Many years ago, there were two sisters, princesses, who ruled over the land of Equestria. The older one raised the sun each day, while the younger raised the moon at night. For millennia the two continued; each guarding the day and the night in turn, watching over their subjects. Over time however the ponies of Equestria favored the light over the dark. With each passing year the younger princess, Luna, found that fewer and fewer of her subjects appreciated her rulership over the night sky, until hardly anypony was left who even acknowledged her. Instead their affection and respect was directed to her elder sister Celestia. Slowly Luna's anger and resentment grew until finally it manifested in the form of Nightmare Moon. This being of pure rage threatened to plunge Equestria into eternal night and nearly succeeded. Only using the Elements of harmony was Celestia able to overpower her and banish her to the moon for a thousand years. She would raise the sun and the moon, until her sister could be restored.
This is the story we all know. But what if things had happened differently?
With a crash and an avalanche of brick and mortar Luna was flung through yet another wall. Covered in burns and greatly weakened she looked up at the fiery being flying toward her.
"Celestia!"She cried, "Please stop!"
"Do you really think that will work?" said what was once her sister with a maniacal chuckle, "I am Daybreaker, and you are nothing!"
As she dove to avoid another magical blast Luna could hardly believe what had happened in just a few hours.
The sun had only been down a short time. Luna stood watch over the night, a full moon high overhead. Her little ponies may not love the night as much as the day, but nopony said that keeping the balance would come with praise. The residents of her kingdom needed a time to rest, to restore their strength after their work.
But these were not the thoughts on her mind tonight. No, as she gazed upon the starry sky, Luna's thoughts drifted to her sister. Celestia had recently begun to insist upon allowing the day to continue longer than it should.
"Nopony will be harmed," she had said, "and they all love the sun."
Luna had begrudgingly agreed to let Celestia to hold up the sun a few minutes longer. However, in the months that followed, this exchange was repeated many times. Each time, Celestia extended the day a little longer. Gradually Luna noticed a change in her elder sister. She seemed to lose interest in Luna's words, unless they were words of praise. She practically relished in holding her younger sibling back from raising the moon.
Now as Luna watched over her subjects' sleep she suddenly noticed that the sky was far brighter than it should be. The sun was peeking over the edge of the horizon and faintly illuminating the land. It had happened slowly enough that she hadn't noticed while deep in thought.
"What? What is..." She turned around and saw her sister standing behind her, eyes closed and smiling.
"Celestia? What are you doing? I never agreed to this!"
"Well If you don't like it, then just change it back." Celestia stated matter of factly. "Oh wait, you can't."
Celestia's eyes opened, seemingly aflame as she chuckled darkly. "Actually, why are you here? I could easily do your job and nopony would miss you."
Luna's jaw nearly dropped in disbelief. How could her sister say such a thing to her.
"In fact why have a night time at all?" With that her horn began to glow, together with her entire body. Her mane and tail seemed to ignite as she raised the sun higher still.
"Celestia, you can't..."
"What are you going to do, stop me?" Celestia shouted.
"If... if I must" replied Luna, her horn glowing. But her elder sister simply threw her from the tower, almost nonchalantly.
Luna opened her wings in an attempt to slow her fall, still stunned at what had just happened. No sooner had she leveled out, when she was suddenly struck from behind and crashed through a wall. Through the gap in the stones flew a ball of flame. Luna rolled out of the way and fired her own magic at Celestia.
It was a futile gesture. Even at her best Luna had little chance in a fight against her sister. But now, Celestia seemed driven mad by her own pride and desire for adoration. Her power was increased to the point where any attack of Luna's would have had no effect.
Despite Luna's pleas for her to stop, her sister continued her assault. Finally, Luna managed to evade the fiery alicorn, now calling herself "Daybreaker." Her fur was charred and her body covered in injuries. She could hear the castle being torn to ruins in a mad search. All attempts at reasoning had failed. There was only one way that she could overpower her. The same Elements of Harmony that the two had used against Discord all those years ago.
Luna hurried through the remaining hallways, the sound of destruction behind her. She knew that sooner or later her sister would get the same idea and make her way here. Sure enough, as soon as Luna reached her destination the door behind her exploded revealing Daybreaker.
"Really Luna, how long have we known each other?" She said walking up to Luna, "You didn't think I'd guess you'd come here?"
Luna stood up, only to struck down again.
"No wonder nopony respects you. You're so pathetic!"
"Celestia... you are my sister, but I will not allow you to destroy the balance of this world. If can't stop you, then I will die trying!"
She charged forward, and was met with a ball of enchanted flame. The force of the blast threw her across the massive room and into the pedestal holding the elements. Her sister leapt forward, wings spread and horn ablaze.
The world seemed to slow as the distance between them closed. Luna seized the Elements with her magic and felt a power she had not known in a long time flowing through her. Her eyes began to glow as she directed the force of the crystals toward the charging figure.
With a blast of colored light, it was over. Luna looked up to where her attacker had been, but she was gone. But high in the sky, imprinted upon the moon was the silhouette of a mare. Luna had won.
But what of the sun? There it sat, just about to cross the horizon. Although Luna was one of the most powerful magic users in Equestria, she did not have the power to move it. Without somepony to raise and lower it, the world was trapped in a state that was not quite day and not quite night.
As the centuries passed, the ponies of Equestria forgot the times when the sun moved across the sky. Equestria became a land of perpetual dusk.
Author's Note
Hey guys! This is my first submission, so please let me know what you think!
