Chapter One: The Day of Harmony
Breakout: Equestrian Origin
By ZeAsianAcolyte
Chapter One: The Day of Harmony
Princess Celestia: the perfect, shining white alicorn, the ruler of all ponykind and immortal of the ages. To her side stood the mysterious alicorn of the night and co-ruler, Princess Luna, and both aligned themselves along the Canterlot Castle balcony, each an eye over the horizon. Simultaneously their royal horns emitted a contrasting brightness and darkness, and the sun and moon moved respectively across the sky slow enough to see the perfect sunset. With equal beauty the moon graced the sky, its full glow now lighting Equestria's evening. The circular spectacle of harmony complete, the two sisters looked each other in the eye for a moment, both equally somber.
“Only once a year do we demonstrate to Equestria the harmony of the light, sister,” said the regal mare of the dark.
“And the last few years have been the greatest,” her sister in white replied. Luna remained silent, but both of the sisters knew what Celestia had meant. It seemed like common practice now, but not more than a foal’s age prior there had been no such demonstration, for only one of the sisters had been present. Five years ago, Luna was still under the influence of the dark powers of the living nightmare, Nightmare Moon. Distraught by the memory, Luna turned and began to trot away. Celestia turned in haste.
“Sister, do not again plague your thoughts with actions of the past that you did not commit!”
Luna turned to face her sister; Celestia was shocked to see tears forming in her sister’s dark blue eyes. Luna then turned back, staring at one of the magnificent stained-glass images in Canterlot’s Royal Hall.
One of the newer images in the window depicted Celestia’s student Twilight Sparkle and her friends- each an avatar of the legendary Elements of Harmony- working together to defeat Nightmare Moon. Luna spread her wings and floated across, putting her hoof on the glass’s surface.
“Had I been wiser then, sister, our kingdom may have been saved. A kingdom represented by a regal pair, two sisters in harmony.” Luna paused and moved her hoof to address the other windows lining the walls, noting not only the image of Nightmare Moon, but also Discord, the Changeling Invasion, and the Crystal Empire. “All of this," she said, "Would not have happened.”
Celestia, now beside her sister, placed her hoof on Luna’s mane, and brushed along its soothing blue cloud.
“We were both younger then, victims of naivety and the inexperience of youth. I cannot blame any of this on you.” Celestia turned again and glanced at the moon. “I was supposed to assist Twilight in Ponyville for the night’s festivities. I trust you will guard the night.” Luna nodded, and her sister departed. A convoy of guards stood waiting for Celestia outside the hall’s chambers.
Once Celestia had left, Luna returned to staring at the moon. She sighed.
…
When morning came Celestia heard a sudden, loud knocking on her door at the Royal Embassy recently built in Ponyville. The sun had risen without her, it seemed, and Celestia assumed Luna had moved the sun in her stead. With grace, Celestia rose from her bed, putting on her royal gold necklace and crown with magical ease. She opened the door, only to be surprised by a crowd of bustling ponies shouting questions at her. Unable to focus, Celestia attempted to shut them out to recuperate.
“Princess Celestia!”
As she retreated, the still-groggy alicorn noticed her student, Twilight Sparkle, trying to get through the crowd. Celestia nodded to her guardsponies who were still trying to push away the crowd. As the guards let Twilight pass, they struggled to keep the rest of the ponies at bay. Something had obviously troubled them deeply if they were panicking so much. The teacher and her student stepped inside.
“Twilight, why is Ponyville in such chaos? I had believed my little ponies were more civil and controlled than this,” Celestia scoffed.
“I’m sorry for being rude, Princess,” Twilight replied apprehensively. “But… look at the sky.”
Princess Celestia glanced at the sky, her pupils widening as her eyes stared at the sight. The sun was not the bright light of life it was supposed to be, but rather light attempting to squeeze pass some indistinguishable barrier. Equestria was in the midst of a solar eclipse, and no pony alive today knew what that meant. Only forgotten or forbidden historical accounts held such information. There were only two exceptions, and said exceptions were the sister princesses.
“The Day of Black Sun,” Celestia said. “Twilight, tell these ponies to return to their homes until told otherwise. I am to return to Canterlot at once, and I will tell you what has transpired soon.”
Twilight nodded, and stepped outside. "Mayor Mare! May I speak with you real quick?" Soon enough the crowd followed Twilight curiously, moving towards Town Square.
Meanwhile, Celestia pulled in one of her guards.
“Captain, I am returning to Canterlot on my own. I want you to stay here and help Twilight keep Ponyville under control,” she said in a stern voice.
“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied, and the captain stepped outside. Once he was gone, Celestia concentrated for a mere millisecond, and soon she had disappeared.
Celestia reappeared next to the front entrance outside of the Canterlot Castle, where an even rowdier mob had formed; the guards had to close the gates to prevent its entry. The mob and the guards alike were all shouting the same questions.
“Princess Celestia, are we under attack?”
“What is that in the sky?”
“Who will protect us?”
Unable to answer, the Princess flew to the Royal Hall to find Luna. Surely she would know the cause of this…
…
Celestia had nearly broken down all the doors in the Castle in order to enter the Royal Hall faster. Her horn glowed brightly as she called out her sister’s name.
“Luna! What happened? Tell me what is going on!” Celestia's magically amplified voice shook the castle grounds.
No answer.
In the corner of her eye, Celestia saw the unmistakable form of her sister, her head on the ground, mane floating in the wind. Celestia spread her wings and jumped to reach the balcony where her sister was. Luna did not move a muscle when she approaching.
“Luna, what happened?” Celestia knew something was wrong. Her tone had changed from more panicked to more caring just by looking at Luna’s saddened face.
“I happened,” the lunar mare answered, still staring at the black sun shining in the sky. Celestia had no response.
“Five years ago, I returned from the moon to wreak havoc on Equestria. One thousand years before that, I was sent to the moon in order to save the kingdom,” Luna paused. “You and all of Equestria may have forgiven me, but I have not yet forgiven myself for my actions. It was on this day over a millennium ago that I attacked Equestria. Attacked my friends. Attacked… you.”
“Luna, that wasn't your fault. It was all of ours, and you were the victim. I’m sorry.”
Luna was silent for a moment, then responded. “Sister, no matter what may have happened, I had over a millennium in exile but no time to reflect on my actions. Instead, I spent the years plotting my return. Luckily I was defeated... and freed.”
Celestia stepped forward with her horn glowing again. Luna raised her hoof, and Celestia stopped; both took another glance at the sky. Luna’s horn was now glowing white, glowing brighter than the black star in the sky, almost as bright as the sun itself. Celestia nearly gasped as pure light encompassed her sister.
“Please, sister,” the princess of the night said. “I have waited over one thousand years. Give me this time.”
Celestia nodded, knowing fully well the magic Luna was performing. The princess of the sun immediately composed herself to write a quick note to Twilight.
“My Faithful Student,
I have just spoken with Princess Luna, and she has informed me that this event is merely an astronomical phenomenon. Please inform the Royal Guard to return to Canterlot, and tell Ponyville that everything is alright. I will speak to you soon.
Princess Celestia”
In a blink of an eye the message was engulfed in flame and smoke, already on its way to Spike. Princess Celestia trotted outside, moving to address Canterlot on the situation.
A blinding light continued to surround and encircle the balcony. Luna, still resting on the balcony's perch, simply stared at the sky’s new star. As she remembered her past her eyes became misty. A gentle tear dropped to the balcony’s floor.
Author's Note
Author's Notes were added 1/29/2013:
There are a couple of minor story problems in here (namely about the horn magic) that have not been edited. Most of these are covered in the next chapter.
Also, if anypony catches the references I put in here and throughout the story, I will consider rewarding you.
Author's Notes 3/13/2013
Minor edits were made for clarity and correctness (tenses), changed this to Chapter One instead of Prologue. Too much plot in here for it to not be a chapter, specifically the solar eclipse. Also addressed the magic issue; there is now no longer a reference there.
