Chapters The Book of Ages
By Skye Silverwing
Prologue: Comet’s Introduction.
Twilight Sparkle shifted her wings slightly as she wandered through the endless hallways lined with shelves loaded with books to nearly the point of bursting. The newly raised Princess was happy to have finally acquired the time that she would need to take a closer look at the Chrystal Empire’s Great Library without the press of a dire search for information or looming threat of doom, but now that she was here, the sheer enormity of the library left her aimlessly wandering the halls, just looking for a place to start.
She passed through yet another vaulted corridor and a high archway into another huge room easily fifty times the size of her library back home in Ponyville. Even the Great Library in Canterlot could not compare to the enormity of this. She headed down a flight of stairs and around a corner, eyes scanning the neatly arrayed stacks for anything to tell her where to begin.
Then she saw it. There, in a shadowed corner (something unusual in a structure made of crystal) stood a door, which, if its state was any indication, had likely not been opened in hundreds of years, even before the Crystal Empire’s thousand year disappearance.
Approaching the door, Twilight pushed it open with her magic, revealing a long, strangely dark passageway. As she made her way along the passage, there was no sound, save for that of her own hooves as they clopped along through a thick layer of dust that had remained undisturbed for countless years.
At the end of the long passage, stood another door, and beyond that door lay a cramped and almost claustrophobic room filled with ancient knowledge. There, on a stand in the center of the back wall, sat a book older than any book Twilight had ever seen. Its cover, bound in sturdy wood wrapped in a sturdy fabric of some kind, declared it to be simply “The Book of Ages”.
Twilight stared at the book for a long moment before using her magic to lift it carefully off of its platform, knowing that if she handled it wrong, it could very well crumble to dust, and the knowledge within lost forever. She had to read it, though, for where better to begin than the oldest book of all?
Setting the book carefully on a table in the middle of the room, Twilight sat down and carefully opened it to the introduction, and by the light of her horn, she began to read.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
My name is Comet Stargaze.
It is my last duty, as the Archivist the Crystal Empire, to take down and report the truth of our beginnings before Time can obscure it forever. Memories become stories, stories become history, history becomes legend, and legend fades to myth, until even the myth is lost forever.
It is my wish that the truth of our arrival here be passed on into the future generations, so that we can learn from our past and become stronger for it. For this reason, I am using spells long forbidden under the light of Celestia’s Sun to pierce the veil of time and give accurate measure of the distant past and the trials faced long ago. I hope that the good that this will do out ways my transgressions and serves to enlighten the ponies of the future to avoid the darker paths we have tread.
Princess, I hope you can forgive me.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Twilight stared at the book with no small amount of awe. The soft spoken words the author had written resonated with her, and she wondered what kind of a stallion he was.
The last line almost seemed directed at her, as opposed to Princess Celestia, or the Princess that would have ruled the Chrystal Empire at the time, though, of course, that was impossible.
This book would prove very informative, she decided, carefully placing it in a special box she had acquired to store and transport the oldest of books. It had taken her too long to find this book, and she had many responsibilities to get back to. She calmly picked up the box and made her way out, and into the light of day once again.
The Book of Ages
By Skye Silverwing
Chapter 1: Home World
It had been several days since Equestria’s newest Princess had returned from her trip to the Chrystal Empire, and as she had expected, her days had been filled with the tasks that Princesses were expected to do. Twilight Sparkle barely had time to sleep amidst the constant pleas for attention from every pony that thought they had some reason to be worthy of it.
She had completely forgotten about the book that lay in her saddlebags as she dealt with everything from visiting dignitaries, to Shining Armor, her big brother, being overly protective and trying to convince her to improve her defenses in Ponyville. “After all, I won’t always be around to throw up a Shield if something comes out of the Everfree Forest again.” He would say.
It was true that this close to the Everfree Forest, something new and terrible seemed to arise on a daily basis, and Ponyville lacked the natural defenses that Cities like Canterlot, Cloudsdale, or even Manehatten had for being build on a mountain, in the clouds and on an island respectively, but it was fact that Ponyville lacked the funds to construct the huge defensive walls and castle that Shining Armor kept insisting on, and she was not about to use her position as a Princess to force the issue, so every time he brought it up, she told him no.
Beyond that, everything was great in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was settling in her new position in the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy, at Discord’s insistence, had taken up teaching younger Fillies and colts about animals and had learned to open up more, Pinkie Pie was still Pinkie Pie, but she had become a partner in the Sweets shop, Rarity had moved to Canterlot on a more permanent basis and was becoming a major player on the fashion scene, and Applejack had met a handsome stallion that Twilight suspected may be more than a friend.
Then a changeling arrived.
She introduced herself as Figment, and as the younger sister to the Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis, she asked for asylum for herself and her followers.
Figment told a tale of woe, of how she had betrayed her sister’s plan to ruin Cadence’s wedding the year before, for the sake of a friend she had made in Canterlot, complicating Chrysalis’s plan to infiltrate the city and forcing her to proceed on her own.
She told of how the energy used to blow the changelings away when the plan had failed had caused fundamental changes in the drone changelings involved in the attack, opening their eyes to the true meaning of love.
This did not sit well with Chrysalis, and when her top generals refused to participate in any further action against the ponies she destroyed them and began a reign of terror, having the “Untainted” changelings destroy the “Tainted ones”.
Figment had had no choice but to gather the reformed changelings in and flee with them, and she hoped that they could find a way to live in peace in the Everfree Forest near Ponyville.
Twilight was not sure how to respond, and she sensed that her fellow princesses might not either, so she asked for some time to sleep on it and turned her away.
Several hours later, Twilight sat in her study pondering the question at hand when her gaze fell upon the ancient book that she had collected from the Chrystal Empire. Perhaps that could give her some new insight into this issue, or at the least let her take her mind off of it for a fresh start. She opened the Protective box, and lifted the Book carefully out, and opened it to Chapter 1.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Chapter 1 - Equinus
It is important to note that even my strongest time magic failed to penetrate back to our earliest rise as a species, so I will have to rely on histories written in the earliest time I can reach for the first few steps. This vastly reduces the detail I can impart, but I will do what I can.
Our story begins, as such, on a distant world, a place known as Equinus. The World of Equinus was a shining world full of Steel spires and tall buildings that could dwarf even the greatest of mountains.
In this odd and foreign world, groups focused on acquiring wealth and power controlled policy, and stabilized the economic base of the world, using their influence to maintain the society that they served while keeping the ponies in check, addicted to the technology and services that they produced. The control of these “Corporations” was absolute.
The Ponies of Equinus were clever and innovative. They created thousands of brilliant technological devices that could allow for everything from speaking over great distances, to moving large objects without needing to touch them, to flight, and even the ability to travel over large distances in space. All of which was controllable through neural interface.
All of these technologies were packaged and sold to the public, year after year with little improvement, as a means of showing status and wealth, as well as a means of making life easier for the Ponies, and increase the Corporations’ profits.
In this time there came a bold, and forward thinking Pony known as Doctor Mane, a foremost pioneer in the field of Biomechanics. He succeeded in convincing one of the great corporations to fund the brilliant idea that was incorporating the technology directly into a pony’s genetic make-up, allowing it to be reproduced within the pony population as each generation passed.
The Corporation saw this as an opportunity to innovate in a manner that would put their own product at a greater value than their competitors, increasing their profits.
It was fifty years before the effect of the genetic engineering began to effect the Corporations, and not in the way that they had hoped. Instead of increasing their profits indefinitely, they found that the genetically altered Ponies no longer had the need for the new technology, and the corporations lost their profits.
The new breeds of Ponies formed into Four Distinctive groups: The Icari, from which Pegasai descended; the Numinae, progenitors of the Unicorn race; the Terrans, from whom the Earth Ponies rose; and the Chrysali, the ancestors of our own Chrystal Ponies. These four races, by virtue of Doctor Mane’s careful design and programming, were able to live in peace and harmony because their powers stemmed from the harmonious co-existence with each other. They lived in peace.
Unfortunately, with the sudden revelation that the new races would not participate in the economy of the world, and the loss of profits that represented, the corporations began to use their public influence to turn the normal Pony population against the new races, declaring them to be violent, dangerous monsters and evoking a violent counter reaction from the normal Ponies that culminated in Doctor Mane and his family being dragged out of their home in the middle of the night, and killed.
The new races, having lost their leader and father, and facing the hatred of their one-time brethren, took on a wild plan. Using their knowledge and abilities, they created a brand new energy core and propulsion technology, and used that new technology to create a large ship, capable of taking all of their people to a new home on a distant world.
When it was finished, all of the new races boarded the ship, and departed from Equinus forever. The bond to that world broken, our ancestors set out for a new home, with only the stars and their ship to guide them.
And they named the ship “Destiny”.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Twilight read with rapt attention until a tap at the door broke her concentration. Putting the book carefully back into its case, the Princess stood and answered the door.
Spike, her dragon assistant, shifted uneasily as he ushered in Figment.
The Changeling had a look of concern on her face. “Princess, my followers are growing restless.” She said, “My sister’s hold on them is still very strong. If you can help us, you must hurry. And if you cannot, then we must move on as quickly as possible, to avoid letting Chrysalis’s forces catch us out in the open.”
Twilight thought about how the Numinae and the other Pony races had been forced to flee from their home world for the crime of being different and nodded to herself. “Alright Figment.” She said, finally, “Deep in the Forest, beyond the Dark Wood, the River Ever, and a great chasm, there is a ruined Castle. It is not much of a home anymore, but it is a secure place for you to stay.”
Figment’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Princess,” she said, excitedly, “You won’t regret this kindness. Oh! I must inform my followers immediately!”
With that Figment turned and departed at a run.
Spike looked at Twilight. “Are you sure about this, Twilight?” He said, carefully, “They are Changelings. Won’t they get themselves into trouble?”
Twilight smiled at him. “Don’t we all?” she asked simply, “It seems that we have a lot in common with them. Maybe we can be friends.”
She shifted her gaze and glanced at the book again. Much in common indeed.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
A.N. I felt like writing out a bit of my own personal head canon, so I figured I would it as a book within a fiction. The idea that Pony Magic is actually a function of highly advanced technology built directly into their DNA has always been my favorite explanation of Pony magic, as Science Fiction gives us numerous ideas of how to explain individual abilities that ponies tend to have.
As always, I love suggestions, ideas and constructive criticism.
The Book of Ages
Mayor Mare smiled obsequiously. “Well, being the Mayor doesn’t always leave a lot of time for dealing with the paperwork that a growing city like Ponyville can generate.” She said in a placating tone. “I may have let it stack up for a few days.”
Twilight shot the politician a glare. “A few days?” she demanded with the glare. “This invoice is for repairs after the Parasprite incident.” She shuffled the pages, “And this seems to be a notice involving the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. That was before I came to Ponyville.”
The Mayor shifted her hooves nervously. “Well, I… err…” she began, quailing under the Princess’s piercing stare.
Suddenly the door of the chamber banged open, revealing a disgruntled Shining Armor. “Twilight! I just heard that you allowed a group of changelings to move into the Everfree Forest nearby.” He demanded, “What are you thinking? Don’t you remember what they did at Cadence and my Wedding?”
Twilight sighed. She had, of course expected this. Shining Armor’s reaction was completely understandable after Queen Chrysalis had replaced Cadence, nearly succeeding in marrying him and dominating his mind.
There was decorum to follow here, though. “Mayor, you may go.” She said, not taking her eyes off Shining armor. “And take those papers with you. They are YOUR responsibility, and I expect them done by our next meeting. That is all.” She held a up a hoof without even sparing the Mayor a glance, and forestalled her sputtering protest. “That is all.”
Sensing the sudden increase of tension in the room, the grey maned pony swept the stack of paper from the desk and fled with a trail of pages.
As the door closed, Twilight faced off with her brother. “Figment and her followers are changed, Shining Armor, and Chrysalis and hers are determined to destroy them.” She said, “If I don’t give them a chance to survive, who will?”
Shining Armor’s face contorted with rage. “They are Changelings!” he grated, “Changelings can’t be trusted! They steal love. They hide their true nature. They don’t deserve this chance. They will only betray you.”
Twilight gave her brother with a flat stare. “It is not your decision to make.” She countered. “I have decided to give these changelings a chance, and I can all but guarantee that Princess Celestia will support my decision, so unless you have more reason than ‘Changelings can’t be trusted’, you won’t change my mind.”
Shining Armor stared at his sister for a long moment, then drew himself up and his expression hardened. “Those wings really do suit you, Twilee.” He said, in a tight voice. “You know how to use your station. I will find evidence of the Changelings’ trickery, and when I do, I will expect you to be willing to listen.”
Twilight nodded curtly.
Shining Armor turned on his heel and stalked from the room.
Twilight stared at his back until he left her sight, and then breathed a sigh of relief. If the Changelings made any attempt to harm the people of Ponyville, she knew that Shining Armor would act on her behalf for the betterment of the city, and Equestria in general. He also would not jump to conclusions until he knew he had a case she could stand behind.
Nodding to herself, Twilight turned to her assistant, where he had been napping. “Spike, take a letter.” She said. No reason not to take extra precautions. “Dear Princess Celestia...”
Hours later, Twilight retired to her Chambers and pulled out her book again. There had to be a way to ensure that the Changelings could be trusted and alleviate Shining Armor’s concerns about them. As before, she found herself opening the aged book. Perhaps an answer would be found within.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
The Destiny was a truly massive vessel, nearly the size of a planet on its own, though its huge power core left little room for the Thousands of Ponies onboard. The huge central dynamo used the emotional energy of the Ponies onboard the vessel to spin a pair of enormous energy nodes around the central capacitor, passing the energy back and forth between them on each revolution in order to power the ship.
The Vessel spent many years searching for the right world, one where the Ponies would not be forced to harm others in order to set up their colony.
Unfortunately, the decision was made for the Ponies when the Destiny struck an anomaly in space that left the ship drifting into a Solar System with a Large yellow Star and a number of planets, one of which was habitable.
With their knowledge of their technology, as well as their natural abilities granted by the technology within them, the Ponies moved the Destiny into an orbit around the planet, and, after observing it for a period of time, they sent down a landing party, in hopes of finding necessary materials for repair.
On the Surface, as they sought the materials they needed, the ponies encountered a group of strange beings. These formless faceless blobs took on the forms of the members of the team after a few minutes of time, and drew energy from their feelings for each other. As they took the ponies forms and energy, so too, came intelligence.
In a few hours these “Changelings” had gained enough that they could stand equal to the pony races, with the powers of all four types.
As the Changelings grew and learned more of the ponies, they expressed a desire to become friends, and the newborn Changeling race became the first Ally of the Ponies, and the decision was made to found the first Colony in their new home. And over time their Alliance became a struggle to survive on a world full of hostile beasts and strange powers.
The Alliance was not truly tested, however, until the Swarm arrived. A horde of ravenous giant insects that could feed on the emotional energy that gave the Ponies, and now the changelings, their power. The Ponies fought alongside the changelings as friends, battling to save each other from the beasts of the swarm. True, the ponies could have left, having long since restored their ship, but they refused to let their new friends face the storm on their own.
During the battle, the changelings fought in a desperate attempt to keep their friends from harm, mimicking the enemy so as to defeat them. Together, the Ponies and their changeling allies pushed the Swarm back burned their hives, wiping them all out. Victory achieved, they began to rebuild their ruined colony.
In the weeks that followed, though, a strange illness began to sweep through the changeling ranks. They lost the ability to generate the emotions that they relied on for sustinence, and they began to grow more and more greedy for the love and emotional energy of their pony friends. As this greed grew, the Ponies began to express concerns about their friend’s changing attitude, as well as the corruption that the illness was inflicting upon the Changelings’ “basic” forms. The Changelings had permanently adopted forms that were more of a fusion between their pony allies and the Swarm that had been their enemy, including insect-like wings and black bodies.
The Ponies concern grew as the Changelings grew distant and drew inward forming a colony of their own and venturing over to the ponies only to feed on their positive emotions and become angry when they found those emotions in short supply.
Things came to a head when it came out that Changelings had begun abducting ponies and replacing them, feeding on love and positive emotions meant for them. The ponies were outraged at this, and banned the changelings from their colony.
The changelings took their colony and moved to a distant part of the world, Establishing the first ever changeling hive.
The ponies, having lost their only ally on this world, debated the possibility of moving to another. It was not long, though, before that choice was taken from them forever.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
An urgent knock on the door drew Twilight’s attention away from the book. She had barely even managed to acknowledge the knock when it burst open to reveal Rainbow Dash.
The Rainbow-maned Pegasus looked like she had been flying at her best speed. She rushed in and looked at the Princess with an urgent look. “Twilight!” she said, “There is an army of Changelings approaching Ponyville from the West!”
Twilight looked at her friend, a worried look on her face. “Is it more of Figment’s Changelings?” she asked.
Rainbow shook her head. “Figment’s Changelings have all already passed into the Everfree Forest.” She said, “This group looks like a War Party. They have more than three times Figment’s number, and they are Riding under the Standard of Queen Chrysalis.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “That many, and coming openly?” she asked. “Are they trying to start a War?”
Rainbow shook her head. “They have the crimson Flag up.” She said.
The crimson flag was a sign that an army was not coming to attack, but to retrieve criminals who had fled across the border of one nation to another. They were surely looking to retrieve or destroy Figment and her friends without having to fight the Ponies as well. The Red Flag also meant that Chrysalis would want to parley to see if the Ponies had any information on the Fugitives.
Twilight nodded slightly to herself. “How long before they arrive?” she asked.
Rainbow thought for a moment. “They want us to be ready for them, or they would be coming by air. Still, they likely won’t be here any later than morning.”
Twilight nodded. “Then by morning, we had best be ready.”
Twilight looked at the book once again and sighed, It seemed that once again the Ponies and allied changelings would need to weather the swarm. She only hoped it would turn out better this time.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
A.N. So there was the origin of the Changeling Race.
