The pages of the Necronomicon
Page 1
Superbia
Prologue: The current situation
Welcome to Equis.
This little planet, it was ours. We were governed by the five super powers, and each had a special task that they fulfilled for the good of the other super powers and the smaller nations.
The Gryphon Empire—a country that lies far north and west of the meridian—was inhabited by the gryphons. Known as the masters of the skies—the gryphons were the best weather manufacturers of the world. You know how Pegasi manipulate the skies to maintain the stable weather in Equestria? Well, you've seen nothing; the gryphons had perfected the art of weather control to a level that they were able to use it as a weapon.
Making them a feared opponent to face in war. However, there was an old saying in the gryphon empire: "One sword is enough to cut every cloud". It's an old saying which was used by the wielders of the elements of honour. Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance; those four were the virtues wielded by the most powerful warriors of the Gryphon Empire.
Zebrica—the country which was situated south of the equator and west of the meridian—was home to the zebras. Living in perfect symbiosis with the savanna—the eco-system of Zebrica was perfect for its inhabitants, but deadly for everypony who dared to disturb its equilibrium. In times of war—the zebras were known to assemble whole armies of animals. Which enabled them to enforce respect of every smaller nation.
But they never used it, for they despised war.
Like the every other super power, the zebras also had a kind of elements. The metal spheres together with the Phaistos disc formed the elements of order. They were wielded by the sages of the different tribes and none had a name, for to name a thing is to distinguish it from all others, and the spheres were to remain equal. The disc—which one might associate with Equestria's 'element of magic'—was wielded by the emperor, who resided in Stone-water City.
Qilinesia—a mountain-kingdom found east of Equestria—was the home of the dragon-like equines called qilin. Despite their dragon-like appearance, the qilin were a lot like ponies. They even had a cutie mark-ish thing on their back (they used the same word for it like we did, still, it's something different and yet the same). But instead of a picture of what they're good at, a qilinesian symbol appeared on their back. Of course it had the same meaning as cutie marks did. Despite behaving like ponies, their body—like the gryphons—were that of a chimera. They had the body of a deer, the hooves were pony hooves, they had the strong tail of an ox and two long horns on their dragon-like head.
Before the qilin settled—in what was known as Qilinesia—the kingdom had to struggle with earthquakes. Unlike unicorns—who got their magic from their mental sharpness—the qilin got their magic from their physical power. And with that power they tamed the earthquakes of Qilinesia and built their kingdom there.
The kingdom was governed by the five feudal lords of the five cities. Aoi tokai, Akai tokai, Shiroi tokai, Kuroi tokai and Kiiroi tokai.
Each city had a monastery in which one of the sacred crystal bells was kept. Those bells were the elements of Qilinesia. Known as the five Heavenly bells—each of the bells wore one of the sacred five colours. And each was—traditionally—wielded by the first born of each feudal lord.
Equestria—which is situated east of the meridian—was the prosperous nation of the ponies, reigned by the two royal sisters. The elder one made the sun raise and the younger one guided the moon and stars.
Like the other super powers, the whole world depended on those two—but it didn't make them superior. The qilin could make the earth beneath their hooves shake, the gryphons could throw massive hurricanes at them, and the zebra's would make everything wither leaving the nation defenceless. So there was a world wide agreement to use the powers for the good of everyone, instead of fighting each other.
The fifth super power lay in the volcanic area of the Dragon Dominion. It's situated far south of the equator and east of the meridian. It was home to the two dragon races. The draco major—the big dragons who worked in the volcanic mines to gather minerals and metals from the deepest part of the crust of the planet or infuse gems with spells under the enormous pressure and heath—were proud on their strength and were considered the working-class of the nation. The draco minor—the engineers, scientist and mages ensured the rapid economical, scientific and magical growth of the nation—were considered the thinking-class of the nation.
In the palace—in the middle of the country—grew a tree. The Crystal mangrove as they called it, was the most feared weapon of the dragons—for on it grew the Crystal Fruits. Every dragon who could eat from that tree, would gain immense powers and even be able to breath white flames. It was eaten by the two presidents of the country. Split in half and shared. One half for the draco minor—chosen by the draco minor. And one for the draco major—chosen by the draco major.
Their relation with the other super powers and the smaller nations, though, was simple. Nopony messes with dragons. Upset them and they'll eat your children and make it rain fire.
The gryphons would regulate the weather.
The zebra's would keep the eco-system in balance.
The qilin would make sure that the earth was quiet.
The sisters kept day and night in order.
And the dragons harvested the resources of the planet.
That was the status quo. Those were the five super powers that kept the world in balance. But everything changed… drastically.
In the year 1020 of Celestia's reign, a massive zombie invasion went world wide—oddly enough, the dragons were the first who got affected by it. Frankly, we didn't notice, until the last dragon migration. A massive wing of zombie dragons attacked Equestria. Their normal orange fire had taken a diseased green colour, bathing the cities of Equestria in green light. Their bodies had become rotten and the leather between their fingers were covered in holes. Everywere bones stuck out and when cut or shot, green goo would come out of their wounds. Ponies tried to hide but they were always caught in the fires. Yet death didn't stop the agony, every burned corpse turned into a zombie itself.
First, unguarded cities like Cloudsdale and Baltimare fell victim to the fires of death. Ponyville—a city that had been growing since a princess took residence in it—fell, after the princess had to fall back to Canterlot. Canterlot itself withstood the attack and survived the three days that were from then on known as the days of the green death. However—after the third day—the royal sisters simply vanished, leaving the city helpless against the hordes of zombies.
The dragons simply left, leaving the broken country at the mercy of death.
After that, we didn't know what to do, all our ways of communicating with the other nations simply ceased to exist.
As the royal sisters vanished so did Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Princess Twilight Sparkle. The kingdom was shattered, the Pegasi left the skies and searched refuge in small settlements leaving the weather uncontrolled and wild.
It didn't take long until the small settlements fell due to famine, storms, zombie attacks and wars with other settlements for resources.
A few settlements, though, survived due to remarkable adaptation skills. They succeeded in creating fertile soil, finding water sources, and alchemical recreating medicine. Some even had a blacksmith and made their own guns and created gunpowder with alchemy. And even if they had to deal with zombies, they withstood them.
For five years, all looked fine, and then… something new appeared. We called them super zombies.
Zombies who were more violent and grotesque than anything anypony had ever seen. Eventually, the smaller settlements fell.
Mine was amongst them.
My name? I don't remember.
Last thing I can remember—from before I forgot my name and lost most of my memories—is that I was heading for Canterlot, I had my gun, a bag full of bits that I had collected along the way, provisions and some medicines. I could deal with the occasional zombie but most of the time I simply fled. Thanks to my earthpony fitness, I was able to run faster and longer than other ponies.
Why I headed towards Canterlot? I have no Idea. Maybe I thought there were some survivors, who wouldn't mistake me for a zombie or who wouldn't try to kill me to get my stuff. Or maybe a small settlement or some guards who were still protecting civilians.
I didn't find any of the above—In fact I had lost hope to find anything—but what I found was way better than anything I could've imagined.
Hope.