Long ago, in the Age of Harmony, when the Princesses Celestia and Luna ruled the land, and the Elements of Harmony maintained peace throughout the land, all was well. Sombra was dead, Tirek was back in Tartarus with no chance of getting out, Nightmare Moon and Discord were reformed. Chrysalis was still out there, but as she hadn’t been seen or heard from in more than a decade, nopony bothered to look for her. The last major war was many centuries before, and most of the neighboring nations either were allies with Equestria or simply left them alone.
Up in the Crystal Empire, Princess Flurry Heart was developing extremely powerful magical skills, and Princess Celestia offered to teach her in Her School for Gifted Unicorns. Princess Flurry Heart’s parents, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor, agreed.
It was at this time, that Chrysalis attacked. Catching the Elements by surprise, she managed to kill Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, and seriously injure Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, before the Princesses could send help. Discord, the Embodiment of Chaos and Fluttershy’s husband, unleashed his full power as a result of his rage and heartbreak, but was ultimately struck down by an army of unreformed changelings. In the years that Chrysalis was missing, she forged herself an army larger than ever recorded in history.
Without Fluttershy, the Elements of Harmony were rendered useless. The remaining Elements, the mage Starlight Glimmer, and the dragon Spike, joined the Royal Guard and waged war against the changelings. Equestria’s allies, including King Thorax’s hive and the dragons, provided supplies and weapons.
They kept coming. It seemed the amount of Queen Chrysalis’s forces were infinite. Soon, it became apparent that Equestria was losing. Many troops lay dead on the battlefield while others were severely injured. By this time, Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter, had been impaled by a sword, and then later died in a hospital. She left her husband, Cheese Sandwich, to look after eight children. He later died from a heart attack, and his children were sent to an orphanage, where Fluttershy’s three children resided.
Rainbow Dash had lost part of an ear and a wing, which was later replaced by a bionic wing. She was never the same, though. She blamed herself for the deaths of her two friends, and developed a serious case of depression and PTSD. Many years later, she hung herself, but not before marrying Soarin, a veteran Wonderbolt, and raising and watching her two children grow into adults.
Applejack Apple, Element of Honesty, seemed to get the short end of the stick. She lost her back leg in the war, effectively disabling her. She was captured by Chrysalis’s troops and questioned about the Equestrian army’s weaknesses. When she stubbornly stood her ground, she was brainwashed into doing so. She was then mentally enslaved by the Queen, and was forced to assassinate the Princesses against her will. When the Royal Guard arrested her and was treated by unicorn doctors, they managed remove the spell that connected her to the hive. A side effect, however, caused her to go insane, and she spent the rest of her days in an insane asylum. She sired one child from her husband Caramel, before she committed suicide by strangling herself with her own straitjacket.
Rarity Belle, Element of Generosity, lost an eye and her horn in the war. Otherwise, she survived the worst of it, and got married to Spike the dragon, had three children, and died at a ripe age of eighty two. Spike himself had lived to see his children grow up and grow old.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic, got by the war without any major injuries. Later, when she was interviewed for the “Ponyville Confidential”, she said, “I am honored to have fought for our country and to keep the citizens of Equestria safe from the enemy. I grieve for my friends that didn’t make it, and for the deceased that had families waiting, but I’m sure had they gone back in time, they would have done it all over again, just to keep their loved ones safe and sound.” She married a Royal Guard by the name of Flash Sentry and had two children. And, after the deaths of the Princesses, she took over as ruler of Equestria and Raiser of the Sun and Moon.
The Changeling War lasted three years. We do not know how it ended, we only know that Starlight Glimmer was the one to put an end to Chrysalis. The battle between the two took place in the caves beneath Canterlot Castle, so nopony except for Starlight Glimmer knew exactly what happened. When we later retrieved the body to give back to the opposing changelings as a sign of peace, there was a hole through her heart from what we assume was a bolt of magic. When Starlight was questioned later, she mentioned that there was a magic duel, and that Chrysalis had seeked revenge from when Starlight had turned her hive against her. Although Chrysalis killed many innocents, Starlight said, “I guess, in a way, I can empathize with her feelings towards me. It was the same feelings I felt when Twilight Sparkle came to my village and turned them all against me. There was a period of time when I wanted her dead. That was, until, she showed me the true magic of friendship. I even offered to pardon Chrysalis a second time, even after all the destruction she’d caused and the ponies she’d killed. But she refused. I knew then that I had no choice but to kill her. I had no choice…” It was at this moment she had run away from the reporters, sobbing.
Starlight Glimmer married the royal Crystaller from the Crystal Empire, Sunburst, and had two children, and offered to teach Princess Flurry Heart everything about magic, since Princess Celestia was assassinated and the School was destroyed. Flurry Heart’s mother, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, died in battle, and her father, Prince Shining Armor, took over as ruler of the Crystal Empire until Flurry Heart was old enough to receive her title as the Crystal Princess and the Protector of the Crystal Heart.
All seemed to be well. The rival changelings either integrated into King Thorax’s hive, or wandered off to create their own hives. Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle in Ponyville became a second home for her whenever she visited, and a museum when she was not. She rose the sun and moon, and her son, Prince Nightlight Jr, walked through the dreams of the citizens of Equestria. Up in the Crystal Empire, Princess Flurry Heart had married a baker from Ponyville named Pound Cake and had twin pegasus daughters.
That was, until she discovered a strange artifact on the outskirts of the Empire. It was a piece of King Sombra’s horn, and it preserved what was left of his soul so that he didn’t completely fade. A horcrux, if you will. That small piece of Sombra’s soul possessed and corrupted the Princess. She enslaved and brainwashed all the citizens of the Empire and hid the Crystal Heart in a vault in the castle, much like Sombra had. She even attempted to kill her own daughters, just so they wouldn’t grow up to overthrow her. Luckily, Prince Pound Cake managed to escape the Empire with his children and come to Princess Twilight Sparkle for help.
At first, Princess Twilight couldn’t believe it. She had thought that Sombra was gone for good. But when cities in Equestria started to get attacked by the Crystal Guard, she knew she to do something. But before she could, Princess Flurry Heart herself snuck into the castile and stabbed Princess Twilight in the back, killing her.
With the Princess dead, Starlight Glimmer took over. She lead the Guard against the brainwashed Crystal ponies, but was no match for Flurry Heart, whom she had taught everything she’d known. Starlight was mortally wounded and would have been killed had not a group of six friends risen up to help.
They were new Elements of Harmony, connected to the Elements back when Fluttershy was killed. They all came from the small town of Ponyville, just like the previous Elements.
Dinky Doo was the Element of Magic. She was a unicorn with surprising magical abilities, considering that her mother was a pegasus and nopony knew who her father was. She was also a student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns until it was destroyed. Apple Bloom was the Element of Honesty. She was also the younger sister of the late Applejack. Scootaloo was the Element of Loyalty. She was also a close friend and adopted sister of Rainbow Dash, and a famous Wonderbolt and daredevil. Sweetie Belle was the Element of Generosity. She was also the younger sister of Rarity Belle, and a popular singer. Diamond Tiara was the Element of Laughter. She was the Mayor of Ponyville, and was known for her optimism, and always looking on the bright side. Finally, Silver Spoon was the Element of Kindness. She was also a chef in Canterlot, although she always said that Ponyville was her real home.
While the Elements of Harmony usually dispelled all evil, Sombra’s magic was too powerful, and just like before, Princess Flurry Heart was sent to the Frozen North along with the rest of the Empire, never to be heard from again. Legend has it that in one thousand years, six ponies will wield the Elements once again to bring the Empire back, and, most importantly, bring back the only living alicorn left in the whole of Equestria.
Until then, Starlight Glimmer received the title as Ruler of Equestria. She rose the Sun and Moon, and taught her daughters to do so as well, since she wasn’t an alicorn, so she wouldn’t live for thousands upon thousands of years. Years after, before retiring, she set up the Council, made up of three earth ponies, three unicorns, and three pegasi. The Council would act as the rulers of Equestria in the absence of any actual alicorns.
For the past few hundred years, the Council maintained order throughtout the country, and the descendants of Starlight Glimmer controlled the sun and moon. The Element Bearers died a long time ago, and new hosts are yet to be found. Soon, the one thousand year mark will hit, and the Elements must find new Bearers soon to fulfill the prophecy. Rumor has it that the future Bearers live amongst at this very moment…
***
Moonlight Sterling looked up from her history book and pressed a hoof to her lips, deep in thought. Straightening her glasses on her muzzle, she looked at a picture of the original Element Bearers in her history book, and then down at her cutie mark, which was a dark blue six-pointed star with wings.
“I wonder…”
