My name was Godfrey. I dedicated my life to the Order and the Lord. I thought that the Church was always right, that it executed God's will. But then I realized a hard truth: they did not serve Christ, but only themselves, and they would stop at nothing. For their power, they could violate all the commandments of the Lord, drown whole nations and countries in blood, which disagreed with them…
I want to confess, to tell my story, the story of how I betrayed my order, but did not betray the Lord, did not betray myself and my love… Love, which I found in a place where they had never heard of our Lord, nor of our sinful human race. There, where bright and kind creatures live, who keep the law of God more than we do ourselves. We humans, whose pride and certainty in our righteousness nearly destroyed their heavenly world, unlike our world mired in sin…
Our supplies were running out. Our ships had been sailing to the Holy Land for too long… We couldn’t have sailed to Palestine for so long. We definitely lost our way, or sailed in another direction altogether. My friend Wymond, who had already been to Jerusalem, claimed that we should have been on the Lord's land a month ago. But it was still not visible on the horizon, nor was any land at all. The sailors did not understand what was happening. After all, if you navigate by the sun and stars, we were sailing correctly…
Soon we found land, but it was not the land we were sailing to, not at all…
We, the warriors of Christ, who had seen much, were perplexed. We found ourselves on an unknown flourishing land, not in a desert. A land where not people, but ponies live..? Yes, that's how they introduced themselves. Although they only resemble our low-growing horses in general, external features. Otherwise, completely different creatures: big-eyed, of various and unnatural colors of fur and mane… And among them were unicorns and pegasi, straight from legends and tales... Yes, and they spoke to us in a language similar to British, with a mixture of Latin, in an exotic accent…
We were met by, so-called, Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, their kingdom. Yes, specifically a princess, because, to our great surprise, they had no kings or queens. As Bishop Martin noted, her subjects treat her like a pagan goddess, with reverence and adoration. Although, may the Lord forgive me, we Christians treat the Pope of Rome the same way… Such an attitude towards her I could explain - she was very different from the other ponies. As was her sister - Luna. The sisters were alicorns - beings with both a horn and wings at the same time and possessed incredibly great magical abilities. Moreover, they were the size of our horses, not waist-high to us, like the other Equestrians. And yes, they really could cast spells, which our holy fathers very much disliked…
Princess Celestia graciously arranged a feast for us in Canterlot, the snowy-white capital of Equestria, standing as a high castle on the edge of a cliff. The feast was grandiose. Although, to our regret, without meat dishes. In general, the ponies turned out to be very hospitable and kind creatures. Only Princess Luna was cold and suspicious of us. And she was right to be afraid of us…
Since the ponies use magic in everyday life and worship the alicorns, possessing supernatural powers, Bishop Martin accused the Equestrians of being servants of Satan, and their princess being Satan herself. To which Celestia replied that she did not know who this Satan was, and therefore did not rule out such a possibility...
At the same time, our spiritual father also proposed that the Equestrian people accept the Christian faith. To which, to the bishop's chagrin, they kindly refused.
Celestia asked us to leave the capital for a while so that we could come to terms with ourselves and our faith. Which we, the warriors of Christ, did…
Our order was in turmoil. Some, especially the fanatical, believed in the bishop's words. Others, including Master Godwin, believed that these incomprehensible creatures should be left alone and we should find our way to the Holy Land. Yet others, the bravest, asserted that they had already found the Holy Land. For which they were excommunicated. I, as an ordinary knight of the order, preferred not to express my opinion, but to agree with the master…
Soon, after Princess Celestia told us that there is likely no exit from Equestria and no way back, Master Godwin, not believing the local goddess, agreed with Bishop Martin on a forceful method of influencing the local ruler…
She tried to persuade us to reconsider, to resolve everything peacefully. But we, as crusading knights, were unshakeable in our decision. We went to war with them…
Our army camped not far from Canterlot. Master and bishop ignored Princess's numerous pleas to reconsider bloodshed. We were preparing for the siege of the capital, and they were preparing to defend the city…
We burned down several of their settlements for "heresy," after they refused to renounce the "sun goddess" and accept the Christian faith. We spared no one, not even the children…
A week after this atrocity, the princesses' armies emerged from the city and moved towards us. The Equestrians did not want to fight, but for their freedom, for their loved ones, they were ready to battle to the end…
Thousands of "solar" and "lunar" guards lined up in orderly ranks. They were led by the "goddesses" themselves: Celestia in gilded armor and Luna in blackened plate. They were furious, learning about what we had done to several villages. Celestia no longer asked us for peace, she was determined to stop us by force…
Our armies clashed in a bloody melee. Knights on their warhorses swept the tiny ponies off the road. Foot soldiers skillfully hacked with swords and axes at the vulnerable heads of the Equestrians. Pegasi dived at us and plunged into our ranks like arrows, using blades fixed on their hooves. Unicorns cast deadly spells, burning entire squads of foot soldiers. Earth ponies with pikes charged into our formation in phalanx. Our crossbowmen exchanged volleys with Luna's night archers.
But deadliest of all were the alicorns. The local goddesses unleashed all their magical might on our army. They resembled evil demons, wishing to devour everyone…
After several hours of fierce fighting, our ranks faltered. Although there were huge losses on both sides, the presence of almost invulnerable alicorns tipped the outcome of the battle against us. Master Godwin himself was struck down in battle by Princess Celestia herself. We, the warriors of Christ, fled from the battlefield, as far as the eye could see, away from these creatures of Hell…
I was left behind with the wounded Wymond on a single horse, lost in some strange and dense forest. We couldn't find the way. Everywhere were impassable thickets…
Several days passed, and we continued to wander through the forest looking for a way out. Wymond's condition worsened. The wound on his shoulder from the hoofed blade had become infected. He could no longer move. I couldn't leave my faithful comrade to be torn apart by the beasts that infested this ancient forest…
These creatures, unknown to me before, sensed easy prey. I was at the end of my strength. For a day I fought them off until they began to tear me to pieces like my now deceased friend. Poor Wymond, rest in peace…
Then I thought it was the end. I was knocked down by these wooden demons, resembling wolves. With bloodied hands, I held back the jaws of one creature to prevent it from clamping onto my throat. My unjust life could have ended there if not for her…
A snow-white unicorn, as if from knightly coats of arms, in a torn cloak and with a wooden staff, confronted these hellish hyenas. A bright ray of light she emitted scorched their wooden skins. Frightened, they fled into the depths of the forest…
The last thing I saw before me then was her emerald eyes, looking at me with... compassion?
I don't know how long I was unconscious. Maybe a day, maybe a week. But I woke up in a bed in a dilapidated hut. As it turned out later, this was the home of my savior. The hostess herself was brewing some herbal concoction meant for me…
I called her. She cautiously approached me and spooned the brew into my mouth. As I drank, my eyes were able to more closely observe the forest hermit. Crimson mane strands lay on the neat neck of the pony. Short white fur slightly covered the numerous scars and burns on her body.
Thanking the beautiful healer for saving and treating me, I asked for her name and tried to find out if those scars were from wild beasts. She told me her beautiful name. In response to my second question, Rose just lowered her head and, turning away from me, withdrew into her room…
As I later learned, those beasts were us, representatives of the human race and warriors of Christ… After some time, when I started to recover, the unicorn finally decided to tell me about her injuries. Rose was from that village we burned, which I had also set fire to… And from which she was the only one who escaped alive, having lost all her family and loved ones…
I, a battle-hardened knight, knelt before her in tears, begging for forgiveness, swearing to atone for my guilt at any cost, even with my own life… She told me in her sad and melodic voice that she had already forgiven me, that the past cannot be returned and one must live on, performing good deeds for the rest of life…
But how to live on after that? After learning that you destroyed a previous life, burned a home, killed the relatives and loved ones of the one who showed you mercy and care despite all the atrocities you committed…
Rose taught me to live on with this. She didn’t blame me for what I had done, saying that I was just a simple soldier, blindly following the criminal orders of the master and believing in the false convictions of the Church. I, in turn, helped her forget the horrors she had experienced…
Soon a strong and pure love arose between us. Even though Rose was not of human kind and not of Christian faith. The merciful Lord will forgive me for this, for she embodies the ideal of humility and compassion, as taught by Christ. Nothing and no one can now separate us, not even death…
Rose and I moved to a newly built village on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. That was the name of this very forest. I helped build homes for the residents of the new settlement, thereby atoning for my sins before the Equestrian people, who understood and forgave me. My beloved and I got a large house and soon we married according to local customs. Rose and I adopted several orphans of the past war, surrounding them with care and love. We were happy…
After the war, the remnants of my order were scattered across the country. Some came to a peaceful life and started living among the ponies – the wise sisters forgave everyone. Others, blind fanatics who did not accept defeat, formed several small, separate orders, posing no serious threat to the kingdom. They too were soon dealt with. The fate of Bishop Martin, who unleashed this shameful war, is unknown to me. Peace returned to Equestria again…
This is my story, the confession of an old crusader who abandoned his sin-ridden order for the sake of bright love and redemption. A crusader who learned a simple truth: act as your heart and soul command, not as people who play on the feelings and faith of others…
