Dear Magus Twilight,
As Equestria's newest Royal Magician, we feel it important that you know a thing or two about this world. Sister would have us burn this book and forget it's contents forever, but we managed to convince her that it's wisdom is best preserved - even if restricted - for the purposes of never forgetting, should this knowledge become essential in the future.
This is the Book of Origin. It is written in a language long since dead - you have been given a specially enchanted seeing stone. Simply levitate it with magic, and the stone will absorb some energy to fuel the enchantment to allow you to read. The only ponies who can read without this stone are we alicorns, as it requires the magic of all three tribes to translate fully. This stone's enchantment basically mimics the three tribes' powers on a smaller scale.
Remember, this knowledge is rare and secretive, but also a sign of trust. We advise that you share this knowledge with the other Elements and your loyal assistant - after all, it is with their help that you have achieved greatness, so we feel they, too, should share in the reward in some way. We do not advise you spread this knowledge among the general populace, however, as we've no idea what that may cause. Even Starswirl was said to have undergone a crisis after reading it's secrets.
Once you read, you will understand.
Your Princess of the Night,
Princess Luna
****
Twilight had just finished reading the letter out loud. Her friends surrounded her, looking on in confusion. Twilight had locked the doors, had covered the windows - she had made absolute sure nopony would know what this tome detailed without her say so. "... So, as you can see, she seems to want us to know what the book says. Apparently, it's a secret to everypony."
"Well..." said Rainbow Dash, "If it's half as good as a Daring Do book, then I guess I won't complain..."
"It sounds super exciteriffic!" shouted Pinkie with a bounce.
"It sounds scary..."
Everypony turned to Fluttershy. "... If the Princess doesn't want us telling other ponies, what if it's really scary? What if it's life-alteringly scary?" She whimpered. "What if... what if we're not real? Just some dream made by other beings?"
"I'm... sure it's not THAT bad..." said Twilight, staring at the tome with no shortage of concern herself. She had never run into a book too terrifying to read, however, and she'd sure as tartauros not be scared of one now. "If anypony isn't sure they want to know what's inside... feel free to leave." Pinkie's expression was nothing short of anticipation. Applejack and Rarity exchanged worried glances, but gave Twilight a nod. Rainbow Dash simply... picked her nose and then tried to pretend she didn't when she noticed Twilight was looking. Fluttershy was trembling however. "Fluttershy?" She shook her head and nodded. "You... going to leave?"
"N-no... i-if Luna thinks we should all know, I'll stay..."
Twilight gave a nod. Slowly, she opened the book. She always loved the sound of opening an old text. Something so... mysterious about the sound of the binding straining against aged pages. Her horn began to glow, and a strange stone levitated nearby - it had odd symbols etched into it, and a hole for seeing through. As it absorbed her magic, the symbols glowed, and a strange spark emitted from the view-port, before clearing up. Suddenly, the letters on the page, while still little more than part of a dead language, began to make sense - as if she was relearning a language.
"Ponykind was no always what they are today.... no... for at one time, all were one, and one was all. Like all things, ponies had humble beginnings... and it all began with... the Great Tree..."
***
Long ago, in time immemorial, there was but one race of pony. To many, they seemed as Ponies of Earth - a fact that Many Earth Ponies believe makes them the original race. Nay, for the Earth Ponies are but the most subtle of differences.
These were Origin Ponies.
These ponies held no special magic, no innate gift of mystic power. They grew crops as any Unicorn or Pegasus might. They could only work magic by way of potion making and rituals. They could not fly, and as such, had never dreamed of manipulating the winds. They were simple, undivided by naught but their tribes.
These ponies of old lived in a land, long gone. And in the heart of their land was 'the Great Tree' - or the Tree of Power, as many called it.
This ancient tree was magical in nature - so potent was it that anypony who spent their life beneath it's vast leaves would live a longer, healthier life than normal ponies. Crops that grew beneath it grew brimming with life and luster, having bearing fruits that tasted sweeter than their common cousins. Even the heavens were said to migrate towards the tree, showering the land around it with enough water to feed crops, but not enough to drown the land.
Everypony revered the tree. Everypony loved the tree.
Everypony wanted the tree as their own.
For it was known that every one hundred years, the tree would bear but a single fruit - a fruit that would live but one year, before falling to the earth and feeding the tree it's own power, thus ensuring the continued existence of the tree. It was said that any who ate of the fruit would be granted it's amazing powers.
And so, it was fought for.
Many clans rose to struggle. Brother slaughtered Brother, Sister fell Sister, all in the hopes of rising above the others to claim the tree as their own, to secure their legacy among the clans. When the fruit was finally borne, the bloodshed increased, as ponies attempted to secure the tree, and to claim it's power as their own.
It was then that three of the rival clans managed to get to the top, at the same time. Fearing that they might not defeat one another, they opted, instead, to be the first to claim the tree's power. Each of them took a bite from the fruit, at the exact same time.
It was in this instant that the three races were born.
Because each had eaten of the fruit at the same time, however, the power of the tree was divided between them. One - Alguth the Terrible, of the Erhim clan - surged with the strength and vitality of the land. It is said his skin became strong as stone, and his strength great enough to shatter mountains, and upon his flank was a brand of the very stone his body now emulated. Agatha the Wise, of the Unim clan was granted another gift - from her head sprouted a horn, with which she could sense and command the mystical energies that nopony else could see, upon her a brand of the stars. With but a thought, she could clean an entire battlefield. And then there was Hilda the Swift of the Pegalim, who sprouted the wings of a bird of prey, and was said to be able to call the very winds to her aid, and to move so quickly that she could only be seen if she so willed it - branded with a symbol marking the skies.
The bloodshed only grew.
For a century, these leaders fought each other for dominance, using their gifts to reclaim the tree. They would have it's power - ALL of it's power - as opposed to but a single fraction of it. Their very children inherited their gifts, and it is said that as their wars raged on, they threatened all not born of their blood.
But as they fought and destroyed the land, the tree slowly wilted. For so long, it had grown on the love and harmony of the creatures it watched over. To see them slaughtering and killing each other with it's own power made the spirit of the tree weak. Slowly, but surely, it was dying. It knew that the warring clans would never get the power they sought, for it would die long before that fruit could be born.
Then one day, she appeared.
A mare. She had dreamt of the tree for longer than she remembered, and she approached it, hearing it's cries. She prayed to it, asked it to stop the fighting, pleaded that it end the terrible war and bloodshed among her people.
That day, the tree bore one last fruit, pouring the last vestiges of it's power forth into a final gift for the world. It urged the mare to eat the fruit, and she obeyed.
The fighting stopped, with all staring at the Grand Tree as it began to wilt. It's vivid colors fading with the black and grey of death, it's magic fading from existence.
And at it's trunk, a mare whose mane waved, composed of nature itself, with grand, resplendent wings not unlike those of an angel, and a horn so grand that they say you could feel it's power simply gazing upon it.
All three clans stopped fighting as their leaders all bent knee to their superior.
***
Twilight stared in shock at the book. The library was silent. One could hear a pin drop, if the pins indeed hadn't been on the edge of their own seats.
"... W...what?" said Twilight, shaking her head, rereading a few sentences. "Th... this doesn't make any sense! This doesn't match up with any of the lore I read!"
"Lore you've read? What lore, darling?" said Rarity.
"Theories! Evolution!" Twilight waved her hooves around. "There are hundreds! Centuries of living on or around ley lines and nexuses, mutations brought about by fluke nature, even ALIENS! But I've NEVER heard of any sort of magical tree!"
Applejack gave her a deadpan stare. "... You'd believe in aliens before you'd believe a magical, fruit bearin' tree?"
"Well, no..." responded the magician. "I-It's just... if this was true, certainly SOMEPONY would have kept a record, right?"
"Well, you ARE reading it out of a book Twilight!" shouted Pinkie, pointing at the tome as if Twilight might miss it otherwise. Twilight had to admit; she had a point.
"But... why is this... why isn't there more info? Why would this be, for all we know, the only bit of record of this if it were true?"
"If'n that letter you read is true, it mighta been suppressed..." said Applejack. "Fer what, I dunno. Maybe if we keep readin' it'll make sense?"
Twilight nodded, levitating the seeing stone back up and reading on.
***
The rule of the Celestial Queen was said to have lasted a millennium. Using her powers - the powers of the Grand Tree itself - she would bend nature to her very will. She helped crops grow, she aided clouds in their flight, and she altered reality to suit the needs of her people.
The clans, however, did not stop fighting.
Though the blood shed had ended, the clans still bickered and argued tirelessly. The clan leaders, much as the Celestial Queen herself, had been rendered nearly immortal by their claim of power. They would constantly come to her demanding land and aid. They would seek her guidance on all matters. It was then she realized that though she had stopped the war, she had not ended the fighting - the clans fought over the tree still, if only in pony form.
Her people had become too dependent upon her.
It is said that on that day, she disappeared from the world.
Left behind without their queen, the tribes were at a loss.
And so, the war recommenced, but changed. Nopony knew what they were fighting for. The tree was dead, it's power spent. The queen was gone, her power taken with her. The land itself was shared, and any claim of it was just more of what one already had plenty of.
They fought because it was all they knew how to do on their own.
What they did not know is that there was still power to be had in the tree. Power that had slowly come to with their cooperation, their harmony.
And the war was helping it grow into something else.
The clan leaders began to decay - their very power was being stolen from them, slowly, but surely. They quickly realized that their children's' war had been changing the husk of the tree, and that it wasa transforming. Soon, however, they were too weak to change it. By the time they realized what was happening, most of their strength was gone, and even their own descendants would not obey them anymore.
They disappeared into the night to find the only being who could save their children, stop them from killing each other.
And, after a decade of travel, they found her. Isolated in the arctic, she had lived alone and watched the ponies wage war, tirelessly, and sadly. She was surprised to see the progenitors themselves grovel before her, and beg for her to give them a solution.
And she offered them one, but told them it would cost them dearly - it would take from them what little power they still had left, and their very lives.
They gave it willingly.
And so, with a thought, she shattered their bodies - their power and life energy plane to see - and called up ore from the earth. Melding them together, she forged a new magic, blessed with the power of the tree itself, with the power of the three clans.
From Alguth, she drew kindness and generosity. Though he was a massive stallion, feared as a beast on the battleground, his tough hide hid a kind, giving heart.
From Hilda, she drew loyalty and laughter. Though quick and terrible, Hilda was loyal to those close to her, and was never one to remain upset - she always preferred to laugh at the darkness.
From Agatha, she drew honesty and magic. Wise and tempered, Agatha knew the world even before she gained her power, and never saw a reason to fool herself or others over the workings of the world.
And so, the Celestial Queen returned to her land. Not to reclaim her throne. Not to rise again to power. No. To bring harmony.
It was only when she arrived did she realize how much it was needed, for the remains of the Tree of Power had grown sickly and twisted. The Tree itself was alive, a foul mockery of it's former self. It spread a mist which drove all near it mad as it's roots greedily devoured the land and drew life from the soil. The spirit of the tree had fled, but a new one had been put in it's place; one forged of chaos and bloodshed.
Using the newly forged Harmony Stones, the Celestial Queen ripped the tree asunder. To assure it could be contained and challenged, she divided it's power into new creatures. The blood of ponies of all kinds was poured into an insect queen - thus born was the first changeling queen. The wood of the tree, still bathed in rage, was fed to wolves, who became the first timberwolves. The Fear and Terror that plagued those around it was condensed and fed to chickens, that became the first Cockatrices. The cold and uncaring malice in the tree was banished to the north, where the winds gave it the form of the Wendigos.
The very spirit of the tree was split apart and fed to various creatures, who would bring it with them when they perished. The Queen did not anticipate, however, that these creatures would be drawn to each other, and consume one another, until only a monster was left in their place, born of their various parts.
The first Draconiquus then fled into the mountains never to be seen again.
What the Celestial Queen did not anticipate, however, was that the tree still held some love. It was faint and weak, but there. She took that love, and forged from it a new artifact - a heart made of crystal, which she bequeathed to some of the remaining ponies of the old kind. As per her instructions, they fled the land, disappearing into unknown territory, where it is said they bathed so long in the love of the heart that they took on it's traits.
And thus, the Celestial Queen vanished once more.
Though she left her gift, the tribes were not at total harmony, but at the same time, the desire to fight had left them with the absence of the Dark Tree. And so, they forged new homes from the ashes - the Pegalim fled to the clouds, the Unim to the mountains, and the Earhim to the fields. As a sign of their brotherhood, they traded their skills - the Erhim - now called Earth Ponies - would trade food, which they grew more effectively and bountifully. The Pegalim - now called Pegusai - would manipulate the weather to their advantage. The Unim - now called Unicorns - would manipulate the sun and moon.
The elements - the last gift of their leaders - were lost in history.
***
Twilight flipped the page. It was blank. She flipped back and reread. "Huh... it... that's it?"
"What?" said Rainbow Dash. "That's it!? That's like... anticlimactic or something!"
"Well, it's probably a few thousand years old... I imagine the writer wasn't trying to make the tale riveting, so much as informing... and if I had to guess, I'd say this is where the information was cut short."
Applejack stared at the floor. "So wait... we're... we're all descendants of warlords who fought and killed each other over a tree?"
"A MAGICAL tree!" shouted Pinkie with a hop.
"Apparently..." said Twilight. "... Wow... "
"Something wrong, Twi?" said Applejack.
"... This.... this makes... wow..." the unicorn shook her head, seeming ready to faint. "... You have no idea what this means do you? This is history nopony else knows. This is knowledge that has been hidden for who knows how long! This sort of knowledge changes so much... so much of our history!" She looked to the others. "What makes us different from each other... it's all the long-lasting result of powers granted by an ancient tree that no longer exists except in the form of monsters!"
"You gonna be okay there?"
"I don't know..." Twilight shook her head again. "... This... this knocks almost every known theory of pony evolution off the table... our views, our cultural differences, it was all the result of the tree... everything we are now is because of the tree..." Everypony fell quiet. They knew what they were all thinking - only Twilight seemed to be able to appreciate the gravity of the situation. To the rest of them? It was something else.
"Well heck, I'm not surprised!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "I mean, the Pegasai WERE a warrior race for a long time before the founding of Equestria!" She grinned with no shortage of optimism, though Fluttershy seemed to squeak and hide behind her mane. Rainbow smirked and rolled her eyes. "Though I guess times do change a race..." This made the butter yellow pegasus smile.
"An' heck, I think it makes sense too!" said Applejack. "My granny was still perdy youthful when I was a baby! She could even work until up to a few years ago!" She puffed her chest proudly. "I dare say the Apple Family serves as proof that that tree worked!"
"Oh! And me! Me! I have pinkie senses! Pinkie senses!"
Twilight quirked a brow. "Actually Pinkie, I think that's just you."
"Oh..." She shrugged and ate a cake that seemed to come from no where. Of course, now that Twilight thought of it, was there any reason to say Pinkie wasn't embodying something from that tree?
"It's strange..." said Twilight, shaking her head. "... All that separates us is... a magical fruit..."
"THE MORE YOU EAT, THE MORE YOU-"
"Pinkie."
"Sorry!"
"So, does this change anything?"
Everypony turned to Spike, who had been quiet the whole time. Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, wondering. "I can't really say... I mean, it's not like this knowledge would alter the flow of history..." She looked at the book again. "I'm not even 100% sure I know why Celestia would want to keep this book secret."
"It's because it's something of a touchy subject for her."
Everypony jumped and turned to see Discord holding a bowl and eating popcorn kernels, spitting out fully popped popcorn. "You see, that's just what history was recorded by some old dead pony who happened to be the very last of the 'Old Kind.' He passed it on to his daughter, who passed it on to her daughter, and so on until it reached a stallion who... well... " He shrugged. "Let's just say he wasn't too happy with how I was running things at the time."
"So?" said Twilight, quirking a brow.
"He found the seeing stone, used this tome to hunt clues... eventually, he discovered that the queen, who disappeared, either dead or gone forever ago, had descendants, albeit weaker in power. He hunted those descendants, and found a princess in a far away land. She agreed to help him find the lost elements of harmony. They fell in love, got freaky, and had children - two of which were blessed with their mother's gift."
"Wait... are you saying..."
Discord laughed. "I ruled Equestria for nearly fifty years before Celestia and Luna challenged me. They weren't much older than you, but their father had managed to locate the Elements of Harmony, although it cost the old fool his life in the process."
Twilight stared at the tome silently.
"So.... she wanted rid of it because-"
"They had different opinions..." He shrugged. "Celestia saw it as a cursed, horrible thing that marked them from birth. A thing that marked ALL ponies from birth. In her eyes, it was what killed her father, although she forgets it's because that tome she was born to begin with..." He grinned. "Luna, on the other hoof, sees it as their father's legacy and legend. It's almost a shame the old fool's name is long forgotten... I heard legend that they even had to use the tome again to figure out where their brother, jealous of their birthright, had run off to to claim another artifact..."
Twilight groaned. "Don't tell me--"
"Yeah, Sombra was never too happy that he was the strongest of his non-alicorn siblings, but still overshadowed by Celestia and Luna... so, he ran to the north and enslaved some ponies I managed to miss, if only because I hate the cold!"
Twilight gave Discord a deadpan stare. "I suppose next you're going to tell me--"
"I also know all of your lineages!" Discord put a crystal ball on the table and was, suddenly, wearing fortune teller clothes. "Twilight, you're descended from Starswirl the Bearded (go you), Rainbow Dash, you're descended from Commander Hurricane, and Rarity, you're descended from..." Discord smirked and laughed. "PUDDINGHEAD!?"
"NO!" Rarity shrieked. "I am NOT descended from a pony who entered her home from a chimney!"
"Yes you are!" Discord pointed at her almost accusingly, before busting out laughing. Twilight groaned.
"None of that is true, is it?"
He shrugged. "Some of it is. Up to you which parts."
Fluttershy trotted next to Discord and smiled. "Ooh! Me next?"
Discord hummed and looked at her for a moment.
"... Commander Hurricane, actually."
Rainbow Dash grimaced. "Wait... so I'm related to Fluttershy?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not really, after over 1,000 years, even if you shared an ancestor, you're biologically too diverse to be considered 'related.' I mean, otherwise EVERYPONY would be related."
Discord grinned. "Why? There a reason you two being related would be a problem?"
Fluttershy blushed, placing a hoof to her mouth. "O-oh my..."
Discord smirked and patted her head. "I'm just teasing Flutters."
"Wait wait wait, hold ON a second!" Twilight pointed an accusing hoof at Discord. "Why are you even here!? Did you just come here to mess with us? Is there a reason for this visit!?"
Discord shrugged. "I knew Celestia didn't want you to know something. I had to spoil it for her." Twilight wanted to respond, but how could she? She knew it was true, and she knew it was exactly what he'd do. And she was actually somewhat thankful he told her.
"Right... well... go away now..."
He stuck his tongue out. "Oh Twilight, you're no fun." He shrugged, holding up a claw with a cuckoo clock on it. "Oh well, I think it's just about time for Celestia to eat dinner anyway! Wouldn't want her sitting down without a whoopy cushion to soften her seat, would we? Ta!" With a flash, he was gone.
Silence.
"Well, that story was long and I kinda missed most of it. I'm going home and getting ready for weather duty tomorrow."
"Sweetie Belle might be doing her homework, I must oversee that."
"I think my critters might be hungry..."
"I better make sure Big Mac didn't forget to do our taxes this month..."
"I wish I had a reason to leave! I just wanna go because I think Twilight's gonna freak out over all this new information!"
With that, everypony fled the room, leaving Twilight and Spike alone. Spike turned to Twilight, who simply had her gaze on the tome again. "Twilight?" Nothing. "Twilight, you gonna be okay?"
"... I'm holding the book... that effectively caused Celestia and Luna to be born..."
"Twilight?"
"It's because of this book that Equestria isn't dotted with checkerboard hills and floating land masses..."
"..."
Twilight looked up to Spike. "... This book... it holds so much value and importance to Equestrian history. The original split of the races... the birth of the monsters... this book documents so many things that have plagued pony minds for centuries... and all I have to do is reveal it to everypony..."
"Will you?"
Twilight stared for a moment.
The grinned.
"Nope. I was trusted with a secret, and I'm keeping it!" She placed the book aside. "Besides... I like knowing something other ponies don't!"
"So wait..." said Spike, scratching his head. "Why would this book cause Starswirl to have an identity crisis?"
Twilight shrugged. "He believed that unicorns were the original race."
"Oh."
"Yeah, Starswirl might have been a teensy bit tribalist..."
***
Dear Princess Celestia,
After reading the book of origins, I have to say I'm awfully surprised! The information therein could change the way we look at history forever! However, I also know that this might not be information that pony society at large is ready for just yet. As such, I will be sending the book back to you and Luna soon.
Please note that Discord will also be putting a whoopy cushion beneath your seat when you sit down for dinner.
Your Royal Magician,
Twilight Sparkle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I wish you'd have sent that message sooner.
And that Discord didn't fill the whoopy cushion with chocolate sauce.
Needless to say, I'm going to need to write one heck of an apology to the leaders of the griffonlands before they'll ever take an invite for dinner again.
Your Princess of the Day,
Princess Celestia