Author's Note

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Season 1 episode 1: Their Sun Before The Storm pt. 1

“Papa?”

My sister Pipp approached our father as he was about to step inside his office. She stood up on her infant hind legs in order to be seen, and it worked. Dad looked down at her before smiling and closing the door.

“Can you read us a story?” She asked.

The reflections on her pleading eyes increased and Dad eventually nodded. He headed towards a library on this floor and we trailed behind him eagerly. The place had such a beautiful glow under the moonlight, and it was so clean that you could hardly see any dust particles dancing in the air. But father had to turn the switch on in order to find whatever he was looking for. We waited as he disappeared into a row of shelves and he came back with a moderately thick book. We all made our way back to my room, and Pipp and I sat beside our Dad as he cleared his throat.

“So girls, what I am about to read is a true tale of two princess sisters who lived several hundred years ago…”

That got my attention. Father opened the book and started to read slowly as Pipp’s tiny wings buzzed with anticipation.

“Once upon a time, Equestria was ruled by two sisters named Celestia and Luna. Not much is known about their past other than the fact that they were raised by their half-brother King Cosmos the second and his wife. Anyway, Celestia was the older of the two, and she had to make the sun rise every day. She was a warm, resilient soul who was always searching for the best in everyone, but she had a habit of overlooking things. Unlike her, Princess Luna was quite the worrier.

The moon sister liked to personally interfere with citizens' lives, and this caused conflict with her sister as well. Legend has it all began when Celestia supposedly failed to prevent the disappearance of Princess Ingrid who was heir to the Crystal Empire. It is confirmed that long before Celestia and Luna took the throne, their nephew King Skylar ruled Equestria with his wife Queen Aurora and the orphaned Crystal Empire siblings. Time passed, and Celestia made Luna go on a journey with her after the former reportedly confronted her nephew for an unspecified reason. But when the sisters returned, they learned that Skylar was found dead in a grisly manner.

No one ever found out who murdered the King, and young princess Ingrid was never heard from again. Many ponies had wild speculations as for who the culprit was, but most agreed that it was difficult to signal anyone out in particular. He was a charismatic, manipulative ruler, but some ponies started to make detrimental claims after his death that couldn't be verified. The colt Prince Ezra mysteriously passed away as well during his coronation, and a startling rumor surfaced regarding the sun princess. Someone said that months before everything changed, a very distressed Ingrid met with Celestia in order to bring up a serious complaint against Skylar and the former Queen Aurora.

The rumor’s most controversial claim was that Celestia was actually dismissive and chose to not take any action despite the fact that she should have. Many years later, the public lost interest in any conspiracies associated with fruitless investigation, however. During this time, ponies became restless since there were no more males in the royal bloodline. Luna remembered her eldest nephew Cosmos the third and she had a sinking feeling that she just couldn’t shake. Her brother’s firstborn was supposed to take the throne instead of Skylar, but he was exiled as a teen by his parents who claimed that he was mentally ill without any further explanation.

Luna found it hard to forget the past, and tension between the sisters only grew with time. The public started to slowly lose their sense of stability, and this is when a certain draconequus named Discord made himself known. He took advantage of the bitterness among the land in order to turn ponies against each other and declare himself King. The sisters realized that they had to put their differences aside in order to defeat him, but they knew they couldn’t do it alone. While roaming the Everfree Forest with four of their friends, they encountered a cave with a magical tree inside.

It contained six necklace artifacts, and the friends found out that they had extraordinary powers that could be used against Discord. The sisters and their friends were able to defeat their foe together, and all was well for several hundred years. To everyone’s surprise, the sisters would not age, and they eventually found out why this was. One night, Celestia and Luna had a bizarre dream where a faceless spirit explained to them that their life was merely extended for some reason. The sisters apparently had about 1,200 years left to live, and it was only then that a supposed curse against Equestria’s Kings would be broken.

This would explain Ezra’s sudden death, but what didn’t make sense was the fact no pony had the power to do such a thing. Celestia wondered if Ingrid may have had something to do with the curse, but she couldn’t think of any reason why the princess would have a vendetta against her little brother anyway. A few more centuries passed, and the moon princess's soul was burdened by watching the generations pass. Many ponies would die without considering the negative ramifications of what they did during their lifetimes, and unacceptable patterns prevailed despite societal advances. One day, Luna decided that she had enough.

The moon princess was never able to fully shake her envy for Celestia, and she felt that no one really appreciated everything she did for the world’s well-being. Luna decided to not lower the moon one morning and she told Celestia that it was time for only her to decide who was worthy of life. Her sister tried to reason with her, but this only increased the moon princess's fury. Luna proceeded to transform into a powerful, shapeshifting monster, and she attempted to kill Celestia. But their friends were nearby at the time, and they helped Celestia utilize the Elements of Harmony in order to banish her sister to the moon.

Before 1000 years would come to pass, Celestia prepared for Luna’s inevitable return. During the time the younger sister spent on the moon, Celestia decided to make a celebration commemorating her defeat. But her friends were long gone now, so a new generation of heroes had to rise in order to stop the wicked moon princess once and for all. A certain unicorn named Twilight Sparkle and her friends were deemed worthy to be the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony and they were able to help Luna fight the corruption in her heart. The next page will begin to detail a collection of letters sent from the Elements final bearers to the sun princess-”

Dad started to cough, and he told us that we could go over some of the Mane 6’s adventures tomorrow since it was getting late.

“Already?”

I flickered my ears and pouted. My eyelids weren’t even droopy yet, and my brain was running in a thousand different directions. I couldn’t wait to hear more about this Twilight Sparkle and the others.

“Of course. I still have a lot to do before midnight, and your mother needs you to be well-rested for the gala tomorrow.”

I snorted angrily, wishing that my father would someday dedicate more time for my sister and me. If only there was a way for the three of us to escape from all this royal nonsense and take a vacation somewhere far away. My mom never let others compare me to my sister, but she was so overbearing and strict in those days. My mind wandered to the upcoming party, and I tucked my ears since the very thought of being around so many ponies again made me feel nervous and overwhelmed. Pipp was still in diapers, but it was her who didn’t mind being shaking strangers’ hooves or being held by relatives that we didn’t recognize-

“Zipp?”

I was suddenly back in reality, and an unusually chill breeze hit my face to remind me of my surroundings. My apricot-furred friend sounded alarmed over the phone which was unusual for her.

“Are you okay Sunny?”

“Well…I think some caped pony is following me. I have a lot of groceries and Hitch isn’t answering the cell for some reason.”