One-Thousand Years Ago...
The Princesses Luna and Celestia strode through the corridors of Canterlot castle, discussing the matter of Twilight Sparkle's upcoming test. Celestia was confident in her most faithful pupil's ability to succeed, while Luna shared her reservations.
"No sister, I do not believe that she will be ready, even if she is able to work an incomplete spell."
"Luna, it is much more than a simple spell, it is a rite of passage. If she is able to create magic that not even the greatest of conjurors could perfect, she will have more than earned her place amongst us."
Luna furrowed her dark brow attempting to see the reasoning in Celestia's plans. "But I do not understand, why this spell?" She paused, recalling the archaic wording of the ancient magic, "from one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled?" Her voice was questioning. "I only wish you would explain why such nonsense would bring about such an important event."
Celestia walked for several moments in silence before she spoke again. "There are many ways to discover the magic of friendship, Luna. I believe that-"
A familiar male voice sounded from the corridor nearest them, confusion and something that sounded like hope evident in his voice. "Celestia?"
Princess Celestia turned her attention toward the voice, seeing the shadowed form of a tall thin figure of strange proportions. Seeing the shadowed outline, she knew immediately who it was who had called to her. Her voice hardened habitually, bitterness creeping into her eyes. "What is it Discord?"
Discord stepped toward the pair into the light, his lion-pawed arm braced against the wall to support his unbalanced stance. A look of confused pain was etched across his twisted face. "Celestia... it's me... It's Strider." He spoke as if unsure of himself, the timber of his voice softer, caring, desperate even.
The elder princesses eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat as if she refused to believe what she had heard. "Cloud Strider? The name fell from her mouth in a whisper.
Luna looked from her sister to the chaotic beast and back. Recognition passed between them in a way she did not understand. "Sister? Who is Cloud Strider? I see only Discord." She immediately looked for any sort of enchantment that he could have placed over her sibling. Though Discord had since been reformed with the help of Fluttershy, Luna still felt him too unpredictable to trust.
Celestia had seemed to have forgotten her sister for a moment and started at the sound of her voice. She looked away from Discord with obvious effort, speaking quickly. "Luna, please leave us. We will continue this later."
"Sister I'm afraid-"
"Luna, now!" Celestia snapped back with royal authority in her voice, her eyes pleading with the younger to do as she had requested.
The black mare stiffened her neck, her teeth ground together biting back a sour retort. She nodded stiffly before turning back the way they had come, her hooves echoing loudly in the stone hall.
When Luna had vanished around the nearest corner, Celestia turned back to the Draconiquis, desperate hope filling her gaze. "Cloud Strider, please, please let it be you..." she whispered.
Stepping nearer her, the form of Discord reached toward her with his eagle claw as he leaned against the wall with his other, his talons turned up toward the ceiling. "It is love, though I know not for how long."
Tears of joy fell from Celestia's eyes as she lunged toward him, wrapping a foreleg around his thin snake-like waist, her head nuzzling the separation between brown and grey hair that made up his upper body. "In one thousand years, even a few moments is precious." She whispered, a quiver shaking her voice as it took her body.
The eagle claw quickly wrapped around the shaking mare, holding her in a tight embrace as the proud princess let many years of guarded hopelessness melt away into him.
For nearly two full days from that moment, Celestia abandoned her responsibilities in favor of selfish desire. The two spoke and held one another as long lost lovers reunited. They did so in private, never leaving the princesses’ royal quarters and slept but a few hours, holding one another and savoring the moments with which they had been blessed.
It was forty-six hours later that the form of Discord rose from the bed they shared, taking care not to disturb the pale mare. He retrieved a pitcher of water and poured for himself a drink, the soft splashing rousing the gently sleeping princess. She smiled softly at the scruffy mane of Discord, "come back to me Strider, I miss you near me already."
The form of Discord continued to stand, unmoving except for its head which swiveled from side to side, as if searching.
"Strider?" Unease had crept into her voice as she called the familiar name.
The Draconiquis turned slowly to face her, the deep goblet of water clutched in his paw as he did. An eyebrow raised and his mouth opened and closed twice in quick succession before he was able to reply, the old lilt of chaos returning to his otherwise confused voice. "Forgive me Princess, I did not mean to intrude. I will go." With that, Discord's long body stretched and contracted before disappearing in a subtle pop, the goblet he held clattering to the floor, spilling its contents on the smooth stonework.
A quiver took Celestia and anguish spilled over her gentle features as she buried her muzzle in the pillows before her. Sobs wracked the whole of her being as one name was screamed, again and again into the barrier separating her from the rest of the world.
It was six hours before the ruler of all Equestria was able to compose herself and leave her bedroom. She wandered the castle aimlessly, searching for her sister, until she at last located Luna in the archives, studying in the wing of Starswirl Bearded. Celestia did nothing to announce her presence as she approached her younger sister, her voice mournful as she spoke. "How much of your life before Nightmare Moon do you remember, Sister?"
Luna nearly overturned the table at which she studied, startled after hours of unbroken silence. She shot a look of briefly wounded pride to her sibling before answering her question. "Very little. Pieces of conversation, flashes of memories, but nothing of meaning. Why?" There was coldness in her voice suggesting she had not yet forgiven her sister for her outburst two days before.
Celestia seated herself beside Luna, staring down at the patterns in the oaken table they shared. She spoke softly as if her mind was far from Canterlot and the archives. "I had hoped that your memory would return in time, but I now fear that our past is lost to you..." Her voice trailed off for several moments before she continued, looking up at the mare with which she had grown.
"We were Earth ponies once, you and I. We ruled together over their lands, before the tribes were united in Friendship. Before even the fall of the Crystal Empire, to which we were queens." She spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper, her regal head hung again staring down at the tables swirling pattern.
"I was bonded to the ruler of the Pegasai, King Cloud Strider, and he loved me in return. And you, dear sister, you were wife to the court conjuror of the Unicorns, Starswirl, before he was called bearded, before he was the stuff of legend." A long sigh escaped Celestia before she continued. "We were friends to Sol, King of the Unicorns, and to Valiant, princess and commander of the Pegasai, sister to Cloud Strider."
Luna stared at her sister for a moment, disbelief plain on her face. "Sister, none of these names are in our histories. Cloud Strider? Valiant? Sol? Who were these ponies, and why, if they did indeed exist, are they omitted from our knowledge?"
"Because Luna, I have made it so. To protect them... to protect us." She looked the younger mare in the eye before again speaking. "I have done so, because, while we are responsible for such great good for all our now united subjects, we are also responsible for their greatest sufferings..." with that Celestia began a tale, one thousand in hiding, forgotten by all but the one who had lived it and still remembered.
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In the days before harmony, the three pony tribes stood as separate entities, little more than squabbling, selfish foals. The Pegasai, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies each were ruled by their own royal families.
King to the Unicorns, a solidly built and proud stallion with a thoroughly unremarkable coat of grey, his mane and tail black like the night, with a brilliant cutie mark depicting an orange and yellow sun; was Sol. Though this pony portrayed harshness in his appearance, he was soft-spoken and fair, even in his dealings with the other tribes. It was in fact he, who first opened the door to true peace between all ponydom when he sought the hoof of Commander Valiant, of the Pegasai.
Princess Commander Valiant was, as those she had been raised amongst, a devastating warrior and no less than brilliant in battle. Her coat was green like the forests which she had conquered, her mane and tail a regal purple, with fierce eyes, strong legs, and a stronger will. A pair of crossed spears was her cutie mark, symbolizing her authority over the whole of their armies, and was responsible for the training of their greatest warriors. Valiant was second in line to the Pegasai throne only to her brother, King Cloud Strider.
Like his sister, Cloud Strider was proud and strong, never wavering in his devotion to his people. From a young age, though he had taken the training of battle as did all Pegasai in those days. But Cloud Strider had a far greater interest in the works of diplomacy and the running of empires, rather than their building. His father, like those before him, had waged war upon war against their pony brethren and other species with which they shared the land, and had succeeded only in seeing the loss of all he had built when he foolishly challenged and was defeated by the dragons. Unlike his father, he had no interest in bloodlust and favored speaking with his rivals head on, rather than at the tip of a spear. Though his sister may not have agreed with his tactics, she could not argue with the throne which rested on his flank, symbolizing his ability to lead and his love for his race. He was a tall and thin pony, with a coat the color of crimson and an accented mane and tail of the deepest royal blue. If ever there was a pony destined to lead, it was the Pegasai king.
In the lands of the Earth Ponies, at the heart of all they held, sat the Crystal Empire from which two Queens ruled, having inherited it from their mother after her sacrifice to fend off the invading Pegasai horde. But these ponies did not always resemble glowing crystal as they do now. It was the sacrifice of their first queen, her love for them reflected forever in their glowing coats, which made it possible. Once a kind and benevolent ruler, a pony unlike any else seen across all of ponydom, the Queen, Crystal Heart, was a creature of legend, an Alicorn, the only one to have ever been known to exist.
She loved her subjects as if they were her own children and, when the time came to make a choice between her life and her people, she looked on at the invading Pegasai with only love in her heart, and regret for the deeds they committed. She unleashed her magic upon herself, turning her body to crystal and becoming the embodiment of her affections; The Crystal Heart. It made her people able to channel their light and love into a form of protection that would neither harm nor kill those who wished harm against them. It was this action that ultimately kept the Earth Ponies from extinction, and thus drove the King to do battle with fearsome dragons instead, for he could not best the magic of the Unicorns through strength of arms alone.
So, with the Pegasai's war at an end, the sisters Celestia and Luna took over the rule of their mother’s empire, and fostered the peace she had influenced. Though it was not easy, they each watched over their people. One in the day with the sun, and the other at night, for it was the time of day that the young pony most enjoyed. Celestia, the elder of the two, her coat a gentle white, shimmering crystal with a brilliant rainbow mane, the colors of which resembled the reflections of love and light that came from the Crystal Heart. She was kind and loving, wishing only happiness and prosperity for all her subjects, her cutie mark a spire of elegant crystal.
The younger pony, Queen Luna was a creature of the night, finding the day often too harsh, favoring the gentle rays of the moon. She was a mare of good humor and sought only the protection of her subjects against the dark things of the night. Her pitch black coat caused her to meld with the darkness so many feared, and yet she helped those she served overcome their fears of the night, offering only laughter and joy from the dark world she loved. She walked with the faintest illumination from her gently glowing blue crystal mane, for so dark was her body, that it reflected the light as does a block of obsidian. Her great joy for life was reflected in the constellation of a simple smiley face of stars upon her flank.
The last of these six was a Unicorn who, like the crystal queen Luna, also favored the night to day. Starswirl was the advisor to King Sol and was gifted in magic unlike any Unicorn before or since. Yet, for all his talents, he was lonely in his precious darkness with the moon as his only companion. He was proud, often silent for days on end he became so enraptured in his studies. Serious and reserved, he often felt out of place amongst the less studious and seemingly carefree ponies with which he shared his race. His cutie mark reflected his solitude, a lonely half moon enveloped in darkness, as he so often was himself.
And so it was that the three tribes stood separately, their leaders each weary of war and distrust, yet unsure that their opponents desired peace. It was not until after many years of quiet from all sides that King Sol, entranced by fierce beauty, made his first attempts at diplomacy with the warriors of the Pegasai.
King Sol made a journey into Pegasai lands and spoke with King Cloud Strider, assuring the leader of his good will. He was able to speak with the fierce princess and, eventually, to court her. Though the Pegasai king was wary of ill planning on the part of the Unicorns, he came to trust the peaceful courtship, and an uneasy prosperity settled between the two royal families. The pony citizens of the two kingdoms still viewed the other as calmed enemies at best.
Meanwhile the Earth ponies began to grow concerned, seeing the sudden fellowship between two former enemy tribes. Queen Celestia sent her sister in the cover of night to the Kingdom of the Unicorns to investigate. Princess Luna spent many nights in their lands, never noticing she was being watched by another.
When at last Starswirl approached her, Luna prepared to fight, but was instead met with curiosity. Another pony who favored the night as he did was rare as was, but he found himself observing the stranger in their lands, captivated by her shimmering coat of crystal.
A friendship that blossomed into affection was the result, and the two made known their feelings to their respective siblings. With so many feelings changed, the six agreed to meet together. Though Cloud Strider and Celestia were more than apprehensive at the thought of a deception taking place, the two were eventually convinced by their siblings into attendance. They met in a location deemed neutral at the closest meeting point of their three boundaries and came with only what they needed to make the journey.
When the four who cared for one another came together, it was difficult for Celestia and Cloud Strider to comprehend such affection between the different races of ponies, despite it being something they had always desired. Together the six spoke of peace and unity for the three tribes, and the grief that such long histories of distrust had caused them. Celestia often found her eye wandering back to the Pegasai King during the negotiations, and found his already upon her. Though they were fearful to admit such a thing in front of their new friends, they both found in the other, the traits of one whom they wished to share their lives.
It was with these six that unity between the three tribes was at last fostered, their love for one another binding them together, and at last peace was known. Yet the people over whom they ruled viewed one another with distrust and even open hostility in some cases. Many a pony was still barred from entering a business established by a pony of another tribe and friendship across tribal lines was nearly unheard of.
Despite the six leader’s great joy in being joined together, they were pained at seeing such disunity among their people, and came together many times in search of a way to unite their subjects for all time. It was not until Celestia located a journal of her mothers, speaking of an ancient magic called Harmony, and the power that friendship played in its working, that true peace seemed possible. Fate, it seemed, was showing them the way. If only she could have known the dark path down which it led.