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 friendship brings!
"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,
A pegasus stallion drew near
And asked her: "May I help, my dear?
"It's clear that you've traveled many a mile.
"You're tired and you could use a break
"So please allow me to help make
"Your stay in my town the best that I can
"Your saddlebag, it weighs you down;
"I'll carry it for you through town."
Celestia thought 'Such a gentleman!'
She smiled. "Thank you sir, that's most 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...