Selenelion: A Story of Harmony
Twilight Sparkle had a brilliant idea to get more ponies interested in reading: she would start her own book fair! It would be open to everypony and they could come talk about their favorite books, check out new books, share books, and recommend books. This was exactly how she had pitched her idea to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.
"Did I mention books?" Twilight added.
Princess Celestia smiled. "I think hosting a book fair is a wonderful idea, Twilight. You may proceed as planned."
"Oh, thank you so much, Princess. You don't know how much this means to me."
"I think we may have an idea," said Princess Luna with a wink.
"I've also got some ideas for a reading challenge: ponies can choose from a list of books of one they'd like to read. As they read, they can take notes and learn more about what makes the book appealing. Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait to get started!"
"You're more than welcome to view our collection," said Princess Celestia. "Perhaps you may find books you'd like to include in your challenge?"
"Thank you, Princess. I'm sure I will." Twilight turned to her number one assistant. "Spike? Get your quill and parchment ready. We're going to do some research."
"You got it, Twilight!" Spike exclaimed, always eager to lend a claw to his best friend.
Twilight and Spike spent the rest of the afternoon browsing through the hundreds of books in the Princesses' collection.
Twilight looked over the book list she had made. "Hmm. I may need to cut back on the number of books everypony can choose from."
"I'm sure it's fine," said Spike. "How many do you have?"
"One hundred and twenty-seven," Twilight answered.
"Ooh, yeah, maybe taking off a few wouldn't hurt."
"But there're just so many really great books. It would be really hard to determine which ones to leave on and which to take off."
"Maybe separate the books that are really great from the ones that are just great?"
"'Just great?!' None of these books are 'just great,' they're really great."
As Twilight was trying to figure out how to narrow down her book list, Princess Luna walked in. "How are we doing? Making great progress, I'm sure."
"I've got a lot of books on my list," replied Twilight, "but it may be too many." She groaned, "Ugh, I don't know which ones I should keep."
"May I inquire as to which books you have made note of?" asked Princess Luna.
Spike began to read from the list, "We've got Flankenstein, Little Mares, Shetland Holmes, The Peculiar Perusal of the Petrified Ponies, The Legend of Lone Star and Other True Tales of Frontier Equestria."
"You certainly know your classics. Twilight, you've been at this all day long. Why don't you take a break and watch as I raise the moon?"
Twilight and Spike followed Princess Luna outside where she raised the moon high above Equestria.
The Princess of the Night spoke, "Twilight. Spike. I would like to share a story with you. 'Tis a story read to Celestia and myself when we were but young foals."
"What story is it?" asked Twilight.
"It is called 'Selenelion.'" By the light of the moon, Princess Luna began to relay her tale...
It happened long, long ago in a time before our age; before everything we know was ever known or learned. There were two kingdoms: one of the darkness of night ruled by Lord Shade, and the other of the brightness of day ruled by Lady Dawn. Now the two kingdoms remained separated from each other, the day never knowing night, and the night never knowing day.
In her kingdom of light, Lady Dawn and her subjects made beautiful spheres of fire that they sent up into the sky for all to see. There was just one problem: they had made so many, their light was lost among the luminosity of the big bright ball they called the sun.
In his kingdom of darkness, Lord Shade and his subjects gazed admiringly at the stars that shown brightly in the distance.
"What are they?" Lord Shade pondered many a night. "They are so beautiful. I wish to know what they are and from where they come."
One night, Lord Shade declared that he would discover what exactly those luminous orbs in the sky were. The royal coach was prepared and he soon set off for the unknown land beyond the horizon. As he drew nearer to Lady Dawn's kingdom, he noticed a strange thing: the purple sky gradually turned pink, then to orange. All of the orbs he had seen began to fade away, but there was one that remained. It was much bigger than the others. When he finally arrived at the kingdom, the sky was blue. He shielded his eyes from the brightness.
"What is this place?" Lord Shade asked himself.
Nopony had ever seen anyone quite like him. Yes, he did look like them, but the air about him was unfamiliar. His coat and mane were of a darker color. The robes he wore were of colors they had never seen. What they thought was an image of the sun, he explained was the moon. Lord Shade soon found that the ponies there were just as confused about him as he was of them. He was escorted to the palace of Lady Dawn where he was brought before her Excellency. She was the most beautiful pony he had ever seen. She shone like the sun, her crown like a halo. For Lord Shade, he had not such words to describe her, knowing only the language of the night.
"I am Lady Dawn, ruler of the Realm of Light," the monarch introduced. "Who are you, my visitor, and from where do you come?"
"Greetings, Lady Dawn, I am Lord Shade, ruler of the Realm of Dark, my home."
"What brings you here, Lord Shade?"
"For years have I admired the balls of light that shines in the distance from my kingdom. I sought to know what they are and my travels have brought me here."
Lady Dawn showed Lord Shade one of her spheres of fire. "Do you mean this?"
"Ah! That's it! Please, your Excellency, discover to me what it is."
"It is a sphere of fire. We call them stars."
"Stars," Lord Shade repeated in awe.
"Tell me, your Excellency," began Lady Dawn, "how is it that you have seen our stars? Our skies are too bright for them to be seen."
Lord Shade explained, "Lady Dawn, your skies are blue and mine are purple. I've no need to shield my eyes in my kingdom, but here I do. What you call 'bright' is nothing to be found in my home. The glow of your stars stand out in our dark skies."
Lady Dawn began to understand that Lord Shade's kingdom was very different from her own. "Lord Shade, you must allow me to visit your kingdom for I am very intrigued by what you say."
"As you wish," replied Lord Shade.
Lady Dawn's coach was prepared and soon, she set off to Lord Shade's kingdom. As they drew nearer, she noticed how her blue skies slowly faded into orange, then pink, and finally, purple. She noticed how her stars began to shine as the skies became darker. There were even animals she had never seen before; critters who lived in the night, like birds called owls. It was all new to her and such a marvel to behold. It was a little hard for her to see in the dark and was provided a lantern. She could see very clearly, however, how handsome Lord Shade looked in the moonlight.
As time moved on, Lord Shade and Lady Dawn professed their love for each other and were soon married, uniting both of their kingdoms into one they called Selenelion for the sun and moon were both present in the sky at that hour. They declared that the light and dark would be equally present for all of their subject to enjoy: hours they called day and night. It came to pass that King Shade and Queen Dawn had three lovely daughters named Antumbra, Penumbra, and Umbra. They would be the guardians of the shadow for they were born of light and dark. Thus, a new era had begun and a new harmony of the cosmos was created.
"And that is how the cosmic harmony of day and night came to be," noted Princess Luna as she concluded her tale.
"Amazing!" exclaimed Twilight. "I can't believe I haven't heard that story before. I'm definitely adding it to my list."
"Make that one hundred and twenty-eight books," Spike noted.
"Thank you for sharing your story, Princess. I have one question."
"What is it?" asked Princess Luna.
"Is that really how day and night came to be?"
"I'm afraid I haven't got an answer for you, Twilight. That information is unknown to me. I do know that it is something worth researching, say perhaps at a book fair?"
Twilight smiled. Her book fair would be the perfect opportunity to not just celebrate great books, but to learn more about the histories of the stories they tell, and that is another story itself.
Author's Note
Speaking of story histories, this story is taken from concepts for a film I wanted to make but ended up abandoning. The ideas were good, so I kept them to rework into something new. Thus, this story was born.
