The Soldier From The Stars, The Green Lantern Of Equestria

by biznizz

4.5. Equestrian History 1: Lyra's Journal

From the research journal of Lyra Heartstrings:

In the short time which I've gotten to know Hal Jordan, the human who has recently come to live in Equestria, my knowledge about humans like him has grown exponentially.

However, recently I've been thinking a lot about the old legends about humans which have inspired me since my fillyhood in Canterlot. Hal Jordan, despite of (or perhaps because of) being a human, was not born on our world; he was born on a planet called, strangely enough, Earth in a star system that, according to Hal, is nearly half of the entire universe away.

Is it a coincidence that his species calls themselves humans, that they look like our legends describe them to be (for the most part), or that, despite these legends, there has been no physical proof of humans ever living anywhere on Pax Harmonia?

I've talked with Bonnie (who's largely wanted to remain a silent partner in this journal, despite her helping me with my grammar & editing), and she's suggested that going over these legends chronologically and in order would be able to help me figure out some answers from all this. Dawn, despite being my partner in this human study, still comes and goes on her own schedule, so, if I want to get this done in a prompt manner, I have no choice but to compile these legends without her. I hope she won't be too mad...

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The legends of humans in our world actually don't begin with the humans themselves. If you're confused, don't feel bad; I was for a bit too. In order to get to the real meat (so to speak) of the topic, I need to talk about the Original Unity.

Every pony in Equestria, from the eldest & wizened, to the youngest of foals, learns about the story of Hearth's Warming at some point in time, and how could they not? It's the story of how modern day Equestria was founded after the three tribes of unicorns, pegasi & Earth ponies learned of the magic of harmony & dispelled the windingoes which threatened to wipe out our species from our constant distrust and nigh-on warring with each other.

The real story of HW Day was slightly more complicated than the version that's usually told in the play, but most of the information in it is still accurate. What ISN'T more widely known is that wasn't the first pact between the three races in our history; but that's more due to it taking place in our original home of Paradise Estate more than 40,000 years ago, well beyond the notice of current history being taught outside of specialized classes.

And not only that, but it has to deal with the fourth race: the Alicorns, of which only three are currently known to exist: Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. And of course, there is also the parents of the former two: the former King & Queen, whose whereabouts have not been known for millennia.

Despite all of my time put into finding out about the Alicorns, there is still very little known about them as none of the Princesses seem to know much about them; or, more likely, they merely do not wish to talk about them if they do. The most accepted theory, however, is that the Alicorns were a race born of this original harmonious pact between the three others: possessing the best qualities of all three. Right now, there is little information on how many of these Alicorns existed then (or even throughout all of history), but given that it's reported that nearly all seemed to have longer lifespans than the average pony, it most likely could not have been many.

The legends tell that the Alicorns, the most noble of all Ponykind, ruled over Paradise Estate with dignity & grace, perhaps much like today, if not more archaic for obvious reasons. It was said they were all for all Ponykind, and shouldered the duties that the other races would later do themselves. They governed us, they created the weather, they tilled the land to feed us and, of course, they raised the sun & the moon for the benefit of all, not merely us Ponies.

This rule was not, apparently, without some flaws, as the desire of the Alicorn Royality apparently led to clashes with the other young races at the time for land & resources. A rumor exists that at the height of this reign, the land owned by us Ponies even included most of Equestria itself, many years upon years before Pony hooves ever stood upon it. It was at this time that our world was unified under the original name of Equuis, showing the superiority of our species.

It kinda sends chills down my spine thinking how, shall I say, ruthless & uncaring, we were back then. It may be for this reason that this original civilization fell apart, leading to the separation & disharmony of the three tribes. Most of the land claimed under the kingdom of Paradise Estate was lost, none were able to keep it anyway. The Alicorns mysterously vanished for a long period of time, leaving the three tribes to fend for themselves and nearly leading themselves to ruin; only returning after Equestria & Old Canterlot had been founded.

And which event lead to the downfall of our world's greatest empire? That nearly sent our species back so far that it took hundreds of years to rebuild?

According to legends, it was the meeting of, and the subsequent war with, the newly discovered species that would vanish almost as quickly as soon as they were found: humans.

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The tales of these humans can be confusing and contradictory, but most agree that humanity, upon discovery by the Empire, was an incredibly primative species for the most part. Though only fourth-hoof knowledge of records that have long since been lost to time exist, these humans, as they were eventually labeled, were largely unintelligent and incapable of speech. They possessed no govenrment, no technology of any kind. It's been said that their strongest arsenal was fire, which few knew how to control, much less make; which did little against even the primative magic that we possessed then. These humans, if legend is to be believed, were little more than animals.

And yet, there was a contradiction in this assertion. A growing civilization that stood out amongst the others. One that possessed greater strength than even the might of all the Empire of Paradise Estate could not overcome. Led by one that is only known as being recorded as "Oracle", this group of humans had risen above the others and attacked us without peace or mercy. This led to what is perhaps our species' first known war: against the humans.

This conflict lasted until the intervention of yet another, enlightened, human and his tribe made their appearence and gave us enough time to retreat back to our homelands. This hero, who's name has been lost to time, stands as a shining beacon against the wicked Oracle & his warrors; who, above all else, saved our species from being swollowed completely by the fires of war and showed us the potential for which these humans were capable of.

But the damage was done; not just for the three tribes, but for the Alicorns as well. Although there was no real record of casualties amongst their number, nearly all the stories mention the losses amongst their numbers in some manner. In that regard, this tale frightens me in more ways than one. How could this have happened? How did Ponies who, for argument's sake, were as strong as Princess Celestia & Luna... fall to a people who were otherwise classified as primative? No records exist of any of the Oracle's weapons or magic, making the war and the casualties all the more baffling. I've personally lost sleep at night wondering how this could have occurred; honestly, it's one of the reasons I try to not delve too deep into the history aspect of my human studies. Faust knows that somethings lost to time or perhaps best left forgotten.

Did the Alicorns leave our people in shame? Did they think that it was their fault that our people, our society suffered so many losses? Did they think that we could retake our responsibilities? Tending the land to balancing the celestial bodies in the sky, handled by them for so long, as easily they had after years of neglect? Personally, I believe the blame rested with the Three Tribes, in the end. They were led to that conflict by our leaders, but nopony tried to argue against it, to take a stand and say no. Or if they did, it was forgotten with time; no records say otherwise. Perhaps, if we had tried to extend our hooves in friendship, the Oracle may not have seen us as a threat... But, if the description of the Oracle was even half true as it has been made out to be, then maybe not... An old teacher of mine once said that the saddest words in the world are 'What could have been...'

Since the beginning of the Common Era, for hundreds of years, archeologists & would-be anthropologists have searched the world, including the ruins of our original home of Paradise Estate, for any trace of these humans, but no direct records or proof have been found. The general consensus amongst those in the field is that these traces, if any did exist, were most likely plundered by other civilizations, such as the Griffions and the Minotaur, for whatever reason. Both species have denied such actions either way. I seriously doubt that I will find out within my lifetime in anycase.

This complete absence of evidence of a species which nearly brought ours to ruin is the reason why most believe that humans as a species never did exist, except for maybe as an allegory for real life events. After all, there still is a fringe group which insist that windingoes from Hearth's Warming were the same, despite more concrete evidence to the contrary. But I have hope that someday, hopefully soon, we will be able to find out what ever happened to these people. And if they still live, perhaps with Hal on our side, we would be able to make peace between our species. That whatever follies the past might have had, that together we would be able to make a great future.

Hopefully.

Lyra H.

Author's Note:

Two updates in a day?

Well, just my way to say sorry for the hiatus.

Let's see how my attempt to be subtle will turn out with you guys.

Next real chapter will hopefully be a big one, but no release date yet. Sorry!

Comments

[Fireeaters]

The fact that the humans were so strong against a supposedly more advanced race raises some suspicions. I think that the ponies may have been elitist, as in "They are not ponies. Therefore, they must be primitive!". Possibly a bit racist, as well. Hmmmm...

[biznizz]

5812960

It is a mystery how such a blow was dealt to the Alicorn-led Pony Empire. Either it was a deception on the humans' part, or they had certain help, or hell, were they even human? Who can say? The only two who know for sure aren't gonna be talking about it any time soon...

And on the elitism/racism? What are you talking about? Don't know know that equine-kind is deigned to rule their world because of their role of shaping nature and managing the heavens for all? Why would such a magestic race even feel the need to expand the need to discriminate against the cows or the mutts or the mangy fowl or the filthy monkeys* who didn't actually exist at all?

*Thank you TFS Frieza.

[Fireeaters]

5813256 Ha! I think you missed a "you" in there!
inb4 Goku: "Imma deck you in the snoz! :D"

[the other sans]

as the desire of the Alicorn Royality apparently lead to clashes
there was a contradiction in this assertaion

1. Led.
2. Assertion.

Bonnie needs to check a little more

[biznizz]

5813683
5814148

Edits made! Mucho appreciado, there! Hopefully everything is more grammatically correct. :)

The odd contractions like I'dve (I would have) and I'llve (I will have) were intentional. I hope that they were clear enough, and if they weren't I might change them.

Question; Isn't her name Maud? Or is this another debate in the fandom again that I have no clue about?

Oh, god. I've heard about that. Truth is, I wrote that bit about a year ago or so. I know now that the "proper" way of spelling her name is sans 'e', but it is ridiculous just how much of a stickler people can be for a minor detail like that. Even tho the Pac-Man reference is debunked for the Pie family, people still prefer it (like myself, since I can't remember their real names... ), they got nuts if a freaking 'e' is added. Hell, that wasn't even worth bringing up in the list of problems that Anderson Holiday Anti-Bullying Special had...

[Zane Wolfe]

So it's been 2 years pretty much... And both of these 'updates' are on April 1st... Yeah... No. IF I see further progress, I might actually read these new chapters. Such a pity this thing died. I liked it.

[biznizz]

5815446

I cant promise you a date on the next chapter, but I can assure you that the roughly 14000 words I updated yesterday were not me joking or trolling.

I updated it yesterday because it was Wednesday.

[warpd]

With how expansive the DC Universe is. There is no telling if they were humans or not. On top of that, if they were humans they could have been altered to mutants, magical based, or genetically modified versions.

BTW, is Superman going to appear in this story? I would think he would stop by to see a friend if he could.

[biznizz]

5816443

An appearance from Superman, in some form, might be coming up in two or three chapters, but the man himself won't be a recurring character.

...But.... that's not to say that the next chapter won't have some familar faces, DC or MLP...

And I can tell you that some of them wear rings.
And one of them isn't green...

I'm woefully out of practice with my writing, as a few comments have stated, it has been about two years since my last update. So I'm currently working on a oneshot that hopefully I'll get done by the weekend. I've been inspired by a certain limited series concerning the DC Multiverse that's been going on for a while, and thought this idea would be nice & fun. :) Get the creative juices flowing...

Next chapter I've had an outline for since I first started, second after the one with Hal & Applejack talking that I got done in Honest Heart To Heart.

[Bronydragon]

Hey there.
Just got through of what is there of the story and that there will be more soon.

Dragon

[DracoBrony]

I LLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THIS FUCKING STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DracoBrony]

also cant wait for two things A: his powers being needed because I highly doubt his no powers thing is permanent and 2: for him to recite the green lantern code were they can hear it

[Boltstrike58]

Just an FYI, you should start a new line every time a new person starts talking.

[Captain_Stallion]

Read your story, I would like to read more.

[DracoBrony]

4852065
highly doubt that will last the entirety of the story but eh it might depends on where the author wants to do with it

[Radical Gopher]

Just read your story. Sorry you haven't worked on it in such a long time, so I'm guessing it goes into the ever growing pile of stories that were interesting but shall never be completed. Of course, open ended, it could be finished in any way you want. Whatever.... I am rambling. Hope you're still writing in the great somewhere beyond the blackest night.