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 used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.

But as the sisters’ reign became a beacon of hope for the ponies, it cast a large, hungry shadow over the world. From the western mountains descended a terrifying demon of clouds, preying on the light and dark the sisters ruled - devouring shadows of those he came across. He was the wicked King in the Skies: Erebus.

He fell upon the longest day of the year, hungry for shadows all across the lands. Desperate, the two sisters harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, the sisters defeated this demon of clouds and banished him beyond the skies itself. Peace returned, and thus harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since…

A pony flicked the book shut and frowned.

“Elements of Harmony? I know I’ve heard of those somewhere…”

Soft dirt road underneath his hooves gave a pleasant sound with each step, as did the jar of fireflies floating beside him. The quiet buzzing melted into the almost inaudible hum of his magical grasp, one echoing from both the jar and the book he was holding. With a little sigh, the pony opened up his right saddlebag and slid the book in - yet kept a hold of the illuminating jar. The road up the eastern slope was unlit even after all these years, though for a good reason. The last thing needed here was for light to pollute the night skies.

There, atop the hill overlooking the Castle of the Two Sisters, lay the Royal Observatory - a place most would have wagered to be a place of learning. But to the pony walking up the road it was home.

His name was Daybreak Flicker and he was the student of Princess Celestia.

The date had all but changed to the next and velvet night had wrapped up the world in its soft embrace. Though a pupil of the sun, Daybreak had never disliked the night - far from it. Over the years he had come up with multitude of ways to keep reading even after the sun had descended below the horizon. He had tested many things, from spells of magical light to more naturalistic approaches such as the jar he currently had. Even when his teacher reprimanded him that reading at night would ruin his eyesight, he stubbornly kept at it. Not for any lofty goal in particular - he simply liked reading.

Grass swayed silently in the night-time breeze as Daybreak arrived at the door of the small observatory. After a moment of hesitation, he strayed away from said door, instead walking over to the edge of the hill. From there, he could see all over the vast expanses of land that spread before him: The grassy hills and knolls now painted with subdued colours as the moon hung high up in the sky, the great expanse of Everfree Forest beyond them, the Billowing River which meandered through the woods and finally, the Mountain of Canterlot far off in the distance. It was a scenery that he called home these days - one that had grown near and dear to his heart.

But the dearest sight in that scenery was, of course, the regal castle that towered almost as tall as the hill he stood on. The Castle of the Two Sisters, one painted in Twilight Colors to symbolize the spectrum of concepts it stood for, both day and night.

“May I never lose this second home of mine,” Daybreak softly murmured into the winds. “For when I’m home on this hill, hear the mockingbird so shrill, even so I know I will, yet yearn this home of mine still.”

He tasted the bit of poetry that had fallen off his lips and smacked them in curt annoyance.

“Still needs some work…”

With that, Daybreak turned his back to the wondrous midnight scenery. He slowly trotted back over to the door, shaking the jar at his side a little bit as he did. This woke up the fireflies and they illuminated the door with their gentle glow. Still murmuring to himself the stallion fished out a set of keys from his saddlebags and unlocked the door, opening it up to reveal the dark interior of the observatory.

“Crest? Are you still awake?” He called out into the shadows.

A groan echoing from somewhere in the pile of pillows his assistant called a bed was all the response he needed. Crest was still young and she needed her sleep, unlike Daybreak. The stallion could go for weeks with naught but four hours of sleep each night - a fact that he prided himself in. Of course, when he last tried he had gotten quite the scolding from Princess Celestia…

A small shiver at the memory ran through Daybreak’s body as he hung up his simple, woolen cloak. Afterwards he set the jar of fireflies on the shelf and gazed at himself in the mirror next to the wooden coat rack. Well, he called it a mirror, but it was nothing but a slab of cheap metal polished to a mirror sheen. The only ponies he knew of with actual glass mirrors were the princesses - no commoner had the coin for such luxury.

The face that stared back at Daybreak was a tired one, with darkened bags under his violet eyes. His coat blended well into the night, being somewhere vaguely between blue and purple. Meanwhile his overgrown mane and tail - something his assistant always made fun of - were neatly divided into the colours of dawn: the fair pale gold of the rising sun and the crisp light blue of the sky at first light. It was these colours that he had gotten his name from as well, and even he had to admit that it was fitting.

Not that the Cutie Mark of four violet stars arranged in a growing pattern was far off either.

“Now then, where was I…? Ah, right. Elements of Harmony. Let’s see…” Daybreak mumbled to himself as he grabbed the jar once more in his violet aura. “Where is it again…?”

He walked over to one of the large bookshelves lining the circular walls of the observatory, carefully stepping over the pile of pillows so as to not wake his assistant. In the green light of the insects, he inspected each spine carefully to read the name. Minutes of silence passed by during which the breathing of his sleeping acolyte became calmer and slower, accompanied by the occasional little snore.

Eventually, Daybreak found what he had been looking for and smacked his lips in satisfaction. He grabbed the book with his magic and trotted over to his large writing desk. The pony sat down, set the book on one side and unfolded a scroll of paper on the other. Then he dipped his quill in ink and prepared to write, while casting his gaze on the book itself.

The title was: “Of Presages and Prognostications, Volume One”. A book which had seen its first large scale print just five years ago. Though unlike most in circulation these days, Daybreak’s was a hoof-copied version - not one made with woodblocks.

“Elements of Harmony, Elements of Harmony…” Daybreak mumbled to himself as he started leafing through the pages. “It should be under E by all logic, so… Ah, here! Now what are these blasted…”

A flat look, like the stallion had been sucker-punched, spread to his face. After all, there on the page read only a single sentence:

“Elements of Harmony - See the King in the Skies.”

With a frustrated groan, Daybreak rose up from his seat and walked back over to the bookshelves. After a few more minutes of frantic searching, he returned with another book - the second volume to be precise - and slammed it on the desk. Then, still grumbling heavily under his breath, he began poring through that tome instead. Luckily what he was looking for could be found relatively easily. It might have been an old encyclopedia of prophecies and folklore, but at least the author had the good sense of having each page be a single entry.

The page that Daybreak stopped at had a small, hoof-drawn illustration near the upper margin. It depicted some sort of darkened cloud, like a blot of furious ink, staring at the reader with a pair of vicious eyes. The stallion frowned at the picture and switched his gaze to the text below it. As he read, his quill started scribbling down those words dutifully, guided by his magic.

“The King in the Skies: A myth from the early reign of the Two Sisters. A powerful wind demon who grew in power by devouring the shadows of ponies. He struck only one year after Discord’s defeat, preying on the weakened ponies on the Longest Day. He was defeated by the Elements of Harmony and sealed atop Woollyhoof Mountain,” Daybreak read. “According to legends, after five hundred Moons, his seal would be broken and he would return to hunt for the shadows that ground us.”

Daybreak rubbed his muzzle as he stared at the text. In his mind the gears were already turning, and almost absent-mindedly he cast his magic onto the drawers of the writing desk. From there he pulled out a well-worn abacus - a tool which he had used almost daily in his astronomical studies. Most unicorn scholars tended to scoff at earth pony apparatuses like that, but Daybreak had found out they were surprisingly useful. He had always been somewhat slow at maths, anyways.

“One year after the defeat of Discord… five hundred Moons… longest day… Hmm… Longest Day…?” The stallion quietly spoke to himself as he counted. “But the princesses hardly ever vary in the length of the day… unless it’s speaking of the estival solstice… in which case…”

The quiet click-clacking of the abacus filled the room, along with the mumblings and soft murmurings of Daybreak. The completely silent atmosphere from before was gone, and as a result, something in the pile of pillows nearby stirred.

It wasn’t until that “something” slithered across the floor and coiled itself around the barrel of the indigo pony that he realized his mistake.

“Can’t you be silent for one Luna-blessed night, Daybreak?” A young, feminine voice hissed. “Since I had to clean up the mess of astronomical charts you left behind, I’ve only gotten a few hours of sleep!”

Daybreak snorted curtly.

“Ah, so you’d have preferred to entertain the scholars Prince Potin brought with him?” He asked without missing a beat. “Apologies, Crest. I’ll arrange a change of duties the next time I see the princess.”

The creature wrapped around him grimaced harshly.

“Geez, that bad again, huh?”

While her initial words had been annoyed, Daybreak’s assistant showed immediate sympathy after hearing the tone of his voice. The young sea serpent Daybreak had named “Crest” after successfully hatching her might have been tad flippant at times, but her heart was in the right place. If it wasn’t, she wouldn’t have worked as his acolyte for all these years.

“About as bad as always. They’re bullheaded and set in their ways, and the idea of the princesses shaping the sky with the spells they cast doesn’t sit well with that lot,” the stallion answered. “Hence the star charts and astronomical logs. I was in a hurry when I left today… apologies.”

He turned to look over his shoulder at the sea serpent. Her shiny scales of cerulean reflected the soft glow of the fireflies, dispersing the light around her. Meanwhile her usually immaculate, snow-white hair had lost its carefully-maintained form. Instead, it just sort of pointed in every direction, with a massive cowlick above her brow. That’s how it always looked after she woke up and before she had spent an hour clearing up the mess.

Just like his own, Daybreak found the name “Crest” fitting - a serpentine wave with a crown of sea foam on top. And she herself had certainly never complained about it.

“But, I think I might have turned some of that lead into gold,” Daybreak continued as he moved two more wooden pearls on the abacus. “The chaplain with them mentioned something interesting. I suppose wisdom of the old trumps the haste of the young, once more.”

His quill was about to put some words to the paper, but instead he turned to stare at the ceiling - where a giant telescope hung, eternally gazing at the night sky.

“Thus the winter comes at last, flower like a faded glass, old beauty fades all too fast, replaced by turnips and grass.”

Looking a bit smug in what he had just said, the pony turned back to his assistant - only to see her roll her eyes.

“Ugh. Turnip as a seasonal word, really? That’s way too disjointed. I’d give it… eh, three points out of ten. Keep practicing, Daybreak,” she critiqued while playing with a stray lock of his mane. “Also, get a manecut already. Frankly, you’re starting to look ridiculous. I’d figure one of the princesses would have gotten sick of looking at this goofy mess already!”

Sour expression on his face, Daybreak shook his assistant off of him. Crest slithered to the floor and coiled up her lower half, allowing her to still shoot him a smirk at the eye-level.

“You know I’m not used to getting them cut. And it’s not a problem. When they get in the way of walking, I’ll consider it,” the stallion said with a hint of rebellious attitude in his voice. “Anyways. As I was saying, talking to the chaplain led me to investigate something… and good that it did.”

He held a bit of a dramatic pause.

“... I think ponies across the continent might be in grave danger.”

Another pregnant pause followed, but this was mostly because Crest had no reply to immediately give. Instead she just blinked owlishly at the pony and spread her hands in a carefree way.

“Oh is that all! And here I thought you might’ve stumbled across something useful for once!” she said. “And I guess that’s the reason why you’re tormenting that poor abacus once again. What did the old thing ever do to you to deserve such treatment?”

Daybreak snorted hard enough to make his nostrils flare. His eyebrows were knitted together in a frown that was often present when dealing with the sea serpent.

“Oh hush and prepare to take a letter,” Daybreak retorted. “This is serious.”

Still wearing that sarcastic smile, Crest grabbed an empty scroll from the nearby shelf, along with the already ink-dipped quill the stallion had been using. Then she stood there like a soldier in attention, writing utensils in hand, waiting for him to speak.

“To the princess?” Crest asked.

Daybreak answered with a wordless nod.

“Your Royal Highness…”

As the stallion started dictating, the hands of his assistant guided her quill, making it fly on the paper in a beautiful, cursive claw-writing.

“A curious comment made by one of our guests from today directed my attention to a lesser-known legend from Your early reign. Further research on the subject has made me realize that we may be on the cusp of a disaster. It is my belief that the King in the Skies, Erebus, may reawaken this very year - in only a Moon or two, in fact. If the legends written down are to be believed, his seal would only persist for five hundred Moons, and according to my calculations, that time is finally at hoof. Something must be done regarding this vile monster, or he will prey upon the shadows of ponies across all the lands once more. I await Your response at Your earliest convenience. Your steadfast student, Daybreak Flicker.”

Satisfied with the results, Daybreak gave Crest a confirming nod. The young sea serpent rolled up the scroll, tied up the ribbon to hold it in place and then opened her jaws. A whirlpool of water, like a tiny vortex leading into her throat, formed between the jaws of Crest. Then, with a whistling sound of sharp wind, the scroll was sucked inside the whirlpool and the sea serpent clamped down her jaws. She let out a satisfied sigh and tried to disguise the burp that came afterwards by covering her mouth with her fist.

“You do know she’ll only see this by the time she’s raised the sun, right?” Crest asked with a cocked eyebrow. “And thinking of her schedule, she’ll probably be able to squeeze in some time for a reply during lunch at the latest. It really would have been faster to just get some rest and march over to the throne room to-”

The rest of Crest’s words were swallowed up by a surprised squawk as a jet of water burst out of her mouth, carrying a new scroll with it. Daybreak caught it in the air with his magical grasp, flashing a subdued victorious grin at his assistant. Crest, on the other hand, wiped her mouth and shot him a glare. Then she marched over to the pony and snatched the scroll to herself, opening it up so she could read it out aloud.

The seal on the scroll made her pause, though. Instead of the symbol of a blazing sun, she saw that of the crescent moon. An unexpected surprise, to be sure.

“Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up,” Crest muttered to the still smug pony. “Though I don’t think it’s from her. Now let’s see…”

She cleared her throat and drew a deep breath - like all those lessons with the royal criers had taught her to.

To My sister’s faithful student, Daybreak Flicker:

I apologize for intercepting this letter on Her behalf. When it appeared, She had already retired to Her chambers for the day. I believe that the meeting with Prince Potin and his retinue took a heavy toll on us all - but especially Her.

Still, these news that you bring are most concerning. We remember Erebus well, though as you say it has been a long time since his defeat. We know not of the oracles who have written these books, but as shameful as it is to admit, it may be possible our powers back then were not enough to make the seal permanent. We were young and much more inexperienced back then. Nevertheless, We shall awaken our sister and seek Her wisdom on this matter. I shall contact you with another letter soon.

• H.R.H. Princess Luna

Postscript: Mayhaps this is Me overstepping My boundaries a little bit, but have you considered trimming your mane and tail? I could not help but to see that they looked quite cumbersome today.

Daybreak groaned and massaged his temples with his hoof, while Crest had a hard time hiding her snickering.

“See? Even Princess Luna thinks so! You should just let me go at them with a pair of scissors! All snippety-snap and snicker-snack!” The sea serpent said with a teasing grin. “It’ll only take a little while, I promise!”

The glare that Daybreak shot at his assistant, who tried her best to act all-too innocent, was quite magnificent.

“The last time I let you near my mane with a pair of scissors, I ended up looking like one of those Heliacal Friars,” he grumbled, still bitter about the memory. “Princess Celestia threw such a giggle-fit that our lesson on the sidereal spells never went anywhere.”

“H-hey now, I was still just a baby back then!” Crest protested mirthfully. “I’ve grown older and wiser since then!”

“In my eyes, you’re still a baby,” the stallion shot back, his brow furrowing even further. “The only thing grown since then is your appetite and your lung capacity when it comes to complaining about your work!”

“Oh really? And whose fault is it that I’m saddled with all the menial tasks around this observatory?” the sea serpent retorted, growing now a bit angry herself. “I’ve been training my tail off to become a crier, and-”

Again, Crest’s words were swallowed up when a spout of water shot out from her mouth, carrying yet another scroll. This time the sea serpent was prepared, however, and she snatched the thing right out of the air. Looking still a bit miffed she shook the excess water off the scroll, though it had not gotten wet in the least. Finally she opened it up, awkwardly cleared her throat, and began reading.

To My faithful student Daybreak:

You should be aware that I will always value your keen insight and dedication to your research and studies. While My sister was conflicted whether or not to awaken Me from my slumber because of this letter, I believe that it was for the better. After all, while your sharp intellect and passion to discover are nothing if not commendable…

For some reason Crest’s voice faltered there, her face growing a bit paler. She shot a nervous glance towards Daybreak, who tilted his head in confusion. What was this about? Why was his assistant suddenly getting cold feet?

The indigo stallion urged her to read on… and so Crest did - after a few seconds more of hesitation.

I bid you, My student: You simply must stop reading those dusty old tomes - for there is more to a young pony’s life.

In that instant, Daybreak’s expression fell and his stare changed into that of horror as he gazed at the letter. Crest was pretty sure that if she had poked him at that very moment, he would have just toppled over like a statue of ice and shattered across the floor. The verbal gut-punch that the princess had delivered was a true one-hit-KO.

But Crest also knew that this had been a long time coming.

In light of this suggestion, and of your own research, I have come to a conclusion. You are to take a break from your studies for the foreseeable future and rest; and it just so happens I know a perfect place for you to visit during your vacation! Since you were so interested in the region’s folklore, I task you to journey to the lands of Vierzo in the west, where they have the most wonderful ways to celebrate the estival solstice. You should make your destination the town of Ruunanko - or Ruunankonai as the locals call it. I still have fond memories of that quiet little town nestled at the riverbend.

Daybreak felt as if the whole world was spinning around him. His knees felt wobbly and at any second now he might have just collapsed and fallen through the floor. Vertigo hit him hard and he had trouble controlling his breathing.

Him? Travel? To the distant western lands? Of course he couldn’t do something like that! He had never ventured beyond the sight of Everfree Forest! And now the princess, his tutor in the arts of magic and astronomy, was sending him off the beaten path and beyond the properly mapped edges of the known world?

It was absurd. He felt it far too absurd. His pale muzzle and swirling eyes must have been a clear sign he was on his last legs.

Which was why Crest grimaced as she read the last part of the letter.

Lastly, I have a task even more essential for you than just mere sightseeing. Once you arrive in Ruunankonai, I want you to get out there and make some friends! I’m sure that with a little perseverance even you will see, Daybreak, that meeting new ponies is the most wonderful thing in the world.

• H.R.H. Princess Celestia

Postscript: What is this that My sister is telling me about your mane? Is there something wrong with it?

As the letter ended, so did Daybreak’s attempt to stay strong. Letting out an incomprehensible grunt that was somewhere between a pitiful whine and a curse against the scheming ways of his mentor, the stallion collapsed to the floor, eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Crest simply shook her head and sighed heavily.

“Looks like she finally got you, you hermit…”

Thus did Daybreak Flicker’s years of comfortable living at the Royal Observatory finally come to an end: on the day he was sent off to the Far-West, to the town of Ruunanko for the summer solstice.

Author's Note

Chapter Footnotes: A collection of information that is not integral to understanding the story, but may serve as additional reading to those interested.

Royal Observatory:
An observatory built on the orders of Star Swirl the Bearded. It's main purpose was to track the movement of celestial objects and translate these observations into information useful regarding spellcasting. This mostly meant that the large telescope was used to decipher heliacal, selenian and sidereal movements and putting this "astronomical dance" to paper. Years later, this very building would become a home to a student of Princess Celestia, who showed remarkable astronomical aptitude.

In modern times, this building lies in ruins - just like the rest of the castle. Excavations have uncovered old star charts and maps belonging to the previously mentioned student.

Billowing River:
A river that runs all the way from Mountain of Canterlot to the Horseshoe Bay, passing through locations such as Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Once upon a time, it used to be a major trading route between the castle in the forest and the nearby towns.

Of Presages and Prognostications:
A massive six-volume series of books that gathered all the legends, prophecies, folklore and myths of the then-current era. The book series was composed by a philologist named Mapleroot who gathered the oral legends, poetry and written folklore of Equestria and beyond into a single, comprehensive dictionary. Due to the large size of the collection, it received only a single large-scale print, while afterwards the books were available on commission-only.

Years later, descendants of Mapleroot would go on to make a more concise, updated version of the collection, where prophecies that had already come true (or those that hadn't) were removed in favor of new ones. This book is, of course, the wildly more popular and accessible Predictions and Prophecies.

Prince Potin:
A descendant of Princess Platinum. In his youth, this stallion almost soured the relationship between his kingdom and the growing Equestria on multiple occasions, but luckily cooler heads prevailed. His wild youth can be considered ironic in a way, as when age tempered his hot-blooded nature, he gained innate shrewdness and sharp economic instincts that would lead him to become one of the major figures of trading in his time. A fact which directly affected the prosperity of Equestria as well.

Daybreak's Poetry:
Many sources found in the west cite Daybreak Flicker's love of poetry and his habit of enforcing strict rules to it: four lines, seven syllables per line and a seasonal word to tie it together. It is unknown where he learned of this type of poetry and how much he adhered to his own rules, but unfortunately no written records of his poetry have been found.

Heliacal Friars:
A mendicant order of ponies who worshipped Princess Celestia of the Diarchical Sisters as a religious figure. They embraced a poor, itinerant lifestyle and worked among the ponies of their communities, depending on the goodwill to whom they preached for survival. Known for their manecuts which were stylized after the sun's halo, they would eventually come to have more militant sects that protected the ponies from monsters still roaming the land.

Vierzo:
A name that came to Equestria through another country beyond the South Luna Ocean. The native ponies of the area did not call it so, but to the most creatures living in the area it was known as Vierzo. Vierzo was to the far north-west of Equestria's early borders, closer to the Arctic Circle than any of the lands under the rulership of the Princesses at the time. It was nominally counted as being part of their domain, though considering its location and lack of importance, it acted much more as a no mare's land between Equestria and its distant neighbours.