//------------------------------// // The Hymn of a Million Voices // Story: The Ballad of the Two Sisters // by SuperGiantRobot //------------------------------// 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...