony can feel it most easily, but if you listen carefully you may discover the sound you've been hearing all your life.

What do dragons have to do with Discord? Well, you see, he was a dragon himself once. But his lust for power drove him to constantly rewrite himself, to consistently drown out and consume other singers. It came to the point where he grew able to devour stars; his mind shattered, and he declared that the only song he wanted to hear was his own. So while we were all innocently traversing the realm between, he was consuming entire worlds in preparation for his battle with our mother.

The time came when our mother noticed the darkening patch in the sky. She grew wary, wondering what monster could cause such devastation; as her daughters, we went to advise her. My suggestion was to remain where we were, prepare the natives for battle and let the beast come to us in order to usher in its own demise. Celestia, on the other hoof, spat in rage and fury; she wanted blood for all the futures that had been ended, and claimed to delay was to risk complete destruction. The Writer contemplated our words, and came to a decision; I would remain behind while she and Celestia went to battle this wretched foe, crafting the most powerful artifacts of Harmony I could. If she could not defeat the monster on her own, Celestia would be sent back to retrieve the great power.

To this day.... to this day, Celestia has refused to tell me what happened. I know not why, but knowing what I faced later I suspect she was... gravely scarred.

I spent a century on each manifestation of Harmony, consulting with the natives and meditating on my own thoughts. Honesty to know when the song is twisting into senselessness and when it grows strong. The Kindness of strangers, bringing forth singers that would otherwise not be heard. Joy in seeing the new and unusual paths the song could take, no matter how strange. The Generosity it took to allow another to take your melody. Loyalty... to those who are part of the song. Then came the lynchpin; some call it magic, some call it trust, some unity, some friendship. Whatever it was, it would bring together individual singers for a greater whole.

Yes, Joy is Laughter. Neither word is... entirely accurate for the true form of that particular element. It is could be considered to be Hope as well... or Wonder, or Good Cheer.

No sooner then three days after my final craft, the sky of the world I resided on darkened. Celestia crashed before me, bloodied and broken, and on her heels were the Draconequuii, dragon-steeds, those that had taken the same path as Discord. I fought them off as the natives of the world brought my sister into their healing homes, but they would not cease their assault; for every one I killed, five would modify themselves to become immune to that method of death. I grew increasingly creative, battling a hundred thousand at least in a battle that is far too brutal for your ears. The elements of Harmony lay out of my reach, hidden safely away in the homes of trustworthy native.

Then came Discord, singing his... no. It was not a song. It was... the destruction of notes, the shattering and corruption of reality itself. He towered over me, shifting constantly as he deflected my spells; do not assume the shape in the garden was his former shape, nay, in fact he had no shape but that of the void he filled. He proclaimed himself king of the Draconequuii, and by extension emperor of all reality. He toyed with me... I...

I...

....

...thank you, little ones. We all need the comforting presence of another, from time to time...

...Nay, I shall continue. To let the story end at such a critical juncture would be in poor taste. I simply... do not like to think of the time when Discord had me helpless. He... claimed to have done much worse to my sister... and that even that did not approach the torments my mother had endured...

But then, wonder of wonders, Celestia re-emerged, the elements of harmony orbiting in her grasp. Their power blasted into the army inexpertly, but it was enough to release me from the grip of Discord. I flew beside my sister, both of us wounded but strong. And as Discord laughed at our foolhardy attempt, thinking it another form of his own rewriting power, my sister and I sang our own song, backed by the choir of those mortals who had remained to help us. The Elements of Harmony shone once more, but this time as they were meant to; being wielded not alone, but in unison. As their power washed over Discord, it... hmmm. It took the broken notes and tried to make them whole, I suppose is the best way to put it. That is how he became stone.

You thought Discord was defeated in Equestria? Ah, that would be a clerical error that evolved to become historically accepted. My sister has never exactly been fond of revealing secrets, she values discovery more then straightforward logic and reason. And to be fair, a Draconequues did torment the ancient world for some time--

Now now, little one, patience! I will explain that when I come to it.

In retrospect, our greatest mistake was not destroying the Draconequii right then and there. Yes, we did drive them off and take their leader as a trophy, but I was so worried about our mother that I allowed them to scatter instead of destroying them. Celestia and I, healed by the power of the Elements, flew into the dark space where she had fallen in search of her body. When we found it.... oh little ones, be glad you are not immortal, that you cannot suffer the greatest of pains. If we had not used the elements on her broken form...

Nay, I am... composed. It still hurts to think of her like that, but I will not succumb to sorrow for something that has been righted.

She turned to us, then, and asked what had become of Discord's army. And we realized then that though Discord himself had been beaten, the Draconequuii still roamed between the stars. It was our decision to hunt them down, but our mother stopped us from rushing off into the darkness of space. She made us write a new word, a world that would serve as a home for all those displaced by the Draconequuii; my sister's sun and my own moon were placed in orbit round this new-formed globe, forever to remind us we sought not vengeance but healing.

Of course, it is unwise to leave a world without servants to maintain it. So we crafted the mothers of the five tribes. The first, we named Epona, strong in form and granted the power of Honesty, so that she might sense the song of the world and direct the others in best service. Second came Sylph, with wings of gossamer that gave her the ability to weave the magic of herself and her descendants together in any way she wished; with Kindness was she to guide and maintain the society of the refugees. Then came the wild-hearted Hippocamp; she we gave the realm of the sea to indulge in endless Joy and be minstrel to those who had lost hope. Unicorn was the fourth, and her we granted a horn of magic; her Generosity was to lead her to craft whatever others would need in this new world. Finally did we make Pegasus, whose Loyalty would have her defend the world with powerful eagle's wings and protect the helpless.

Ah... I had heard sea ponies had descended into myth. I know not why, though I have my suspicions... but rest assured both they and the flutter ponies remain, though the flutter ponies now keep to the hidden realms.

Well of course we gave them stallions! They were mortal, after all. To place so much on a mortal alone would be foolhardy.

The first to come to our new realm, of course, were the dragons. No, not the Draconequuii, those... monsters stayed away from the Elements of Harmony. These were noble beings who used their writing only to better songs, heal wounds. A number of them had lost their home to the Draconequuii, and only managed to save fragments of their original worlds; still, it was enough to begin truly populating our new realm. Some of the dragons turned to my sister, and made a great spectral bridge that could reach out to whatever world she needed it to, so mortals hunted by the Draconequuii would not need perish. Others, in an attempt to assist me, formed a group devoted to...

...well. You know how Pegasi nowadays run the weather? The Moondreamers served much the same purpose on a far grander scale, intent on repairing the damage of the Draconequuii. Yes, little ones, our own system is the unnatural one; I fear that Celestia and I did not have our mother's talent at creating worlds that could run themselves. What were the Moondreamers like? Well, one resides in Everfree to this day. I hear her child visited Ponyville once, actually; Twilight rocked him to sleep and returned him to his mother.

Ursa Minor, yes, that was the little cub's name! It has been so long since I saw him, is he faring well?

Well I do apologize for the damages done, but he is an infant.

Of course Ursa Major is a dragon! Ah, I see the confusion. Spike and his kind are the mortal descendants of dragons. There used to be a word distinguishing the two types, but... languages change, sadly.

Where was I... ah yes, the initial refugee arrival. Well, the ponies made them welcome, and during that first era Celestia and I worked hard to ensure that they could all live in peace. Of course, we would eventually leave to seek out the Draconequuii, taking the Elements with us, but before we did Celestia crafted a beacon that could, in time of need, summon forth the power of Harmony from within the tribes themselves. In turn, the flutter ponies crafted the first cutie marks and granted them to my mother, my sister, and myself.

Well, no, cutie marks were not in our original song, but they are quite a wonderful magic. They bond with the soul, producing an image of the core on the flank of the body. Sylph would later adapt them to her own race, inspired by the unified diversity of ants and the like. Of course, back then marriages between the tribes were frequent, so the magic of cutie marks would be passed to the children of the flutter ponies.

Yes, I suppose it is technically possible to be without a cutie mark. But for that to happen, one's bloodline would have to be completely separate from the flutter ponies, and to be quite frank that tribe in particular loved to breed in frequent and massive quantities. I suppose it came as a result of their fragility; even the sea ponies did not suffer so much as they did, for the flutter ponies refused to complain. I suspect the current bearer of Kindness has more then a little of Sylph's blood in her veins. Worry not, little ones, if a member of your family possesses a cutie mark, you do too; it simply has not shown itself.

Our war with the Draconequuii? Well... though it was far less brutal than the battle with Discord, it was far more... tiring. The beasts had scattered to the winds, and wherever they trod they left horrors in their wake. Horrors I refuse to tell you of, for fear you may go mad. I would fight through the army, accompanied by whatever mortal heroes remained, while my sister would use the Spectral Bridge to send the refugees to Gaia. No, Equestria is a country on Gaia's surface, not the name of the world itself. Our mother remained, conferring with the dragons who made up the Moondreamers on how to alter and maintain Gaia's environment for every creature. My sister was always... lax with which mortals went through the Spectral Bridge, so that the young world was filled to the brim with multitudes of odd beings. The oddest was that group of talking potatoes. No, I'm not joking. There was a small population of talking potatoes... they were eventually consumed by some monster or other, so they dwell not in this modern world, but that is an example of how silly Celestia can be.

Of course... she would also let through dark sorcerers. At the time, we saw only the Draconequii as our enemy. Early Gaia was plagued by our ignorance, the ponies being scattered and devastated again and again by a number of foes ranging from minor criminals to emperors bent on domination. The cloud ponies, who you now call pegasi, tried their hardest to keep them from attacking innocents, but it was an endless task. Great numbers of flutter ponies were taken advantage of, and so they grew into increasingly reclusive and untrusting communities. The craft ponies were browbeaten into submission, with the sorcerers ripping horns from those that dared defy them; entire generations would pass where the the descendants of Unicorn feared to use magic. The sea ponies... oh, the sea ponies... Slaughtered for sport, the oceans running red with blood. The great sorcerers even tempted some of the dragon's mortal children, turning them to monsters in their own right.

Why were earth ponies spared? Oh, they were enslaved, do not doubt it... but lacking a horn or wings it was assumed they were mundane creatures with no power of their own.

And into this mess stepped Tirek. Who is Tirek? Be glad that he is dead. He was a cunning Draconequuii, but where Discord desired to dominate, Tirek only wished to destroy. He took the form of a powerful pony, but where his head should have been was the upper body of a human. Yes, they existed too, though they had not arrived before he did. Tirek's entire form was warped with disharmony and, worse, he had watched the elements of harmony in that first fateful battle. And he had somehow... managed to craft their antithesis, which he controlled with great strength of will. He tore across the land, enslaving ponies and torturing them for his own twisted pleasure.

Yes, little ones. What you thought was the era of Discord was in fact the era of Tirek. I implore you to understand, this monster was only less evil than his master in that he intended to end the tortures he inflicted on ponykind. Through execution and the nullification of all reality.

Eventually he came to what was known as Dream Valley, so named because it would on occasion serve host for the Moondreamers. Tirek intended to find the Spectral Bridge, so as to use its power to travel across the universe and cut swathes of destruction. But a brave if somewhat brash pegasus used the bridge before he could find it, bringing back a human girl who embodied harmony itself. Together with a collection of ponies, she went out to find the beacon that Celestia had made. You see, while there were a number of evil sorcerers amongst the refugees, there were a number of good ones as well. One of them had taken it upon himself to hide the beacon away from the powers of evil; it was he who gave them the knowledge it took to retrieve it. They called it the Rainbow of Light, not understanding it was merely a channel for Harmony, but they did not need to understand; the power they poured into it was enough to not only destroy Tirek, but scatter the elements of Discord to the ends of the world.

Hmmm. I too have often wondered why Discord was turned to stone where Tirek was destroyed... My closest explanation is that where Discord is broken notes, Tirek was silence. I was not present to witness his defeat. Understand, while I crafted the Elements, I did not create them; they are manifestations of concepts that existed before I was born.

Of course this was not the end of the human girl's involvement with the ponies. She and her family became, for lack of a better word, adventurers and guardians to the ponies of dream valley even after a coven of witches nearly drowned the land with a terrible weapon known only as the Smooze. Of course the ponies themselves assisted in their own defense; in fact, it was during this era that Applejack the first rescued the first crystal ponies.

Yes, I thought that would get your attention. I suppose it's a good example of how deeply evil marred the land in that time. A wizard of horrific intent had been capturing and enslaving earth ponies in his deep and dark crystal mines. So long were they down there, in fact, that their eyesight had all but vanished. But when Applejack the first was captured, she shattered the magic throne of the wizard and led the slaves out of the collapsing caverns. Some of the gems that the wizard had been using to house his power became embedded in the eyes of the blind slaves, their magic granting them vision once more; over the generations, the crystal magic would encase more and more of their bodies.

In those ancient times such situations were common. While my sister and I fought the Draconequuii, the human and her family fought the more common evils alongside pony kind. The Moondreamers were unable to help, as they were being assaulted by yet another Draconequuii... You would never have heard of her, but her name translates to Queen Scowlene. Yes I know it sounds ridiculous in the modern tongue, but understand: Scowlene single-handedly prevented an organization of ancient dragons from assisting in their chosen task.

It came to pass that the human girl realized all the monsters tormenting ponykind were coming from the same spectral bridge that had brought her to Gaia; she took it upon herself to end the flow of evil beings once and for all, intent on destroying that which the dragons of old had made. But when she tried... Well, it is difficult to put into mortal phrasing. The closest I can say is that she became the Spectral bridge, her form becoming that of an immortal alicorn with the bridge emblazoned as her cutie mark and the power to travel between the realms.

No, she is not a frequent visitor to Equestria. Right now she is out battling Draconequuii and saving mortals from their torments. She did leave her granddaughter here, though, since her current lifestyle is not at all conducive to the raising of children.

Well, no... she's Cadance's great grandmother, technically.

She doesn't talk about what happened to her daughter. Well, she did tell us, but... I will not betray her trust.

When did my sister and I return to Equestria? Technically, we never left; Equestria as a country didn't exist back then. Oh, I jest, I jest, I know what you meant. Well, after gaining the power to warp literally anywhere in the universe, the human turned alicorn renamed herself Mosgalea and sought us out. She informed us of our mistakes, shaming us with our ignorance; so it was we swore to return and right the wrongs we had inflicted upon the world. In turn, she offered to allow pony foals to be raised in her original world, secluded from dangers. Thus began the age of the Cleansing; while we and the stallions of ponykind ran over all of Gaia to lock evil beings in the chains of Tartarus, the mares maintained their own society neath the safety of Mosgalea's wings.

Unfortunately... generations of being protected and distant from dangers made those ponies a little... silly. The mares drew into their own tribes, growing increasingly distant from each other. There was even a period where the ponies completely forgot about the other tribes. The stallions, too, became more focused on fighting alongside my sister and I than in, shall we say, forging relationships with those protected by Mosgalea. The sea ponies disappeared entirely into the watery realms... I can feel them, understand, I still hear them in the heartbeat of the world, but I do not know where they are. So much was lost in the Cleansing, and not all of it should have been.

Yes, this was when the tribes began to quarrel. The craft ponies took the name of their mother, calling themselves Unicorns and proclaiming that they were the superior race because of their control of magic. The cloud ponies decided to become the Pegasi, reveling in great cloud art they kept jealously hidden from the other races. The flutter ponies, already shattered and hidden by the traumas of the First Age, grew further into their separate clans, hiding in the wilds in order to avoid being hurt once again. Only the Earth Ponies kept their name, but as they tried desperately to keep the tribes together they only succeeded in being mocked.

It was the Unicorns that eventually brought the end of harmony. They had grown so arrogant, so proud, that they claimed the Sun and Moon as their own. Do you know the feeling of having your tail pulled? Imagine that, all over your body, coming from nowhere. This is what Celestia and I felt as the orbs of the sky where wrenched from our control, taken by coordinated covens of mages in their foolish attempts to claim all the world for themselves--!

...

My apologies, little ones. To this day I am... infuriated that my body was taken from me in such a manner. I did not mean to frighten you... please, come out from under the table?

No, I'm not going to become Nightmare Moon again. That was caused by... well, that is something further down the line of our tale.

Well, we would not stand for such actions. We sent the stallions back to their respective tribes, which only worsened the situation when the lust for combat they had gained at our side made them take up arms against each other. The delicate peace was shattered completely, and the tribes took to their own banners. I had grown tired of the quarrels of mortals and intended to simply leave to fight more Draconequuii, but before I did I left the unicorns a little... gift. An amulet, which would increase their power, but at the cost of forcing their minds down more primal and animalistic paths. Celestia, however, preferred a more subtle approach; while I was off in the night sky, she shifted into various pony forms and attempted to manipulate the tribes into peace.

Well, yes, we can shapeshift. These forms are, after all, merely our faces--

What? Well, I could, yes, but--

I really don't see why I should--

....

Oh very well, I was tasked with entertaining you, after all. Prepare thyselves for spectacle!

Thar. How do Ah look? Am Ah not tha perfect reflecshun of ya?

Well of course Ah still have mah cutie mark. It is an expresshun of mah core, Ah cannot alter it any more than mah sister can!

Well, yes. We did keep in contact. Ya see Mosgalea didn't think sisters should be parted, so she flew alongside me an' used her warp magic ta send messages back an' forth. But even with Celestia manipyalaten' things in tha background, tha three tribes just grew more and more hostile towards one anotha. Ta be quite frank, Ah think they would still be that way if tha Crystal Empire hadn't sent in tha Windygos.

Ya did not know they were sent by tha empire? One of these days Ah must consult with mah sister, allowing such histery ta fall out of tha public's sphere of knowledge is in poor taste indeed.

Well, to understand how tha crystal ponies commanded tha Windygos, ya must understand how tha Crystal Empire began. Ah told ya 'bout tha crystal-eyed ponies, yes? Well, way back in tha time before tha spectral bridge was destroyed, thar was a big intelligent mountain, capable of maken' living things out of stone. One of tha beasts he made was a massive canine, meant ta guard tha crystal heart that contained his soul. Yes, that is tha same crystal heart that Spike retrieved in tha recent battle against Sombra, but yer moven' over tha important details again. Tha stone canine, ya see, could turn any intruder ta stone, but itself was actually fairly heartless... until tha human girl and her pony friends used tha very crystal heart he was guarden' ta give him a soul.

Of course, in gratitude fer fixen' his mistake, tha mountain let some of tha ponies live inside him, with the crystal heart. Tha stone canine would eventually pass away, but so loved was he by tha new inhabitents that from his cropse came a new form of life. Yer sister, little one, has met thar descendants. Yes, tha brutish diamond dogs are, in fact, guardians of tha liven' mountain, an' at one time they were actually great allies ta ponykind. But that was all before tha rise of Sombra.

Sombra, ya see, was a product of tha great tribal wars. When unicorn fought pegasus, pegasus fought unicorn, and both fought earth pony. He lusted fer power, but among tha unicorns he was seen as a commoner, so he took ta traveling. Eventually he discovered tha Crystal Ponies; at that start of tha cleansing, they had hidden themselves in tha Desert of Jewels, using tha harmony of crystals ta protect themselves from, well, us. We would nevar hurt them, but they only saw two powerful alicorns rampaging across tha world. Of course by tha time that Sombra found them they had changed into tha crystal ponies ya'll know. An' thar power fascinated him; here were these hornless ponies performing great magic!

He went away then, an' returned as a friend with a great gift: A magical, heart-shaped crystal that would amplify thar positive emotions into a great power. Of course he had not told them he stole it from tha diamond dogs; when tha canines invaded, he came ta tha defense of tha crystal ponies, supposedly out of tha will of his own good heart. Tha attacks grew more and more dangerous, though, and at last tha crystal ponies were desperate enough ta hear his most treacherous suggestion: instead of pouring love into tha crystal heart, they should pour hate into it. Thus were spawned tha Windygos, who were sent ta drive that diamond dogs back and who Sombra used ta repel all tha pony tribes from tha land he would claim. It was not long befer he claimed tha very amulet I had made, and enslaved tha crystal ponies into constructien' an empire in tha now empty wastes.

What happend ta tha liven' mountain? Without tha crystal heart, it died. Canterlot is built upon its corpse.

Of course ya'll know what happened next, to a degree, as it is told every hearth's warming eve. Yes, tha tribes--Ah'm sorry, but being at such a minuscule height in a room designed fer me is a bit disconserten'. Would ya'll mind if Ah changed back?

Thank ya.

Ahem. Now... the plays performed on Hearth's warming eve are mostly accurate, if very sparse in their detail. The tribes did migrate south, each of their own accord, and they did continue to quarrel even as the Windigos followed them, and they did eventually unite in harmony to push the Windigos back. But there are some details left unmentioned; Starswirl's theories regarding the Windigos were regarded as crackpot by the majority of unicorn nobles, Princess Platinum was only a diplomat and not technically a ruler, and private Pansy was in fact secretly engaged to Smart Cookie before the migration. In fact, that is why they sought out Star Swirl's apprentice, so they could be wed without either the pegasi or earth ponies knowing of it. No, Smart Cookie was a stallion, actually, and Pansy's father Commander Hurricane would never stand for their love, even after Equestria was united under one banner. He eventually disgraced himself and fell out of favor with the pegasi leaders.

Well, most of the early days of Equestria were mostly paperwork, restructuring the leadership so--Oh. You want to know when my sister and I took the throne? Well to be honest it was a few years later. I at first refused to believe the war had ended, but Mosgalea's constant badgering on the behalf of my sister eventually convinced me to return home, though I made her swear to continue my campaign against the Draconequuii in my stead. When I returned, I found that the Windigos were still invading the edges of Equestria as the new country was named. They were... weaker though. So it was I suggested to my sister that we lead a charge against them. She had, you see, managed to pose as a high-ranking pegasus and helped rewrite the governmental system. All it would take was a little push here, a little legislation there, an epic battle against a dark overlord, and we could ensure that these ponies never again fell to hate and rage.

No... I still did not trust ponykind...

I... I have learned from my mistakes, that is what I was meant to do, after all. But at the time, I looked into the past of the ponies and saw only war.

Celestia agreed to my plan, mostly to ensure that I did not go off myself against Sombra. You see, he never stopped questing for power; in fact, he had found the core of Tirek's weapon, hidden away in some cavern or other, and that, alongside the amulet I had made, made him feel confident he could handle anything. Even when my sister and I appeared in our full glory, he laughed at us. He was well on his way to becoming a true Draconequuii, limited only in that he was not directly rewriting himself. Still, he managed to throw the Crystal Empire out of time even as we defeated him, and we gathered the artifacts as spoils of war.

The ponies trusted Celestia, who had lived among them and effected great triumphs. But I... I was a mystery, a protector yes but a fierce warrior. I would point out stars every night and say, "Here is where I battled the great Cthulhu, Here where I saved a race known as the Yehat, here I did this, here I did that." Whispers grew that I was a bloodthirsty monster, and less and less of them would listen to my wisdom... I grew enraged at their lack of gratitude. I grew jealous of my sister. I took the very weapon Sombra had used and turned it against her, intent on pushing her sun down to show all that I had achieved. The core of Discord's Elements infected my body and my mind, but then...

...Celestia took the very Elements of Harmony I had forged and robbed me of my face.

....

Yes, little ones... It was... very.... disquieting.

....

....again, I thank you. I know now that the pony tribes are truly friendly and peaceful once again. My sister was right... and though her actions were harsh, they were fair. She and I have made amends, do not worry.

I'm sorry, I can tell you nothing more of the past. It is hard to observe a world from afar, even if you reside over it every night. The next event I can recall with clarity was my return, and, well, you were there for that were you not?

Oh, I assure you, there is much more that happened. What I told you is only a brief outline of how Equestria was made. Shall I tell you more or-- Oh! Sister! Welcome, I take it the ceremony is over then? I suppose you will have to go now.

Oh worry not, my little ponies, I enjoyed regaling you with such tales! Perhaps we can establish a correspondence so that I may continue. But for now, run along, your sisters are waiting for you.

....

Actually, Tia, I found them quite enjoyable. I suppose you were right.

But if you ever have us watch young ones again, inform us at least a day beforehoof. I swear to our mother it took half an eon to get those three to settle down...