Legacy of the Sun

Chapters

1 - A New Dawn
2 - Learning Stages
3 - Luna
4 - Ascension
6 - Discord
5 - Guiding the Moon

1 - A New Dawn

Chapter 1: A New Dawn
Age: 0

High in the sky, the brilliant sun shone above Equestria, casting it’s soft rays across the high mountains, with their snowy peaks; the rolling plains, filled with wildflowers and streams; and the lush forests, with their exotic plant life and woodland creatures. One forest, however, was much more vast than the rest, and was positively brimming with color and life. Bright leaves hung from tree branches, swaying gently in the passing breeze. On the ground, wild plants grew in all shapes and sizes, from tall ones to short ones to vibrant ones which became picturesque in nature. Accompanying the varied flora was its extraordinary fauna, ranging from small, playful fairies to large, captivating sea serpents, and even the intimidating celestial beasts. All of the creatures lived their lives fully and peacefully, enjoying the safe and inviting atmosphere that the forest provided for them.

The few groups of ponies that stumbled upon the lush woodlands found it accommodating, and their travels through it would be some of the most serene adventures they had ever experienced. Those who had the chance to observe the forest in all of it’s glory would say that anything that lived there would be able to live freely and flourish. To them, it was a breath of fresh air, much greater than the chaotic world outside the woodland. Their tales of grandeur would eventually have the forest drawn on maps and written in literature with a single, majestic name, fit to describe it’s pleasures: Everfree.

Nestled deep in the heart of Everfree Forest was a stone castle, standing alone on a cliff edge. The land it was perched on had long since been torn from the rest of the forest, most likely ripped apart through a great, primordial earthquake or similar sundering. Connecting the tracts of land was a simple rope bridge, hanging above a river which flowed gently at the bottom of the deep crevasse. Healthy green blades of grass blanketed the cliff side, occasionally glinting with morning dew that hadn’t yet evaporated.

The castle itself was modest in it’s construction, only containing four buildings which were connected via hallways to a central tower. Upon closer inspection, one would find great stained glass windows adorning some of the rooms, and simple yet effective wooden doors. The main structure was very tall, being the only piece of the castle that poked above the treeline. Crawling up the spire, in a neat and patterned fashion, were straightforward windows; two crossed beams, so that nothing unwanted - save for the occasional bird - could enter. Nearing the topmost section of the tower, the windows circled around, giving away the location of a room. At the eastern side of the chamber, looking out through the window, was an alicorn.

The rays of sun piercing through the window pulled a lustrous shine out of his dark, almost ebony coat. It very closely resembled the dark blue hue of the night sky, and if he were to fly during the cold hours of early morning, it would be as if he didn’t exist at all. On his flank, a single bright star was shown, surrounded by darkness that gradually faded away. Cascading from his head and seeming to float in an invisible stream was his sleek mane. The hair, which appeared more ethereal than physical, was shiny and obsidian in complexion. It wasn’t the gravity defiant movements his mane had which caught the eye, however, but rather the effect it had. Instead of a simple mane, his acted more like a view into the heavens, constantly changing based on his movements. As he stood still, gazing across the forest, the changing shape only altered the size and frame of the astral window.

Adorning his neck was a burnished, dark grey piece of armor. In it’s center was a deep topaz gem, cut into the shape of a half moon, and studded expertly into the metal. The sunlight glinted across it and sent light blue reflections across the stone in front of him. Similarly colored metal to his chest piece was also crafted into shoes, with baroque designs cut out of the metal. To complete the royal ensemble was a slate colored crown resting on his head, embellished with sapphire stones encrusted in it. He had personally crafted this armor many years ago, using the delicate finesse of his magical abilities.

The tall stallion held a proud expression as he looked over the forest, as a father would look over a child who was receiving a reward, for he was surveying his kingdom. Although godly in size and features, his face was beginning to show the creeping signs of his age. This particular alicorn had walked Equestria for over 3,400 years, and his piercing, brilliant cyan eyes had seen countless lifetimes of events. He remained silent for a long time, before he finally opened his mouth.

“It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it?”

His voice was regal and commanding, but at the same time calm and composed. When he spoke, it was with a knowing and wise tone, for he chose his words carefully. This alicorns name was Sonance, and it was only several hundred more years until he ascended.

Sonance’s ears perked up and rotated to behind him as he heard a lighter voice, but with the same sagely tone. It was light and dainty, with a determined undertone. Above all, the sound and nature of the voice drifted through his ears like music.

“Very, and it shall only become more lovely in time.”

The dark alicorn finally turned from the window and looked back to the origin of the voice, which was resting comfortably on a large, soft bed. She was a bright alicorn, and although in the shade of the room, still seemed to glow and shine. Some of the radiance was created through her wild, untamed mane, with locks of hair that flowed in numerous directions, never staying within a solid boundary. It’s shape was reminiscent of tongues of fire, freshly made in a blazing inferno, and the color was similar: a golden yellow in the middle which slowly transitioned into a warm orange. Her stunning mane and tail were like the sun itself was being channeled through her, a presumption that was supported even further by her coat color. She was covered in a light amber, which also appeared to give off a soft glow, but not quite as intense as her mane. Pictured on her flanks was an image of a ball of flame, with the fire spreading outward in all directions.

Similarly to Sonance, the soft auburn alicorn donned armor, though hers was a lustrous, reflective gold. Faceted onto the center was a blood red stone of garnet, cut into a near perfect circle. Polished golden shoes complimented the chest piece, carved with an intricate lace pattern and reaching up to her knees. Atop her head laid a small golden tiara, which brimmed with garnet, citrine, and gold beryl.

Below the crown were her compassionate, perceptive eyes, which held a luminous fuchsia color. As with her husband, she too was beginning to see the signs of her aging, and had been noticing them for years. Her name was Rhapsody, and she had been helping Equestria survive for over the same amount of time Sonance had: 3,400 years.

“It’s a shame we won’t be around to see it grow further.” Sonance said, walking to the bed. He leisurely climbed on the cushioned mattress and brought himself closer to Rhapsody, until their bodies were touching. Rhapsody smiled warmly and lifted a wing, embracing Sonance with it.

“Oh Sonance, we still have several hundred years.” Rhapsody replied, nuzzling her husband’s neck.

Sonance let out a peaceful sigh, allowing his thoughts to wander for a moment. “What you say is true.” He turned his head to his wife. “However, we’re going to need an heir.”

Rhapsody made no effort to hide the redness building in her cheeks, or the small grin sneaking across her mouth. “One heir may not be enough; perhaps we should have two?”

“You’ve always been ambitious, darling.” Sonance said, kissing Rhapsody on the cheek. “From the vast peaks to the endless oceans to our very castle, you’ve been the mind behind it all.”

“And you’ve always been the flatterer.” Rhapsody jauntily replied.

Sonance couldn’t help but chuckle at his wife’s cheeky honesty. “While that may be the case, my statement holds true. In six hundred years time, we’ll ascend into the cosmos, leaving our descendants to take care of Equestria.”

The soft amber alicorn laid her head against Sonance, getting into a more comfortable position. Some strands of her hair flicked and prodded at his mane, as if they wanted to dance around with their astral counterparts. “I know, dear. Perhaps, in several years, we’ll have a foal of our own.”

Sonance closed his eyes, his thoughts turning to the future. “I would love that.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll bring forth a successor.”

Time went on, with Sonance and Rhapsody attending to the daily needs of Equestria and discussing the necessity of a successor. Their conversations ranged from the color of their foals coat, to the gender it would be, and even how many they were going to have. It wasn’t until three years later, on one early summer morning when the sun was just peeking over the horizon, that their first foal was born.

The day was brand new - still dark in the west, where the sun’s light didn’t quite reach yet. The beams of light that made it to Equestria lit up the scenery, casting a warm orange glow over whatever they touched. This included the castle tower, perched above the trees in Everfree. It was in this tower that the sun reached a mother finishing her ultimate struggle.

Rhapsody was sprawled out on the bed, panting from the exertion and strain she had to go through moments earlier. Her eyes were tightly shut, the agony having not yet subsided. Even though she was an alicorn, gifted with divine magical ability, child birth had still proven to be a strenuous and painful ordeal. Her coat was damp from sweat, and beads of it had gathered at her brow and were beginning to drip down her pale face. Silently, she thanked all the cosmos for being relived of the suffering.

Sonance had assisted with the delivery, comforting Rhapsody and helping her through the process. He offered words of encouragement and magical aid when he could, but beyond that, it was in Rhapsody’s hooves. She had proved herself more than capable, however, and after a mere seven minutes (Sonance had been nervously counting), the birth was an overwhelming success. The hours of labor that Rhapsody had gone through had finally bore fruit. After Sonance used his magic to administer a mandatory cleanup, he hurriedly wrapped the foal in a soft blanket and held it close to him. He crawled on the bed and sat next to Rhapsody, who was beginning to recover from her plight.

“You did so well, my dear.” Sonance said, gently licking Rhapsody’s cheek.

“I wouldn’t have done nearly as well without you.” she replied, looking to him and offering a smile. Her luminous pink eyes were beginning to moisten, solely from the exultation she was feeling at the moment.

Sonance leaned down and gave her a light kiss, before asking, “Would you like to see her?”

Rhapsody nodded in agreement. “Of course. I want nothing more right now.”

The night alicorn brought the small bundle of blanket over to Rhapsody, and gently pulled back the cloth. Her eyes glistened and tears began to steadily flow out as she looked upon her newborn. The foal slowly opened her eyes, revealing two magenta irises that sparkled in the dawn’s light. Her coat was a majestic alabaster, with just a hint of rose red in it. Finally, the young one’s mane was an eye catching pink, that was slightly wavy and flowed down her back. Poking out of the hair was a tiny horn, and on her back was a pair of feathered wings, not quite big enough for flight yet. She was everything that the couple could have hoped for, and the tears falling off both of their faces was more than enough to prove that fact.

“She’s absolutely gorgeous.” Sonance said, wiping the moisture from his eyes.

“She is. She really is.” Rhapsody agreed, sniffling.

Sonance pulled the sheets away from the foals flank, revealing a cutie mark already in place. It depicted the sun, showing a yellow circle surrounded by distorted orange triangles. The sight of it caused Rhapsody to gasp, and put a hoof to her mouth.

“My, she already has her mark. She’s been destined from birth.” the dark alicorn looked closer at the mark, studying it and observing it.

“It’s lovely.” Rhapsody said, also looking at the image. “She’s meant to raise the sun.”

“I think it’s more than that.” Sonance said. “It might be much greater than just raising the sun...” He shook his head and smiled. “Only time can tell, and we’ll be gone long before that.”

“Whatever her destiny is, I’m sure she’ll make the best of it.”

“I’m sure she will.”

“Sonance, what shall we name her?”

Sonance closed his eyes, lost deep in thought. He looked at her cutie mark, envisioned what he thought of her destiny, and considered her future place in the world. She would be regent of the sun, bringer of light, and princess of Equestria. She would grow to be a powerful alicorn, maybe even exceed them, and one day join them in the endless cosmos. Sonance pondered all of this for moment, then opened his eyes, knowing the answer to his wife’s question. He looked down at the foal, then to his wife, and smiled. With his prevalent wise, profound, and determined tone - that only time and experience could have forged - he proclaimed a single word:

“Celestia.”

2 - Learning Stages

Chapter 2: Learning Stages
Age: 200

Many years had passed since the world changing day that Celestia, heir to the throne of Equestria and bringer of the dawn, had been born. The Everfree forest had shown signs of it’s continuing age, with many of it’s trees growing closer to the bedroom of the castle. The forest was still vibrant and full of life, very similar to the young princess who grew up around it.

Celestia crouched in a small bush, peeking her eyes out at a butterfly which lazily flew to a flower. It slowly flapped it’s wings as it landed, showing off its elegant patterns and colors. The princess licked her lips and bent her legs, before pouncing out of the brush at the insect. The small creature was smart enough to quickly move, however, and Celestia only manged to land in a flower bed and lose her balance, tumbling to the ground. She brought a hoof to her face and wiped a lock of pink hair out of her eyes before watching the butterfly make its way to a far off tree. She gave a defeated frown as she got up, but soon became fascinated with a bright yellow flower and trotted towards it.

Being an alicorn, Celestia’s aging process was greatly slowed, which is why the two hundred year old pony was still but a young filly. She had just begun her life in the time it took many generations to live and die. This fact wasn’t known to the princess, however, as the family kept quiet in the deep woods. To Celestia, her long life was perfectly normal, and her parents would prefer it to stay that way - at least until she were an adult.

It wasn’t long before Sonance found himself in the small clearing that Celestia was playing in; he had heard her giggling long before he spotted her. He couldn’t help but a find a smile overtake him when he saw the tiny filly chasing after birds and other woodland creatures, in a vain attempt at a game of tag.

“Come back here, mister bird!” Celestia called, running after a blue jay gliding through the forest.

Sonance leaned against a tree and silently watched his daughter enjoy herself, not wanting to spoil the moment. After the avian had flown past the treetops, Celestia huffed and turned around, quickly spotting her father. Sonance waved a hoof as their eyes met.

“Daddy!” she squealed in delight, rushing over to him with a wide grin. The young princess nearly tackled his leg as she embraced it, nuzzling him affectionately.

“Hello there, little one.” Sonance said, kneeling down so he could be eye level with her. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah! I just wish the birds wouldn’t fly so fast.” she gave an adorable little pout.

“Someday soon, you’ll be able to fly with them.” Sonance replied.

“You really think so?” Celestia asked.

“I know so. In fact, I think it’s time for some flying lessons.”

The little alicorn’s eyes lit up at the notion of learning how to fly. She had always watched her mother and father take wing, often to gather food, and questioning when she would learn was a near daily occurrence. “Oh, yes, yes, yes!” she cheered.

Sonance’s horn lit up and he gently lifted Celestia onto his back, making sure to be careful with her. He stood up and began walking towards the castle, which was only several hundred feet away.

“Daddy, when can I fly as good as you?”

“Oh, I’d say a few hundred years.”

Celestia melodramatically groaned. “A few hundred? That’s really long!”

“It is a long time, but flying takes practice and patience.”

“If I try real hard, can I be good at it sooner?”

Sonance lightly laughed. “I suppose you could.”

The two of them went to a small courtyard, tucked inside of the castle, for Celestia’s flying practice. Sonance went through the basics, showing her how to properly lift off, how to control her height, speed and descent, and how to land safely. However, despite the small alicorn’s efforts, her wings weren’t quite strong enough for her to stay afloat for more than a few seconds. Her diligence didn’t go unrewarded, though, as Sonance offered to play a game of hide and seek with her when they were finished. After a fit of running around and laughing, the two of them laid next to each other in the soft grass. It was then that Celestia asked a peculiar question.

“Daddy, why was I born with my cutie mark?”

The inquiry was a surprise to Sonance, who had to think about what he was just asked. He turned his head to Celestia, who was staring at him inquisitively. Her small head was cocked to the side as she patiently awaited his answer.

“Well...” Sonance started, bringing a hoof to his chin and rubbing it. “I think it’s because you’re a very important pony.”

“How?”

“Here we go.” Sonance thought. He rolled over onto his stomach and stood up, Celestia following suit. “Come, Celestia. Let us talk.”

“Okay!” she said, walking to his side.

They began their light walk through the courtyard, entering one of the buildings. “You see, Celestia, someday, you will rule all of Equestria.”

The little filly’s eyes widened at the statement. “Wow, really?!” she exclaimed.

“Indeed. When you were born and your mother and I saw your cutie mark, we believed that you would also raise the sun.”

Celestia looked through a nearby window to see the sun’s rays shining over some plant life and parts of the castle. Her gaze drifted upwards, into the sky, where the intense, bright orb hung. “I’ll be able to move that?” she said, not able to believe her fathers words.

Sonance nodded. “Of course, just as your mother and I do. However, she tends to deal with the sun more often than myself.” He noticed himself starting to drift off topic. “Regardless, one day, you will be princess of Equestria, and the only one able to bring the sun up for dawn.” Their idle walking brought them in front of the castle now, near the rope bridge hanging across the gulch. Sonance slowed to a stop, then looked down at his daughter. “Would you like to learn how to raise the sun?”

“That sounds hard.” Celestia said, scrunching up her nose.

“Oh, it’s not so difficult with a bit of practice.” As if to demonstrate the ease, Sonance’s horn glowed for a moment, and the sun seemed to move ever so slightly along it’s course. “I’ll have to push that back later...”

“Wow...” Celestia said, her mouth slightly hanging open. The dark alicorn gently brought a hoof to her chin and shut it, with a grin.

“It’s a bit of a feat, at first. You should try.”

“Do you think I can do it?”

“I believe in you, Celestia.” He knelt down next to the princess, and used his hoof to motion to the bright sun. “Just imagine that you’re taking a mighty hoof, and pushing the sun along it’s way.”

“Um... I’ll try.” Celestia closed her eyes and focused, pointing her horn in the direction of the sun. It gained a soft glow, as her magic was being channeled through it. She felt the strain as she attempted to push the great star forward, and it’s increasing difficulty caused her to spread her hooves out and brace herself, as if she herself was pushing the star. The glow intensified, and slight sparks began to jump out; a clear indicator of the amount of effort this little filly was putting forth. Sonance eagerly watched as Celestia attempted the impossible task set forth, almost inspired by her diligence and perseverance. Finally, she gasped and fell to the ground, her horn returning to it’s regular, matte color.

“Did... did it work?” she asked, not even bothering to look up. The small alicorn was much too tired from the attempt.

Sonance gave a light hearted laugh as he delivered the unfortunate news. “I’m afraid not, little one, but you certainly tried!” He helped Celestia to her hooves, allowing her to lean against his leg for support. “Don’t fret, someday it will come naturally to you.”

“Daddy, I think I’m done trying to move the sun right now.”

“That’s okay, my dear. Later, you can try moving the moon.”

Her eyes widened, the dread of having to try and move that heavenly body as well washing over her. “Not that, too!”

Sonance laughed, using his magic to place the tired princess on his back and walking back into the castle. “We’ll practice that some other night.”

Celestia let out a high pitched yawn, and curled up on her father’s back. “Okay...”

“You should always try and practice your magic, Celestia. One day, your mother and I won’t be here to raise the sun and moon for Equestria.” Sonance pursed his lips immediately after saying his last sentence, silently contemplating if he had just revealed too much for the young alicorn.

“I don’t really get it.” she said, allowing a wave of relief to fall over Sonance.

“That’s fine. You’ll understand in the future.”

The two of them were silent as Sonance walked through the stone hallways. Sooner or later, him and Rhapsody were going to need to let Celestia know what would happen in four hundred years time, but they just didn’t know how to tell her. It was a puzzling ordeal that pained Sonance every time he thought about it. He would need to think on it.

Sonance reached the entrance to the tower, where he let Celestia down. She rubbed her eyes a bit, still tired from the sun raising attempt, and wobbled slightly as she touched the ground. Sonance eyed her carefully to make sure she wouldn’t topple over, and after confirming she would be alright, spoke.

“I’m going to go out into the forest now. How about you play in the courtyard while I’m gone?”

“Alright, daddy.” she said, starting to perk up.

“Stay safe.” Sonance said, giving her a hug before trotting off. Celestia then thought about what to do, after her father went on his way. She looked to the courtyard, then behind her to the stairs leading up. In her little mind, she formed a plan to get some answers.

Celestia’s ‘plan’ consisted of walking up the stairs and consulting her mother on the issue. While not the most complicated of actions, in her mind it was a genius idea. She reached the top of the long flight of stairs, panting as she walked into her parents room. Although she slept here as well, the abundance of things belonging to her mother and father were enough to label it as their room. She found Rhapsody sitting at a desk, using the sunlight coming through the window to illuminate the paper she was writing on. Hearing Celestia’s breaths, she turned around and looked at her daughter.

“Celestia, my love! What brings you here?” The soft auburn alicorn got up and embraced Celestia, even curling her wings around for extra comfort. Celestia particularly enjoyed when her mother did this, as it made her feel warm and safe - though she was shy in speaking of it.

“I wanted to ask you about my cutie mark.” Celestia said, looking up and smiling at Rhapsody. There was no denying her daughter’s plea.

“What about?”

“Well, I asked daddy about it, and he said that it means I’m gonna be really important, but I don’t know why.”

“Come here, my young Celestia.” Rhapsody walked to the southern window of the room, which was overlooking one of the small structures in the castle. It was barely visible through the trees, but still remained noticeable because of it’s contrast in color. The light amber alicorn levitated her daughter on her back, so that the princess would get a better view through the windows.

“What about my-”

“Patience, little one. Your father and I believe that one day, you might rule Equestria for the greater good.”

“So my cutie mark is about being good?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, this answer clearly not what she had been expecting.

“It might be.” She took hold of Celestia and let her back down on the floor, then laid down herself. “To be honest, we don’t know exactly what your cutie mark means, darling.”

“Aww...” Celestia let out a disappointed groan.

“One day, you’ll figure it out for yourself. I’m sure of it.”

“I hope so.” the small alicorn replied, looking down and lightly pawing at the floor. “Can I ask another question?”

“Of course you can.”

“Daddy says that one day you and him will have to leave. Is that true?”

Celestia was too young to notice the quick look of surprise flash across Rhapsody’s face. She clearly hadn’t prepared for a question like this. For now, all she could do was answer the best way she could, and hope her daughter didn’t keep pressing the issue.

“This, too, is something else you learn in time, my dear.”

The white alicorn pouted, still not satisfied. She wasn’t very fond of all of the waiting she had been told to do recently, whether it be for finding out what her cutie mark really meant, why she was born with it, and if she would be able to raise the sun and moon. Rhapsody noticed the look of disappointment in her daughters eyes, but was unsure of what to tell her.

“Thank you, mommy. I’m gonna go downstairs and play now.”

“As you wish.” She leaned down and nuzzled Celestia, ruffling her pink mane. “Stay safe, dear.”

Celestia left the room and begun the long descent down the staircase. “I guess if mommy and daddy say I’ll know one day, then I’ll just wait.” she thought, as she walked down the steps. There was too much on her young mind, and right now she wanted nothing more than to explore through one of the mysterious parts of the courtyard. She had always loved to explore.

The shadowy alicorn gave a heavy sigh as he entered the room at the top of the tower, mane flowing loosely behind him. “What are we going to tell her, Rhapsody?”

“I’m just as lost as you are, my dear.” she replied, looking out one of the windows. Her horn flashed as the sun dipped behind the horizon, leaving only the bright moon making it’s way into the sky.

Sonance practically fell into the bed when he approached it, stretching his limbs out and pulling off his armored shoes. They fell to the ground with a hollow clang, which echoed throughout the stone room. “I want her to know the truth, but I fear she’s too young to understand.”

Rhapsody crawled onto the bed and cuddled next to her worried husband. “Sonance, my lunar prince, perhaps time will solve this problem.”

“Do you really believe that?” Sonance turned to his wife, frowning. “She deserves to know what the ascendancy will entail.”

“You worry for her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I’m just not certain she’ll be able to rule Equestria alone when we’re gone.”

Rhapsody sighed and laid her head on Sonance’s silky mane. “Our little sun princess might get along well with a little moon princess.”

“Is that what she needs? A sibling? She certainly wouldn’t be alone...”

“I think it might be just what we’re looking for.” she gently kissed the dark alicorn’s cheek. He returned the affectionate gesture, unfurling his wing and wrapping it around her.

“Hopefully, this will help her. All I want is for her to be happy.”

“As do I, Sonance... as do I.”

The faint sound of tiny hooves clopping against stone alerted them to Celestia’s approach, and they silently nodded; an agreement to stay quiet about the predicament. In four hundred terribly short years, the two of them would learn whether they had made the right choice or not.

3 - Luna

Chapter 3: Luna
Age: 500

Celestia paced around her room, looking down at the floor and lost in thought. Her pink mane flowed lightly behind her, floating lightly in the air. It was a change her parents were planning on, and they were enthralled to see it finally affecting her. Due to the latent magical power that alicorns’ possessed, it tended to spillover into their manes and give it a distinctive flowing property. This motion only grew more intense as the alicorn aged, and increased in magical expertise. While Celestia’s hair only gently moved as if it were laying in a small, trickling stream, Sonance and Rhapsody’s hair flowed freely like a river.

The nature of her hair was the least of her worries right now, though, as the sun princess walked back and forth, awaiting news from her father. She had been tarrying about for six hours now, and was beginning to get worried. Did it take this long when she was born? Was Rhapsody okay? What would her sister look like? All these questions ran through her mind as she idly walked around. As if fate itself was siding with her, she heard a solid knock at her door that pulled her from her thoughts. Celestia quickly opened the door to find Sonance standing there, smiling.

“Come with me, Celestia.”

She silently followed him, walking down a hallway and ascending up the large flight of stairs to the top of the tower. Looking out the window, she could see the thick forest that lay beyond the castle, with it’s trees and gnarled roots leading into darkness. In the recent years, it had sprung to life and rapidly grew - although Rhapsody and Sonance didn’t quite know why. They had searched the nearby forest on several occasions, but never found anything of peculiar interest. For now, it was a mystery left unsolved.

After a fairly short walk, the two were in the top chamber, where Rhapsody laid in bed. The signs of a struggle were evident on the mattress, where the sheets were ruffled. The smell of sweat was in the air, and Rhapsody looked as though she’d seen better days. Her mane was disheveled and weak looking, it’s luminous strands hanging limply in areas. Despite how she looked, though, there was a still a smile drawn across her face. In front of her laid a bundle of cloth, wrapped together. She held it within her forelegs, occasionally looking down at it. As Celestia approached her, she noticed that the bundle contained a tiny foal with a deep, blueish grey coat. Her mane was a light blue, which fell in such a way that it covered one of her teal eyes. For now, the foal was awake, her eyes curiously jumping from one thing in the room to the next.

“Celestia... meet your sister, Luna.” Rhapsody said.

The sun princess looked at her new sibling, with mixed feelings brewing inside of her. She enjoyed the fact that she now had a new sibling, but at the same time, wondered how it would affect her future as princess. Would Luna take over for her? Would she move on to a different country? Would they rule over Equestria as their mother and father did?

“I’m... still going to be princess, right?” Celestia asked, looking up at Rhapsody.

Both her mother and father chuckled at the question.

“Of course you will, dear.” Sonance said, running a hoof through Celestia’s mane. “You and Luna will simply rule together.”

“Like you and mom?”

“Exactly like us.” Rhapsody said, before giving Sonance a warm look. “Oh, and look...” She took some of the cloth away from Luna’s flank, revealing that she, too, had been born with her cutie mark. It depicted a bright white half moon on a dark patch of her fur.

Celestia look at the crescent moon, then looked back at her flank. “Oh, I get it. She’ll raise the moon.”

“Absolutely.” Sonance replied.

She brushed some loose strands of her light pink mane out of her hair before getting closer to Luna and giving her sister a good look. The little foal stretched out her foreleg, and lightly tapped Celestia on the nose, causing the sun princess to scrunch up her snout and back away suddenly. Luna giggled and pulled her hoof back, quickly losing her infantile train of thought. After Celestia fully comprehended what just happened, she couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“I like her.” she said, smiling at Luna.

“That’s excellent to hear.” Rhapsody replied, gently rocking the foal in her arms.

Sonance wrapped a hoof around Celestia and brought her closer to him, then softly touched small Luna’s cheek. “We have two beautiful daughters, and we couldn’t be any more proud.”

“Thanks, dad.” Celestia affectionately rubbed her head against Sonance’s leg.

“And we love you both, so much.” Rhapsody added, kissing Luna on the forehead.

Sonance approached Rhapsody and gave her a deep kiss. The two of them stood locked in the embrace for a moment, before Sonance parted. “I love you, dear.”

“I love you too, my dusky prince.”

The onyx alicorn looked down to Celestia. “Your mother is no doubt very tired. Shall we go prepare dinner?”

At the mentioning of food, Celestia realized just how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten in hours, and the anticipation for her sister had only made her hungrier. The faint gurgling in her stomach, heard even by Sonance, gave the ebony alicorn his answer. “Oh, yeah. I’m really hungry.”

“Come then. We’ll find something to make.” he looked back to Rhapsody. “Take care, dear.” Rhapsody silently nodded, then looked back down at Luna. Sonance leaned down and lightly kissed Luna on he forehead, then headed towards the exit, Celestia walking next to him, her pastel mane having the slightest wave to it. Today had been a long day for Sonance, and he was looking forward to a filling meal and his first daughter’s company. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Celestia, taking in just how fast his daughter was growing. She was taller now, and her head was up to his chest armor. Even as a young alicorn, she was the height of a full grown mare, and her magic ability was awakening every day, reflected both in her mane’s color, size, and movements. “Everything is coming together now. They are two sisters, both having the power to rule over Equestria. I can only hope they take care of each other.”

Time was fading for Sonance, as he could feel the universe beginning to grasp him. It wouldn’t be long now - one hundred years at the most. After that, all he would be able to do was silently watch his daughters from the stars, and pray that they lived out their lives. He would have to leave them soon, and the grim reality of the situation was quickly catching up with him.

4 - Ascension

Chapter 4: Ascension
Age: 600

Normally, it is a custom to celebrate the day of your birth, with either friends, family, or both, and rejoice in growing older and learning. It’s generally a time of happiness, good will, and becoming closer with those around you, while you move onto a new chapter in your life. For the alicorn spouses, living in an old castle perched in the heart of the Everfree Forest, their day was anything but.

It was on this day that Sonance woke with a jolted feeling that surged through his divine form. Sonance removed himself from the bed, covered from head to hoof in a cold sweat. He was visibly pale, and as he looked to Rhapsody, noticed that she looked much the same - to the point of her typical glow nearly nonexistent.

“Sonance...” she started. The dark alicorn could see the tears forming in his wife's eyes. “It’s time.”

“Is it that day already?” he asked, in slightly louder than a whisper. “It seems like just moments ago I was watching little Luna take her first steps.”

“Ninety years goes by quickly, dear.” The tanned alicorn spoke as best she could through her lamenting, and approached Sonance.

Sonance put a wing around Rhapsody and held her close, looking out of the nearest window. The dawn had just approached, which Rhapsody had freshly raised before the electrifying sensation hit them. It was the final call from the universe itself, ushering them into it’s infinite void and inviting them to shape the very foundations of reality. All alicorns’ felt this feeling, and all of them ascended into the heavens - all starting with that same sensation, and always happening on their four thousandth birthday. Despite their long years, this would prove to be the saddest day of their infinite lives.

“Celly! Get back here!” Luna yelled, chasing after her sister, who had the lunar princess’s crown between her teeth.

Many years ago, Sonance had come to them both asking if they would like a piece of jewerly, and they had excitedly agreed. All they had to do was out a type of gem, and he would craft it into something for them to wear. Celestia had a chosen a vibrant, deep amethyst, which would be set into a brilliant gold. Luna, on the other hand, has chosen obsidian, a very dark and shiny material that normally wasn’t used for decorative work.When asked about it, she claimed that it looked the prettiest, despite being surrounded by multitudes of other sparkling and vivid stones. Sonance listened to their requests, and within a days time, had forged two sparkling crowns for them. Celestia’s was a lustrous gold, polished until it was mirrorlike, with thin lines delicately etched into loopy patterns. Luna’s crown was made entirely out of obsidian, and gleamed even in the faintest of light. They both had a three pronged design at the top, with the middle piece being slightly taller. Although the two princesses were too small to properly wear them, they were cherished dearly. This fact made Luna’s crown a prime target for Celestia’s practical jokes.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” the sun princess yelled through her clenched teeth, quickly ducking into a nearby hallway.

“That’s no fair, you’re faster!” Luna hastily ran into the same hallway, catching Celestia’s tail disappearing through a door at the end of the hallway. She moved as fast as she could through the open door, to find an empty room. “Come out! It’s not funny!”

Celestia merely giggled, which echoed throughout the room.

“I’m gonna tell mom!” Luna said, walking farther into the room. She looked around, trying to find any hint of Celestia.

“No you won’t!” Celestia yelled, clearly.

Luna spun around to find Celestia hovering in the air, right above the door to the room. “Cheater! No flying!”

“You should learn how to fly then! Aren’t you a hundred?”

Luna pouted and looked up at her sister, and as agitated as a small filly could sound, said “You’re 600, and couldn’t fly ‘til you were 300! Mommy said so!”

“I guess you’ll have to learn faster, then!” Celestia said, putting the crown in her teeth and quickly darting through the air and out the door.

Luna began to chase, quickly at first, before hearing a soft thud, and hard thud, the sound of metal hitting stone, and an exclamation of pain. Looking out of the door, Luna saw Sonance and Rhapsody, with Celestia on the ground in front of them. Her wings were spread under her and she was lying on her back, hooves spread in every which way. She shook her head quickly and slowly got up, maintaining her balance. Luna spotted her crown on the ground and practically dived for it, picking it up tightly in her teeth.

“Celestia, what have we told you about picking on Luna?” Rhapsody said, looking down at her light coated daughter.

“Sorry mom...” Celestia dejectedly replied, pawing her hoof at the ground. She looked back to her mother, and noticed something peculiar about both her and Sonance: their eyes were red around the edges, as if they had been crying. “Mom... are you and dad alr-”

“Come with us, both of you.” Sonance said, cutting her off.

“Uh... okay.” Celestia said, getting that familiar feeling that she was about to be punished. Luna said nothing, but nodded her head, due to the crown she was holding.

The four of them walked together silently, through the stone hallways. At this point, grass was starting to creep through parts of the floor, which had been unmaintained by neither Sonance or Rhapsody recently. The castle was showing it’s age quite clearly now, similar to it’s ancient inhabitants. Their hooves echoed against the floor, but the sound softened as they reached the grass that was outside of the main entrance to the building. Celestia looked around, noticing the sun slowly rising, the forest encompassing them, and parts of the night sky hanging above, and could only wonder one thing: What are we doing?

Rhapsody and Sonance turned to face their two young daughters, and they stood there silently for several moments. Finally, Sonance broke the lingering speechlessness.

“Celestia, our eldest daughter. You are Regent of the Sun. Bringer of the Dawn. Light of Equestria. Princess and one of the heirs to our throne.” he turned to Luna. “Luna, our young daugher. You are Goddess of the Night. Princess of the Moon. Beholder of Dreams.”

Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but Rhapsody silently motioned to stay quiet.

“The two of you have been gifted with great power and divine rights to rule Equestria and keep it’s balance and harmony maintained for generation upon generation. You must use your powers to lead this land into peace and prosperity, and cultivate it’s ponies into a great civilisation.” Sonance looked to Rhapsody and nodded.

“Celestia, my love, since you are eldest, it is up to you to teach young Luna all she needs to know about magic and being a respectable princess.” She said this with a straight face, but on the inside she was screaming at herself. She didn’t want to leave her only daughters to fend themselves. Rhapsody knew it was going to devastate them, but she had to lead them on the right path before she left. This was required of alicorns, nay, it was their destiny. As much as it was tearing her apart, she had to do this.

“Mom... dad... why are you telling me this?” Celestia asked, inquisitively looking up.

Rhapsody ignored the question, continuing her speech. “As you rule, you must show kindness to any pony that you may meet, and treat them with the same respect you would treat us or your sister. When making decisions, you must think for the good of the land and of the ponies, not yourself. Celestia, my young princess, you must protect Equestria... and Luna... with every fiber of your being. Do you understand?”

“I... I think so...”

“Do you understand, Celestia?” Rhapsody asked again, sternly.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Also, Celestia, your mother and I must warn you of the dangers lurking outside of this forest. Should you ever leave, there are creatures and rulers that not even we know of. We merely raise the sun and moon. It is up to you two to carry on our legacy and protect Equestria.” Sonance gave Celestia a very concerned look. “Please, take care of yourself and Luna.”

“Dad... father... I understand what you’re saying, but why are yo-” Celestia began, but trailed off as she noticed what was happening to Sonance and Rhapsody’s hooves. A soft glow encased them, and bits and pieces of their essence appeared to break off and float away. They were extremely small fragments, and the drifted endlessly into the sky. Rhapsody’s bright particles circled Sonance’s dark ones, creating a dark and light spiral that shone and glimmered in the air.

“Wha... what’s happening to you?!” Celestia exclaimed, watching her parents slowly dissolve in front of her. They didn’t appear to be in pain, either, so the young princess was extremely confused.

“Celestia, darling... your father and I... we’re ascending.” Rhapsody said, her eyes beginning to tear up.

“What it means, daughter, is that we are moving on into the endless universe, to help shape and form it.”

“I... I don’t understand!” Celestia was begin to stutter, due to her quickly onsetting panic. Even Luna, who wasn’t sure what was going on, began to get nervous at the emotions surrounding her. “Are you... are you going to come back?!”

Rhapsody and Sonance both knelt down in front her, becoming eye level with their snowy pink daughter. Celestia’s fear and turmoil was written all over her face, and was only magnified in her slowly misting magenta eyes. The princess could also see her parents pain and sadness deep within them, and something inside her told her that this would be the last time they saw her. The following words had been enough to push the young princess over the edge.

“...We’re sorry, both of you.”

Celestia frantically looked between both of her parents, before completely breaking down into wracking sobs. The sight of their heartbroken daughter finally cracked Rhapsody and Sonance, who also began to tear up and cry.

“P-Please... don’t... don’t go!” Celestia cried, burying her face into Rhapsody’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Celestia, but we have to go. It’s our time.”

“No! It can’t be! I’m... I’m not even g-grown up yet!”

“Celestia, dear, you are old enough to survive without us. We’ve seen this in you.” Sonance said, softly stroking Celestia’s hair.

“I... I don’t want to! I want you and mom!”

Luna had caught on to the situation, and was now worriedly looking at her parents and Celestia. The small princess moved closer to Celestia, who was continuously crying into Rhapsody’s coat. Her and Sonance’s bottom halves were beginning to dissolve now, nearly up to their tails. The two didn’t have much time left, and they all knew this.

Celestia looked up, her two red, watery eyes locking with Sonance’s equally tearful ones. “I’m scared... I don’t want you to leave.”

“Do not fear, young Celestia. One day, we will meet again, among the stars.”

“That... That’s too long!” she cried, her sobbing reaching full force again.

“We don’t have much time, my love.” Rhapsody said, her sorrowful droplets falling silently to the earth. Luna began to cry as well, her sorrowful weeping mixing in with Celestia’s sobs.

“You can’t leave... you can’t!” the light alicorn said, now falling to the ground out of despair and hopelessness. The slowly rising sun made her tears shine and glimmer brilliantly, in harsh contrast to her mood.

“Celestia, Luna, we believe in both of you. We know you can rule this country.” Sonance said, somberly. Though barely visible on his dark coat and astral mane, his tears flowed as well. They dripped down his neck and fell off, with a lack of material to cling to.

Young Luna, through gasps and cries, said “Mommy... d-daddy... don’t go.”

“Both of you... we’re so sorry for this.” Rhapsody said, closing her eyes briefly. “It’s time for us to leave.”

“No... no...” Celestia said, attempting to crawl to her hooves.

Sonance looked to both the princesses “Do not grieve for us, my daughters. We will meet again.”

“No, no, no...” she wiped parts of her pink mane out of her wet face, looking sadly up to her parents. Their luminous shards towered high into the sky, creating a spiral pattern reaching for the cosmos.

“Farewell, young Celestia.” Rhapsody said, kissing her distraught daughter on the forehead, which was followed up by Sonance’s kiss.

“And farewell to you, too, little Luna.” Sonance added, delivering the same loving action to the moon princess. Rhapsody gave her own, one of her tears falling and gently hitting Luna’s small cheek.

“Don’t go... please don’t go...” Celestia said, almost silently. The princess had almost completely given up. The ascension was nearly finished, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Sonance and Rhapsody closed their eyes, and the last pieces of their bodies broke off and ascended into the heavens. As the last particle drifted off, the sun rose beyond the treeline, casting it’s rays over the ancient castle, nestled on a small cliff, deep in the heart of the Everfree Forest. This was where the two great alicorns, Rhapsody and Sonance, had helped nurture Equestria and it’s inhabitants for generations. This was where those two alicorns gave birth to princess Celestia and princess Luna, heirs to the throne and caretakers of the sun and moon. This was where those four alicorns had been a family, and lived together for hundreds of years.

And now, on the four thousandth year of their parents rule, this was where two young princesses laid in sorrow.

6 - Discord

Chapter 6: Discord
Age: 700

‘Someday soon,’ for an alicorn, ended up being one hundred years. It was at this time that the corruption spreading from that dark cave had reached the castle of the two sisters. In the past, they had both heard the terrible screeches and roars from various beasts within the forest, which had clearly seen the evil taint, and were now vicious and bloodthirsty creatures. Now, however, the first creeping, putrid looking vines moved past the treeline and encroached upon the land around the castle.

“Celestia...” Luna started, not knowing how to continue.

“I know, sister... I know...” the older alicorn replied, her mouth creased in a frown. She looked upon the forest with sadness, wondering how something so terrible could have happened to the forest she had known for hundreds if years. “It feels like it was merely a week ago when... father and I were exploring these woods...”

She wasn’t able to think much past that when the distinct roar of a hydra pierced her thoughts.

“Celly!” Luna cried, spreading her wings and backing up in fear. Out from the forest, a hydra stormed through, tearing down trees and ripping up dirt with its claws. Its four heads looked every which way, searching for their next meal. Their eyes then locked onto the two alicorns, and its heads collectively licked their lips. With a primal bellow, the hydra surged towards them, preemptively snapping it’s jaws in the event something was caught in them.

“Luna, follow my lead!” the sun princess yelled, dashing to the right. Two the the hydras heads went towards her. Luna ran the opposite direction, and the other two heads went for her instead. The opposite pulling caused all four heads to snap back and hit each other with audible thumps, temporarily dazing the hydra. After it had shaken its heads and recovered, it decided to chase after the larger alicorn.

“Perfect.” Celestia thought, looking behind her. She then spread her wings and took to the sky, flying in a zig-zag pattern to throw off the hydra, which was catching up to her. With a heavy flap of her wings, she shot forward and spun around. As she faced the hydra, her horn lit up and she shot a blast of magic at the creature, hitting one of its necks. Celestia continued through with the spin, facing forward again and steadying herself, grinning slightly as she heard the hydra whimper.

When Luna noticed the hydra stop following her, she quickly dug her hooves into the ground to slow down, sliding across the grass slightly. Wasting no time, she flared her wings and flew off in pursuit of the hydra. She noticed Celestia fire off the round of magic, and decided to follow her sister’s lead in the attack. Her horn lit up as well and several beams of blue light shot from her horn and exploded against the hydras scales. The monster fell down from the blast but just as quickly got up, angrily roaring. The sound was almost deafening as Luna shot past him and caught up with Celestia.

“What now, Celly?” she asked, looking up to the white alicorn.

Celestia turned her head to Luna and brought a hoof to her chin, thinking for a moment. Her eyes suddenly widened, then her brows creased in aggression and her mouth curled into a smile. “Now, we confuse him. Fly opposite of me!”

Luna nodded, then the two took off, side by side, rapidly approaching the hydra. They each went to the creatures sides, flying clockwise and counterclockwise around him quickly. In a vain effort to grab his meal, the hydras heads snapped out and clapped shut, but only found air. The heads tried to follow the alicorns as they flew, quickly beginning to twist their necks around each other.

“Keep going!” Celestia yelled, eyes squinted and tearing as she became nauseous due to the g-forces, wind and continuous spinning from her rapid flight.

Finally, all four heads were tied up and bound like a rope, and the hydra quickly lost it’s balance and fell to the ground with a thud. It whined in pain as it tried to untangle itself, quickly scraping itself to its feet. The hydra made no continue the fight as it hurried into the forest, heads still wrapped up and knotted together. After it had disappeared behind the dense trees, Celestia and Luna both sighed, breathing heavily.

“When did you learn offensive magic like that?” Celestia asked, looking at Luna with a relieved smile.

“I’ve been doing some reading.” she happily admitted.

“Well, you’ll have to show me sometime. What you did was...” the alabaster princess stopped mid-sentence, ears perking up. She heard a faint tapping, coming from in front of the castle. Looking in the direction of the rope bridge, she saw other ponies! Right before her eyes, there were pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies alike, all stomping their fore-hooves on the ground and cheering. They whistled, hollered and yelled in delight before the two princesses, who were positively dumbstruck at the sight.

“Celly... what should we do?” Luna asked, leaning closer to her sister. She nervously looked from pony to pony.

“We should...” she looked over them, with their smiling faces and yells of joy. “Go and greet them.” Celestia finished, looking down to Luna with a warm smile of her own.

The moon princess gulped and nodded nervously before spreading her wings. Celestia did the same, and the two princesses lightly flew to the small crowd on the other side of the bridge.

As they touched the ground, Celestia noticed how much taller she was than the other ponies. She also noticed their gaping mouths as they looked over both her and Luna. Quiet mumbling was heard between them, speaking things like ‘horn and wings’ and ‘so tall.’

“Who... who are you?” a random pony in the crowd asked.

“I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna.” Celestia calmly answered.

“Hello...” Luna quietly added, attempting to hide herself behind one of Celestia’s wings.

It was silent for a long while, as both the princesses and the small group of ponies looked at each other in curiosity and awe. Celestia and Luna had never seen other ponies before, and the group had never seen a pony with both a horn and wings, let alone two of them. After minutes of this silent stalemate, with only the quiet sound of wind and the occasional distant animal sound in the forest, one pony moved in front of the group and broke the stillness in the air.

She was an earth pony with a light pink coat, paired with straight red mane that formed a widows peak on her forehead and extended to the back of her neck. Her tail was equally as straight, and she wore a simple saddle with bags attached to it. She had a very serious face on, and appeared to be the leader of the group. “Greetings, Celestia and Luna. My name is Crimson Heart, and I am the founder of... what used to be Ponyville.”

“Ponyville?” Celestia inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. It is... was... a settlement we had formed, just outside the border of this forest.” Crimson Heart looked the ground with sadness in her eyes as she said this.

“Why do you refer to it in the past tense?”

The pink pony sighed. “It’s because of... Discord.” The other ponies behind her gasped, afraid of merely the mention of whoever Discord was.

“And just who is Discord?” Celestia laid down on the ground now, becoming eye level with Crimson Heart. The alicorn had a slight frown, and she looked to the red maned pony with concern.

“Discord... is a terrifying being who can do anything at will.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly that, Celestia. He can do... anything. He can make it rain from ground to sky, or turn creatures into... pastries.”

Celestia blinked. “I am terribly sorry, but I do not have the slightest clue what you mean.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. This is the only area of Equestria he hasn’t touched with his mischievous antics. It seems so... peaceful here.”

“I would not be entirely sure of that...” Celestia replied, looking to the area of the trees where the hydra from earlier had reduced to broken trunks and gnarled branches.

“Regardless, this is the last safe haven we have. The rest of the world is... too chaotic.”

The princess stood, mane and tail flowing lightly in the breeze. Her eyes narrowed as she looked past the treeline, where the rest of Equestria was hidden. “Myself and Luna will see what we can do.”

Crimson Heart’s eyes grew wide. “Are you... are you really going to do that for us?”

“Of course we will. Long ago, we made a promise to protect Equestria. If that vow means leaving this forest and confronting Discord, then so be it.”

The founder of Ponyville dropped to her front knees in a deep bow. “Thank you... thank you so much. Everything we had was in that town.”

“Yeah, thanks!” a member of the crowd shouted. Others followed suite, and soon the whole crowd had erupted into applause and cheers once again.

“Your kindness and generosity are untold of, Celestia.” Crimson Heart said. As Celestia looked into her eyes, she could see tears brimming on the edges of the pink ponies eyes.

“It is my duty as princess of Equestria to protect it. I vow to remain loyal to my promise to keep this land safe.”

Another cheer came from the small crowd, who were simply elated.

“Come, Luna.” Celestia said, looking to her younger sister. “It’s time to leave the forest.”

For the first time in their very long lives, Celestia and Luna stepped outside the boundaries of the Everfree Forest. They were surprised by the dirt path that had been formed in the forest, from all of the ponies traveling throughout. In all the years this road

The refugees of Ponyville followed the two princesses closely, anticipating how they would react to the outside world, and how they would rid Equestria of Discord. They silently pondered, watching the two alicorns as they stepped outside of the forests veil.

There was a deathly silence as both princesses looked out upon the world before them. They stood and stared, eyes scanning the landscape and its surroundings.

“Is... it... supposed to be like this?” Luna quietly asked, eyes shifting from one sight to another

“I... do not think so.” Celestia replied.

They were speechless after that, not sure how to even begin to comprehend the world they were looking at. In the distance, a group of small buildings could be seen - presumably Ponyville. However, above the town were clouds of various neon hues, raining what looked like brown water. Where grass would normally be, vibrant and strange patterns crisscrossed and weaved, making the ground look like a terribly tacky quilt. Random trees fell over in the wind, revealing thin sheets instead of thick trunks.

The animals in this world were of a completely different nature as well. Birds flew upside down and backwards, snakes coiled like springs and bounced around, and chickens grew hideously tall legs and lost their wings. To put it in one word: chaos.

“This is... very different.” the sun princess said, head cocked slightly to the side.

“It used to be so beautiful.” Crimson Heart said, stepping forward.

Just then, the sky around them grew dark, and a haunting laugh echoed through the forest. “Honestly, Crimson Heart, you’re much too attached to your old way of life.” The voice was smooth and laced with sarcasm, and at the same time, sinister and cunning.

The town’s founder looked into the tree tops, eyes moving from branch to branch, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Behind her, the ponies cowered together in fear, frantically searching the area.

“Who is that?” Luna asked, also looking skywards.

“It’s him.” Crimson answered. As she finished, a crack of lightning shot from the clouds and struck mere feet away from Celestia, who remained still. Oddly, copious amounts of smoke and confetti shot out from the impact area. When the white hot bolt of electricity struck, the split second it sparked formed a large creature, leisurely sitting upon a dark throne. In his gryphon claw, he lazily rolled a glass between his fingers, which was filled with a brown liquid. With a sly grin, he brought it to his bearded face and took a sip, the glass gently tapping against his snaggletooth.

“Wasn’t that fantastic?” a voice said, between Celestia and Luna. To their shock, they looked to where it had originated, to find a second copy of the creature standing besides them, resting his arms around both of them casually. In a flash, the one sitting upon the throne, and the throne itself, disappeared. “Well, who do we have here?” With a snap of his fingers, he now floated in front of the princess.

“Discord.” Celestia spoke, eyes narrowed. She stared daggers into the beast in front of her, yet he seemed unaffected.

“Oh, so you’ve heard of me? How wonderful!” With another flash, he appeared in front of Luna. “And who is this? You are simply precious.” Discord took his lion’s paw and pinched Luna on the cheek, to the young princesses horror.

“Enough with the games, demon.” Celestia harshly spoke, eyes shifting to Discord.

He let out a vile laugh before appearing in front of Celestia gain. “Demon? I’m afraid not, my dear. You see, I am a draconequus.”

“A what?” Even the princess, in all her years of life, could only raise an eyebrow in confusion at what he had described.

“Oh, you know, draconequus. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. It’s quite simple, really!” He fluttered his bat wing and pegasus wing as if to prove his point. “However, enough about me... I want to know all about you...” Discord smiled, and dragged one of his fingers down Celestia’s cheek to the edge of her mouth.

The alicorn furrowed her brows and bared her teeth slightly. “Do not touch me.” She hissed.

“What’s the matter... Celestia?”

“How do you know my name?”

He chuckled, reappearing next to Celestia. Nonchalantly, he crossed his legs and rested an elbow on Celestia’s back, looking down to her. She returned an angry scowl.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Celestia. Lighten up a little!” he disappeared momentarily and popped up next to Luna, hovering upside down. “I bet you know how have a good time.”

“Do not talk to my sister so casually, Discord.” Celestia harshly said.

“Are you always this uptight, my little sun princess?”

Celestia closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to remain calm. Opening them, she looked to Discord, who was floating in the air, arms behind his head as he pretended to lay down. “How do you know who I am... and what I can do?”

“Well that’s easy, Celestia. You’re practically an open book!” In his hand, a leather bound tome appeared, with the title ‘Princess Celestia.’ Discord pulled a pair of reading glasses from seemingly nowhere and put them on before clearing his throat and flipping through the pages. “Now, let’s see... ah, yes. Celestia, daughter of Rhapsody and Sonance, regent of the sun, seven hundred years old, blah blah.” He then smiled, snapping the book closed and making it, and the glasses, disappear in smoke filled bursts.

“What? That... that is impossible...” Celestia’s eyes went wide as he listed off facts that only she and Luna would know. Just what was she dealing with?

“Nothing is impossible with chaos, my pink haired beauty.”

She couldn’t take it anymore. “What do you want, Discord?” Celestia nearly yelled, to the surprise of everypony around - and even to the draconequus itself.

“My, my, my. So demanding, Celestia. If you insist on being so dull, I simply care here to ask what you thought of Equestria!”

“Do you truly desire my answer to that?”

“Well of course.” He hovered in front of the irritated princess, and lightly tapped a finger to her nose. “I always want to keep the opinion of my favorite alicorn in mind.”

The princess moved her head away from Discord’s obtrusive finger before speaking. “It disgusts me. I would like Equestria to return to normal.”

Discord frowned, holding his chin in his hand. “I’m hurt, Celestia. I thought you would like my improvements.”

“Undo your madness, Discord.”

Discord stifled a laugh. “Oh? And what will happen if I don’t, little sun spot?” He snapped his fingers and a fresh glass of the brown liquid appeared in his hand.

“...then we’ll make you.” The voice came from Luna, whom all eyes turned to. She was frowning and looked dreadfully frightened, but she stood her ground.

Discord nearly spit out his drink, which was turning purple as he consumed it. “You two? Stopping me? The spirit of chaos and disharmony?”

“We will do everything within our power.”

“Your power? You mean this?” Discord snapped his fingers, and to everyponies shock and horror, the sun rapidly dipped below the horizon and the moon took it’s place.

Celestia’s face turned from anger to horror in an instant. Her magenta eyes widened, her pupils shrinking to pin sized. Her mouth stood agape as she witnessed the feat before her - at something she thought was only possible for her to accomplish. In a mere moment, her power had been dwarfed right in front of her. She glanced over to Luna, who wore the same terrified expression. Neither of the princesses could move a muscle, or even think straight for that matter. They were too busy focusing on the god like creature before them.

Discord laughed. It wasn’t a lighthearted laugh, or a good-natured laugh, but a dark, sinister, truly evil cackle. It echoed throughout the woods, ringing through the ears of the princesses and the towns ponies. “If moving the sun and moon is the peak of your power, how can you possibly hope to defeat me?” He snapped his fingers, and a large cloud hovered over the surrounding area. After several moments, small, fluffy pieces of fabric began to fall from the sky. “I mean really, Celestia, I can do mostly anything I want! Raise the sun, paint the ground... make it rain socks.”

A particularly hard rain fell upon Luna, who had quickly become completely covered in the garments. She poked her head out of pile, shaking it slightly to get here bearings back.

“And then, I can manipulate mostly anything! For example...” He waved his hand in a circular motion, and the pile of socks around Luna began to twist and twirl around her as a hurricane. The fuzzy pieces encompassed her, catching her off guard and hiding her from sight.

“Luna, no!” Celestia yelled, jumping to the sock tornado. She threw a hoof into the spinning frenzy, but to no avail.

“Oh, please. There’s no need to be so dramatic.” Discord abruptly stopped spinning his hand, causing the socks to fall and spread in every which way. In the bottom of the reformed pile, Luna stumbled out, in a daze.

“Wha... what happened?” she asked, to nopony in particular, before collapsing. She exhaustedly looked down at her hooves, which were all adorned with a sock. “Why... why am I wearing these? I don’t understand...”

Discord couldn’t help but burst out into raucous laughter at the wobbly princess. He wiped some tears from his eyes as he watched her attempt to get up, only to fall flat moments later.

“Leave my sister be, Discord!” Celestia shouted, teeth grit and brows sharply furrowed.

“My, Celestia. It seems the combination of my beautiful composition and the dreadful sun has gotten you all hot and bothered. How about you take some time to cool down?” He snapped his fingers.

“Quiet, Discord! Just return everything to-” she didn’t get to finish as a large volume of very cold water drenched her from head to hoof. Her mane now stood limply at her sides, dragging along the ground. Silence encased the area for moment, save for the dripping of water from Celestia’s body, before Discord fell to the ground, clutching his sides. He laughed and laughed, playing the two princesses for fools.

“Oh! Oh!” he cried, attempting to speak through his giggling fits. “That was... that was too good!” Using his arm for support, he slowly pushed himself up, chortling the whole way. Finally, he had regained his composure and stood, letting one last laugh slip through before he brought a hand to his mouth and coughed.

“Now, where were we. Ah, yes, you were soaking wet. Allow me.” With the wave of his hand, a hot, forceful wind blew past Celestia for several moments. When it finally stopped, her hair was dry, but now incredibly disheveled and curly. The strands weakly tried to sway as they stood knotted up and curled.

“Oh, it’s simply perfect.” Discord appeared next to Celestia, and practically whispered into her ear, “Perfectly chaotic!”

All he received from Celestia was what sounded like a primal growl, but he shrugged it off and teleported in front of her. Just then, he looked down to his wrist, where a paper timepiece now lay. “Good heavens, just look at the time!’ he exclaimed. Next to him, from seemingly nowhere, a string fell down, dangling lightly. He pulled it, causing the sun to drop down and the moon to replace it, accompanied with a clicking noise.

“This is enough!” Celestia thought, the anger building inside her reaching it’s breaking point. She had been extremely patient up until now, but this was the final straw. She was not going to let this monstrosity undermine her and her sister before their very eyes. “Discord...” she said, eyes closed. “I have had enough of you!”

As Celestia said this, she opened her eyes, and the iris’s pulsated with a bright glow. Her horn lit up, and the sun and moon forcefully switched places, and faster than anypony had ever witnessed before.

“What do we have here?” Discord asked, gently stroking his beard. “It seems there’s more to you than I thought, Celestia.” He lifted his arm, which glowed yellow. “If it’s a power struggle you want, then it’s a power struggle you will have!”

Instead of the sun moving, it was the moon that rose, and it moved directly in front of the sun. The darkened light cast a haunting glow over Equestria, as both princess of the sun and spirit of disharmony struggled with the Celestial bodies. Through both their efforts though, neither of the bodies moved from their eclipsing spots.

“It would appear we’re at a stalemate.” Celestia calmly said, glowing, half open eyes staring right into Discord’s garnet red ones.

“So it would.” Discord responded, crossing his arms. “I suppose there is only one way to settle this.”

Celestia slightly lifted an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Discord suddenly disappeared, and his voice echoed around Celestia and the other ponies. “We’ll just have to duke it out!”

Out of nowhere, a crackling ball of energy shot at Celestia, who spotted it and narrowly dodged it in time. The impact shot some dirt at the sun princess, whose eyes were rapidly scanning her surroundings. Her horn lit up, ready to strike at any moment. Another ball of energy, which she deftly evaded as well.

“You cannot hide forever, Discord!” she yelled, into the sky.

“Celly!” Luna yelled. Celestia spun around and found Discord next to her sister. She immediately shot off a burst of magic, but the draconequus snapped his fingers and the sizzling energy transformed into limp noodles, which fell comically to the floor.

“Pasta, my dear? How cliché. You need a little more pizazz!” He shot off his own burst of magic, in the shape of a sharp disc. Celestia barely dropped to her knees in time, as it skimmed over here mane and lodged into a tree behind her, before dissipating.

“Luna, use your magic like we practiced!” Celestia said, spreading here wings and taking flight.

“O... Okay!” Luna replied, before also spreading her wings and lifting off the ground.

The two princesses dodged Discord’s assaults and launched their own, only to have them transformed into some sort of comedic item. A magic blast exploded into balloons next to him, while a beam of light looped into text that read ‘Celestia can’t fight.’ Meanwhile, a princess tucked her wings in and dropped as a ball of flame passed her, as the other took shot into the air, escaping the path of an extra sharp candy cane.

To Crimson Heart and the other members of Ponyville, the fight was surreal. Each and every one of them had a difficult time believing the things they were seeing. Some simply turned their backs and refused to watch, knowing they wouldn’t be able to take it if the outcome was poor. The town founder rigidly stood though, watching the princesses and hoping with every fiber of her being that they won against impossible odds.

“Luna, use the technique we used against the hyrdra!” Celestia shouted as she passed Luna mid flight. The moon princess nodded, flying next to her sister - and right towards Discord. The spirit of chaos smiled as he watched his opponents fly right into their doom, or so he thought. They broke apart before they reached him, going opposite directions.

“Please. Do you honestly think that will work?” he asked. In his hands, two lassos materialized, which he spun around as deftly as the best cowpony in Equestria. With a quick motion, he sent the lassos out much farther than should have been possible, snagging both princesses. Then, with a hard tug, he brought them both back to him, and they crashed together with a hard thud.

“Are you two done with your little games? I would like to go back to ruling Equestria.”

Celestia painfully got to her hooves, breathing heavily. “We will never... give up... to something... like you.” She panted.

Discord sighed. “You’re finished, ladies. Now, how would you prefer to be done away with? Launched clear off the planet? Encased in an underground labyrinth? Locked in an inter-dimensional prison? The choices are nearly endless!”

“Not yet... we can still fight!” Celestia thought, closing her eyes. Her mind raced. Her heart beat quickly. Most importantly, raw magic flowed through her. She thought to all the ponies who had been suffering in Equestria. From the town founders like Crimson Heart down to the simplest pony, they were all in turmoil and wanted nothing more than salvation. She then thought to Luna, who still had much growing to do, and needed a strong sister to look up to. Finally, the final words of Rhapsody, her caring mother, pierced through mind.

“I’ll let you two take your time. Choosing your ultimate demise is quite the decision!” He turned away from the alicorns, and unexpectedly, began to sing. “~Oh, Chaos, you are such a dear... Oh, Chaos, you’ll always be here...~”

“Luna...” Celestia said to her sister, who had stood up.

“~And without you, I don’t know what I would do...~”

“Yes, Celly?” the young alicorn replied, looking up to her sister with moist eyes.

“~But with all these wonders, there’s nothing to fear...~”

“Touch my hoof.” Celestia raised her hoof and moved it near Luna, who curiously looked at it. Noticing Celestia still had her eyes closed, she reluctantly raised her own hoof.

“~Oh, Chaos, such a magical thing... Oh, Chaos, it has such a nice ring...~”

The moon princess touched her hoof to Celestia’s and she felt a surge of energy travel rapidly through her body. “What... is this?”

“~And because of you, it’ll always be true...~” a decorative pillar appeared in front of him and he jumped on it, as if singing to a crowd.

Celestia opened her eyes, which were brightly illuminated with white energy. “Just let the power flow through you, and hit him with everything you have.”

Luna stifled a gasp as her sister turned to her, never having seen this happen before, but did her best to follow Celestia’s instructions. She closed her eyes, letting the magical surge flow through her. “Are we ready, Celly?” she asked, reopening her eyes. The same white glow Celestia’s eyes had now encompassed Luna’s as well.

“Of course.”

A shining yellow beam of light shot from Celestia’s horn while a dark blue one came from Luna’s, and the two beams twisted and arched around each other as the rose high into the sky. At their peak, they clashed in the air, making the same noise a powerful flare would. From the two spiraling beams came an extremely bright, almost glowing rainbow of seven colors, which fell rapidly from the sky - and straight at Discord.

“~Oh, Chaos, my chaos, you make... me... sing!~” he sung, raising his eagle claw and resting his lion paw against his chest. Discord drew out the final word of his song, and it was as this point the speeding rainbow of energy impacted him with full force.

The draconequus had very little time to react as he quickly turned to stone, with a feeling not very unlike being caught in quicksand. The magic rapidly rose up his body, petrifying his tail around the pillar, moving up to his legs, solidifying his claw against his chest, locking his arm in it’s upright position - and finally, as he understood what was happening, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ll eternally perform for you, Celestia!” he yelled, before opening his mouth wide again, as if he were still singing. The spell finally rush past his head and finished as at his horn, leaving naught but a cold, grey statue where the spirit of disharmony had been.

Celestia blinked. Under her, she felt soft grass, lightly tipped with morning dew. Above her, the sun shone brightly, threatening to blind her with he sudden light. She slowly got up, shaking her head slightly to get rid of the throbbing pain that occupied it. Celestia then looked forward, gasped, and clumsily recoiled and tripped over her own hooves, ending up right where she started. Realizing what it was, and that she wasn’t in danger, she got up again and lightly laughed. In front of her sat the statue of the defeated Discord, silent and motionless. She heard a light moan, and looking down besides her found Luna, also waking up.

“Where are we?” Luna asked, unsteadily getting on her hooves.

Celestia smiled, wrapping a wing around Luna. “We’re in Equestria.”

From behind them, a cheer erupted, and the two princess spun around to see the townspeople and Crimson Heart galloping at them. They laughed and sang praises as they approached, their happy voices mixed indistinguishably from one another.

“We... did it.” Luna said, the realization slowly dawning on her, making her mouth grow into a large smile. “We did it!”

“Indeed we did, sister. We stopped Discord, together.”

“Yes!” the small princess cheered, hopping in place.

“I can’t believe it!” Crimson Heart shouted, nearly crashing into Celestia. “You two... you stopped Discord! Equestria is saved!”

“We did what we were meant to do, and nothing more.” Celestia replied, a slight pink hue brightening her cheeks.

“You two were amazing!” a pony called out.

“That rainbow was incredible!” said another.

“I don’t know what to say, Celestia... princess.” the red maned pony said, looking up to the light alicorn. “I’m just... all of us... are eternally in your debt.”

“Hail Celestia! Hail Luna! Hail the saviors of Equestria!” the crowd roared, raising their hooves in the air.

“Oh, you are all far too generous, we just-” Celestia started, but was cut off by Luna.

“Celly, what are these?”

“What?” Celestia asked, turning around. Luna was examining a set of six gems on the ground, each a different color. One was a bright garnet, the other a deep purple, the next a shiny aqua, the fourth a brilliant emerald, the fifth a luminous topaz and the final one a polished violet stone. Celestia approached them, and they seemed to pulse with energy and react to her and Luna’s presence.

“Those appeared after you stopped Discord.” Crimson Heart revealed, standing next to Celestia.

“Is that so?” she knelt down, looking at her reflection in the topaz stone. She could feel an extremely potent magical presence lurking in the jewels.

“Sister, maybe these broke off from Discord?” Luna asked, looking to Celestia.

“Perhaps... but what is their purpose?”

“Maybe they’re like you, Celestia. Made to protect Equestria from evils.” Crimson Heart said.

She levitated another one of the gems in front of her. “Why would they come from Discord, then?”

“Discord said he was the spirit of disharmony, so maybe these are his opposites?” Luna suggested.

“I think you might be right, Luna. I can feel very strong magic in this. Can’t you?”

“Yes... it makes my horn hurt a bit.”

“So then, these are the tools that helped defeat Discord, and brought harmony to the land.”

Crimson Heart nodded. “That sounds about right.”

Celestia stood, levitating all six in front of her. She then turned to the crowd and pitched a question, “What creates harmony?”

“Kindness!” one pony yelled.

“Being loyal!” said another.

“Generosity.” Crimson Heart added.

“Having fun!” shouted one from the back of the crowd.

“Honesty...” Celestia herself said.

“...and magic.” Luna finished.

“Thank you, everypony. You have all made it clear how these artifacts came to be. Luna and I were kind and generous, by protecting you. We were loyal to our mother and father, who wish us to protect Equestria. We were also honest, because we kept our oath to keep Equestria safe. Finally, we have much magic to use and share with everypony.”

Celestia rotated the gems around her. “Luna?”

“Yes, Celly?”

“We shall call them... the Elements of Harmony.”

The crowd cheered once more, whistling and stamping their hooves on the ground. Celestia smiled, looking over the small crowd, realizing that they looked up to her now and viewed her as a protector. That was what she was, after all. Both her and Luna were destined to rule Equestria and keep it from harm, and that was exactly what they were going to do.

The first plan, Celestia decided, was to build a new home. Perhaps... on a mountain.

5 - Guiding the Moon

Chapter 5: Guiding the Moon

The next few weeks were spent in silence, with only the occasional chirp of a bird or the light clopping of hooves through stone passageways. Only the necessary actions were performed: raise the sun, lower the moon, eat meals, lower the sun, raise the moon. Nothing else. No talking. No laughing. No playing. Only sorrow and sadness.

It wasn’t until Luna confronted Celestia that the two sisters finally spoke to each other. She found her pink haired sibling staring out of a window at the top of the tower, her gaze lost in the horizon. Her magenta eyes, red around the edges from countless crying fits, looked in no particular direction. Celestia seemed lost in thought - and disconnected from reality.

“Celly...” Luna softly spoke, approaching her sister.

Celestia said nothing, continuing her vacant stare.

“Celestia.”

“...what is it?” she replied, motionlessly. The sun princess stood as still as a statue, and were it not for her lazily waving mane, might have easily passed for one.

“Teach me how to control the moon.”

“Why?”

“So you don’t have to.”

“What difference does it make, Luna?”

“Celly, just ‘cause I’m young doesn’t mean I’m dumb. You hafta sleep sometime.” The dark blue alicorn’s eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was a very stern frown - which was so unlike her that it surprised Celestia.

“You aren’t strong enough yet.” the princess replied, finally turning her head and looking into her younger sister’s eyes..

“Then make me stronger!” Luna stomped her front hooves against the floor, her hard gaze fixed on the light alicorn’s magenta orbs..

Celestia closed her eyes, thinking clearly for the first time in days. Her sister’s determination and willingness to help had sparked something inside of the older alicorn. Seeing Luna like this had given Celestia a different outlook. She now had hope. As young as her sister was, Luna knew what she was talking about, and the lack of sleep was certainly taking it’s toll on the Celestia. Although her parents were gone, Equestria needed to be taken care of. It was Rhapsody and Sonance’s last wish, and Celestia wasn’t going to fail them.

“If you insist, Luna. We begin tomorrow.”

Luna let out a relieved sigh and walked to Celestia, lightly nuzzling her white neck. “Thank you, Celly.”

For the first time in three weeks, Celestia smiled.

The small, dark purple alicorn stirred lightly in her slumber, a stray hoof twitching ever so slightly. The world outside was still dark, so it was reasonable that Luna was happily sleeping in her half of the bed. She turned, subconsciously getting more comfortable, but this action proved to be in vain. She was awoken with a jolt as she felt a soft prodding in her back, which caused her to violently throw the sheets off of her. Luna heard a light giggle from behind her, and as her vision un-blurred and adjusted to the light, the shape of her sister’s light colored coat formed before her.

“Come on, wake up.” Celestia said, smiling.

Luna blinked several times and yawned, then noticed her surroundings. “Celly...” she started, in a tired, almost gravelly tone, “It’s not even light out.”

“I know! You can watch me raise the sun and lower the moon.”

“Do... do I have to?”

“Yes, you have to, Lu-lu.” the white alicorn said, gently poking Luna with her horn again.

“Just... just five more minutes...”

“The sun will be up by then. Get out of bed, silly.”

Luna turned away from Celestia and closed her eyes, in hope that her older sister might just leave her alone. This thought was quickly abolished as she felt the magical tug of magic on her body. Before she knew it, she had gone from the soft bed to the cold stone floor. The temperature difference was enough to make her leap to her hooves, doing anything she could to stop touching so much of the icy rock.

“That’s better.” Celestia said, leaning down to nuzzle her tired sister’s neck.

“Can I... at least get breakfast?” Luna asked, her teal eyes only half open.

“We can eat after we practice, okay?”

“But-”

Celestia put a hoof to Luna’s mouth, preventing any argument. “If you want to get stronger, this is how we have to do it, alright?” She took her hoof from the young alicorn’s mouth and slid it gently down her cheek. “This will be worth it. I promise.”

Luna sighed. “If you say so, Celly.”

The two of them quietly walked down the stairway, the light from several torches casting the alicorn’s shadows softly against the stone walls. The two of them followed the fire’s light to the entrance of the small castle. The grass and plants were overgrown wildly, as they hadn’t been trimmed or taken care of for weeks. Long vines of ivy trailed up the masonry in certain areas. As a whole, the castle was beginning to show it’s age and grow weary from the years of supporting itself. Often, one of the two alicorns would hear creaking, or the soft tapping of pebbles hitting stone - but they thought nothing of it.

The cool morning air washed over Luna’s face, sending a chill down her spine and a sense of refreshment. She was woken up slightly more now, and felt she was able to pay attention to whatever Celestia might have to say. This was convenient, as Celestia had chosen that moment to start talking.

“Tell me, Luna, how do I raise the sun and moon?”

Luna looked at Celestia in puzzlement. Was this a trick question? Surely her sister didn’t think she was that ignorant. “Um... magic?”

“That’s correct. Now, do you know what kind of magic?”

“...the moving kind?”

Celestia chuckled. “You’re right again. Being alicorns, our magic is greatly amplified. Simple lifting spells become powerful enough to raise something as large as the sun. We might even be able to move Equestria itself.”

Luna’s eyes grew wide. “You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

“I said might be able to. Even we have our limits.” Celestia suddenly perked up, as if she had heard or felt something. “It looks like it’s that time of day. Watch me closely.”

Luna studied her sister, who closed her eyes and stood firmly. The light-rose colored alicorn pointed her horn to the east, and it began to glow. Soft at first, but rapidly rising in intensity. Celestia flared her wings out and flapped them lightly, pushing herself into the air. With visible strain, she lifted her head up, and as her horn lifted over where the horizon would be, the sun’s rays poured through the trees and scattered all across the alicorns’ surroundings. Celestia let herself drop to the ground and panted slightly, before gulping and regaining her composure. Her magenta eyes shifted to look at Luna, and the sun princess smirked.

“That, dear sister, is how you raise a celestial body.”

Luna halted her gawking and changed her view from the horizon to Celestia. “How long did it take you to learn that?”

“Many years, Lu-lu.” she brought a hoof to her brow and wiped the forming sweat drops from it. “And it’s still a difficult chore.”

“Will you teach me to do that?”

“In due time, sister. For now, we’re going to start a little smaller.”

“Like what?”

“For instance...” Celestia started, her horn lighting up. A nearby rock levitated off the ground and moved in front of Celestia. With a sudden flash, it transformed from a dull, grey rock into a beautiful, bright yellow sunflower. “Transforming one thing into another.” She planted the flower where the rock had been, and her horn ceased it’s glow.

“Ooh... pretty.” Luna said, still eyeing the new flower. “But... shouldn’t it change back?” She looked up to Celestia, one of her eyebrows arched in confusion.

“If I were a regular unicorn, yes, it would. However-”

“Because we’re alicorns, our magic is good enough to keep it the same?” Luna finished.

“Exactly! Now you’re learning.”

“If we’re practicing magic, shouldn’t we start with the basics?”

“Oh Luna, what do you think I’ve been trying to teach you?”

Luna thought for a moment. “Well, you raised the sun... and you made a rock turn into a flower.”

“Yes. What does that show you?”

“That... uh... alicorns are strong?”

“Very good. Knowing that, why do you think I’m going to teach you advanced magic?” Celestia was almost teetering on her front hooves in anticipation.

“Because... um...” Luna scratched her head. “Is it... because I’m an alicorn... and basic magic will be too easy?” Her brow was furrowed in concentration, piecing together what Celestia was telling her. She was so lost in thought that it completely took her by surprise when Celestia nearly knocked her over with a forceful hug.

“That’s right!” the white alicorn exclaimed, a smile on her face as she took hold of her younger sister. “See that? You learn quickly.”

Luna couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay, okay, Celly. I’m an alicorn so my magic is strong. Now what?”

Celestia broke her grip on the young lunar princess and looked around at her surroundings. In the distance, past a group of trees, she noticed a large boulder dug into the ground. “Right now, we’re going to work on moving large things.” Her horn lit up.

“Like what?” Luna asked.

“You’ll see in a moment...”

“What? A piece of the castle? A big tree? An entire buil... ding...” she trailed off, as a large shadow covered her. Luna felt something softly hit the top of her head, causing her to look up. It was then that she noticed the massive chunk of stone floating inches above her, bits of dirt and grass still clinging to it’s underside - which clearly hadn’t seen daylight for years.

“You’ll be using this.” Celestia said, moving the boulder from above Luna and letting it fall. It hit the earth with a loud thud, which shook the ground below the two alicorns. “Now, take a good look at it.”

“...Why?” Luna asked, looking over the giant rock.

“Sometimes, it’s better to not question. Just take a good look at it. Remember what it looks like. Memorize every crack, bump and feature of this boulder.”

“Okay...” she walked around the boulder, scrutinizing it’s every detail. Luna paled in comparison to this boulder, which was nearly as tall as one of the hallways in the castle, and perhaps as wide too. When she had finally circled it several times, she nodded to Celestia.

“Done? If you insist.” Her horn flared, and the massive rock was quickly hurtling through the air as if it were merely a pebble. She watched it fly well over the treeline, and several seconds later, heard a faint crash as it landed somewhere in the depths of the Everfree Forest. Birds rose in the air and a tree or two could be heard hitting the ground as their trunks had been decimated by the chunk of earth. “Now, bring it back.”

Luna looked into the forest, then back at Celestia, then back to the forest, then finally back to Celestia. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out. Celestia merely smiled as the small princess struggled to say something and instead answered her unvoiced question.

“Yes, you have to use your magic.”

Luna weakly pointed a hoof in the direction of the boulder went.

“Yes, it’s somewhere over there.”

The dark alicorn started to walk in the direction of the forest.

“Ah, no, you have to stay here and move it.”

Luna looked in the direction of the rock once more and let out a weak sigh, before closing her eyes and trying to remember every little thing about the boulder. In her mind’s eye, she pictured it’s huge shape, looming over. She imagined it’s crevices, and the mix of smooth and hard areas. Then, she pictured lifting it up.

Celestia lightly bit her lip in anticipation as she watched her sister focusing. In the distance, she tried to look for any sign of the rock - any little bit that might be poking over the horizon. Slowly, but surely, she saw a small tip of it emerging from the treeline, like an ant poking it’s head out of an anthill. It was very var off in the distance, but definitely rising. “Come on, sister... just bring it back.” she thought, looking at the large boulder.

“Move... you... dumb... rock...” Luna said, through grit teeth. Her struggle was evident in the perspiration forming at her brow, and lightly across the rest of her body. The boulder moved slowly through the sky, dipping once or twice as Luna faltered with the spell - and subsequently breaking a few treetops - but it was approaching them steadily. Finally, after what felt like at least ten minutes, the rock was overhead. It lowered carefully, but Luna was slipping with her concentration. She grunted, digging her hooves into the ground, but with no avail. Several feet off the ground, the rock plummeted and crashed to the dirt below it, shooting loose rocks and grass every which way. At the same, time, Luna also plummeted - face first into the ground.

Celestia’s mouth was curled into a wide grin as the rock landed, but her whole expression turned to concern as she noticed Luna weakly fall. She galloped over to her young sister and lightly nuzzled her head. “Luna, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah... Celly. I’m fine.” She smiled, shifting her eyes to look at Celestia. “Did I do a good job?”

Celestia let out a lighthearted laugh. “You did an excellent job. You’ll be moving the moon in no time.”

“That’s good.” Luna replied, moving one of her hooves to try and push herself up.

“Oh, let me help you.” Celestia said, reaching a hoof out. Luna grabbed it, and was pulled to her hooves.

“Thanks, Celly.”

“Anytime, Lu-lu.” The white princess looked over to the boulder and thought for a moment. She turned her head to Luna and looked at the small princesses wings, which sprouted an idea. “Say, Luna, why don’t we practice flying?”

Luna rubbed her horn lightly, before saying, “Okay. My magic needs a rest.”

“Excellent.” Celestia flared her wings and lightly flapped them, allowing the feathers to catch the soft breeze and flutter slightly. “The first thing you need to do... is extend your wings.”

“Oh, right...” Luna said, looking sheepishly to the ground. She extended her small wings as far as they could go.

“Now, try to perform a basic hover.” She flapped her wings and floated several inches off the ground as she spoke.

The younger princess beat her wings slowly. Finding this didn’t give her nearly enough lift, she flapped them faster. This pushed her into the air slightly, and she looked up to Celestia and smiled. This smile turned to a look of surprise, however, as she dipped off balance and fell to the ground. Celestia brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle a laugh.

“You need to learn to control your movement. Try again.”

Luna once again got herself in the air, and though she wobbled occasionally, she managed to stay suspended. “I think I got it!”

“Wonderful. Now, let’s work on controlling your altitude.”

The flying lessons continued until was very high overhead, signaling that it was about noon. Luna had managed to understand basic flight, so she could hover, glide and change her height accordingly. The one thing she was having trouble with by lunchtime was her speed. More than once, the small princess had spun out and landed painfully in either the ground or part of the castle. By the end of the training session, both of them were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest and have something to eat.

As the sky grew orange and the sun began to dip into the western side of the world, Luna stood at the top of the main tower, peacefully watching the sunset. Behind her, Celestia was busy lowering the fiery orb. When she finished, and the last light of the sun faded, she approached Luna.

“Sister, would you like to try and raise the moon?”

Luna’s eyes widened as she snapped back to reality and turned her head to Celestia. “Oh. Um, really?”

“Of course. Just imagine the moon is that big boulder from earlier.” Celestia gave a smile of encouragement.

“I’ll... try.” the moon princess replied, nervously. She walked to the eastern window and pointed her horn down at where the moon would sit, just below the horizon. A bright light encompassed her horn and she closed her eyes, picturing the grey moon. As her sister did many years before, she struggled with the heavenly body. And just as Celestia did, young Luna collapsed out of effort, still not strong enough to control her namesake. Luna shook her head as she got up. “Sorry, Celly...” The dark blue filly looked at the ground, shamefully.

“Oh, it’s okay, Lul-lu.” Celestia said, wrapping a wing around Luna. Her horn lit up and she shut her eyes, tensing her muscles. Moments later, the moon poked itself out from the horizon and began it’s journey. “One day, you’ll be able to.”

“Thanks, Celly.” she rubbed her head against Celestia’s neck.

“Of course.”

The two of them stayed that way for many moments, staring out the window and watching the moon slowly rise.

The following morning began in a similar way, with Celestia needing to use a bit of magical encouragement to get young Luna out of bed. When the moon princess finally came to, both of them made their downstairs and outside of the castle to continue Luna’s training.

“So, what are we doing today?” Luna asked, walking alongside her sister.

“Today, we’re going to venture farther into the forest.” Celestia replied, looking to Luna.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“There are plenty of things out there to practice transfiguration on, among other magic.”

“If you say so, Celly.”

They walked across the wooden drawbridge, which was still fairly intact. It rarely had much use, resulting in only a crack here or there in an aging piece of wood. The rope had also been magically enhanced long ago by Rhapsody, after she insisted that it needed to be as safe as possible to cross. It had proven it’s usefulness to Celestia and Luna, who were now safely across and making their way into Everfree Forest.

Celestia led Luna through the dense forest, moving through the thick trees and overgrown bushes. She had remembered it looking far nicer in the past, and it seemed to only grow worse as they moved deeper in. It was apparent enough to gain Celestia’s interest.

“Luna, have you noticed how dense the trees have gotten?”

“I have, Celly... they also look... weird.”

“Weird?” Celestia looked around, taking in the surroundings. Now that she paid attention, the plant life was beginning to look rather strange. It appeared warped, and very out of the ordinary. The more she observed, the more inquisitive she became.

“We should find out what’s going on...” the white alicorn said, eyeing the atmosphere suspiciously. It was at that moment that they entered a small clearing, with a large cave at the opposite end. It was perched in the side of a mountain, and was menacingly dark. The cave seemed to devour all the surrounding light, and it formed the kind of darkness that shot chills down Celestia’s back. Outside of the cave, strange and unfamiliar plants grew. They were twisted and sickly looking, as if their life was being sapped and drained away. The plagued flora extended into the darkness of the cave, creating a frightful invitation to the den..

Everything about this cave brought fear into the pit of Luna’s stomach. “Celly... we... I think we should leave.” She took a step back, ready to run at a moment’s notice.

“Something is here, Luna... and I’m going to figure out what.” Celestia said, walking towards the cave.

Luna couldn’t help but follow her sister. It was either stay outside by herself or let Celestia go in alone, and as scared as she was, she wasn’t able to leave her sister’s side.

“It will be okay, Luna. We’ll simply go in, look around, then leave. Okay?”

Luna stared at the ground for a moment before looking up to Celestia. “...fine.”

“Stay close to me, then.”

The two of them practically hugged as they stepped into the cave. Just as it looked, it was pitch black inside, forcing Celestia to light up her horn for vision. Around them, gloomy and lifeless plants clung to the walls, floors and ceiling, all of them chaotic and twisted. They grew in every which way, with no pattern or reason. Traveling deeper into the cave, the plant-life only seemed to grow wearier and wearier. They had to be getting close.

“Luna, here’s your first test. Light up your horn so we can see clearer.”

“Alright.” Luna replied, causing her horn to glow. Moments later, both of the alicorn sisters gasped.

In front of them, at the very back of the cave and clinging to wall was a shiny, black entity. It’s flesh looked like oil, and it seemed to flow like liquid, though it retained it’s round, viscous form. Many long tendrils spread from the initial mass, spreading along the surfaces of the cave like thin veins. They moved slightly, feeling the area around them and leaving a tar-like secretion on whatever they touched. It was a truly grotesque sight, and neither Celestia nor Luna knew immediately what to make of it.

“Wha... what is that thing?” Luna finally asked, eyes darting from tendril to tendril.

“I’m... not sure.”

“Do you think... this is the cause of the strange plants?”

“It might be... but we don’t know for certain.”

“What should we do?” Luna asked, casting her teal eyes towards Celestia.

“Perhaps... we should leave it be. That might be for the best.”

“Maybe there’s more to it...” Luna said, taking a step forward. This proved to be one step too many, as one of the tendrils violently lashed out and grabbed the unsuspecting princesses leg. It pulled, forcefully bringing Luna to the ground.

“Celestia!” she cried out, small voice cracking with fear. Luna scraped her tiny hooves against the ground, in a vain effort to escape the creatures grasp.

“Oh no, Luna!” Celestia’s eyes widened in fear as she watched her sister get pulled away. The sun princess panicked, looking around and frantically trying to piece together a way to rescue her sister. She tried to use her magic to take hold of Luna, but she couldn’t concentrate. Her mind was racing as she watched her only sister being pulled towards the sickly black mass on the wall. As she neared the verge of tears, a soft voice went through her head.

“Protect Equestria... and Luna... with every fiber of your being.”

Remembering her mother’s last wishes, something triggered within Celestia’s mind. She suddenly gained total clarity, and a warm feeling began to envelope her body. Before she knew it, a raging heat filled her, and she watched a white hot tongue of flame shoot from her horn and strike the opposing blackened tendril carrying Luna away. A terrible screech erupted out of the black mass as the tendril was singed cleanly in two, and the piece still attached to the entity recoiled in pain. Frantically, Luna galloped away as fast she could, skidding past Celestia and tumbling to the ground. The black tentacle was still attached to her, and she watched it dissipate. Accompanying this was the odd sensation that something was being pushed through her skin and inside of her. The young princess thought nothing of this, however, and was merely glad that she had escaped.

“Quickly, we need to leave!” Celestia said, pulling Luna up. The two of them bolted to the mouth of the cave, even using their wings to give them an extra boost of speed. They kept running long after they had left the poisoned grotto, finally stopping and breathing heavily when they caught sight of the bridge leading to their castle.Both princesses collapsed to the ground, legs and wings aching from the exertion put forth.

“Celestia, what happened?” Luna asked, between breaths.

“I... I don’t know. It was evil, whatever it was.”

“No, not that. I mean... what you did in there.”

Celestia realized her sister was questioning the fire she had commanded. “...I can’t say for sure. I just... had an overwhelming feeling inside me. It just... took over.”

“Well... thank you.” Luna said, nuzzling Celestia’s neck. Celestia returned the gesture, closing her eyes out of exhaustion.

“You do not need to thank me, sister. I care about you.”

“Then... thank you for caring about me.”

Celestia couldn’t help but smile. “You’re welcome, Lu-lu. Now... I think we’ve both deserved a good breakfast.”

The two sisters helped each other up, then headed into the castle. Before going inside, Celestia paused, then turned back to the forest. As much as it pained her to admit, her home was quickly growing unsafe. Someday soon, they would have to leave this place.