Vigor

Vigor

Prologue - Morning is Gone Forever

Among the lush fields, forests, and prairies lays a single mountain, forgotten even by the eldest of ancient demi gods. This mountain is revered as the pinnacle of the world by those who have been blessed by its splendor. The land surrounding the mountain is an unkempt mess of briar and thorn but, one cannot help to call it beautiful. But for all of its beauty, it had become well-known that trekking upon its harsh terrain is a death sentence to any and all.

Inside this mountain resides what the mind would describe only as an endless and numberless amounts of chambers, caverns, and complex tunnel systems that went on for miles. In the innermost part of this system lies a secret sanctuary where not even air can reach. Large sealed golden doors with strange hieroglyph symbols depicting cities strewn with flames and visages of death inscribed on their surface, untouched by the sands of time. It is believed that this glorious passage way had been forged by the High Gods themselves. The door was crafted to be invulnerable to both time and beasts alike...

And yet… Its purpose was not meant to safeguard that which dwelled within, but to contain the thing that was inside. This door was a shield, for the whole world but it was also a testament to the greatest evil an entire generation had borne witness to.

This evil, known for its razing of innumerable settlements, was the pure essence of destruction taking the form of a beast. It is legend that this evil had commanded a small but powerful party of dark knights that were sworn to his service. These knights each personally went through a rigorous training and test which involved the slaying of a dragon. They would then use the dragon’s body to craft armor, weapons, and tools. The final, most disturbing of these tests was the slaughtering of ten sentient beings, proving that they are truly without mercy.

This malicious being had led his company of knights in countless campaigns of subjugation throughout Equestria in a very short period of time. Well-known at the peak of his infamously due to his many conflicts throughout the world known as Equestria. He was feared throughout all of this world.

As for anything with intelligence, he had a name. The corrupted warrior was known as “Power Claw” He cared not about how many names were given to him by those he had conquered and vanquished. He knew that no name bestowed upon him by such filth could do justice to his magnificence. And only accepted the name he had known since his birth.

He stood for one thing, and that was the causing of pain and the spreading of pandemonium in the hearts of his enemies. The only thing he knew was that, and that was what he excelled at, and it was what his tormented soul gained pleasure from.

This shall be the story of how his reign of pure vicious evil was initiated and kindled into the destruction that plagued Equestria for generations. This story begins as far back as the first tribes of Equestria….

Equestria was still young and full of unpolluted life with a still clean and thriving gene pool. The most advanced technology known to all intelligent life was crafted mostly of wood and metal. The world as we know it (from today’s standards) is occupied by three major species:  the Equine, the Griffon, and the Zebra people. But during these ancient times, there existed another tribe of a forgotten species. They were a species based off honor and intelligence and their physical strengths were renowned throughout the ancient world. They stood on all fours with the gift of very opposable digits when compared to that of ponies; similar to that of the diamond dog. Though still they shared little in common with the other major tribes in terms of appearance.

This tribe was, of course, the cougars, or “Cougarans” as some scripts tell. They had coats of different patterns and colors that were a lot darker when compared to that of ponies, holding more in common with the Griffon tribes. Their eyes were smaller and more elliptical than that of the others. They stood as high as the average stallion, and had the width and length of the same. Standing on all fours for the majority of their life, they were still capable of using the paws on their forearms to do basic handy work without training or tools by sitting, or if sitting wasn’t an option they could carefully walk or even jog for short periods. Having no noticeable magic to speak of, the cougars were forced into adapting to their surroundings and environment constantly. This forced adaptation further bolstered their reflex and agility abilities considerably.

The cougars didn’t make too many weapons for one reason: they didn’t need them. Their claws were thick and naturally sharp and easily cut down any assailant who dared challenge them... Or any creature that the predator called its prey. Equipped with so many natural abilities, the cougar tribe was quick to ascend. The cougars, with the gifts bestowed upon them by the ‘High Gods’, were quick to secure their territory with their blooming military. Though they had the power, they tried not to abuse it, within reason. The philosophy of the Cougarans demanded that they would wait until provoked before taking ‘major’ aggressive action against another party.

Besides why would they? They respected their neighbors and were, in turn, respected.

This is where we begin: a new world filled with possibilities and purity. A world where the four great tribes lived in harmony and understanding, what could ever interrupt something so beautiful? Why would anyone want to disturb this state of neutrality and peace?

Well, those questions will be answered by a certain tribe of equines…