Colony: Friendship is Magic
By Prancingfox
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Once upon a time, in the tranquil sector of Equestria…
… There were two regel sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the worlds. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to bring life to the stars. The younger shrouded them to bring forth the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their empire and their subjects.
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the light that her sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful nights. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lift the shroud to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one’s heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness…
Nightmare Veil.
She vowed she would cover the worlds in eternal darkness. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known in ponydom, the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently into the shroud.
The elder sister took on the responsibility of both the stars and shrouds, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.
A light violet unicorn lying on the grass placed a hoof to her chin, tapping slowly as she read over the last few paragraphs again. Before her was a datapad, a small metal miniature computer slab that projected a holographic image to its side where texts, videos and software could be engaged. But the reader showed none of that right now. One the holo screen was a captured image of a ancient textbook back in the days when hard screens were still in use.
The unicorn herself was garbed in outdoor attire fitting for her mood and current activity. Her dark mane and tail were straightened out to show a strip of deep violet and pink colors in a perfectly combed and washed condition while her body was dressed in the white and golden apparel that students of the grand university wore.
Looking up, the mare frowned as her mind went deep into though. In her immediate surroundings was a trimmed and managed tree that provided her with a cool and comfortable shade while a flowing river snaked through the park’s nature preservation reserve, a place where occupants of the elitist class and castle residence could escape and enjoy the natural nature. Beyond the park was a entirely different spectacle however.
Canterlot City glowed like a shining phenomenon upon the planet’s surface, the massive cityscape smothering the side of the mountain peak that rose above the cloud surface that blanketed nearly the entirety of the globe itself. At the plateau where cloud and mountain met, the lower city was filled with commoners going about their day and business in their pristine homes and stores. Midway up the alp was where all the docks, airports, warehouses and other infrastructure buildings stood, bustling with activity as airships came, docked and left for the other various mountain cities across the planet while the occasional starship in low orbit would hover over the cloud surface somewhere nearby while sending shuttles back and forth to ferry ponies and goods.
And finally there was the top of the mountain itself with the majestic Canterlot Castle straddling the peak’s side with its high golden towers, its white marble structures and purple roofs. Waterfall running from aqueducts flowed from the castle’s underside, creating a breathtaking cascade mist that disappeared into the clouds below.
It was there in Canterlot Castle where Twilight Sparkle, unicorn noble and university student, sitting in the Royal Gardens where none could approach or distract her, pondered over the documents she studied.
“Hmm… Elements of Harmony.” She murmured to herself. “I know I heard of those before, but from where?”
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