“He came from the sky in a rain of fire and metal. In his rage of loss he burned her town to the ground and massacred it's inhabitants.”
-Excerpt from Tales of Creation
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So you want to hear a story, eh? Well, I know many stories, stories of adventure, daring, and wit; stories of horrible tragedy, and ones that would chill you to the bone. Oh, so you want to hear that story, eh? Well that’s interesting story, one far older than you think, and that very few know. Luckily I do know it, so I shall tell. But I think I should start at the beginning, centuries ago long before the rule Celestia and Luna, in the time when Alicorns roamed the earth in abundance, and wild pony tribes wandered across and fought over what would become Equestria. Our story doesn’t start on this world though, it starts far above it...
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The Demetrius edged slowly through the outer edge of the solar system, approaching the blue green planet known as Ehnor, what would become the new earth. After the unavoidable destruction of earth through pollution, strife, and war, humanity embarked on a mission to save the human race. They sent thousands of colony ships throughout the galaxy in the vague hope that one would find a suitable world to inhabit.
Inside one of the many rooms of this vastly complicated feat of engineering and innovation, sat a man. He was in a deep trance balancing atop a wooden pole.
“Hurry up, you’re gonna miss it.” Shouted a high voice, interrupting his concentration and sending him falling to the floor. A second before the hitting the ground he deftly caught himself, landing lightly on his hands and feet. He looked up at his sister with annoyance.
“Do you have to shout all the time, Dawn?” the man asked rising to his feet.
“Well you don’t want to miss it do you?”–exiting the room–”We’re nearly there. Come on,” she called from down the corridor, “everyone’s already on the bridge.”
"I'm coming, I'm coming, stop being so impatient," he slung a double scabbard containing two simple, martial blades over his shoulder, and stepped out into the hallway.
“Do you really have to carry those things everywhere you go?”
“They’re important to me , you know that .” They accompanied each other through the maze of cramped metal passages that had made up the past two decades of their lives.
Arriving on the bridge they found it a flurry of activity as various personnel prepared for the end of their long journey. The captain shouting orders to the other officers. Off in the distance loomed the great blue planet. “Ehnor, I’ve seen pictures in the library archives, but this, this is so much more beautiful than I ever expected it be.”
“Look at it. It’s so amazing. Our new home.”
“What’s that? Up in the northern part of that continent, the green light?” asked the man.
“I don’t know, it seems to be getting brighter.” Just as she spoke the green light grew more intense until suddenly it shot from the planet’s surface and through the side of the ship. Explosions followed immediately afterwards, rocking the ship.
“We need to get to the escape pods, now!” The man shouted over the screams of people and the noise of the dying ship. He ushered the girl down a nearby corridor, turning sharply as they neared the living quarters of the ship. He lifted the hatch of one of the escape pods, shoving the girl inside.
“I’ll be following right after you, don’t worry” the man said, assuring his sister as he closed the hatch and hit the launch button. He hurried to the next pod closing the hatch behind him and hitting the launch button. Just as the the pod detached from the main body of the ship an explosion ripped through the living quarters and sent the pod rocketing uncontrollably past his sisters’ pod, towards the surface Ehnor.
As the pod began passing through the upper atmosphere a strange feeling started swelling inside him. It was horrible, a burning pain, ripping through his flesh and bones, deep into his mind and soul. He felt his blood boiling, bones melting, his body writhing in this horrible unrelenting pain, then on the edge of consciousness, he felt something else. Something at the edge of his mind, just a tendril, but it was enough, he gripped it with his mind, struggling to hold on against the flood of pain.
Then he felt it: a bliss unlike anything he had ever felt before, unbridled joy, suddenly flooded through him, remaking his flesh stronger than before, unlocking the far reaches of his mind, infusing his soul with a power. And something else, something he couldn’t quite place. It just felt different, like a great power deep inside him had been unlocked after thousands of years of imprisonment He felt......complete. It was wondrous feeling, but brief, as it ended seconds later when the escape pod hit the earth with tremendous force. Scouring the ground for hundreds of feet and setting fire anything combustible in the area.
Dust obscured his vision, he couldn’t see three feet outside the small viewport. He lifted the latch on the inside of the door. Dammit! The hydraulics were jammed, it wouldn’t open, no matter how hard he pulled the release. The dust was beginning to settle and he could make out the faint outline of clouds. Out of pure frustration he punched the door with all his might. And it opened, flying fifty feet or more.
How the? No time for that now. I have to find Dawn. He scooped up his twin swords and their scabbard, checking to make sure they were secure. as well as a first aid kit and three days rations of food and water, throwing it in a pack slung over his left shoulder. No telling what they would find on this planet.
The dust had finally settled and the man became aware of his surroundings. He was surrounded by...buildings? Yes, buildings, he was in a town. One story and two story builings It must be some sort of town, but this planet in supposed to be devoid of intelligent life. Then, he saw them.
Horses, a lot, all of them looking at him with wary interest. No, they weren’t horses. They had horns. Unicorns? No they have wings to, Alicorns! He thought with disbelief, they only existed in myth and fairy tale. They have weapons to. What is this place? All were carrying something that could easily kill or injure him. Some were wielding small clubs, but one was wielding what appeared be a two-handed broadsword. He slowly rose to his feet, careful not to make any sudden moves. The air are grew tense. Think, dammit! A roaring filled the air.
They all looked up. Another escaped pod soared through the air above them, crashing to the ground close by in a fiery explosion. Dawn! Shit, I have to get to her! Throwing caution to the wind he sprinted as fast as he could towards the smoking wreckage of the crash site. Ignoring the Alicorns all around him. He had only one thing on his mind, Dawn. If she’s dead... He didn’t even want to think about that possibility.
She was the only thing he had left.
As he approached the crash site he felt something was wrong. The hatch wasn’t open, he rushed to the door and pulled, it came off easily. He looked inside; there was Dawn lying prone and unmoving. “Dawn!” He gingerly lifted Dawn out of the pod. Laying her down on the ground, he checked for a pulse. Nothing. “No! Dawn, wake up!"–shaking her–"Dawn...” He felt tears coming to his eyes. He let them come, the salty water streaming down his cheeks as he cradled Dawn’s head in his hands.
A low buzzing filled his ears. It grew in intensity until even while mourning he could not ignore it. He looked up. A odd device was in front of him, across the square, glowing green with a strange energy. Before him appeared to be the device that destroyed what had been his home for the past twenty years, killed his friends. Killed his sister.
He felt rage flow through him, he rose slowly, drawing his swords he turned to face the strange creatures. Time moved slowly, like a dream. Blinded by rage and tears he swung his sword at the nearest alicorn, decapitating it with ease, and leveling the building behind it. Unaware of what he had done, he continued his rampage killing every living thing he destroying the the city. Nothing they did could stop him, their magic were useless, he killed of them that tired to fight him head on.
When the dust had settled he was standing in a field of death. There were only the bodies of ponies, broken and twisted, toppled and crushed buildings, the dead Dawn, and him, standing a silent sentinel over her. The fiery remains of the Demetrius rained down from the sky around them.
His rage began to fade. The realization of what he just did fell on him like a load of bricks. He fell to his knees. Tears flowed down his face for the second time that day, not for Dawn, but for the countless number of once living creatures lying dead all around him. For them he wept. When his tears had dried he promptly fell over in exhaustion and drifted off into unconsciousness.
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Many miles outside of the town, in a secluded glade in the Everfree forest, sat a lone Alicorn. She had a bright white coat and a dark crimson mane that flowed across her back like water. Her name was Gaea in the very back of her mind she felt something was wrong...
