Gather ‘round, everypony. Tonight, I will tell you one of my favorite stories about the regal sisters, Celestia and Luna. This is not a story I came by easily, so make sure to listen extra carefully. You won’t want to miss a second of this one. Now, we all think we know the legend of Nightmare Moon, the evil Pony who took control of our now-returned Princess Luna. But how much of that old pony’s tale do we really know? We shall see.
Our story begins within the depths of the Everfree Forest, well over one thousand years ago. But dispel all dark thoughts you may have of those dread woods, for back then it was not as we know it today. There was a time when that forest deserved the name we still call it: Ever Free. It was the sparkling gem on the crown that was Equestria. The trees grew tall and resilient, supporting many families of birds, squirrels and other woodland creatures. The ground below was inhabited not just by ponies, but by foxes, rabbits, bears, diamond dogs and even creatures like cockatrices that we rarely see today, all living in harmony with one another, sharing the bushes and the flowers, the brooks and the streams. Far above this fine forest lay the prize of the Equestrian nation: the Castle. Though it was not as opulent as the castle in Canterlot, where the sisters currently live, it was the pinnacle of pony prowess in architecture and engineering at the time. There wasn’t a single building in the world that could rival its towering spires, open court and glistening windows. (In those days windows were truly something only royalty could afford. The rest of the world had to be content with seeing their reflections in the apples they ate.)
Now, our story begins with the two royal sisters discussing during one of the two times they are both awake: dawn. Celestia had just begun to raise the sun when Luna approached her. “Oh, powerful and lovely Celestia, hark, prithee. We hath a concern that we hope thou couldst offer advice and guidance on.” You seem confused. Yes, I know that’s not how the princesses talk, but that’s how everypony spoke back then. But if it would help I shall do my best to convey their meanings through more modern words. “Yo, Celestia, dawg! I got a major issue here! Help a sister out!” Is that better? Okay, I apologize; I’ll find a reasonable middle ground. “Sister Celestia, I have a problem that perhaps you could offer some help with.”
“Certainly little one, what is bothering you?” You must remember that at this time Luna was very young. How young? I don’t know. Alicorn life cycles elude me. All I can say is that while our new Prince, Shining Armor, is lucky to have such a beautiful mare as his bride, I certainly do not envy her, for she will long outlive her groom.
“Recently I’ve been feeling a presence as I guard the kingdom through the night, though when I look around I see nopony. Tonight was not the first night that this has occurred, but it is the first time I have been bothered by it so much. This presence, it is far different than the owls that occasionally help me keep watch; much more ominous,” Luna told her older sister and mentor.
Celestia nodded gravely, the approaching sunrise dancing through her ethereal mane. “I have begun to feel that too, as of late. I do not know what it is that we are feeling, but we shall have to keep watch for whatever it may be. Alert me at once if you see it whilst protecting our kingdom and I will do the same of you.” Celestia was sure that whatever it was could be no match for the ancient magic of the Elements of Harmony that had calmed all previous calamities.
“Thank you, sister. I will certainly do that, but for now I shall retire to my bedchamber, and trust you to provide a loving face for our subjects again today.” Luna disappeared to get a good day’s worth of sleep; the fact that Celestia was keeping watch over not just the land below but over her younger sister as well gave peace to Luna’s worried soul. Unfortunately, what neither of them knew was that no matter how hard they searched the skies, scoured the seas or looked through the land they would not find the source of this menacing sensation, for it had already infiltrated their hearts and their minds.
* * *
The next few days passed by uneventfully, with the two sisters checking up on each other every dawn and dusk. “I felt it stronger than ever tonight. Keep careful watch this day sister for I fear it has gotten close now, though I still have yet to see it. I have checked the air, I have checked all throughout the Everfree Forest, I have even used magic to search through the ground below our castle. I worry that it will soon be upon us, though from where I cannot say,” Luna wearily reported to the elder Princess during one bitterly cold morning, within the foreboding walls of the near-empty palace.
“Cease your worrying child, and make sure you get enough sleep. If it is as close as you fear I will need your help when it arrives, for you know I cannot wield the Elements of Harmony alone.” I don’t know whether Celestia truly couldn't harness the power of the Elements of Harmony at this point in time or if she simply assumed she was unable because she had never done it before, but this is how the story was told to me, and this is how I will relate it to you. “Good night Luna.”
And at that Luna dragged herself to her bedchamber. Celestia could tell from her sister’s sluggish motion that she had not been sleeping well lately. Celestia hoped that Luna would truly get some rest, not just for her own sake but perhaps for the sake of all of Equestria.
Now, stay glued to those seats of yours, I’ll be right back. Every storyteller needs something to wet his whistle whilst he whiles away the evening, and I’m no exception.
Ah, much better. Sorry for the delay; I couldn’t find the apple juice so I had to go buy some more. But I’m back now, so rest assured, fair fillies and gentlecolts, that this story will not go unfinished. Now, where was I? Ah yes, Luna had just gone to get some sleep. Good thing too; she really needed it.
Celestia strode out onto the castle battlements, surveying the land that had been in her care for dozens of generations. She had named it the Everfree Forest to symbolize her subjects’ freedom from Discord’s tyranny, and the ponies seemed very happy with that. The wind whistled through the trees in front of the castle. It seemed to be playing a jovial tune above the distant chatter of conversations between her people below the castle. Celestia stood for a few moments, taking in the sights and sounds of her kingdom, more at peace with herself and with the world than she had been for over a week.
Then it hit her. She didn’t feel the dark presence. At first she was elated; it had passed and nothing terrible had happened! But then the unknown feeling terrified her more completely than it had when she could feel it. “What if it is still lurking around, but has simply hidden itself? Luna said she felt it closer than ever before last night and judging by how long it took to approach, the chance of whatever it is having left for good is undeniably slim. Perhaps I should wake Luna and tell her of what is happening.” Panicked thoughts were running around Celestia’s head like a foal who couldn’t find his dam. “No, Luna needs her sleep now more than ever. I will let her rest. I shall just have to keep careful watch over the kingdom, looking for anything that could possibly have caused this feeling.” Celestia collected herself, taking deep breaths. She knew that she focussed much better when she was calm, and she would certainly need to focus today.
She spread her opalescent wings and took to the sky. She soared above the Everfree Forest, enhancing her eyesight with magic, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, she didn’t know too well what ordinary was among her citizens, for though both Celestia and Luna liked to believe that they were on good terms with their subjects, the two rulers rarely interacted with them. The Equestrian citizens got along well enough without two princesses lording over them, and besides, Celestia had to deal with bigger problems. Just last month a dragon had decided to take its century long sleep in the nearby mountain. Celestia and Luna had to forcibly evict it, for it would have spewed enough smoke to block out the sky and caused regional climate change had they left it where it was. That was the fourth time since she had took the throne with her sister that such an event had transpired. “One of these days,” Celestia had told Luna after the dragon finally agreed to leave, “we shall have to get some personal assistants to deal with problems such as that. Or at least fill the hole in that mountain that is so conveniently dragon sized.” Just between you and I, I heard they never got around to filling the hole.
As the princess of the day reminisced about her recent escapades a thought came to her, unbidden. “Luna didn’t really help with that situation at all. I led the way to the top of the mountain, I woke up the dragon, and I convinced him to leave. We left for the mountain at dawn, and returned at noon. After Luna got back from an oh-so-tiring day of letting me do all the talking she fell right asleep. She may as well have stayed at home.” Celestia surprised herself with her own callous sarcasm. “Perhaps she is too young after all, too young to carry the duties of a princess. I wouldn’t be very surprised if she just slept through the night as well.” The pale alicorn was alarmed at those thoughts, for they seemed rather foreign, as if belonging to somepony else. That last bit in particular sounded quite harsh, rather unlike the manner she usually tried to think of her sister in. The notion of Luna not taking her duties seriously was not one she had before conceived, and she wasn’t sure where it came from. “But I must admit that it is a thought that has merit. Perhaps I should temporarily revoke Luna of her duties until she is more mature. After all, some of the trees in my fair forest are older than her.” Celestia seemed uncertain that she should be so hasty about such a large decision, but eventually determined that she would follow through with this and inform Luna of her temporary retirement that dusk. She would do it gently, tell her that it was because the stress was getting to her. She would call it a holiday. But she felt that she had to do it.
Celestia returned to her post on top of the castle walls. For the rest of the day she idly toyed with brightening and dimming the sun.
Dusk came quickly that day, not just to Celestia but for all of Equestria. When one of us is nervous about something that will happen later in our day it just seems like the sun is flying as fast as it can towards the horizon. When the pony controlling the suns movement is nervous about something that will happen later in her day, and she forgets to make a conscious effort to keep the sun moving at its normal pace, it dashes along its path much faster than normal. For this reason Luna woke up wondering why it felt like she got an hour less sleep than she normally did, despite falling asleep quickly the previous night.
Oh, would you look at that. This story is much longer than I remembered. This is all we’ve got time for tonight; Joe’s going to kick us out soon. Come back tomorrow if you want to hear the rest. Bring your friends too, if you think they’ll enjoy this tale. I know that Donut Joe wouldn’t mind the extra business.
