In the ancient, ancient past...

Further than even a millennium. Far further.

The world was a far simpler place. At least - it was to these two.

Two unicorn fillies could be found frolicking around in a grassy plains, content to enjoy another beautiful day out.

One white and pink, the other dark and light blue.

The younger of the two, the blue unicorn, chased after her older sister while laughing lightly. Her older sister looked back as she went to make sure she was keeping up.

"Celly! No fair! You've had longer to practice teleportation!"

"Is that excuses, little Lulu?"

They came to a stop. Luna was pouting in frustration, and Celestia ate it right up.

"Never! In fact, I'll figure it out faster than you ever did! Just give me..."

"Oh? You mean something like this?"

Celestia lit her horn up, and after focusing for a few seconds, managed to teleport a few feet ahead of herself. Afterwards, she looked smugly at Luna and stuck out her tongue, and then fell over laughing again when she saw the expression.

"Grr! I'll show you!"

"Please, sister, just admit you're struggling and ask big sister for some help. Just like you've always had to."

The next ten minutes or so were fairly entertaining for Celestia, watching Luna try to cast over and over with the spell fizzling out and hearing frustrated cries over and over.

Celestia turned to look at the sun behind her, which was still rising. She'd always appreciated its beauty, and moments like these against the backdrop of natures perfection here, enjoying the little free time they had, bathed in its light drew a sigh of satisfaction from her.

"Wah!" She promptly heard her sister fall, apparently.

"Don't hurt yourself trying, Lulu, okay?"

Luna was catching her breath, and when she responded, it was beyond triumphant: "Too scared to see your sister pass you up, eh?!"

"Oh? Are you saying what I think you're saying?" She called the bluff.

As she turned to look at Luna, she saw the youngers horn was already lit. She blinked and prepared to say something again, only to realize her sister had appeared right in front of her.

"Ahh!"

"Yahaha! I told you we were superior! Mom and Dad are going to hear all about this later!"

"That's... that's very impressive Luna." Celestia was genuinely impressed. Also proud, but she'd never admit that willingly to anypony.

"Toooo bad you've just caught up to my dust trails, I'd like to see you try using the magical disc spell like I do."

"You couldn't even create a mirror image of a cat! I did that with ease! And now, I've started working my way through the stuff you've done too! Admit it sister, we are superior with magic!"

Celestia felt a little fire burn in the back of her heart. 'So little Luna wants to play with the big ponies now?'

And thus began a little magical competition, with each sister pulling out all the stops to demonstrate why they were the better. At first, it was fun, but by the halfway point things had gotten surprisingly serious, if not callus between them.

It was at this point Celestia had enough.

"Just admit it Luna! You haven't been able to do anything half as cleanly as I have even if you just barely managed to cast them!"

"Never! You've always deny, deny, denied our successes with little comments like that! Why can't you just admit it is actually me who is the better."

They were both glaring at each other now.

It was at this moment, that Celestia chanced upon the most ridiculous of ideas. Something that only could've been conjured up from this ridiculous situation.

A small grin came onto her face. This would really stick it to Luna.

"Actually Luna, I've just realized, there's a way of showing you just how better I am once and for all."

"Please, stop with the bluffs 'Tia, we're both out of tricks and you know it."

"Perhaps I should demonstrate to my foolish little sister."

Celestia said that, but she was starting to sweat a little bit at how stupidly reckless this idea was. She most likely was going to be the one laughed at in the end for this.

Nevertheless, she turned and brought her attention to the sun.

"Watch me."

Lighting up her horn for the umpteenth time, she made to cast a vague spell to control the sun and show her sister it moving under her power. It took how many unicorns to do that normally? It'd for sure blow Luna away!

She quickly realized the weight of such a spell was, well, impossible, and began gritting her teeth and pounding away at it.

Behind her, Luna was giving some little jest about 'this being the big reveal?'.

Just as she was about to stop because the burden became too great, something just... clicked. She had been imagining a beautiful sunset in the meadows when it happened. Once it did, things began to fall into place and the spell felt different. It continued to feel different. Before she knew it, the struggle was gone and the magic was flowing properly. She couldn't believe it!

After another twenty seconds of struggle, because despite the change this really was still a difficult spell, she opened her eyes to see the sun moving rapidly ahead of schedule in the sky. Enough to be easily noticable as abnormal.

Looking back, her sister was legitimately speechless, and Celestia made to boast all over her.

"See! I told you I'm the greatest! Better than you ever could be! There's no way you could ever—"

Blinding light surrounded Celestia, and before she knew it everything about the world had been whisked away.

A pony who led a mostly selfless life, was about to be born anew with only selfish thoughts beforehoof.

Luna could only stare in awe as the giant ball of light slowly broke open, revealing an entirely new... Celestia?

Gliding softly down towards the ground, what she thought to be her sister landed unconscious. Luna rushed forward to see if she was okay, and began shaking her in panic.

She couldn't help but notice the new appendages... fantastical wings. But that was impossible, right?

"What..."

"Sister! Get up! Something crazy has happened!"

Celestia lurched up, and shook her head around looking for assailants, or something. Luna didn't know why.

"Look! You've got wings now! And you... you actually moved the sun! I saw it! And-oh my gosh is that a cutie mark?!"

"I did... I am?" Celestia looked at herself. "Ahhh!" she screamed as she saw them as well. The sun on her flank brand new. They stared at one another for a long moment in shock.

"I did, didn't I?" Her grin was devious. "Mom and Dad are gonna go crazy!"

They both began laughing and began dancing in a little circle around one another. It was a celebration in the end, after all.

It was no longer than five minutes before they calmed down, and Luna had no so subtly inspected the wings a thousand times. They were both beyond excited to show off to their parents and others the change.

Finally, when things began to relax...

Celestia, who had begun to figure out how to move her wings just a little bit, flexed them open as wide as possible. She then stood up on her back hooved and looked down on her sister.

"Sooo little Lulu, care to finally admit it?"

"Ah—"

As realization set in, Luna shrunk down in frustration. It'd been all fun and games doing things they'd seen any grown unicorn do, but this wasn't exactly...

It didn't help that her sister kept giving her that look. Smug.

Celestia yawned. "But perhaps it's time to go home, Luna. Don't worry about it."

One part of herself was willing to just let this go. Even Celestia had calmed down and been ready to retire back to their homes. She was tired, and, to be honest she had to admit that was pretty spectacular. Beyond her.

She mentally paused.

Her sister pulling ahead. She hated that. It was dumb and stupid, but she hated it. On an already crazy day an even crazier idea had taken form.

Without saying anything, she hmphed and turned her back on her sister to try something desperate. It couldn't hurt to try, right?

She wanted to show her sister up, no matter what. Normally they would've dropped this by now and gone home, but today had escalated and been different.

So it was now that Luna felt herself struggling with her magic to do similar to Celestia, but different.

"Luna. What are you doing?"

Luna said nothing, only continuing to sweat as she attempted her casting.

After several minutes, she felt close to exhaustion. There was no way... how had Celestia done it?

It was when her exhaustion allowed her mind to drift just the slightest, that for some reason a mental amalgamation of winter, a dark night spent blanketed near a warm fire with a starry skyscape above came into her mind.

It was such a small thing, but it too clicked something in her mind. She didn't know why, but it felt easier and easier. So instead of giving up, she pushed onward.

"Luna... oh my gosh! Luna!"

Finally, after a long arc, the moon had forced it's way unnaturally into the sky and blocked out the sun. An eclipse.

Luna all but passed out on the spot afterwards.

"Hah... didn't... think... I'd keep... up... did you?"

Celestia had no idea what to say. How could this have ever happened was so beyond ridiculous. She stepped forward to make sure her sister was okay but an explosion of darkness suddenly surrounded Luna. A dark sphere formed, and inside it anothers soul was permanently evolved.

Celestia was no less enamored, stunned, and eventually elated at the very same change in her sister. They both continued to play and laugh like nothing much had changed, even if everything had.

When they eventually returned home, it did change everything. Eventually, the other ponies demanded that the moon be brought back down. A pony born to do that did just so.

Author's Note

Very lengthy epilogue to follow.