Letters to Luna

Chapters

On the Origins of Dragons
Discord and the Zap Apples
Zecora's Myth of the Tikbalang
Letters from Tia
Mother Moon
The Princess and the Pool
Legacy of a Fallen Star

On the Origins of Dragons

Dear Princess Luna,

I was rummaging around in the Canterlot Archives the other day, and found an interesting legend about the origin of dragons.

Tirek sat on his throne, his rage twisting inside of him, as it always did. Ever since he heard mere rumors of Equestria, he was angry. Those wretched ponies! So happy, so carefree. He wanted to take Equestria for his own and sap it of magic, but such a direct approach with two powerful princesses could be very risky. He needed a more indirect approach. Something they would never suspect.

He needed a monster.

The world was filled with various beasts to use as a beginning palette for his work. Tirek knew of them all, and decided that lizards were an excellent place to start. Tirek wanted something much more powerful, though. Creating it would take quite a bit of work, let alone perfecting it. But it could be done. He was Tirek, the (soon-to-be) lord of Equestria! He could anything he put his mind to.

Finally, after centuries of careful breeding, it was almost finished. There was just one problem: the beast, which he decided to call a "gon", from the Ancient Speech word for "strange creature" or, if roughly translated, "monster", was too stupid! It just lazed around sedately. What could be done to fix this?

Tirek pondered this question for a long time before he came up with a solution. But it was quite risky. He could possibly destroy himself in the process. But it was a risk worth taking.

In a large cavern, Tirek stood in front of the gon, patiently waiting for it to awaken. Finally, it opened one slit-pupiled golden eye, then stretched out its dark green body, which was as long as Canterlot's throne room. It gazed curiously at him, tilting its head slightly.

A small ball of magic began building up between Tirek's horns, growing in size and brightness. Sweat trickled down Tirek's brow as he gritted his teeth. The spell he was about to do was extremely difficult, as well as dangerous. Tirek was going to sever part of his essence and fuse it with the gon, in order to give it a will of its own, though it would still answer to him. It would be much like him: greedy, vain, and with a passion for destruction.

The magic had finally built up enough. Tirek finally shot the sphere at the gon, smacking it between the eyes.

Tirek blinked, and sat up, rubbing his temple. He had blacked out after casting the spell. Tirek looked about the cavern. The gon was nowhere in sight.

Something slithered in the shadows, just out of Tirek's sight and hearing. It was amazed. The thing could think. It- no, he, liked to think. Especially of wreaking havoc and (shiny objects?). The beast then crawled up silently behind his creator, and spoke his first words in a throaty voice:

"I am Gorgoroth. How may I serve you...master?"

Gorgoroth stared at the city before him, slitted eyes narrowed. In the center of the grandiose city was a pompous palace. This was the target Tirek had directed him to. All that was required of him was to lay waste to the city, and he could take whatever he wanted. That was Tirek's promise. Gorgoroth began stealthily slithering towards the city. It was after nightfall when he began his assault on Canterlot.

It was the Festival of Flowers, celebrating the beauty and the joy of spring. It was quite an event. Earth ponies, with their special connection to the earth and plants, had coaxed vines to grow on the frames of tents, providing an elegant and organic cover from the elements. The night air was sweet with heady scent of moonflowers, water lilies, and many other nocturnal flora. Ponies went from tent to tent, playing games, eating delicacies, and socializing. The grandest tent was in the center of the square. Two carved thrones studded with precious stones were in the tent. In one throne sat Princess Celestia, and in the other sat Princess Luna. They greeted many nobles and foreign emissaries visiting Equestria during this time of celebration. Soon enough, however, they wouldn't be celebrating...

"Mommy!" cried a little colt excitedly. "Look, look, look!"

"What is it now?" Rhinestone, his mother, asked somewhat impatiently. He'd been like this all night.

"It's a giant lizard!" he squealed, pointing to the city’s border..

"Now Peacock Quill," she replied sternly. "What did I tell you about making up stories?" She approached her son, and looked where he was pointing. "There is nothing-"

Her breath caught in her throat as she beheld a terrible sight. A huge reptile was making its way towards Canterlot. And it was staring right at her.

"Isn't it neat, Mommy?" said Quill. When she didn't respond, he said "Mommy?" Nothing. Quill was beginning to get worried. He began pulling on her tail, something she always despised. She acted like he didn't exist. All she did was stare.

Rhinestone couldn't move. She couldn't talk or scream; she was barely breathing. Rhinestone was aware of only one thing: those horrible yellow eyes. She could only watch as it knocked the gate with ease, and grinned at her, before incinerating her and her son.

Rhinestone's last recollections were of pain and fear, and of Peacock Quill's agonized screams as flames consumed him. Then she was enveloped by merciful darkness.

Guards threw their spears at the monster, only to have them incinerated. They drew their swords and charged, and were swept away by Gorgoroth’s massive tail. He laughed at how pathetic they were as he continued to wreak havoc upon the city. He levelled a library, then set the remains ablaze. Unicorns attempted to stun him, but their magic only bounced off his natural armor. Pegasi dived down in an attempt to distract him, but were burnt to a crisp.

The air reeked of scorched flesh and hair, ponies ran hither screaming. Smoke curled up from the once-beautiful Canterlot as this new beast lay waste to the city. Tirek looked upon this, and was pleased. Gorgoroth had performed even greater than he had expected. Almost nothing was left, and Gorgoroth was quickly taking care of that. Chuckling to himself, Tirek teleported home to await Gorgoroth’s return and praise him.

It had been twelve long years since the destruction of Canterlot, and still Gorgoroth had not returned. In this span of time, the ponies had begun reconstructing their capital, this time upon a huge mountain. Tirek was less than pleased.

“Where is that wretched beast?” Tirek snarled, slamming his fist into the wall. He was sick of waiting for the ingrate to return. Tirek grabbed his crystal ball and stared into it, his glare practically burning through it. What he saw surprised-and somewhat alarmed-him.

To the east was an (mostly) uninhabited land. It was full of volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers. A difficult place to live...for some. Others found it quite nice. Gorgoroth and his brood were one example.

Gorgoroth had decided that his short life was quite interesting. He had started out as a dumb beast, then had been turned into a sentient being with a independent will of his own. After he had destroyed Canterlot, he had taken the jewels and riches, and transported them to his lair within this treacherous. There he had thrived.

Gorgoroth was never quite sure what had happened. He hadn’t been created with any reproductive organs, and yet he had somehow produced young. Gorgoroth had eventually decided that after consuming many ponies, their magic had some mutated him, allowing him reproduce asexually. His young seemed to have been affected, too. Instead of being exact copies, they were of various colors and sizes. One even had what looked like a small pair of wings.

After many millennia, the gons died out, and were replaced by their larger descendants, the dragons. The word “dragon” is derived from the Ancient Speech as well, meaning “giant monster.”

Author's Note

Thanks to EarthBound Pwny for this story.

Discord and the Zap Apples

Tourmaline rested on her bed in the room they had rented from the inn they had stayed at. A cool autumn breeze filtered through the open window, causing the pegasus to shiver from the chill. She got up from her bed and closed the window before taking a seat at the small table in her room. She could hear her companions sleeping in the next room; Wanderer’s loud snores easily drowning out Tormod’s.

She and the other two had stopped at the small town to restock on supplies before they were to make their way across Equestria’s southern border. While they were out shopping, Wanderer had insisted they buy a few jars of zap apple jam to add to their stores. She had questioned the purchase, saying they would go bad on them before they had gone far, but Wanderer had scoffed. He claimed the jam never went bad and said it was the best thing since sliced bread.

Her and her brother were skeptical but he was persuasive. They bought a few jars and when they had returned to the inn, Wanderer had gone on to tell a story about the zap apples the jam was made from.

Tourmaline smiled inwardly, she didn’t know if the story had been true or not, but she did like hearing it. Her friend was known to exaggerate things on the occasion, so she doubted how truthful his story was. Still, it was an interesting story.

She looked out her window to the bright, full moon and remembered something. Princess Luna had put out a flyer, saying that she would be interested in any story or bit of lore throughout Equestria to add to her newfound library. Tourmaline chuckled quietly, finding the idea of Wanderer’s story as part of the collection funny. The more she thought on it though, the more the idea grew on her. Finally she retrieved her writing materials and a blank sheet of parchment, and began to write.

Dear Princess Luna,

Earlier today, a friend of mine had told me a story about the zap apples and about where they had come from. I don’t know how true the story is, but I found in interesting. Maybe after you read it, you would too. I’ll try to keep it as close as how Wanderer told it as I can.

"From what I was told, zap apples came from the time when Discord ruled the world. It was said that they came about when he decided that red and green apples were too boring."

My brother asked him where he heard this from; Wanderer said it was from a pony he knew. I asked if it was from his mom and he denied it. I saw his blush though, so he wasn’t fooling me. He kept telling his story anyway.

"Since red and green apples were too boring, Discord decided to try a different color. Before he could start though, some wolves started barking and howling. In annoyance he turned the wolves into the timber wolves we know today. Something about if they were going to bark all day, they may as well be made of it.

"Discord couldn’t decide on what color to make them and as he thought about it, a wind storm passed through that nearly blew him over. A flock of crows then flew past him to escape a terrible thunderstorm that had appeared out of nowhere. It was said the storm was made from Discord’s own brainstorming, but nopony truly knows."

At this point I grew skeptical, but he tells a good story.

"Annoyed at the storm, Discord used his magic to make it disappear. The magical backlash caused a meteor shower to happen, but he didn’t pay any attention to it as meteors fell all around him. He still struggled with choosing a color for the apples.

"The answer came as suddenly as the lightning storm that appeared from his revelation. Since he couldn’t decide on one color, he made the apples have all the colors of the rainbow, and had the timberwolves, the wind storm, the crows and thunderstorm, meteor shower, and finally the lightning storm all precede the apples ripening.

"When Discord was finally beaten, only the zap apples in the Everfree Forest were left when his magic disappeared. And that is where we get our zap apple jam from."

I had never had zap apple jam myself and he had me try it. I will say it was the best jam I have ever had. Wanderer asked me how it was, and when I told him what I thought of it, he said (and I quote) “That’s because the flavor is ‘shockingly’ good.” I still have a headache from that.

Anyway, I hope you like his story, Princess Luna. I think I would be a good addition to your collection. Maybe something for the little foals to read and laugh at. Until I hear another good story, I wish you well.

Your faithful subject.

Tourmaline.

Satisfied with her letter, the pegasus quietly left the inn to place it in the town’s mailbox. When she returned to her room, it was not long before she found herself asleep.

Author's Note

Thanks go to Zodiacspear for this story.

Zecora's Myth of the Tikbalang

Dear princess Luna, Miss Cheerilee told us you wanted to hear stories from everypony, and just last weekend we went camping with Zecora and she told us a pretty scary legend from where she grew up, and we think you'd like it a lot.

It went something like this:

Hear my tale of a creature of the night,
Born on an eve of brilliant moon’s bright.

Fathered by the cunning, the crafty
The old trickster spirit Coyote.

An old giraffe was the mother,
which made the child quite peculiar.

With skin like bark and breath of rot,
Inherited from old Co’Yot.

Forelegs of mother, hind legs not,
The father quite a laughter got.

On the eve of birth it was named,
Tikbalang, Tikbalang.
By the jungle frogs it remained
And for its sleep they sang.

Mother would soon pass and father run;
Raising a child alone was no fun.

Tikbalang lived, and even grew,
eating leaves and morning dew.

But of kindness he never knew,
and so his mischief did grow too.

He made a game he liked to play,
called ‘lead the travelers astray’

On the paths he would make noises,
and odd shadows in odd poses.

"Why walk in boring lines,
when you can swing from vines?"

"Why fear the jungles black and poison leaves,
when pranks they give with ease?"

"Fun and play is just a step away,
so come now friend, follow me astray!"

And so he would say and think,
Inviting coldly with a wink.

Confused, upset and afraid,
Travelers would be waylaid.

Yet there came one very fortunate day
A rich merchant, a peddler you could say.

Tikbalang’s tricks exacting their cost,
the merchant became hopelessly lost.

But in his haste to run away;
To escape Tikbalang’s snares,
He did not notice in dismay,
That he had dropped one of his wares.

Tikbalang saw and picked it up;
it was a tiny jeweled cup.

“What is this beauty that you bring,
Of joy and wonder does it sing!”

Tikbalang had never seen
shiny objects so pristine
and to get more he was keen.

The peddler said: “I’ve more to give,
if you would only let me live!”

“If you guide me back to the road,
I shall give you this golden toad!”

Tikbalang soon accepted
for the gold he coveted.

Led to safety on shaking hooves,
the merchant made his promise real.
Relieved, he was quite quick to move,
truly happy with his good deal.

To his village he made haste,
and his wife he soon embraced.

He told the tale of his escape,
and strongly swore it was no jape.

His fellows spread in great detail,
the useful lesson of his tale.

Today, many scores and years later,
it is common sense for travelers

To carry gold or fancy jewels
so that the beast be made less cruel.

And far from home or on long treks,
I wear these trinkets ‘round my neck

So that alone or with a friend,
From Tikbalang I can defend

We hope you liked it, it was hard to remember all those rhymes.

Signed, the Cutie Mark Crusaders

P.S. Scootaloo says it wasn't that scary.

Author's Note

The author of this piece, Lord Destrustor, would like to share some thoughts with you:

Gross butchering of the myth of the Tikbalang from the Philippines, bastardized into a hopefully zebra/african feel by basically bashing my silly head on the keyboard. I'm almost certain any actual poets reading this are practically fuming at my embarrassing display of poor rhymes, and for that I'm sorry. Still, for a first try at such, I think it came out pretty okay (if maybe a bit short).

Letters from Tia

Letters written to Luna by Celestia during her banishment. These letters serve Celestia more as diary entries than truly letters to her sister.

Dearest Luna,

It has been four days since our quarrel.

I thought you should know I have done the calculations, and if my math is correct, the spell I used to end our disagreement will end in roughly a thousand years.

I’ll see you in 365,996 days.

With apologies,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

The builders and repair ponies have put up a temporary roof over the hole you made in the throne room and I am once again holding court. Many ponies have expressed concern of the redistribution of political powers, primarily my absorption of your former duties. I have eased these concerns by conducting a search for a new princess to eventually take your place.

Hopefully, it will not take long.

I will see you again in 365,992 days.

With apologies,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

I have had time to reconsider my actions during our quarrel and I admit now that they were not the best I have ever undertaken. I hope, one day that we can reach an understanding with each other again. I miss you in my dreams, Luna.

In other news, I think I finally have gotten the swing of moving the moon. The lighter weight kept throwing me off. I’m sorry for the bumpy ride.

I will see you in 365,968 days.

With apologies,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

Today I have had two rather novel experiences. First, after I raised the sun and gazed out over Everfree City, I noticed a pulsing light coming from the central park. It may just be one of the citizens performing spellcraft. I have dispatched my eunuchs to investigate it as I felt some kind of base malaise, but it is probably unimportant.

Secondly, it was brought to my attention before opening court that the continued effort to repair the damage to the castle will take another year and at least three more crews of slaves to complete. The nobles complained, as is their lot. So I had the construction halted and the temporary roofing torn down.

As providence would have it, it rained shortly thereafter.

I will see you again in 365,967 days.

I miss you,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

I write you from the breakfast nook. I finally replaced all the dishes you broke and have packed away your things. Seeing it everyday has been troubling and I need to keep my mind clear. I don’t want to seem alarmist, but I feel eyes upon me at all times. I’m not sure who I can place my full trust in.

I will find out who haunts me and put it to rest. No pony, drake or dog will scare the Sun Queen in her own castle.

These times are trying but I will remain strong. For you, if not myself.

I will see you in 365,945 days.

Your sister,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

My eunuchs have returned after searching high and low for that princess I was telling the nobles I would replace you with. They brought with them several candidates, but none of them are even remotely like you. I will not share my throne with them. However, they may yet serve a purpose.

Obviously, I don’t plan to tell the nobles this. It serves me well if they simply assume that the mares are “in training” for the duration.

Speaking of the nobles, something odd happened just this past week. One of the noble houses stepped forward to see to the repairs of the castle. They are putting up quite a bit of gold and labor for no more reason than to “restore the symbol of the Everfree peoples”. I am...confused by this. It is a feeling I have had much more often since the feeling of being watched began. I am still no closer to finding the culprit than I was before but I shall remain vigilant.

I miss you.

I will see you in 365,902 days

Love,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

The construction goes well! If the weather holds, it should be completed in six months, just in time to celebrate your birthday! I would send you a gift, but I’m afraid the fudge would go bad long before your release.

Luna, I want to tell you how happy I have become recently. I’m not sure why, if I am honest, but I feel at peace. The city is happy along with me. Everyone smiles and I have heard children singing in the gardens! I feared the Everfree was in for a long period of unrest, and yet, it seems I was wrong!

I have never been so happy to be wrong!

I will see you in 365,888 days.

Love,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

Have you ever been scared of happiness? Have you ever seen a smile, know it’s genuine and still mistrust it? That has become my every day recently. Something lurks behind the eyes of the people of Everfree and I am the only one that notices. Everyone is polite and kind and giving.

It makes me sick at my very core to know it is real and false at once.

I heard children singing in the garden again but when I looked I found no children. My eunuchs have even started to smile. It is unsettling. The feeling of being watched has returned and is stronger than ever. The roof repairs near completion and it feels like a cage is being closed around me.

I can trust nopony but you, Luna. Come back to me soon.

I will see you in 365,876 days.

Please,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

I opened the chest of the Harmonic Gems. They lay there as inert stone, just as they have since our quarrel. I think the magic of the Tree still flows within them, but I cannot touch it. I am not in harmony. None in the Everfree are. No armies threaten us, no disease or famine stresses us, the nobles and I smile and speak politely with each other. We are the strongest nation on this world below you and yet I feel we are soon to fall.

Will I go with it? Am I as much the Everfree as I am the Queen and the Sun?

I don’t know and I fear the unknown more than anything else these days. I believe that something hunts us, hunted us and caught us, we just don’t know it yet.

I’m going to hide the Harmonic Gems. Then I am going to find the eyes that watch in the darkness and I am going to set this world right with my might.

I will see you in 365,843 days.

Pray for me,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

My search has been in vain, so far. I have not exercised the ghosts that haunt me in the night nor warded away the shadows that chase me in the light of my day. I have lost a few of my still trusted eunuchs to the ravages of time and too much peace. The people cheer and parade and I sit above them and smile. They do not know the black tide I feel is encircling us for the final kill.

Something stirs in the darkness, Luna, and how I wish it was you my sister! I can hear it all the time now, like a cicada hum, underneath the sounds of a city gone mad.

I am not too far gone to wonder if it is I who have gone mad. Would I be able to tell? When the madness took you, did you know yourself to be insane? Were you trapped inside yourself and unable to stop? Did you plead with yourself as I plead with myself now in the privacy of my own mind?

I long for your wise counsel, Luna.

I will see you in 365,838 days.

Pray for me,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

I am not crazy. I am sane and in control. Yesterday, I was having tea in the gardens alone, as has become my custom since your banishment. Again, I heard the phantom children singing. I did not look for them, as that has never yielded results. I ignored the rustling in the rose bushes that pretended to be birds. I ignored the shadows and flickers of movement that dance just beyond the edge of my vision.

I am in control when I ignore it. I will not give it the satisfaction of jumping like a foal when it makes a noise. I will not be lead into the trap of seeming unhinged in front of my subjects. I will not be the one to point and scream when the dead walk the halls with the living.

The eunuchs have returned, but they are not longer mine. They bow and chant and do my will, but they are not mine. They think they have me fooled but it is I who lay the traps now. It is I who directs the pieces on the gameboard.

I have eternity to put the pieces in place. I merely need the patience to outlast my opponent.

I will see you in 365,802 days.

Unconquered,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

Your prison is lovely. I’m watching it cross the night sky you loved so as I write this. I’m afraid that I am just not as skilled as you were with the stars and nebula and little details that made the night such a wonder to behold. I hope, when we see each other again, that you can forgive me my crimes against natural beauty.

But I do not write you tonight to wax poetically about the sky. I have news.

The repairs to the castle have been completed ahead of schedule and not a single slave has died since the construction began anew several months ago. There was quite the celebration thrown in court today because of it. I felt genuinely happy for the first time since our quarrel.

It seems that the jovial feelings of the gathered ponies, drakes and dogs had an effect on my invisible enemy too. One of the undead spoke to me. For just a moment, it forgot its place and in that moment I spoke to it and it knew that I knew. It knew then that I am not inept or impotent, that I am not unwitting prey. I watched the realization crawl across its face. I drank in the surprise in its eyes and then a wallowed like a sow in mud in its fear.

It felt so good to be feared again.

It’s late and I will not keep you any longer, Lulu. Rest well, for I know I will tonight.

I will see you in 365,791 days.

Love,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

I am pressing my advantage. I have become the hunter once more! It feels like the good old days when we were young and nothing dared stand before us! I have left the castle grounds more and more frequently. I no longer can rely on my traditional means of gathering information and must take things into my own hooves.

If I had known shedding one’s own hubris was this much fun I would’ve done so long ago!

Whenever I take flight now to survey the Everfree and my peoples, the nobles grumble and grouse, but the people...Luna, I had forgotten how liberating it is to be among them! They bow far too much and pray far too loudly, but what am I to do? It takes them forever to speak to me, but I feel it is worth it. As their Goddess, I owe it to them to tackle this threat head on.

The people of Everfree are not as blind as I feared, thankfully. There is an undercurrent of discontent and suspicion, particularly amongst the lowliest. People go missing each day only to return changed into the undead. I have no solid leads yet, but I have set traps to catch them. I time my movements to confuse them. I trust no one with my plans, except you.

I will win this battle as I have won all the others!

I will see you in 365,788 days.

Love,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

It seems I spoke too soon. My enemy...is not what I thought. After much planning and using many different pawns, I was finally able to get one of the ‘undead’ alone where it could not hide nor summon reinforcements and we would not be seen. It had the stones to raise its hoof against me in defense but I handled it without true effort.

While it answered none of my questions, I did learn quite a few things. For one, they are not undead. This creature in not a pony at all but is very much alive! They have been mimicking the appearance of the missing and dead when in truth they are some sort of insect. I have no idea how its magic works or even why they have invaded. I had imagined it was to dethrone or otherwise control me.

Now I am unsure. I need to reflect on this, sister.

I will see you again in 365,773 days.

Watch over me,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

I am...confused. Nothing is working out as I planned and yet nothing is wrong. All of the ‘mimickers’(fakers? changeling? I don’t know what to call them, honestly) I had identified have vanished overnight. There has been considerable unrest as they were filling many influential roles throughout the Everfree and we are suddenly unstable and left floundering. The parties have ended, there are less smiles and jokes but I feel the joy that remains is true.

I want to believe the threat is over, but experience tells me to be on my guard.

I have rallied most of the nobles behind me as well as risen a few of the lower houses to noble status in thanks for their unknowing aid in uncovering those changelings...yes, changelings, let’s go with that. I want to be ready when they return. But that means changing(HA!) the way we have done things. Hubris and habit has made us weak and Celestia the Undimmed, Goddess of the Sun, Queen of the Everfree is not weak.

I miss you more than you can comprehend, Luna. I hope you can see my dreams where we play and laugh and live together once more. I would give all of this up just to have you back with me in these dark times, sister.

I will see you again in 365,756 days.

Waiting,

Tia

Dearest Luna,

Happy birthday, my little Lulu! I hope you rest well with moon to carry you through the night, above the world. Above the clouds and the storms thunderous and political, above this land that is Everfree. It pleases me that I do not have bad news to write about this night.

Things have restabilized here and the people are healthy. It has been scant months since the mass disappearance of the changelings and no pony seems to have realized that they were ever here. Rumors run rampant of course, but none are remotely close to the truth. There is a shift happening, I think, in the city as more common born peoples rise in prominence thanks to a growing merchant class and the receding nobility. These are interesting times, Luna, and I wish you could see them.

When you return, will you let me know if you can see the fireworks from up above?

I will see you in 365,729 days.

I’m sorry,

Tia

Author's Note

This piece comes courtesy of Fuzzyfurvert.

Mother Moon

Dear Princess Luna,

Forgive me for this audacity, but ever since you tasked me with sorting these tales, this story would not leave me. It is a legend that has been passed down through my tribe for untold generations. The tale concerns an earth stallion seeking to understand the ways of the moon. A silly thing now, but I can picture the scene: the ponies would gather around the fire on a moonless night, before they understood the truth of the cosmos and unicorn magic, and listen as their elder told them why the moon would choose to turn away from them. I humbly submit it to your collection, pending your approval of course.

Yours,
Mind's Eye, Chamberlain to the Princess of the Night

Now the hour has come again, this darkest of nights. Now again we gather 'round, safe with our fire, for the fire is our protection. The wolves may howl, the manticore may roar, the panther may prowl, but only the pony may burn.

Burn we must, for Father Sun takes his rest. Burn we must, to avoid the clash of fang and claw against hoof. The warning of daylight has left our eyes, and the children of darkness play in the starlight. And where is Mother Moon, you ask? Where is her light? Why does she turn away from her children?

Listen, then, to the tale of Earth Mound.

On one moonless night years ago, Earth Mound stood watch over his clan. As he kept the fire burning, watching the gleaming eyes of the beasts beyond its glow, he thought of Mother Moon's abandonment. Why does she allow the beasts to crowd around her children? While he was not the first to have the thought, he was the first that determined to find the answer.

He spoke to his mare the next day. "I will go to Mother Moon. I will find out why she turns away from us."

She answered, "You would turn away from your clan to find out why the great Mother Moon does the same? You are so arrogant as to think Mother Moon will answer you? Wait one day, and stay this madness."

He said to her, "For you, I will wait."

Earth Mound stayed in his hut with his mare that night, unburdened from his duty. Still, the beasts of the night haunted his dreams. At daybreak, he set out to find Mother Moon, and this time, his mare could not stop him.

He traveled alone, heading east to meet Mother Moon as she began her climb into the sky. The first day took him into a vast forest, and Earth Mound climbed a tall tree before nightfall. He raised his voice to the stars, but Mother Moon did not answer him.

The second day of his travels brought him to the foot of a great mountain. Earth Mound climbed for days to reach the summit, and Mother Moon's face began to show again when he reached the top. Again, he raised his voice to the night sky, and again, there was no answer.

Earth Mound climbed down the mountain and came to a lush valley. He rested until the night that Mother Moon's face was half seen. This time, he called from the valley, hoping the rock of the mountains would carry his voice to her ears. Only his echo answered him.

Undaunted, he pushed on to the east. He did not call again, waiting for the night when Mother Moon's face was full. That night found him in the middle of empty plains as far as his eyes could see. The stars blanketed the earth, and Mother Moon's silver day bathed the world in its light. Earth Mound smiled and called at the top of his voice.

And he waited.

Mother Moon did not answer him.

Earth Mound fell to the ground in despair. He lay in the field until sleep took him, sending him back to his clan and his mare. She welcomed him home as a hero, yet he knew he failed. He found no rest in his dream, and when morning came, he resolved to follow his path east.

He traveled by day, calling out in desperation each night. Each night sent him to a disappointed sleep, where his mare waited for him. Her welcome changed as time went on. The joy on her face at his return gradually became tears. Their warm embrace turned tight and fearful. The dreams were pushed out of mind each morning, and he pressed on until he could go no further.

The final day of his journey brought him to the edge of a high cliff. The sea spread out before him, uniting with the sky in the distance. He looked to his left and saw only water, with no way across. He looked to his right and saw only water, with no way across. There he waited for nightfall, when Mother Moon's face was once again turned away from the world.

For the final time, he called out to her.

For the first time, she answered him.

Foolish child, why do you continue calling to me?

"Mother Moon, why do you turn your face away from your children like this? Do you not know that the ponies fear the night?"

Foolish child, I know what you seek from me. I felt it in your dreams, and I will answer your question after you answer mine. Why do you continue calling to me?

"To hear your answer. Why else would I continue?"

Why did you not stop? Do you not miss your mare as she misses you?

She knew his dreams. If that was true..."Mother Moon, did you put her in my dreams to stop me?"

Foolish child, I joined your dreams. As you called to me, I heard her call for you. Did you not see the joy she felt at your return? Why did you not go back? Your place is at her side.

"The clan is with her. They-"

There is a life within her.

Earth Mound was struck dumb.

Your final night together will bear fruit. She fears a future without you, and your place is at her side. Foolish child, what will you do?

"I must go back to her." Soft laughter filled his ears.

Then know this, child, and be foolish no longer. As your place is with her, my place is here. I turn away from your world so I might face another. Your child grows, Earth Mound, and I will guide it to you. Care for the body, and I will care for the spirit.

"You know my child?"

My night witnesses the union of stallion and mare. Mine is also the realm of dreams, and until you wake from your mother, dream is all you do. And you return to me every night, telling me all your hopes and fears. Father Sun may watch you grow, but it is to your Mother Moon that you bare your soul. I know all of my children this way, and though I turn my face, I can never turn away my thoughts.

Earth Mound bowed his head in reverence to his mother. "I will go back to the clan. I will tell them what you told me. We will not doubt you again, Mother Moon."

Go then, child, and know that I love you. Though I may leave for a time, I will always return.

Earth Mound went home to his clan and told them his tale. When his daughter was born, she was named Starlight to honor the nights Mother Moon spent with her. His story was soon passed from clan to clan so all might hear and know the Mother's words. Though she must leave us for a time, her love will always bring her back to us.

The Princess and the Pool

Dear Princess Luna,

I heard our camp counselor tell a scary story about the Mirror Pool... And I thought you might want to hear it. It's sort of about you.

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess, who danced by the moonlight and showered her subjects with gifts on the night of the winter solstice. She would fly down from her castle to hand out these gifts personally, despite her sister's insistence that she let her guards do so.

One year, when she flew down, one particular filly caught her attention for the fact that this filly gave away her gift.

When asked why, the little filly responded: "Because the greatest gift I could receive is knowing you're there to protect us."

Touched by the youngster's response, the princess replied: "Where are your parents, little filly?"

"They left. In the war. They... never came back."

"Oh... my sweet child. Well, tonight, you will dine in the castle with me and my sister. Would you like that?"

The filly's smile lit up the night like the noonday sun, and they flew back to the castle. The little filly didn't have just one dinner there. She had dinner there every night, for the princess took pity on her and adopted her. She was a child of the night.

Year after year, decade after decade, the princess watched her new daughter age, and grow old. But this was her daughter, and she would not be parted if there was anything she could do. She was, after all, one of the most powerful magic users in all the land.

On the last night, the princess flew down to the village where the child had come from, with a royal entourage carrying the dying mare on a divan chair.

At the edge of a pool, in a cavern where the light of the moon rested during the night of the winter solstice, the princess cast a powerful spell on the pool. The waters stilled and became as a mirror.

"My daughter... I do not wish to be parted from you for all time. This pool will let you come to visit me, on the night of the full moon, when the winter solstice is nigh. I love you, my daughter."

"And I you, mother." She slipped away, her last breath finishing the spell.

The princess wept for her loss, and grieved for a time. But the lives of alicorns are long, and soon it was time for the moon to rise over the pool at the right time.

She waited. And waited. Her daughter did not come to the pool. Not even to peek. She could not go through the pool. On the other side was death's realm, and it would not take kindly to an alicorn.

Year after year, she came back. She waited. And no sign of her beloved daughter ever came back.

Life was not good for her and her sister, either. Her sister reminded her of the dire warning given, and ignored. Of love between a mortal and an immortal.

Finally, she could take no more, and returned to the pool at the right time, but while the moon was dark. Distraught, she dove into the pool to search for her long lost child.

Her sister, worried, came looking for her.

What came out of the pool was not the princess.

It was a nightmare.

I know that's not true... But I thought you might like to hear it anyway.

Your loyal subject,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note

Credit for this chapter goes to our founder Noble Thought.

Legacy of a Fallen Star

Dear Princess Luna,

I’ve been doing some research on our early history, or rather, the early history of our world. I hope to compile it into a sort of textbook, or perhaps a series of essays. To be honest, I don’t have much of a plan this time. Shocking, I know!

Anyhow, enclosed here is the opening chapter of my work. I sent it to Celestia, and she recommended that I have you look it over. She said that you might wish to read it, and that perhaps you would have something to say.

The first account is a combination of many things. Parts are adapted from legends, other from scientific analysis and others from—I must confess—simple hunches and guesswork. Still, I suspect you will at least be familiar with the legends—the sky is your domain, after all.

I hope you find it accurate enough. Let me know if there’s anything I missed, or if there is something to which you take issue. We should get together and discuss it some time. It’s been too long since we talked.

—Princess Twilight Sparkle

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In the beginning, there was rock, grey and lifeless. The world was barren and empty, and not claw nor hoof disturbed the dust which covered it. It spun around a young star, repeating a single cycle. As it was, it would have done so for all of time.

Then came the Comet.

It slammed into the world, bringing fire and light to the ashen wastes and obliterating all that was before. Fire rose across the land, bubbling up as magma from cracks in the firmament. For millennia the world was ruled by brimstone, and the Comet’s resting place was lost in seas of liquid flame. Where there had been stagnation, now there was nothing but unbridled Chaos.

But soon the fires began to fade. The land once more became the Ashen Waste, but the disparity wrought by the comet would not be silenced so easily. The First Oceans pooled in the valley of the Comet’s landing, and upon the very spot where the Comet fell, a gash in the earth bled black smoke from where the fires still burned deep beneath the ground. Over many years, the faultline grew, until at last it formed a great cliff, with the waves breaking against it far below. This place was the meeting of the land and the sea, the point at which both were greatest, balanced against each other in opposing harmony.

At the tip of this cliff grew a great tree. Its bark was as crystal, whiter than the winter snow. It was the first of the trees, and its roots ran deep within the earth, reaching out to clutch at the heart of the world. From these deep roots, the First Forests rose, both on land and under sea, and it was hardly a cosmic moment before the First Beasts rose as well.

Six stones, shining brilliantly, lay embedded in the great white tree’s bark. As the First Beasts began to roam the land, these gems watched like brilliant eyes, marveling at the strangeness of it all, the multitude of colors and shapes, the neverending beauty of the world. It would not be long before beasts freed the stones from the tree. The tree would wither, yes, but it would always remain. Dormant, not dead, for just as life could now persist without the tree, so could the tree persist without the stones.

These stones—pure fragments of fallen star—held power unimaginable. The first few who viewed them saw only their beauty, but soon there came those who would look upon them and see their true worth. They were separated, lost, and then brought together again as if by mere chance. Many tried to master their power, but their magics were selective. Those who would use them for nefarious or self-serving ends inevitably failed. Those who used them selflessly gained power incredible. Should the latter ever become the former, that power would abandon them swiftly. Though many scholars would inevitably seek the source of these mysterious powers, none would ever discover from where they truly came. They would eventually come to be called the Elements of Harmony.

Throughout history, the stones changed many times. Sometimes they were buried in a king’s crown, or in the hairpiece of a young child. Sometimes they would be carried away by a conqueror, or fall into the ocean and be gathered up by the fins of those who lived below the waves. Though they were said to represent virtues, the particular virtues they represented were not always the same. Sometimes there would be one bearer for each stone. Sometimes there would be only one for all.

Many bearers held them before they came to the ponies of Equestria who now bear their power, and since the world does not intend to end, it is likely that many more creatures will bear the Elements after we have passed to myth and tale.

I am Twilight Sparkle, and as many have done before, I have taken it upon myself to study these Elements—their origins, their history, their secrets—and to catalogue it so that the knowledge can be carried forward so long as time itself moves on. I cannot know what I will find, and that in itself is a grand, beautiful thing. The uncertainty thrills me.

For you see, I am a firm believer in the future. If history teaches us anything, it is that the world must always change. Though the Elements of Harmony are thought of as a weapon, a tool to vanquish evil, I believe they are far more than that. I believe that with their power, we upon this tiny jewel of a world could seek things far greater than ourselves. They are the keys to the universe, and it is we who have been granted ownership.

Perhaps, once we’ve broken free from the bonds that hold us to this world, that hold our body of knowledge to the level at which it currently rests, perhaps then we will find others, with their own Elements. Perhaps we won’t. As I said, it is this uncertainty which drives me onward, and which I hope will continue to drive all of us onward. Until the universe winds down, and then beyond into whatever comes after.

Author's Note

Thanks to Horizon Runner for this story.