The Origin of Ponykind
by Monki
edited by I HV NO FEAR
"Knowing the past will help you appreciate the future." - Clover the Clever
In a time way before ponies even existed, there was nothing, but emptiness. In this realm of nothingness, neither light nor darkness existed. It came to be that two immortal beings of two different dimensions accidentally met in this void and fell in love at first sight. The names of those immortal beings were Solaris and Nocturnal. Bound by eternal love, they decided to make this empty realm their new home. The male, Solaris, whose coat was said to shine brighter than anything that ever existed, created the light, while the female, Nocturnal, whose coat was darker than the darkest shade of black, brought along the darkness. It is not much recorded about their appearance, but it is said that Solaris had several golden horns on his head looking like a crown, while Nocturnal had six giant wings, which could cover the entire sky.
They looked at their creations noticing the perfect consonancy between light and darkness. To be fair to one another, they decided to rotate between their creations frequently, so Solaris and Nocturnal kept a perfect cycle of light and darkness active at all times. Their effort of balancing both by alternating between the two of them resulted in a perfect harmony. Ever since, light and darkness were an inextricable union which couldn't go on without each other.
Bound by their never ending love, Solaris and Nocturnal mated, which caused Nocturnal to cry one single tear of joy. Knowing that she was pregnant now, Solaris caught the tear of his lover and used his power to create a blue orb from it, which was now floating in that realm of light and darkness they’d created. Solaris solidified the tear making a dry surface and covered it with trees and hills, while Nocturnal filled the holes and valleys with water and the air with clouds. The two of them reformed that tear of joy to create a beautiful garden for their children to grow up in. This garden was named Equestria.
Soon Nocturnal gave birth to two little foals, who then were sent to grow up together on Equestria. The twins Genesis and Exitus formed the polar opposites of each other. The beautiful four winged female, Genesis, was a creative daydreamer while her brother, the two-horned Exitus, was passionate, cunning and smart. Both grew up in the garden which was created for them by their parents and loved each other regardless of their differences. Eons passed while Solaris and Nocturnal watched their two children grow up and play with each other on that world called Equestria.
Exitus was happy that he could be with his beloved sister, since he didn't want anything else, but while growing up Genesis got more and more bored with her brother alone, thus chafing for something to change. She decided to create more dwellers for their world to play with and over the years, Genesis created a variety of many different lifeforms and got praised by Solaris and Nocturnal for her creativity. Although Exitus dearly loved his sister, he grew envious due the constant praising of his parents for his sister and the constantly increasing lack of attention she seemed to show towards him, so he started to kill her lifeforms off. Noticing that some of her animals were missing Genesis asked her brother where her animals went and Exitus, unable to lie to his loved one, truthfully told her that he had killed them.
Sad about the loss, Genesis created more animals that pleased her parents, but made her brother even more envious, so he continued to kill her critters off shortly after their creation. Sad and furious, she asked her brother to stop killing her animals and Exitus promised to stop, since he didn’t want to hurt his sisters feelings. However, seeing her animals now worshiping his sister for saving them and having nopony to worship him, Exitus was driven to desperation and so he broke his promise and continued killing Genesis's creatures. Their parents intervened and reminded both of them of the importance of maintaining balance and harmony. Solaris and Nocturnal decided to compound a trade-off. Genesis was allowed to keep creating her lifeforms, but Exitus was allowed to kill them after a set amount of time. Both children agreed to the bargain.
Since she didn't have to worry about her creatures anymore, Genesis decided to create a new species, combining the appearance of both her brother and hers. She called her creation 'Ponies'. To make her new race more interesting, she divided them into three tribes and gave each kin different abilities: The earth ponies were given exceptional strength and knowledge of the soil to take care of Solaris’s flowers and plants. The Pegasi were given a pair of wings and aerial magic to take care of the sky and Nocturnal’s clouds. The third tribe were the Unicorns, who were given a horn to keep the invisible arcane leylines in order.
On one hand Exitus was flattered that his sister chose both of their appearances as a model for her newest creations, but on the other he thought that it wasn't right to give a lesser creature their appearance, even if in an extenuated way. Exitus tried to reason with his sister, but she remained stubborn and reminded him of his promise.
For another while Exitus enjoyed killing the creations of his sister after their time was up, but still he missed her presence and attention. The new ponies continued to worship her and her growing creativity pleased her parents as well. Soon Exitus tried to find loopholes in their agreement, and being quite smart, he created other ways to kill Genesis's creations, which didn't need his own intervention. Exitus thought that he could be close to his sister again if he managed to erase his sister's creation entirely. He assumed that if there weren’t her creatures distracting her from him, she certainly would come back to him. He created disasters like forest fires, storm surges and twisters. Although many animals died, his efforts couldn't stop their amount from growing, since the ponies soon found ways to protect the animals and themselves from the danger.
He then snatched away some of his sister’s creations and began to experiment with them to create his own worshipers, but he couldn't quite shape them as well as his sister could. So he just ripped them apart and assembled them anew. It took him many failed attempts, but in the end he was able to compile three creatures on his own, who he gave a fraction of his power. The purple-scaled winged drake with a scorpion tail was given the power of affliction, to spread plagues and carry off his sister's creations. The brown coated goat headed draconequus was given the power of discord, the ability to turn Genesis's creations into chaos. The last of Exitus’s minions, a green eyed plate-armored unicorn, was given the power of fear and violence to suppress the animals, and be able to turn them against each other. Although being the weakest of the three, the sombre unicorn was the most twisted and obstinate one of his followers, who took great pleasure in corrupting the other creatures.
Once again Genesis complained about the loss, but Exitus claimed that they weren't his deeds, but rather the ones of her creations, since he couldn't create animals on his own. Still believing that her brother was unable to lie to her, she watched helplessly how her animals and ponies suffered and died without her brother's intervention.
Unable to remove the source of evilness on her own, she begged her brother Exitus to kill the three troublemakers for her, but he refused, telling her that he was bound by their agreement. Genesis then created two pony-like creatures, but also added the combined characteristics of all three tribes, granting them enhanced endurance and the use of magic and flight. Genesis also enhanced her newly created ‘Alicorns’ with a fraction of her own power, additionally granting them enhanced longevity, strength and increased arcane powers, so they could fight against the three creatures that caused the mischief.
The two Alicorn sisters, who were created by Genesis to protect her domain were named Celestia and Luna. However those two Alicorns could only hold the evildoer at bay, but the sickness, fear and chaos they'd already caused still lingered among Genesis's creatures.
To counter the extinction of her animals, Genesis then gave each of them genders and the ability to reproduce, which allowed them to grow in number defying the immediate danger. Exitus was infuriated, claiming that the ability to reproduce shouldn't be given to mere lifeforms. Their parents however tolerated Genesis's decision, which caused Exitus to fall into a rage. His untamed hatred and jealousy, and the constant proximity to chaos and affliction around him slowly changed his body, causing it to decompose over the eons. Ashamed of his new appearance, he wrapped himself in an ethereal cloak, which was given to him by his mother Nocturnal, to cover his now pale and bony face. He hid away from his sister, afraid of her reaction, although he wanted nothing more than being close to her. Eons passed and the conflict continued, until he tried another attempt to make peace with his loved one. He revealed himself to his sister and confessed his love to her, thinking that once she knew, she would come back to him instead. Genesis, however, was disgusted by his new appearance and rebuffed her brother.
Hearing his beloved sister addressing him with disgust and spite in her voice caused his heart to break. Losing the love of the one he adored the most, he also lost his temper, so he declared war against his sister and her creatures. He started to kill her creatures in large numbers, destroying everything they had built and leveling the land which the creatures called their home, before he finally faced his own sister. He managed to deliver a non-mortal wounding to her, before he could be rebuked by Solaris and Nocturnal. They once again told him the importance of balance and harmony, especially between siblings, but he wasn't even listening to them. His hatred, which had built up within him over the millennia, made him reject their reasoning. He saw no reason in maintaining a world order that only favored his sister. Forced to take action, they separated Genesis and Exitus from each other by giving them both their own domain. Genesis was allowed to stay at the surface of Equestria, while Exitus and his three minions were sent to the core to rule over the depths of the planet. Their parents also declared that from now on it would be forbidden for both of them to come near to each other. Exitus was devastated. It seemed like every attempt at regaining the love of his sister tore them further apart.
Being forsaken by the one he loved most, Exitus swore that he shall never love again. He ripped out his own beating heart and stabbed it with an obsidian dagger, so he would never fall for his seductive sister again. The wound he had caused to himself bled and a cataract of molten lava oozed out of his dying heart, covering most of the surface of his underground realm with heat and magma, but his natural magic prevented him from dying. With his heart he also killed off every good emotion that was left within him, so only spite remained. While he couldn’t do much from his new realm, his curses and his minions he had sent to haunt Genesis's creatures were still active and soon the wound Exitus had delivered to his sister became infected by the affliction he had caused. The sickness spread through her body and weakened her until Genesis's life was on a knife's edge. Exitus watched his sister's suffering with glee, and thought about new ways to wipe out her creation. Neither Genesis, nor her creatures were able to cleanse and remove the sickness from her body, so she kept decaying alive.
Noticing the suffering of their daughter and being unable to stop the decay by themselves, Solaris and Nocturnal begged Exitus to save her from his creation, but Exitus coldheartedly refused their pleas. Shocked and infuriated about Exitus's drastic actions, Solaris and Nocturnal stripped him of most of his power and shackled him to the core of Equestria as a punishment. They told him that he would never see the surface nor Solaris's light again, but even after everything he did, his mother pitied him and allowed him to visit the surface once a year during night time, if he swore to return to his domain before dawn - And he did. However even if it was only for one night, his visits always left his lingering presence behind, which spread coldness over the land that lasted for several weeks before Genesis’s creations were able to dispel it again. His presence caused the leaves of the trees to wither and the old and weak animals to die, which weren’t smart enough to hide or not resilient enough to resist his influence. This time of the year is called ‘Winter’ and it is an important part of the never ending cycle of life and death.
Unable to cure their daughter from the sickness, Solaris and Nocturnal knew that nothing could ever stop the sickness from destroying the body of Genesis. As a last resort, they were forced to seal the soul of their daughter into the earth of the realm she loved that much, to prevent her from dying entirely.
Right before Genesis was sealed away into the healthy ground of Equestria, she taught her children the importance of friendship and harmony. She now understood why balance and harmony have always been that important to her parents, but she also realized that she should have treated her brother better. Fighting siblings are the worst possible thing and she admitted that it actually was her fault. Knowing that her brother will never stop trying to hurt her ponies, she also reminded her subjects of the constant danger by her brother's influence. Every creature gathered around her withering form, bemoaning their creator and mother.
Just before Genesis was going to die, Solaris and Nocturnal transferred her spirit into the nature of Equestria. Regretting that she had been that cold to her brother, she shed one last tear before leaving her physical shell. A massive forest, overflowing with Genesis's sorrow and love, quickly grew were her tear had hit the ground. Solaris dubbed the forest the 'Everfree Forest', to remind his daughter's children that they were freed because of Genesis and it should always stay like that. Until this day, her immortal spirit is still present in every plant, every life form enables the nature to regenerate itself.
Shaken and distressed by the loss of both their children, Solaris and Nocturnal decided to move on to a different realm and start anew. Before they left, Solaris formed a larger orb of burning fury while Nocturnal created a smaller orb of pale sadness and both of them put a portion of their power into each orb. They taught Genesis's champions Celestia and Luna how to use their orbs to maintain the balance between light and darkness and granted each one of them the reign over one orb. The two Alicorns promised to protect and maintain order in the world their mother had sacrificed herself to save.
The Alicorn Celestia and her sister Luna gathered all ponies and built their own land near the magical forest. They erected the palace of their capital in the center of that forest, to honor and remember their mother. Centuries of peace supported the growing pony society and soon Genesis's name was forgotten by most ponies, who since then refer to her as 'Mother Nature'.
Even though Exitus managed to create more of his twisted minions and soon found more ways to corrupt and kill more of his sister's life forms, he still wasn't able to stop the proliferation of ponykind. Although he had impaled his own heart to become numb, he dearly missed his sister, however he blamed her creatures for her death. Longing for revenge, Exitus gripped the roots of the forest which reached deeply into his domain and corrupted them, infusing the trees with his own twisted power. During the centuries his corruption clashed with Genesis's lingering creation magic, which protected the forest, causing the forest to be filled with unstable arcane magic, being neither good nor evil. Animals who lived in that forest were corrupted and changed by Exitus’s influence, so they turned into more feral beasts and forgot the bonds they shared with their former pony brothers and sisters. Now threatened by the unstable magic and the feral beasts, the ponies had to abandon their home and rebuild their city somewhere else.
Even until this day, the two forces of good and evil fight for dominance in that forest, which causes the beasts to become confused and aggressive against intruders. That’s the reason why the magic present in the trees is much stronger, more unique, and more chaotic than at any other place.
The ponies soon found a promising location to start anew and rebuilt their capital on a large mountain range. They dubbed their new capital “Canterlot”, which is an old wording of “can’t (do) a lot” - A way to remember that they aren’t almighty, since they weren’t able to save their mother, nor prevent their former animal sibling's corruption. Basically the whole city acted as a memorial to what happened and in addition to point out the limits of ponykind.
Nowadays the rain is identified with Genesis's tears, bringing new life and washing away the sins, while earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are an indicator for Exitus's grief.
*****
"Awwww... Such a sad story..." Sweetie Belle said aloud, after her teacher had finished her narration. Tears streaked down her cheeks, being quite touched by the events of the story.
"Boooooring!" Scootaloo sighed, seemingly half asleep.
"But Mrs. Cheerilee, this is only a fairy tale, isn't it?" the white-coated unicorn filly asked rubbing her teary eyes with both hooves.
“Of course it is, dumpflank! Every foal knows that Equestria was founded by the three tribes and the Princesses showed up afterwards,” Diamond Tiara remarked mockingly.
“But where did those three tribes come from, Diamond Tiara?” Sweetie Belle asked unconvinced, now turning towards her with a curious expression. The addressed filly remained silent, since she obviously didn’t know what to reply. After a longer moment she finally mumbled:
“I have never heard of an almighty demon who causes sickness and death…”
“But two of Exitus’s minions sound like they are Discord and King Sombra, don’t they?” Snips spoke out his thoughts while scratching his chin.
"Like Diamond Tiara, there are some ponies who think that this is a mere fairy tale to teach the young foals the importance of harmony, but there are also ponies who think that the Hearth's Warming Eve tale is just a made up legend to teach the fillies the importance of friendship and trust, claiming that the tale I just told you is the real deal. Well, nopony knows for sure, except the Princesses maybe, but each fairy tale has a grain of truth, Sweetie Belle. Both legends have their devotees, but as long as they treat each other with respect and kindness, nopony ever saw the need to intervene. Who knows, maybe even both tales are true. In any case, did you get the moral of the story, kids?"
"You should always listen to what your parents are saying?" Twist asked not quite sure if that was the right answer.
"You should never break a promise!" Snails added in his slow and goofy way of speaking.
"Ponies were designed after the image of gods!" Snips yelled excited. He then turned to his friend Snails and frowned.
"No, Ah learn'd that siblings should always care fer each other," Apple Bloom explained.
"Very good, Apple Bloom." Mrs. Cheerilee turned to the young earth pony and smiled.
The school bell rang indicating the end of their lesson.
"I want you all to write an essay about this story, explaining your individual thoughts about it for tomorrow as homework. Have a nice day, kids." Mrs. Cheerilee called out to her pupils, who were eagerly leaving the school house.
Most of them groaned and sighed while leaving the building, since none of them liked homework. Stepping out of the door led them directly into a shower of Genesis's sorrow, which didn’t improve their moods at all.
Standing in the rain in front of the school, Sweetie Belle cast her gaze around. She watched how different ponies dashed around trying to avoid the rain, she saw Applejack and Winona covering their market stall with a tarp to protect her apples from the moisture and she witnessed Fluttershy’s animals quickly escaping the weather into her hut through a small hole in the front door. The more she saw, the wider her mouth opened itself without her noticing. So many details. So many things. Even though she had lived here her entire life, it seemed like she had never really paid attention to all of it. She had just accepted the way things were, without wondering why or how they came to be. She felt like she now understood the complex aspects of life a bit better, which she had never noticed before. Slowly a smile spread across her face as she lifted her wet-maned head, gazed at the grey sky and whispered:
“Thank you.”
Thank you for reading
Author's Note
When I woke up the other day, I reflected on that strange dream I had during the night and quickly wrote everything down. As you may can see, this fic has many different mythological influences, like the Holy Book, the Greek's myths and even a bit of Neltharion's background story.
Something like this might be preached, if ponies actually had a religion. Like in our world, the priest would use a story like this to explain natural events in a more esoteric way instead of a scientific one.
Special thanks to “I HV NO FEAR” (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/I+HV+NO+FEAR), who did a great job proofreading this fic. He was a nice and helpful person to work with and I would recommend him to everybody.
Solaris's name got inspired by that Unix operating system by Oracle.
Nocturnal got inspired by the Deadra Lord of Night in the Elder Scrolls series.
Genesis means 'creation' and is also the name of the first chapter of the Holy Book.
Exitus is a mere synonym for death.
Nocturnal’s six wings are referring to the Seraphim, the highest class of angels in several religious texts, who also have six wings. Genesis’s four wings refer to Cherubim, the angel rank after the Seraphim, while Exitus’s two horns are a common trademark of the devil.
The winged drake who is the avatar of plague was inspired by ‘Malcho’, a winged serpent from the Aladdin series, who terrified me when I was a kid.
"But what about Lauren Faust? Shouldn't she be one of the gods?"
I thought about that, yes. I was going to name Genesis "Lauren" or something like that, but then I noticed how silly and unfitting that would have sounded. Genesis is basically the avatar of life and creation, opposing her brother who embodies death. I thought that unlike "Lauren", "Genesis" was a fitting name to support that train of thought.
Just in case you are wondering: Yes I did use Celestia's vector as a basis for Genesis's design. It is said that she created her Alicorns after the image of Exitus and herself. Being Celestia's mother it is only natural that both share similar appearance traits.
The cover in better quality can be found here: http://monki-eeyup.deviantart.com/art/Life-and-Death-411811142
