Once lived a graceful swan on a lake. She played all day, preening her feathers and singing her songs, and slept in the night, dreaming sweet dreams. She also raised the sun each morning and loved watching her fellow creatures play. All loved her and gave her many gifts, such as food and trinkets. All but the raven. The raven was jealous of the swan's attention and stayed in the shadows of the forest when all were out near the lake. She hopped, hidden, from shadow to shadow, looking at the creatures all gathered around. "What disgusting fellows," she would say. "to be tied down, worshipping another, simply because she raises the sun. Well then I shall raise the stars!" And so she did.
Soon she found herself in the spotlight. Just as the swan was worshipped in the morning, the raven was worshipped in the evening. She found herself wanting nothing, food provided and trinkets besides. But it was all very tiresome and the raven soon grew annoyed at the attention. And so she made a plead to the swan, asking to pass the power of night back to her. The swan, however had no intention of taking back the power and instead cut a deal. "You may keep your powers," she said, "or I can take them, but you will be banished from the forest and the lake for a thousand years." The raven liked the idea of solitude and quickly relinquished her powers. In a blast of magic, she was banished to the shadows.
Some were not made for the spotlight.
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Once was a raven trapped in shadows. She had in the past stayed in the shadows for support, but now found no comfort, only grief. It took everything to keep the shadows from twisting her, for the shadows were angry at her extended presence. Time seemed to flow slower an stranger in each passing year. By the time the raven took a step, an entire land sprang up. The creatures from her forest had evolved. They gained the capacity to create and to have conflicts. With innovation came war.
Soon, the others regressed, never fighting and speaking less often than in the forest. The raven contorted her face at this sight. She liked war, and the strength it brought. It only came from questioning things. With that movement, the ponies, griffons, zebras and the like sprang up. She saw a tale much like her own, with a battle of two princesses. Battle. That was what her own story was lacking. She wanted to fight, but she only felt mild anger at the swan.
With a wingbeat, those creatures fell, replaced by humans, dwarves and elves. Only dragons survived the next evolution, some friendly but most much more destructive.. These creatures were more intelligent than before, creating so much. But there was too much violence this time, too much bloodshed. With another step towards the drinking pool, it was gone, replaced with new humans.
These humans were less magical, she observed. They stopped believing in magic and began turning to cold, hard facts. The raven smiled at their foolishness. They were so wrapped up in knowledge, their society so structured, that only a select few had a place in the world. Finally, the raven was at the drinking pool. She leaned down and slurped the water greedily, abandoning her watch of the world's motions.
When she looked back, robotic creatures were everywhere. All organic life was enslaved. It did not last long, as soon otherworldy creatures came and blew up the robots. That was the end. After that, it was just a cycle of different species, robot, aliens. Species, robots, aliens. The alligators were quite whimsical, but there was no longer and entertainment from watching these creatures. The raven checked her clock. Three hundred years had passed.
Soon, the raven grew bored of the forest also. She turned her attention back to the world, but nothing had changed. But she noticed something new- the organic denizens all hated their lives. There was so much pain in everyone. The raven knew she had to fix this. So she called upon all of her powers to see if she could be released early, to warn all of what would happen. She reached out to the nearest being, the one who had gone through a similar exile, the one who had tasted the same shadows.
Luna. You need to help me. I have more instructions for you later, but it is important that you read this and remember it. There are forces that will stop you, forces that say that the future should not be messed with. But I have see things that you are too young to hear about, things that would make your skin crawl. I am reaching into your youth, to condition you for the great path you have ahead of you.
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"Lulu, where did you get this story? It looks like our bedtime story, but with icky stuff afterwards. "
"Celly, for the last time, this is MY stuff! You can't just go in it. Are you- ARE YOU READING IT? STOP THAT! IT'S PRIVATE!" Celestia looked over the paper, her eyes widening as she truly delved into it. When she was done, she was positively confused.
"Y-you wrote this?"
"During a magic accident."
"I don't think it was an accident."
"Don't tell Ma or Pa, please!" pleaded Luna.
"I won't," said Celestia, "but can I help you on your magic quest?" There was barely contained glee in Celestia's eyes. Luna rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, sure." Celestia squeed and giggled before quickly smoothing herself over.
"Well, it's my job as a big sister," she added, trying to maintain a semblance of regality.
"Yeah, I know," said Luna.
