The Equestramarillion
In this work I will be recounting what is known to me about the history and knowledge that was divulged of the world that would one day be host to the land known as Equestria and the many denizens who would come to inhabit it. This work is an amalgamation of various sources both ancient and modern concerning this world and the many untold stories that make up its extensive lore. Although the bulk of the story takes place in a different land and indeed a different continent altogether. We will discuss the circumstances that led to the current history we are familiar with being the rule of the two royal alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna. Although this work takes place in a time that is far before their own and has little to do or to mention about them. This work will involve the beginning of the world as a whole and the ancient realms that were first formed and how their denizens came to dwell in them. It will attempt to trace the time and order of events as best I as the writer was able as they were told to me and to present them in a way that is both factually correct and of course allowing for the enjoyment of the reader.
Book One: Origin
In the era before time was accounted in years there was a great expanse that was filled with boundless energy and the beings that controlled that energy. This was the primordial magic, it was the first and greatest magic that existed in the universe. It sprouted forth from the first beings who dwelt in the great expanse. They were untapped power, they were like all the strength of the universe in its beginning before everything burst forth and spread amongst the cosmos. They were limitless energy that had nothing to do in their great emptiness, they had all the power in the universe and yet there was nothing for them to do in it so they sought to change that. But they were childish and had little knowledge outside their own selves. At this time the universe was empty and had nothing in it and so the spirits knew this nothingness and little else. They created ways of entertaining themselves that would best suit their ever changing whims, they played great games across the void and traveled through its great emptiness trying to enjoy themselves. So it was for them in their younger years that they played extensively and always sought new ways of finding something to do.
Once they could find no more things to do as their home was simply a great void of almost nothingness they grew bored and frustrated that they had no more to do to enjoy themselves. One of them after much thinking came up with an idea and so she created a new concept that had not yet existed in the universe, sound. She gave this concept to her younger brother who after some hesitation took a liking to the idea and so he uttered his first sound to impress his sister with his talent. She enjoyed the sound and so began to think of ways to make it more pleasant and fun to make. She then created a word and greeted her brother with it. This caused him distress as he had no way of responding and so he let out a cry which his sister found amusing. The brother laughed at how silly he had sounded and this caused his sister to laugh as well. The two now being pleased with their creation took it to the others and they all seemed to fall in love with the siblings creation. They all began to create many sounds and share them with the other whenever they made a new one. Soon after they found that when many of their sounds were put together they created many harmonies and created feelings of happiness and beauty within them.
And so they all issued forth in a great music and into that music they poured all their power and energy and from it came a vision of worlds and things of a physical nature. Within this great song they saw images of many strange creatures. They came in all shapes, sizes and colors and most importantly they were all blessed with many of the things the spirits had created to entertain themselves. They saw all the beauty that they had created and instantly wished to make their vision a reality. They set about to work straight away wanting to quickly create their universe and see all the wondrous things they could do in it.
They experimented with all sorts of things making many forms of physical matter and combining it with other kinds they made to see what worked and what didn’t. They began to fill the void with all their works and soon learned how to make great spheres of light that would burn for great lengths of time and create many beautiful sounds and colors. The spirits much loved the many colors of these spheres and began to create many more of them and filled the expanse with thousands of these new inventions. The spirits decided then for their own amusement to assign sounds to what they had created. The brother and sister told them of the words they had created and so they all set about assigning words to their works. This is how the first stars were created and named, creations that would go on to inadvertently create many more things on their own in due time as well. This pleased and delighted the spirits to no end and they loved all they had made. But they noticed that all the wondrous creatures they had sung of in their song still did not exist. They saw that creatures such as those could not exist on the great stars they had made and so made it their goal to create a new kind of heavenly body to put these creatures on as they wished to watch them and see how they would persist in such a place. They put many of the things they had created together and created a solid mass that could be lived on.
The sister who had set all these things in motion and was now accounted as leader of the spirits saw that it was still incomplete. So she created a star perfectly suited to this new planet as they called it in order to bring forth the light that they all now loved. Then her brother saw that this new planet was bare and not good to look at so he took his favorite color which he called blue and created a substance to cover the new world. He did not know what shape to make it in so he decided to make it in a way that it could change its shape and so he created water to cover the world. His sister saw that this still was not good enough as many of the creatures they saw could not live comfortably within this water all the time so she raised up parts of the land above the water to serve as homes. Her brother said that it was still not good to look at and his sister told him to make something else to put on the land. He sat for a long time and decided that he wished to make something that looked both beautiful and could be used by the worlds creatures. And so he created green plants and filled the world with them and made it so all the worlds inhabitants could eat them and live off them. His sister said that it was good but she now wished to add something as well.
She looked and saw that everything was green and while it was beautiful she could make it better. She had so loved all the colors of the stars and thought to make plants that had many colors too them. She called them flowers and created a great many of them and filled the world with them. All the other spirits came around and saw this colorful world the siblings had made and were amazed at its vibrant colors. They all sought to add something to the world and make it as perfect as they could. They filled it with many of the things they had created in their labors such as many kinds of gems, metals and all the other materials they had worked so hard on. When they finally saw that what they had made was very beautiful and good to live on they took one final thought on any more improvements they could make. They learned that in order to keep the world at a good temperature for living they had to move the star to each side at certain intervals but the other side grew dark and the light of their other stars was not enough to keep it lit to their own liking. So they came together and made a smaller planet that would compliment the main one and would reflect the light of the star enough to keep the other side cool yet provide some light. They then called their creations the Sun, Moon and Earth and were happy with what they had made.
When all of this was done they saw that all the living creatures still had not appeared so they once again began to sing their great songs and put these creatures back into their minds and bring them into being. And so the great spirits sang into being the first of all the creatures of the Earth, the Alicorns. Instantly the spirits felt great pride with their creations and the spirit Marillion put down on the earth for them a great tree that the spirits filled with all the gifts that they had envisioned for them. And so the great tree gifted the Alicorns with great magic and knowledge and speech and great lifespans that they would highly treasure. Some of the spirits wished to create their own kinds of creatures, One spirit who had taken the name of Vallis dug out holes in the earth and from the strong and sturdy stone made what he would call Earth Ponies who then named the holes valleys after him.
Vallis' friend Clauda not wanting to be outdone created whiffs of water droplets in the sky and from them brought forth a race of ponies with wings she called Pegasai who named the clouds from which they were made after her. Finally the sister who had taken the name of Una saw this and as she had made much of the world wished to add one race of her own and so from the gems of the earth made ponies with horns and named them after herself as Unicorns. Her brother who called himself Imin thought to himself that he should then make something so as not to be outdone again and sought to make something unique to what had already been done and so watching as many other spirits made their own species thought to combine two he thought were good. And so he combined an eagle with a lion and created Griffons which he went about taking the most pride in. So all the creatures of Earth came into being as each spirit thought of their own and many strange and wondrous creatures were brought into the world at various places by the spirits always trying to make something that they saw as unique and different to show their own ability.
Soon most of the spirits decided that the ponies and Alicorns should be their priority on Earth as they had made them first and had the most pride for them. The spirits who had made other animals saw this as insulting as they took the most pride in their own creations most of all. As Una and Imin took the most pride the races they had created and as they had been the most creative of all the spirits they pushed many of the others away and had the most spirits side with them. Because of this many other spirits left and went off to make new worlds and fill them with their own creations. And so to the Alicorns and Ponies the spirits gave them many of the gifts they had sang about. Flight was given to the Pegasai, strength to the Earth Ponies, and magic to the Unicorns and most important of all, speech were spread amongst the ponies. Imin gave to his own Griffons flight and as he grew to be great friends with Clauda made it so their two creations would become friends in the new world. They taught all of them how to speak and sing and all the ponies loved it above all else they had received while the Griffons took a liking to the great treasures that resided within the Earth.
The Alicorns who had received all of these abilities directly from the spirits had greater power than the ponies. But they were kindhearted and used their gifts to care for and nurture the Earth and the ponies. The spirits watched this and were happy and feeling remorse over their thoughtlessness with the other animals of the Earth went to all the animals and gifted them all with their favorite of all things, speech. This filled the world with song as all the living creatures loved their gift and spoke and sang as often as they could. The Alicorns took the great tree which they called, Volamena. This was the first name they had given something and took great pride in it. And so with these things having been done the spirits returned to space and were content to watch how their new creations would grow in the world. Some left to make more things as others went after the shunned spirits to seek forgiveness including Una and Imin. Because of this Earth was left relatively on its own and it would be up to those who lived there to make their own future and prosperity or their own downfall.
Book Two: Cutie Marks
The ponies went around their new world and began to explore the land that they had come into. It was very beautiful filled with fields of wild flowers that filled the land with vibrant colors of all kinds. Around these fields were great rivers that ran from a great mountain range in the north that were perfectly formed with wondrous snowy peaks. There were rolling green hills and little forests dotted the land and the ponies loved roaming around and discovering new things in these early years. But after they did this for some time they began to wish to make homes here and to build settlements where they might live. They went to the Alicorns and gathered around the great tree Volamena and began to think and discuss how they would order the country they wished to create. As their needs widened Volamena sent forth magic of its own accord and bestowed on all those present special marks on their flanks signifying the talents and abilities of each pony in order to help them discover what they could do to be the happiest and most productive in their new country. The Ponies loved these marks so much that they decided to give themselves names that would correspond with their marks as a way of showing their thanks to the great gift Volamena had given them.
The magic of the tree planted within them a special sense that allowed them to choose the best names that would best suit them and make them the happiest. And so ponies from that day forward could choose names that would suit them best which would show the uniqueness of each pony even before they would receive their marks. The Alicorns saw the marks on the ponies and thought that they looked cute and so began calling them cutie marks much to the ponies delight. The Alicorns were then very happy to learn that the great tree had also gifted them with cutie marks but theirs seemed to come about later in their longer lives than the shorter lived ponies. And so each pony after being born would eventually discover themselves and their destinies as they received their marks and began lives that would be both productive and filled with joy for each one.
Book Three: The Rise
The Alicorns and ponies were now ready to create a great nation for them to live in and prosper. The Alicorns being the most powerful and as the only ones at the time who could easily move the sun and moon to bring forth life on the Earth took on the role of leadership among the pony races. And among each pony races of Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasai they chose one among each of them to represent them as as a whole in the new government that they wished to form. The first Alicorn who rose to leadership was the most powerful among them at the time and was known as Queen Raihna and she became much beloved by the ponies who lived in her new Country. She was said to be exceptionally beautiful with a mane of red hair and a clear white coat of fur that glistened in the sunlight. The cutie mark that she was gifted by the tree was that of a crowned pony. She was exceptional as she alone could move the sun and moon with no effort and with her powerful magic could spread joy and happiness around her kingdom. Her magic was so strong that it was said that she could out perform a thousand unicorns at once with little effort and had the knowledge and wisdom to back it up. She was declared queen and the name she gave to her new kingdom was Marillion, named after the spirit who had planted the great tree Volamena.
She married an Alicorn named Koning as the two had fallen in love in their youth and as she now was set in her rule she had the time to rekindle her romance with him. Koning was much more shy than his love and preferred to let her run the realm although he was very adept at designing and architecture. And so they both oversaw the construction of the city of Mara which was built around Volamena and was filled with glistening towers, grand palaces and a thousand great fountains where ponies would meet and play music and sing all day as they lived in complete happiness. From her golden throne in Mara, Raihna oversaw the growing of her kingdom and as she expanded outward she ran into the Griffons who had built great cities in the northern mountain peaks where they would search for the great treasures of the Earth. The Pegasai took a great liking to the Griffons and them in return.
Raihna was very pleased and happy and soon wished to begin to raise the prestige of her kingdom with those others she had encountered such as the Griffon kingdom and the southern Buffalo kingdom. She began a great academy where all the greatest wizards from around the continent came to learn and teach magic with others. She appointed Her friend, Sorcier the Unicorn, as the first headmaster as he was said to be second only to Raihna in terms of magical power. In this time the great pony kingdom grew and prospered with unprecedented success. With the magic of Volamena and Raihna giving the ponies great prosperity and happiness they wanted for nothing and with the friendships they forged with their neighbors they feared nothing and lived in peace and harmony.
As time passed and more ponies and alicorns were born into the world they grew better at controlling it. For many ages they practiced and tinkered with the world around them learning how all the plants worked with each other and how they fit into their environment. After some years they learned how to control the weather as the Pegasi seemed to have a natural talent for controlling the skies and what came from it. The Earth Ponies themselves were surprised how well they connected with the Earth and how at their command the plants would listen to them and grow better and faster than any grown by any other race rivaled perhaps by only the Buffalo whose connection to the land they inhabited seemed very deep as well. The Unicorns took to the running of things quite well and seemed to have a talent for organization and managing affairs that others did not. Their magic afforded them many opportunities though it did seem limited in what it could do many times. As each Unicorn had only enough magic to alter only small things around them which would frustrate them on occasion.
The Pegasi soon learned to craft great cities out of clouds that they could use to better control the weather and with the help of the Griffons and Alicorns who loved the open air made them grand and beautiful places that were envied by all. The Earth Ponies with their great strength and mastery of the Earth began to dig into it and to the delight of all, especially the Griffons and Unicorns who had grown fond of shiny things, began to haul forth great treasures from deep within the ground. They built great underground cities and with the help of like-minded Alicorns made grand palaces and mansions under the Earth, decorated with countless treasures. The Unicorns took great advantage of the Alicorn magic academies to increase their understanding of magic. Their talents proved great and the Unicorns gained great fame for their invention of many powerful spells that they used to enhance the works of others and make the world more beautiful.
All these achievements made the world an even greater place and with the wise rule of Raihna and the great magic of Volamena all the lands prospered and grew more wondrous than anypony could have ever dreamed. As the reign of Raihna continued the ponies eventually reached a great ocean and mapped out the edges of their continent. They had discovered many wonderful species on it such as the majestic Griffons, the charming buffalo and the proud and well spoken Yaks. They were happy to share their lands with each other and as they had obtained control of their environments and had only made the world more beautiful they felt little desire to go beyond the sea and leave their perfect homeland.
And so it was that in the 3000th year in the glorious reign of Raihna the great queen finally passed away due to her advanced age and her son, Amiir, became king of her realm. Amiir would be known as a great artist who would bring about an age of renewed song and dance for all of ponykind. He would compose many ballads and opened schools specially catered to training musicians. There were great singers such as Silver Tongue the Earth Pony, who was famous for his songs glorifying Raihna and her reign. Another great Unicorn singer was Cavatina Clef whose singing voice could make even the Griffons forget about their love of treasure and sit down to enjoy her harmonious and magical voice. There were painters amongst these prestigious ponies as well such as Atelier Populaire who created many great mosaics, sculptures and grand portraits that would come to decorate cities the continent over. And so the reign of Amiir was filled with the introducing of many festivals and celebrations, many for the sake of having one to bring about joy to the ponies. The great musicians of this age and their legendary music would be remembered by the ponies as long as the great Alicorn kingdoms would last and even after many of their names began to take on meanings within the musical profession though nowadays few truly know the origin of these terms and the great legends that sparked them.
Though Amiir was much beloved by his subjects his magic was not that of his mother and the constant raising of the sun and moon would greatly tire him on occasions. And so to help him with this the spell that allowed the Alicorns to manipulate these heavenly bodies was taught to others especially the Unicorns who were more than eager to learn such a powerful spell, though it left those who overused it drained of magic. Amiir fell in love with an Alicorn princess from a new pony kingdom that had sprouted up in the south beyond the Buffalo lands and after spending much time with her they were married. Her name was Puteria and she had bright and clear eyes and a dark raven mane which seemed to hold the stars themselves within it and a coat of fur as blue as the bluest oceans. Her beauty had become legendary amongst the various kingdoms and the fact that she had chosen Amiir who was not particularly handsome by Alicorn standards became a testament to the love and admiration they had for each other. When she arrived in Amiir's royal court everypony seemed to love her and she became well liked and known for her more practical ways which helped Amiir run the more nuanced aspects of his realm. She also was quite gifted with magic and brought the learning of many healing magic to the great magic academies which earned her the trust and admiration of all in the land.
They had several children who each went out and formed kingdoms of their own in various parts of the continent. The only one who wished to stay was named Treilea and she would become the next ruling monarch after the death of her father in the 3245th year of his reign. Treilea was the youngest child of Amiir and Puteria being barely 500 years old at this time. She was considered young for an Alicorn and as the youngest had little experience in running a kingdom. Treilea's early reign had little in the way of great accomplishments as her parents and grandparents had. She was more adept with magic than her father but not so much as her grandmother and never truly grasped the ways of politics and nation building. Eventually though she settled into her role and was able to keep up the way of life for the ponies of Marillion. She was able to continue the many generations of friendship with the other kingdoms on the continent and peace was a mainstay of her rule.
Treilea ruled with structure and stability for 4247 years and kept her ponies happy and when she passed they mourned and were greatly saddened. She was not incredibly old for an Alicorn but due to her young age when she ascended she had ruled for far longer than the previous monarchs. When Treilea passed her daughter Kera took the throne. Kera unlike her mother was likened to Raihna in terms of her reign as queen of Marillion. She was beautiful, powerful, smart and incredibly wise even among the Alicorns. Ponies in those days had long memories and had heard the stories of the glory of Raihna's reign and Kera proved to be a wondrous queen for her subjects and those of the surrounding kingdoms as well. Even as a child she could outperform her teachers at the magic academy and even wound up teaching lectures there while still a student. She had been blessed with an incredibly active mind and always wished to learn more.
She was the first monarch of Marillion to be given a title which was Kera the Blessed as all saw her presence in the world as only a blessing upon them. She possessed a strength of will and body that few could match as even the Earth Ponies made way when she would come to their fields and mines to help them. And it was she who would discover a wondrous new metal that was as silver steel. It proved wondrous and the ponies loved it so much it came to adorn their houses and most things of importance were made of this wondrous metal. This metal which they called silevera became very valuable during this time period. It was found to have magical properties so that it would never rust or tarnish and would always remain beautiful. The pony cities would come to glitter with silevera would become amazingly beautiful because of it. Kera herself had her royal regalia constructed of it and had it set with diamonds and inlaid with gold. But her most prized and valuable piece was a necklace made of silevera in which had been set a great gem that had been a gift by the Griffons in the north. It was said to change colors at different times of the year and glowed radiantly in the light of the sun. While wearing this necklace Kera was praised as the most beautiful creature to have ever lived in this world. She was known for her generous gift giving as she was like to send great treasures to all of the rulers of all the lands in the continent. These gifts renewed the ancient friendships that had existed bringing forth the height of what she called the eternal peace that she hoped would reign in the land forever.
Book Four: The Fall
During the reign of Kera the Blessed she met an Alicorn prince named Radost. He had come from the southern islands to seek the advise of the famous queen on problems he was facing at home. Upon seeing her for the first time he was instantly awed by her and declared his love for her then and there. Queen Kera had heard of Radost and knew him to be a kind and joyous fellow but as he had come from a small kingdom she felt little for him and sent him to meet with her advisers in order be rid of his annoying love antics. Radost however was determined to prove himself to her and knew of her love for gems and other treasures and so set out to discover the greatest gem in the world to present to her. He went to the Pegasai in order to be introduced to the Griffon king Glorvel as they knew him best and knew how best to approach the Griffons to ask for their aid in finding great treasures.
Glorvel was famous for his and his griffons ability to find treasure in the many mountains they had built their cities on top of. No one in the world was as adept at finding great gems as he was and the mines the griffons had dug ran deeper than any other. They told Radost that the king would only meet with him and help him if he were given something in return. Radost was discouraged by this as his own kingdom was small and not very wealthy and so could not pay the great king for his services. So Radost traveled the lands seeking some way of finding enough payment to hire King Glorvel. He went first to the Yaks whose king was friends with Radost's father and they gave him some ornaments they used for their horns. To Radost this seemed not enough for as illustrious a king as Glorvel and so he next traveled to the great plains of the Buffalo. He knew that the Buffalo king and the Griffon king were good friends and so sought his advise on what to get for King Glorvel. The Buffalo king being a wise and kind ruler saw how much Radost was in need and so told him that King Glorvel was in search of a magic crown that was said to have been created and worn by the first ever griffon king. It was said to have the power to grant the user the ability to create magical barriers but that it lay on an island far off the western coast and was guarded by an unknown but ferocious creature. The Buffalo king told Radost that many great griffon warriors went in search of it but none had returned. Radost was slightly distressed at this as he had never fought a monster before or even seen one but was still determined to go.
He flew forth from the continent at a speed to make the wind envious and for seven days he soared across the sky towards the distant island. Here he found that the world was wild and uncontrolled as he was beset by a great storm that darkened the sun and shot lightning across the sea. The power of his magic kept him safe from harm though he struggled for three days in the mighty storm that now seemed determined to defeat him. His strength held out and finally he reached the distant island where the fabled treasure lay guarded by a mysterious monster. Radost was exhausted after his long journey and laid down behind a boulder to rest and recover his strength. He awoke sometime later to a great tumult of noise as the earth shook and loud thundering steps came bounding around him. He cast a spell of invisibility and crept closer to have a look at what was making such a great commotion when he finally laid eyes on the monster that was guarding the treasure he sought. He had never seen or heard of anything like it before in his life. It was like a lizard but much, much larger and with wings and large teeth and claws. He watched as it breathed fire from its mouth, scorching the land and leaving the island barren of growing things. Such a destructive thing he had never dreamed could have existed and he grew afraid and began to think about turning back. The beast had not seen him and he could have escaped with little difficulty. For a moment he truly considered it but he felt ashamed almost immediately and thought that if he did turn back than he would never impress Kera nor would he even be worthy of her as a coward who shirked away from hardship. He did not want his long journey to be for nothing and all the effort it took to get here would not be wasted.
Radost steeled himself and came upon the strange creature from behind and let loose a beam of magic from his horn. It hit the beast on the back of its head and taking it by surprise knocked it down. He quickly made a dash for the beasts cave which he spotted nearby behind the monster. It recovered quickly though and swung its spiked tail at Radost sending reeling to the ground. It let loose a terrifying roar and fire spewed from its gaping mouth straight towards Radost. His horn lit up and a shield appeared around him protecting him from the fire as it pushed him backwards. When the beast relented Radost took to the sky and began to launch repeated blasts from his horn as the beast took off after him taking his blasts head on and returning with his own fire. The two battled in the sky for some time before Radost swept in close enough and with a mighty kick to the beasts belly he knocked it into a cliff face. He let loose a powerful blast from his horn and knocked it into the rocks and watched as it fell into the sea.
Radost once again took towards the beasts lair but it came forth from the water angrier than ever before and ran with great speed towards Radost and with a powerful swipe knocked him into a boulder. Radost was stunned for just long enough to see the beast charging towards him and was able to roll aside from it just in time. He slid in the dust and pushed himself from the ground with his wings. The monster once again lifted itself into the sky and followed him with greater speed than before. He decided on one last attack and with all of his remaining strength he turned and charged straight at the beast. With a quick spin he flew between the beasts long powerful swings and shot a mighty bolt straight at its head landing a direct hit and blowing the beast from the sky. It lost its lift and fell right out of the sky landing hard on the rocky ground below blowing a large crated into the ground. Radost gently flew down towards the fallen beast and stood over its stunned body.
As he looked down on the face of the great lizard he saw into its eyes now weak from its injuries and suddenly Radost felt pity for it. He saw the pain in its eyes and how it barely moved and how it gave whimpers when it tried. He felt bad and with his remaining magic lent what healing spells he knew towards healing its wounds. Radost backed off and watched expectantly as the beast slowly rose and sat down upright looking straight at him. Something happened then that Radost did not expect to happen, the beast began to speak to him. Radost was confused as he thought he had known all the animals with speech but the beast which called itself a dragon had come from a far away land and had found this island that had treasure on it. Dragons, he said loved treasure and so he remained to guard it as it was alone and unclaimed. Over time though several creatures had come and attacked him forcing him to fight them off only for them to flee off into the wild sea and the many great storms it created. Radost explained to the dragon about the griffons and how they sought the return of their long lost magic crown and how he had come to reclaim it. Radost apologized for attacking the dragon unprovoked and stayed with him until the dragon was healed of its injuries. Radost then asked the dragon for the crown and in return he would ask the griffons to stay away from the island to allow the dragon his privacy to which the dragon agreed. However the dragon asked that Radost come back every so often to talk as the dragon would get somewhat lonely on occasion and he seemed like pleasant enough company. Radost agreed and so the first friendship between pony and dragonkind came about as Radost took the magic crown and the dragons friendship with him back to the mainland.
When Radost flew back over the sea another great storm arrived to bar his passage but with the crown upon his head he created a great shield that easily protected him from all danger allowing for a swift and safe passage back home. When Radost returned he fitted the yak ornaments to the crown making it quite splendid to look upon. He took his prize up to the Griffon Kingdom and as he walked into the throne room of Glorvel he saw the great king sitting on his gilded throne with Queen Kera the Blessed sitting and laughing right beside him.
As Radost walked in looking confused Kera smiled and laughed at him. She walked over to Radost and gave him a hug all the while laughing. She told him that the yaks had informed her of his quest and that she was flattered by his commitment to her. Radost kindly offered the crown to Glorvel who humbly accepted this gift and left to let Kera and Radost talk. Radost told Kera about his battle with the dragon and how the two had become friends. Kera was delighted by this as she had never met a dragon before and was very interested about it. But what she really loved is that he had not actually slain it but helped and healed him afterward. The two talked for hours and when they had finished agreed to meet again after Kera had finished her state visit with Glorvel. And so the two would often meet with each other and after several months Radost became her official adviser in her royal court. They continued to meet and would have long conversations on magic and the affairs of the realm. On several occasions Radost took Kera to see his friend the dragon and Kera gifted him with a crown of silevera to replace the one Radost had taken.
And so it was that five years to the day Radost had set out on his quest he married Kera and the two held a great wedding to which half of Marillion attended along with all the great kings and queens on the continent. Not long after that Kera gave birth to their daughter whom they named Terria and how all the kingdoms rejoiced at her birth. Terria was born with the white coat of Raihna, the raven mane of her mother and deep dark eyes that seemed to reflect the stars themselves. She also like her mother seemed to take to magic rather well and at only seven years old was admitted into the royal magic academy. Here though she proved troublesome as she was doted on by her professors and was disliked by the other students because of it. Terria would go on to dislike them as well and also was annoyed by the constant praise by her teachers when she knew it was because she was the princess of the two most famous monarchs on the continent.
Terria would sneak off the academy grounds at night into surrounding towns, break into shops and steal food from them as she didn't care for the academy food. She did this so often that many complaints were lodged against the magic academy and the professors grew worried about the young princess. So one day the headmaster came up with an idea that he was sure would both stop the complaints and help deal with the princesses belligerent behavior. In all of the academy Terria was accounted as the top magic student in all subjects save for one student who still stood above her in talent and skill. He was an alicorn though he was not from a noble house like many of the others. He was also young even by pony standards and was in the class a year ahead of Terria. He was young and handsome with a silver coat and a light golden mane with silver streaks running through it.
His name was Caelus and he was hailed as a genius without peer although he was well liked by all in the academy and in the surrounding towns as he was also gifted with the wisdom of an elder. He was noted as kind and humble and though he was skilled even more so than many adult alicorns and unicorns seemed only little interested in his future as a great wizard. The professors hoped that his calming exterior would help mellow out Princess Terria and her anti-social behavior. The two were put together and immediately Terria began to try to be rid of Caelus. She would break his things, play childish pranks on him and would mess around with his food and with her magic make it taste bad. Caelus rarely seemed to be annoyed with these things though and tried his utmost to do what the professors had instructed of him. When Terria would sneak out and mess about in the town He would follow her and humbly apologize to those she stole from as well as make her apologize as well. This though made Terria dislike him even more and she decided to make it her goal to get rid of him and make him lose the cool face he put on. Terria decided to pull off a prank that would make him quit on her once and for all.
Terria waited one night until Caelus went to sleep then broke into the academy vault where all the magic artifacts were stored. She crept into the deep vaults where she knew all the best of the best magical items were stored and took a magic staff that could control dreams. With this she planned to fill Caelus' sleep with terrible nightmares until he would leave her but she had not prepared or studied the staff as well as she should have. When Terria cast the spell from the staff it backfired on her and she fell screaming into a horrific nightmare. It was strange though as she had had nightmares before but this one felt different somehow. She saw the green fields of Marillion barren and charred, many of the great cities lay in ruin, burning from great and terrifying fires. Horrifying creatures roamed the lands destroying all they touched while nightmarish images flew through the darkened skies. She looked out and saw all the lands lying in ruin as frightened ponies, yaks and buffalo fled from a great encroaching darkness. Then There stood Volamena, the great tree and most prized and beloved of all things in the world, bright as daylight in the darkness. She felt but a brief comfort as suddenly it shriveled and turned to dust before her eyes. All turned to darkness as screams filled her head as she herself sent forth terrifying screams that echoed through the halls. She dared not look into the heart of the darkness but when she finally worked up the courage to do so she saw terrible things, scenes of violence and suffering the likes of which she could scarcely imagine. But then at its worst she felt comfort as her eyes opened and there was Caelus sitting beside her and holding her in his hooves. She could see tears in his eyes and felt her own face wet with them. She grabbed onto him tight crying and apologizing as she suddenly realized what Caelus had done. He had drawn out her nightmare and brought it into his own mind and saved her. When it passed he opened his eyes and the two children sat crying in the room as ponies from all around the building began to arrive to discover the source of the screaming.
The next morning Terria awoke to both of her parents sitting beside after traveling all night after hearing what had happened to their daughter. She ran up to them and hugged them both still crying somewhat. They asked if she would like to return home with them for a little while but Terria looked at Caelus still sleeping with his face still having some tear stains on it and asked them if she could stay here with him for a while longer. They agreed and from that day forth Terria looked at Caelus differently. She would stop trying to get rid of him and on occasion would try to talk with him and when he would respond she greatly enjoyed the sound of his voice. When Caelus awoke Terria sat with him and the two talked about what they had seen. Terria still had tears in her eyes and seemed unable to hold back her vision and told Caelus everything and that she was terrified of what she saw. As she told him this she looked at his face and he too looked worried from her description of the vision.
When Terria had finished Caelus sat down next to her and told her that when he took the nightmare from her he also saw a bit of what she did. But what she didn't see was a great light made of a rainbow of colors casting out the dark and bringing an end to the nightmare. From that time on when Terria would sneak off after dark she would ask Caelus to go with her and they would go off together and she would pull pranks around town and he would still apologize for her yet once they were far enough away he would begin to laugh a little. She looked at him and saw that he always remained so composed and calm and when she would sit in with him in his classes she wondered why he seemed so disinterested in them and yet was still better than everypony, including her. She would begin to stay up late with him asking about magic and the world as to her he seemed to know everything. He began to tutor her on the side and even though she learned a lot from him when she would ask to duel him she still never stood a chance. She would begin to blush when after getting caught stealing something he would apologize for her and did all she could to get him to talk more.
One day while asking him many questions she finally got her first meaningful conversation with Caelus about himself. Caelus told her that he found much of their world boring and was learning all he could about magic so one day he could leave the continent and travel the entire world. He had heard the tales of her fathers adventure with the dragon and wished to see them for himself and learn all about them and where they came from. In his mind the pony world had remained the same for far too long and as he had studied much of its history wanted to see and learn something new and he had taken a liking to her as she acted with more energy and had a sense of change more than any other pony he had ever met. She was not simply the eternally happy pony and well behaved pony that was all to common in the kingdom. They, he said had never known sadness or trouble and were not all that interesting to him as they had not had the opportunity or want to experience growth in a long time. Terria blushed at his words and was amazed and vowed that she would go with him when he left. Caelus smiled and laughed for the first time in Terria's memory. She loved his laugh and kept blushing as he kept laughing.
The two spent more and more time together to the point to where Queen Kera and King Radost heard and began to gossip amongst themselves about a possible new son-in-law and the next royal couple. After several years of learning from and spending time with Caelus Terria earned her cutie mark while at an academy magic duel to the amazement and joy of her parents and all those in attendance. On her flank had appeared a bright star that held a shield within it when she sacrificed her first place spot to protect a teammate who had been hit with several spells and was about to be disqualified which got her hit instead. This was the second time she saw Caelus laugh and cheer with joy as she took her first step into a larger world.
Caelus amazingly enough had not yet earned his mark to which Terria teased him that she was now better than him which got Caelus to chuckle. He said she still had a ways to go yet to catch up to him which made her begin to pout. Just then Kera and Radost flew down and showered their daughter with congratulations. And so at the end of that year Caelus and Terria graduated with all honors with Caelus as the top student in the academies history and Terria as the second. After they graduated Caelus went to Mara with Terria where they was mentored by Kera herself in the art of magic. All the while Terria began to feel closer and closer to Caelus even though the gap in their skill became more apparent. Caelus always stayed far ahead of Terria and even when sparring with Kera managed to land a single magical blow to her which nopony had ever done before which impressed her to no end. Caelus and Terria were incredibly young and even by regular pony standards they still had much growth to do so they each decided to travel around together and go and visit other kingdoms and learn about the other creatures that inhabited the continent. Terria would always want to go out and have fun with the locals where Caelus preferred to stay within the libraries reading. Terria was constantly disappointed by this as she wanted to spend more time with Caelus. They continued to travel for many years before finally returning home where Terria after spending many hours building up her courage went to Caelus' room to ask him to go on a date wit her.
Caelus' room was dark and most distressingly it was cleaned and empty. Terria was confused by this as his room was rarely clean like this and the fact that he was no where else to be found. She began to look around frantically, running around the royal palace shouting for him with no answers. Terria ran to her parents and frantically asked them if they had seen Caelus. They had not seen him but would inquire with the guards and have them keep a lookout for him. Terria returned to Caelus' room and taking a deep breath calmed down and began to look around once again. She moved over to the chest where he had kept his most personal belongings and she lifted the lid open. Inside the chest was a piece of paper with Caelus' writing on it and nothing else. It was a note addressed to her and so Terria opened it and began to read.
Dear Terria,
I deeply and regretfully apologize that I must give this information via a letter and not to you directly but a long awkward goodbye is not an ideal situation for either of us. I have often brought forth my aspirations of journeying beyond our continent to set hoof on another one across the world. At this point I believe that I have gained enough knowledge and skill to attempt such a journey. I remember that you wished to come with me and while I gave that idea a good deal of thought as I have come to think of you as a close friend I ultimately decided against it. I would greatly have enjoyed your company as I have these many years but you do have responsibilities here as the one and only heir to your parents throne and while you are highly capable in any capacity, for you to risk your safety on such an uncertain journey would put the future of Marillion and your own parents and subjects peace of mind at great risk. It would be irresponsible of me to take you on a journey I am still somewhat uncertain of myself and would only end up blaming myself if you were to get injured in some way. And so with a heavy heart and only the greatest wishes I must bid you farewell for now until our next meeting wherever or whenever it may be.
Sincerely, your friend Caelus
At reading this note Terria burst into tears and ran to he parents showing it to them. They were greatly saddened by this as they had come to love Caelus as a family member and knew of their daughters feeling for him as well. But Terria was still young, only being barely 400 years old at this point, and they were willing to give their daughter all the love and support they could until she could get over her sorrow. Terria closed herself off in her room for days crying and even her parents were unable to console her for a while no matter how much they tried. In this time she would barely eat or drink anything and rarely was seen outside her quarters. When after some time she did come out her parents went to her and embraced her saying how much they loved her. Terria would often go to the shores of the sea and look out asking herself if she should or even could follow Caelus. Nopony had ever crossed out that great a distance from the continent or knew how far away the foreign land that Caelus was going to was. After some thought Terria traveled with her parents to see the dragon her father had befriended long ago and questioned him on this matter. The dragon informed her that he did not truly know as he only went out this far by accident and did not know the way back as he had gotten lost in one of the great storms that racked the seas. It would have been at least many weeks of hard flying if not more with only carrying some bare essentials meaning food and water would be limited with no resting from the flight the dragon informed her.
Terria was uncertain if she had that kind of strength inside her and if she had gotten trapped in a storm then she definitely would not be able to make it there or back again. At this Terria once again fell into a depression and when she returned home all of the boundless energy she had shown in her youth seemed gone which distressed her family and friends a great deal. And so after some time Terria decided to throw herself into work to relieve some of the pain. She would vigorously study all of the teachings of past monarchs and threw herself into learning all she could about all that she could. She went back into magic with renewed energy and practiced relentlessly always asking her mother to have magic duels with her although she never even came close to landing a blow on her mother.
Over time her skill and knowledge grew at a greater and greater pace to where even at the young age of 1000 years she had developed a political aptitude to rival her mother in cunning, subtlety and grace. She would go to the magical academy where it seemed so ancient now, the place where she had met Caelus in her youth. And there she would teach classes and tutor many young unicorns and alicorns in the ways of magic. They all looked at her with awe as her magic had become very strong in her lifetime. Many generations of ponies had come and gone and Terria had spent much time among them and gaining large amounts of admiration from them. Even with this though she showed little desire in actually ruling or governing the realm. She would run off into the countryside and stay there for weeks at a time helping with various details in pony life. Her parents were now becoming older and they grew worried that if their only child did not succeed them then Marillion might suffer for it. Whenever her parents would ask her about taking over for them Terria would turn aside and retreat to the many small towns that dotted the land until she felt comfortable returning home.
She would often go out of the kingdom traveling as she had done with Caelus visiting other courts and palaces of the various kingdoms to where she was well loved all over the lands. And after each excursion she would return to the eastern shore and stare out into the sea for hours and in some cases days. And on one occasion as she was standing there on the shore of the sea one morning watching the sun rise over the horizon as her mother raised it Terria saw something follow the sun over the horizon. A small boat was cresting the horizon of the sea of a kind Terria had never seen before and it looked old and battered from a long voyage. A quick glimmer of happiness came over her as her imagination went wild over who might be on the boat but the creature that rode upon this craft Terria had never seen before. It looked like a pony but it had black stripes and wore strange ornaments and also its cutie mark seemed different as there didn’t seem to be a cutie mark but there still was a stylized stripe patter on the creatures flank.
Terria was stunned, never before had she seen anything like this and a wave of excitement rushed over her as she quickly flew out to the craft and pulled it to shore. She took a long look at the creature and saw that it was unconscious and greatly weakened from its journey. She flew it back to Mara where the greatest Alicorn and Unicorn healers worked together to heal and waken the strange new creature. After hours of treatment it woke up dazed and confused and as it saw the ponies around it, it jolted back in a second of fear before realizing that they were the ones she was looking for. The ponies stared at her for several seconds before Terria came forward and asked who she was. The creature said her name was Abila and she was called a Zebra and that she had traveled across the world to find and speak to the rulers of this land. All the ponies grew amazed at this as they had never seen a creature from other continents.
Kera and Radost stepped forward as the king and queen of the land and led Abila into their throne room for her message. Kera, Radost and even Terria sat down and listened to Abila and the message she had crossed the sea to tell them. She told of a horrifying power, a being of nightmares and chaos was heading towards them and that it had caused severe damage to the Zebra kingdoms that made up her home. Abila told them that it spawned armies of horrifying monsters and had many evil creatures under its command that it would use to destroy everything in the world. The royal family looked on in fear as Abila continued to tell them of the unstoppable power of this demon and how all the great Zebra warriors and magicians could not stop it and that it gained strength the more fear it caused. The Zebra kingdoms fought it for over a hundred years but had recently fallen with the survivors scattering around but before they were defeated the Zebra magicians learned through their magic what this creatures next move would be. They saw a land far across the sea, a land of peace and joy that it wished to see destroyed and a great tree whose power he wished for himself. Kera asked for any and all information that Abila had on this monster to which Abila told them the legends of her own race and what they knew on it.
Over one thousand years ago in ancient times a great wizard with wings and horn came from across the sea to the land of the zebra's. He brought knowledge and asked for only knowledge in return for his teachings. He stayed with the zebras for many years and taught and learned many things there. As time went on he wished only to learn more and would go off on great journeys for weeks or months at a time. He liked to go to the frozen northern mountains and spend great lengths of time there. And after some time he integrated himself into zebra society where he was greatly respected. One day though many zebra's began to go missing and all that was seen were dark shadows growing in the north and a bitter cold that was creeping across the fields and forests. The wizard said that he foresaw disaster and proclaimed that he would fight this darkness and save the zebra kingdoms but that he would need some zebra magicians to go with him. They left and never returned to the zebra kingdoms which greatly distressed the elders of the zebra councils. The darkness continued to grow over the years with the zebras trying everything to fight back at it. All their magic and strength and skill went into protecting their homelands.
Soon many things began to gather in the north such as a great many dragons who the zebras had long avoided though they were not enemies. Strange creatures they had never seen before were spotted on the outskirts of the realms, creatures that could change form at will, creatures that in modern times the zebras called changelings. The zebras began to fear the north as any who entered there seldom came back and those that did never spoke of what they saw. Animals as well seemed affected as slowly many of them began to lose the ability to speak which caused great distress. And after a long time of this came the great scourge of nightmare inducing beasts and hordes of changelings and dragons and many many other strange and terrifying creatures. The zebras did all they could to protect their homes and fight back but one by one, kingdoms began to fall. When the remaining kingdoms banned together they managed to pull of several important victories which gave them some years of peace afterward but the hordes returned again and again slowly whittling down the strength of the zebra kingdoms. The zebra magicians performed many rituals to ascertain the origins of these nightmare armies and what they found was terrifying. A great monster without a discernible physical form came forth and spread fear amongst the zebra mages. They must have angered it as when the next attack came the darkness came at its head and consumed an entire zebra citadel which was a great defeat. The zebras grew greatly afraid and this granted the darkness greater power and its attacks intensified with the zebras barely holding on for a long time.
Eventually though the kingdoms began to fall and six years ago the kingdom that Abila called home fell along with the last of the zebra kingdoms causing the zebras to flee far away to another land. But that before they left the zebras by means of magic had discovered the existence of this continent and that the darkness sought to destroy it next and steal the power of the great tree that grew there. Abila had then been sent by the remaining zebras to travel to this foreign land and deliver a warning of what was to come in their near future. Terria looked up at her parents and saw in their eyes something she had never seen before, fear. Terria was shocked at this but when she looked again she saw a different look, not of fear but worry and concern and then a strong determination. Kera stood tall and resplendent and ordered in all of her advisers and told them to begin preparations at once and to send word to all other kingdoms of the coming danger.
Within days leaders from the Yaks, Buffalo, Griffons, Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi and the southern Alicorn Kingdoms had arrived and were meeting in a grand conference within the city of Mara. Weeks were spent in deliberation with supplies being sent all over the continent as defense point were set at various places within the continent. The world of the ponies had never been in any wars and the only one with real combat experience was Radost who returned to the southern islands where his family lived to ready them for the coming battle and to prepare the first line of defense. In the north the Griffons used the magic crown retrieved by Radost long ago to create powerful magical barriers on the northern coasts that could not be easily breached.
The Alicorns and Pegasi took to the skies around the shores and began to patrol the coasts and fly out some distance into the sea to keep a look out. The Unicorns dove into their books to create spells for more combative purposes while the Earth Ponies constructed fortifications around the kingdom and beyond. Kera proved to be a master organizer and led the work with vigor and determination. Terria was unsure how to react or how to help in this situation. She knew that she was one of the more powerful Alicorns when it came to magical ability and that the front lines might suit her talents. Yet Kera was set to take the front as there was no being on the continent who even came close to her in any way when it came to magic. But she ultimately decided that she would gather those who could not fight and got to work making protections for them. Children and those without powerful magic she would take care of and oversaw the construction of fortifications to shield them from any fighting.
After some weeks the Pegasi scouts reported seeing enormous dark clouds gathering in the south. The water turned black and fish of all kinds disappeared from the area in great numbers. The sky was being blotted out as noises from the depths of the sea boomed in a great multitude bringing fear to the denizens of the continent. But as their fear grew Queen Kera the Blessed flew forth in all of her silver raiment and armor glistening in what was left of the sunlight. Her magic blew away the clouds around the land and the ponies cheered and grew brave for the coming fight. As Kera readied herself a great explosion of shadow sprouted forth from the sea near the southern islands Kera flew there as fast as she could but could only watch as the darkness completely enveloped the islands where her beloved Radost stood valiant in his defense.
The sounds of battle were heard for some time as Kera tried her utmost to break through but when she finally did the islands were gone and nothing remained. She felt despair for the first time in her life but as she looked down at her subjects courage once again filled her heart as she flew back to them to ready the defense. Suddenly out of the sea a great multitude of monsters issued forth. Creatures covered in slime with long spidery legs and short stump bodies whose mouths were gaping maws of razor teeth charged up on land. From the clouds in the sky flying creatures like ponies but bug-like flew from the clouds in great swarms followed by the great dragons all with lifeless eyes pouring into the sky. Again Kera came forth, her horn glowing in a silver light as all was pushed aside before her. Behind her came a legion of Alicorns their magic combining into great bursts of color and power. On the ground the Earth Ponies holding great shields held back the demons on the ground while the Unicorns behind them shot forth spells of their own.
The Ponies though were soon pushed back to the mountain range where they had set up their first major defense protected by the mountain range on their side and rear. It was here that the Yaks charged down from the side and relieved the main pony line allowing more time to reorganize. In the sky the Pegasi came at last and began to dive-bomb their enemies as the Alicorns contended with the dragons that followed them. The changeling swarms came in last changing into various pony forms until Kera herself came and swept away their disguises with her magic. Battles broke out in the southern cities which were soon overrun as more ponies joined the main battle line at the foot of the mountains which was holding firm. The ponies made their camp behind the lines at a river which the Pegasi flew back and forth from to get fresh water for their tiring forces.
All was going well until they received word from the west that more demons had arisen from the sea and were heading to their flank. Here on more flat land the Buffalo had come into play to stop them on the plains they knew so well. And so for several days it went like this with little rest as the ponies and their allies held firm. Kera once again issued forth driving back any in her way with her great magic. She flew far ahead of the lines and straight at the darkness where the demons were issuing forth from. All saw her as a star glowing in the endless and all consuming night, greater than any other and burning away all of the shadows that surrounded her. She flew straight at the clouds seeing within them a form, their leader perhaps, hiding behind its impenetrable shroud of darkness. A barely distinguishable shape in the shrouding dark that was before her. Straight in she flew with no fear in her heart as she cut through the shade and straight into its heart. The ponies cheered wildly as they began to rapidly push forward working together wonderfully in their euphoria.
Terria arrived with several dozen Alicorns who were eager to protect their homes and stood behind the lines giving orders and aiding with the retaking of several cities. As the alliance were about to push the demons back out into sea they stopped suddenly. Terria looked out and saw her mother pushing back the darkness itself and was in awe at her mothers power. How great Caelus must have been to even land a blow on her in their sparring sessions she thought. But as the ponies watched in joy they slowly began to realize the truth of the matter. Kera was falling back slowly but surely towards the shoreline. She kept up the fight until after several hours she was lost from view and the noises of battle from within the cloud were silenced. They watched in stunned silence as the clouds returned and more demons issued forth from it in greater numbers. The ponies lost all heart and fled fearing the loss of their great commander. All ground had been lost and the ponies fled back behind the mountain range where the main Buffalo army slowed down the advancing hordes with their mastery of the plains where they now were. The ponies were ferried across the lake and river that ran through this area to safety to hopefully regroup and come up with a new plan.
The Buffalo were tasked with holding the plains as long as possible with Pegasi and alicorn support from the air while all the other ponies retreated to another mountain range further north where they could better defend. There were two mountain ranges that had a gap between separating Marillion from the southern lands and here in this gap did they make their great forts. As the Buffalo valiantly held the plains the ponies scrambled for a new leader and they looked to Terria for her help. She did not wish to lead this army and was unsure if she even could and so set up a council of all the races that would make decision while she served in an advisory role to them. All the south was now covered in darkness yet even so the Buffalo with the help of the ponies held the plains for years with their great strength. At this time the northern mountains and high up griffon cities were also attacked but their powerful barriers withheld all attacks and so the north was safe from attack.
The Griffons then became great producers of raw materials using the mineral rich mountains to forge great weapons and armor for the armies in the south. Several royal griffon battle units were sent who would serve as the royal guards to the council and other surviving royalty from the south kingdoms. All the while Terria was frightened of what might happen as she remembered her nightmares from long ago and how they now seemed to be coming true. Caelus had told her of a great power of light saving the world but without Kera there was nopony who could fill that role as none had the strength except her and she was now gone. The city of Mara and the great Tree Volamena which had grown so large that it could be seen for a hundred miles in all directions. The light it produced kept the darkness at bay while The Alicorns kept the sun and moon in proper rotation. Terria busied herself with keeping the ponies safe as she spent most of her time among them keeping their spirits up. She would often go to the front lines and fight with the Buffalo and Yaks in the plains trying to help in ways she thought she could.
For several years this stalemate continued as the constant attacks grew bigger and bigger. The Buffalo and their allies were slowly losing the plains and were pushed closer and closer to the mountains. The ponies had finished their forts and all those who had fought on the plains were able to finally retreat past them to safety. The situation was bleak most of the continent had fallen in only 10 years and the enemy only became stronger as the pony alliance slowly weakened. To the east of the continent was a large island where Alicorns had heavily fortified the shore and now more demons were attacking it and the darkness had gotten to the shoreline. It was decided that this island could not fall or they might be attacked from behind and so Terria was sent with her Griffon Guard and several unicorns to aid in its defense. She took this task reluctantly for she was unsure of her own ability to lead the ponies correctly but there she proved her cunning mind by subverting all attempted attacks on the island by the forces of darkness though many ponies were lost in her battles which would weigh heavily on her mind. Here she watched as new and stranger creatures kept appearing, arriving in greater numbers and far more powerful than those who had come before. But for five more years she held them at bay with great success before the attacks finally stopped. For a year there were no more great attacks on the forts as well although the darkness remained in the south and none dared to fight it directly yet.
The Unicorns now proved adept at creating new and more creative and powerful spells even more than many of the Alicorns could create. They delved into ancient books and added new touches onto old spells and practiced relentlessly to master them and add further protection to the north lands that were still free. The north had become a huge fort and for several years the ponies within lived peacefully enough as they believed that nothing now could get passed it. They began to recoup their numbers and added further defenses to their roster. The Earth Ponies began to dig deep tunnels beneath the ground that they would use as pitfalls in case of enemy attack and even trapped many of the mountains in case the enemy should try to fly over them. The Alicorns and Pegasi still held strong patrols over the mountains and while attacks made purely over the mountains were unlikely the councils decided all precautions would be necessary. Even with these precautions many of the changelings would be able to slip past after turning into ponies. Many were caught thanks to the magic of the Alicorns being able to dispel their magic under the direction of Abila who figured out that their magic shared many similarities with zebra magic. This caused much distrust between ponies and the other races who were cooped up in the north. Any pony that went out alone went under suspicion of having been replaced until an Alicorn could clear them of changeling magic. Terria did all she could to try and combat this distrust but she had little effect on the feelings of most ponies at this time.
One day Abila came to Terria with a plan to try and retake the plains from the nightmare and chaos forces that had been amassing. The pony armies had been nearly rebuilt and were now more experienced and prepared and should take the fight to their enemy directly. Her plan was to follow the mountain range that separated the continent south along its western side through a large forest that lay at the foot of the mountain in order to stay hidden. They could then make it far enough to get to an area of the plains that had very long grass growing to stay hidden further as they made their way south. If they could make it to the southern lake then they could follow the river that came from it further south into the mountains and get close enough to where their wizards had sensed the presence of the great darkness and take it out quickly in order to end all the fighting.
Abila was tired of fighting defensively along with many others and wanted eagerly for her plan to be approved so they could win the war. Terria expressed that there was nopony in the world strong enough to beat the darkness and that they did not even really know what or whom it was yet and that the plan was to risky. Abila was confident though and convinced the council that if enough of their strongest fighters went out led by her and Terria that they could have a real chance of winning. Terria had indeed grown stronger and there were many others who had also gained great renown for their skills in the various battles and by working together they could do it. The councils quickly agreed and rounded up the strongest Earth Pony and Buffalo, the most skilled Unicorn wizard along with Terria for the Alicorns. Also the swiftest Griffon and Pegasus were called forth but the Yaks did not send anyone to join as they had lost the most in the battles for the plains and were more cautious to go out than the others were. And so were sent forth Ironhoof the Earth Pony, Bighorn the Buffalo, Aurora Solstice the Unicorn, Princess Terria the Alicorn, Whisperwind the Pegasus, Greywing the Griffon and Abila the Zebra.
The group set out under the cover of night at the foot of the mountains heading south along the edge of a lake that bordered the north of the forest. When they left their own lands and entered the wasteland of the south they began to see firsthand the destruction that had been done. When they arrived at the forest they were glad to see it was still standing although it looked sickly. The forest hid them well and as they passed south along the mountains they witnessed even worse lands as they went south. At night they would peak from the edge of the forest and see the blighted lands surrounding them as well as the forest whose edges were beginning to wither away. The forest itself was greatly changed from how they remembered it. The trees gave off an evil feeling and everything that was lovely in the trees was now blackened or had been distorted into strange and unusual shapes. All the natural balance that had once existed within it was gone and what was left was either dying or in chaos.
The water in the rivers was an eerie green and smelled funny and what animals remained could no longer speak and had been distorted and made far more aggressive than in the peaceful days of the past. Several times they were almost spotted by the dark shapes that moved about in the distance as their glowing eyes combed the lands for anything that should not be there. The darkness was thick, even at daytime and the lands were always darkened. Ironhoof and Big-horn had been fighting in these lands in years past and seeing them like this gave them great distress but Terria and Abila were able to keep the group morale high.
They reached the southern edge of the forest without much incident and there was a ruin of one of the few large buffalo cities that had been built but then was lost when the plains fell. Bighorn led them to it and was able to show them all the secret ways that had been put into it to hide the buffalo forces during the plains wars. As they reached the city limits the group was distressed to see that the former tall grass of the plains were gone and all the land was barren and empty. Abila was scared that her plan was going to fail when Greywing used his ability as a crafter to make camouflage sheets from old shops in the city. Ironhoof held the disguise in place as the group passed silently and slowly along the ground seeming merely a mound of dirt and rocks to any looking at them from outside. After two days of walking they reached the border of the old southern alicorn kingdom of Merlyn. They reached a border town where they were able to hide and rest in the ruined buildings as Whisperwind used her famous silent and speedy flying to go around and gather supplies from the ruins. As night fell in the ruins the group dared not to light a fire so Aurora and Terria cast a warmth spell to protect them from the cold.
As morning came the group once again donned their disguise and continued southwest towards the southern lake. Aurora could sense any of the chaos creatures with her magic and so they were able to avoid any large numbers of them as they roamed across the fields polluting what was left of the land into a gray and bleak desert. A week of travel and they arrived at the shore of the lake that was now more a great pool of black sludge. Everything in a countryside that was once beautiful was now destroyed as if all the life seemed to be sucked out of it. They now dared not to travel upon the lake and instead continued to creep around it o the shoreline until they reached the river that would lead them into the mountains.
Even the river seemed rank and foul as fumes that stung their noses seeped forth from its black waters, but even so the party needed to remain near it to find the path into the mountains. They continued to follow the river south and after several more days of creeping along they came to the edge of the southern mountain range. Here they discovered long abandoned weapons and armor within a small cave from that first battle all those years ago still in pristine condition. They had been forged of silevera which had become much rarer as much had been lost in the early battles. The griffons had to stop mining it as much to make way for easier and quicker materials to forge with in the great haste for weapons. So the group outfitted themselves with what they could find, Terria took a silevera harness, Abila took a helmet, Ironhoof and Bighorn took a pair of spears, Aurora took a magic enhancing staff, Whisperwind took a shield and Greywing acquired an armored silver cloak.
The group now outfitted as an elite battle regiment continued up the gray mountainside. They could feel the oppressive weight of the dark magic below slightly lifting as they climbed higher and higher into the mountain passes. Aurora stopped them midway up and warned that she sensed dragons sleeping some way up the mountain. The group chose to go a longer way around the dragons as to not draw notice to them as they snuck up the mountain. As the group climbed higher into the tall mountain peaks they once again began to see the light of the sun in small amounts which lightened their spirits. Abila and Aurora now began to sense that on the other side of the mountain a great and dark power was gathering up a large amount of magic. They knew it was the darkness that they sought and now sought passage to the other side of the mountain. The main path was blocked by the dragons but there was an old mine shaft that Ironhoof and Greywing used to work before the war. They knew that it went right through the mountain but that it had been blocked to prevent the enemy from going through it. All they would have to do is unblock it and they would have a safe and secret passage underneath the mountain.
Ironhoof and Greywing led their companions off the track into the more remote peaks of the mountain. There they searched for several hours until the sealed hatch into the mines was found behind a small waterfall. Aurora and Terria used their magic to break the rubble as Bighorn and Ironhoof pushed the rubble into a pile far from the ledge of the mountain trail. The group stood at the entrance for several minutes, Aurora used her magic to peer into the cave in order to make sure nothing evil lay within. Ironhoof explained that the mine went very deep into the mountain with many twists and passageways. It would be impossible to peer very deeply into the mine and so there was no way of really knowing if something was inside or not.
Aurora and Terria would take front with Ironhoof and Greywing behind giving directions, Whisperwind would watch the rear while Big-horn would take the center position. As the party trudged onward they found themselves getting deeper into the cavernous halls of the former mine. Terria used her horn to light the way as Aurora used her staff to enhance her sensing abilities. They wandered for several days as Ironhoof and Greywing tried to remember the layout of the caverns. They would spend several hours arguing with each other each day on which way would be best to travel. The group passed through the former mining area, still with untapped silevera veins glistening in the walls. Soon the group neared the end of the mine and so they stopped to rest for a few hours to prepare to enter the heart of the nightmare lands on the other side of the mountains.
As they rested Aurora suddenly shot up and shouted that she sensed something coming towards them. Whisperwind quickly flew down the corridor and returned shouting that a troupe of nightmare spawns and changelings were coming. The group all quickly ran up and tried to flee down the corridors to the exit but they were still some ways away. The changelings, quick as they were, caught up and began to attack the rear of the group. Whisperwind used her shield to swat the changelings away but in the dark they began to change into various members of the group in order to confuse them. They all had to stop and allow Terria to cast a disillusion spell in a small radius and all stand together in it in order to stay safe from the changelings tactics. While they did this the nightmare spawn caught up and swarmed over the walls and ceilings blocking the way out of the mines. Aurora used her staff and horn to shoot down any changelings that got to close while Ironhoof and Bighorn used their long spears to keep the nightmare spawn from getting to close.
Terria Began to charge up a powerful attack spell as more of the monsters swarmed into the room. When she was finally able to fire it off they had been completely surrounded but when the spell launched it blast out all of the foes standing by the door allowing the group to finally escape deeper into the mines. The silevera spears kept the monsters at a good distance as Terria and Aurora kept blasting them with magic spells. The party of heroes managed to block the passage that they were being chased through to block their enemies from continuing the chase. Greywing led them down a side passage that split into several smaller passages but led back to the exit to the mines. They could hear the changelings buzzing in adjacent passages while the nightmare spawns hissed behind them. The passage they were traveling would add several hours to their trip but Greywing thought it would be a safer path to take.
The party passed into a large chamber that was dimly lit by crystal lamps which hung from the ceiling. Here was the former living quarters for the deep mines and it was a room that was heavily reinforced and safe to rest in. Aurora enchanted the door they came in so that nothing could pass it without setting off an alarm. Here the group rested for some time before they talked amongst each other about what they should do next. The enemy was now aware of their presence but how they wondered. Whisperwind suggested that perhaps the dragons had come across the open doorway to the mines and alerted others that something was amiss. No matter what it was their presence was now known and if they tried to attack the darkness then perhaps he would be ready and waiting for them. They looked to Terria for a suggestion and her plan was that if they could get out quickly enough then they could still succeed before any nightmare spawn could inform their master about them. They waited until Ironhoof and Greywing laid out a path for them to travel and then darted from the room down the way that the two former miners had remembered. As they raced down the passages they heard rumblings behind them and so Ironhoof kicked out several support beams collapsing tunnels behind them to slow down their pursuers.
As they continued down the dark passageways of the mines they began to near the exit to the dark tunnels but before they entered the final chamber ad large nightmare spawn roared forth from a crevasse in the ground. He hit Ironhoof against the wall but before he could attack again, Bighorn took his spear and rammed into the nightmare spawn. He began to battle it as they bashed into support beams around the large chamber. Terria ran over to help Ironhoof up as the rest of the company charged in to fight the large spawn. Ironhoof had been knocked out cold and so Terria carried him into the exit chamber as the others battled their foe. She began to use what healing magic she knew to help him wake up faster. As the battle in the main chamber raged on more and more spawn began to pour in along with some changelings. As the party finished off the large one they all retreated into the final chamber with the still sealed off exit at the other end. They barred the door behind them as Ironhoof finally awoke from his unconsciousness. The party began to quail at the endless numbers of spawn flooding into the previous chamber as they all tried to hold the door closed. Terria in a panic just loosed forth a large bolt of magic at the exit and blew it out. She called for the other to run out of the mines to which they all complied. Terria stood outside the door and charged up an even more powerful spell as did Aurora. Just as the nightmare spawn and changelings broke down the door they each let loose and blew down the entire section of the mountain. All of the caves near the entrance fell in and the entrance way was blocked by tons of rubble.
It was just before dawn when the brave fellowship awoke from their exhausted state after the battle. Terria had remained awake to watch them as they rested from their time in the dark mines. Their spirits were low as they hid in a small clearing shielded by large boulders at the southern edge of the mountains. They were now certain the their enemy would be aware of their presence and that the attack would fail. Ironhoof's leg had been injured and still needed a short while to fully heal before they could set out again.
They watched from their hiding spot as all about the ruined countryside demons and other foul and evil looking creatures roamed across the land. All the way from the mountains to the sea the land was overrun with these beasts and from a great distance to the east they saw it, a great emptiness where all light had left from. Here they sensed him in all his dark power, like a gap in life itself, void of emotion and any semblance of spirit and greater than anything they could have imagined. Their spirits dropped lower than ever as they grew afraid of what they saw. But when they were at their lowest Bighorn let a smile grow on his face and slowly began to laugh. The others in the group looked confused as Bighorn began to laugh harder and harder. He looked at his companions and told them that the moment they give up is the moment they lose and so they had to keep their spirits high. He reminded them that they were fighting for peace and their friends and family back home and to keep happy for as long as they had each other and worked as a team they could overcome anything that the darkness could throw at them and would succeed in their mission. His speech gave the group comfort and they all smiled at him and soon were all laughing together with him.
Greywing went and stood by his friend Ironhoof and patting his back let him know that he would carry him on his back if he had to in order get them all there. Greywing, inspired by Bighorn was now determined to stay by Ironhoofs side and protect him as best as he was able until he was fully recovered. The group now having been reinvigorated were determined to continue on their quest as quickly as possible to stop their enemy from preparing for them as much as he could. They set out with Greywing indeed helping his friend to walk for a ways until he was able to continue by himself. They crept at the foot of the mountains eastward towards the heart of the darkness where they would find their target. After several days of keeping their brisk pace they came closer and closer to the old kingdom of Marela which lay on a peninsula on the eastern coast. The mountains came to an end and the rocky seashore of the peninsula became their cloak of invisibility from the enemy. From here in years past one could look out and see the southern isles where Terria's father Radost hailed form and was lost while defending. They were no longer there or could no longer be seen in the near overwhelming darkness.
As the fellowship neared their destination they stopped for one more night hidden in the crags of the shore so as to enter the battle at their full strength and energy as they knew they would have need of it. They sat around and told stories about the elder days when peace reigned and there was no war or darkness. They told the stories of the travels of Terria and her friend Caelus and asked her many questions about him as he was quite famous among magic users being the only pony who ever managed to land a blow on Kera in her prime. Aurora Solstice was especially interested in him as a personal hero of hers and was curious about his disappearance. Terria told them that he had the highest potential of any alicorn she had ever seen. She then directed them to Abila who told of the ancient legend from her own land that spoke of a pony who was most likely Caelus. The story was the one she had told Kera long ago about how he and a troupe of zebra magicians went to battle the gathering darkness in its early days but never returned.
As the night wore on and the group began to fall asleep Terria noticed that Aurora had gone off to a far corner and began to pace back and forth nervously. Terria went up to her and tapped Aurora on the shoulder surprising her. Aurora had a scared and startled look on her face as she turned to face Terria. Terria looked down at her friend with a look of concern which made Aurora quickly turn away as she continued to pace back and forth on the ground. Terria asked what was the matter as she would not have a friend of hers sad especially when they needed to keep their calm for the mission tomorrow. Terria sensed a feeling of shame and guilt in Aurora but could not place what it was so she simply asked her friend what was the matter. Aurora began to mumble to herself as she tried to ignore the princess but Terria wouldn’t have it. She asked once again and Aurora reluctantly whispered that she should not have come on the mission. Terria, surprised at this worriedly asked why Aurora thought that way to which Aurora replied that when the most skilled members of each race were chosen for this quest that she was only chosen because her father was on the war council. Aurora herself was not very strong or talented, not even being able to preform age spells. In fact the only reason that she had done as well as she had up till now was because she lucked out and found the magic enhancing staff which allowed her magic to be stronger.
At this news a quick flash of anger crossed Terria's face but as she looked at how scared Aurora was she calmed down and placed her hoof on her shoulder. Terria asked why Aurora lied about her skills and why she agreed to go on the mission. Aurora replied that it was because her father wanted her to be famous and wished her family to be raised up as heroes and had ordered her to go. Also because Aurora had convinced herself that she could complete this quest but as they neared the darkness and she could feel its power she now knew that she could help very little against it. She began to cry while holding on to Terria obviously scared out of her mind but Terria hugged her, thinking what she could say as now they had little choice but to go forward. Terria could not think of what to say in order to calm Aurora down and as she began to worry Ironhoof came over to see what was happening. He saw that Aurora was crying and came over tapping her on the shoulder. As Aurora turned she saw him holding out a flower towards her. Aurora smiled at this kind gesture and began to finally calm down as Ironhoof comforted her with words of encouragement. Terria told him what Aurora said and Ironhoof told her that lying about her place in the group was foolish but that as they could do little about it now she might as well come out and tell the others. Aurora wiping the last of the tears from her eyes agreed and went to the others telling them the truth.
Aurora became nervous but then Abila came up and told her that it was alright and that she would find her strength when the time came. This cheered Aurora up immensely and with the encouraging words of her friends who did believe in her and what she could achieve she was able to muster the confidence to continue forward and not abandon her friends. Terria watched the scene unfold as a tear came to her eyes for she was so happy to have finally found new friends of her own who would so gladly support each other when they needed to.
The next morning the party awoke to a dim sky with only the sound of large flapping wings of dragons and changelings hidden within the dark clouds. They all looked at each other and with a collective nod once again went forth hidden by the large rocks and boulders of the craggy sea shore. Slowly and silently they went along, hiding from any sound that they heard. Careful they were not to be spotted although they saw the hills and cliffs above them to be crawling with the servants of the enemy. They were sure that the enemy was aware of them and had set these creatures to guard from and find them. They were so very close now, so close they could all sense the power that lay before them. All consuming it seemed, the land scorched and barren, the sun blotted out and armies of horrible nightmarish creatures marching across the land heading north. Despite all this as they continued on from here they began to run into less and less of the monsters. They had expected to have to sneak all the way to the lair of the darkness but the last several miles were void of his armies and guards that they thought had been searching for them. They walked openly and were able to cover the last leg of their journey quickly as they neared his lair.
They had finally arrived, the dark power they could all feel emanated from a cave that had been dug into the ground. A set of stairs led into the dark hole, the bottom of which none could see as it was clouded in smoke. Aurora and Terria lit up their horns to provide light as the others readied themselves for any traps that might have been set. The group proceeded slowly as they entered the long dark of the underworld. The stairs led down into the earth into somber halls and large caverns of stone. Many pathways and halls led off in many directions as the group followed the great power that lay at the end. Aurora and Terria dimmed their horns as they could see bright eyes staring at them in the dark although nothing came at them. They continued until they came upon a large doorway blocked by a great iron gate covered in chains. They all could feel the power behind the door, it was him, the darkness itself, all consuming and all powerful. Deep in their hearts the brave party felt fear begin to grow but they came together and took comfort in their friends and pushed the door open.
The door flew open and the group rushed in with their weapons and magic at the ready, but when they had all entered the room was empty or at least seemed empty. It was darker here and completely silent as the only sounds came from the brave heroes that had just entered. Suddenly as all seemed still they all beheld a shape emerging from the darkness. It seemed a familiar one yet felt completely different from any they had ever seen. In a split second they were all paralyzed, unable to move as the shape slowly moved closer to them. Only a few feet from them the shape stopped and perceived them and their numbers. As the group stood there unable to move they each in their own minds heard a voice whispering to them. It was not a great or threatening voice but a calm and somewhat quiet one. It probed their minds asking them each questions that they tried to resist answering.
Terria felt the voice in her mind very strongly as it probed at the group. She managed to regain some self control, enough to move her head to look at her friends at her side. She saw their faces, not stunned in looks of horror but more surprised and some with small tears flowing down their faces. When she looked forward at the shape she saw it slowly approaching her. As it burst through the darkness she finally could recognize the face of her friend Caelus from long ago. He seemed fairer than when she had known him and had a smile on his face. When he spoke a voice that seemed like his yet also somewhat different came out. She began to cry a little as he walked towards her continuing to ask her things about herself and the northern kingdoms. She answered his questions almost compulsively as he continued. His questions soon became more complex and slowly skirted closer to the level of defenses and the number of soldiers manning the forts on the front lines. Terria almost had no control now as she began to answer more and more not wanting to disappoint her best friend.
Suddenly before she could finish all her answers Whisperwind hit Terria across the face as she suddenly snapped out of her trance. Terria fell to the ground, unable to move, as she looked up and saw that Caelus was gone and only the darkness remained. Her friends all stood around her as the dark shape retreated back slightly from this sudden defeat. The group pulled Terria out of the room as the darkness burst forth once more just missing them as they slammed the door behind them. As Ironhoof and Bighorn held the door shut Whisperwind generously gave her shield as a stretcher for Terria who was hardly able to move now. Terria looked up and asked what her friends saw in the room with each answering different. As they ran away from the room they each explained what they had seen. Aurora saw her demanding parents, Whisperwind saw her sister who long ago had fallen against the nightmare armies, Greywing and Ironhoof each saw friends who fell in the southern mine when it was originally lost, Bighorn saw his wife who he thought was safe at home pleading with him for answers and Abila saw her entire family who were now all gone as well. Terria asked how they managed to break the powerful illusion to which Aurora said that her parents didn’t sound right and she was able to realize it was a trick to which the others also stated as how they were able to break free.
They fled from the tunnels as fast as they could all possibly move. As they ran the caverns began to cave in around them as they could feel the darkness leaving from them as well. Ironhoof carried an exhausted Terria on his back as the exited the caverns and finally returned to the outside world. Even though the sky was blotted out they could tell it was night, they discerned that they must have been in there for hours or even days as the lands were now completely void of all movement and sound. They moved westward carefully at first but as they found no resistance they increased speed to pass the southern mountain range and return north to home. They made good time and sped across the southern hills with all the speed they could muster. Their hearts had been dashed though as they had failed and believed that the darkness was beyond their power to defeat. When they rounded the western edge of the mountains what they saw only furthered this belief.
Before them on the vast plains was no longer the long grasslands and fields they knew but only a sea of foes. All of the armies of the darkness had amassed upon the plains and legion upon legion they filled the land to an unimaginable degree. In the distance beyond the horizon they beheld massive columns of smoke as even from this distance they knew the border forts were being assaulted by this endless host of evil. In the skies they beheld distant lights and explosions in the dark as the flying armies of each side battled in the skies. Terria came down from Ironhoofs back and fell to the ground in tears. Her friends gathered around her trying to calm her but to no avail. Terria looked up and for the first time in her life felt not only sadness but anger as well.
Her heart filled with rage as she rose up from the ground looking at the army before her. In almost an instant Terria was gone, flying through the air at incredible speeds she darted across the sky towards the border forts. She arrived there in a matter of minutes as she beheld that the forts had been under attack for some time and many of the walls had been torn down and immense damage had been done to the surrounding lands. Craters from the artillery spells of the unicorns the shattered and broken weapons of the Earth Ponies littered the ground. She looked towards the mountains where she saw Griffons, Alicorns and Pegasi fighting desperately to hold onto the mountain ranges they had fortified. Dragons and all manner of other flying things were issuing forth in large numbers but the Ponies held them back. In the rear she saw the Buffalo and the Yaks massing for counter charges and preparing the next lines of defenses they had prepared. She then saw Ponies turning on each other in the distance as changelings appeared within their ranks sowing chaos around the battlefield. Her rage built up inside her as she suddenly burst forth herself into the endless ranks of the enemy, her eyes glowing green.
Terria's horn lit up the night as waves of powerful magic shot forth from it in all directions. Terria flew down to the forts and with her temper growing she routed all of the attacking forces giving the beleaguered defenders a chance to regroup and reorganize their defense. Terria put forth all of her might and anger as she fought this battle. She flew around at such speeds that the wind became like a slow trickle of water to her as she continued her attacks. Hours she fought on like nothing anypony had ever seen. She soared to the mountains and even the dragons shrank back from her assault so terrified of her they became. She pressed further and further forward not caring for her own well being as she continued to fight in her anger. She blew through so many of the enemies lines that she soon became surrounded as dozens of dragons charged her from all directions. She grappled with them in the sky for some time throwing most of them from the air before Terria herself finally fell from exhaustion. As she fell from the sky she looked as the dragons came at her again thinking that it was the end until a magical beam of energy hit the nearest dragon causing the others to disperse. There was Aurora Solstice and the rest of her friends carried by a levitation field powered by Aurora. Whisperwind with her shield flew in from the other side and smashed a dragon in the face with it making the remaining foes flee the area. Whisperwind flew towards Terria and gave her silevera shield as a stretcher to more easily carry her wounded friend on back to safety.
When Terria awoke the battle was over, she found herself in a tent alongside the river Afon. There was Abila sitting besides her, asleep from having fought a long time in the battle and the silevera shield of Whisperwind lying on the ground covered in used bandages. She looked out onto the fields and saw in the distance that the border forts were destroyed and most of the lands about had been wrecked. There were very few ponies that she could see within the camp as those she could were injured and depressed looking. As Terria looked out Abila woke up and walked next to her and told her that the battle had been won but that most of the defenses had been destroyed and that they now had very few ponies to defend the borders. Abila told Terria that she had been unconscious for five days and had been heavily wounded. The best healers in Marillion had done tireless work to heal her as they could with even Aurora helping many times. Ironhoof, Bighorn, Greywing and Whisperwind fought at the front lines for days and had returned with only some minor injuries among them. Now though, they were all meeting with the councils delivering their reports on the failed mission and an evaluation of the power of the darkness. Abila was chosen to stay and watch Terria to lead her to the council when she woke up and if she was up for it. Abila told Terria of her actions and how she had shown more power than she had ever seen before. Terria was hazy and could barely remember what had happened during the battle. Abila though, said that Terria had begun to act foolish and that she didn't like the side of her that Terria let out and that it scared her somewhat. Abila also said that Terria had put herself in unnecessary danger and could have been seriously hurt if the others hadn’t found her and saved her.
While Abila was talking Terria was deep in thought as to what this strange magic that she had unleashed was and how came to know it. She knew her limits from years of battle and yet she knew she had never displayed nor could not achieve the kind of power such as that before. Abila noticed this and stopped talking, knowing in her own mind what Terria was thinking about. She gave a concerned look and told Terria that it was Dark Magic, the same kind used by the darkness and his minions. When Terria asked how she could have learned this Abila told her that when they and their friends were trapped within his enchantment some of his power must have transferred over some how to her. Abila mused that maybe Aurora also gained some control over this magic but as Dark Magic was rumored only to be powered by fear and hatred Aurora seemed safe as she was not the hateful type. Terria asked how Abila would know all of this to which Abila replied that Dark Magic was known to Zebras from their many years fighting the darkness in their own lands. They discovered that somehow it had a relation to their own mages magic and through that they spent much time studying it trying to learn how to control of defeat it. Abila said that Dark Magic was very powerful but at the same time it was very dangerous as it had a habit of changing the user from their normal selves into beings that exemplify the traits of fear and hatred. The Zebras had stopped studying it when several mages were driven mad by the magic and ever onward it had been classified as forbidden magic. Abila could see that Terria was becoming scared and so she smiled and said that since Terria was already so powerful that she probably shouldn’t worry about it for now. Abila gave her comfort in the knowledge that her friends would be there to protect her in case something like that did happen so she should not worry.
After several days of remaining in the camp and resting Terria and Abila went north to Mara and met up with the rest of their friends who were still in meeting with the council. The council was in a panic as nightmare forces were seen massing once again in the fields south of the mountain ranges and that the forts had been too damaged to be used as feasible defenses. The alliance forces were rapidly preparing all of the defenses that were built in case of such an event but with their current numbers it would still take a miracle with the remaining enemy forces that were seen. When Terria entered the room they became slightly more relieved to see her awake and well rested from her injuries. Some members of the council said that there were too few forces left to defend the north realms and they should all think of retreating into the northern mountains of the Griffons to be protected by their magic barriers. Terria rebuked this as she felt that Setting up several lines of resistance along the river system in order to channel the enemy forces into the pass between the Coral and Quartz rivers would keep their forces bottle-necked allowing for flanking maneuvers and keeping Mara safe behind the Coral river in case something went wrong. She noted that there was a city situated in the perfect position between the rivers to act as a fort and that from there they could control the tide of the battle in their favor. The retreat to the Griffon kingdom should be kept as a last resort but still she agreed that it would be wise to prepare of it if the river defense failed and Mara was attacked.
But then a pony on the council, a Unicorn named Crimson Moon who was the father of Aurora Solstice, stated that such a plan would be unnecessary as the great tree Volamena still stood strong in the center of Mara and the powerful light magic it produced would be more than enough to protect the kingdom and that retreat should not be an option since they could rely on the power of the tree which was created by greater powers than the darkness. Crimson Moon had always been a very vocal member of the council and was sure of the superiority of their forces and the magic of the tree which had always protected Marillion and made it prosper. He argued that the border forts could be re-garrisoned and the border made secure with only a little effort. His words were very compelling and even as Terria laid out her plan he convinced the council to ignore it even as they began to agree with her. Terria became angry at this and stormed out with her friends chasing after her trying to calm her down. Aurora even gave her father a dirty look as she exited the council chamber.
Terria calmed down after much convincing but still was determined to enact her plan to protect her kingdom and subjects. She disobeyed the councils orders and went out gathering what was left of the allied armies to begin the necessary preparations for her strategy. She asked her friends to try to distract the council long enough so they would not notice her actions and try to stop her. With Terria went Ironhoof, Bighorn and Abila while Aurora Solstice, Greywing and Whisperwind returned to stall the council. Their plan worked well in the beginning with Aurora using her familial connection with the council to ensure her friends were allowed entry every day to bog the council down in pointless procedures so they couldn’t catch word of Terria and the others building up the army.
All the creatures in Marillion loved Terria for her parents and her constant actions in defense of their world and so most were more than willing to join her over obeying the orders of the council. Each race had grown distrustful of each other over the years in the fear of Changelings but with Terria at the lead they put these feelings aside for they trusted she would do what was right. But organizing a force this large was difficult as she had never done so on this large a scale before and the council was finally beginning to catch on to her plan after several months of planning. With the council now against her and constantly interrupting her plans and other logistical frustrations arising due to the large numbers involved Terria grew more and more frustrated and soon angry at these setbacks. There was no knowing when the armies of darkness would attack again and reduce their kingdom to ash.
Terria's friends took to helping her immensely at this time aiding in the planning and execution of the plans she had laid out. They also helped to keep her as calm as they could since they noticed her getting more easily agitated and angered of late. Aurora as well had become somewhat more distant as time went on and was like to spend long periods of time alone, locked in her own room. Abila and Greywing often went to see Aurora to to try to get her to come out more while Ironhoof and Bighorn spent their time trying to make Terria happy as she became more depressed. Whisperwind came up with the idea of giving each of them gifts made by themselves as a way to cheer up the two. This seemed to work somewhat for Aurora but Terria was still becoming more and more upset as time went on.
Soon the ponies around her began to notice her going off into the night alone for long periods, only coming back hours or even days later ignoring many of the plans that she was trying to complete and that now her friends were largely organizing. One night Greywing and Whisperwind followed her into a large forest that lay beside the river where they were preparing the latest defenses. They followed her quietly and secretly deep into the forest where they found a sort of training ground where they watched as Terria began to practice with the strange Dark Magic that she had used during the great battle some months before. This made them extremely worried as Greywing leaped out of the bushes shouting in concern for his friend. Terria looked back in surprise as Greywing smashed into her knocking both of them down. Whisperwind came bounding after with a concerned look on her face. They each asked Terria what she was doing to which she replied that she had been training the past few months to try and control the Dark Magic in order to use it to defend Marillion.
She saw the power it granted her and knew that she could use it to defend her homeland. She even boasted that she had become quite proficient at controlling it and was growing in power daily because of it. Greywing and Whisperwind voiced their concerns of her growing temper and how she was abandoning her responsibilities and how all of her friends and subjects were beginning to worry about her and begged her to stop trying to use this Dark Magic as it seemed dangerous. Terria grew angry at this and threatened her two friends throwing them back with a powerful blast of dark energy. Greywing and Whisperwind smashed into a large tree causing it to fall over on top of them and almost killing the two. Terria suddenly realized what she had done and rushed the two back to the camp where they were put under the care of the healing wizards. Terria withdrew to her tent thinking heavily about what she had done and harboring deep resentment and guilt for her actions. When the others in the camp came to inquire as to what happened Terria spun a tale of a nightmare beast ambushing them in the forest and it hurting her two friends. This raised an alarm as several troupes of Buffalo and Yaks went barreling into forest to try and find the imaginary monster.
As Terria sulked in her tent Aurora came up to her as she sensed something was wrong. She came in to see Terria crying on her bed alone and slowly walked up to her. She hugged Terria and the two began to talk for several hours as Terria admitted her guilt and fear over the Dark Magic that she had learned. She told Aurora that the more she had used it the more she wanted to and was not sure she could resist the urge to use it in battle. Aurora said that she could start by telling the truth to the others in the camp, reminding her of the time she had convinced her to come clean about her presence in the quest to take down the darkness and that Terria should follow her own advise. Terria consented to this and met with their other friends and admitted her mistake going up to to Greywing and Whisperwind, who were still unconscious, and apologizing to them even though they could not hear her. Terria stayed with the two and with her own limited healing magic aided in their recovery alongside the other healer unicorns. When they awoke Terria again apologized profusely to which they gladly forgave her.
Terria now became more determined than ever for her plans to succeed. She had gained the support and love of the armies of the allied races for her great service in the wars and now with her friends who had become great in their own right now had the armies full support. Though the council still disapproved they would be overruled by the massive support for Terria and her friends. Her plan was to use the extensive river systems in Marillion to corral the enemy forces in and lure them north to the Balking Fields between Western Quartz River and the eastern Coral River. She planned harrying forces to attack from the rivers led by Pegasi, Alicorns and Griffons as they could most easily fly over the rivers and keep the enemy contained in the chosen grounds. Then the Earth Ponies and the Yaks, being physically the strongest would hold the front lines while performing an organized retreat between the two rivers and back to the city of Stena while the Buffalo would then come from behind the now entrapped army and ram into them from the rear. The Unicorns would perch upon the walls of Stena and rain down artillery spells on the enemy forces as they approached the chosen locations. Terria would then keep her own elite Alicorn contingent on standby and in reserve in case something went wrong so she could personally step in to regain control of the field.
The rest of her friends would lead divisions of their own races and be responsible for each part of the battle field and a particular phase of attack. Aurora would create a telepathic link between them with a new spell that she had recently concocted which would make staying in constant contact easy and lead to better cohesion on the battlefield. The city of Stena also had to be fortified and the walls were reinforced with new ones being hastily built over several weeks using the strength and magic of the allied forces. It took five months for Terria's forces to be readied to her satisfaction which came just in time as not long after that the armies of darkness were spotted to be coming through the great gap in the mountain range where the border forts had stood and the only place which ground forces could pass through the mountains. They decided to meet the enemy here so that they would be preoccupied fighting them from the beginning and not have the chance to spread towards eastern Marillion and the largely farmlands and smaller villages that had been established there. And if the enemy spread too far too fast there would be no effective way to control them which would lead to much destruction as there were no longer enough soldiers to protect all of Marillion at once.
Terria sent in her first wave of Earth Ponies and Yaks who formed a wall against the enemy forces. They were great in number but still no where near the strength of what had attacked the border forts some months before. The plan Terria had concocted began to work as the main line began its slow retreat northwards trying desperately to not be outflanked while still in the open fields near the mountains. They reached their first checkpoint in a small offshoot of the Coral River which they used to reorganize their lines and protect their flank as they carefully laid out their route for the soldiers. As they passed the river they entered into the most dangerous part of the plan as there was essentially nothing here but open fields which had left their flanks exposed to the greater enemy numbers. It was a long way to the part of the land where they could more effectively use the land to their advantage and soon the edges of their formation found themselves getting surrounded. Here the flying legions first came in and knocked out the enemies flanking forces and keeping watch over the skies. Here though Terria had somewhat overlooked enemy flying forces as groups of Dragons now came over the mountains which had been unguarded due to lack of numbers. Behind them flew changelings, the sight of which reminded the allied armies of possible spies and began to spread some panic but here Terria now intervened. She came in with her Alicorn division and blocked the aerial forces from threatening the main force as it made its way across the plains.
Now even the Alicorns were amazed at Terria's strength as she fought valiantly. They now began to see in her the glory her mother, Kera, had shown in her splendor. She needed to win this battle for if she now lost her army would fall apart and with it Marillion and because of this she felt inside of her the desire for more power. The Dark Magic within her wanted to come out and for to use it would almost guarantee victory for her forces. She fought with herself as much as with the dragons here as she felt that temptation within her. But now she knew that if she gave into that desire even if she could come back this time, the next would be even harder and so on until she would completely lose herself. With this and the guilt she felt from attacking her friends she kept it at bay but knew that from then on engaging in direct combat would bring that temptation back and so she resigned from fighting very little from now on if she could help it.
Terria's friends proved able bodies field commanders themselves. Bighorn had already moved his Buffalo into position for their flanking charge and kept their own morale high with his famous jokes. Greywing and Whisperwind showed their mastery of the skies as they kept the enemy forces contained to the front of their own lines. Greywing refusing to leave anyone behind and Whisperwind constantly putting herself in harms way to protect her soldiers. Ironhoof was masterfully leading the main line of Ponies and Yaks as they retreated across the plains. He proved to have great leadership qualities and was loved by his own soldiers as he always treated them like his own friends and always gave kind and encouraging words to them as they fought. Aurora Solstice kept their lines of communication open with her spell, conveying accurate information to all forces on the field at once. Abila as well had joined Ironhoof in the front lines carrying healing tonics and medicines she had spent long hours making and preparing for the battle. To any who were wounded she would take back and administer highly effective treatments with a team of medical ponies she had trained herself.
The battle was going well with the front lines making good progress across the wide plains marching for days while keeping the enemy at bay. There were some setbacks as at one point the aerial divisions had taken too long to fight off one flanking force due to exhaustion which led to another smaller force getting to the rear of the front lines and causing havoc. This would have broke a section of the line if not for timely reinforcements sent from the councils personal guards. The council finally had acquired enough votes to send some of their own personal forces to support Terria's plan although there were still some heavy dissenters. But once the battle had begun and they saw no alternative many switched opinions and sent supporting forces to aid them. The armies finally reached the banks of the Quarts River and followed it north with the western aerial forces successfully keeping the enemy army contained to the river banks and not allowing them to spill over and past it. Even with these successes the allied armies were dwindling as they had now been fighting for days against a superior force and many were exhausted. The armies rejoiced greatly when the Coral river was finally sighted and now both flanks could be secured by the rivers. Their pace now slowed as they neared Stena and the protection of the Unicorn artillery spells.
Here Terria's plan now came into full effect as the armies finally got into range. The Unicorns unleashed all of the spells they had been preparing breaking the rear ranks of the enemy army as the Earth Ponies and Yaks now held firm and began to push outwards. Then from the rear the Buffalo, who had been following at some distance were heard bellowing over the rolling hills and soon were seen cresting the horizon and crashing into the now loosened and disorganized rear of the enemy armies. From the sides then came the flying division as ranks of Pegasi, Griffons and the Alicorns led by Terria crashed in from above throwing the enemy lines into chaos. The armies of darkness were now surrounded and caught between many very angry armies but even so there were still many of them and it took three days of constant fighting before the enemy army was completely destroyed. This victory had been great indeed, the allied armies had suffered many losses but the enemy army was completely destroyed with great cheers for Terria and her friends ringing through the rolling plains of the Balking Fields.
Terria watched the victory from the walls of Stena and was gladdened and proud of the hard work of her friends and subjects who now called for her official crowning as queen of Marillion. In their eyes she was more than fit to rule as the council had done little to aid in the ultimate victory until they had no other choice. Terria though did not accept this and once again refused to be the ruler but accepted the title of Protector of the Realm. To each of her friends were given high ranks in the military as well as other riches and honors for their hard work as well. In the following days they were praised as great heroes and large crowds began to congregate around Stena hoping to get a glimpse of them. Instead of basking in their triumphs though they had all set to work cleaning the wreckage from the battle. Bodies had to be collected and much of the land had been torn up from the constant fighting. The crowds were all to happy to assist when their great heroes came to them and asked for help in clearing the battlefield and to begin its restoration.
There had been much destruction in the battle that had ultimately lasted over a week and cost the lives of many Ponies, Yaks, Buffalo, Griffons and many other creatures as well. The crowds enthusiasm quickly dropped when they began to realize the enormity of the destruction. They realized that their armies were basically gone and the few who were left were far to bedraggled to continue fighting. If another attack came there would be no stopping it and a true miracle would be needed to even survive. And when they looked up towards the mountains they could no longer see the peaks as the darkness had consumed them and grown very close to their lands.
The allied subjects soon became grim in their task as they began to cart of many of the dead from where they had fallen. Aurora Solstice was horrified to find her own younger brother amongst the fallen which broke her and her parents hearts. Her father even retired from the council and took most of their family to the small kingdom of Varna which was nestled between the mountains and the eastern sea. It was out of the way and so had not been attacked as much as Marillion although they still suffered as much since the mountains to their west were still attacked by smaller forces. Aurora chose to stay with Terria and the others for the time being as her and her father no longer got along but she promised to return to them once the world was either safe or it had fallen.
And so it was that but three weeks after the Battle of the Balking Fields that within the great gap was seen the great cloud of the Darkness leaping forward. All fled before it as it flew north at great speeds that only the flyers could match. Terria was warned and sent as many Alicorns as she could muster to delay it as she discerned where it was headed. She did not have to think long as she looked out her window to see Volamena, the great tree which had stood for time immemorial. She took her friends as quickly as she could and ordered an immediate evacuation of the city which caused immense fear and panic. Over one hundred Alicorns were fighting the Darkness but could do no more than delay it for a few hours as it seeped northward towards the greatest source of magic in the world. The city of Mara was in panic as all those who now lived within it fled in unorganized mobs as Terria and her friends tried hastily to organize them all. They all knew what was about to happen and they all knew there was nothing they could do to stop it but still Terria held the hope of protecting her people. This was her greatest fear and now it was coming true as she saw the dark clouds approaching as the few glimmers of Alicorn magic fighting it began to go out. Terria tried valiantly but ultimately she was forced to flee by the council and her friends as the Darkness reached the light of the city.
There were still many within its walls trying to flee but now could not escape. Terria fled in tears and cries of sorrow as the city was enveloped with only Volamena still visible with its light. All looked on in horror as it slowly seeped up the immense trunk and into the very wood itself. There were times when it would retreat but they became fewer and fewer as it devoured the magic of the tree. As all of Marillion looked on the great tree Volamena shriveled and turned black and dried. The trunk cracked and groaned as all of its magic seeped from it and into the dark cloud beneath. Within a couple of hours the tree fell, destroying the lands around with its immense size and the Darkness swelled in strength. It grew so large and so mighty that even the great spirits themselves, still watching all of this unfold reeled in fear and stepped back from the world. Its power grew to unimaginable levels so it could envelope the world and ruin all that the free races had built.
When it was done the Darkness went east and began to ravage the rest of Marillion with its new found power. Forests shriveled and died, the fire grass fields grew barren and lifeless and the evergreen fields cracked and died with its touch. Terria and her friends rushed back to the dead tree as fast as they could and came to the edge of its ruined form. The many branches had died and all light and life was gone from it. They stood there in silence with the only audible noise being the dry wind that shrieked through the decaying branches. Terria tried to grasp a small branch in her hooves but it disintegrated at her touch. They all stood there in a helpless silence staring at the husk that was once their world, wondering how this could have happened. They had won the battle so how could the Darkness had come forth in such power they wondered. It fed on fear and grew stronger from it and so Terria realized that it was her own fear, fear of her own Dark Magic and what she might become that had called it forth from the south. As she thought this she came to despair as she collapsed onto the earth once more thinking to use the Dark Magic to wreak some vengeance on the Darkness when Abila spotted in the distance something unbelievable.
In the distance there was a single speck of light coming from the upper branches of the tree. Whisperwind and Greywing flew up and found that the tree in its dying moments had produced a single fruit, something which had never happened before in its long history. The two carefully picked it and carried it gently down to the others still on the ground weeping. This was a great surprise to all assembled there that day as Volamena had never before born any fruit of any kind. Perhaps this was some gift from one of the great spirits who felt pity for their plight and wished in some way to aid or perhaps the tree itself gave its power to this fruit in order to preserve its strength for the safety of all who had lived in its light. Bighorn and Ironhoof came forward and inspected the fruit first, curious as to what it was. Ironhoof touched it and the fruit effortlessly split into two equal halves which began to radiate a great light. From within the fruit six seeds emerged and fell to the ground at the feet of the friends gathered there. Terria looked up as they each began to float over the heads of Bighorn, Greywing, Ironhoof, Whisperwind, Aurora Solstice and herself. And before them the seeds burst into beautiful and radiant gems each glowing with a light so strong it flew to the sky and parted the dense clouds that had darkened them. The Darkness stopped and turned as he sensed this new power emanating from the ruins of Mara. Finally the seed above Terria burst into an even more radiant gem as they all attached themselves to their chosen host. Each one turned onto spheres of magic and flew into Terria's as it then came down upon her.
When the light cleared Abila stood there shielding her eyes from the intense light. When she could finally look up she saw Terria standing there tall and proud amongst the ruins. Her mane flowed with a radiance of color as great amounts of magic began to emanate from Terria even as she stood in place. All about her magic sizzled and cracked in quantities Abila could have only imagined as Terria burst into the sky breaking the sound barrier instantly and creating flowing waves of color as she went into the darkened sky. As she flew the sky cleared and the sun which seemed a distant memory for most shined out the clearer as the blue sky spread across the land. The Darkness charged forth not daunted by Terria's great power seemingly devoid of worry or fear of her. But any who looked at her now could see that in her face was might and power the likes of which they had never seen or even imagined as her mane blazed like the sun across the endless sky. She flew straight into the cloud of dark that surrounded her mighty foe, banishing it from her presence as she approached him. But he did not shirk as all his power went towards her and even she now halted as his shadows enveloped all around her trying to consume her light as it did the tree. Beams of magic, radiant as a thousand suns burst forth from Terria chasing away all doubt and darkness from her as she continued towards her dark enemy.
Abila stood where she was, alone and utterly speechless at what she was seeing. She stood there as the two great powers clashed in the sky and witnessed the earth shake and the sky itself seem to crack under the intense power of these two god-like beings. They each flew across the sky in great sweeps and turns each showering the other in their power trying to destroy the other. The citizens of Marillion fled in all directions from this destruction as the two clashed in the sky destroying all they came across. Terria seeing this wanted to protect her people and rammed the center of the Darkness pushing him with all her might towards the sea. Her light penetrated his deepest shrouds at now she touched his very form which none had ever even come close to before. She looked up at his face and her face turned pale as tears streamed down her cheeks not believing the sight of the face she gazed upon after so long. Terria almost stopped in her sudden shock of what she saw but knew that this would be her only chance as she continued pushing forward as she streaked across the sky onto the large sea. The two fought in the sky for hours each throwing all they had at their peerless enemy. Finally they hit the far lands that once had been the Zebras in years past but now were barren from long exposure to the power of the Darkness.
Terria summoned forth all her power and threw the Darkness to the ground from the sky. He reeled in pain but still summoned forth his shadows as she continued towards him. Terria battled for every inch of ground against him buckling under his power before regaining her composure and coming back with tenfold the strength. The Darkness began to flee from her summoning his minions to slow her progress but with a swing of her horn she swept them away as if they were but dust in the wind. She chased him some ways into the land as they fought, the Darkness becoming more and more desperate to flee from her wrath. All his power he summoned at once throwing waves of dark energy in his vain attempts to destroy her. Finally he stood his ground and the fought with one last great clash of power in the darkened land. Terria was glad that there was no one around as their battle rent the land that surrounded the two.
This last great struggle was the Darkness lashing out as a cornered animal thrashing with the last of its strength. But now Terria was tiring as well from this fight and she did not know if she had the power to finish him off for good. So she matched his last gasp and then with her own strength threw him to the ground with such strength that the earth opened up into the vast caverns that made up the underworld. Here she threw him to its deepest depths so far beneath the earth that the entire continent lay on top of him. Here she bound him with the earth and sealed him under miles of ground in the single deepest prison in the world. So far deep she buried him that never again could even he escape with all his power now spent fighting Terria. Terria would come to call this prison Tartarus and to guard it she found one of the very monsters that the Darkness had created and with her light freed it from the darkness that had bound its heart and set the three headed dog to forever guard the gates of this prison to ensure the Dark never became free.
Now Terria stood alone in the ruined landscape of this far off continent. With her power she looked out to see that once upon a time the land had been beautiful and bountiful with a great and abundant amount of life. She looked back to the sea and knew that the denizens of her home would no longer wish to live where all of their woes had occurred. She thought that if this land could be made prosperous again that all of her friends could live in this new land and discover many new and wondrous things. And so with all of her power she separated her friends from her and teleported them back to their homeland while she stayed with all the remaining power that she had left from her battle. Terria stood there in an empty field threw all of her strength and power towards the earth, banishing the corruption that had long held it in sway. As she did this the barrenness that had held it fled and life began to bloom all around her as grass and flowers and other plants of all kins burst forth in great abundance. But magic on this scale came not without cost as the more of herself she put into the earth the more she became a part of it. From where she stood grew a mountain, tall and alone in the middle of the green fields and forests she had raised. Terria had become part of the earth itself and now stood overlooking all she had healed with her magic. And so stood her mountain in the center of the land that she hoped her subjects would come to inhabit one day.
Book Five: Long Goodbyes
Bighorn, Greywing, Ironhoof, Whisperwind and Aurora woke upon the eastern shores of the country of Varna. Here flowed many rivers into the sea and it was a small land not wholly ruined by the Darkness. Here most of the survivors of Marillion had gathered. Here were the Griffons as well as their magic wards had not been able to hold off the Darkness and much of their realm had been laid to ruin and their mountains leveled. The group of friends were aware that they had each made up an element of the power that had restored harmony to the lands and went among the other survivors to tell them of what had happened and what Terria's mind had thought up for their new home. Many were eager to leave as this continent was wrecked and filled with bad memories and suffering. The few Alicorns that were left had some hesitance in this as they did not wish to leave the land where they had all awakened and had come from. Abila though convinced them to listen to the others as they would not lie about this and that this land would take decades if not centuries to return to even a standard that could be considered liveable. They had to make a decision quickly as the sea was vast and the great storms that usually formed in it had been blown away by Terria's power in her battle. And with this the Alicorns agreed with hopes that they would one day return to rebuild once they had the strength and numbers to do so. With all of the survivors working together they built great ships and filled them with all the supplies that could be found. This undertaking took many weeks and some began to worry about running out of useable supplies before they even left. The Elements of Harmony, as the five friends who had fused with Terria were now called, laid the worries to rest and kept everyone on task.
As they did this Abila began to go off on her own now as she had become greatly saddened at the loss of her best friend. She would often watch the Elements go about their mission in sadness seeing how they each put on brave faces to hide their own grief at this loss. She began to look out over the sea wishing to return to her ancestral lands after so many long years of fighting for this one. And so Abila resolved that when she had aided the denizens of this world settle in to their new home she would go to find what became of the other Zebras. When the work was finally finished with the finest work ever done by the allied races they set out on their long voyage to their new home.
The sailing was hard and took many weeks to the point where food and water began to run low. The crews began to fight amongst themselves as their morale worsened over time with the Elements barely able to keep order in some cases. But their persistence paid off as they did eventually reach the new continent where they would go to make their new homes. When the ships landed they discovered the wondrous land that Terria had made for them in her final act in this world. All of the races cheered as they left the ships and dismantled them to build their first homes on the new continent. Abila and the Elements went off exploring leaving some trusted subordinates in charge while they did so. They traveled past hills and mountains, forests and fields until they came to what was the center of the country where they glimpsed the solitary mountain now overgrown with vegetation. They felt drawn to this mountain and began to climb its peaks where they discovered a large ledge about halfway up the mountain. Large enough for a city it was and there they discovered the six seeds that had come from the fruit of Volamena laying there on the ground. They each picked one up as they called out to them and decided what to do with them. They no longer needed the power that they offered so the group decided to hide them until the time came that they would be needed. The Elements carried the seeds down the mountain and into a forest that lay at the foot of the mountain. They explored the forest, following their instincts until they discovered a gorge that they felt they needed to explore. Within the gorge they discovered a cave that was strong in magic and knew that if they planted the seeds here then the magic of the cave would protect them and help them grow strong. So they planted the seeds and left the cave never needing to return.
When they finally returned to the towns they had set up the races all cheered for their return and wanted to go out and explore as well. And so each of the elements led groups of their own people out into various parts of the country and found places where they felt comfortable to settle. The Yaks who were not represented within the Elements decided to go north where they felt some remnants of the Darkness yet lingered. Each tribe now went to settle their own lands as they quickly spread out across the land. They would meet up each month to discuss what each tribe had found and what new lands they discovered. The Yaks disclosed that in the northern mountains some traces of darkness yet remained and that they would settle there to watch and keep it contained. Aurora Solstice loved this idea and herself led a good number of ponies that would follow her to the north where she cast a crystalline protective shell across her ponies to help shield them from the dark. Here she founded what would in later times be called the Crystal Empire and with a conclave of other powerful Unicorns used their magic to create a magical Crystal Heart to help in protecting them against any remaining power of the darkness. The Yaks felt this was not necessary and so went off on their own as they felt that they had suffered the most in the Dark War and over time became more and more isolated from the other tribes.
And so now it was time for Abila to say farewell to all she had spent so many years fighting for and with. She was now growing old and longed to see her own people once again and to reunite them into a kingdom like in the days of old. So Abila left and was never seen again by the eyes of ponies or any others who had crossed the seas.
As for the Alicorns there were only a few dozen left and they took up the task of trying to retain the lordships they maintained in their old world. They even founded a city upon the slopes of the mountain where the Elements found the seeds of Volamena and named it Canterlot. Here they lived for many years ruling over the adjacent lands and any who decided to live there though they would always claim lordship over all lands and races that had lived within the old lands to the west. The Elements now as well were growing older and Aurora, Greywing, Whisperwind and Bighorn even started families of their own. They decided to stay with their own kind now as each tribe wandered further and further from each other in their travels. They wanted to watch over each tribe and to ensure that they never wandered too far from each other so they could stay in touch. But time passed on and soon each of their times came and the ponies, Buffalo and Griffons passed on from each other.
The Griffons especially flew far off to the east in search of new mountains and riches to replace their lost ones from the old Griffon Kingdom. Greywing became their first king and became much loved by Griffons and the other races for the friendships he encouraged. The royal line would come to descend from him and would rule for many generations. Bighorn had led the Buffalo south to the plains that reminded the Buffalo of their old home and when he passed on his children became the new chiefs. The Pegasi flew upwards to the sky and now with Whisperwind at their head came to control the weather fully in this new land. They even discovered how to build cities in the clouds and came to live there far above the lands and creatures below. Ironhoof had led the Earth Ponies north and settled in those lands where the fields were fertile enough to plant their large farms. Here he created many of the farms that would come to feed many ponies far into the future. Many Unicorns went to live with Aurora in her own Kingdom but others went to follow her father whom they still saw as their own leader. Crimson Moon went to found his own Kingdom to the northwest in order to remain near the farms of the Earth Ponies yet far enough to retain his own lordship over those who followed him. Aurora never spoke to her father after this as she greatly disapproved that he still wanted to lord over ponies while the others lived more equally among their people while he ruled as one above his subjects.
So it was that time passed for each tribe and as it did inevitably pass the memories of the old lands to the west and the heroes who fought to save it began to fade. The Alicorns grew more uneasy in this new land and wished to return home to rebuild what was lost. After many generations had passed they were more willing to leave than ever before. Before they left though they traveled into the forest where the Elements had buried the seeds of their holy tree and paid their last homage to what they knew could never truly be the same. And here the tree is said to have granted them one last blessing for months later the Alicorn couple that had been elected ruler among them gave birth to two daughters who were said to have been born with the grace of Terria.
One was born bright as the day and one as dark as night and they became much beloved in Canterlot. Their father had been a distant cousin of Terria and her last remaining family members so the two infants were declared the next heirs to the Alicorn throne. They were named Luna and Celestia and their destinies were divined to be tied to this new land. The Alicorns became caught up in their preparations for leaving and when they were done were disturbed to discover that the three pony tribes had begun to fight and that they were being harried by a horrible series of long winter storms. They felt the power of the Darkness in the creatures that called forth these storms and wanted nothing to do with his foul creations. They had already noticed that other creatures he was believed to have created or bound to his power had been spotted such as Changelings and Dragons. They were saddened to learn that ponies had largely forgotten about these threats while enjoying the peace that this land offered them. So when the fighting began the Alicorns did not intervene as they did not want to lose what few of them remained in another devastating conflict. They agreed that ponies and the other races would have to work it out for themselves.
When the Alicorns set out towards the sea Luna and Celestia who were still very young decided to remain behind as they felt a connection to this land and not the one their parents had come from. They also felt bad that ponies were fighting and wanted to help them overcome these differences. But their parents felt the call to their home and with heavy hearts parted with their children leaving them in the care of the few ponies that remained with them in Canterlot.
Book Six: Epilogue
Here enters the history that I hope you are more familiar with but if not This will be a quick summary of the following events. When the three pony tribes united they ultimately decided upon crowning the last two Alicorns as their rulers since they still did not fully trust the leaders of each of the tribes to lead the whole country. Celestia and Luna decided to only take on the title of princess out of respect for the last Alicorn ruler who was never declared a queen and only ever remained a princess. Not long after being declared princesses of Equestria the two sisters discovered their cutie marks for taking on the ancient responsibility of controlling the sun and moon which the Unicorns had largely handled for many generations.
Here they prove themselves as worthy rulers when presented with their first challenge, recovering the Crystal Heart which had been stolen from the Crystal Empire by a dragon. A descendant of Aurora Solstice named Princess Amore ruled now and it was for her that they did this great task. Once this was successful a new threat appeared in the form of a terrible chaos beast which was called Discord. Some leftover creation of the darkness or one of the great spirits playing around nopony ever really knew. But Luna and Celestia knew of the old stories of the legendary Elements of Harmony and the great jewels they wielded to defeat the ancient darkness and so set out to look for them. Luna and Celestia discovered the tree which had grown from the seeds planted long ago and were given the jewels as gifts by the tree to restore harmony. With the Elements they defeated Discord and turned him to stone.
The two ruled for some time in peace until two creatures who were brothers entered Equestria named Scorpan and Tirek. Although Scorpan befriended the wizard Star Swirl the Bearded and unable to convince his brother to turn from his destructive path, aided in his imprisonment in Tartarus. After this a new threat emerged from the Crystal Empire in the form of King Sombra who had mastered dark magic. He had killed Princess Amore and taken over the empire and was threatening war with Equestria. The two Princesses saw this and theorized that he was perhaps some remnant of the Darkness and were eager to defeat them to keep harmony across the land. The two working together managed to defeat Sombra but the Crystal Empire was lost to his magic in the attempt.
Although the two only managed to defeat him together most of the praise went to Celestia as she was the more popular ruler amongst the ponies of Equestria. Luna came to resent her sister over this and over time began to harbor dark feelings within her heart. Perhaps it was some remnant of the Darkness that claimed her heart or her own sadness and jealousy that consumed her but Luna was taken over by this dark power and transformed into Nightmare Moon. Celestia was forced to battle her sister and was only able to banish her to the moon with the help of the Elements of Harmony but by doing this she severed her own connection to them forever. From this event begins the thousand years of peace and prosperity that Celestia became renowned for during her rule. While there are many historically important events that occur in this period this is when they begin to become well known to most today. For this reason they will not be accounted here as there are other more detailed sources to read to learn more of these events. And so the tale of the ancient kingdoms in complete and as is the stories of the heroes and villains that came to trouble the world even unto this day. Know that there were great struggles to build and maintain the peace so enjoyed in Equestria today and that many suffered for that peace. Hopefully you found this to be both enjoyable and insightful and continue to learn more about the wonderful world of ponies.
