A/N: I wrote this to take a break from The Longest Journey, [[EQD*](http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-longest-journey.html)][[FIMfiction](https://www.fimfiction.net/story/3789/The-Longest-Journey)] I will be continuing with it soon, I just needed to get this story idea out of my head. I’m also a lazy writer, I apologize for the 1000 months it takes for me to make a chapter. Note that I am not running this through any of my editors, it’s something of a test for me to see how well I can do without them, and I figure I’d get it done quicker on my own anyway. If you see any glaring errors, please point them out to me!*
I love you my readers, carry on.
-Ek Vitki
The yellowed pages of the Encyclopedia Historica bellowed their dusty gatherings as a lavender unicorn flipped through its pages. The mare huffed motes of old grit out of her airways, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
“Twilight!” the voice of her young dragon assistant called out from the kitchen doorway.
She blinked, her attention diverted, “What is it Spike?”
“What do you want for dinner? I was thinking a daisy and sunflower seed salad, with emeralds and rubies and sapphires...” he trailed off, eyes going distant and his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“That sounds great!” Twilight replied with a giggle. The little helper’s silliness always made the librarian laugh. Her eyes drifted back down to the tome, resting on the page’s title: The Varangians.
“The Varangians (also known as the Varyags) were a civilization of ponies that lived far west, beyond the Sea of Winds and the wall of storms, in a land that no Equestrian has ever before seen.” The mare read aloud.
A land never before seen by Equestrians? Interesting.
She continued on, “The wall of storms itself was erected by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, as a means to prevent the Varangians from sailing over the ocean to land on Equestrian shores.”
Twilight furrowed her brow, Could anypony really be dangerous enough for the princesses to lock up like that?
“Their coats were supposedly a mixture of browns, whites, and blacks, lacking the virbant colors of their Equestrian cousins. The two most startling features of their bodies, however, were the ‘utter lack of cutie marks in any form, and they were all earth ponies!’, as reported by Tacitus Marblehoof, one of the few scholars to have ever had contact with the Varangian ponies. He only ever got this opportunity when a delegation of their ‘jarls’ arrived on Equestrian shores in their dragon-ships, demanding audience with the two princesses.”
Twilight lifted her nose from the book, removing her spectacles with a her magic. She chewed on her lip, digesting the words of Tacitus. Incidentally, the librarian did not originally intend on studying the subject of the Varangians; she had dropped the book accidentally while organizing her reference section and it had opened to the section on the lost civilization.
The sun was fast approaching its heavenly bed on the horizon, its golden light inundating the room with afternoon warmth. Twilight’s gaze found the end of the painfully short section being illumined by the brilliant light.
There has to be more! Maybe the Canterlot Library has more material... or I can ask Celestia, she and Luna raised the wall of storms after all!
Twilight brought the necessary letter crafting materials over to her reading desk with a whisk of magic, and began her letter to the princess.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have recently stumbled upon a book in my collection that tells of an ancient pony civilization known as the Varangians. It mentioned that you made a ‘wall of storms’ to keep them from crossing the sea. May I visit the Royal Archives to see if I can find any more on the subject? Also, are you willing to tell me more about the Varangians, since you were involved with them? I’m incredibly curious.
You’re faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Humming to herself, the magician sealed up the note so that Spike could send it off with his dragon fire.
Said companion stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a small bowl of gems to the dining table.
“Dinner will be done soon, Twi,” he said, setting down the bowl and a clawful of utensils.
“Hey Spike, can you send this to Princess Celestia please?” Twilight requested as she held out the sealed letter with her magic.
“Sure thing!” The dragon grabbed the letter out of the air and engulfed it in his emerald flame, dissolving the message and sending it sailing off to Celestia.
“Thanks, now let me help you finish dinner.”
“Oh no, I’ve got this, you sit and read and do your magic stuff,” Spike wagged a finger at her.
“Feeling generous today, Spike?” the unicorn grinned as she watched him re-enter the kitchen.
“What can I say? I’m a generous guy!” the dragon returned with two bowls of leafy greens, setting them gingerly on the table so to not crack the ceramic.
“Twilight, food’s ready!” he said to his big sister, who was enthralled in scouring her bookcases.
“Just a minute, do we have any books on the Varangians?” she called back.
“The Varawhatians? I’ve nev-” his puzzlement was interrupted by a burp accompanying a sealed scroll bathed in verdant fire. The message dropped onto the table, covered in little bits of chewed gemstones.
“Bleck! I hate it when she does that while I’m eating! It tastes weird!” Spike stuck his tongue out at the offending sensation. Twilight's ears perked up. Turning her head, her eyes widened at the letter on the table. She trotted over to where her food and the message lay.
The lavender mare grabbed the letter with her magic, undoing the seal and opening her message.
My faithful Student,
It would be pleasing if you would join me here in Canterlot as soon as you can, there is something important I must speak to you about.
Your Mentor,
Princess Celestia
Twilight’s mouth worked, but no words came out. Violet eyes scanned the letter over and over, her pupils shrinking with every pass.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked, swallowing his mouthful of food.
“It’s the princess, she wants me in Canterlot as soon as possible. She says she has something important to talk about... with me! Oh Spike what could it be? Am I in trouble? Was I not supposed to know about this? Oh this is bad, bad, bad!” The mare gritted her teeth as she looked around frantically.
The dragon slouched in his seat with a sigh, “Twi, relax! I’m sure if you were in trouble she would have said so in the letter. Besides, how many times has Celestia called you to the castle like this, and it turned out being nothing serious?”
“But this is different! I asked her about something she was around to witness! It could be a conspiracy for all I know, and I could be endangering the world by knowing the truth!”
Her assistant rolled his eyes, “Ok, how about you eat your dinner, and then we can send her a message saying you’re ready for a chariot ride?
“No time! I have to get ready and pack all my things and I have to write up a list to make sure-”
“Twilight!”
She went silent, then smiled sheepishly at her young companion.
“Heheh, sorry Spike. Maybe I should eat dinner first.”
The chariot landed smoothly in the courtyard just outside the royal hall. Twilight stepped out, grabbing her saddlebags along the way. Spike had remained at the tree house, insisting that he was ‘too tired to listen to history mumbo jumbo’.
A handsome blue unicorn appraoched his master’s student, helping with her bags.
“Let me take those, Miss Sparkle. I will show you to the princess. Please, follow me.” The servant smiled and lead her into the grand hall. The room was lavishly decorated with the cutie marks of the sun and moon, with a color scheme that balanced the dark midnight tones with the ivory day colors. Celestia sat on her throne, smiling as her student crossed the hall to greet her.
“Hello my student, it’s good to see you as always,” the princess spoke in a radiant voice, nuzzling Twilight affectionately.
“H-hello Princess, what was it you wanted to discuss?” the librarian asked.
The solar mare looked down at her shaking student, “Twilight, what’s wrong?”
“Oh ha ha! Nothing, nothing’s wrong at all!” the librarian tried the best fake smile she could muster.
“Well, alright then! Come along, let’s talk about the message you sent earlier.” Twilight gulped as she followed her mentor down a side corridor branching off the main hall. Rounding a corner, Celestia showed her a small balcony looking out over the city as the sun nearly touched the horizon.
The pair sat, watching the golden disc hover in the sky, a minute worth of silence hung in the air, until the princess spoke, “Tell me what you know of the Varangians, Twilight.”
“I... was I wrong to ask you about them? Are ponies not supposed to know? I’m so sorry Prin-”
“Twilight, calm down, please!” Celestia chuckled at her student, “I was just wondering, it is coincidental that you bring up the topic at this time.”
“Huh? How?” the younger mare relaxed wit ha perplexed look.
“Do you know of the wall of storms that keeps them from coming to Equestria?”
“Yes, it was one of the few bits of information in my reference book.” Twilight said.
Celestia turned, giving her student a grave look, “And do you know why it was erected?”
“Umm... Did they have a disease you didn’t want spreading?” she suggested.
“No.”
“Were they a threat to the Equestrian economy?”
“No. On the contrary they would have helped us with much trade.”
“Well, then why?” the puzzled unicorn asked.
Celestia closed her eyes, letting the setting sun’s light bathe her face. “Because they were not ponies at all. Not at first.”
“What?” Twilight squinted at her with disbelief in her voice.
“They were a race of creatures known as the Humans. They were two-legged and tall, with nearly hairless bodies and strong hands for gripping, not unlike Spike’s,” the princess described.
“But, but the book said they were ponies-”
“Yes, my sister and I turned them into ponies,” she sighed.
“Why? Why would you do that to them? What’s so bad about humans?” the librarian implored, looking up at her teacher.
The princess swallowed. “As a species, they were violent. Murder, war, assault, all were common place in their societies. War between the humans was occasional and short-lived at the best. Territory was their primary point of conflict, though gold and food also ranked high on their list of disagreements. During my earliest years, I spoke frequently with their leaders, a strikingly intelligent, if not always sensible group of individuals if you ask me. They believed that to die in battle was honorable and ensured an afterlife of joy and revelry, so they often made small conflicts and tournaments to grant their best warriors victory or glorious death. The rest of the time, their fighting was earnest; they had truly desired to end their enemy so they could take what they thought was theirs.”
Twilight remained silent as Celestia paused.
“Why? Why... would they kill like that? Why wouldn’t they just share?” Twilight’s eyes grew shiny from these alien and frightening ideas.
“That was who they were. They were a competitive species, born from scavenging rather than herbivorous feeding. It was their nature not to share.”
“So that’s why you transformed them?”
“Not exactly. The Varangians in particular were a very spiritual people, with a pantheon of gods that they believed ruled over aspects of nature and psychology. The primary concept behind their mythology, was that doing honorable and just things strengthened your soul, and with a stronger soul one could ensure their place in a glorious afterlife, and be very lucky before then. This often made the ground fertile for duels, bloody clan wars, and all out invasions to destroy those they thought had no honor.”
“That’s terrible!” Twilight gasped.
“Indeed it is, but they had many redeeming qualities, I assure you. Despite the less than diplomatic teachings of their religious system, it was not the cause for their transformation. I actually rather liked their beliefs, they taught not only violence and war, you know. Wisdom and clanocentric perspectives were incredibly important to them, and their religion only reinforced that. But I digress, my sister and I decided to change them after we noticed the emergence of a new religion. This system focused far more on its own proliferation, rather than the spiritual satisfaction of its followers. What were once small scale battles over resources evolved into sprawling wars to exterminate opposing cultures and beliefs, we felt it was all we could do to stop them without killing them ourselves,” the princess dipped her head, inhaling deeply
“You transformed them to stop this religion from spreading?” Twilight responded softly.
Nodding her head, Celestia sighed, “Yes, and it worked too! With their pony minds, they lost the drive to conquer one another and destroy the native cultures. Some of the leaders were angry at us, furious is a more appropriate term. The humans held their identities very close, to them this was the greatest of violations. I wish there had been another way, but it needed to be done.”
“Um, I don’t want to imply that you did the wrong thing, but was it really your decision to make? Why didn’t you just raise the wall of storms and let them be?”
“Oh Twilight! Don’t you worry about offending me. I suppose I could have done that, now that I look back it seems like that might have been a wiser choice to make,” Celestia said, a calming grin sprouting on her face.
Words ceased as student and master observed the heavens turning overhead, points of light illuminating the inky black ocean of night. The gentle mist of the galactic arm divided the skies into two halves, as if a pair of immense black plates of steel were welded together by some cosmic architect.
“Luna has done a fantastic job with the sky tonight, don’t you agree?” the solar princess commented, turning to her student.
“Oh yes, I didn’t think the stars could be this bright inside a city!” the dusk unicorn remarked as her violet eyes drank in the starlight.
“The Varangians used to use her very stars to navigate at sea. They were quite the sailors, exploring the oceans as if they it was their duty. Trade followed them wherever they went, and soon they had founded settlements and trading posts even as far as Equestria. That period was indeed a prosperous time for both of our kind, long before they had been transformed.”
“What were they like? Were they all mean and rude?” Twilight asked.
“Oh not at all, the traders I had spoken with were quite respectful and chivalrous even, although there were very hard bargainers!” Celestia said with a throaty laugh.
“Really? Even with all the... fighting they did?” the student said, her voice dripping with skepticism.
“Oh yes, war was not their only talent. They were strong farmers, talented navigators, and even brilliant inventors! Some of their technologies would rival us even to this day! And they hungered for knowledge, learning was a favorite pastime, no matter what the subject. There were some incredibly intelligent and kind individuals, you would have liked them,” Celestia grinned at her.
“That’s... I didn’t think a species that does so much... killing, could be anything like that.”
The ivory sister’s face turned stony, “The human race certainly was not predictable. They were capable of many great and horrible things, which brings us to why I have summoned you in the first place. The enchantment that keeps the wall of storms together, and keeps the humans transfigured into ponies, is failing.”
“What?! How do you know?” Twilight practically shrieked as her eyes widened in horror.
“I can feel the weaves unraveling, it was only a matter of time really. It’s very difficult to hold such powerful spells for so long a time.”
“Well we have to repair the spell!” the librarian said frantically.
“No, Twilight, all we can do is wait for it to completely decay, and perhaps think of casting it again. It might not be necessary now,” Celestia said, her face remaining serene.
“What? How?! They’ll come and attack us!” the unicorn cried as she practically vibrated in place.
“You and I don’t know that. I have begun bolstering our defences, but I believe that we do not have anything to be concerned of. Preparation is still wise, however.”
“They’re violent! How can you think they won’t come for us, for you?” Twilight’s face was inches from her mentor’s.
A small smile graced her ivory muzzle. “I have faith in the Varangians, they would never blindly attack unless they knew for sure that we intended on killing them. Their honor bound them to talk first.”
The solar princess stood, stepping back inside. Twilight followed her, looking up into her amethyst eyes.
“I am going to check on our human cousins, would you like to join me, my faithful student?” Celestia asked over her shoulder.
“Won’t that be dangerous?” the unicorn squeaked.
“Not at all, we will land on a small island outside the wall of storms where we will watch as it disintegrates. They cannot fly, so we can leave at any moment if needed.”
“Will we... see them?” Twilight whispered.
“Perhaps,” the princess answered in almost as soft a tone.
The sea roiled around the barrier of storms. The waves chopped the surface like an axeman splitting wood, while the horizon was obscured one direction by a dark, undefined wall of heavy rain and fog. The world itself seemed to disappear into a grey haze, forever hidden behind a magical curtain of torrential winds. The small island their chariot had landed on was a roughly half mile long kidney bean shaped rock, with a thick layer of long, nordic grasses and moss.
The two magic users hopped out of the chariot, their hooves sinking into the spongey flora that coated the island.
“Is that the wall?” Twilight asked.
“Indeed, it should be falling apart soon.” Celestia turned back to the two pegasi that had flown them and gave a nod. They released themselves from the chariot, stretching their legs and sitting on the thick grass with relief plastered on their faces. Pony eyes locked onto the tumultuous sea before them as it churned and seethed, battering the rocky island like a furious nautical army pounding on the walls of besieged castle.
The minutes ticked by as the storm began to subside. The fog lifted, revealing blue skies behind its bone grey mask. The clouds dispersed, disappearing into thin air while the waves calmed. The soothing sound of gentle waves replaced the roar of the angry spray that had filled their eyes minutes before.
A visible chill ran up Celestia’s spine, alerting her already tense student.
“What’s wrong? are you ok?!” she moved closer to her teacher, worry rippling in her eyes.
“I’m fine, the transfiguration spell just ended. All the ponies should be humans now. Even those who were born after the spell was cast will have memories of being human, the return shouldn’t confuse any of them,” the princess explained.
The sound of a horn bellowing through the fading fog made the ponies freeze.
“Princess, look!” one of the guards shouted.
From beyond the haze emerged the shadowed forms of wooden ships. A handful of the bounced and rocked on the waves, heading right for the island upon which the princess and her retinue lay in waiting.
“Princess they’re coming!” Twilight yelled, fear contorting her face.
The two pegasi moved quickly, arranging themselves next to Celestia.
“Shall we ready the chariot, your majesty?” the closest one asked.
“Yes. Be prepared to move at a moments notice. We will greet these humans and see where we stand.”
“What?!” Twilight screamed.
“Twilight, why are you so afraid? You have faced much greater dangers than this before,” Celestia said, giving her a perplexed look.
“They want to kill us! Nothing I’ve ever faced wanted to kill me just because!” the librarian stumbled over her words as she backed away from the ocean.
“Stay calm and close to me, everything will be fine. If we have to, we will-” the sound of shouting cut her off as dragon-headed ships drew ever closer to the little island. From the pony’s vantage point, the ships had elongated hulls, lined with rows of oars and brightly striped sails. At the bow of each ship was a tall, two legged creature wrapping an arm around the dragon head carving for support. The bounce and spray of the sea didn’t seem to phase them as they watched the little island, some with hands over their eyes to block out the sun, others pointing and shouting incomprehensibly.
The boats sailed past the little isle, traveling out to the vast, cold sea now open to them. One, however, bore right towards the grassy rock. The men from the passing ships yelled and laughed, waving at the ponies as they sailed by.
“They sure seem friendly,” Twilight remarked, dripping with sarcasm.
“Don’t be so quick to judge! Look, they’re coming ashore.”
Indeed, the boat had landed, digging its keel into the small gravelly beach. The human that had been hanging off the dragon-head jumped onto the beach, barking at his companions in that strange language. He trudged away from the ship strong steps, as if he could pulverize underfoot any stray rock that would try to trip him.
The Varangian had a round, wooden shield slung over his back, but what was painted on it was obscured by his approach. A coif of mail capped by a steel helm with cheek and nose guards protected his head, while a red tunic under chain leather, furs, and steel plate kept his body safe from weapon strikes. On his hip was sheathed a sword, and dangling from his belt were bottles, pouches, and what looked like the blanched skull of some small creature.
Twilight gulped as the frightening figure steadily climbed the hill towards them, his gaze cast downward at the desaturated mossy flora. Celestia stood alert, her body rigid and ready to spring at any moment, while the two pegasi were strapped into the chariot behind them.
He came closer, glancing up now and then at the ponies as he finished his ascent of the hill. Finally, he stood six feet from the pair of magic users, his icy blue gaze fixed on them like a predator watching its prey. Cloaking billowing in the wind, the biped opened the mouth hidden beneath his greying beard, and spoke in a gravelly voice that made Twilight shrink back behind the princess.
“Ek Vitki Rederik. Du?” His voice and words were so alien to the unicorn, it was like hearing the waves crashing on the shore and dragging masses of sand and stone back into the sea, but forming the complex sounds of speech.
To her surprise, Celestia responded in kind, “Ek Sara Celestia.”
“Celestia...” the Varangian’s wrinkled face contorted in memory, as if mulling over the name he had just heard.
While he stood with a hand on his chin, the alicorn looked back at her student and spoke softly, “Twilight, I will cast a spell so that you can understand what he says, remain calm.”
“A-alright, Princess,” Twilight managed to utter.
Celestia’s horn glowed with the light of dawn, pulling the man out of his thoughts. His hand quickly shot to his waist, fingering the hilt of the long blade. The light vanished, and the blue eyes scrutinized the two.
“What magic have you done, Princess Celestia?” his words flowed in a dialect Twilight could understand, yet his voice did not seem like one that would ever speak equestrian phrases.
“I have cast a spell so that my student here can understand us as we speak, she does not know your language like I do,” Celestia said quickly in defense.
The man huffed, removing his hand from his sword, “Very well. The storms have lifted from our waters, the storms placed by the horse rulers many generations ago. Your name is familiar and you are a horse, were these rulers your ancestors?”
“I am one of those rulers. It was my sister and I that put the storms in place and transformed you into ponies so many years ago,” the ivory pony said with an emotionless face.
“It was you?! You were the one that damned us to those alien bodies? You bound us to the land?” he snarled with wild eyes.
“Vitki Rederik, please calm yourself, it was what had to be done to prevent the evil from spreading. Certainly your kind must remember the evil that forced you to turn away from the old gods?”
Rederik went silent, his piercing gaze softened into that of understanding.
“They are dead now, their beliefs and their soldiers were long ago killed by my fathers. As horses we did not fight like we did as men, but we still fought. They surrendered and died without honor. They forged their Ørlög poorly, and because of it they met their false god,” the explorer’s eyes hardened once more, and a smile creased his weathered face.
“It is my infinite regret that I had ever exercised that power over your kind, but it was to protect the rest of the world, I could not have allowed them to spread their lies.”
“I can understand that, you made a wise choice. If they could corrupt even the darkest of men, imagine the treachery that would have happened amongst the other races! I know your name, Princess Celestia, but who is this little one here that hides from me?” Rederik asked as he peeked around the alicorn’s larger form.
“Ah, this is my apprentice, Twilight Sparkle!” she craned her neck back at the flustered librarian, giving her a reassuring smile and softening her voice, “Do not be afraid my little pony, he will not hurt you.”
The timid unicorn stepped slowly out from behind her mentor, looking up a the tall human with wide eyes and a lump in her throat.
“H-hello, M-Mr. Rederik. It’s nice to m-meet you.”
He grinned down at the frightened pony, showing missing teeth and the rotting nubs of what remained, “It is a pleasure to meet you, young one. Your hamingja is strong, I can taste it on the air.”
“Heh, I, um, I don’t know what that means,” she shrunk back, unsure of what horrible thing he would do to her.
“Hahah! Calm yourself, child. Your hamingja is the strength of your spirit. It is what reaches out beyond your body to change the world as we know it,” Rederik sunk onto one knee so he was at eye level with Twilight, “ you are strong, I can feel the influence of your power radiating out like the sun disc sheds light. You have much promise, work your sword arm and you will be mighty within the wyrd,” he gestured up at the sun blazing in the sky, awe in his voice.
“Oh... Thank you!” Twilight genuinely returned his smile.
The man rose back up to his knee, groaning as his joints popped.
“Princess Celestia, you are honorable in your actions, even if some of my kind do not see it that way. When I return to my jarl, I will speak of you and what we have discussed here. I must go now, the beaches of the world must know the Varangian footprint once more. Let there be peace as long as there is trade! May the runes guide you!” He pounded his gloved fist on his breastplate, and turned briskly back towards his dragon-ship.
They watched him stalk down the hill to his men that waited impatiently in the ship. Many cried out as they saw him return, and a pair jumped out to help push the vessel back out to sea. Rederik boarded his craft and returned to the waves, where he and his men sailed off into the horizon.
“The race of man walks the world again, Twilight. A new age is upon us, and if it does not dawn in war, then I feel that it will be a golden one indeed.”
She gave Twilight an immense grin and a gentle nuzzle as the future played out in her mind.
