The Sorrow and the Temptation

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 1

Thus follows the account of how the world was made, and how the reign of Discord was foiled. The Serpent was cunning in all of his ways, and he did attempt to elude the Sisters holy. His attempts were all for naught, as they sought justice and an end to his foul tyranny. Through the caves of the very underworld they fought, until they came unto the surface, which was not clothed in fine grass or bathed in the light of neither the sun nor the moon. Many a spell was cast, parried and returned, and it was such that their battle, the Sisters’ and the Serpent’s, was waged for what seemed eternity, for no perceivable celestial bodies had yet been placed in the heavens above, with which to measure the days and nights. Finally, at long last, the Serpent was cast down, and the Sisters summoned the Elements of Creation, made of crystal adamant. With these powerful and blessed tools they sealed the Serpent in a statue of warded stone which had no imperfections, so that the Serpent could not turn it to his release. With his time on this world completed, Discord sank into his imprisoned slumber, and a new age was begun: The Age of Creation. Celestia, Dawn of the morn, took up the great pillars of fire, and placed them in the sky just as her Mother had told her too. With these flaming rods the sun was born. Luna, Dusk of the eventide, took into her hoofs the great boulder of the night and cut it in half. Casting the dark half into the Pit beyond, she crafted from the light half our bright moon, just as her Mother told her to.

Now the world was still formless, and jagged was the earth beneath the Sisters’ hooves, for Discord was a cruel master of both land and animal alike. The Sisters looked unto each others’ countenance and said in unison, “Let us make this world in the image Mother envisioned. Let there be rolling plains with much grass, clear blue waters of spring, river, lake, and sea. Let there be great forests, forever free, where many a creature can dwell. Let there be valleys and mountains, plateaus and hills, fjords and caves.” And the Sisters made it so. Using the powers of the Elements of Creation, they created all that has been written here, and upon seeing all they had made, they found it good. And then from the earth came forth all manner of creatures, many of which are still present in this day and age. Each nation brought forth a leader, whether by trial, battle, or election, to represent their race. On that day, when each race's champion was chosen and presented to all other races, names were chosen by each race for themselves and their members.

Here are listed the champions of each race with wits enough to speak and write:

Diamond I, King of the Unicorn tribe

Hurricane, Chief Commander of the Pegasi

Puddinghead, Chancellor of the ponies earthern

Shadowwings, Head Covenmaster of the Antrozi

Mariana, Matriarch to the pony sons of the Great Ocean

Tch’kala, Shaman Chief of the Zebharan tribes

Adric, Grand Gladiator of the Griffon kingdom

Siegfried Vielknochen, First Emperor of the Diamond Dog Empire

Red Plain, Chieftain of the Buffalo Nomads

Adonis, Warrior King of the Minotaur nation

Leviathan, Overlord of the Dragons

The first three of these nations chose to unite under one banner as the nation of Equestria. It was these three nations who saw the truth; that Celestia and Luna were the intended rulers of all the world. The other races, by their own self-delusion, chose to go their separate ways, and they spread across the four corners of the compass.

The Griffons settled in the mountains of the North or in the skies above, and it is where they make their eyries and homes to this day.

The Diamond Dogs, even then known for their avarice in regards to precious stones and all manner of objects pleasing to the eye, dug deep into the ground, creating many caverns below the surface. It is even said that they dug into Tartarus itself just to find one or two exquisite jewels.

The Dragons, aloof to all races but their own, took to the North and East to the barren canyons there, which they made their summer home. When the icy grip of winter spread across the land, the dragons would as one creature fly to the South and West to the volcanic plains located there, where the heat was generous and the gems plentiful.

The Buffalo Nomads wandered to the West, seeking to find where the sun fell every night, and to set up for themselves a land to call their own; hallowed and peaceful.

The Minotaurs, by nature a prideful and haughty race, splintered into eight different clans almost immediately after the Great Naming Day. Each clan head claimed his or her right to superiority by single combat, feats of strength, or oratory (eloquence is highly valued among many Minotaurs). These clans in their own time journeyed Southward and Eastward, to stake their claim on the coastal lands near the Sea of Furia. In due course of time they would found the great megalopolis Labyrinth, which would become a great source of culture and wealth in the southern regions.

The Zebharans, initially willing to accept the rule of the Sisters holy, were not permitted asylum in Equestria because of their strange customs, magic, and speech. They wandered into the Far East, where the ground is nothing but fine sand, and Celestia’s sun beats down on all things.

The Sea ponies also were forced to take their own path, for they were not blessed to have hooves to feel the grass beneath them, but were instead given tails of muscle and fins to swim about. In later years, a great plague struck the Sea pony race, one which has never been matched before or after its happening by any other race, and the Sea ponies were lost to the ages. It is claimed that not all perished from the pestilence, and that some Sea ponies still guide the storm tossed and pitiful into safe harbors from the wrath of the great Furia Ocean.

The Antrozi, being reclusive because of their nocturnal lifestyle, received the suspicion of all ponies. They slept in caves during the day, and came out at night to feed on fruits and insects. However, it was believed by many a commonpony that rather than feeding on fruit, they swept about in the night feasting on the blood of the fearful and foolish.

This is the story of how the younger of the Sisters holy, Princess Luna, attempted to bring together the Antrozi and her subjects. Little did she know of the incalculable cost, both to herself and to the Antrozi Nation, that these actions would bring.

Author's Note:

Special thanks goes to Cytotoxin, with whose help this took so much less time planning than if I would have done it on my own. My deepest thanks to you.