Preamble

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I pray that you will forgive the fact I can't write like the others in this book, but I knew that if I wanted to give this out to any old pony in the wastes, I would need to give context. So if not everything is in place, or not everything is exactly how it should be, know that is because a stallion who only learned to read and write within the past eight years is writing this.

My name is Firebranded. I'm roughly 34 years old, give or take, and I was born in a place that has no name to a gang founded and run by my father. For the first 26 years of my life, that’s the only life I had known. I grew up quick, and I grew up mean. Alongside my older brother, Trailblazer, my father, and some 50 other stallions and mares, we were your typical gang. We regularly attacked caravans and settlements, and sold the loot for drugs. I think I tried my first hit of Dash when I was 13, and was hooked just like the rest of them. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but the things I’ve done since then I spend every day doing my best to atone for; Families I’ve destroyed, and lives I’ve ruined. I was irredeemable, and the only future I had for myself was to die when someone finally got lucky enough. That’s what makes what happened next all the more confusing.

I and Trailblazer went out with some of the others to attack a little town we had heard about from one of our dealers after we mentioned we were running low on loot to sell for drugs. When we got there, we were faced with a militia of townsponies. We took what drugs we had to give ourselves the gusto we needed to charge them, and were able to push them off the little fortification they had set up by the front of it. The remaining townsponies ran away, but we followed close behind a few of them. One in particular, a spry young stallion roughly the same age I was, ended up throwing a rock that hit my brother in the head before he turned and ran.

We followed him a ways, before we ended up following him into a small wooden building. The door slammed shut behind us, though we barely noticed since we were so high off the chase. We tried to follow him as he ran through the hallway and out the back door, but that swung shut, too, and was apparently barred from the other side, because Trailblazer couldn’t break it down. We looked around for a window, but we didn’t find anything. No windows, and the door at the entrance was locked up just as tight.

And that’s when the smell of smoke began to set in.

It turned out to be a trap, and the building was actively being set on fire in an attempt to kill both of us. Panic set in, and both of us began to bang on the doors, the walls, just about anything we could. Time was blurry, so I’m not entirely sure how long we had been banging, but I know our hooves were starting to get bruised and bloody from it when we finally became too weak to keep trying, and so the both of us just got as low to the ground as we could in a vain attempt to stay alive. We screamed and begged for someone to come and open the door, but nothing ever came of it.
I watched as a timber came tumbling down from the ceiling, crushing my brother like a bowl of eggs. I won’t get too graphic with the details, but I could tell by how his chest rose and fell that his rib had pierced his lung. I tried for a long time to get that timber off of him, even after he stopped breathing and whimpering. I hung my head there in despair, as I said my goodbye, and decided I wouldn’t wait for my fate. I stood up, with my head in the thick cloud of black smoke that had already filled the top half of the room, and took a deep breath.

But it wasn’t death that filled my lungs, but life. The smoke filled my lungs just as if it were air. My eyes shot open in surprise, and they weren’t blinded by the smoke. Instead, they were stabbed by the light of the inferno that surrounded me. I was alone, on a solitary patch of ground, in a sea of fire and ruin. Directly in front of me, in the middle of the blaze, slowly formed a larger flame, almost like a bonfire was being built right there.
And the fire formed into the shape of a mare, with long flowing hair. She stood at least twice my height, with a horn and massive wings of burning flame. I fell on my backside, and trembled with fear as Her bright eyes looked directly at me. Then, she spoke. To this day, her words still echo in my ear.
“Firebranded. Do not be afraid.”

Her voice was louder than a gunshot, and it sounded like at least a hundred ponies speaking at once, but it wasn’t painful. No, in fact, I could feel a type of warmth and comfort wrap itself around me at Her mere command.
“You will not die this day. I am Princess Celestia. Before your day, I was the Mother of all Ponykind, and ruler over all Equestria. I was your mother, and you were my children. I knew each of you, and loved each of you, and I know you still, and love you still, in spite of everything you have done. My words, and the words of My prophets, have been lost from the knowledge of Ponykind. Without these words, Ponykind has grown to be something truly evil. There will come a time when I will return to Equestria, in my body of flesh and bone, and when that happens, I will judge the world as I find it, and judge the ponies therein as I find them. But I cannot judge those who have not heard the truth; because I cannot fault somepony who hasn’t heard the truth for not following the truth. So, for this purpose, I will send a prophet, to return My word to the knowledge of Ponykind, and My laws to the hearts of all creation. My little pony, I will send you.”

My wicked past unfolded in front of me, as I thought of wasted years which bounced around again and again in my head. I felt every ounce of pain that I have caused, and felt disgusted by everything that I had allowed myself to become. In the presence of perfection, there was me, perhaps the most imperfect creature on this planet.
“Me? I don’t understand. Why would you send me, of all ponies? Why would you save me? I deserved what I got. I deserved to die for what I’ve done. I’m no prophet, and I’m far from a pony which deserves any mercy.”

Her voice softened, as her face shifted. A motherly tone came from her flaming mouth, as her hoof and wing embraced me. Still, I was unburned, and comfort filled me. “You are granted mercy not because of who you are, but because of who I am. And inside of you is a part of Me, and in Me a part of you. This Light that’s in you gives you the chance to change, and it’s this Light that will guide you until the end of your days. You are being saved because I know you. I know you by name, and I know your heart. You have the capacity for great things, Firebranded. I will change the world through you, one shimmering soul at a time. I will use you to perform My miracles. Have faith in yourself, and have faith in Me.”

I was speechless. I could hardly believe what was happening to me, and I could feel myself trembling in awe. But She did not miss a beat, as She continued to unravel Her mystery to me:
“Out of this flame have I delivered you, and I will deliver you down the bank of a nearby river. You will follow this river eastward until you will find a town. This town was the home of one of My prophets, the keeper of My flame. Inside the library of this town is a statue, broken from time. Inside of the base of this statue you will find My word, and My truth. The history of this land, and its creatures. You will take it, and you will read.”

My confusion overwhelmed my awe, as I asked her: “How will I read it? I can’t read.”
“You think that the Goddess that has formed your body and soul is limited by your understanding? Have faith that you might, and you will, Firebranded. I promise. It is in a language few can read, regardless. Now, go. See your destiny, My child.”

And as quickly as it came, the fire left my vision, as my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, and I found myself surrounded by nothing but the charred remains that used to be a home. Where my brother’s corpse was, I had no clue. Lost in the ashes. But burned into my memory were Her directions, and I followed them to the letter. Nearby the ashen ruin of the house was a river bank, which I walked down, and followed where the sun arose from.

When I eventually found the town, I found it abandoned and in ruins, as a bridge that used to cross the river I followed was now able to be used as a ramp onto the main road of the ruined settlement. Sure enough, near the center of the town was a library. The library was certainly worse for wear: the roof had clearly been gone for some time, half the walls were gone as well, and nearly all the books inside were rotten to pulp.

I wandered the rows of bookshelves for what felt like eons, looking for anything that so much as resembled a statue. Eventually, I found it: a marble statue, faded from the years of acid rain. Still, I recognized it immediately; it was the mare I had seen in my vision, though one of her resplendent wings was broken off, as was her towering horn. That was when I knew I had found it. I wasted no time, as I examined the statue’s base, discovering several large chunks had been cracked, some even having fallen off.

After a minute of prying off notably loose chunks of marble, I discovered what I had been sent to find. Hidden inside the hollow base of the statue was a book, protected from the centuries by the stone shell, though I could tell as I held the cover and turned the pages it had also been treated with some kind of waxy film that probably worked to keep it preserved.

I held it like it was my own newborn foal, cradling it gently as I examined its pages. I don’t know how long I sat there, reading page after page, as my breath was taken away. It wasn’t in Ponish, and even if it were, I had never learned to read. It was like the words themselves were being put directly into my head, whispered by some unseen force every time I turned a page. By the time I reached the end of the first “book” inside, I heard a voice echo inside my head:
“Write.”

So, I’ve written. It took well over a year, and on more than one occasion i’ve had to rely on the charity of some merchant to acquire the materials, and on miracles from the Goddess who gave the book to me that I survived this long, but it’s done. The History of the Eternal Sun, the very book you read right now. So that’s that. My testimony of this. I testify that every word after this preamble came from that very same tome, and that every word in that same tome is true in one way or another, translated from one language or another into Ponish. I know my story is farfetched. Were I not myself, I wouldn’t believe it either. That’s why it’s so important to keep an open mind and an open heart. But anyways, I’ll stop taking your time. Goddess bless you, whoever you are.

Book 1, Chapter 1

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Book 1: Book of the Beginning
Chapter 1

[1]Eternity has no beginning and Eternity has no end. Eternity merely is, and Eternity shall always be. The glory of light is Eternity, and Eternity is the light, forever and always. And even where there was nothing, there was Eternity, forever and always. And in She, who is Eternity, was all existence..

[2]And in Eternity were all things, and all things were Eternity. All things were in She, and all things were good, as She is good. And despite the nothingness, She imagined something outside of Herself, crafted from parts inside of Herself. And from Herself, She crafted the time, and place, and space, and soul. All things were in Eternity, but She forced them separate from Eternity by temporality, which was forged from Eternity by the heat of Her passion.

[3]Her passion for creation was beyond what can be known. As She was all that was, She wished for all things to be; As She loved all things that could be, so too did She wish for all things to love. So great was this passion, that no sacrifice was too precious. So great was this passion, all things could be separated by temporality.

[4]In an instant, the separation was complete. Creation separate from Creator, Eternity separate from temporality. And from the temporal, shaped from Eternity, came forth all things. Mists of time and space, separate from She, condensed into themselves. Dust into rock, rock into sod, sod into earth, as guided by the hooves of She, whose force is great and reaches long unto ever after.

[5]And despite the separation, Her force and light reaches even to the created. Her gaze cannot be diverted, and Her eyes are upon the created, forever. And She, Light, The Great Creator and Destroyer, and the Illuminator, the Muse of Eternity, would be a ruler of earthly creation. You may know that there is no beauty that falls under the vastness of the cosmos which She did not create, and which She will not destroy. In time, Light shall take us all, for from light we were fashioned, and to light we shall return. She is the glory of the Goddess, as She is the Goddess, and the Goddess is Eternity.

[6] And created to serve She was the Lesser Lights, as the remnants of Her separation, molded by Her force, to do Her will forever after. And created to lead the Lesser Lights was the Luna, who She loved most dear. In Her own image, to watch over creation, and be companion to She.

[7]And from She, on the sod of the Earth, came down the force of She. Her light, which had created all things, gave life to the waters and the sod. From the beams of light came forth Her splendor, as life in all its bounties and forms came to be from Her light. To Her do all things owe, and to Her do all things bow.

[8]Awoken from the Earth was the First Kingdom of Life; all life knew their place from birth. Nothing was taught, for nothing was unknown. The bird that flies knows to whom it owes its life, and does as is commanded by She. The fish that swims knows from where the water flows, and to where the stream ends, and so does as it is commanded. They have not will, for they were gifted it not. They have not desire, save it be the desire to do the will of the Goddess. Vessels who the will of the Goddess is given, and they follow, content.

[9]Such was the nature of the first creatures to fly, swim, and crawl. This, the Goddess’s light had called forth, and this the Goddess’s light had sustained. Wanting for nothing, depending on Her for everything; this was their lot, and they lived it dutifully.

[10]And upon the sod was created another Kingdom of Life; those who would have the will to know, and act, and love, not of the Goddess’ will, but of their own. So great was the detachment created by temporality from Eternity, that this Kingdom would have the will to contradict the Goddess, separating itself further, before succumbing to chaos and entropy; or the will to do Her will, and bring them closer to Eternity; to be bound with Her, inseparably, for time and beyond time, and the name of them was the Aware.

[11]And the Aware were risen above the lesser kingdom, for although they had power to turn against the Goddess, this same power made them like the Goddess. The lesser were subject to the greater, as their dominion stretched across the whole of creation, as far as was permitted by She. And as She was great, so too would She make them great.

[12]The first of the Aware was the equine, and first of the equine was the earthpony. Granted dominion over the sod, and of the plants, and of the lesser kingdom. Granted the strength of hoof and of muscle. A firm foundation of the world; the rock upon which all else would be built, and the mighty stone upon which the throne had set, and without which, the great throne would be cast into the mud and forgotten forever.

[13]And second of the equine was the pegasus. Granted wings ever to soar, and dominion over the winds, and the clouds, and the firmament of the heavens, with swiftness of action and boldness of spirit. A muscle of haste, and of change. Born of this world with gleaming blades, aloft to conquer and fill the hearts of all with awe and wonder, akin to the radiance of the arms of the throne; to sustain all below, and above, and to sustain the will of the Empress, when She will come.

[14]And third of the equine was the unicorn. Granted connection to powers beyond sight, with the full mysteries and splendors of She, opened by the mind and horn like a door opened by the key of the master locksmith. With the gift of creation and destruction, renewal and dispersal, push and pull, nothing would be locked to them. And they would be known as leaders of equinity, with the expanded knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil, should they remain close to the path of light, and reject the darkness wherever they find it. So great was this calling, that their glory was like unto a great and precious stone, which caught the light from above, to project to all those below.

[15] These would be them that could be called the firstborn heirs of the Goddess. Equal to the second, and the third, and the last, for the Creator loves all Her creations, from the greatest to the least, the largest to the smallest. All does She sustain with the same effort, same nurture, and same neglect.

[16] And just as Her love for all creation was Her love to create. And equal to Her love to create is Her love to teach to create. For as She created, so too was Her glory given to Luna. To love Luna, and through Luna, love She who sustained Luna. These would be called the Chosen of Luna, those of equinity of the bat. To slumber of the day, and praise Luna of the night.

[17] And in Her creation She was satisfied for a time; For as She willed for life to be, it was. And as the Creator has created, so too must the Creator admire Her work. So it came to pass that for a time of 12,000 moons Her spirit roamed throughout the land, and abided on the face of the Earth. As Creator loved, so too did creation; as creation sorrowed, so too did Creator.

[18] And so great was Her satisfaction with the greatness of Her work, that She was filled with the full inspiration. As a master artist sees beauty unmanifested in empty space, She saw the fullness of being and the beauty of what was to come.

[19] And so to the vastness of the firmament did Light, the Creator, return, and dance across the face thereof; and again did She awaken from the sod the newborn of the Awoken, as life now came to abound, greater than ever before.

[20] And firstborn of the newborn of the Awoken was the avian; child of the body of the bird that flies, flesh of the soul of the skies. And firstborn amongst the likeness of the avian was the griffon. Crafted by the Light to be the first of the Awoken to feast on the flesh of the lesser kingdom, with power, fury, and speed like unto that of the pegasi, with the force to subjugate and dominate. In addition to power of muscle and spirit, to many a griff was given the gift of an astute mind; curiosity was in their nature, to the keeping of numbers, and a natural predisposition to frugality for the sake of great stewardship.

[21] And second of the newborn of the Awoken was the dragon. Created that they may be like an apex predator to the lesser kingdom, with the force of a terrible storm and the spirit of a raging flame. Born of the heat of the molten Earth, their flesh is like a tough stone, and their hunger undeniable. Only the greatest of the great; the strongest of the lesser kingdom could sustain the might of the dragon, whose might of muscle was unsurpassed.

[22] And third of the newborn of the Awoken was the races of the North. Chosen to inhabit the hard lands of frost, and snow, and mountain; To not only be the few to bask in the glory of eternal winter, but also to fulfill the promise that to the Awoken would be given dominion over all of creation, from the burning sands to the freezing waters; from the vast oceans to the deepest pits. Largest was the yaks, smaller were the deer; all of these were given life by the Goddess, and sustained by the Goddess.

[23] Indeed, so great was the number of those created by the Goddess, and sustained by the Goddess, that none can number them. Just as the Goddess is varied, and ever-creative, and ever-creating, so too is Her creation ever-varied, ever-surprising, and ever-expanding.

[24] And at last, the task was done. From the highest to the lowest, the nearest to the farthest, in all lands, places; in all forests and valleys, everywhere that was under the firmament of the sky was teeming with life; Life of the greater kingdom, and life of the lesser kingdom; Awoken and subservient. And as She basked in the glory of Her own creation, She was filled with awe, and love. Nothing was out of place. All was perfect. All was loved.

[25] And thus it was, for millennia upon millennia; All the world was at peace with itself, as nothing was done with folly or ire. All creation watched Her as She danced across the sky, and as life sprang from nothing. None could doubt, and none could question. All praised Her, and knew Her. All sang unto Her: “Blessed be us, who once were nothing, for She who is everything saw something where there was nothing, and gave us love where there was emptiness”.

[26] And as they lived, and as they praised, they were lifted. And all who were taken by the Light of this time, whether by sickness or any other manner of passing, were returned home to Eternity’s arms. And all who knew one who had passed saw no sorrow in the passing. They knew that to pass was not the end, but merely the consequence of the beginning.