In the one hundred and forty-third year, a young sorceress, learned in the arts magical and mundane, traveled south of the Horseshoe Bay in search of new land to settle.
On the fifteenth day of the fifth month, the sorceress arrived at the mouth of a major river and sought to establish a settlement.
The sorceress directed the earth ponies in tilling the fields, and aided in the construction of irrigation channels;
The sorceress directed the construction of great open-topped vessels for the pegasi to direct the rain into, and established a schedule for the local weather;
The sorceress constructed a granary to store the harvest, and aided the unicorns in constructing a barrier with which to keep out the wild beasts;
And the sorceress established a school for the village’s young, and upon the proper time the sorceress collected the tax and arranged for its delivery to Canterlot.
Through the sorceress’s words and deeds, the village gathered a bountiful harvest upon the turning of the seasons; and so it is said that a wise and powerful leader shall deliver great prosperity onto their ponies.
And so the village came together to construct a grand tower for the sorceress. The earth ponies quarried great blocks of stone and delivered them to the site; the pegasi delivered furnishings from across the land; the unicorns lent their power to the sorceress’s finest enchantments; and an emissary from Canterlot arrived to grant the sorceress a noble title.
Just as a wise and powerful leader shall deliver great prosperity onto their ponies, it is said that such a leader will receive great prosperity in turn.
In the one hundred and eighty-second year, there was a prosperous settlement upon the mouth of a major river south of the Horseshoe Bay. It was ruled by an old and powerful sorceress, who was obsessed with controlling her ponies from her tower. This was of little concern to the villagers, for in those times it was said that all great leaders must have some strange behaviors; and the sorceress was indeed a great leader, for the settlement had greatly prospered under her rule.
However, the sorceress’s desire for control would only grow. Eventually the sorceress sought to obtain a level of control which was altogether improper for a leader to desire, and she intended to use the villagers to aid her in this goal.
First, the sorceress took the unicorns of the village. She would appear among the dwellings and disable one or two unicorns, and she would bring them with her back into the tower. Some resisted, but though the village had a school it did not teach the magical arts, and so none had the ability to defeat the sorceress. In this fashion, the sorceress took eighty-three mares, twenty-two stallions, and sixteen foals.
Though the three tribes had long since learned to live beside each other in peace, in this time it was rare for ponies of one tribe to truly care about members of another. And so the remaining villagers did not overly worry themselves - the unicorns did not contribute to working the fields or keeping the weather, and so they were not vital to the functioning of the village.
Second, the sorceress took the pegasi of the village. The sorceress would ambush pegasi as they slept, in twos or threes, and she would take them into the tower. There were some pegasi who could fly fast enough to evade the sorceress, and high enough to escape her reach; but the sorceress was patient, and every pegasus eventually sleeps. In this fashion, the sorceress took two hundred and eleven mares, sixty-seven stallions, and forty foals.
At this time only the earth pony villagers remained, and they were still unconcerned. The pegasi did not work the fields, after all - and the village had irrigation channels to gather water from the river, and so it was said among the villagers that the pegasi were not vital to the functioning of the village.
Third, the sorceress came for the earth ponies of the village. The earth ponies gathered in great bands to defend each other upon realizing the threat, but they could not contest the sorceress’s magic and could not fly out of her reach. A number of them attempted to escape and seek help from a nearby settlement, but were ambushed on the road. A number more fortified themselves within the dwellings of the village, but the sorceress was patient and had grown in strength. In this fashion, the sorceress took seven hundred and fifty-nine mares, two hundred and ten stallions, and one hundred and eighty foals.
If the villagers still had pegasi or unicorns among them, they could have perhaps escaped the sorceress’s reach; and if all the tribes of the village worked together, they could have perhaps defeated the sorceress.
And so it is said that to ignore the contributions of the other tribes is to invite disaster for yourself and your kin; and it is said that a threat to your neighbor is a threat to yourself, no matter your neighbor’s tribe.
In the fifth month of the one hundred and eighty-third year, there was a dark sorceress in a tower near the mouth of a major river. The sorceress sought knowledge of how to seize the emotions from a pony, and how to dominate a pony’s very mind. The sorceress, in seeking this knowledge, performed acts so profane as to create enemies of all the tribes.
On the eleventh day of the fifth month, a group of scholar-mage unicorns teleported nearby to the tower, whereupon they used their magical senses and instruments to determine the nature of the sorceress’s actions.
For one day and one night the mages cast their strongest spells. The mages employed fire, ice, lighting, and various other energies both magical and mundane in a bombardment strong enough to sunder any fortress. But the sorceress was herself learned of the magical arts and of great power, and used both to defend from the mages. When the sun rose the next morning, the tower yet stood.
On the twelfth day of the fifth month, a war-band of pegasi flew from the north; they beheld the ruins of the nearby settlement, and learned the nature of the sorceress’s actions.
For one day and one night, the skies themselves raged against the tower. The pegasi employed winds strong enough to clear a forest, bolts of lighting thicker than a pony’s trunk, and a tornado the size of the tower itself. But the tower was of the finest mundane construction, and all of its windows and hatches had long since been sealed. When the sun rose the next morning, the tower yet stood.
On the thirteenth day of the fifth month, a militia of earth ponies marched from the west. Through their connection to the land they learned the nature of the sorceress’s actions.
For one day and one night, the earth ponies communed with the land. Great tremors rose from the depths of the earth; the river burst its banks and flooded the area; the rock and soil softened, causing nearby buildings to sink and collapse. It is said that even to this day, the land is completely unsuitable for farming or construction. But the tower was constructed upon a rocky outcropping and had an extensive foundation. When the sun rose the next morning, the tower yet stood.
On the fourteenth day of the fifth month, an emissary from Canterlot arrived bearing two messages with the royal seal. The emissary approached the tower and, opening the first message, began to read it to the sorceress.
The message consisted of a plea from the royal princess. “Come to your senses!” Wrote the princess, “If you surrender yourself, there need not be any more death. You have until the sun sets on the fourteenth day.”
The sun set; there was no response from the sorceress. The emissary approached the gathered war-hosts and opened the second message. It contained orders from the royal princess; the hosts were to leave the site of the tower, and must be at least twenty leagues away by dawn.
On the fourteenth night of the fifth month, the unicorns teleported back to their towers and campuses, the pegasi flew back to the great northern cloudbanks, and the earth ponies marched back to their homes and farms.
On the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the one hundred and eighty-third year, it is said that the sun itself came down from the heavens in order to render its judgment. Of the sorceress and her tower, nothing remained.
It is said that, sometime during the third century, in a poisonous swamp somewhere south of the Horseshoe Bay, a tree grew from a rocky outcropping. It is from this tree the changelings were born.
Author's Note
Inspired by the comics' changeling origin story, but not necessarily canon to it.
This is my first posting here, and my first completed fic - feel free to leave feedback!
