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Equestrian Chronicles: The First Era of The Disharmony Epoch

Wheels of a train were evenly drumming on the rails. The setting sun illuminated a compartment, and the endless desert laid beyond the window. It wasn't endless, of course, but eyes of a train passenger could never reach its border. Twilight and her daughter, Singie Sparkle, had already been on the train for five hours, and the same time was left. However, little ponies had been waiting for this journey to the Griffin Republic for three long months, and they were ready to handle a way even though it was long and tedious.

A table in the compartment was burried in books. As she became a court magician in Canterlot, Twilight took on a whole lot of responsibilities. And it was definitely not, that the trip itself was of a touristic sort. The unicorn mare had many businesses to travel to, and she was always taking her daughter with her. Singie did never mind it, as she fully inhereted her mother's thirst for knowledge.

"Mom?" little Sparkle suddenly broke the silence.
Twilight left her book, "Yes, my dear?"
"Princess Celestia, does she handle the Sun and the Moon even here, outside of Equestria?"
"No, nopony does here. Alternation of day and night goes independently. Everywhere but our country, it is so."
"But why things couldn't go in our homeland as they do everywhere?"
Twilight gave a smile to her daughter, "It's a long story, and I still have so much to read about griffins."
"But mom, please, do tell! Oh please, please, please!"
"Ah, okay then, here you go!"

Twilight put aside her book and started telling.
"A long time ago, before the rule of Celestia, before Discord, everything was quite different. Pegasi did not control the weather. Clouds, as well as the Sun and the Moon, those were things ponies had no power over. Alternation of day and night, of seasons, even the precipitation and rainbows, everything was going independently and uncontrolled. However, three pony people were living in the land known as Equestria, as they are nowadays.

Earth ponies, hard-working and strong, they always did care for each other. And it is them who the life of two other nations was depending on. They were only ones of skill and endurance to grow food crops. From sunrise to sunset, working hard on fields and in hothouses, earth ponies produced the food not only for themselves, but for the Unicorns and Pegasi too.

Unicorns lived in a castle on cliffs of southern mountains. The King was at their head. Actually, it would be wrong to say that the King ruled his country. To be crowned, the Prince or the Princess should become old, it was something similar to the retirement. In fact, children of the current King, the Prince or the Princess, were leading the country."
"Is this why Celestia is the Princess, not the Queen? Right, mom?"
"Exactly. It's the order established thenadays and ever since. Ahem, where was I? Ah, there...

Since they were under the King's rule too, earth ponies had to provide the food to unicorns. But unicorns were not going to give anything in return. Very haughty at those times, unicorns used to think of themselves as others' superior, and that everyone around owed them everything.

High in the sky, there were the Pegasi living in the clouds. They were warlike, vigorous and extremely courageous at that time. The protection of borders and settlements against evil creatures was their main task. It was not so quiet those days. In return, they required the food. And earth ponies just had to deal with this state of affairs, because their farms would be attacked and devastated without the defence.

But then, there was an awfully dry year once. Food crops grown would hardly suffice farmers' needs, not to mention unicorns or pegasi. The food was shared with latter ones though. Without pegasi, there could be no yield at all, as well as no more farmers themselves most likely. And unicorns were given nothing despite all the urgent requests they made. But the majestic people became impudent enough to demand the yield's part belonged to its creators themselves. Astonished by that effrontery, the Earth Ponies promised not to share even a single grain with the Unicorns.

The Unicorns couldn't possibly allow things to be going as they were. A council had been convened with the only goal to make the Earth Ponies dependent, to get them interested in collaboration. The way was discovered in a space of time worth envy. Unicorn ponies were always notable as smartest.

As the night fell, best magicians combined their powers and created a great magical dome, large enough to cover all of the land of future Equestria. The sun and the moon were replaced by artificial analogues fully controlled by the unicorns' magical power.

Earth ponies having awoken next morning, the first thing they saw was the sun, contrary to its usual behaviour, not rising to the sky. That unusual darkness had been lasting for over three days and nights disabling anything to be grown. Unicorns' plan worked, for earth ponies had asked them to do something about it. The Unicorns contrived to make everypony believe there is nothing of their fault at all, yet they would help by their own kind will with the supplying resumed in return. They shammed not understanding the essence of the phenomenon to keep unlucky ponies suffering for two more days. Finally, only on the sixth day, the sun had risen again.

At first, everything seemed to be resumed its normal course. But the dome had been standing for two months already, and the weather hadn't changed even a single time. There were no rains, there was not a single cloudlet nor a breath of wind. The soil was drying up, the green began to perish. Each and every effort earth and unicorn ponies had jointly put into fighting the disaster was absolutely vain and useless. Unicorns' attempts to control the weather with their magic also failed, thus the situation was deplorable.

There is always blessing in disguise although. Since the dome was there, farms were never attacked. Somehow, the magical shell kept dangerous creatures outside, and ones inside became calm and quiet. However, something good for ones could be bad for others. Nopony was about to share food with pegasi, for nopony needed their services anymore. Sky people had been starving for two weeks already, and they only gloated over others getting into troubles. Pegasi simply couldn't see an opportunity."
"And then they offered themselves to ride clouds? To run the rain and the snow, right?"
"Exactly! Well said, Singie.

Established during the first era of the Disharmony Epoch, this order has continued to this day. As you know, nations united in friendship after the Great Winter. And from that time on, everything we do is nothing of self-interest, because we do it for all of us ponies, not for ourselves only."
"But why wasn't the dome removed after the Great Winter?"
"Oh, that's simple, it was forgotten. It's been existing for so long, that nopony can even remember how the independent weather and uncontrolled day and night alternation look like. It looks like everything always was like that."
"But wait, how do you know about it?"
"Why, I'm the most faithful student of Princess Celestia, remember?" said Twilight winking at her daughter.
Then she went about putting books together since the train was approaching a station already.

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/27741/93251

Переводчики: McStalins