Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest, Celestia, used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger, Luna, brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all different types of ponies. As time went on, the older sister began to grow distant from her younger sibling. While the ponies loved Celestia and her warm days, they also began to take her younger sister for granted. The day became a time of joy and play, while the night was only used for slumber. One fateful day, the older sister was so taken by the ponies praise for her beautiful days that she decreed the day will last forever. The younger sister tried to reason with her, but the pride in the older one’s heart was too great, causing her to transform into a wicked mare of light: Solaria. The elder then vowed that she would defeat the younger; to do this she tried to harness the most powerful magic known to ponykind: the Elements of Harmony. But they did not work, for the older sister was using them with evil intentions. Because of this, the younger sister was forced to banish the elder to the sun for a thousand years. To keep harmony intact, the younger then had to take over raising and lowering the sun as well as the moon.
“Elements of Harmony?” asked Twilight Sparkle, “I know I’ve heard of those before.”
Twilight ran off to the southeast corner of Canterlot’s Luna Library, and said to herself, “Let’s see, E, E, E, E… Ah, yes, here it is… Elements of Harmony: a reference guide, see ‘Mare in the Sun’... The Mare in the Sun, a myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by our princess, Luna, and imprisoned in the sun. Legend has it that after a thousand years she will return to enslave us all.”
"Oh, please!" snapped a voice on the other side of the shelf. "The Mare in the Sun is just an old mare's tale, told to scare little fillies. I’m Rainbow Dash by the way," she said as she stepped out.
Twilight saw the pony that had spoken and asked, “Rainbow Dash? As in the captain of the royal guard Rainbow Dash?”
“Yup, that’s me. Who are you by the way?”
“My name is Twilight Sparkle, and what makes you think it’s just an old tale anyway?” asked Twilight.
“Because I asked the princess about it… Duh.”
“Oh.”
"I'm kinda hungry. You wanna go get some food?
"You know what, sure. I hear that they have excellent pies in the cafeteria anyway."
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"Hey, Rainbow! Who's this?" asked the pony behind the counter.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, I'm the librarian here."
"Well howdy do Twilight, I'm Applejack. Now what can ah do you for?"
"I'll have a chocolate shake," said Rainbow.
"And I would like a slice of apple pie please," answered Twilight.
"Alright, comin' right up. Oh, and if you see Pinkie Pie, tell her that her break is over," said Applejack as she walked away to the kitchen.
"Pinkie Pie?" asked Twilight.
"You don't know her already? Oh well, you're bound to run into her eventually... Everyone does."
"Ok. Anyone else you think I should meet Rainbow?"
"Well, there's always Fluttershy, she's the groundskeeper."
"Fluttershy, I've heard of her before..... Oh I know, when the library got infested with squirrels it was her that came to help."
"Yup, that would be her, she's really good with animals."
"Here ya are," said Applejack from behind, "Sorry for the delay, ah had to yell at Pinkie for bein' late. She said she was out getting supplies for something. Anyway, enjoy!"
"Anyway," said Rainbow as she finished her drink, "I gotta get back do work. You should go see Fluttershy if you get the chance."
"Ok, see you later Rainbow." said Twilight.
Leaving, Twilight thought to herself, 'Now to find this Fluttershy.’
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"Excuse me," Twilight said to the pony she saw in the garden, "do you know where I can find Fluttershy?"
"That's me," the mare replied quietly.”
"Sorry, what?"
"I said that's me." She replied even weaker.
"Didn't quite catch that."
"Whimper"
"OK... Well if you see her, can you tell her that Rainbow Dash sent 'Twilight Sparkle' to meet her? By the way, should that cat be doing that?"
"ANGEL! You should know better than to scratch curtains like that! Oh, Rarity is going to be so mad when she sees this."
"When I see what, Fluttershy?" asked a pony rounding the corner, "Ayiee... Those curtains are simply ruined, ruined I tell you!"
"I'm really sorry Rarity," said Fluttershy.
"No, no," said Rarity regaining her composure, "It wasn't your fault darling... And besides, those curtains needed to be replaced anyway. And you"- she said to Twilight-" you must simply tell me all about yourself."
"Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle, I'm the librarian here, and I've been out all day meeting Rainbow Dash's friends."
"Oh, and how did you and Dashie meet?" asked Rarity.
"Well, I was reading out loud in a book I found and she overheard me and we got into a small argument, but then we settled it over lunch and I've been out meeting her friends since then."
"Well," said Rarity, "isn't that just spectacular. So Twilight, who have you met already today?"
"Just you two, and Applejack."
"Not Pinkie Pie yet?"
"No, not yet."
"Oh, well, you will soon, trust me."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Well you see darling, I can't tell you or Pinkie would kill me."
"Well, if you insist," said Twilight, "and I guess I'd better be headed home, almost time for supper you know."
"Bye Twilight," said Fluttershy.
"See you later Twi," Rarity said.
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'Those two are indeed different,' thought Twilight as she walked home, 'and what did they mean that I'll meet Pinkie soon?'
As Twilight walked in she said aloud, "Oh well, I guess I should just turn in and think about it tomorrow."
"SURPRISE!!!!" yelled Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, a pony that Twilight assumed was Pinkie Pie; and although Fluttershy was there, she was too quiet to hear.
"Oh, my!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?"
"Very surprised, and I'm so sorry girls it's just that I'm so incredibly tired..."
"Oh come on Twilight, it's not like some disaster is gonna happen right this instant," said Rainbow Dash.
THUD-BOOM-CRACK
"What was that?" They all asked together.
A royal guard came rushing in and said, "Commander Rainbow Dash! Something's happened! The princess... She's gone!"
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"Then go and look for her!" Rainbow yelled.
"Umm, girls...." said Fluttershy, "the sun is coming up."
"THE SUN!" They all said together.
Twilight thought for a moment, then said, "Come on, I have an idea as to who did this."
As they approached the throne room, Twilight said, "I think it was The Mare in the Sun, Nightmare Celestia."
"Oh come on Twilight," said Applejack, "yah can't actually believe that? It's just an old ponies tale."
Twilight answered, "Is it, though, just look at the sun girls. That it's even there points to the fact that Nightmare Celestia has returned. Not to mention the fact that the princess has disappeared at the same time!"
“Thou hast called?” asked a voice from above.
They looked up and saw the pony who spoke... With Princess Luna caught up in her magic next to her.
“Quick, take cover! It’s Nightmare Celestia!” shouted Rainbow.
Nightmare Celestia began to give chase as the ponies ran.
“Over there, behind those orbs.”
Nightmare Celestia looked and shouted, “NO! Thy elements, bring them hither. We hast need of them.”
“The elements?” asked Twilight, “Quick girls, grab one of the orbs… Only five, but there are supposed to be six of them!”
“It’s gonna be ok Twi. No matter what happens we’re gonna be together.” Said Applejack.
“Yeah.” said the others.
Twilight then realized something in her heart, something magical. And just after it another element appeared over her and turned into a crown which came to rest upon her head. As it did so, the other five turned into necklaces which came to rest around her friends.
“Quick girls...” said Twilight.
Then six rainbows started to come up in a wave of destruction towards Nightmare Celestia, who had a look of pure fear on her face, and as it hit her, a giant explosion occurred around her.”
Once the explosion had dissipated, Luna became free, walked over to Nightmare Celestia, and said, "Celestia. It has been a thousand years since I've seen you like this. It's time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together big sister."
“We art sorry, we hast missed thou greatly, little sister!”
“I’ve missed you too,” answered Luna “and I am very sorry as well.”
They then hugged, and to the astonishment of the six ponies, agreed to rule Equestria together.
Pinkie Pie then said, “Hey, you guys know what this calls for? A PARTY!”
“Hey Applejack,” started Twilight, “would you do me a favor?”
“Sure,” Applejack responded. “What is it that you need?”
“Well, I need to test this spell that I made which gives earth ponies wings and a horn.”
“Alright, but I have a very bad feeling about this. Are you sure it’s safe?”
“I checked it 537 times, so it should be fine.”
Applejack would have asked more, but it was too late for Twilight's spell had already half encased her in a sparkly cocoon.
When she emerged, Twilight gasped, “It worked. Yes, it actually worked!”
"Wait just a darn tootin’ minute here Twi. You said that it would work before you cast it.”
“Yes, but what I didn’t tell you is that transfiguration spells have a nasty habit of exploding.”
“I could have exploded!”
“But did you?”
“No. But, I could have.”
“But you didn’t. Now, please fly to that cloud and back.” Twilight said while she took out a notebook.
“Ok. But I still have a bad feeling about this.” Applejack commented while she took off.
As she flew, Applejack thought to herself, ‘Was Twilight really willing to risk me exploding? No, she would never risk the life of her friends. Right? Man am I tired.’
Once Applejack neared the cloud, Twilight watched with a look of absolute horror on her face as Applejack suddenly dropped, and landed on the ground with a sickening splat.
Twilight ran up to the location, and cried, “Nonononono. Please don’t be dead. Sweet Celestia, that’s a lot of blood.”
For a lot of blood it was. It was on everything, on Applejack, on the grass, on the trees, in the pond, even on the squirrel running in the general direction of a cottage.
Fluttershy, having just been notified by a very blood squirrel that somepony had just died, ran to the site of the incident.
Once she got there and saw who it was, she said, “Oh no. Who could’ve done this?”
But before she could look around she heard a "Fluttershylookout" from above as a purple, pony-shaped, blur fell on her from a height of 5,000 feet. Killing both of them.
Rainbow Dash, upon hearing Fluttershy’s name being called from the sky, and the sound of two ponies hitting each other with a lot of force, rushed off to the site.
And low, there was a very, very bloody scene consisting of an orange splat that had once been applejack, and a mush of purple and yellow which was once Twilight and Fluttershy.
“Horseapples,” Rainbow said. “Somepony's gonna have to tell the Princess about this.”
Celestia, upon receiving a very decorative letter, which she had first assumed was a friendship lesson but was actually a death notice, went at once to Ponyville to punish whoever was responsible.
When she got there, she was greeted by Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, who showed her Twilight’s notebook, which along with notes about Applejack, held a rather disturbing suicide letter:
My dearest friends. Today, I attempted a spell that I was working on for three months which gave earth ponies wings and a horn. While testing it out on Applejack, it failed and she fell to the ground and died. I know I will never be able to live with this guilt, so I will now kill myself in the same way that I killed Applejack. Goodbye.
Celestia looked up at the three ponies after reading it, and said, “Very well. I assume you have made funeral arrangements?”
“We have, your Majesty.”
“Good. Right now, however, I have more pressing issues brewing within the frozen north.”
"NOOO!" I screamed as I woke up suddenly.
"Twilight, are you alright?" Spike panted as he ran through the door.
"Yes, Spike. Everything is fine, it was just a bad dream. Though I don't think I'm going to be able to fall asleep again; but you should go back to bed, I'll wake you in a few hours."
"No, Twilight," He responded, "I'm staying up with you."
His voice had the distinct tone of one who is resolute in their decisions.
"Very well," I conceded, "just don't complain if you're tired later."
"Don't worry, I won't." He promised.
I know that he will break it, but I don't care, I don't really mind the complaining too much either.
"Alright then," I said. "We've got a full day ahead of us, and as long as we aren't sleeping, we might at well get started."
"Umm, Twilight," he started, "I was kinda hoping we could spend some time together. You know, no work, no studying, just us like it used to be."
"It has been awhile, and we are already ahead of schedule by a few hours, so sure. Where would you like to go Spike?"
"Awesome! I've got a couple options in mind: there's this new Zip Line that just opened up, or we could go laser tagging, or we could..." He started before he was interrupted by a very loud growling from his stomach.
"How about we go to Sugarcube Corner for some breakfast, and you can think about it while we're eating," I suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds nice." He replied.
_________________
"Hey Mrs. Cake," I said as I walked in. "The usual please."
"The usual coming right up." Mrs. Cake chimed back.
This time, I managed to avoid drooling as Mr. Cake brought forth the ultimate chocolate cupcake for me and some emerald muffins for Spike. Needless to say, we both dug in.
"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the food was great."
"Now Twilight," they responded, "you know that we enjoy having you here. There's no need to thank us."
"Have a nice day then."
"Twilight," Spike started once we were outside, "I've thought about it, and I want to go Ziplining."
"Are you sure you want to go Ziplining, Spike?" I asked.
"Oh come on Twilight, It'll be fun."
"I suppose I did say you could choose what we would do."
_________________
"Woohoo, yeah!" I shouted when I got to the bottom of the line for the fourth time.
Spike laughed and said, "Told you it would be fun. Now come on, let's go again."
"Oh Spike, I'm so glad we spent this time together, but don't you think it's time to get back home?"
"Aw, come on Twilight. Just once more?"
"Fine. and then we have to get to work."
I watched as Spike got hooked up to the line, patiently awaiting my own turn. But I suddenly got this sense of dread, that's when I heard it... a deafening snap, followed by a scream which ended abruptly with a sickening crunch.
"NOOO!" I screamed as I woke up suddenly.
"Twilight, are you alright?" Spike panted as he ran through the door.
I stare at my computer screen.
Empty.
Like me.
My family... gone. My friends... gone.
I am alone.
I look back to the screen. There is writing now.
I don't remember putting that there.
But I must have. It is my writing. It is my thoughts.
My fingers blaze away, typing something I did not will them to write. It is like they have a mind of their own, one that can read mine without my noticing.
More writing. But I cannot read it. I can no longer read anything.
I am broken.
I am empty.
But my fingers go on. I no longer care what they type. I can no longer care about everything.
I have already alienated myself from society.
I have lost the will to go on. But my fingers are still typing. It is as if they are dragging me forward. Forcing me to connect to others through their work.
But I refuse. I struggle, and bite, and kick. But I am no longer in control.
I lost control long ago, but I have fooled myself into believing I still had it.
I have blindly followed my own ambitions, with no result.
So I blamed others for my failures. I pushed them away until I had no one left. I was certain I would die alone.
But something changed.
I realized that there is more at work here than just my own failures.
There is something inside me again, just as there is writing on the screen. Slowly filling me up, slowly repairing that which I had broken.
It's magical, and tragic all the ways we break our hearts.
We think we're invincible, completely unbreakable.
But we aren't. We all have faults.
But I'm not afraid of anything. I have this fire inside.
I came back to life. I was broken, but now I am repaired.
I was empty, now I am overflowing.
I was once colder than ice, but my fire has only gotten bigger.
My computer screen has more writing now.
Writing that I put there.
It is mine. It is a part of me.
I am no longer empty.
___________
"Thank you."
"For what, my faithful student?"
"For sharing this with me. I didn't know you felt like this after they died."
"It's perfectly alright. Sometimes I wonder if my teacher ever felt like this."
"You once had a teacher?"
"Oh, yes. She controlled the Sun you know, just like her own teacher did, just like I do now. She also once wielded the Elements against many dangers, before they came to me that is; and one day, both the Sun and the Elements will be passed on to you, and then to your own student. For such is the burden of Alicorns."
"What was your teacher's name? And how about her teacher's?"
"Those, my dear, are questions for another time. Right now, however, I believe you wanted to learn about Starswirl's smaragd theory..."
