The Equestrian Reconquista: Connectionby GonndirthevikingChaptersRecent History of the earth (Prologue)The Secret Library Of The VaticanOn The Planet Of Small HorsesThe Abbey of Saint GallVaterRecent History of the earth (Prologue)Recent History of the earth (Prologue II) *.........The Ussuri dispute escalates! China declares war on the Soviet Union!.....* *.........Chinese troops occupy Irkutsk and Vladivostok! Is Moscow showing weakness?*.........* *.........Chinese troops reach the Jenissei after 4 years of war! The battle of Kamtchatka starts!......* *........NATO gathering in Tel Aviv: We stay neutral!............* *........Chinese troops reach the Caspian Sea on Christmas Day! Yekaterinburg has fallen; Siberia is now under Chinese Control! Leonid Breschnew demands Western help!…….* *........Protests spread across Europe for a military intervention! Series of Terrorist attacks in Rome, Paris, Warsaw, Cologne and Stockholm!..........* *.......NEW WEAPON DROPS ON MINSK, CHARKIW, DONETSK, TWER AND NOWGOROD! 1.200.000 Deaths!......* *.......Grotesque crimes against Russian population!........* *......MOSCOW SURRENDERS! CHINESE STORM UNSTOPPABLE! THE SOVIET UNION FALLS APART!.......* *.....PRO-WESTERN UPRISING IN EASTERN EUROPE! Germany is united!.....* *.....New pro-western, multicultural state forms on the location of former East-Prussia. The ‘Vistulian Republic’ is preparing itself for an invasion…....* *....Chinese troops take Moscow! Helmut Schmidt demands sanctions against China! Germany, Poland, France, Finland, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and Estonia create a defensive corridor with American help…..* *....The US and Canada arm Europe and Japan…..* *....Series of Pan European uprisings in every major European city!...* *....REVOLUTION IN FRANCE, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, NETHERLANDS, LUXEMBOURG AND BELGIUM! THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN REPUBLIC THE NEW WORLD POWER?...* *...COMMUNIST CHINESE TROOPS INVADE LATVIA! EUROPEAN STATES, JAPAN AND US DECLARE WAR!”.....* *...NUKES DROP ON RIGA AND BRATISLAVA! 200.000 deaths! MILITARY OFFENSIVE STARTS!...* *.....Finnish troops conquer Murmansk and Archangelsk! The Start of the Battle of Novgorod! Saint Petersburg now free!.....* *......Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia join the European Republic!....* *....Japanese-American offensive in China! North Korea invades South Corea!....* *.....Nukes drop on Shanghai and Qingdao! 14.000.000 DEATHS! Landings on Chinese coasts and Taiwan!......* *.....Uprisings in Central Asia! European troops conquer Twer!....* *.....BATTLE OF MOSCOW BEGINS……* *.....CHINESE COASTS UNDER AMERICAN AND JAPANESE CONTROL! JAPANESE INVASION IN NORTH KOREA!.....* *......Pro Western government takes control in Iran!...* *.....Invasion of Beijing! Hong Kong is now free! Pro-western Southern Chinese Republic emerges!...* *.....MOSCOW IS FREE! CHINESE DRIVEN OUT OF WOLGOGRAD! CHINESE PEOPLE’S ARMY DRIVEN BACK TO PERM, UFA AND SYKTYVKAR! THE RUSSIAN REPUBLIC EMERGES!....* *.....Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Vistulia, Estonia and Finland join the Republic!...* *.....CPA driven to the back of the Ural!....* *BEIJING HAS FALLEN! THE END OF THE WAR?* The treaty of Jakarta 1978: Siberia becomes part of the European Federation as an autonomous region Kasachstan becomes independent North-and South Korea become one democratic Korea Mongolia becomes independent Hong Kong became the new capital Humongous war reparations that should cripple remaining north China Sino - Soviet war: Casualties: - Soviets: 27.000.000 (25.000.000 civilians) - China: 24.000.000 (2.000.000 civilians) Sino - European war: Casualties: - Europe: 25.000.000 (15.000.000 civilians) - China: 34.000.000 (1.500.000 civilians) (Chinese Homefront:) - US: 3.700.000 - Japan: 2.900.000 - South Corea: 4.200.000 - South China: 6.400.000 (2.000.000 civilians) - Communist China: 64.000.000 (30.000.000 civilian) - North Korea: 5.100.000 (3.000.000 civilians) Total: Allies: 77.870.000 Chinese People’s republic: 122.000.000 Total: Ca. 200.000.000 (!) [5% of the entire world population] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ …..Spain, Greece Italy and Portugal join the Republic! Pan-European uprising in Yugoslavia!….. …..US and Japan apologize to new Chinese government for war crimes! US finances reconstruction of the Republic and China!… …..Civil war in Yugoslavia! Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania join the Republic! UK is concerned!….. …...Economic uprising across the world! Countries richer than ever?…… …...Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden join the Republic! Terrorist attacks in Astana!….. ……European troops march into Yugoslavia! The fall of the dictature! Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia join Republic!….. …….Widespread modernization of Europe and China lead by the US, Canada and Japan….. ……..UK JOINS THE REPUBLIC as Britannia! 62% voted for ‚join‘! Massive protests in London, Manchester and Birmingham!……. …….Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia join the Republic!……………. …….International economic !!broken!!…………. …….Fundamental Islamic uprisings in Middle East and North Africa! 8.000 deaths in Cairo!…… …….King Chalid ibn Abd al-Aziz took control over the whole Arabian peninsula! Saudi troops march into Westafrica! Is a new Caliphate on the rise?...................... ….....Saudi troops march into Cairo and Bagdad! The FERC is concerned!...................... ….....European troops from Turkey, Greece and Cyprus occupy Syrian coast and Israel to prevent further Saudi advancement. The newly formed state of Levant joins the FERC! USA doesn't approve............................. …....Fascist government takes control in India! Iran shows itself concerned due to Saudi aggressions!............. …....Genocide of Muslim population in India! Countries cut relationships with India! Pakistan declares war!....... …....Monarchist party gains popularity in a broken China! India marches into East Pakistan! Those who won't convert die! European fundings of kurdish resistance!.............................. ….....Kurds push Saudi troops back to Baghdad! Kurdistan joins the FERC........................ ….....Indian troops invade West Pakistan! Uncountable human losses! Communist uprisings in South America! Pan-latinamerican movements similar to those in Europe........................ …....Nukes land in Karachi! Pakistan is now at the hands of a fascist India. Large wave of refugees into neighbouring countries! Myanmar surrenders to India! Large technological advancement in India!.......... Great Bengal war of 1984 India: 18.000.000 losses (600.000 civilians) Pakistan: 34.000.000 (25.000.000 civilians) ….....Monarchist China rises from the ashes and gains former territory back! Renaming into the Yongyuan Dynasty!........ ….....Monarchist China forms close relationships with fascist India! Large technological improvement in the military!....... ….....Monarchist China crushes Southeast Asians states on the mainlan! Foundation of the CEAPSO!................ ….....Central Asian states form a federal Republic in response of Indian invasion of Madagascar and founding of the CEAPSO...... New World Powers by 2025: The Federal Republic of European Countries Ranges from Lisbon to Tomsk and from Longyearbyen to Eilat including today's colonies Liberal, Federal one party-system, Western mindset, Progressive, Secular, Nationalist Structured in different Regions Western Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Wallonia Great Britain, Ireland), Central Europe (Greater Germania, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Netherlands, Flanders) Northern Europe (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) Eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Armenia, Georgia) Southern Europe (Italy, greece, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria) Near East (Turkey, Cyprus, Kurdistan (former northern parts of Syria and Iraq), Levant (today's Israel, Lebanon and Syrian coast) Siberia (autonomous Region under European protection; Today's Eastern Siberia), Vistulia (former East Prussia; Multi-ethnic Region) Capital: Vistulia-City (ger. Königsberg, rus. Kaliningrad), (12.000.000 residents) Close ties with the Federal Republic of Persia, CEAPSO, Canada and the US Population: 812.698.412 Federal Republic of Persia Ranges from today's Iran to today's Kazakhstan including every today's GUS states east of the Caspian Sea including Afghanistan Liberal, Democratic, Western mindset, Nationalism, Secularism Capital: Isfahan (2.000.000) residents Close ties with the FREC, CEAPSO and North America Population: 143.712.444 Coalition of East Asian Pacific States and Oceania A coalition between Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia (Borneo), the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand Founded in case of Mainland-Chinese Aggression Strong funding of resistance groups on the asian Mainland Close ties to the FREC, FRP, Canada and the US Yongyuan Dynasty Ranges from the territory of today's VR of China to the border of Singapore (including formerly mainland-Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos) Absolute Monarchy, Militarism, Asian Nationalism, Capital: Beijing (25.000.000 residents) Population: 1.770.000.000 Greater India Ranges from the territories of today's Myanmar to Pakistan. Greater India includes the territories of former Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan) Is holding Madagascar as a colony Totalitarian dictature, Fascism, Hindu Nationalism, Militarism Ethnic cleansing of muslims, sikhs, christians and buddhists or degradation to the lower castes Capital: Delhi (20.000.000 residents) Population: 2.211.000.000 Caliphate of Saud Ranging from the border of Kurdistan down to the border of Kenya (includes the Arabian peninsula as well as the former territories of former Jordan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia) Holds satellite states in every muslim-north african country. Those include: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Tschad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad Absolute Monarchy, Shariah, Theocracy, Traditionalism Holds no port in the Levant! Capital: Riad (6.000.000 residents) Population: 400.000.000 Los Estados Unidos de Latinoamerica Ranges from Tierra del Fuego to Tijuana, including the Caribbean states Highly unstable (large resistance nests in Argentina, Chile and Brasil) Communist, dictature, pan-latin americanism, anti US - Americanism Capital: Bogota (10.000.000 residents) Population: 1.135.000.000 The Secret Library Of The VaticanThe Secret Library Of The Vatican July 12th 2025 The Italian soldiers of the Federation walked into the Vatican. After month long persuasion the catholic church finally gave in and let authorities take control of it. It brought outrage among many Catholics in the world. But that was something they had to go through. And although the Vatican is now a part of Rome it would still remain quite independent. But what was the reason behind it? Cultural minister Patricè and Minister of Education Nimea mentioned the hidden archives of the Vatican and said that "many information which would change our future and form our knowledge significantly is contained in the Vatican archives, but kept secret by the catholic church." A nationwide referendum was made and the people voted with a majority of 73% for the occupation of the Vatican with all it's secrets. Resistance was next to nothing due to the fact that the majority of the Swiss guard changed sides and the sympathy for the EC coming from the pope. Now the Italian military stood everywhere, keeping an eye out for any threats that could threaten the visit of European Home Secretary Robert Paleu and Italian Governor Alessandro Serafini. The ministers of education, culture and the defence forces Nimea, Patricè and Hartmann as well as President Andropow are already inside the famous Peter's Basilica, waiting for Serafini and Paleu. The Basilica was the place where the Vatican state should sign the contract which will change the fate if the small country forever. "Home Secretary Paleu?" Asked a soldier of high rank with a thick Italian accent. "Yes what gives, soldier?" Answered the older, Swiss man a bit concerned. "I wouldn't recommend going in there alone. My colleagues just arrested a young man with pipe bombs twenty minutes ago." Serafini nodded and started speaking Italian. >>"Bring 4 men with you and go in there. It's not an order, but a plead."<< "Sí Padrone di Serafini." He saluted and took off. The Italian governor turned to Paleu who couldn't speak nor understand Italian. "I said to him that he should check the library first in case there will be an assassination attempt." He nodded understandingly and they walked across the big St. Peter's Square with a caravan of hundred bodyguards, police forces and reporters. The flashes of the cameras were almost blinding but nothing could straddle them. It was an unwritten tradition to always walk on foot to the place where a treaty was signed with another country. They entered the St. Peter's Basilica after a couple of time, getting saluted by Swiss guards. Inside were the European Ministers and Vatican President Giuseppe Bertello sitting on the table. The two sat down on the table and poured them a glass of lemonade. President Andropow was a relatively young, slim and handsome Russian man, capable of speaking 8 languages fluently: Russian, English, French, German, Italian, Ukrainian, Polish and Swedish. A very charismatic guy, who was just perfect for representing a country and opening up ceremonies. Cultural Minister Jean Patricè was the oldest of them all with the age 72. He fought in the 3rd world war and got badly injured at his left leg. So he returned to France, studied art and African cultures and helped establishing the European State. Educational Minister Nimea was the most outstanding out of all ministers. The finish, middle aged man always kept a smile and told jokes at conferences, but beneath lays a very professional guy. He worked as a professor in Turku for a while before he became minister. The last minister on the table was military minister Paul Hartmann. An older, cranky stereotypical German guy, who fought in the 3rd world war alongside with Patricè. He got captured but managed to escape, leaving him at his grumpy state. Just perfect for the job. President Andropow stood up and raised a folder of demands. "Now that we are all together, we can finally begin!" Treaties and contracts were signed. The Vatican would be now officially a part of the Ancient city Rome. The Swiss guard would be now a special division in a Swiss military company. And most importantly: All access of Vatican archives is now given to scientists and a special amount of visitors. And all of it without a single violent move, although Bertello kept a bitter face through the whole process, he signed the contract. It took two hours until everyone shook hands and left the Basilica. Minister Nimea took his phone out and dialled the number of his secretary. "I want an international research team to come here ASAP and finally lift the secrets of the archive Eight days have passed since the peaceful "occupation". Dozens of historians, archaeologists and linguists were spread across the huge underground library. Tobias Warner was one of them. A fairly young researcher in the fields of history from Heidelberg, Germany As an actual support for his professor, Erwin Georg Erlmann, he was allowed to come along with him. An opportunity many other students of his age of 27 could only dream of. "We still found nothing except for some very old printings of the bible and various other books covering religion..."<< said the professor in a disappointed tone and took his glasses off. He was a shorter, older man with little but no hair. "Tobias."<< Tobias looked up from his staple of books. "Please be a dear and check the catacombs for anything interesting. There must be at least something interesting in there."<< ”Ja.”<<Tobias nodded and took off, greeting some other scientists he had just briefly met on the way. He actually didn't want to go into the deeper folds of the Vatican library. It was scary to say the least. But this couldn't stop him from impressing his professor. He went after the guards with a brief salute and went down the old, rocky stairs. Some colleagues who went down before him and put up some lamps to illuminate the dark vicinity. It was incredibly dusty and narrow in the so called "catacombs". They named it because "it was a grave for forgotten books and scrolls." But the fucking place was empty. Probably raided by some invaders hundreds of years ago. He hated to admit it but he felt a shiver down his spine and more uneasy the deeper he gets. "Wait wasn't this.." The corridor he got himself in looked exactly like the other two he walked past before. He shrugged it off and continued walking while watching out for books on the empty shelves to the left and right of him. And again. The same lamp and the same shelf. Now he was nervous. "Fuck." He muttered. "Maybe I should really get help here..." He decided to lean on the wall right beside the shelf. "Okay I need to rethink this....why the fuck has no one still put some signs on the floor or something?!" He leaned deeper into the stonewall and bumped the underside of his fist in it making an unstable sound as a result. But suddenly a loud rumbling sound emitted from the wall behind him. "Wait.." He moved his back away from the wall and eyed the loose rock closely. He did it again. *rumble* It was loose. A loose piece of rock on a stonewall but still connected to something in the wall. "Maybe I have played to much Skyrim....but when I pull on it...." He did as his gamer instincts told him and pulled on it. Suddenly a piece of the stonewall jumped out and almost landed on his feet. "Whoa." He simply said while digesting his shock. The big rock easily weighed 40 kilos. and shattered to 4 large pieces when it connected to the ground But the shock was mostly not because of the rock, but of the book that was right in front of him. He blew the dust away, making him cough. He carefully took the book in his hands and read the header. The letters were blurred out and were mostly identifiable, still he managed to make out some letters on it *PORTAS AD TERRAM BREVIAM EQUUM.* "The gate to the earth of short horses." He muttered under his breath and sat down on the floor carefully opening the old book. He had studied Latin long enough to decipher it. To his surprise the ink wasn‘t blurred out at all. Everything was easily readable if you understood latin. *DCC Anno Domini* He decided to open the first page. “Probably written 700 A.D.....shit that'd be old.“ Thought Tobias and started skimming the texts in the really well preserved book. He opened the next pages and saw a really precise illustration of what looked like a unicorn. The same with a pegasus and normal pony dozens of pages later. “That looks like straight from a cartoon for little children, but realistic at the same time….such detailed drawings are highly unusual next non existent around that time.“ He didn‘t bother reading fully through the texts below it. It takes time to translate full latin sentences correctly. The last pages were something that stroked him as very odd. There were full detailed descriptions of a portal, even a drawing of a guy opening a portal, and how to open it. It seems as if you need a special stone plate. ”And? Found something of interest, Tobias?“<< Tobias jumped at the voice of his professor behind him. “Where the fuck did he come from!” “Uh Yes, actually, a book, probably a fable or fairytale from 700 A.D“<< He came over to him and eyed the book closer, taking his glasses off. He skimmed the texts for a while and eyed the pictures in it. “Well, it isn‘t our lucky day today, is it? But nonetheless can you write an essay about this….interesting piece of literature?“ << „Well….fuck you too.“ He thought bitterly. ”I would really like to do that.“<< He lied and forced a smile. “Very well then, home you go and don‘t let me wait to much. Straight ahead and then turn left twice.“ << He winked and turned his back against Tobias. 21st. July. 2025 Heidelberg, Germany Tobias slumped in his chair and stared at his ceiling and dozed off. “Maybe he just wanted to get rid of me….“ He thought and felt uneasy. „Something about his smile when he sent me away was not right. I guess he just wants to torture me with my paper about that book.“ He shook the negative thoughts away and walked across his one-room single-apartment in the centre of Heidelberg he could actually afford quite well with his salary. He turned his TV on and with it his PS4 he'd found for a really cheap price. “Better I clear my mind first before I start working.“ He thought, took a beer out of his fridge and put a cigarette in his mouth. Tobias let himself fall on the couch like a heavy sack of potatoes and proceeded with lightning his cigarette and taking a swig out of his beer. The taste of burnt tobacco mixed with the German elixir of life when he took his controller and started a game. “And they say I can‘t multi-task.“ He laughed to himself and proceeded with his evening. Time passed and Tobias was nothing more than a slight drunk young man laying on his couch between an empty pack of cigarettes and 5 empty bottles of beer. He woke up after 4 hours of sleep with a groan. “It‘s really getting out of hand with my alcohol consumption….I should really stop or else it will end like when I was in my teens...“ He rubbed his aching head and stared at his table, the game still on. “I‘m such a fucking idiot...I have work to do!“ He realised what he had just said and rubbed his forehead. He quickly put a mint candy in his mouth, put his jacket on and watched himself in the mirror. He had short, but not too short light brown hair and a 3-days beard, blue eyes and an all in all slender, but not thin form. He was neither tall, but not incredibly small with 1.7m. He quickly combed through his hair and went out. He always preferred going on foot over taking the bus, bicycle or even by car. He liked to “feel“ his surroundings. And providing his position, he wasn't bound to any schedules. The cool night breeze cleared his head from the still lasting effect of the alcohol and wasn‘t in the slightest unwelcoming for him. He walked past the night-life of Heidelberg, where drunk people were yelling random stuff through the night. Large blinking signs of bars and nightclubs illuminated the dark street with next to no cars. There weren‘t many cars in Heidelberg driving in the direction of the Altstadt, even at daylight. After a while he finally reached his destination: the Karl-Ruprechts Universität Heidelberg and it‘s faculty for philosophy and history. He entered the building, greeted some housekeepers, late night students and professors and went to the office where his book would be waiting. It laid in a showcase with security glass. He read his label below the book, took out his keys and proceeded with taking it out really carefully with his security gloves on, like a surgeon would do with a dangerously sharp object inside a carcass. He put it on his table and sat down. After putting his bottle of water, which he bought at a vending machine before, on the table and choosing selected ambient works by Aphex Twin on his phone, he started working. The sun began to set above the German city and slowly crept through the shutters of the window making contact with Tobias‘ skin, quickly spreading the warmth across his neck. “Huh?“ He muttered as he looked up from his book. “What time is it? 6:45! I‘ve been working for almost 7 hours!“ He rubbed his eyes. “Right...working.” He looked at his work in front of him. He wrote countless notes and translations on the first half of the book, even speculating on the kind of wood that was used for the paper. He read through his work: The Unicorn He or she is one with the heretic powers [=Magic] and is even able to lift heavy objects without touching it [telekinesis?]. Just as the other 2 races we could teach them Latin rather quickly. Mares are averagely [0.9m – 1.1m] of height and stallions [1.1m – 1.3m]. It has a slightly more petite and thinner form than their winged counterparts or earthlings [3rd pony race] It‘s horn is about [20cm] of length and is the reason why it bonds with the demonic forces. As we went deeper into the society of Equus Unicornis, we discovered that there was hatred especially towards the earthers [3rd pony race] The text was followed by a detailed illustration of a unicorn “They actually look really cute...“ H thought to himself and imagined petting one of those imaginary creatures. The Pegasus The lightest, but also the fastest of the 3 races. It can fly faster than any human can walk and a lion can chase it‘s prey. It reaches the velocity of a falcon. As we discovered, they were able to touch clouds with bare hooves manipulate them how they wish. We thought them to form bigger clouds so it could rain on dried fields and cure the one‘s dying of thirst. Equus Coelis is able to withstand harsh climate, but is also the lightest built of them all. Females reach a height of about 0.8m - 1m and stallions don‘t get higher than 1.20m. Most of them can be found at their city we named respectively caelotoposlis [=city of the clouds] Again there was a detailed illustration of mare and stallion alike. The Earthling The lack of a horn and wings is made up with their immense strength that could even bring trees to fall down. They have a strong connection to the ground and after giving them the seeds for onion, cabbage and carrots, as well as a variety of fruits like apples, grapes and even oranges, they were able to grow it massively and in short time, better than any human farmer we had ever seen. Equus Terraris is the biggest of them all. Females reach a height up to 1.2m and stallions to 1.4m. The largest of them even reached a height of almost 1.6m, the up to date largest ever discovered miniature horse. A picture followed of two Earthlings. “I shall call them earth horses.“ The Alihorn A very rare kind of miniature horse, that got almost as big as an average human. They unite all races together in their body and have the strongest connection to the demonic powers. The only known of them was the one that we declared king of the 3 races. King Helios and his wife Aphrodite. “It more and more doesn‘t sound like a guide to a fantasy novel, but more like ….travel diary.“ He went to the first page of the book and searched for the name of the author. Written again by Bishop Alfonso III. A script of Martinius Antiochus „Right I forgot...no last names back then. But the script existed before, judging by the name the original traveller was a Roman-Greek. By the name ‚Antiochus“ maybe even a successor of Seleucid king Antiochus III. Who lived around 250 to 190 B.C...“ He sorted his notes and thoughts about the races and put them aside until he went to another staple of notes and translations. „I have to read this one again.“ He thought and put the first paper in front of him. The journey to the planet of small horses “Yup just like a traveller’s diary.“ When we set foot on the world of horse we called ‘Equustria‘, we suspected that just like in the Greek manuscripts a range Griffins and Minotaurs will wait for and greet us as gods. We were even more surprised when we found out we landed on the shore of what looked like a civilisation of small looking, cute little horses. The shore could be compared with the ones you can find in Britannia, but the forests looked deep enough like the ones in Germania. They were afraid at first, but managed to gain their trust after a few hours of talking, petting and giving presents. One day they invited us to their capital city we called ‚Canteria‘. But on our way to the capital we discovered that god unleashed his punishment among these innocent looking horses. A large famine and disease spread across the entire population. Beggars and prostitutes were on the streets when they weren‘t hiding from us. Seeing a mother cradling her starved filly wasn‘t a rare thing to watch and frown upon. By the name of our emperor Gaius Octavius Augustus. The expected innocence was ripped away and replaced with a deep reality like in some human cities. „Okay that would set the time of the original story from 31 B.C to 14 A.D.“ He thought and continued reading. When asked what happened, our guide explained to us in pony-tongue that 10 years ago, the tribes united in order to survive a very harsh winter, but the years didn‘t get any better. Their strange kind of wheat that the horses mostly ate dry or as a soup hasn‘t grown in over 5 years. They solely lived of nuts and even, which was highly unusual for herbivores, meat of the rats that would sometimes come to feed of the starved. In winter the population starved and in summer they starved and died of thirst. We were two out of 24 who went with them on the marsh to the capital. The impressive castle seemed to be the only thing that was in order. We entered the building and greeted the council, which was made of 3 horses, male and female alike. They gave us presents of food and shiny ornaments, but declined, due to the fact that their people could need it more. We after all had brought enough food with us. We communicated via drawings and explained how we had come here with the portal and where we were from. We were 7 soldiers escorting 7 scholars with 7 seamen to the island of Thassos. To search for rumoured Greek artefacts. A storm brought us to this land. We said that they should come with us so we could help them out with their food problem. The text ended here “It seems as if they were written in retrospective.“ He noted it in his head and examined the book again. Most of them were illustrations of plants, landscapes and cities, drawn with ink that shouldn‘t exist at that time. The most interesting part of it was the portal. Write the message on a separate papyrus and then lay it on the book. In order to send a message say the last words of the sun. Use the runes of Thassos to make a gate. Below it was a detailed picture and description on how to make a gate out of the rune. He went over to the last sites of the book and noticed a small note on the lower right of it. “Book I of II“ “There really is more..“ He muttered to himself and thought through the whole situation. “Guessing by the fact that it was hid in a stonewall under the Vatican it would be a really important piece of literature. No one would ever hide a simple fable or fairy tale that much. Maybe it got locked up because….“ He shook his head at his own thought. “No this can‘t be possible….But it would make sense. The legends of the pegasus, unicorn, griffon, basically the whole Greek mythology. Everything could be based on this world.“ He looked at the cover again. “Or this book was based of Greek mythology…..“ He read through the last 3 sentences again. “Write the message on a separate papyrus and then lay it on the book. In order to send a message say the last words of the sun.“ He read aloud. “This just seemed way to real….it‘s scary.“ He closed the book carefully and pulled his earplugs out. The quiet sounds of reality hit him again. “The last words of the sun...“ He repeated again. “I translated it out of „solaris“, the genitiv of „sol“, the sun. In greek: „Helios“ which means the sun. What if they mean by the last words of the sun, the last words of Helios? King Helios or the greek sun god?“ He stared at the book. No this wasn‘t a simple fantasy book, it was much more and a lot more cryptic. Either the author was a very good troll, or they really really mean it. “I need to find the other books.“ He muttered to himself stood up, taking the book with him and carefully placing it under his jacket. Back home he sat down on his pc and started googling the title of the book. He found next to no matches, except for a link to the gallery of the famous Monastery of St. Gall. They provided a Database with every single book or scroll in it. After almost an hour long search he finally found what he was maybe looking for. “The Chronicles of the Planet of Small Horses: text written in Latin; fantasy; written at around 1140 A.D.“ “It's not book two, but still.“ Said Tobias and grabbed his phone. ”Maybe some kind of spin-off.”<< It could have been anything, but he got this strange feeling in his gut...it was calling him He dialled the number of his professor and mentor. >>Yes?<< >>Good morning professor. I made an interesting discovery. It seems that there‘s many more behind that book, but I need to find the 3 other parts of it and found out that I would probably find one in the Kloster St. Gallen in Switzerland. Could you maybe arrange a meeting with me and whoever is in charge there?<< His professor sounded excited. Very good! Your expenses will be paid by the university. Have a good stay in Switzerland and good luck!<< “That was quick...” Thought Tobias, said goodbye and hung up. Not wanting to wait any further, he bought the next train ticket to St. Gall. On The Planet Of Small HorsesOn The Planet Of Small Horses Meanwhile in Canterlot Celestia stood on her Balcony and glanced at the remains of Equestria. The country where once you had to travel for months to even reach it‘s borders was now a small little area of resistance ranging from Trottingham over Canterlot up to Manehattan. The axis of bitter resistance for almost more than 17 years. 17 years since king Stver united the deer, buffalo, changelings and the north ponies. 17 years since he invaded the northern borders of Equestria. And for 17 years her sister had been in a coma. And one mournful year since the counter attack with the Elements of Harmony failed. Everyone of the elements except for her most faithful student Twilight was put into a Crystalline prison and taken away Equestria was practically broken. Hundreds of thousand, even millions of her ponies lay slain on the battlefield and even more in the cities. The soldiers of the north didn‘t halt or showed any patience as they butchered whole families, especially in the first years. But even Stver realized that in order to conquer the planet, he needed work forces. Many ponies, mares and stallions alike have to work in the labour camps or have to pay humongous taxes in the cities. Still occasional massacres among the Equestrian population are a widespread thing, mostly due to the large resistance network that commits sabotage acts or assassinations and even smaller ambushes against his armies. At least the normal citizens are left in peace, but under the watchful eyes of the northern soldier who guide the cities both day and night To Celestia all of it became to much. Dead ponies that she frowned deeply upon years ago, were now nothing more than a number on the statistic. To her luck the Minister of the Equestrian Army, Shining Armor is helping her out with governing issues that had been bothering her, although Shining held a deep grudge against Celestia for sending his now 17 year old sister to the front lines. She looked upon what was left and observed the huge seas of tents and ponies in the distance. There were four large refugee camps around Canterlot, holding in up to 2.000.000 ponies and sometimes griffins. The latter one‘s weren‘t really welcomed as they were seen as parasites, strangers who took the bare supplies from the ponies. They faced a similar fate, but made themselves known as fierce and strong warriors who defeated wave upon wave of Stver’s armies, but even the Griffons were washed away at some point. She looked into the horizon with her heavy, sleepless eyes and then back into her room where her beloved sister was laying in her bed in a comatose condition up to 17 years now. Celestia trotted over to her sister and nuzzled her unconscious form. „Oh Lulu...I wish to get back to the time when we were just fillies without any responsibilities or fears of what might become of our kingdom.“ They were pleasant memories, but were pregnant by a bitter aftertaste of sadness and regret. She heard hoofsteps from the hall and recoiled from her sister. “Princess?“ It was her personal assistant Silver Plate. “Yes?“ “Minister Armor is asking for you, your majesty.“ She nodded and went off to find the only still hard working pony of the government. She didn‘t say much on her way, but what was there to say in the times of sorrow and agony? Minister Shining Armor stood in front of a table keeping a lost, shocked and desperate look in his eyes. She sensed bad news. “Princess….“ He began holding his notes up with a shaky hoof. Celestia prepared herself for the incoming message. Was there a traitor? Was there another defeat of an ally? The latter would be the most possible. Words have spread that the Griffon Empires resistance group fought it‘s last battles and Saddle Arabia is slowly losing against the southern armies of the northern king. Stver had many names. The Uniter, the Northern Storm, King of the North, King of Deerkind and the list went on. “There was a major attack on Trottingham….They broke through our defences….32.000 were killed while facing 400.000 opponents... They are currently fighting inside Trottingham...it‘s...it‘s as good as fallen.“ Celestia gasped. These truly are some bad news. The defences kept Stver at bay for more than a decade. “What should we do!“ - Shining cried out - „We are next to dead, everything we know...just dead! We can‘t possibly stop him! He will continue with raping, pillaging and burning down our lands and families! We should just already accept our faith and surrender….“ He was on the brink of tears and he sat his head on the table covering it with his hooves of which one was damaged in combat. A heavy silence filled the room for many minutes. Celestia couldn't do more than just watch his captain “My wife is pregnant...“ He whispered barely audible. “E-excuse me?“ Forced Celestia out of here. Did she hear it right? Is her niece giving birth? Is Twilight going to be an aunt? “My wife is fucking pregnant!“ He screamed at her and threw the reports and notes from the table, making her recoil quickly. Tears began now to roll down his cheek. “My daughter will be born in a world ruled by some Tyran….That comes if they even let Cadance live when they enter these fucking walls and kill everything in their fucking way!“ He pressed his head into the table again and began crying again. The spark of happiness got extinguished as fast as it came. It took him a while to recover from his outburst, the comforting wing of Princess Celestia visibly helping him. “I‘m..I‘m sorry, Celestia. I let my feelings take a hold of me.“ He apologized and wiped his tears away. “Don‘t be. We all are very stressed in times like these.“ - She paused - “But is it true? Will you be a father?“ She asked carefully. She still was after all on his bad side for what she had done to Twilight and she still felt immensely guilty because of it. He nodded weakly. “At least we have some good news. Congratulation.“ She said with a genuine smile. But he again gritted his teeth. “That‘ s all you have to say!?“- She shrank away again and her heart sank. - “She will grow up in the middle of a genocide against us.“ He paused swallowing the lump in his throat. Celestia now got a stern look on her face. “It won‘t come to this! We will defeat this mysterious king and- “ Shining began to laugh. “Defeat….“ “That‘ s the same thing the Zebras said….or the Griffins….or the Thestral tribes of the north east. But now there are next to no Zebra‘ s left in the world! The Griffins live a life in slavery and torture and the Thestrals are now objects to these genetic experiments that they are up to!“ He paused...she didn’t say anything. She couldn‘t deny that he was right. “It seems as if...as if...Operation Seapony is the only way….“ Operation Seapony….setting the entire remaining population on large ships and sail to undiscovered lands and build a new civilization on it. Shining, now visibly calmer, grabbed his reports with the mouth again. “Thank you for coming, Princess, but if you would excuse me I have a war to lose.“ She again just nodded and stepped out of the room. “Everytime when I thought that it couldn‘t get any worse It got much worse...“ She continued wandering through the halls, without a thought, without a destination, she just walked with tears coming from her eyes. “Horseapples!” Twilight Sparkle cursed under her breath. „Again...nothing.“ she closed book number 223. She read through the dark magic wing of the Canterlot library for a year now in the hope of finding a game changing spell or strategy or whatever. Her assistant Spike was helping her wherever he could with finding solutions. He currently was away picking up their share of the daily rations. “AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie….I‘ ll take you out of there.“She repeated the same thought that has been keeping her working for almost over a year. They were now imprisoned in the Crystals of the Crystal Empire.She saw them being carried away by deer guards and are probably now a display of prestige on the marketplace of their capital. Nightmares were haunting her, always confronting her with their failure. It should’ve been the final attack. The one to finally end the gruesome war, unmask Stver and defeat him It failed on a spectacular level. Heck, even after 17 years, they’re not sure on whether Stver is male or female. He sounds male, but that’s it. A big offensive was initiated. Almost 60.000 soldiers broke out of the Equestrian sphere of security and charged in to the Crystal Empire‘ s lands that were once Equestrian. The distraction should have helped the elements to defeat the Northern king, who was residing in the former Crystal Empire. . He defeated the elements and imprisoned them in Crystal. Only Twilight could flee because of the brave sacrifice of her friends. Almost every Equestrian soldier died. Around 40.000 were killed and the rest got lost in the cold blizzard that occurred. Only 600 ponies managed to return home. The guilt was tearing her apart. She made herself responsible for what happened to her friends, but she also declared herself to be the one to rescue them. She strolled around the library halls that she came to know really well even since before she practically locked herself up in it. The place was not allowed for fillies, but her brother used to smuggle her into the library on some occasions. These moments had been the peak of her week when she was younger. These were the happy times for her, although the war was lasting for almost 10 years then. She was born short after the outbreak of the war after all. “Where should I search further?” She rubbed her mane, unkempt for a long time. Even blinking hurt her sleepy eyes. She often studied far into the night and suffered from sleepless nights. She traced her hoof among the backs of the books but shook her head. “I really should go and walk for a while.” She thought and began wandering through the famous library. The Canterlot library. A dream of every scholar and egghead. Millions of books and scrolls stacked upon and held organized by a staff of 200 ponies. She wandered through these halls countless times, but it didn’t fail to amaze her every single time. Old Legends & Mythical Creatures She stopped at the large bookshelf containing century old story books and fairytales. She’d never been particularly interested in ancient fiction especially in the last year, but one special book caught her attention. The Lost History of Man “What in the hay is a ‘man’?” She asked herself and cocked an eyebrow. She had a vast knowledge of Equestrian legends and it’s creatures, real or not. She levitated it down with her magic and a surge of dust rained down on her, making her cough in response. “It looks as if it wasn’t touched in at least a thousand years.” She thought with teary eyes and carried it away to her desk. Her desk was a mess to say the least crumpled papers were scattered everywhere between the stacks of read books. She opened it carefully, being fully aware on how sensitive these old books can be. She recognized the letters as old Equestrian and translated them in her head. “They brought us food, they brought us peace, they came with the ocean breeze. They gave us the tongue, they gave us a home…..the...Ay-gay-yiss...is from where they come. First two verses of an ancient Griffonian poem.” “This..seems very interesting….” She said to herself and opened the next page. “Maritnius Antiochus, Paulus Armenius were the names of the two two-legged who came with lady Meriad, or later known as ‘Flavia’.” “That just seems like an ordinary Latin name.” She thought as she continued reading. “10 years after the unification of the races there was a horrible plague that came with a drought and years of failed harvests of the Equestrian corn.” “That’s….just not true, a time of peace and harmony followed afterwards.” Nevertheless she continued reading loudly. “Uncertainty and fear was spread among the ponies as the bipedal landed on the shore at what is today the little village of Manehattan. After a few days they started to notice the curious ponies and gave them presents, presents of gold and silver. She said: ‘Thank you, but money can’t feed my children.’ But they couldn’t understand her. After weeks of careful conversations the humans were invited to the castle, where the 3 unifiers ruled from. On their way they saw the suffering among the ponies. They offered crops in exchange of repairing their boat. The new crops ‘Cepa’, ‘far’, ‘frumentum’, ‘alium’, ‘malum’, ‘carota’, they called, grew quickly under the magic of the earthponies and showed resistance against the icy, magical winter. The ponies weren’t hungry anymore and man was known as a saviour and hero. As they stayed for months, they taught the ponies how to conquer the seas, built chariots and aqueducts that span from the mountains across the whole land. They taught how to use water to power the most powerful machines, like large powerful wheels. Even the fields of magic, of which man hasn’t seen ever before, were changed forever.” “This basically goes against everything we know.” She felt as if her head was hurting. “I should just stop reading this crap. I have better things to do.” She decided to skim through it a last time before putting it back into the shelf. But one sentence caught her eye. The tactics and technology they brought to the Equestrians wasn’t to be surpassed, except for the Griffon Kingdom that man visited 300 years prior and also shared it’s knowledge with. She thought deeply about it. “Pretending it to be true. ‘Man’ seemed to be a very advanced species. There might be military tactics or technologies made by them we still haven’t discovered or simply got...lost.” She turned the page. Countless depictions of battle tactics and formations were displayed on the page. She didn’t know military tactics very well, but she was sure that the ‘Testudo’ wasn’t anything she had ever seen before. She smiled. “Maybe that would help my brother!” She cheered from her inside and skipped a few pages. Pictures of the anatomy of a so called ‘human’ revealed themselves in front of her. She was flabbergasted. They were next to hairless except for their heads and a few other spots. Right next to it was a female human. She compared the strange creature with the species of her own and was amazed by the effort that was put into the drawings. “...strange.” She thought. “Very detailed and serious for a collection of legends. What pony would write such things? Either they really mean it or are just completely nuts.” She skipped to the next page and searched for the name of the author. Written by Starswirl the Bearded; dictated by King Helios Her eyes widened on the first two names. She didn't know who the other two were, but King Helios the Great was the Grandfather of Celestia and Luna! “Why in the hay would Starswirl write such things?...or perhaps...” No it just couldn't be. Starswirl the bearded was never known to write fantasy or nonsense, except it really is true. Or did the author fake it? So many thoughts shot through her head that it started to hurt. She carefully closed the book and took it to her beloved mentor. The Abbey of Saint GallThe Abbey of Saint Gall They quickly gave him what he was searching for, after stating his position with the university and government. It was easier than he thought. Still tired of his hour long drive to Switzerland, he sat down on a table that was provided for him and started translating. Marcus Antiochus lead the caravan of ponies to their boat, ready to give a share of their rations. The ground was muddy and cold from the previous autumn rain. The forests was dark and deep. Many lifes were swallowed by this forest. He could make out hopeful mumbling by the four-legged farmers, but some feared them. They followed the caravan hesitantly in the back. One of his fellows. Paulus Armenius, a young roman lieutenant and native armenian walked beside him. They both had long, unkempt curly hair which were covered by their helmets most of the time. They could've been easily mistaken for brothers. Only their eyes and height made them look different from each other. Marcus had blue eyes as a native Italian descending from Celtic tribes from the south of the alps, was taller and had a lighter skincolour than Paulus, whose skin had more a brownish tan to it. ”We can't give them everything we have. We don't know where we are and if we can really stay here.”<< Paulus looked annoyed and worried. ”Famis has cursed this place. I don't think we're here just because of a simple accident happened in the storm. We didn't sail past the Pillars of Heracles and we are not in the mysterious lands Hanno the Navigator has set his foot on. Look at his place...you can feel the magic of this place. We we're sent by Ceres to save this place.”<< He said calmly. He was quiet for a while. ”But still. We don't if we could trust those...horses.”<< ”What would they do to us. Their flesh has turned in from hunger. They die on the spot.”<< ”Yes, but when their bellies are full, they'll make sure we never come home. Our boat is damaged Marcus. Not even the Phoenicians can sail with a large hole in the middle of it.”<< ” Do you remember this guy called Jesus? He was crucified 5 years ago when we were legionaries in Phoenicia.”<< ”Yes I do.”<< ”He once told me as I was watching over his cell that favours will always be returned. I stabbed him the next day when he was hanging on the crucifix. And this is my opportunity to make things even between me and the gods. I don't think he was the son of one god, but in retrospective I truly think that the gods loved him very much like a son.”<< They were silent for a while, until Paulus opened his mouth again. “It still a two-days march to the shore and the farmers are as weak as they can get. We have to take a break and make a fire before it gets dark.”<< Marcus nodded and stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked over the followers. ”How do we tell them?”<< Asked Marcus. Paulus shaped his hands to a pillow and signalled them to sleep and eat the few rations. Approving looks and pained groans rang through the ponies. ”Okay now we need fire.”<< Said Marcus to Paulus. A light spark caught them off guard. A unicorn just made a fire with it's magic. They looked each other in the eyes, still processing what had just happened. Paulus wanted to speak up, but got interrupted by something tugging at his tunic. He looked down and saw the mare that had greeted them before. She had slightly pink fur and dark purple hair. Her tunic was red, showing that she was of importance. Now they noticed that she also wore a tunic, that looked more like the Greek variation. She shook her head frequently. They couldn't communicate with the humans after all. ”What? Are you disapproving? Why?”<< Asked Marcus. She looked worried and thought of a way to tell it to the two Romans. Suddenly she pulled her tunic up with a reddened face. Two ugly bite marks from a predator and a long scar similar to a lion's scratchmark adorned her flank. They ogled her scars and slowly began to understand. She pulled her tunic down again and pointed to forest left and right to the muddy path. Then she pointed to the Gladii of the Romans and then to a very sick stallion who could barely walk. She bared her teeth and imitated a growl...then a howl. She looked pretty embarrassed and the two Romans chuckled at the cute display in front of them. They both understood and nodded at her. ”She wants us to protect them from wolves.”<< Said Marcus and gripped his Gladius tighter. ”No wonder. They are prey animals. How do we ask her, if there are any ponies capable of fighting?”<< Paulus looked at the starved farmers who are risking their lifes for this trip. Sure they'd brought weapons, as they all knew what to expect in the forest, but next to no one was capable of fighting. “The fire will keep them at bay, but there is no way we can watch every single part of the caravan. They are like sheep for the wolves.”<< Said Marcus worried. >>”Like sheep...”<< Thought Paulus for a while. ”Interesting....”<< Said Tobias to himself while changing to the next page. >>”That would mean the Romans were there at 5 A.D. Exactly 2020 years ago.”<< He looked >>”I will continue reading the story at home.”<< He was excited. He had just found gold. He changed to the next pages. An illustration of what he believed was Marcus Antiochus standing in front of three pony princesses. >>”The three unifier...”<< He looked at the next illustration. It showed a Roman holding the hoof of a pink pony. A mare. They were formally dressed. The pony wore a long white dress and a laurel crown. The human wore a ceremonial toga. It's a typical Roman wedding. ”What!?”<< He read the inscriptions below the drawings. Domina Laurentia Fausta, Imperatrix, uxor et mater Imperatoris Dominus Paulus Armenius, Imperator, coniunx et pater Imperatoris >>”This is getting weird now....Domina Laurentia Fausta, Imperatrix, uxor et mater Imperatoris means 'Mrs Laurentia the sacred, Empress, wife and mother of Emperors.”.......so they married and had children.<< He scratched his head. >>”Maybe it's just nonsense after all....”<< Anger stirred up inside of him. All this work for nothing! Still he had expected it to be nonsense and his professor wanted him to write an essay about these books. So he remained calm. Below those descriptions were two pony-children a colt and a filly. The colt had the whitest fur he'd ever seen and the filly wore a beautiful shade of pink. What stroke him the most odd was the fact that each of them had both wings and a horn. He read the latin inscription and translated. >>”Aramazd the Great, the second equestrian emperor. The king who lead Equustria to never seen glory and size. Founder of the Crystal City.”<< He looked at the inscription of the filly. >>”Astlik the Generous. Winner over poverty, hunger and founder of the first university of Equustria.”<< As the family tree shows, both had children. Aramazd had a son called Solonis the Sophisticated with a deep blue mare called Ara the beautiful. Astlik had two children with Artax the duke of a place translated with 'the place to trot'. A pink colt called 'Kadiz the Conqueror, victor over the Thestral tribes of the north' and a dark coloured colt called 'Tenes the Builder, first King of the Crystal Empire. Kadiz had a daughter named Amoire. It seems that Solonis also had a child with a mare called Julia. King Helios the Gruesome. He looked to the other son. King Sombra the Crystal King. Tobias skipped to the last side. Written by Siegfried, consultant of Emperor Konrad III, the last human to have visited Equustria. A.D. 1140 “Holy shit.”<< He turned some pages back. ”This beautiful place once heaven. Turned to our world. Helios declared war to the Crystal City down and made sure to burn all human artefacts, every trace of us was destroyed. Emperor Conrad, enraged about this situation, sought to negotiate but was ignored at the gates of Canteria. Humanity, gods once were, were exiled from Equestria, because Helios only knew one god: Himself. Conrad met went to the Crystal Empire and gave King Sombra an old artefact said to have magic effects never seen before and only to use it when all hope is gone. Then we returned home. I'm leaving tomorrow. Friends will be left behind and Equustria will become nothing more than a blurred memory of the ones who could set foot on it. That's why I wrote this book. That's why I wrote on how to establish contact again, but for no one to be seen, I'll take this secret to my grave and wait for the right person to discover it. That's what I promised”<< Tobias' eyes widened. He had to get home and examine it more closely. “It sounds stupid but....” He dialled the number of one of his co-workers at the university. His hands were shaking. Yes, Tobi?<< Tufan, quick, make a radiocarbon-scan on the book I'm working on. Title's 'Terras ad...'<< The one with the horses?<< Yes!<< Okay, okay. I'm calling you back when we have the results.<< Thank you! The night was uneventful the fire and the presence of the strange two creatures kept the wolves at bay. The ponies were more death then alive as they reached the ship. The ponies were given food and water and crop seeds, they always stored in case of emergency. Paulus showed the mare an apple. ”Malum.”<< Said Paulus simply. She hesitated but eventually took a bite out of the fruit. It was still as fresh as they had bought it two days ago in a Greek town. She looked delighted. Probably never tasted something so sweet before. He looked at her cutie-mark. It was a laurel-twig. “Guess I'll call you 'Laurentia'.”<< He reached his hand out to pet her head, but got interrupted by the voice of Marcus. “Paulus, can you come here quick?”<< Paulus nodded and stood up. He walked to his friend as they walked on deck. Everyone was busy on the boat, explaining the crops and examining each other's species. Even some language lessons in Latin, Greek and even Phoenician started. “The scholars want to come with these horses, as well as the seamen. Even the soldiers don't want to miss the opportunity to see their city and more horses.”<< ”And abandon the ship!? Have you gone mental!?”<< ”Look, they know where we are. We go to their capital for a few days and return with spare-parts for the boat.”<< ”Marcus, I want to get...”<< He got interrupted by a tugging at his tunic. It was Laurentia, smiling at him with large green puppy eyes. He was signalling him to come with them. ”...to their capital. Is what I wanted to say.”<< Marcus burst out laughing. _______________________________________________________ Tobias compared the two books carefully. Almost the same handwriting. He looked at the last page of the first book. Written again by Bishop Alfonso III. A script of Marcus Antiochus Again he compared. >>”A script of Marcus Antiochus.”<< Marcus was among the first humans to ever set a foot on Equustria. Him knowing about King Helios is not possible. He again compared the family tree to the time Marcus Antiochus would have lived. >>”I think I'm starting to understand.”<< He looked at his white ceiling. >>”He wanted to confuse people. He faked the dates and authors so people won't make any connections. Either he wanted to safe the past by confusing people and hiding it, or he was just a big troll. Conrad probably wanted to erase all evidence of Equustria, Siegfried didn't want it to happen and hid the first book on how to open the gates in the Vatican Library in Rome. The Chronicles Book probably went back to the place, he originated from. The Monastery of St. Gall.”<< He received a call by Tufan. >>”Hello?”<< >>”We have the results of the scan.”<< >>”And what does it say?”<< >>”It's from 1140.”<< >>”I knew it...”<< >>”Yes, but that's not the strange thing.”<< >>”Huh?”<< >>”The ink is something we have never seen before. It's a unique source of some special radioactive activity. The chemical compound is something we've never seen before. We actually found a new substance we've called 'Equorium' that's emitting some kind of unknown energy.”<< Tobias dropped his phone and it went off. He was sweating. So many questions rang through his head. ”I need to find the last book.”<< He skimmed over the last words of the Chronicles book. It's written like a farewell letter. Siegfried put him on a test and he already passed two third of it. ”There must be a hint somewhere in there.”<< He skimmed through the farewell letter. ”'ll take this secret to my grave...”<< “Of course!”<< He jumped up. The evidence was clear. The strange ink, the connections, the riddle. It all made sense! The Greeks were there in first place visiting the Griffins. Three hundred years later the Romans visited the horses. Rome stood in constant contact with that world. Paulus married Laurentia and started a horse-dynasty on the base of human culture. After the Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen bloodline gained control over Italy, the Germans visited Equustria and probably shaped the language and culture there as well. That would explain Conrad III. In Equustria. After that the horse-king got mad and turned into a megalomaniac and cut ties with the human world. Conrad probably also lost his temper and made sure to get rid of every existing evidence on earth. Except for Siegfried. He wrote the books with Equustrian ink, made up the riddle, faked the dates and hid the books! His phone rang again. It was professor Erlmann. >>”Hey Tobias have you...”<< >>”We need to find the grave of a so called Siegfried. He was a supervisor of Conrad III. Of the Holy Roman Empire. In his grave lays a book that's from utmost importance!”<< >>”Of Nobel-Price importance?”<< >>”Of unimaginable importance. This might change the course of human history...and not just human's”.<< >>”What are you talking about?”<< >>”I'll tell you soon enough. Let's say that these books are not what you might think they are!”<< VaterVater Twilight entered the great halls of Canterlot castle. Coloured windows and huge frescoes depicting ancient times and the conquest of Celestia's father Helios. It was already night as she entered the halls. The product of the best architects of the country, close to a thousand years ago. The princess sat on her throne, reading through pleads of Equestrian resistance groups. “Princess...” She bowed down. Celestia's ears perked up at Twilight's voice. “Oh Twilight. How are you?” Asked the princess in a friendly tone. For Twilight, Celestia's reputation suffered deeply after the loss of her friends. After all she sent them to the Crystal Empire. But even if she showed a bit of menace towards her mentor, she didn't show it. “Princess...I think I've found something interesting for you and my brother.,,,and I have questions.” “That's great! And what exactly did you find?” “I have found a book, likely to have never been touched for a thousand years. I think it's a simple fantasy book, but for this it's all to real.” “What is it about?” “It's about some kind of extraterrestrial species. He calls them 'Man'. They walk on two legs and actually lead the foundation of what's today Equestria. Even our language is actually a variation of theirs.” “Don't you think that somepony thousands of years ago made a joke about them? And what did you mean by 'he'.” “That's it princess. It was written by Starswirl and....your father, King Helios.” The princess remained silent for a moment. “My father? He wouldn't have written nonsense...not the Helios I remember.” “Do you, by any chance, have the book with you?” Asked the princess. She was now more curious than ever. Twilight nodded and levitated the book in front of the princess, who took it with her magic. “Thank you.” She skimmed the book and ogled the many depictions of these strange creatures. Descriptions of battle formations and language. After 15 minutes she put the book aside. “Indeed, that's quite strange...” She traced her hoof over the moldy book cover. “And you are certain that this is not a fake?” Asked Celestia again. She seemed insecure, baffled, even scared. “I don't know...” Said Twilight with a frown. Sweat spread over Celestia's body. Seeing her mentor like this, was truly scary for Twilight. “Pr-princess is everything alright?” She nodded. “Excuse me, I have to sleep over this.” The gracious princess stood up and trotted off to her bedchambers. Her legs were shaky. Twilight's mouth was agape. “Whatever it is in the book, it must have hit her really hard.” “So I didn't imagine things” Thought Celestia and entered her bedchamber. “So you weren't just a dream. You were real.” She got on her bed and curled herself up in her bedsheets. She looked at the ceiling, eyes wide open. “The hands....father.” She felt a bitter taste on her taste-buds as she thought about that word. “Father.” She was angry, angry at her long dead father. King Helios the Great. Or as she preferred to call him her sire. She remembered back to the few pieces of her childhood memories left. Never once was he there. He was at war with the Crystal Empire along with her mother. She was practically alone, until her sister was born a few years later. But something in her mind told her that she wasn't all the time, at least not in her years as an infant. The dreams she had. Pleasant dreams. Dreams of caring hands cradling her as a foal, until she was asleep. The creature was singing songs in an unintelligible language. The voice was male and he had a pleasant voice. They were short dreams and she never saw the face of the creature. But she remembered it as one of the most beautiful dreams she's ever had. She turned around in her bed and looked at the candlestand. A half-molded candle lived it's lonely life in the socket and waited to be lit again. Eventually she fell asleep. The pungent smell of fire and smoke hit her nostrils. That was the smoke of Canterlot. The panic, the screaming. Her castle was full of civilians who wanted to flee the upcoming terror of the Northern king’s troops. She wore her shiny, golden battle armour, that remained almost untouched in many years. Families were cowering in every corner of the castle. Wounded soldiers covered every square-meter of the floor, which was ridden with blood. Groans and screams filled the room as the nurses had trouble to keep up. Some spilled organs, some were amputated, had major burns or arrows embedded into their body. The room smelled after a sick mix of smoke, urine, blood and burnt flesh. She galloped to the first gate of the castle. At least one hundred guards were struggling to keep the gate closed. Archers and unicorns were readying themselves for the upcoming storm through the door. Another loud slam could be heard, followed by a row of guards getting pushed back by the impact. They had a battering ram. The soldiers quickly recovered and held the gate again, be it with magic or pure muscles. They had trouble keeping it closed. Some guards were wounded to the point, where they shouldn't hold a heavy gate closed, but every single one knew that they would die a horrible death if not. The instinct of survival gave them the strength to keep up. Slam They hit the gate another time, followed by a cracking noise. The gate won't keep up any longer. A frantic Shining Armour ran towards the princess. “Princess! They are coming through! We have to get the civilians out of the castle somehow!” He had tears in his eyes. His home, burnt down, not knowing what happened to his parents. Only his wife was still in the castle, highly pregnant. She thought fast, but there was nowhere they could go. They could go to the catacombs of Equestrian rulers, but this would just spare them some minutes before their inevitable death. Even though there might be a possibility that the huge cave system following it, will bring the ponies outside. “There is a cave system, right past the catacombs of Equestrian rulers! But it's not fully discovered and full of wicked...” “I don't care!”, Spat Shining Armour, “Everything is better than this place. My wife is royalty, they will kill her and my daughter with no mercy! Please, I beg you bring the civilians safely...” “But you'll have a daughter, you can't...” crack They both turned their faces towards the gate. It's open. A large splintered hole in the middle of the gate caused it to open. She could see the enemy. Fierce creature, who blindly follow the orders of Sombra. “Move away!” Yelled Shining at the stallions holding the front gate and they quickly recoiled. “Fire!” Screamed Shining and a volley of arrows hit the first row of Sombra's soldiers, taking at least a dozen enemies down. “Again! Fire at will! Fire! Your lives depend on it!” He commanded his troops and they fired volley after volley at the enemy. North-Pony after North-Pony, deer after deer fell to the Equestrian arrows, at least giving them a bit of time. Celestia wasted no time. “Everyone, quick! Follow me!” She commanded the civillians and they followed, as fast as their sick hooves could carry them. “Infantry! Defensive line behind the archers, spears and shields at front!” They did. One hundred stallions, ready to fight the last fight. Shields up! He heard the enemy general yelling. And they did, a large silver wall erected itself at the place where once the gate was. The arrows ricocheted at the silver wall of metal as if they would shoot a rock. “Archers! Melee weapons!” They took out their swords and held it either with magic or in the mouth. Every soldier upholstered his duo-glads, two short blades embedded in military horseshoes, and made themselves ready for impact. Ready to write history. “Stallions it was a pleasure fighting with you...” Said Shining Armour and breathed in “For our families, for the crown, for Equestria! Charge!” The Equestrians charged with a deafening battle-scream, ready to sacrifice their lives for the survival of their nation. The soldiers of the North did the same and charged. The impact of metal to metal was ear shattering as they clashed together. Some were instantly impaled by the spears, be it one side or another. The Equestrians held their formation and took down enemy after enemy. They were the elite of Equestria, the royal guards of the princess. And they want to be remembered as the biggest burden of Sombra's army. Blood splashed into every part of their armour. The stallion left of Shining took a spear to the neck and collapsed with a gurgling noise of pure agony. They held their formation. Shining looked to his right. A big halberd shattered through the shield of the stallion and embedded itself in his chest. His last sound was a painful scream as the spiky appendages of the halberd pulled him into the enemy ranks, where he was hacked into tiny pieces. Another halberd was raised and split the head of the stallion to Shining's left. His face went warm as bits of brain and blood splattered against him. Tiny fragments of bone draining beneath his armour. He couldn't differ if either he was sweating or just drenched in the brain-water of his comrade. “Hold!” They tried to. Stallion after stallion was slashed and crushed. The enemy brought huge sledgehammers to crash the Equestrians armour. Every second was the sound of a bone cracking, followed by a muffled scream of terror. Shining pushed several enemies back with his shield and slashed the throat of a hammer-carrying enemy. Suddenly a halberd appeared from the corner of his eyes. His eyes widened and he held his shield up, only to get his leg shattered into several of bony bits. He screamed and watched his shield fall to the ground. A huge dent embellished the middle of the metal shield. Suddenly he felt a sting in his chest. A sword penetrated his chest almost halfway-through. The pain was of something he'd never felt before. The world around him seemed to move slowly. He looked down at his fallen comrades. Open eyes, bloody mouths, half-ripped faces. That's the last minute of the Royal Guards. He sat down on his haunches and took everything in. Faces of his parents, Twilight, his wife and the unknown face of his unborn daughter he will never see. Suddenly the halberd raised again. Celestia ran back to her bedchambers, where she knew would be Cadence tending to the wounded. She'd already ordered the nurses and some guards to escort everyone down to the cave-system. Only her niece and some other wounded soldiers were left. She kicked the door open. Cadence was currently giving water to a very badly injured stallion. He had fever and was missing an eye. He already soaked her once white pillow to a deep, dark red. On the ground were a few other soldiers with slashed limbs and burnt faces, but all of them were able to walk. “Quick! We have to get out of here! To the catacombs!” Cadence looked up in panic. “What! are they coming! Oh no!” Their faces were worried and full of fear. “They broke through the door! You have to go! Now!” “And Shining?” She asked worried. Celestia didn't answer and Cadance's worries grew. “Where is Shining? Where is my husband?...” Her tone was nothing more than a whisper. Tears trickled down her face and she began to sob. Celestia kneeled down. Now was not the time to mourn Shining's likeable death. “Listen Cadance: He's currently holding the enemy back. You know how tough he is. He will make it through and be on his way down. I'm sure he will, but these ponies need your help now.” Cadance stopped sobbing and wiped her tears away. She nodded. She helped the injured stallions up and they began to ascend down to the catacombs. They could hear the frightened voices of the other families downstairs. Luckily none of the young stallions were injured on their leg and could walk at a steady pace downstairs. It got darker and colder, the deeper they got. After a while they reached the catacombs of the Equestrian rulers. Her ancestors were laughing at her failure. The surviving ponies all gathered in the sepulchre of Celestia's parents. King Helios and Queen Eos. Right next to them laid the grave of her sister, Luna. She couldn't just let her remains stay here. She looked at her subjects. They all gazed at her with fearful looks, unsure on what would happen to them and what to do. “We follow this cave until we get out, just keep straight! Keep together! Unicorns at front and back! Support the sick and old! We will make it!” Insecure whispers followed, until eventually they started to walk into the darkness. Cadance turned around and caught Celestia eyeing the grave of Luna with pitiful looks. “Celly...” Began Cadance. “Please go ahead. I have things....to take care of.” Cadance remained silent for a while and then nodded. “Please take care...” “I will....I will...” Cadance left and Celestia stood in front of the grave of her sister and parents. “I won't come with them.” Said Celstia to the grave of her sister. “I will die here...with you...united.” She laid her head on the grave of her sister and closed her burning eyes. She remained silent for several minutes until she heard a shuffling behind her. She opened her eyes to consider who or what it was. The enemy? A rat? She would have preferred the first. But it was something else entirely. A black figure stood at the entrance of the sepulchre. A creature with two legs. It was tall and covered in a smoke-like substance. A face could not be seen. “This can't be.” Whispered Celestia and took a step towards the creature. It went off to the left. “Hey wait!” Blurted Celestia and ran after the creature. She saw it standing in the hallway. As if it was waiting for him. He turned left again and entered the grave chambers of Starswirl The Bearded. Starswirl wasn't officially a member of the royal family, but King Helios made sure that he was buried as one. There stood the black figure. In front of Starswirl's tomb. She approached him slowly. “Father...is that you?” It didn't answer, but she kept going. Suddenly the creature stretched it's arms, welcoming her for an embrace. She smiled and a tear trickled down her face. “Finally I meet you...” It said nothing. She felt safe, she felt secure. Creak The creaking sound of crossbows didn't startle her. She kept on going, smiling. She was the happiest pony on earth. A sharp pain spread through her flank. Then in her back...and another....and another. Four crossbow bolts penetrated her body. She tasted blood, but kept smiling. Blood drizzled down her chin right through her grin. She continued to walk in pain. And he reached it. The hands enclosed her into a warm beautiful embrace. “Finally...” She said and fell asleep. Celestia woke up with a scream. She jumped out of bed and ran to Luna's bedroom. There she laid, peacefully in her coma of seventeen years. She caught her breath. “That dream...” She was to scared to go to bed now and way to awake to sleep. “Father...” Thought Celestia. “What did you want to say to me...” She stood there for a while, still processing her dream. She revisited the slowly fading memories of her nightmare. Or was it a nightmare? “It can't be a coincidence......He wanted to say something.” She thought about the book Twilight brought to her earlier. “A whole world of them....Equestria burning....the loving embrace.....father.” Her eyes widened. She needed to find Twilight.
Recent History of the earth (Prologue)Recent History of the earth (Prologue II) *.........The Ussuri dispute escalates! China declares war on the Soviet Union!.....* *.........Chinese troops occupy Irkutsk and Vladivostok! Is Moscow showing weakness?*.........* *.........Chinese troops reach the Jenissei after 4 years of war! The battle of Kamtchatka starts!......* *........NATO gathering in Tel Aviv: We stay neutral!............* *........Chinese troops reach the Caspian Sea on Christmas Day! Yekaterinburg has fallen; Siberia is now under Chinese Control! Leonid Breschnew demands Western help!…….* *........Protests spread across Europe for a military intervention! Series of Terrorist attacks in Rome, Paris, Warsaw, Cologne and Stockholm!..........* *.......NEW WEAPON DROPS ON MINSK, CHARKIW, DONETSK, TWER AND NOWGOROD! 1.200.000 Deaths!......* *.......Grotesque crimes against Russian population!........* *......MOSCOW SURRENDERS! CHINESE STORM UNSTOPPABLE! THE SOVIET UNION FALLS APART!.......* *.....PRO-WESTERN UPRISING IN EASTERN EUROPE! Germany is united!.....* *.....New pro-western, multicultural state forms on the location of former East-Prussia. The ‘Vistulian Republic’ is preparing itself for an invasion…....* *....Chinese troops take Moscow! Helmut Schmidt demands sanctions against China! Germany, Poland, France, Finland, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and Estonia create a defensive corridor with American help…..* *....The US and Canada arm Europe and Japan…..* *....Series of Pan European uprisings in every major European city!...* *....REVOLUTION IN FRANCE, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, NETHERLANDS, LUXEMBOURG AND BELGIUM! THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN REPUBLIC THE NEW WORLD POWER?...* *...COMMUNIST CHINESE TROOPS INVADE LATVIA! EUROPEAN STATES, JAPAN AND US DECLARE WAR!”.....* *...NUKES DROP ON RIGA AND BRATISLAVA! 200.000 deaths! MILITARY OFFENSIVE STARTS!...* *.....Finnish troops conquer Murmansk and Archangelsk! The Start of the Battle of Novgorod! Saint Petersburg now free!.....* *......Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia join the European Republic!....* *....Japanese-American offensive in China! North Korea invades South Corea!....* *.....Nukes drop on Shanghai and Qingdao! 14.000.000 DEATHS! Landings on Chinese coasts and Taiwan!......* *.....Uprisings in Central Asia! European troops conquer Twer!....* *.....BATTLE OF MOSCOW BEGINS……* *.....CHINESE COASTS UNDER AMERICAN AND JAPANESE CONTROL! JAPANESE INVASION IN NORTH KOREA!.....* *......Pro Western government takes control in Iran!...* *.....Invasion of Beijing! Hong Kong is now free! Pro-western Southern Chinese Republic emerges!...* *.....MOSCOW IS FREE! CHINESE DRIVEN OUT OF WOLGOGRAD! CHINESE PEOPLE’S ARMY DRIVEN BACK TO PERM, UFA AND SYKTYVKAR! THE RUSSIAN REPUBLIC EMERGES!....* *.....Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Vistulia, Estonia and Finland join the Republic!...* *.....CPA driven to the back of the Ural!....* *BEIJING HAS FALLEN! THE END OF THE WAR?* The treaty of Jakarta 1978: Siberia becomes part of the European Federation as an autonomous region Kasachstan becomes independent North-and South Korea become one democratic Korea Mongolia becomes independent Hong Kong became the new capital Humongous war reparations that should cripple remaining north China Sino - Soviet war: Casualties: - Soviets: 27.000.000 (25.000.000 civilians) - China: 24.000.000 (2.000.000 civilians) Sino - European war: Casualties: - Europe: 25.000.000 (15.000.000 civilians) - China: 34.000.000 (1.500.000 civilians) (Chinese Homefront:) - US: 3.700.000 - Japan: 2.900.000 - South Corea: 4.200.000 - South China: 6.400.000 (2.000.000 civilians) - Communist China: 64.000.000 (30.000.000 civilian) - North Korea: 5.100.000 (3.000.000 civilians) Total: Allies: 77.870.000 Chinese People’s republic: 122.000.000 Total: Ca. 200.000.000 (!) [5% of the entire world population] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ …..Spain, Greece Italy and Portugal join the Republic! Pan-European uprising in Yugoslavia!….. …..US and Japan apologize to new Chinese government for war crimes! US finances reconstruction of the Republic and China!… …..Civil war in Yugoslavia! Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania join the Republic! UK is concerned!….. …...Economic uprising across the world! Countries richer than ever?…… …...Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden join the Republic! Terrorist attacks in Astana!….. ……European troops march into Yugoslavia! The fall of the dictature! Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia join Republic!….. …….Widespread modernization of Europe and China lead by the US, Canada and Japan….. ……..UK JOINS THE REPUBLIC as Britannia! 62% voted for ‚join‘! Massive protests in London, Manchester and Birmingham!……. …….Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia join the Republic!……………. …….International economic !!broken!!…………. …….Fundamental Islamic uprisings in Middle East and North Africa! 8.000 deaths in Cairo!…… …….King Chalid ibn Abd al-Aziz took control over the whole Arabian peninsula! Saudi troops march into Westafrica! Is a new Caliphate on the rise?...................... ….....Saudi troops march into Cairo and Bagdad! The FERC is concerned!...................... ….....European troops from Turkey, Greece and Cyprus occupy Syrian coast and Israel to prevent further Saudi advancement. The newly formed state of Levant joins the FERC! USA doesn't approve............................. …....Fascist government takes control in India! Iran shows itself concerned due to Saudi aggressions!............. …....Genocide of Muslim population in India! Countries cut relationships with India! Pakistan declares war!....... …....Monarchist party gains popularity in a broken China! India marches into East Pakistan! Those who won't convert die! European fundings of kurdish resistance!.............................. ….....Kurds push Saudi troops back to Baghdad! Kurdistan joins the FERC........................ ….....Indian troops invade West Pakistan! Uncountable human losses! Communist uprisings in South America! Pan-latinamerican movements similar to those in Europe........................ …....Nukes land in Karachi! Pakistan is now at the hands of a fascist India. Large wave of refugees into neighbouring countries! Myanmar surrenders to India! Large technological advancement in India!.......... Great Bengal war of 1984 India: 18.000.000 losses (600.000 civilians) Pakistan: 34.000.000 (25.000.000 civilians) ….....Monarchist China rises from the ashes and gains former territory back! Renaming into the Yongyuan Dynasty!........ ….....Monarchist China forms close relationships with fascist India! Large technological improvement in the military!....... ….....Monarchist China crushes Southeast Asians states on the mainlan! Foundation of the CEAPSO!................ ….....Central Asian states form a federal Republic in response of Indian invasion of Madagascar and founding of the CEAPSO...... New World Powers by 2025: The Federal Republic of European Countries Ranges from Lisbon to Tomsk and from Longyearbyen to Eilat including today's colonies Liberal, Federal one party-system, Western mindset, Progressive, Secular, Nationalist Structured in different Regions Western Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Wallonia Great Britain, Ireland), Central Europe (Greater Germania, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Netherlands, Flanders) Northern Europe (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) Eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Armenia, Georgia) Southern Europe (Italy, greece, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria) Near East (Turkey, Cyprus, Kurdistan (former northern parts of Syria and Iraq), Levant (today's Israel, Lebanon and Syrian coast) Siberia (autonomous Region under European protection; Today's Eastern Siberia), Vistulia (former East Prussia; Multi-ethnic Region) Capital: Vistulia-City (ger. Königsberg, rus. Kaliningrad), (12.000.000 residents) Close ties with the Federal Republic of Persia, CEAPSO, Canada and the US Population: 812.698.412 Federal Republic of Persia Ranges from today's Iran to today's Kazakhstan including every today's GUS states east of the Caspian Sea including Afghanistan Liberal, Democratic, Western mindset, Nationalism, Secularism Capital: Isfahan (2.000.000) residents Close ties with the FREC, CEAPSO and North America Population: 143.712.444 Coalition of East Asian Pacific States and Oceania A coalition between Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia (Borneo), the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand Founded in case of Mainland-Chinese Aggression Strong funding of resistance groups on the asian Mainland Close ties to the FREC, FRP, Canada and the US Yongyuan Dynasty Ranges from the territory of today's VR of China to the border of Singapore (including formerly mainland-Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos) Absolute Monarchy, Militarism, Asian Nationalism, Capital: Beijing (25.000.000 residents) Population: 1.770.000.000 Greater India Ranges from the territories of today's Myanmar to Pakistan. Greater India includes the territories of former Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan) Is holding Madagascar as a colony Totalitarian dictature, Fascism, Hindu Nationalism, Militarism Ethnic cleansing of muslims, sikhs, christians and buddhists or degradation to the lower castes Capital: Delhi (20.000.000 residents) Population: 2.211.000.000 Caliphate of Saud Ranging from the border of Kurdistan down to the border of Kenya (includes the Arabian peninsula as well as the former territories of former Jordan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia) Holds satellite states in every muslim-north african country. Those include: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Tschad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad Absolute Monarchy, Shariah, Theocracy, Traditionalism Holds no port in the Levant! Capital: Riad (6.000.000 residents) Population: 400.000.000 Los Estados Unidos de Latinoamerica Ranges from Tierra del Fuego to Tijuana, including the Caribbean states Highly unstable (large resistance nests in Argentina, Chile and Brasil) Communist, dictature, pan-latin americanism, anti US - Americanism Capital: Bogota (10.000.000 residents) Population: 1.135.000.000
The Secret Library Of The VaticanThe Secret Library Of The Vatican July 12th 2025 The Italian soldiers of the Federation walked into the Vatican. After month long persuasion the catholic church finally gave in and let authorities take control of it. It brought outrage among many Catholics in the world. But that was something they had to go through. And although the Vatican is now a part of Rome it would still remain quite independent. But what was the reason behind it? Cultural minister Patricè and Minister of Education Nimea mentioned the hidden archives of the Vatican and said that "many information which would change our future and form our knowledge significantly is contained in the Vatican archives, but kept secret by the catholic church." A nationwide referendum was made and the people voted with a majority of 73% for the occupation of the Vatican with all it's secrets. Resistance was next to nothing due to the fact that the majority of the Swiss guard changed sides and the sympathy for the EC coming from the pope. Now the Italian military stood everywhere, keeping an eye out for any threats that could threaten the visit of European Home Secretary Robert Paleu and Italian Governor Alessandro Serafini. The ministers of education, culture and the defence forces Nimea, Patricè and Hartmann as well as President Andropow are already inside the famous Peter's Basilica, waiting for Serafini and Paleu. The Basilica was the place where the Vatican state should sign the contract which will change the fate if the small country forever. "Home Secretary Paleu?" Asked a soldier of high rank with a thick Italian accent. "Yes what gives, soldier?" Answered the older, Swiss man a bit concerned. "I wouldn't recommend going in there alone. My colleagues just arrested a young man with pipe bombs twenty minutes ago." Serafini nodded and started speaking Italian. >>"Bring 4 men with you and go in there. It's not an order, but a plead."<< "Sí Padrone di Serafini." He saluted and took off. The Italian governor turned to Paleu who couldn't speak nor understand Italian. "I said to him that he should check the library first in case there will be an assassination attempt." He nodded understandingly and they walked across the big St. Peter's Square with a caravan of hundred bodyguards, police forces and reporters. The flashes of the cameras were almost blinding but nothing could straddle them. It was an unwritten tradition to always walk on foot to the place where a treaty was signed with another country. They entered the St. Peter's Basilica after a couple of time, getting saluted by Swiss guards. Inside were the European Ministers and Vatican President Giuseppe Bertello sitting on the table. The two sat down on the table and poured them a glass of lemonade. President Andropow was a relatively young, slim and handsome Russian man, capable of speaking 8 languages fluently: Russian, English, French, German, Italian, Ukrainian, Polish and Swedish. A very charismatic guy, who was just perfect for representing a country and opening up ceremonies. Cultural Minister Jean Patricè was the oldest of them all with the age 72. He fought in the 3rd world war and got badly injured at his left leg. So he returned to France, studied art and African cultures and helped establishing the European State. Educational Minister Nimea was the most outstanding out of all ministers. The finish, middle aged man always kept a smile and told jokes at conferences, but beneath lays a very professional guy. He worked as a professor in Turku for a while before he became minister. The last minister on the table was military minister Paul Hartmann. An older, cranky stereotypical German guy, who fought in the 3rd world war alongside with Patricè. He got captured but managed to escape, leaving him at his grumpy state. Just perfect for the job. President Andropow stood up and raised a folder of demands. "Now that we are all together, we can finally begin!" Treaties and contracts were signed. The Vatican would be now officially a part of the Ancient city Rome. The Swiss guard would be now a special division in a Swiss military company. And most importantly: All access of Vatican archives is now given to scientists and a special amount of visitors. And all of it without a single violent move, although Bertello kept a bitter face through the whole process, he signed the contract. It took two hours until everyone shook hands and left the Basilica. Minister Nimea took his phone out and dialled the number of his secretary. "I want an international research team to come here ASAP and finally lift the secrets of the archive Eight days have passed since the peaceful "occupation". Dozens of historians, archaeologists and linguists were spread across the huge underground library. Tobias Warner was one of them. A fairly young researcher in the fields of history from Heidelberg, Germany As an actual support for his professor, Erwin Georg Erlmann, he was allowed to come along with him. An opportunity many other students of his age of 27 could only dream of. "We still found nothing except for some very old printings of the bible and various other books covering religion..."<< said the professor in a disappointed tone and took his glasses off. He was a shorter, older man with little but no hair. "Tobias."<< Tobias looked up from his staple of books. "Please be a dear and check the catacombs for anything interesting. There must be at least something interesting in there."<< ”Ja.”<<Tobias nodded and took off, greeting some other scientists he had just briefly met on the way. He actually didn't want to go into the deeper folds of the Vatican library. It was scary to say the least. But this couldn't stop him from impressing his professor. He went after the guards with a brief salute and went down the old, rocky stairs. Some colleagues who went down before him and put up some lamps to illuminate the dark vicinity. It was incredibly dusty and narrow in the so called "catacombs". They named it because "it was a grave for forgotten books and scrolls." But the fucking place was empty. Probably raided by some invaders hundreds of years ago. He hated to admit it but he felt a shiver down his spine and more uneasy the deeper he gets. "Wait wasn't this.." The corridor he got himself in looked exactly like the other two he walked past before. He shrugged it off and continued walking while watching out for books on the empty shelves to the left and right of him. And again. The same lamp and the same shelf. Now he was nervous. "Fuck." He muttered. "Maybe I should really get help here..." He decided to lean on the wall right beside the shelf. "Okay I need to rethink this....why the fuck has no one still put some signs on the floor or something?!" He leaned deeper into the stonewall and bumped the underside of his fist in it making an unstable sound as a result. But suddenly a loud rumbling sound emitted from the wall behind him. "Wait.." He moved his back away from the wall and eyed the loose rock closely. He did it again. *rumble* It was loose. A loose piece of rock on a stonewall but still connected to something in the wall. "Maybe I have played to much Skyrim....but when I pull on it...." He did as his gamer instincts told him and pulled on it. Suddenly a piece of the stonewall jumped out and almost landed on his feet. "Whoa." He simply said while digesting his shock. The big rock easily weighed 40 kilos. and shattered to 4 large pieces when it connected to the ground But the shock was mostly not because of the rock, but of the book that was right in front of him. He blew the dust away, making him cough. He carefully took the book in his hands and read the header. The letters were blurred out and were mostly identifiable, still he managed to make out some letters on it *PORTAS AD TERRAM BREVIAM EQUUM.* "The gate to the earth of short horses." He muttered under his breath and sat down on the floor carefully opening the old book. He had studied Latin long enough to decipher it. To his surprise the ink wasn‘t blurred out at all. Everything was easily readable if you understood latin. *DCC Anno Domini* He decided to open the first page. “Probably written 700 A.D.....shit that'd be old.“ Thought Tobias and started skimming the texts in the really well preserved book. He opened the next pages and saw a really precise illustration of what looked like a unicorn. The same with a pegasus and normal pony dozens of pages later. “That looks like straight from a cartoon for little children, but realistic at the same time….such detailed drawings are highly unusual next non existent around that time.“ He didn‘t bother reading fully through the texts below it. It takes time to translate full latin sentences correctly. The last pages were something that stroked him as very odd. There were full detailed descriptions of a portal, even a drawing of a guy opening a portal, and how to open it. It seems as if you need a special stone plate. ”And? Found something of interest, Tobias?“<< Tobias jumped at the voice of his professor behind him. “Where the fuck did he come from!” “Uh Yes, actually, a book, probably a fable or fairytale from 700 A.D“<< He came over to him and eyed the book closer, taking his glasses off. He skimmed the texts for a while and eyed the pictures in it. “Well, it isn‘t our lucky day today, is it? But nonetheless can you write an essay about this….interesting piece of literature?“ << „Well….fuck you too.“ He thought bitterly. ”I would really like to do that.“<< He lied and forced a smile. “Very well then, home you go and don‘t let me wait to much. Straight ahead and then turn left twice.“ << He winked and turned his back against Tobias. 21st. July. 2025 Heidelberg, Germany Tobias slumped in his chair and stared at his ceiling and dozed off. “Maybe he just wanted to get rid of me….“ He thought and felt uneasy. „Something about his smile when he sent me away was not right. I guess he just wants to torture me with my paper about that book.“ He shook the negative thoughts away and walked across his one-room single-apartment in the centre of Heidelberg he could actually afford quite well with his salary. He turned his TV on and with it his PS4 he'd found for a really cheap price. “Better I clear my mind first before I start working.“ He thought, took a beer out of his fridge and put a cigarette in his mouth. Tobias let himself fall on the couch like a heavy sack of potatoes and proceeded with lightning his cigarette and taking a swig out of his beer. The taste of burnt tobacco mixed with the German elixir of life when he took his controller and started a game. “And they say I can‘t multi-task.“ He laughed to himself and proceeded with his evening. Time passed and Tobias was nothing more than a slight drunk young man laying on his couch between an empty pack of cigarettes and 5 empty bottles of beer. He woke up after 4 hours of sleep with a groan. “It‘s really getting out of hand with my alcohol consumption….I should really stop or else it will end like when I was in my teens...“ He rubbed his aching head and stared at his table, the game still on. “I‘m such a fucking idiot...I have work to do!“ He realised what he had just said and rubbed his forehead. He quickly put a mint candy in his mouth, put his jacket on and watched himself in the mirror. He had short, but not too short light brown hair and a 3-days beard, blue eyes and an all in all slender, but not thin form. He was neither tall, but not incredibly small with 1.7m. He quickly combed through his hair and went out. He always preferred going on foot over taking the bus, bicycle or even by car. He liked to “feel“ his surroundings. And providing his position, he wasn't bound to any schedules. The cool night breeze cleared his head from the still lasting effect of the alcohol and wasn‘t in the slightest unwelcoming for him. He walked past the night-life of Heidelberg, where drunk people were yelling random stuff through the night. Large blinking signs of bars and nightclubs illuminated the dark street with next to no cars. There weren‘t many cars in Heidelberg driving in the direction of the Altstadt, even at daylight. After a while he finally reached his destination: the Karl-Ruprechts Universität Heidelberg and it‘s faculty for philosophy and history. He entered the building, greeted some housekeepers, late night students and professors and went to the office where his book would be waiting. It laid in a showcase with security glass. He read his label below the book, took out his keys and proceeded with taking it out really carefully with his security gloves on, like a surgeon would do with a dangerously sharp object inside a carcass. He put it on his table and sat down. After putting his bottle of water, which he bought at a vending machine before, on the table and choosing selected ambient works by Aphex Twin on his phone, he started working. The sun began to set above the German city and slowly crept through the shutters of the window making contact with Tobias‘ skin, quickly spreading the warmth across his neck. “Huh?“ He muttered as he looked up from his book. “What time is it? 6:45! I‘ve been working for almost 7 hours!“ He rubbed his eyes. “Right...working.” He looked at his work in front of him. He wrote countless notes and translations on the first half of the book, even speculating on the kind of wood that was used for the paper. He read through his work: The Unicorn He or she is one with the heretic powers [=Magic] and is even able to lift heavy objects without touching it [telekinesis?]. Just as the other 2 races we could teach them Latin rather quickly. Mares are averagely [0.9m – 1.1m] of height and stallions [1.1m – 1.3m]. It has a slightly more petite and thinner form than their winged counterparts or earthlings [3rd pony race] It‘s horn is about [20cm] of length and is the reason why it bonds with the demonic forces. As we went deeper into the society of Equus Unicornis, we discovered that there was hatred especially towards the earthers [3rd pony race] The text was followed by a detailed illustration of a unicorn “They actually look really cute...“ H thought to himself and imagined petting one of those imaginary creatures. The Pegasus The lightest, but also the fastest of the 3 races. It can fly faster than any human can walk and a lion can chase it‘s prey. It reaches the velocity of a falcon. As we discovered, they were able to touch clouds with bare hooves manipulate them how they wish. We thought them to form bigger clouds so it could rain on dried fields and cure the one‘s dying of thirst. Equus Coelis is able to withstand harsh climate, but is also the lightest built of them all. Females reach a height of about 0.8m - 1m and stallions don‘t get higher than 1.20m. Most of them can be found at their city we named respectively caelotoposlis [=city of the clouds] Again there was a detailed illustration of mare and stallion alike. The Earthling The lack of a horn and wings is made up with their immense strength that could even bring trees to fall down. They have a strong connection to the ground and after giving them the seeds for onion, cabbage and carrots, as well as a variety of fruits like apples, grapes and even oranges, they were able to grow it massively and in short time, better than any human farmer we had ever seen. Equus Terraris is the biggest of them all. Females reach a height up to 1.2m and stallions to 1.4m. The largest of them even reached a height of almost 1.6m, the up to date largest ever discovered miniature horse. A picture followed of two Earthlings. “I shall call them earth horses.“ The Alihorn A very rare kind of miniature horse, that got almost as big as an average human. They unite all races together in their body and have the strongest connection to the demonic powers. The only known of them was the one that we declared king of the 3 races. King Helios and his wife Aphrodite. “It more and more doesn‘t sound like a guide to a fantasy novel, but more like ….travel diary.“ He went to the first page of the book and searched for the name of the author. Written again by Bishop Alfonso III. A script of Martinius Antiochus „Right I forgot...no last names back then. But the script existed before, judging by the name the original traveller was a Roman-Greek. By the name ‚Antiochus“ maybe even a successor of Seleucid king Antiochus III. Who lived around 250 to 190 B.C...“ He sorted his notes and thoughts about the races and put them aside until he went to another staple of notes and translations. „I have to read this one again.“ He thought and put the first paper in front of him. The journey to the planet of small horses “Yup just like a traveller’s diary.“ When we set foot on the world of horse we called ‘Equustria‘, we suspected that just like in the Greek manuscripts a range Griffins and Minotaurs will wait for and greet us as gods. We were even more surprised when we found out we landed on the shore of what looked like a civilisation of small looking, cute little horses. The shore could be compared with the ones you can find in Britannia, but the forests looked deep enough like the ones in Germania. They were afraid at first, but managed to gain their trust after a few hours of talking, petting and giving presents. One day they invited us to their capital city we called ‚Canteria‘. But on our way to the capital we discovered that god unleashed his punishment among these innocent looking horses. A large famine and disease spread across the entire population. Beggars and prostitutes were on the streets when they weren‘t hiding from us. Seeing a mother cradling her starved filly wasn‘t a rare thing to watch and frown upon. By the name of our emperor Gaius Octavius Augustus. The expected innocence was ripped away and replaced with a deep reality like in some human cities. „Okay that would set the time of the original story from 31 B.C to 14 A.D.“ He thought and continued reading. When asked what happened, our guide explained to us in pony-tongue that 10 years ago, the tribes united in order to survive a very harsh winter, but the years didn‘t get any better. Their strange kind of wheat that the horses mostly ate dry or as a soup hasn‘t grown in over 5 years. They solely lived of nuts and even, which was highly unusual for herbivores, meat of the rats that would sometimes come to feed of the starved. In winter the population starved and in summer they starved and died of thirst. We were two out of 24 who went with them on the marsh to the capital. The impressive castle seemed to be the only thing that was in order. We entered the building and greeted the council, which was made of 3 horses, male and female alike. They gave us presents of food and shiny ornaments, but declined, due to the fact that their people could need it more. We after all had brought enough food with us. We communicated via drawings and explained how we had come here with the portal and where we were from. We were 7 soldiers escorting 7 scholars with 7 seamen to the island of Thassos. To search for rumoured Greek artefacts. A storm brought us to this land. We said that they should come with us so we could help them out with their food problem. The text ended here “It seems as if they were written in retrospective.“ He noted it in his head and examined the book again. Most of them were illustrations of plants, landscapes and cities, drawn with ink that shouldn‘t exist at that time. The most interesting part of it was the portal. Write the message on a separate papyrus and then lay it on the book. In order to send a message say the last words of the sun. Use the runes of Thassos to make a gate. Below it was a detailed picture and description on how to make a gate out of the rune. He went over to the last sites of the book and noticed a small note on the lower right of it. “Book I of II“ “There really is more..“ He muttered to himself and thought through the whole situation. “Guessing by the fact that it was hid in a stonewall under the Vatican it would be a really important piece of literature. No one would ever hide a simple fable or fairy tale that much. Maybe it got locked up because….“ He shook his head at his own thought. “No this can‘t be possible….But it would make sense. The legends of the pegasus, unicorn, griffon, basically the whole Greek mythology. Everything could be based on this world.“ He looked at the cover again. “Or this book was based of Greek mythology…..“ He read through the last 3 sentences again. “Write the message on a separate papyrus and then lay it on the book. In order to send a message say the last words of the sun.“ He read aloud. “This just seemed way to real….it‘s scary.“ He closed the book carefully and pulled his earplugs out. The quiet sounds of reality hit him again. “The last words of the sun...“ He repeated again. “I translated it out of „solaris“, the genitiv of „sol“, the sun. In greek: „Helios“ which means the sun. What if they mean by the last words of the sun, the last words of Helios? King Helios or the greek sun god?“ He stared at the book. No this wasn‘t a simple fantasy book, it was much more and a lot more cryptic. Either the author was a very good troll, or they really really mean it. “I need to find the other books.“ He muttered to himself stood up, taking the book with him and carefully placing it under his jacket. Back home he sat down on his pc and started googling the title of the book. He found next to no matches, except for a link to the gallery of the famous Monastery of St. Gall. They provided a Database with every single book or scroll in it. After almost an hour long search he finally found what he was maybe looking for. “The Chronicles of the Planet of Small Horses: text written in Latin; fantasy; written at around 1140 A.D.“ “It's not book two, but still.“ Said Tobias and grabbed his phone. ”Maybe some kind of spin-off.”<< It could have been anything, but he got this strange feeling in his gut...it was calling him He dialled the number of his professor and mentor. >>Yes?<< >>Good morning professor. I made an interesting discovery. It seems that there‘s many more behind that book, but I need to find the 3 other parts of it and found out that I would probably find one in the Kloster St. Gallen in Switzerland. Could you maybe arrange a meeting with me and whoever is in charge there?<< His professor sounded excited. Very good! Your expenses will be paid by the university. Have a good stay in Switzerland and good luck!<< “That was quick...” Thought Tobias, said goodbye and hung up. Not wanting to wait any further, he bought the next train ticket to St. Gall.
On The Planet Of Small HorsesOn The Planet Of Small Horses Meanwhile in Canterlot Celestia stood on her Balcony and glanced at the remains of Equestria. The country where once you had to travel for months to even reach it‘s borders was now a small little area of resistance ranging from Trottingham over Canterlot up to Manehattan. The axis of bitter resistance for almost more than 17 years. 17 years since king Stver united the deer, buffalo, changelings and the north ponies. 17 years since he invaded the northern borders of Equestria. And for 17 years her sister had been in a coma. And one mournful year since the counter attack with the Elements of Harmony failed. Everyone of the elements except for her most faithful student Twilight was put into a Crystalline prison and taken away Equestria was practically broken. Hundreds of thousand, even millions of her ponies lay slain on the battlefield and even more in the cities. The soldiers of the north didn‘t halt or showed any patience as they butchered whole families, especially in the first years. But even Stver realized that in order to conquer the planet, he needed work forces. Many ponies, mares and stallions alike have to work in the labour camps or have to pay humongous taxes in the cities. Still occasional massacres among the Equestrian population are a widespread thing, mostly due to the large resistance network that commits sabotage acts or assassinations and even smaller ambushes against his armies. At least the normal citizens are left in peace, but under the watchful eyes of the northern soldier who guide the cities both day and night To Celestia all of it became to much. Dead ponies that she frowned deeply upon years ago, were now nothing more than a number on the statistic. To her luck the Minister of the Equestrian Army, Shining Armor is helping her out with governing issues that had been bothering her, although Shining held a deep grudge against Celestia for sending his now 17 year old sister to the front lines. She looked upon what was left and observed the huge seas of tents and ponies in the distance. There were four large refugee camps around Canterlot, holding in up to 2.000.000 ponies and sometimes griffins. The latter one‘s weren‘t really welcomed as they were seen as parasites, strangers who took the bare supplies from the ponies. They faced a similar fate, but made themselves known as fierce and strong warriors who defeated wave upon wave of Stver’s armies, but even the Griffons were washed away at some point. She looked into the horizon with her heavy, sleepless eyes and then back into her room where her beloved sister was laying in her bed in a comatose condition up to 17 years now. Celestia trotted over to her sister and nuzzled her unconscious form. „Oh Lulu...I wish to get back to the time when we were just fillies without any responsibilities or fears of what might become of our kingdom.“ They were pleasant memories, but were pregnant by a bitter aftertaste of sadness and regret. She heard hoofsteps from the hall and recoiled from her sister. “Princess?“ It was her personal assistant Silver Plate. “Yes?“ “Minister Armor is asking for you, your majesty.“ She nodded and went off to find the only still hard working pony of the government. She didn‘t say much on her way, but what was there to say in the times of sorrow and agony? Minister Shining Armor stood in front of a table keeping a lost, shocked and desperate look in his eyes. She sensed bad news. “Princess….“ He began holding his notes up with a shaky hoof. Celestia prepared herself for the incoming message. Was there a traitor? Was there another defeat of an ally? The latter would be the most possible. Words have spread that the Griffon Empires resistance group fought it‘s last battles and Saddle Arabia is slowly losing against the southern armies of the northern king. Stver had many names. The Uniter, the Northern Storm, King of the North, King of Deerkind and the list went on. “There was a major attack on Trottingham….They broke through our defences….32.000 were killed while facing 400.000 opponents... They are currently fighting inside Trottingham...it‘s...it‘s as good as fallen.“ Celestia gasped. These truly are some bad news. The defences kept Stver at bay for more than a decade. “What should we do!“ - Shining cried out - „We are next to dead, everything we know...just dead! We can‘t possibly stop him! He will continue with raping, pillaging and burning down our lands and families! We should just already accept our faith and surrender….“ He was on the brink of tears and he sat his head on the table covering it with his hooves of which one was damaged in combat. A heavy silence filled the room for many minutes. Celestia couldn't do more than just watch his captain “My wife is pregnant...“ He whispered barely audible. “E-excuse me?“ Forced Celestia out of here. Did she hear it right? Is her niece giving birth? Is Twilight going to be an aunt? “My wife is fucking pregnant!“ He screamed at her and threw the reports and notes from the table, making her recoil quickly. Tears began now to roll down his cheek. “My daughter will be born in a world ruled by some Tyran….That comes if they even let Cadance live when they enter these fucking walls and kill everything in their fucking way!“ He pressed his head into the table again and began crying again. The spark of happiness got extinguished as fast as it came. It took him a while to recover from his outburst, the comforting wing of Princess Celestia visibly helping him. “I‘m..I‘m sorry, Celestia. I let my feelings take a hold of me.“ He apologized and wiped his tears away. “Don‘t be. We all are very stressed in times like these.“ - She paused - “But is it true? Will you be a father?“ She asked carefully. She still was after all on his bad side for what she had done to Twilight and she still felt immensely guilty because of it. He nodded weakly. “At least we have some good news. Congratulation.“ She said with a genuine smile. But he again gritted his teeth. “That‘ s all you have to say!?“- She shrank away again and her heart sank. - “She will grow up in the middle of a genocide against us.“ He paused swallowing the lump in his throat. Celestia now got a stern look on her face. “It won‘t come to this! We will defeat this mysterious king and- “ Shining began to laugh. “Defeat….“ “That‘ s the same thing the Zebras said….or the Griffins….or the Thestral tribes of the north east. But now there are next to no Zebra‘ s left in the world! The Griffins live a life in slavery and torture and the Thestrals are now objects to these genetic experiments that they are up to!“ He paused...she didn’t say anything. She couldn‘t deny that he was right. “It seems as if...as if...Operation Seapony is the only way….“ Operation Seapony….setting the entire remaining population on large ships and sail to undiscovered lands and build a new civilization on it. Shining, now visibly calmer, grabbed his reports with the mouth again. “Thank you for coming, Princess, but if you would excuse me I have a war to lose.“ She again just nodded and stepped out of the room. “Everytime when I thought that it couldn‘t get any worse It got much worse...“ She continued wandering through the halls, without a thought, without a destination, she just walked with tears coming from her eyes. “Horseapples!” Twilight Sparkle cursed under her breath. „Again...nothing.“ she closed book number 223. She read through the dark magic wing of the Canterlot library for a year now in the hope of finding a game changing spell or strategy or whatever. Her assistant Spike was helping her wherever he could with finding solutions. He currently was away picking up their share of the daily rations. “AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie….I‘ ll take you out of there.“She repeated the same thought that has been keeping her working for almost over a year. They were now imprisoned in the Crystals of the Crystal Empire.She saw them being carried away by deer guards and are probably now a display of prestige on the marketplace of their capital. Nightmares were haunting her, always confronting her with their failure. It should’ve been the final attack. The one to finally end the gruesome war, unmask Stver and defeat him It failed on a spectacular level. Heck, even after 17 years, they’re not sure on whether Stver is male or female. He sounds male, but that’s it. A big offensive was initiated. Almost 60.000 soldiers broke out of the Equestrian sphere of security and charged in to the Crystal Empire‘ s lands that were once Equestrian. The distraction should have helped the elements to defeat the Northern king, who was residing in the former Crystal Empire. . He defeated the elements and imprisoned them in Crystal. Only Twilight could flee because of the brave sacrifice of her friends. Almost every Equestrian soldier died. Around 40.000 were killed and the rest got lost in the cold blizzard that occurred. Only 600 ponies managed to return home. The guilt was tearing her apart. She made herself responsible for what happened to her friends, but she also declared herself to be the one to rescue them. She strolled around the library halls that she came to know really well even since before she practically locked herself up in it. The place was not allowed for fillies, but her brother used to smuggle her into the library on some occasions. These moments had been the peak of her week when she was younger. These were the happy times for her, although the war was lasting for almost 10 years then. She was born short after the outbreak of the war after all. “Where should I search further?” She rubbed her mane, unkempt for a long time. Even blinking hurt her sleepy eyes. She often studied far into the night and suffered from sleepless nights. She traced her hoof among the backs of the books but shook her head. “I really should go and walk for a while.” She thought and began wandering through the famous library. The Canterlot library. A dream of every scholar and egghead. Millions of books and scrolls stacked upon and held organized by a staff of 200 ponies. She wandered through these halls countless times, but it didn’t fail to amaze her every single time. Old Legends & Mythical Creatures She stopped at the large bookshelf containing century old story books and fairytales. She’d never been particularly interested in ancient fiction especially in the last year, but one special book caught her attention. The Lost History of Man “What in the hay is a ‘man’?” She asked herself and cocked an eyebrow. She had a vast knowledge of Equestrian legends and it’s creatures, real or not. She levitated it down with her magic and a surge of dust rained down on her, making her cough in response. “It looks as if it wasn’t touched in at least a thousand years.” She thought with teary eyes and carried it away to her desk. Her desk was a mess to say the least crumpled papers were scattered everywhere between the stacks of read books. She opened it carefully, being fully aware on how sensitive these old books can be. She recognized the letters as old Equestrian and translated them in her head. “They brought us food, they brought us peace, they came with the ocean breeze. They gave us the tongue, they gave us a home…..the...Ay-gay-yiss...is from where they come. First two verses of an ancient Griffonian poem.” “This..seems very interesting….” She said to herself and opened the next page. “Maritnius Antiochus, Paulus Armenius were the names of the two two-legged who came with lady Meriad, or later known as ‘Flavia’.” “That just seems like an ordinary Latin name.” She thought as she continued reading. “10 years after the unification of the races there was a horrible plague that came with a drought and years of failed harvests of the Equestrian corn.” “That’s….just not true, a time of peace and harmony followed afterwards.” Nevertheless she continued reading loudly. “Uncertainty and fear was spread among the ponies as the bipedal landed on the shore at what is today the little village of Manehattan. After a few days they started to notice the curious ponies and gave them presents, presents of gold and silver. She said: ‘Thank you, but money can’t feed my children.’ But they couldn’t understand her. After weeks of careful conversations the humans were invited to the castle, where the 3 unifiers ruled from. On their way they saw the suffering among the ponies. They offered crops in exchange of repairing their boat. The new crops ‘Cepa’, ‘far’, ‘frumentum’, ‘alium’, ‘malum’, ‘carota’, they called, grew quickly under the magic of the earthponies and showed resistance against the icy, magical winter. The ponies weren’t hungry anymore and man was known as a saviour and hero. As they stayed for months, they taught the ponies how to conquer the seas, built chariots and aqueducts that span from the mountains across the whole land. They taught how to use water to power the most powerful machines, like large powerful wheels. Even the fields of magic, of which man hasn’t seen ever before, were changed forever.” “This basically goes against everything we know.” She felt as if her head was hurting. “I should just stop reading this crap. I have better things to do.” She decided to skim through it a last time before putting it back into the shelf. But one sentence caught her eye. The tactics and technology they brought to the Equestrians wasn’t to be surpassed, except for the Griffon Kingdom that man visited 300 years prior and also shared it’s knowledge with. She thought deeply about it. “Pretending it to be true. ‘Man’ seemed to be a very advanced species. There might be military tactics or technologies made by them we still haven’t discovered or simply got...lost.” She turned the page. Countless depictions of battle tactics and formations were displayed on the page. She didn’t know military tactics very well, but she was sure that the ‘Testudo’ wasn’t anything she had ever seen before. She smiled. “Maybe that would help my brother!” She cheered from her inside and skipped a few pages. Pictures of the anatomy of a so called ‘human’ revealed themselves in front of her. She was flabbergasted. They were next to hairless except for their heads and a few other spots. Right next to it was a female human. She compared the strange creature with the species of her own and was amazed by the effort that was put into the drawings. “...strange.” She thought. “Very detailed and serious for a collection of legends. What pony would write such things? Either they really mean it or are just completely nuts.” She skipped to the next page and searched for the name of the author. Written by Starswirl the Bearded; dictated by King Helios Her eyes widened on the first two names. She didn't know who the other two were, but King Helios the Great was the Grandfather of Celestia and Luna! “Why in the hay would Starswirl write such things?...or perhaps...” No it just couldn't be. Starswirl the bearded was never known to write fantasy or nonsense, except it really is true. Or did the author fake it? So many thoughts shot through her head that it started to hurt. She carefully closed the book and took it to her beloved mentor.
The Abbey of Saint GallThe Abbey of Saint Gall They quickly gave him what he was searching for, after stating his position with the university and government. It was easier than he thought. Still tired of his hour long drive to Switzerland, he sat down on a table that was provided for him and started translating. Marcus Antiochus lead the caravan of ponies to their boat, ready to give a share of their rations. The ground was muddy and cold from the previous autumn rain. The forests was dark and deep. Many lifes were swallowed by this forest. He could make out hopeful mumbling by the four-legged farmers, but some feared them. They followed the caravan hesitantly in the back. One of his fellows. Paulus Armenius, a young roman lieutenant and native armenian walked beside him. They both had long, unkempt curly hair which were covered by their helmets most of the time. They could've been easily mistaken for brothers. Only their eyes and height made them look different from each other. Marcus had blue eyes as a native Italian descending from Celtic tribes from the south of the alps, was taller and had a lighter skincolour than Paulus, whose skin had more a brownish tan to it. ”We can't give them everything we have. We don't know where we are and if we can really stay here.”<< Paulus looked annoyed and worried. ”Famis has cursed this place. I don't think we're here just because of a simple accident happened in the storm. We didn't sail past the Pillars of Heracles and we are not in the mysterious lands Hanno the Navigator has set his foot on. Look at his place...you can feel the magic of this place. We we're sent by Ceres to save this place.”<< He said calmly. He was quiet for a while. ”But still. We don't if we could trust those...horses.”<< ”What would they do to us. Their flesh has turned in from hunger. They die on the spot.”<< ”Yes, but when their bellies are full, they'll make sure we never come home. Our boat is damaged Marcus. Not even the Phoenicians can sail with a large hole in the middle of it.”<< ” Do you remember this guy called Jesus? He was crucified 5 years ago when we were legionaries in Phoenicia.”<< ”Yes I do.”<< ”He once told me as I was watching over his cell that favours will always be returned. I stabbed him the next day when he was hanging on the crucifix. And this is my opportunity to make things even between me and the gods. I don't think he was the son of one god, but in retrospective I truly think that the gods loved him very much like a son.”<< They were silent for a while, until Paulus opened his mouth again. “It still a two-days march to the shore and the farmers are as weak as they can get. We have to take a break and make a fire before it gets dark.”<< Marcus nodded and stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked over the followers. ”How do we tell them?”<< Asked Marcus. Paulus shaped his hands to a pillow and signalled them to sleep and eat the few rations. Approving looks and pained groans rang through the ponies. ”Okay now we need fire.”<< Said Marcus to Paulus. A light spark caught them off guard. A unicorn just made a fire with it's magic. They looked each other in the eyes, still processing what had just happened. Paulus wanted to speak up, but got interrupted by something tugging at his tunic. He looked down and saw the mare that had greeted them before. She had slightly pink fur and dark purple hair. Her tunic was red, showing that she was of importance. Now they noticed that she also wore a tunic, that looked more like the Greek variation. She shook her head frequently. They couldn't communicate with the humans after all. ”What? Are you disapproving? Why?”<< Asked Marcus. She looked worried and thought of a way to tell it to the two Romans. Suddenly she pulled her tunic up with a reddened face. Two ugly bite marks from a predator and a long scar similar to a lion's scratchmark adorned her flank. They ogled her scars and slowly began to understand. She pulled her tunic down again and pointed to forest left and right to the muddy path. Then she pointed to the Gladii of the Romans and then to a very sick stallion who could barely walk. She bared her teeth and imitated a growl...then a howl. She looked pretty embarrassed and the two Romans chuckled at the cute display in front of them. They both understood and nodded at her. ”She wants us to protect them from wolves.”<< Said Marcus and gripped his Gladius tighter. ”No wonder. They are prey animals. How do we ask her, if there are any ponies capable of fighting?”<< Paulus looked at the starved farmers who are risking their lifes for this trip. Sure they'd brought weapons, as they all knew what to expect in the forest, but next to no one was capable of fighting. “The fire will keep them at bay, but there is no way we can watch every single part of the caravan. They are like sheep for the wolves.”<< Said Marcus worried. >>”Like sheep...”<< Thought Paulus for a while. ”Interesting....”<< Said Tobias to himself while changing to the next page. >>”That would mean the Romans were there at 5 A.D. Exactly 2020 years ago.”<< He looked >>”I will continue reading the story at home.”<< He was excited. He had just found gold. He changed to the next pages. An illustration of what he believed was Marcus Antiochus standing in front of three pony princesses. >>”The three unifier...”<< He looked at the next illustration. It showed a Roman holding the hoof of a pink pony. A mare. They were formally dressed. The pony wore a long white dress and a laurel crown. The human wore a ceremonial toga. It's a typical Roman wedding. ”What!?”<< He read the inscriptions below the drawings. Domina Laurentia Fausta, Imperatrix, uxor et mater Imperatoris Dominus Paulus Armenius, Imperator, coniunx et pater Imperatoris >>”This is getting weird now....Domina Laurentia Fausta, Imperatrix, uxor et mater Imperatoris means 'Mrs Laurentia the sacred, Empress, wife and mother of Emperors.”.......so they married and had children.<< He scratched his head. >>”Maybe it's just nonsense after all....”<< Anger stirred up inside of him. All this work for nothing! Still he had expected it to be nonsense and his professor wanted him to write an essay about these books. So he remained calm. Below those descriptions were two pony-children a colt and a filly. The colt had the whitest fur he'd ever seen and the filly wore a beautiful shade of pink. What stroke him the most odd was the fact that each of them had both wings and a horn. He read the latin inscription and translated. >>”Aramazd the Great, the second equestrian emperor. The king who lead Equustria to never seen glory and size. Founder of the Crystal City.”<< He looked at the inscription of the filly. >>”Astlik the Generous. Winner over poverty, hunger and founder of the first university of Equustria.”<< As the family tree shows, both had children. Aramazd had a son called Solonis the Sophisticated with a deep blue mare called Ara the beautiful. Astlik had two children with Artax the duke of a place translated with 'the place to trot'. A pink colt called 'Kadiz the Conqueror, victor over the Thestral tribes of the north' and a dark coloured colt called 'Tenes the Builder, first King of the Crystal Empire. Kadiz had a daughter named Amoire. It seems that Solonis also had a child with a mare called Julia. King Helios the Gruesome. He looked to the other son. King Sombra the Crystal King. Tobias skipped to the last side. Written by Siegfried, consultant of Emperor Konrad III, the last human to have visited Equustria. A.D. 1140 “Holy shit.”<< He turned some pages back. ”This beautiful place once heaven. Turned to our world. Helios declared war to the Crystal City down and made sure to burn all human artefacts, every trace of us was destroyed. Emperor Conrad, enraged about this situation, sought to negotiate but was ignored at the gates of Canteria. Humanity, gods once were, were exiled from Equestria, because Helios only knew one god: Himself. Conrad met went to the Crystal Empire and gave King Sombra an old artefact said to have magic effects never seen before and only to use it when all hope is gone. Then we returned home. I'm leaving tomorrow. Friends will be left behind and Equustria will become nothing more than a blurred memory of the ones who could set foot on it. That's why I wrote this book. That's why I wrote on how to establish contact again, but for no one to be seen, I'll take this secret to my grave and wait for the right person to discover it. That's what I promised”<< Tobias' eyes widened. He had to get home and examine it more closely. “It sounds stupid but....” He dialled the number of one of his co-workers at the university. His hands were shaking. Yes, Tobi?<< Tufan, quick, make a radiocarbon-scan on the book I'm working on. Title's 'Terras ad...'<< The one with the horses?<< Yes!<< Okay, okay. I'm calling you back when we have the results.<< Thank you! The night was uneventful the fire and the presence of the strange two creatures kept the wolves at bay. The ponies were more death then alive as they reached the ship. The ponies were given food and water and crop seeds, they always stored in case of emergency. Paulus showed the mare an apple. ”Malum.”<< Said Paulus simply. She hesitated but eventually took a bite out of the fruit. It was still as fresh as they had bought it two days ago in a Greek town. She looked delighted. Probably never tasted something so sweet before. He looked at her cutie-mark. It was a laurel-twig. “Guess I'll call you 'Laurentia'.”<< He reached his hand out to pet her head, but got interrupted by the voice of Marcus. “Paulus, can you come here quick?”<< Paulus nodded and stood up. He walked to his friend as they walked on deck. Everyone was busy on the boat, explaining the crops and examining each other's species. Even some language lessons in Latin, Greek and even Phoenician started. “The scholars want to come with these horses, as well as the seamen. Even the soldiers don't want to miss the opportunity to see their city and more horses.”<< ”And abandon the ship!? Have you gone mental!?”<< ”Look, they know where we are. We go to their capital for a few days and return with spare-parts for the boat.”<< ”Marcus, I want to get...”<< He got interrupted by a tugging at his tunic. It was Laurentia, smiling at him with large green puppy eyes. He was signalling him to come with them. ”...to their capital. Is what I wanted to say.”<< Marcus burst out laughing. _______________________________________________________ Tobias compared the two books carefully. Almost the same handwriting. He looked at the last page of the first book. Written again by Bishop Alfonso III. A script of Marcus Antiochus Again he compared. >>”A script of Marcus Antiochus.”<< Marcus was among the first humans to ever set a foot on Equustria. Him knowing about King Helios is not possible. He again compared the family tree to the time Marcus Antiochus would have lived. >>”I think I'm starting to understand.”<< He looked at his white ceiling. >>”He wanted to confuse people. He faked the dates and authors so people won't make any connections. Either he wanted to safe the past by confusing people and hiding it, or he was just a big troll. Conrad probably wanted to erase all evidence of Equustria, Siegfried didn't want it to happen and hid the first book on how to open the gates in the Vatican Library in Rome. The Chronicles Book probably went back to the place, he originated from. The Monastery of St. Gall.”<< He received a call by Tufan. >>”Hello?”<< >>”We have the results of the scan.”<< >>”And what does it say?”<< >>”It's from 1140.”<< >>”I knew it...”<< >>”Yes, but that's not the strange thing.”<< >>”Huh?”<< >>”The ink is something we have never seen before. It's a unique source of some special radioactive activity. The chemical compound is something we've never seen before. We actually found a new substance we've called 'Equorium' that's emitting some kind of unknown energy.”<< Tobias dropped his phone and it went off. He was sweating. So many questions rang through his head. ”I need to find the last book.”<< He skimmed over the last words of the Chronicles book. It's written like a farewell letter. Siegfried put him on a test and he already passed two third of it. ”There must be a hint somewhere in there.”<< He skimmed through the farewell letter. ”'ll take this secret to my grave...”<< “Of course!”<< He jumped up. The evidence was clear. The strange ink, the connections, the riddle. It all made sense! The Greeks were there in first place visiting the Griffins. Three hundred years later the Romans visited the horses. Rome stood in constant contact with that world. Paulus married Laurentia and started a horse-dynasty on the base of human culture. After the Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen bloodline gained control over Italy, the Germans visited Equustria and probably shaped the language and culture there as well. That would explain Conrad III. In Equustria. After that the horse-king got mad and turned into a megalomaniac and cut ties with the human world. Conrad probably also lost his temper and made sure to get rid of every existing evidence on earth. Except for Siegfried. He wrote the books with Equustrian ink, made up the riddle, faked the dates and hid the books! His phone rang again. It was professor Erlmann. >>”Hey Tobias have you...”<< >>”We need to find the grave of a so called Siegfried. He was a supervisor of Conrad III. Of the Holy Roman Empire. In his grave lays a book that's from utmost importance!”<< >>”Of Nobel-Price importance?”<< >>”Of unimaginable importance. This might change the course of human history...and not just human's”.<< >>”What are you talking about?”<< >>”I'll tell you soon enough. Let's say that these books are not what you might think they are!”<<
VaterVater Twilight entered the great halls of Canterlot castle. Coloured windows and huge frescoes depicting ancient times and the conquest of Celestia's father Helios. It was already night as she entered the halls. The product of the best architects of the country, close to a thousand years ago. The princess sat on her throne, reading through pleads of Equestrian resistance groups. “Princess...” She bowed down. Celestia's ears perked up at Twilight's voice. “Oh Twilight. How are you?” Asked the princess in a friendly tone. For Twilight, Celestia's reputation suffered deeply after the loss of her friends. After all she sent them to the Crystal Empire. But even if she showed a bit of menace towards her mentor, she didn't show it. “Princess...I think I've found something interesting for you and my brother.,,,and I have questions.” “That's great! And what exactly did you find?” “I have found a book, likely to have never been touched for a thousand years. I think it's a simple fantasy book, but for this it's all to real.” “What is it about?” “It's about some kind of extraterrestrial species. He calls them 'Man'. They walk on two legs and actually lead the foundation of what's today Equestria. Even our language is actually a variation of theirs.” “Don't you think that somepony thousands of years ago made a joke about them? And what did you mean by 'he'.” “That's it princess. It was written by Starswirl and....your father, King Helios.” The princess remained silent for a moment. “My father? He wouldn't have written nonsense...not the Helios I remember.” “Do you, by any chance, have the book with you?” Asked the princess. She was now more curious than ever. Twilight nodded and levitated the book in front of the princess, who took it with her magic. “Thank you.” She skimmed the book and ogled the many depictions of these strange creatures. Descriptions of battle formations and language. After 15 minutes she put the book aside. “Indeed, that's quite strange...” She traced her hoof over the moldy book cover. “And you are certain that this is not a fake?” Asked Celestia again. She seemed insecure, baffled, even scared. “I don't know...” Said Twilight with a frown. Sweat spread over Celestia's body. Seeing her mentor like this, was truly scary for Twilight. “Pr-princess is everything alright?” She nodded. “Excuse me, I have to sleep over this.” The gracious princess stood up and trotted off to her bedchambers. Her legs were shaky. Twilight's mouth was agape. “Whatever it is in the book, it must have hit her really hard.” “So I didn't imagine things” Thought Celestia and entered her bedchamber. “So you weren't just a dream. You were real.” She got on her bed and curled herself up in her bedsheets. She looked at the ceiling, eyes wide open. “The hands....father.” She felt a bitter taste on her taste-buds as she thought about that word. “Father.” She was angry, angry at her long dead father. King Helios the Great. Or as she preferred to call him her sire. She remembered back to the few pieces of her childhood memories left. Never once was he there. He was at war with the Crystal Empire along with her mother. She was practically alone, until her sister was born a few years later. But something in her mind told her that she wasn't all the time, at least not in her years as an infant. The dreams she had. Pleasant dreams. Dreams of caring hands cradling her as a foal, until she was asleep. The creature was singing songs in an unintelligible language. The voice was male and he had a pleasant voice. They were short dreams and she never saw the face of the creature. But she remembered it as one of the most beautiful dreams she's ever had. She turned around in her bed and looked at the candlestand. A half-molded candle lived it's lonely life in the socket and waited to be lit again. Eventually she fell asleep. The pungent smell of fire and smoke hit her nostrils. That was the smoke of Canterlot. The panic, the screaming. Her castle was full of civilians who wanted to flee the upcoming terror of the Northern king’s troops. She wore her shiny, golden battle armour, that remained almost untouched in many years. Families were cowering in every corner of the castle. Wounded soldiers covered every square-meter of the floor, which was ridden with blood. Groans and screams filled the room as the nurses had trouble to keep up. Some spilled organs, some were amputated, had major burns or arrows embedded into their body. The room smelled after a sick mix of smoke, urine, blood and burnt flesh. She galloped to the first gate of the castle. At least one hundred guards were struggling to keep the gate closed. Archers and unicorns were readying themselves for the upcoming storm through the door. Another loud slam could be heard, followed by a row of guards getting pushed back by the impact. They had a battering ram. The soldiers quickly recovered and held the gate again, be it with magic or pure muscles. They had trouble keeping it closed. Some guards were wounded to the point, where they shouldn't hold a heavy gate closed, but every single one knew that they would die a horrible death if not. The instinct of survival gave them the strength to keep up. Slam They hit the gate another time, followed by a cracking noise. The gate won't keep up any longer. A frantic Shining Armour ran towards the princess. “Princess! They are coming through! We have to get the civilians out of the castle somehow!” He had tears in his eyes. His home, burnt down, not knowing what happened to his parents. Only his wife was still in the castle, highly pregnant. She thought fast, but there was nowhere they could go. They could go to the catacombs of Equestrian rulers, but this would just spare them some minutes before their inevitable death. Even though there might be a possibility that the huge cave system following it, will bring the ponies outside. “There is a cave system, right past the catacombs of Equestrian rulers! But it's not fully discovered and full of wicked...” “I don't care!”, Spat Shining Armour, “Everything is better than this place. My wife is royalty, they will kill her and my daughter with no mercy! Please, I beg you bring the civilians safely...” “But you'll have a daughter, you can't...” crack They both turned their faces towards the gate. It's open. A large splintered hole in the middle of the gate caused it to open. She could see the enemy. Fierce creature, who blindly follow the orders of Sombra. “Move away!” Yelled Shining at the stallions holding the front gate and they quickly recoiled. “Fire!” Screamed Shining and a volley of arrows hit the first row of Sombra's soldiers, taking at least a dozen enemies down. “Again! Fire at will! Fire! Your lives depend on it!” He commanded his troops and they fired volley after volley at the enemy. North-Pony after North-Pony, deer after deer fell to the Equestrian arrows, at least giving them a bit of time. Celestia wasted no time. “Everyone, quick! Follow me!” She commanded the civillians and they followed, as fast as their sick hooves could carry them. “Infantry! Defensive line behind the archers, spears and shields at front!” They did. One hundred stallions, ready to fight the last fight. Shields up! He heard the enemy general yelling. And they did, a large silver wall erected itself at the place where once the gate was. The arrows ricocheted at the silver wall of metal as if they would shoot a rock. “Archers! Melee weapons!” They took out their swords and held it either with magic or in the mouth. Every soldier upholstered his duo-glads, two short blades embedded in military horseshoes, and made themselves ready for impact. Ready to write history. “Stallions it was a pleasure fighting with you...” Said Shining Armour and breathed in “For our families, for the crown, for Equestria! Charge!” The Equestrians charged with a deafening battle-scream, ready to sacrifice their lives for the survival of their nation. The soldiers of the North did the same and charged. The impact of metal to metal was ear shattering as they clashed together. Some were instantly impaled by the spears, be it one side or another. The Equestrians held their formation and took down enemy after enemy. They were the elite of Equestria, the royal guards of the princess. And they want to be remembered as the biggest burden of Sombra's army. Blood splashed into every part of their armour. The stallion left of Shining took a spear to the neck and collapsed with a gurgling noise of pure agony. They held their formation. Shining looked to his right. A big halberd shattered through the shield of the stallion and embedded itself in his chest. His last sound was a painful scream as the spiky appendages of the halberd pulled him into the enemy ranks, where he was hacked into tiny pieces. Another halberd was raised and split the head of the stallion to Shining's left. His face went warm as bits of brain and blood splattered against him. Tiny fragments of bone draining beneath his armour. He couldn't differ if either he was sweating or just drenched in the brain-water of his comrade. “Hold!” They tried to. Stallion after stallion was slashed and crushed. The enemy brought huge sledgehammers to crash the Equestrians armour. Every second was the sound of a bone cracking, followed by a muffled scream of terror. Shining pushed several enemies back with his shield and slashed the throat of a hammer-carrying enemy. Suddenly a halberd appeared from the corner of his eyes. His eyes widened and he held his shield up, only to get his leg shattered into several of bony bits. He screamed and watched his shield fall to the ground. A huge dent embellished the middle of the metal shield. Suddenly he felt a sting in his chest. A sword penetrated his chest almost halfway-through. The pain was of something he'd never felt before. The world around him seemed to move slowly. He looked down at his fallen comrades. Open eyes, bloody mouths, half-ripped faces. That's the last minute of the Royal Guards. He sat down on his haunches and took everything in. Faces of his parents, Twilight, his wife and the unknown face of his unborn daughter he will never see. Suddenly the halberd raised again. Celestia ran back to her bedchambers, where she knew would be Cadence tending to the wounded. She'd already ordered the nurses and some guards to escort everyone down to the cave-system. Only her niece and some other wounded soldiers were left. She kicked the door open. Cadence was currently giving water to a very badly injured stallion. He had fever and was missing an eye. He already soaked her once white pillow to a deep, dark red. On the ground were a few other soldiers with slashed limbs and burnt faces, but all of them were able to walk. “Quick! We have to get out of here! To the catacombs!” Cadence looked up in panic. “What! are they coming! Oh no!” Their faces were worried and full of fear. “They broke through the door! You have to go! Now!” “And Shining?” She asked worried. Celestia didn't answer and Cadance's worries grew. “Where is Shining? Where is my husband?...” Her tone was nothing more than a whisper. Tears trickled down her face and she began to sob. Celestia kneeled down. Now was not the time to mourn Shining's likeable death. “Listen Cadance: He's currently holding the enemy back. You know how tough he is. He will make it through and be on his way down. I'm sure he will, but these ponies need your help now.” Cadance stopped sobbing and wiped her tears away. She nodded. She helped the injured stallions up and they began to ascend down to the catacombs. They could hear the frightened voices of the other families downstairs. Luckily none of the young stallions were injured on their leg and could walk at a steady pace downstairs. It got darker and colder, the deeper they got. After a while they reached the catacombs of the Equestrian rulers. Her ancestors were laughing at her failure. The surviving ponies all gathered in the sepulchre of Celestia's parents. King Helios and Queen Eos. Right next to them laid the grave of her sister, Luna. She couldn't just let her remains stay here. She looked at her subjects. They all gazed at her with fearful looks, unsure on what would happen to them and what to do. “We follow this cave until we get out, just keep straight! Keep together! Unicorns at front and back! Support the sick and old! We will make it!” Insecure whispers followed, until eventually they started to walk into the darkness. Cadance turned around and caught Celestia eyeing the grave of Luna with pitiful looks. “Celly...” Began Cadance. “Please go ahead. I have things....to take care of.” Cadance remained silent for a while and then nodded. “Please take care...” “I will....I will...” Cadance left and Celestia stood in front of the grave of her sister and parents. “I won't come with them.” Said Celstia to the grave of her sister. “I will die here...with you...united.” She laid her head on the grave of her sister and closed her burning eyes. She remained silent for several minutes until she heard a shuffling behind her. She opened her eyes to consider who or what it was. The enemy? A rat? She would have preferred the first. But it was something else entirely. A black figure stood at the entrance of the sepulchre. A creature with two legs. It was tall and covered in a smoke-like substance. A face could not be seen. “This can't be.” Whispered Celestia and took a step towards the creature. It went off to the left. “Hey wait!” Blurted Celestia and ran after the creature. She saw it standing in the hallway. As if it was waiting for him. He turned left again and entered the grave chambers of Starswirl The Bearded. Starswirl wasn't officially a member of the royal family, but King Helios made sure that he was buried as one. There stood the black figure. In front of Starswirl's tomb. She approached him slowly. “Father...is that you?” It didn't answer, but she kept going. Suddenly the creature stretched it's arms, welcoming her for an embrace. She smiled and a tear trickled down her face. “Finally I meet you...” It said nothing. She felt safe, she felt secure. Creak The creaking sound of crossbows didn't startle her. She kept on going, smiling. She was the happiest pony on earth. A sharp pain spread through her flank. Then in her back...and another....and another. Four crossbow bolts penetrated her body. She tasted blood, but kept smiling. Blood drizzled down her chin right through her grin. She continued to walk in pain. And he reached it. The hands enclosed her into a warm beautiful embrace. “Finally...” She said and fell asleep. Celestia woke up with a scream. She jumped out of bed and ran to Luna's bedroom. There she laid, peacefully in her coma of seventeen years. She caught her breath. “That dream...” She was to scared to go to bed now and way to awake to sleep. “Father...” Thought Celestia. “What did you want to say to me...” She stood there for a while, still processing her dream. She revisited the slowly fading memories of her nightmare. Or was it a nightmare? “It can't be a coincidence......He wanted to say something.” She thought about the book Twilight brought to her earlier. “A whole world of them....Equestria burning....the loving embrace.....father.” Her eyes widened. She needed to find Twilight.
