Another Eternity

The night air was crisp, cold against bare coats. But no coats were bared to its' touch tonight. The wandering band of ponies was well-traveled enough to know when to shield themselves against the elements. They had certainly faced much worse. The image of a freak snowstorm nearly waylaying them on one of countless treks to Fillydelphia came to mind instantly. This was far more pleasant than that my a vast margin. Their destination was Ponyville. Their aim was to play a few concerts here and there to drum up enough bits to continue moving. It was a nice life, all things considered. They were talented with their instruments but found that concert halls stifiled them.

It was through chance that they all met. There was some great competition going on and the sound of music filled the air. But their hearts just weren't in it that day. Each of them hailed from different cities around Equestria and each of them found their place in the piece lost to another pony. They didn't hold any ill will to their conductors. They were just doing their jobs, after all. So it was that they talked. And talked. And talked. After a night spent at the tavern, away from their respective orchestras, they fell upon the most logical conclusion. They would travel the land, playing to anypony who would lend them an ear. Perhaps they would return to a more stationary lifestyle one day, but not until every drop of wonder had been squeezed out of the rolling hills and quaint towns they wandered through. So perhaps in a few more lifetimes.

This night was like any other in that it was completely unique. They were just settling down and stoking a fire when a stranger entered their midst. Where this stranger came from none of them could tell but it was their deepest hope that they meant no ill will. While they had learned to defend themselves against the rare threat, they still weren't keen on fighting if it could be avoided. Summer Breeze, the attendant flutist, spoke first.

"Hail, stranger! What brings you out to this barely-beaten path tonight? And alone to boot!"

"Wandering, just the same as you. Though I'm afraid I've no instrument to play."

"What can you do then, stranger?" The voice of their violinist Green Light floated over the fledgling fire.

"I can tell stories. Or so I've been told, at the least. It's more they sit inside me until they want to be let out."

"I know how that feels mate. Come, have a seat. You can share our fire and our food for the night. In return, however, we require a story."

"Make it the grandest one you've got!" Came the excited voice of Sunbather, a unicorn mare talented with guitar. "I do so love a good epic."

"The grandest one I've got? It's good the night is still young then, because I have something in mind that will take some time to tell. But anything good requires time. Lend me your ears and I'll tell you my tale."

"Your tale?"

"Well, more the tale I'm going to tell. The characters in this one will feel familiar, I've no doubt." A smile could be seen from under the strangers hood, a smirk that was heavy with good-natured trickery. "It's a story of two sisters. Stop me if you've heard this one."

The circle of ponies stopped to consider the question for a moment. Deciding that they had not, in fact, heard this one before, they urged the stranger to continue.

"Two sisters who had circled around each other for eons. Moving in an endless circle, one reflecting off the other and vice versa. It was a stable relationship, for a while. But turbulence found them, even in their perpetual orbit. It was a turbulence that would shake the world to its core for quite some time. Their dance would carry on into another eternity but this is not that story. This is the story about the cessation of their dance, of them wracked with the throes of that turbulence. It's a tale of sorrow. In this time these two sisters encountered the deepest woes they had ever been faced with. They would overcome the greatest obstacles either of them faced, but it would be mostly alone. For alone is how the sisters find themselves on most nights. Not these days, of course, but as they begin to falter in their steps."

By now the night had grown entirely silent, as if the strangers voice had some command over the sounds of the dark surrounding them. Her audience was entirely enraptured, wholly focused on her silky voice. "Now then. Allow me to begin."