Before the Beginning

Long ago, there was darkness. Eternal. Unchanging. Unbroken. And then, there was fire. Leaping forth from the bosom of Eru, chasing the darkness before it, bringing light and life to nothingness itself. To this day, none can tell whether Eru Iluvatar brought forth the Flame, or if the Flame gave him life, or whether both came from some higher realm we can but dream of. Even so, we know that he saw the nothingness, and desired to fill it. And so, he opened his mouth.

Many are divided here. Some say that Iluvatar spoke, bringing forth words beyond language. Others believe that his commands were images, thoughts that no mind other than his could comprehend. But most prevalent is the idea that he sang. The world was brought into being as a thing of beauty, and as the music continued, it became more and more so. Eventually, those we know as the gods sprang forth. They were confused, newly existent and unsure of their purpose. As time went on, and the song continued, each began to see a place that they could fill in the choir of creation, and found a note to sing, different than and yet in tune with the rest. Thus was Harmony born.

One, however, did not join in the song with his brethren. This was Melkor, prince of the gods. His power and beauty was unmatched, and yet he lusted for more. He sought the Flame Imperishable, that he, too, might create worlds. He did his utmost to overthrow the song of Eru, and many gods followed him. Of this war, much has already been chronicled. In the end, Melkor, now known as Morgoth, was chained, and thrown into a world of Void, where nothing but darkness can exist.

From this war came a new order. Eru left the governing of this realm to the younger gods, chief of whom was now Manwe. These gods created many realms, isolated, for the most part, from each other. In these worlds, the gods that followed Morgoth were working as quickly as Manwe's to destroy and pervert the beauty found in each. Finally, there was but one pure world left: Equestria.