In eons past, there lived two sisters in the kingdom of Equestria.
The elder was radiant, blazing with the sun’s scorching rays. Her name was Celestia, and she held the sun’s power in her hooves. By dawn, she would rise, and the sun would rise with her.
The younger was dark and mysterious, wreathed in shadows, illuminated only by the moon’s wan light. Her name was Luna, and she took the night sky as her own, commanding the moon and stars at will.
For millennia, the two worked in harmony, keeping Equestria in perfect balance. Under their guiding lights, ponies prospered, and the land flourished into a mighty kingdom. But alas, as with all things, it did not last.
The darkness in the younger’s heart festered, when she noticed her sister’s growing fame. All beings could look up and appreciate the sunny skies and warming light the sun casts down, but the night? No one cared for the night. It was cold, and unwelcoming, a time when dark creatures roamed the land.
The balance was finally tipped when Celestia was offered the crown by the king himself. Oh, did the citizens cheer and clamour for her to take the throne! But Celestia wished not for such responsibility, for she was a mare of simple and humble origins - so she declined.
But Luna, she was never offered the throne. She was never worshipped and loved by the common folk like her sister was. She was incensed by such blatant disrespect from mortals to a goddess such as herself. Driven by her jealousy and burning rage, she strove to remind the mortal races of her power.
And remind she did, casting an eternal night over half of Equestria, literally suffocating the ponies in shadow before Celestia rose to defend her children. Luna’s army was small, but the creatures of the night rallied under the ideal world of forever dark, bolstering her forces to a hundred thousand strong. With foul dark witchery, she twisted her followers into creatures of horror and destruction, and they laid waste to Equestria.
But Celestia would not stand idly by, even if it meant fighting her sister. With six legendary artifacts called the Elements of Harmony, she overcame Luna’s defences and took on the dark goddess in a duel that lasted for days on end. Celestia was strong, but in accepting the darkness in her heart, Luna was strengthened tenfold, and easily dwarfed Celestia in power.
With no options left, Celestia used the artifacts to extract Luna’s soul, sealing it into the moon itself and destroying the body so that naught remained of Luna’s person. As such, Luna’s name faded into oblivion, and Celestia was forced to take the throne of Equestria. The magic that was used to fight in the war, be it good or bad, was forcefully stricken from memory and records, and disappeared.
“What? That’s it?” The young lavender mare frowned, staring at the ragged book. “It was just getting interesting…” Twilight Sparkle brushed aside her pink and purple mane and peered at the wafer-thin pages, scrutinizing them for any sort of secret.
“Invisible ink?” Her horn flashed a bright lilac. Blank. “Hiding charm?” The page glowed as her aura surrounded it. No dice. “Hidden message enchantment?” A thin beam snaked out of her horn, carefully probing the paper for a spell matrix. Nothing.
“Urgh!” Twilight growled, glaring at the yellowed pages of the old tome, but angry glower quickly turned into a look of interest. “Hmm… Elements of Harmony? I’m sure I’ve heard of those before… but where?”
“Twi, it’s three in the morning. Go back to sleep.” A sleepy sounding voice wafted down from the upper floors of Twilight’s suite. “Even Celestia isn’t up yet.” Twilight looked out of the windows, and indeed, the inky night sky framed the glowing towers of Canterlot. She smiled. Canterlot at night was truly a magnificent sight - its architecture was designed with the explicit intent of reflecting light with optimum efficiency. Polished mirrors were integrated into the walls of the tall rounded towers, bouncing moonlight and sunlight to light up the streets and buildings when necessary.
Her own suite was quite different. Instead of marble and stone, as much of Canterlot was built from, it was mostly wooden, with large bookshelves and wood flooring and other wooden furniture. It was a good insulator and kept her warm in winter, and cool in summer. Although that meant that she couldn’t practice more volatile magics in there, not after the September incident.
She still remembered the screams of the poor books.
“Twi!” A tiny purple drake poked his head over the edge fencing of the loft. “Sleep! You’ll need it!”
Twilight shot a look at Spike, her young dragon assistant. “Academia waits for nopony, Spike. You go sleep, I think I’ll pull an all-nighter.”
“It’s not good for your health, Twi…” Spike’s words drifted off into silence. Twilight smiled - Spike meant well, but some things just couldn’t be put off.
“Now… Elements, Elements…” Twilight muttered under her breath, scanning the bookshelves. “Maybe it’s under E? E… E… Ah! ‘Eldritch Legends, Tales of Ancient Magicks’. Thus ought to work. ” Grabbing the book with her magic, she scanned through the table of contents.
“‘Elements of Harmony, see… Mare in the Moon.’” Twilight said, pausing. “That could easily be interpreted as Luna, banished to the moon.”
“Twilight, you couldn’t be quiet if you tried.” Spike grumbled, clambering down from the loft. “Why are you reading about that old foal story?”
Twilight shook her head. “Every legend, no matter how far fetched, has to have a nugget of truth to base off of. Now, according to this, the Mare in the Moon was defeated by the fabled Elements of Harmony, which are embodiments of the virtues that instill peace and harmony. She was sealed away into the moon, but it is rumored that she might one day break free. According to historical records, there was a prophecy that foretold her return:
“The Dark One will return with aid from the stars, and consume the world in darkness. On the shortest night of the longest day, the dusk a thousand years away, the stars will convene in stony conviction and free the Nightmare’s prison…”
Twilight gasped. “The shortest night of the longest day is the summer equinox…”
“What, the summer sun celebration?” Spike asked, slightly lost.
“Yes! And this is the thousandth summer equinox since Celestia accepted the throne!” Twilight started pacing nervously. “Oh, this is not good, not good! We have to warn the Princess!”
“Why?”
“Because that means the Mare in the Moon will be free in less than a week!”
“Well, what did she say?” Twilight asked Spike, for the fifth time that minute. The sun barely peeked over the hills, and the sky was just a tint of purple. Daybreak. She had explained the situation to Spike and quickly scribbled out a letter for him to send to Celestia, only to realize that Celestia wouldn’t be up at three in the morning - so they waited, and read up more on the old legend until the sun began to rise.
Spike rolled his eyes in exasperation. “I don’t know, because she hasn’t replied yet.”
Twilight snorted, and tapped her hooves impatiently. A few seconds later, she turned back to Spike.
“Not. Yet.” He said, before burping loudly. A torrent of green flame rushed out of his maw, dissipating rapidly, the fumes coalescing into a paper scroll. “Urp! Here it is. Umm…
“My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely.” Spike read, and Twilight puffed out her chest in pride. “But some times legends are just legends.” Twilight blinked in disbelief. “Let sleeping dragons lie, Twilight, for some aspects of the past are better left forgotten. I apologize for being dismissive, but a pony as brilliant as yourself should not be concerned with dusty prophecies by ancient souls. Instead, I ask that you go make some friends, and live a life beyond one of academics and study.”
Twilight blanched, stuttering as she fought to process the Princess’ letter. “But- but- That’s…” Her eyes narrowed, and Spike gulped nervously as he spied a curl of hair pop out of place. “Of course. It must be proof! She wants evidence that the prophecy is being fulfilled! I need more primary sources, secondary opinions, and- and- Spike! We’re going to the Archives! To RESEARCH!”
Spike groaned, and was yanked into the air by a purple aura and deposited onto Twilight’s back. They burst through the doors of their suite, Twilight with a determined expression and Spike just rather annoyed that his sleep was interrupted, and they galloped down the halls to the Canterlot Archives.
Canterlot’s hallways in the early morning hours were eerily haunting. The lack of activity was unnerving, and Twilight’s hoof steps echoed loudly in the empty halls. Of course, the royal guards were stationed at regular intervals, but they were as lively as a stack of bricks.
As they ran, Spike took the chance to tap the top of Twilight’s head gently. “Uh, Twilight, maybe we should trust the Princess on this one? I mean, she does have the experience of thousands of years.”
“I believe this is a credible threat to Equestria, Spike. Even if the Princess is right, you can’t be too careful.” Twilight said, taking a left turn and cursing as she bumped into a priceless porcelain vase, which she quickly righted with her magic.
“But we’re talking about the Mare in the Moon. If the old story is real, then she’s Princess Celestia’s sister! She’s gotta be at least as strong as the Princess.” Spike said. “Don’t you think this might be, um, above you?”
“Sometimes risks have to be made in the name of development, Spike.” Twilight responded, cantering to a halt in front of the Archive’s entrance. The pair of guards tensed for a moment, spears crossed in front of the doors, before realizing who Twilight was and hastily allowing access. “Thank you, kind sirs.” Twilight said as she placed Spike back onto the floor. They nodded appreciatively, before resuming their stoic stance.
Pushing aside large ebony doors, the musty scent of old parchment and dust wafted into Twilight’s nostrils, tempting her to sneeze. A small burst of green flame told her Spike was similarly affected. Her horn glowed faintly, and immediately she felt the tickling sensation fade away. Spike gasped in amazement. “Woah. What did you do?”
“Miniaturized filtering ward in your nasal cavity.” Twilight said, only afterwards taking notice of Spike’s confused expression. She sighed, and clarified, “I made your nose immune to dust. It’s a less complicated variant of the water breathing charm.”
“Oh. Cool!” Spike said. “So what are we looking for?”
“Anything related to the war between Celestia and Luna, as well as anything on the legend of the Mare in the Moon, specifically her return.” Twilight replied curtly, already scanning the archive catalogue. “Oh ponyfeathers, the organization is absolutely terrible here. Uhm…”
She looked up, pointing at an undefined point in the darkness. “The Pre-Celestial wing should be over there. Be careful with your fire, Spike, there are some things down here that are worth more than the entire royal treasury.” The little drake gulped, and closed up his flame bladder just a might tighter.
“Alright, let’s see here…” Twilight’s eyes practically glowed when she rounded a corner and was confronted by seas upon seas of books. It was a narrow corridor, formed by two parallel lines of bookcases. On those bookcases were everything from jars of unidentified liquids, to ancient artefacts, to aged items of clothing, and of course, books. There was a moment of silence as she feasted upon this beautiful sight.
Spike paused, and looked up at his adopted sister who was still staring and… ew, drooling. “Uh, Twi? Work?” He snapped his claws in front of her, and she blushed, magically wiping away the little bit of dribble.
She coughed awkwardly. “Yes. Uh, You check that side, I check this side, okay?” Spike nodded, and started inspecting artifacts and strange items. Twilight took the more scholarly sections and scanned the spines of books.
“Conflicts and Wars of Old?” Twilight scanned through the book. “No, the pages are all smudged.”
“A sword dating back to the founding of Equestria.” Spike frowned. “Nothing about the Mare in the Moon, though.”
“Strange beasts of the Night… Maybe.” Twilight set the book aside.
“Oh! A plaque from the war!” Spike exclaimed, carefully plucking the plaque from the wall it was mounted on.
“What does it say?” Twilight craned her neck to look at the plaque.
“I… can’t read it. I think it’s in Old Equestrian.” Spike scratched the back of his head.
Twilight took the plaque from his claws, and stared at it intently. “I’ve studied some Old Equestrian before, I might be able to translate it! Let’s see… That’s by the name of the moon… um…” And there they sat, Twilight reading out passages at a time and Spike writing them down.
“Alright! Spike, what do we have down?” Twilight finally asked, looking up after having translated the last word.
“We sweareth by the sacred moon, six stars shall riseth in eventide, and releaseth her from her shackles. Once more the light of the moon shall drowneth the land of forever night, so sayeth our queen who dwelleth in dreams.” Spike said, holding up the piece of parchment they had used for notetaking. “That’s… weird.”
“That’s just how Old Equestrian works - the weird suffixes and spelling is just how ponies back then spelt things.” Twilight shrugged. “But what’s more fascinating is the implications of this plaque. This actually validates a lot of theories on the abilities of the Mare in the Moon, particularly her apparent ability to manipulate dreams…”
Spike tuned out, wandering off to look at more books and artifacts. There was a particular jar which contained what looked like a brain made of metal. A shriveled up frog which had a lovely pink hue. A book about the toilets of pre-Celestia Equestria. Spike giggled a little when he saw that.
There was a wicked scythe said to be able to devour souls at a touch - and also chocolates. Spike could understand that. A helmet that belonged to the legendary headless general, who kept on fighting for days even after she was decapitated. And a cloth stained with-
Spike backed away, gagging. Cloth stained with the blood of Celestia herself when she fought Luna. “Uh… Twi? You might want to see this.” Twilight blinked, snapped out of her one-pony lecture, and trotted over. When she saw what Spike was pointing at, she took a step back too, her ears flattened in shock.
“Celestia’s… blood?” Twilight whispered, staring at the cloth in a mixture of awe and fear. The gravity of the situation finally hit her - she was dealing with an entity that could hurt the Princess. Twilight didn’t stand a chance. “This is why we need to warn her, Spike. If she’s caught off guard…”
Spike gulped, still backing up until he hit a stack of books. With a yell of surprise, the tower collapsed on top of him, burying him in a veritable mountain of literature. “Twilight!” She turned at the muffled cry for help, and sighed.
“This isn’t really the time for playing around…?” Her reprimanding trailed off into a curious hum when she saw a book lodged between Spike’s spines. “What’s this?”
She plucked the book off of its perch, and read the title out loud. “Arcanomicon…?” She flipped open the book, and the world exploded into stars.
“Awaken.”
What? Where am I?
“Awaken.”
I am awake!
“Are you?”
…I’m sure I am.
“You are blind.”
No I’m not.
“You do not see.
You do not feel.
You do not live.”
What are you talking about? Of course I can see!
“No. Now you can see.”
What-
Oh. Wow. What did you do?
The trees… the ground… the sky… the air itself…
Why do they look like that?
“It is sight.
The first gift.
Now, awaken.”
No, please! I have so many questions!
“Awaken.”
Twilight blinked. What was she doing again?
Of course. Research. She looked blankly down at the book at her hooves. Memories returned to her.
“Twilight, what are you doing staring at an empty book?” Spike asked, poking the book with a claw.
Twilight frowned and gently pushed his claws away. “Don’t do that, you might damage the book. And what do you mean, empty? It’s clearly filled with text!”
“No, it’s not.” Spike said, peering at the pages. Twilight raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Uh, it is. Here, it clearly says-“ She stopped. What did the book say? She stared at it, but couldn’t read the book. “What does it say?”
Spike looked at her strangely. “Are you okay, Twi? Maybe this whole Mare in the Moon deal is getting to you.”
“No, no! I was sure there were words in that. I swear!” Twilight said, a hair popping out of place. “It makes no sense!”
Use your sight.
“…Sense.” Twilight stopped suddenly, and stopped trying to read the book.
Words filled her mind. Your sight is clear.
“I can see it.” Twilight muttered, staring blankly at the page. “I can see the words.”
“O…kay, you are starting to creep me out, Twilight.” Spike said, backing away slowly. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes. I’m alright. In fact, I’m better than I’ve ever been.” Twilight said, dreamily. Then she blinked. “Wait, what? What is going on?!”
The world faded away once again.
“Good. You’ve mastered your gift quickly.”
What is going on? Who are you?
“But it is not enough.”
Stop it! I don’t understand!
“And you will. Soon.”
No! I want answers! Who are you? Why are you doing this?
“You cannot comprehend.”
Don’t say that! How do you know if I’m not told anything?!
“You do not think.
You do not understand.
You do not learn.”
Don’t be silly, of course I learn! I study everyday!
“Now, you learn.”
The words!
They… they make sense!
“It is understanding.
The second gift.
Now, awaken.”
Please! Not yet! Who are you?!
“…A friend. Awaken.”
“Twilight… Twilight?” She felt somepony shaking her.
“Urgh… Spike?” Twilight groaned, painfully clutching at her head. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a train…”
Spike was standing over her, his eyes large with worry. “Oh man, I thought you were a goner! You just went and fell over! You scared me!”
Sighing, Twilight sat up and gave him a comforting hug. “I’m sorry… I’m fine now. Actually, I think I feel better than before. Like I’m thinking clearer.” Breaking off from the hug, she stood up and stretched luxuriously. “Ah… that hit the spot. Now, Spike, I think we have enough information to convince Princess Celestia to take action against Luna’s return. Let’s go.”
“Are you sure? Maybe we should-“
There was a flash of purple and Spike found himself in the throne room. It was, as always, grand and majestic. Stained glass windows decorated the walls, allowing sunlight to flood through and create dappled images on the marble tiled floor. A red carpet extended from the door right up to the throne, stopping just short of Celestia’s seat. The throne itself was a shining golden construct, with soft red cushions for comfort. It perched upon a raised dais, with a few steps leading up to the seat.
And on the throne sat Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. She was a great deal larger than any normal pony, with long slender legs and a svelte build that could make any mare go green with envy. Her majestic swan-like wings were folded at her sides, and on her forehead was a long spiraling horn, behind which was a golden tiara adorned with a single gleaming amethyst.
“Twilight? What are you doing here?” Spike heard the surprise in Celestia’s voice.
Twilight stood as tall as she could be, trying not to quake under the presence of the Princess. “Princess Celestia, sorry for intruding but I believe we have proof that the Mare in the Moon is returning for real.” She stopped just in front of the throne, and began levitating books and notes she took from the Archives. “Here you can see a historian’s account of the war, and in the other-”
“Where did you find that book? I thought I destroyed every copy of it!” Celestia interrupted, her voice quivering slightly. From anger, shock, or something else, Spike could not tell.
“Uh, the Arcanomicon? I just found it lying in the-” Once again, Twilight was interrupted by a very tense Celestia.
“You can read it?!” She cried, barely containing a shout bubbling up inside her. “You can read the Arcanomicon?”
Twilight was taken aback by the ferocity of Celestia’s outburst. “Um, yes, there was this voice that-“
“Twilight, of all the times you could have disobeyed me, why did it have to be this?!” Celestia leapt from her throne, her eyes alert. “If you’ve gained understanding, then they can’t be too far behind!”
“I- uh- who’s they?” Twilight asked, both curious and very alarmed. Celestia had never acted like this before. She was always calm, collected, and gentle. This Celestia was frantic and panicky, capable of exploding at a touch. “Why are you-“
“There is no time to explain - you have to go, now!” Celestia said, gesturing for Twilight to follow her. Muttering a quick command to a guard next to her, she hurried quickly to a chamber nestled into the wall behind the throne area.
Once both Twilight and Spike were safely inside the chamber, she took a breath of relief. “Twilight, I’m sure you want to know what is going on, but now is not the time. I need you to listen right now.” Twilight was about to open her mouth when Celestia shot her a look that simply demanded attention.
No words, just a single glance, and Twilight silenced herself. “There are terrible things out there. Creatures from a time before time, a world beyond worlds, secrets buried far in the past and knowledge beyond mortal understanding. I have tried to keep you safe in this castle, away from the monsters, but…”
She took a deep breath. “Oh, I didn’t think I had to do this so soon… Twilight, you-“ There was an almighty bang as the door shook. Something was trying to get in. “Oh no.” Celestia’s face somehow got even whiter as she stared at the door. “Twilight, listen to me - you are not normal. You are not a normal unicorn.“
The door shook again, this time buckling slightly. Cracks began to form in the frame and the stone around it. “Twilight, I need you to run. Run, and don’t look back. Go to a town called Ponyville, located south if you go directly through that opening.” She pointed at a small window in the side of the wall. “I’ll give you temporary wings, and-“
The door shook a final time, before exploding inwards alongside sever chunks of stone and bent steel. Through the hole stepped a figure, obscured by the dust blown up by the impact. “No, no, no!” Celestia’s horn lit up with a fierce golden aura, and Twilight felt a ticklish sensation at her sides, which when she glanced back appeared to be a pair of delicate gossamer butterfly wings. Celestia’s horn flashed again, and Spike disappeared. “I have turned him into a familiar. Call, and he will come. Remember, trust the book!” She said urgently, before whipping around to face whatever had broken down the door.
“Hello, Celestia.” The alicorn’s blood turned to ice as she heard the voice, loud and grating like a knife scraping rough stone. “It’s been a long time.”
“You.” She glared at the figure in the smoke, which began to settle. As the dust cleared, the source of the voice was revealed - a unicorn, with a pitch black coat and mane that flowed and gleamed like liquid mercury. Dull, flat silver eyes stared lifelessly at her, and a cruel smile revealed two sharp fang-like incisors, which a serpentine forked tongue ran across.
“Me. You didn’t think a silly little ward like that would be able to stop me, did you?” He chuckled, a sound so terrible that it could make a dragon run merely from hearing it. As a testament to her willpower, not only did Celestia not turn tail and flee, she lowered her horn in a charging position, typical for a unicorn or alicorn preparing for battle.
With a cry of half fury and half desperation, she loosed a blast of pure sunlight at the unicorn, a molten orb of light hot enough to melt steel. The unicorn didn’t even blink - he simply caught the orb in an extended hoof and crushed it like it was made of paper. “Really, Celestia? That’s how you greet an old friend?”
“I’m not your friend, Arae.” Celestia growled, pawing at the floor nervously. “You would do well to remember that!” This time, there was no horn flash. Instead, she reared up, and slammed her entire weight down onto the floor, causing an explosion of sound as loud as a crack of thunder. The shockwave of force surged forwards, smashing into the stallion and slamming him into a wall.
“Nice!” Arae said, popping a few joints. “Thunderwave! Entirely ineffectual, but good to see you still remember how to use magic! Now let’s see how you deal with THIS!” He sneered, raising a hoof and pointing it at Celestia. Immediately, a crackling orb of lightning exploded from it, smashing into Celestia and engulfing her in a sparking blue flame. She staggered, and collapsed onto the ground.
“Your mortal form is weak, Celestia. I know I can’t really hurt you like this, but by the moon…” Arae strode up to her, and stomped onto one of her forelegs, snapping it in two. “This feels GREAT.” He stomped again, this time cracking a few ribs. “Doesn’t it?” He leaned in, close enough for Celestia to feel his breath on her face. It was freezing cold, too cold for any regular creature. It lasted for but a second, as Arae looked up and noticed Twilight shivering in the corner.
"Ah... you must be the one. Excellent! Two birds with one stone!" He started towards her.
“Twilight…”
“Hmm?” Arae blinked, tilting his head towards Celestia. “What did you say?”
“RUN!” Celestia shrieked, driving a shimmering hoof into the stallion’s gut, causing him to double over in pain. “FIND SUNNY SKIES!” Twilight obliged, spreading her newfound wings and flying out of the open window. Flapping as hard as she could, she shot off like an arrow into the fading light.
The last thing she saw before moving too far away was Arae and Celestia, both burning, one blue, one gold, falling off the side of Mount Canterlot while locked in mortal combat.
Instinctively, Twilight felt her wings starting to lose power and she descended, landing clumsily in a grassy field. In the distance, she saw what might be a town, but she didn’t care at that point.
“Spike… Spike, come out.” Twilight muttered, still clutching the Arcanomicon in her magic. Tottering slightly, she sat down on the grass before her legs gave completely.
With a small pop, the little drake appeared beside her, immediately wrapping her up in a scaly hug. “Twilight…” With some hesitation, Twilight hugged back, and for a moment they just sat there, in each others arms. “Everything will be different, won’t it?”
“Yeah.” Twilight sighed, her breath coming in ragged puffs. “Okay, here’s what I need you to do. Keep watch, and try anything to wake me up if anything comes.”
Staring into the book, words floated off the page and she lost herself in the knowledge.
“You have returned, Twilight Sparkle.”
Whoever you are,
I’m ready to learn.