The Ballad of the Two Sisters

by SuperGiantRobot

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia
Length: 3995

Being alone can be terrible, especially once you've realised you are. Celestia has beeen cursed with this knowledge and it eats away at her. But as her sadness reaches its peak, she finds a friend at last. But this friendship is fated to end..

The Princess of Equestria,
The Dayruler Celestia
Ruled the sun and the moon for untold years

She spent all this time on her own
Solitude being all she'd known
And then one night somepony new appears...

Published 2013-02-27 00:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-16 22:22:18 UTC

Loneliness, Love and Loss

There lives in old Equestria

The Princess fair Celestia

Charged with moving the moon and sun above,

She had no partner, nor a friend

To aid in her task without end

She despaired for she had no-one to love.

The heavens were once all she knew

Her sun, her moon, her skies of blue

And her clouds fattened with both rain and snow,

But glories of the sky above

Paled next to somepony to love

And this was a cruel fact for her know.

Yet Celestia soldiered on

From dawn to dusk, from dusk to dawn

Accepting that this was the way of things,

But this was not to be her lot

She'd soon find the friendship she sought

For something wondrous waited in the wings...

One night she returned to her room

Her only friend midnight's dim gloom

She sighed sadly and shook her pink-maned head,

She opened her room's heavy door

And was shocked to her very core

A filly was asleep upon her bed!

Waking with the lightest of sighs

She opened her lovely green eyes

Each pony's eyes locked upon the other,

The filly was the first to speak

In a lovely voice soft and meek

She asked the Princess "Are you my mother?"

The question caught her by surprise

And tears of pure joy filled her eyes

She leaned down and kissed the dark filly’s head,

“Though that would please me to no end

I am not, my dear little friend

But I can be sister to you instead.”

Her mane and coat both dark as night

They glowed softly with their own light

The filly's eyes were a-glow just the same,

Bereft of name, of title none

Celestia chose for her one

"Luna" would be her friend and equal's name.

Her coming was no chance event

There was a reason she'd been sent

And that special reason came to light soon,

Not merely one, no, there were two

To love her and to be loved too

And to become the Princess of the Moon.

She would show her how it was done

Raising moon after setting sun

And lower it to hasten forth dawn bright,

Luna would be her protégé

Celestia would show the way

And teach her how she would control the night.

That could come on a later day

For now she wished to prance and play

With dear Luna, the apple of her eye,

But then that day came, all to soon

To teach Luna to raise the moon

And she commenced the lessons with a sigh.

The lessons taught were quickly learned

For the young Princess Luna yearned

To help Celestia in any way,

Besides, it looked like it was fun

Raising moon after setting sun

To bring a close to each and every day.

And soon the lessons were complete

And Luna promised she would meet

All that was expected of her station,

Seeing the truth in what she said

Celestia nodded her head

And to Luna made a proclamation:

"Now that you have learned what to do

Dear sister Luna, I trust you

To take on this duty and do it right,

"To you this duty I now give

And for as long as we both live

I shall be morning and you will be night."

Both Celestia's love and pride

Flooded out from her soul inside

And her mane and tail filled with a dim light,

Her sister saw the dim light grow

Soon becoming a spectral glow

And Luna stepped away from her in fright.

Luna's green eyes went round and wide

She pointed a hoof and she cried

"Oh sister mine, your mane is all aglow!"

The strange glow soon faded away

Celestia's mane changed that day

And was now the colors of a rainbow.

And thus the sisters joined as one

One rules the moon and one the sun

The two together danced in harmony,

But all good things come to an end

A fate on which you can depend

And this friendship would end in tragedy...

The years uncounted floated by

The sisters two both shared the sky

But soon envy stole into Luna's soul,

The envy seethed, bubbled and stirred

To Luna wicked whispers purred

And they slowly began to take their toll.

It spoke to her one summer night

As she enjoyed the full moon’s light

In a silken voice designed to beguile,

The source of the voice heard within

Was one of corruption and sin

A demon’s voice both devious and vile.

"Greetings to you, O’Princess fair

I am known by the name ‘Nightmare’

But fear not, for I mean no ill intent,

“I've come to be your special friend

Upon whose words you can depend

In fact that is the reason I was sent.

“The ponyfolk all rise from bed

To greet the sunlight overhead

And they bask in the sun’s bright warming gift,

“Soon enough comes the pitch black night

Lit by your moon and stars so bright

But unlike the day’s sun you get short shrift.

"They all ignore your nightly toil

Does it not cause your blood to boil?

Why bother to continue anyway?

“You raise the moon after sun's fall

Nopony cares, not one at all

They wait for your sister to bring the day!

T’is true that under moon above

Some ponies confess their deep love

But these events are few and far between,

You think your sister gave a prize

When she offered the evening skies?

My dear Luna how naïve you have been!

“She only gave this task to you

So she would have less work to do

A gift born from both laziness and spite,

“And in truth I have heard it said

You are merely a figurehead

Nopony stays awake to watch the night…”

She paid no heed, or so she tried

To these dark words from deep inside

For sister princess she truly adored,

She pushed Nightmare’s smooth voice away

But it was strengthened day by day

Stabbing at her heart like a sharpened sword.

Nightmare went on, wheedled and lied

Stoked her ego, prodded her pride

And she began believing what it said,

And yet her soul fought back in vain

For its strength soon began to wane

And Nightmare’s voice grew louder in her head.

It tore at her, it slashed and screamed

Both while awake and while she dreamed

The walls within her mind fell one by one,

It breached the light within her soul

The darkness took complete control

And she confronted her sister, the Sun.

"You are the only one they see

No love is given unto me

Next to you, I am merely second rate,

"I soon felt envy towards you

But that feeling, it swelled and grew

And now for you I feel nothing but hate.

"I hate you, Princess of the Sun

I hate you for what you have done

I hate you and I will forevermore,

"My eyes are opened - now I see

This 'duty' as a mockery

And I refuse to take this any more.

"You laugh at me when I'm not there

And you believe me unaware

Your sunlit days are numbered, sister dear,

"Ponies will not show me respect

Hold in esteem nor genuflect

So I will just have to accept their fear.

"I will force them to honor me

I will be all that they will see

I will banish your sunlight infernal,

"When ponies look up to the sky

They will not see you, only I

For I shall bring forth Midnight Eternal!"

To aid her in this wicked deed

The demon Nightmare Moon was freed

She set about to see this dark work done,

And so the day confronted night

And so the dark confronted light

And so that day were seen both Moon and Sun.

The two took to the skies above

Envy and hate fought grace and love

A battle terrible and glorious,

Moon's chill frost mirrored sun's warm fire

But soon Nightmare began to tire

And her sister emerged victorious.

Nightmare, defeated come duel's end

Was begged stop by her sister-friend

But Nightmare laughed and spat into her eye,

With both a foul curse and a leer

She swore revenge on "sister dear"

And would return to make the sunlight die.

With Luna lost to hatred's voice

The princess made a fateful choice

Only one punishment could fit this crime:

Using her most powerful spell

She made the pale moon Nightmare's cell

Her prison forever and for all time.

Sun Princess took back night's power

And from her castle's high tower

She once again controls both night and day,

Now when she makes evening's moon rise

Grief-stricken tears flow from her eyes

For she believes she failed Luna some way.

And so she lives alone once more

Within stone walls, behind locked door

In penance to the soul of sister lost,

And on the moon hanging in space

Lay a profile of Luna’s face

Memorial to that day and its cost.

So should you hear dark envy speak

No matter how strong nor how weak

I pray you take this tragic tale to heart:

Fight it with all your soul within

For if you let that demon win

It can tear friendships and families apart.

The Hymn of a Million Voices

Poignancy, Prayer and Peace

Led astray by a demon's call

Orchestrating young Luna's fall

To darkness and corruption of her soul,

Possessed by both envy and hate

Banishment was her final fate

Her sister forced to pay this horrid toll.

These events are well known to all

The Moon Princess's rise and fall

A tragic tale and a warning as well,

And yet there still is much unsaid

More of this story to be read

Of the time after Princess Luna fell...

Luna now banished for all time

Final victim of Nightmare's crime

Celestia's warmed heart began to chill,

She knew that what she'd done was right

Sending away Princess of Night

Yet still this knowledge was a bitter pill.

And for days Celestia wept

From when she woke to when she slept

But she continued her appointed task,

She wished that she could change the past

But soon accepted this at last

And hid her grief beneath an aloof mask.

So came the day, so came the night

The moon's dim glow, the bright sunlight

And Celestia sat upon her throne,

Second to minute then to hour

Hour to day within her tower

Soon she no longer cared she was alone.

Within her oubliette locked tight

Corrupted Princess of the Night

Looked down upon her lost world with a sneer,

She thought of the Princess of Day

The traitor who sent her away

Nightmare’s hatred of her grew year to year.

This was all Celestia's fault

T'was she who locked her in this vault

So all attention would be hers alone,

And when she tried to have her say

Her sister then sent her away

To this prison of dust, craters and stone

One day, atop her tall tower

In the cooling breeze of dawn's hour

Celestia heard voices call her name,

The voices began at dawn's light

And they went silent come the night

Come the next day and still more voices came.

She found from whence the voices came

The folk below who called her name

And she watched them, curiosity piqued,

Caught in the depth of her sorrow

She'd ignored the ponies below

And so upon their lives the Princess peeked...

Three tribes were once segregated

Their tribe best, the others hated

And for some time this was the way of things,

They fought and cursed and threatened war

The cycle then began once more

A symbol of the chaos hatred brings.

Celestia watched with dismay

As the three tribes fought night and day

And more than once she thought to intervene,

But she chose to just watch and wait

Observe but not participate

It was safer to see but not be seen.

She knew if she became involved

Things would not be truly resolved

She'd merely scare them into making peace,

But members of the tribes below

Worked to end this hate and sorrow

Together as siblings to make this cease.

Soon came the Priesthood of the Sun

Aiding all those they came upon

For all were equal in the Priesthood's view,

Showing kindness in word and deed

A helping hoof in time of need

Or a smile and a friendly word or two.

Working in the Holy Sun's name

They fed the hungry, healed the lame

And spread the word of her with every deed,

They fought the hardships they would face

To make the world a better place

Their pilgrims set forth, sowing friendship's seed.

And so they traveled night and day

Gaining converts along the way

From tribes of earth, of magic and of sky,

Ones who felt for the greater good

To join the cause of the Priesthood

And render themselves deaf to hatred's lie.

The Priesthood had a second goal:

To shatter bigotry's control

And show the tribes the damage it had done,

They should accept and tolerate

Spreading friendship and not just hate

And then they could live together as one.

They were different, one can't deny

One used magic and one could fly

And one could tame the earth and make crops grow,

But in their souls they were the same

Only different in form and name

And this was a fact that they hoped to show.

And so they offered aid to all

And slowly tore down distrust's wall

And soon the three tribes felt their hatred die,

For the Priesthood had shown the way

And thus they cast their past away

And in the end the three asked themselves: Why?

"Why did we do what we had done

Why did we hate, why did we shun

Why did we three do all these foolish things?

"From the beginning, we tribes three

Should all have lived in harmony

And basked in all the joy that that would bring!"

"What were we thinking? We were fools

All that we cared of was who rules

Who stood above the others in the end,

Instead of hatching plot and scheme

And bolstering our self-esteem

We could have spent that time making a friend."

And thus the three tribes joined as one

All were equal under the sun

A fact that they should have known all along,

So now the three stand side to side

Discrimination pushed aside

For together they stand three times as strong.

Word of praise from across her land

Spoken by one or by a band

Extolling the virtues of Princess fair,

Their voices soon were raised in song

All Equestria sang along

They sang their love of her while deep in prayer.

Earth ponies and the pegasi

And unicorns prayed to the sky

The three pony tribes sang in harmony,

She was the glory of the sun

Gave warmth and life to everyone

And so they worshiped her with melody.

The Princess smiled from high above

As ponyfolk shared peace and love

And she felt the cold in her heart dissolve,

For watching the three tribes make peace

Conferred on her blessed release

And on that day she came to a resolve.

The Sun Princess Celestia

Would travel to Equestria

In answer to the three tribes' prayer and song,

Yet she would go there in disguise

Hiding her true form from their eyes

To see just how well the three got along.

The earth pony strode into town

Her mane yellow, coat mottled brown

And on her side there hung a threadbare pack,

She spied an Inn in which to stay

And call an end to her long day

But first came to a halt to stretch her back.

Many ponies bade her good day

As they continued on their way

Some waved a hoof and some gave her a smile,

One offered to help with her pack

To relieve her tired ribs and back

For it was clear she'd traveled for a while.

"Thank you sir, that is very kind

Are you certain that you don't mind?

My saddlebag is quite heavy, you see,"

The pegasus who'd offered aid

Gave the mare a kind laugh and said

"I am quite strong - this weight won't bother me."

The bag was taken from her side

The earth pony happily sighed

And together they trotted down the road,

But the pack weighed more than he thought

He thought it light, but it was not

And soon he struggled beneath the pack's load.

The Princess was raising its mass

For she saw that they would soon pass

A light green unicorn with mane pure white,

This was a test so she could see

What the pony's response would be

Upon seeing her winged companion's plight.

The unicorn shortly came by

With a concerned look in her eye

She saw the pegasus began to list,

The unicorn mare stopped to ask

"May I give you aid with your task?

You seem exhausted, please let me assist!"

The unicorn then cast a spell

To help carry the weight as well

The pegasus thanked her for her kind act,

His ribs and back were growing sore

He couldn't hold the weight much more

He had almost reached his limit, in fact.

The three stopped at the village Inn

The saddlebag was bundled in

And the glow faded from their helper's horn,

After a stretch of wings and back

Responding with a hearty crack

The pegasus turned to the unicorn.

"Thank you, ma'am, you were very kind

To help we two out of that bind

It seems I'm not as strong as I had thought,

That will teach me I should not boast

I'd nearly given up the ghost

And I appreciate your help a lot."

"Think nothing of it" she replied

"For I was happy to provide

Assistance to the both of you, good sir,

"And I see here a brand new face

Somepony new's come to this place

Pray let me introduce myself to her."

The unicorn's name was Limecream,

The pegasus was named Jet Streem,

They welcomed hidden Princess with a smile,

She told them her name was Sunray

And she had traveled all the day

And so she planned to stay here for a while.

They spoke for a while with Sunray

But soon the two went on their way

They bid farewell, she thanked the two once more,

So far the Princess was impressed

Limecream and Jet had passed her test

So she decided that she would explore.

She saw the three tribes mingled free

In some cases intimately

Many were married with foals by their side,

And thus the Princess of the Sun

Had proof the three were now as one

And so decided to no longer hide.

She trotted into the town square

A pale glow surrounding the mare

And soon all attention was on Sunray,

"I'm certain you can no doubt see

I'm not quite who I seem to be

And there is something that I wish to say.

"I've misled you these three days past

Sunray naught but a role I've cast

I am not the pony that I appear,

"Yet my deception was benign

A part of a greater design

And I intend to unmask myself here."

Sunray raised her head to the sky

And then let out a wordless cry

A blinding burst of sunlight filled the square,

The bright light focused on Sunray

The earth pony melted away

And instead a statuesque mare stood there.

She was a beauty to behold

Her rainbow mane, her hooves shod gold

Her violet eyes, her coat of silken white,

And then wings unfurled from her side

And the Princess stretched them out wide

Her body glowed as if filled by sunlight.

And yet nopony was afraid

Instead rapt attention was paid

Nopony balked, nopony broke to run,

"I am the Bringer of the Day

I am she to whom you all pray

I am Celestia, Princess of Sun!"

She told then the tale of her life

Of loneliness, love, hate and strife

The rise and fall of Luna of the Moon,

Of what she'd gained and what she'd lost

And just how much this loss had cost

And how she had stopped caring all too soon.

"One day I heard you call to me

And I watched over your tribes three

And how you three fought all your night and days,

"And then the Priesthood of Sun came

And bound you three under my name

And showed you the foolishness of your ways.

"Your rivalries came to an end

An enemy became a friend

This victory was yours and yours alone,

"And seeing you working as one

Seeing hatred being undone

Brought life once again to my heart of stone.

"I am proud of you, one and all

And so I now answer the call

Made by ponies all across this nation,

"I should have done this long ago

I waited far too long, I know

So to you I make this proclamation:

"You need no longer pray to me

I shall come forth for all to see

From this day on I will not hide away,

"I'll leave my castle's gloomy hall,

For somewhere seen by one and all."

The plans for Canterlot were born that day.

In her lunar cell locked and closed,

The demon Nightmare Moon reposed,

Visions of Celestia filled her dreams,

Her betrayal would be repaid

She'd stab her heart and twist the blade

And relish in her sister's tortured screams.

But she'd not raise a hoof to her

The torture that she would endure

Would bring her sister Princess to her knees,

Nightmare would call a wind that chilled

A wind that burned, a wind that killed

And Celestia would watch her land freeze.

The sun would fall and never rise

She would be the Queen of the Skies

And she would release the Forever Night,

The ponyfolk would scrape and plead

And beg her for the warmth they need

And cower in fear beneath her moon's light.

Her castle hung from mountain high

Landmark to every pony eye

She built Canterlot for the sake of all,

A place of marble purest white

It glowed by day, shimmered at night

From its cobbled streets to its towers tall.

A city grew  'round castle grand

Now the Capital of the land

The greatest city in Equestria,

And to the three pony races

Was the holiest of places

As the home of Princess Celestia.

And thus the days, they came and went

The ponies of the land content

Life for them was both joyful and serene,

But on the thousandth year, some say

These happy times would fall away

And an evil darkness would intervene.

Nightmare Moon would then reappear

Demon Princess of dark and fear

And she would bring with her eternal night,

Nightmare would then strike dead the sun

Nightmare would see the day undone

Nightmare would forever destroy daylight.

Most thought this was an old mare's tale

A story penned to make foals pale

Nopony believed Evernight would fall,

They spurned this dark tale of Nightmare

Little were the ponies aware

There was truth to this fable after all.

Still asleep in her airless tomb

Deep within the moon's dark cold womb

Nightmare dreamt on - her dreams wicked and vile,

Soon her slumber was forsaken

And she began to awaken

And to her lips there came an evil smile.

The magic that held her at bay

Was growing weaker day by day

So she fought against the diminished spell,

And she would break free of the moon

And she would return all too soon

And she would make the world a sunless hell...

The Coming of the Evernight

Dramatic Reading of Chapters One and Two

Chapter One

Chapter Two