Rise of the Republic
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her great alicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn, and the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. On one fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a cold, dark ruler. She chose to split the kingdom the regal sisters had shared in two. Thus, the great Solar Empire and the New Lunar Republic were born.
The two kingdoms constantly fought, each wanting to claim Equestria as a whole. Ponies were forced to choose sides in the coming war, which was later called the Great Celestial War, to pledge loyalty to either the sun or to the moon. The armies of the great Solar Empire and the New Lunar Republic clashed as friends fought friends and neighbors were turned against each other. After almost one thousand years and almost twice as many casualties and deaths, the eternal war nearly came to a close. The sun rose to bring day again, and the moon came out to start the night. But the land of Equestria no longer basked in harmony. Instead, chaos sprouted like a weed, choking out the glorious peace and harmony until it died. With the death of Harmony, the Order of Discord was formed. It rose in secret, waiting to take hold of the entire kingdom and torment the ponies with its chaos. The order was named after the spirit of disharmony himself, Discord. Before the founding of Equestria, the regal sisters had locked him away in a prison of stone. To this day, the members of the Order strive to revive their petrified leader by spreading chaos and disharmony amongst the once-peaceful land of Equestria.
One such unicorn, descended from the power-hungry Unicornians, took hold of the northern Crystal Empire, enslaving the beautiful crystal ponies and turning the once-great empire into a dark shadow of what it once was. His name was King Sombra, and he ruled with an iron hoof, and none could face his wrath. If the regal sisters were to put aside their differences and stop him, they might have enough strength, together, to end his tyranny. However, the Celestial War had hardened the princesses' hearts and blinded them, so Sombra continued to rule the Crystal Empire without opposition. There were, however, rumors of a crystal rebellion. These rumors staid that there was a third alicorn princess, whose love for other ponies rivaled King Sombra's hatred. Her name was Mi Amore Cadenza, and she, along side her husband, were the leaders of the Crystal Heart Rebellion. The Rebellion works to liberate ponies of all kinds from the tyrannic rule of Sombra, and sometimes even from one or both of the regal pony sisters.
Other kingdoms rose to power during the Great Celestial Wars, those of the Griffon Kingdom, the Changeling Swarm, and the Zebreian Tribes. The griffons were savage creatures, half lion and half eagle or hawk. They were a war-loving race, bent on conquering the other kingdoms, tribes, and nations. Few griffons bothered to try and make friends with the ponies, partially to the horrendous civil war, partially because the griffons were absolute jerks. (But you didn't hear that from me.) The Changelings were a breed of Flutterpony, a species of pony with thin insect wings like a butterfly's, which had the need to feed on love. Their bodies were covered in chitin, rather than soft bright-colored fur, giving the creatures a distinct bug-like appearance when in their natural forms. Changelings could wear the looks of another pony, shape-shifting to blend in with the equines so as to feed off of their love. The Zebra Tribes lived near the southern borders of Equestria, and their African culture differed greatly from that of the other kingdoms and nations. The Zebras were known for their unique brand of magic, specializing in potions and herbal mixtures. These other kingdoms were considerably smaller than the Solar Empire, New Lunar Republic, and the Crystal Empire, but were each strong enough to deny loyalty to Equestria and remain their own kind of government.
Many prophecies foretell that six ponies, called the "Mane Six" in several documents, shall arise to end the chaos, unite the kingdoms, and bring about peace for all of Equestria, by taking up the mantle of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. These Elements were said to be the most powerful magic known to ponydom, once wielded by the regal pony sisters themselves. Star Swirl the Bearded, a powerful unicorn mage of the great Solar Empire, created such a spell foretelling...something.
"From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled."
What, exactly, this spell foretells is unknown. Many believed that the spell was never finished, that even the great Star Swirl did not know of its true purpose. Other prophecies tell that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will align, signalling that the time has come for the six to take up the Elements and return harmony to all the land. Whether this is true or not remains a mystery, though Star Swirl the Bearded was not known for making hasty or mistaken prophecies during his lifetime.
Twilight Sparkle, a young lavender unicorn, snorted and swished her tail as she re-read the passage in her history book, "Hmm... The Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before... but where?"