Chapters The Untold History of Equis
I guess the best place to start is the beginning. I am the oldest living being on Equis and have been for almost all of history. I was created about a century or so after the beginning of this universe, during a meteor shower. Evil was gaining strength in this world. Some ponies had a chance to choose to live for selfish reasons, and not for the purpose for which the Creator made them. I am certain the Rebel knew of this world soon after it was created, for He seems intent on desecrating the work of my Creator. In choosing this self-centered path, these ponies allowed the Rebel, with his hordes, to march into this world and corrupt the self-centered ones to do evil, without realizing the evil aspects of their actions. When the Rebel fully had control of a pony, darkness covered them and they transformed to emaciated, decayed forms, with fangs and insect-like wings. These Fallen Ones became Changelings. They attempted to corrupt or destroy those who were faithful. My Creator caused a great Cataclysm to stem the rising tide of evil worldwide, yet He saved those who were not yet overtaken by this evil. Those who had already fallen to darkness were eliminated in this part of the world, but the Rebel bolstered his ranks even more by taking the Fallen Ones with him to Tartarus, the Rebel’s realm in this universe, as minions for one of his demonic commanders.
Those ponies who were saved had their memories wiped from that time back and were given altered memories so that, under the new safeguarding spell that He cast over the world, they would still be who they were before. This spell marked everypony once they discovered their special purpose in life, so that they could not be in doubt as to why the Creator made them, to work together to the fulfillment of His glory.
I was made because the evil which would return would forever be too strong for normal ponies. My creation seemed to be hidden from all so that, for a time, I could confound the Scheming One as I fought against His forces. Also, I would not have to concern myself with the Enemy using the common ponies’ knowledge of my existence against me as bargaining tools when His plans fell through.
I am analytical and dedicated to defending this world from the evil that is coming to assail it. I have made some plans as to how to best protect Equis, however, I need to be prepared for unsuspected consequences, for some of the plans I have already initiated have not quite turned out as desired. This may continue to be an issue for me to deal with, for good or ill, for many years to come. I have wings and can channel magic through my horn. It did not take me long to discover that magic was not bound to the horned type of ponies known as unicorns, but to the world itself. Since I knew the basic principles and boundaries of magic for this universe, I figured out many spells quite easily. In time I am sure I could come up with many more complex ones, but, for now, simple spells work for what I do. I am an alicorn, not a god, just a servant of the only One that exists.
It seems that, since the Cataclysm sent the forces assailing this world to Tartarus, I need only keep them there. I need to be careful yet decisive in testing the strength of the Rebel’s forces when they come, so that I can swiftly send them back to Tartarus.
I write this to give account of the events of my life, so that, if I pass on before my task is complete, somepony will hopefully find these journals, understand my mission, and possibly complete or at least continue it, and so that the truth of this hidden story of Equis may not be twisted into myths. Chaos and evil are spiking in certain areas on this planet, just as I feared it would. My time to write comes to an end for now. I will write more when this disturbance is dealt with. Until then, my little ones, this is your faithful guardian.
-Paladin
The Untold History of Equis
As I travel Equis, I map it out from the sky and mark from where these creatures and demons come. I am beginning to see a pattern that indicates that the Rebel is using thirteen dimensional rifts, which I shall call Warped Zones, between Tartarus and this normal world. There are six on both continents and one on a floating island on the seas. I also see a lack of parallel timelines, because he can send his demonic servants back into battle after they lick their wounds from our previous encounters, which happens at infrequent, sometimes brief intervals.
My most recent bout with evil involved some very hungry little creatures. These parasitic sprites, Parasprites for the sake of brevity, were consuming the food in the forest surrounding this Warped Zone, which would make it quite difficult for the native species to live in the Pony-less area. I knew that I had to stop them.
The demon noticed me as soon as I entered the area, because he forced the Parasprites to form a disgusting pastel form of a rotund, three-headed demon. I did pick up a stray thought though. It was something about this world being far easier to conquer than the other one the Rebel was trying to overcome. With a raspy voice of many he said, “Who are you to come to this place, Pony of red and mane of orange? Your kind is incapable of overcoming us.”
To which I responded, “I am unlike all those who live. I was created to defend this world from you and those like you from covering this world in evil as you almost did before. You shall not overcome me.”
“I think you are just a foal. You may think you can beat me back into Tartarus,” he proclaimed, “but let me tell you, you cannot strike that which is intangible.” At that, he scattered the Parasprites and they attacked, biting and gnawing at me. At the time, I did not consider whether he spoke the truth or not about being intangible in this world, but now, with time to reflect, I have obvious reasons to doubt the demon’s honesty. He was trying to conquer this world with the rest of his kind, so why would he tell one who stood against him about any weakness his kind may have had.
Back to the action though, I quickly sent out a repulsing and disorienting blast and took to the sky. I realized that, even with the speed and skill I had so far acquired, I could not eliminate them one at a time with targeted spells. I needed to keep the demon focused on catching up to and attacking me while I figured out how to stop all of the Parasprites at once along with the demon controlling them. I let him close the distance a little ways but always pulled ahead when he got close to keep him after me.
I then heard my Creator question me, “Why do you focus on the enemy behind you when you should be focused on the Lord who loves you?”
This confession of love by my Creator made me want to praise Him with my whole being. So, as I flew, I began to sing a song of praise, and, as I banked, I saw that the Parasprites had slowed considerably and were trying to dance to the tune I sang, but the demon’s roar was heard over my song. I kept singing though, seeing that, for some odd reason, it seemed to make him lose control over the Parasprites. I called out to nearby creatures to sing along with me if they could. As they did, the Parasprites went down to the ground and started to smile and hop around in a sort of dance, to the fury of the demon.
I discovered that all of the Rebel’s fallen allies have at least one fatal flaw in their plans, and that it is always there, no matter how much it is protected. These Parasprites have a weakness for music of any kind, with or without lyrics. Their demonic controller cried out for it to stop. While keeping the song going, I convinced him that the only way to escape the music was to release control of the dancing Parasprites and go back to Tartarus through the Warped Zone. I saw that the Parasprites did not need to be destroyed, and in some way, had a purpose designed by the Creator. They might even be used as part of an object lesson some day in the future.
It also interests me that, sometimes, the simplest solutions can solve the most complex problems. Though it was my normal way of emerging victorious over these monsters and demons, I did not need increasingly complex spells, or to out maneuver, or even out think my enemy. All I needed to do was praise my Creator for his greatness and righteous love.
I sense evil rising somewhere else. This must be taken care of immediately. I am glad that, through the providence of my loving Creator, I had time enough to write this down for you. When I get the opportunity, more of this secret war shall be revealed to you. Farewell for now my little ones.
-Paladin
The Untold History of Equis
Dragons existed before I was made, but their lifespans are still limited to a few hundred years or a millennium at maximum, so says my Creator. The Creator made them about twenty-five years before me as guardians and warriors to protect everypony from the Fallen Ones, but He realized that as the Fallen Ones grew in number, not even his dragons could keep up with suppressing them. That is why he created me and caused the Cataclysm. He still had a purpose for the dragons, but it would still be too much for them if the Creator did not make me. If any demon came through the Warped Zones, the dragons would attempt to detain them until I arrived.
The dragons were hit the hardest by the initial surges of evil from the crossing over of the demons into the normal world. Over time, this weakened their focus on the Master’s purpose. I have become very wary around the now temperamental dragons. I keep offering to restore them, but only few have accepted my offer. The demons have now also become aware of the dragons’ weakness of mind and have started to target them on some of their forays into this world. For they sometimes fall back through the Warped Zones by the time I arrive. Most of the dragons do not trust me anymore, or feel unfounded shame for not holding them off until I arrive, even after I remind them that if the demons return to Tartarus that is success as well. I hope that the dragon race may be redeemed to their original faithful state someday.
It seems the Evil One has chosen to afflict dragons with demons of avarice. It is very difficult to exorcise these types of demons for dragons, who do have a nature that drives them to acquire. They only seek gems in their natural state, for gems are their nutrients and the power for their fire. However, under demonic oppression, they take things they do not need, but are not satisfied after they get what they chose to take.
Even after weakening the afflicted dragon, the demons would rather destroy their “toy” than give it back to the Creator. After so many battles with these demons in the realm of the mind it is becoming difficult to find their weak points and send them out of the dragons and back through the Warped Zone. Thankfully, by the grace of the Creator, before I am completely exhausted, He provides a way for me to succeed in sending the demons away to Tartarus. I am growing stronger overtime, but so are they, or so it seems to me.
Before one battle, I picked up some other stray thoughts. These were about the “foolish creatures” of this world letting the Rebel come to it from Tartarus. I also heard more about this “other world,” in a simple comparison. Though the demons believed that all creatures were bugs to be squashed, the ponies of this world were altogether different from and weaker than the “humans” – whatever those are – from the other world. The demon was also disgruntled about being trapped in the assault on this world once he came to Tartarus. I am frightened that there could be a worse place than Tartarus in any reality, if there really was more than one. The demons might be trying to distract me from my defense of this world against them.
I am beginning to think that the restoration spell simply moves their madness and fears to me and the mental duels with the demons exacerbate it. For doing so leaves me in immobile agony for a few brief hours after each battle. I think that I feel this pain because the thought patterns are not something that I allow myself to think and my body is rejecting, yet unable to purge those thoughts. Even so, I shall bear this burden and many more besides for the sake of the call of my Creator for this planet he made me to defend.
I feel anxious for the next battle, now that I have finally recuperated from my most recent battle. It may be another few centuries before I remember to write in these journals once again, but nevertheless, I will write of this secret war, my little ones. Farewell.
-Paladin
The Untold History of Equis
I realize that it has been a long time since I last wrote here, but so much has been happening as of late. I have been building a web of my own portals across the planet to enable faster long distance travel to the Warped Zones. Teleporting can only move one so far, and the Rebel is sending his fiends to this world at a faster pace this second millennium.
After a rather long battle against his attacking hoards at multiple Warped Zones, I had time enough to recover, but not before one disastrously curious zebra wandered in to a Warped Zone. The Enemy must have been waiting, for as soon as she was in range it opened and she was dragged through. He always seeks to destroy that which was made by the Creator.
I quickly hid my wings and ran to her. I did not want to seem like some strange monster to her since that was the first time I had to come into contact with those I protect and since I was the only one of my kind. I took hold of her just as she was taken completely through. This, somehow, pulled me through as well. I looked around quickly. Tartarus seemed exactly the same as the normal world, except for the color scheme. The sky was a bloody red, the trees as black as pitch, the ground itself a sickly blue. I knew as soon as I saw that world that I needed to get the little mare back to the normal world, no matter the cost to me.
There were still a few demons around after they went back through the zone from that last fight, and some of them were bloody and were not even fiends that I yet faced in combat. I felt for the flow of magic in Tartarus. It was no different than in the normal world, to my surprise. The bloody demons were standing in a circle and chanting something. I realized that it was similar to the spell I used to make the portals across the planet in the normal world, but I do not waste the time to transfer the spells from thought to word before summoning forth the magic. This spell of theirs, however, had a twist, which I assumed let them cross between realms.
I figured that I would try an experiment of my own before the filly was taken from my grip. I cut my hoof with a spell and drew a similar, but smaller circle of my blood, assuming that doing so was necessary to cross through the Warped Zone. I shoved the demons away with a kinetic spell and then, to make sure I did not make a mistake with the different part of the spell, began to quickly chant the spell with the demons’ additions. Surprisingly, I felt that we were going back to the normal world.
The spell succeeded, and I cast a spell of physical healing on the filly and myself once we were through to the normal world and the hole in space closed behind us. Something felt odd though, like time picked up years later than when we entered Tartarus. I voiced my concern to her and asked what her name was.
Her response was unique. She said, “The name Zecora belongs to me. A change in time I also see.” She was quite startled, and I was strangely amused. She then said, “I have never spoken in rhyme before. Is this from our passing the temporal door?”
“Zecora,” I said, “I have never attempted any spell with another pony involved. I am looking into the part of your mind that deals with language and communication. I see that there appears to be nothing wrong with your mind on any level, so this rhyme speaking does seem to me to be an effect of crossing through the portal going into and out of Tartarus. It seems that everypony is affected differently by contact with that evil world and its denizens. For I feel a bit of unreasonable doubt of things I know to be true growing in me, and yet I can still overcome it. Stay with me and we will see what may have changed if we are in a different time, most importantly language.”
I reached out to sense where the nearest community was and then set out towards it. I asked her what she did before this incursion through time and space occurred.
“I used to be a potion master,” she said with a sigh, seeming to not enjoy this rhyming quirk, “working to make my potions faster.”
As we neared the edge of the forest I said, “Well maybe you still can work your craft. This forest seems the same, if but a few millennia older. Stay here and I will come back for you. I need to discover what language is used now and if I need to copy it for myself and then teach it to you.”
I was surprised that anypony would chose to live so close to a Warped Zone. Nevertheless, I used an invisibility spell and made my way to what seemed to be a library in a tree. I searched the mind of the keeper of the library and went to the lexicon. I pulled it out and used a spell to speed read the book and memorize anything that was different or new in this language. It was quite different, so I made a copy and returned the book to its place and returned to Zecora.
I told her that I would teach her of these new words later and asked her not to be too angry, but the only time travel spell I know only works on the caster. I told her that as soon as I left back to our original time I would be right back to her.
Time is such a difficult matter to contend with. If one thing is out of place the course of ones very existence could be altered, or even nullified. I pray that nopony ever discovers this time travel spell or any like it. I only sought out this week temporal spell for just such a situation as this and for nothing else.
Well, I am finally back in my time, and Zecora is in a distant future. In a few millennia, I will need to prepare a place for her to work as a apothecary, so, for her to still feel at home, I must gather some items from her zebra kin. I can cast a preservation spell on them so that they don’t decay, but for ingredients and recipe books I will need to work on that over time. It seems that my mission will get more interesting as the centuries pass. When something else arises, I will be sure to write of it, my little ones. Farewell.
-Paladin