It was many years ago now. A day that lives only in the minds of the few lucky enough to have borne witness. The day began like any other. Skies were clear, the sun shined bright and warm. The denizens of Canterlot went about their business as usual. Everything was bustling on an average summer day.
Around midday a chill took hold. The blue sky dulled almost becoming pure gray. A low fog rolled slowly through the streets. Ponies throughout Canterlot felt a shiver down their spines, none knew why.
The change in atmosphere left the city in silence. Dogs whimpered but stayed quiet. Not a bird or cricket could be heard. If a pin fell in the road even it would be too cautious to make a sound.
That’s when the sound came. A gentle, steady, clopping of hooves on the cobblestone, three sets of them. Everypony near Main Street could hear it. The noise called out like a warning, letting everypony know to stay away.
One by one ponies standing in the streets backed away and ducked indoors. Doors and windows creaked shut. The roads were soon left bare.
The fog grew denser but fell to only a few centimeters above the ground. All the buildings looked like they were sitting on a cloud.
The hoofbeats were louder. Three mares appeared, one Earth pony, one Pegasus, and one Unicorn. They traveled with the fog, or perhaps the fog was traveling with them. Each of them looked nearly identical. They were ancient, years of wrinkles on their faces. Their coats were all a dull, blue-gray. Each had a cutie mark nearly the same as the others; a single eyeball with a small pupil. The only difference between the marks were the directions they looked; one to the left, one to the right, and one looking upwards. The Earth pony had a snow-white mane; the Pegasus, a dull, red mane; and the Unicorn, a black mane.
They walked side by side, not caring at all about the cowering town around them. Each of the old mares had her eyes firmly shut. It seemed they didn’t need sight to know where they were going.
Princess Celestia sat before a desk and kept busy with paperwork. A smile crept across her face as she glanced out the window at the bright sky, colorful scenery, and happy ponies living their lives. She relished in the peace and prosperity it all reminded her of.
It was not long before this peace was broken. Celestia’s smile became a slight frown. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the darkening sky and the ponies clear the streets. She let three words softly escape her lips. “It can’t be...”
The guard stationed by her side shivered and looked to his princess. His jaw fell as he caught sight of the outside world. “P-princess, what—”
“Remain here! I’ll see to this personally.” Celestia rose and walked to the door.
“But—”
“That’s an order!”
The guard tentatively saluted and remained behind.
Celestia walked through her castle while ordering countless guards and other ponies to stay where they were. With each passing second she gained speed. By the time she reached the front gate she was in a full gallop, her teeth clenched and eyes full of worry. She called for the doors to be opened, the guards complied.
With heavy breaths, Celestia ran as fast as her legs would allow through the courtyard, past the property line of her castle, and into the city. She stopped in the middle of the road, alone. The three old hags approached in the distance. Celestia closed her eyes, caught her breath, and regained her composure.
The three mares made no change in their direction or speed. They continued their path until they were right in front of Celestia. The princess stood tall and looked down on them. One by one, each of the crones turned their heads upwards. Each one scowled. Their eyelids all snapped open at once. Celestia cringed a bit at what she saw; they had no eyes. They stared through eternal black voids where their eyes should have been.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Celestia bent her front knees, lowered her head, and bowed deeply to the three mares. She held her position, resisting the urge to tremble. The old mares closed their eyelids and relaxed their expressions; Celestia knew she could pick her head back up.
“Please,” Celestia said, only minimal shaking in her tone. “Why are you here? When last you showed… a millenia ago—”
“What happened was from a weakened heart!”
“We are here to give a fresher start!”
“You’ll come with us to see her born!”
“To keep the oath that you had sworn!”
The three mares turned and walked down a new street. Celestia remained silent and followed behind.
A nurse in a small hospital on the edge of Canterlot was the first to notice the sudden chill in the air. She shivered and looked around trying to figure out the uneasy feeling. Then she spotted them at the hospital entrance; three ghastly creatures walked in. Not far behind was princess Celestia.
The nurse cowered behind the front desk. The three goulish mares continued forward without a single care for who was around. Celestia did her best to provide a reassuring smile to the nurse, and to every other pony they walked by, but with little effect.
They made their way down the halls and burst into a room. Inside was a family of unicorns. A white mare lay in a bed holding her newborn foal. The foal was quiet and content, wrapped in a pink blanket. A blue stallion stood next to the bed, a young colt at his side.
The mother held her baby tight as she stared, worried, at the unexpected entrance. The chill down each pony’s spine paralyzed them as they watched with fear. Some of the shock was alleviated by Celestia, but confusion would not go away.
The old hags walked up to the mother who held her foal away. A dark aura engulfed the foal and she was levitated away from her mother. The foal whined but did not cry. A horrified look quickly took over the mother as she reached for her child.
Celestia raised a hoof. “It is alright! Please, you have nothing to worry about.”
The three old crones surrounded the floating foal. One after the other their eyelids snapped open. A glowing orb formed over the foal.
“She Who Strayed From The Path Of Right!”
“Locked Forever In The Pale Moonlight!”
“Redemption Shall Come From Youth!”
“But Only When She Knew The Truth!”
“A Mentor She Does Need!”
“These Words You Will Take Heed!”
“For To Let This One Stray!”
“Disaster She Will Cause One Day!”
“One Does Not Function Alone!”
“Six It Will Take To Atone!”
“Failing Makes The World Fall!”
“Then Chaos Has Ended It All!”
“Ascension She Takes For Better Or Worse!”
“Straying From The Path, You Feel The Curse!”
“You Must Keep Her In Control!”
“For Her Fate We Name This Foal!”
“Twilight Sparkle!”
Cackling echoed through the room as the three old mares were sucked into the glowing orb. In an instant they were gone as if they never existed.
Celestia held the whining foal in her magic. She stared softly at the foal, recalling every word the crones said.
“Princess!”
Celestia snapped out her trance and looked up at Twilight Sparkle’s mother. With a smile, Celestia gave the foal back. The mother hugged Twilight Sparkle tight and rocked her back and forth.
“What… What just happened?” the father asked.
“Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos. They were the Moirai,” Celestia said, keeping a calm and level-headed tone. “It seems they have chosen young Twilight for something special.”
“What do you mean?”
Celestia did not answer. She turned and walked to the door. Just before she left she turned and spoke. “I’ll be sending somepony to keep an eye on her; a relative of mine named Cadence. Please tell nopony about all this. Twilight especially must think herself a normal pony like any other.”
