Memories of a Star

by Karach

Lesson 1 - History: Memories of a World Long Gone

FLASH

In an instant, a period of time shorter than it takes for a fleeting thought to manifest in a pony mind, a universe is born—a void, cold and empty.

I must have been there at the time. At the very beginning, when the Creator brought our world forth. I cannot see her clearly, but she's a great, all-encompassing, perfect being. Compared to her, me and my sister seem but specks of dust, unworthy of her attention. She's an alicorn, too, with pearl coat and brown mane. Our Mother, the Creator, the Cosmic Matriarch... Ponies gave her many names, though not one of them could ever comprehend the magnitude of her being.

With a flinch of her glowing horn, she creates the Sun, the Moon, and the Planet. Our alicorn forms—mine and Luna's—dissolve into energy and we are buried in our respective celestial bodies.

"You three will sleep until my children need you, until they are ready for you," Mother explains, her melodic voice filling the universe, making every atom vibrate to its rhythm. "You will then don your pony forms back, and lead them into the glorious future."

FLASH

I drift through the void of space, watching the planet and its satellite—my two little sisters—from within my core. The planet revolves around me, a naked, barren rock in the no longer lifeless void. My other sister makes her relentless rounds around it, as if we're playing a game of hide and seek.

Seconds pass into millennia in a blink of an internal eye for a star. I don't know how long our game lasts, but we both notice how the planet changes over time. It changes its colors, gathering pools of blue amongst patches of brown, which are then hidden behind the makeup of green. Our sister must be prettying herself up to welcome her guest, I remember thinking.

And then the whole planet bursts into a song.

A symphony of creation—the most beautiful melody ever created by anypony—fills the universe as the atmosphere of the planet vibrates, sending the melody of life being born into space. And I can hear it, despite the lack of ears, despite the lack of medium to transmit sounds. And I know my sister does too. And our cores shiver, as we cry with joy.

We both know the symphony is the start of something grand, something bigger than the three of us drifting in the void, something almost as glorious as our Mother.

Life.

FLASH

Our sister's children—our Mother's children—slowly venture into their lives, filling the planet with joy unlike anything I have felt since Mother conceived us into her universe. The children are but colorful specks on the planet's surface, but they can manifest their presence. They shape the world to their liking, drawing yellow patches of fields across the landscape, splashing colorful circles of cities, and harnessing white clouds into meaningful shapes. I wonder how does my middle sister feel with myriad of the tiny creatures reshaping her body like that...

Is she proud of them, or is she infuriated?

FLASH

The three races of ponies fight back malevolent ice spirits—windigos, I believe they were called—and form a historic treaty. Though the borders around the new country are only metaphorical, we can almost see them from the sky. Ponies name their land Equestria, and as they sing their anthem under the clear sky, both me and my little sister feel the wards placed by Mother cracking and dissolving into nothingness. It's finally time to fulfill our duty.

FLASH

As we mingle with Mother's children, we soon notice the difference between us and them. Our connections to the celestial bodies give our pony forms eternal life, something Mother's children can only dream of. They proclaim us goddesses of their world, and—despite our refusal—seat us on the thrones of the country they had created. Their enormous creativity, driven perhaps by their short life spans, bestows us with our own names.

Celestia, Terra and Luna.

FLASH

Grief and misery consume the entire planet as a Draconequs, a powerful being made of pure chaos, corrupts many ponies and declares war on Equestria. Far too many of Mother's children die in squabbles as Luna and I are powerless against the manifestation of chaos who has invaded our peaceful world. We both seek refuge in the only part of the planet which seems free of the evil creature's influence—a place the children had earlier given the name of the Everfree Forest. We hide our pride, licking our wounds as we weep to Mother to aid us, to show us the way to liberate her beloved world from the malevolent creature's claws. She stays silent, however, as we—the most powerful ponies, wielding the celestial magic itself—curse our helplessness.

Just as everything seems lost, a barely noticeable hum breaks throughout the forest. The trees hear it too, and add the gentle whispers of their leaves to the heart-wrenching melody. It doesn't take too long for the birds to join the song, and soon the whole forest sings a tune of loss and a call to fight with its deep voice.

Is it the deed of our sister, ever hidden within the planet itself, mourning over the loss of her children?

Through force unknown to me or Luna, the ground splits in two, revealing a colorful tree made of crystal.

We approach it slowly, our curiosity magnified by the intimidating force the tree emanates. Hesitantly, I raise my hoof to touch one of its fruits. It shrivels back into the crystal flower encompassing it.

We know the fruits are powerful enough to stop Discord, yet are forbidden to use it. Why, sister? Why present us the mean to stop the draconequus from destroying you, if we cannot use it?

Luna cannot find refuge in her kingdom of dreams that night. She struggles in her sleep, but I am unable to wake her up, no matter how hard I poke her with my horn.

She finally wakes after several hours, her eyes wide and glimmering with excitement. She tells me she saw Mother in her dream, bestowing the Tree of Harmony upon our sister, Terra, as the mean of ultimate defense against anyone threatening to harm her or her children.

"You shall use them on your own, however," Luna repeats the message Mother had relied to Terra. "You have to ask your sisters to wield them for you. But they, too, will have to prove themselves worthy before they are able to wield them."

FLASH

Far too many years have passed in chaos, but finally Luna and I have completed our trials of harmony. By helping ponies tormented by Discord, who saw them nothing more than toys in his chaotic claws, we understood the six virtues of the most powerful magic. Armed with our wisdom, we once again enter the cave and stand before the tree. This time, however, it accepts us, offering its fruits at our disposal.

As tremendous power—far more powerful than either celestial or alicorn magic—fills us, threatening to break our pony bodies, we understand why we had to prove ourselves, before we were deemed worthy of wielding them.

With great power comes great responsibility. A responsibility we couldn't have hoped to take on unprepared.

FLASH

Finally, after so many years of the children's misery, we are able to use the Elements to break Discord's evil magic. A cry of surprise merged with a threat to come back escapes his twisted mouth as his crooked body is turned to stone. The blast of the magic of harmony clashing with pure chaos is so strong, however, that it forces the souls of every living pony out of their body, effectively reducing Terra to a lifeless garden it once was.

We share the fate of Mother's children as well as we are forcefully expelled from the dying world. As our pony forms wither away and die, we return to our celestial bodies, wondering whether we will be allowed to visit our sister on her planet ever again.

Oh, Mother, how could you have let us fail Terra so utterly?

FLASH

A song of loss is sung across the planet, and our cores weep with Terra for the loss of Mother's children. I keep watching my sister as she cleanses her body, ridding it of any form of life, reducing herself to a barren rock she once was.

I immerse myself in her cry, lasting Mother knows how many millennia.

Then comes silence, and we know it is Terra's way of paying her last respects to the children. And we join her in the silence. It lasts but a fleeting moment in the life of a celestial body, and soon Terra breaks into another song, joyous and rhythmic, full of hope and promises. And we feel the end of it will mark the birth of a new generation of children.

Oh, Mother, there are no words to describe our joy and excitement.

FLASH

Terra's song is over, and we are allowed to don our mortal bodies and descend on her surface again.

Immediately, we notice that the new generation hasn't started from scratch, but rather continues where the last one left off, inheriting their memories and experiences.

A quick survey reveals that the ponies believe only a couple of decades have passed since the victory over Discord. It cannot be right, but neither of us makes any effort to explain the truth.

FLASH

We travel west, emissaries of the civilized world, to inspect the rumors our subjects have been spreading among themselves. A race of sentient, aggressive creatures, looking like an offspring between an eagle, a lion and a pegasus is supposed to live in the unwelcoming West Mountains.

The rumors prove to be the truth, and we organize a meeting to negotiate a form of cooperation between our species.

The negotiations are hard, and only after Luna looses her temper, and demonstrates her alicorn magic by issuing an eclipse at her whim, we are able to reach a consensus.

We leave the mountain strongholds, exhausted but satisfied, and I let my mind roam, wondering why had our sister decided to welcome another race into her world.

FLASH

A pair of invaders, half ponies half creatures I have never met or even heard of, breach the borders of the Mother's universe, lured by the abundance of magic they hope to take for themselves.

Assured by one of my subjects—a magic prodigy, no less—that he could befriend the guests, as he calls them, I and my sister do not intervene, trusting his wise judgement.

His charisma, however, is not enough to persuade both of the centaurs, as they call themselves. The older one, a malevolent being named Tirek, steals the unicorn's magic and uses it to banish his own brother out of my sister's world.

Before we are able to intervene, he steals the magic equivalent of a whole country, proving a difficult opponent even for the Elements of Harmony.

We engage in a long and arduous battle, before we are finally able to counter his stolen magic. His body mortally wounded, he unleashes all the force he had stolen in a one powerful blast.

As I and my sister lose our mortal bodies, and are pushed back into our celestial ones, we observe the beloved children of Terra whiter and die, the magical essence supporting their lives stolen and destroyed.

FLASH

The song of destruction is sung once again, and both Luna and I pray to Mother to be given a chance to hear the song of life after it.

And we are, after countless of aeons during which we had almost lost all hope, and our hearts explode with joy as we prepare for our descent, once Terra will have finished her rhapsody.

FLASH

Once again, the new children of our sister have no recollection of the time which has passed since Terra had been rid of life. It seems like only decades for them, and perhaps it's all for the better?

I have no time to ponder on this as I and my sister travel north, guided by rumors of our subjects sighting giant, ferocious beasts spewing fire from their mouths.

After a long and tiring climb, we finally fly over the mountain ridge in the north. What we see on the other side is so unlike Equestria we know that we stop, shocked and horrified that maybe Discord or Tirek has returned, transforming the peaceful meadows into a barren war zone of sharp crevices and lava pools.

Only after Luna has discerned a giant lizard bathing in one of the pools, we collect ourselves from our stupor, and descend to bid our welcomes.

The dragons cannot live among the ponies, and neither they request to. The only thing they want to discuss, is the freedom to fly around the world in the yearly cycle of their migration. On behalf of my subjects and despite Luna's concerns, I agree, forbidding them the freedom to land and make nests between the borders of Equestria.

The dragon emperor seals the pact with his royal scale and we are free to leave for home.

Once again, my mind is occupied with other things as my wings push me through the unwelcoming land. Could those creatures be the guardians of Terra, given birth by our sister to patrol its borders like giant and powerful sentries, as they make rounds around the whole planet like the hands of a giant clock, driven by their yearly migration cycles?

I look around me at the towering figure of the dragon emperor. I certainly hope so.

FLASH

During our flight back to the capital of the pony country, we sway aside, curious about the unnatural light mingling with the northern lights, painting the sky baby blue.

A pillar of light, like a beacon guiding ships to a safe shore, lures us into a small city, seemingly carved in ice.

Our surprise knows no bounds as we are welcomed by a gathering of ponies, whose bodies shine and sparkle with light reflected off their glittering coats.

The crystal ponies are curious to see us, afraid even, and we wonder why. Have they not seen the countries outside their crystal kingdom?

The leader of the tribe, a non-crystal unicorn with a black coat, rushes to meet us. We are almost dragged into his castle, where he explains his back story and asks for the autonomy of his city-state.

We both listen to his story—of a knowledgeable unicorn explorer who discovered the savage tribe of ponies and imparted his wisdom upon them—and I notice Luna's brow furrowing with his each word.

Finally, she explodes, slamming her hoof against the crystal table, shattering it to smithereens.

"Thou art forbidding thy crystal tribe the knowledge thy country hath bestowed upon you," she cries, her eyes blazing with fury. "Proclaiming yourself the tribe's leader, thou limit and distribute thy wealth just to remain at the very peak of the false society thou hath created."

The unicorn cowers in fear at the frightful display my sister had given. I, too, am a little startled. Never before have I seen her so ferocious.

I step between the pair. "My sister speaks truly, Sombra. The freedom to do whatever the ponies choose to with their lives, is the right with which each and every pony is born. We cannot allow you to hinder the lives of your tribesponies."

Sombra's eyes flash as he collects himself from the floor. "If what her majesty says is true, am I not allowed to live my life as I choose as well? Would her grace not name forbidding me to fulfill my desires as hindering my growth?"

I open my mouth, but no sound comes from it. Are me and my sister in a position to resolve the squabbles between Mother's children? Standing between our children is definitely different from protecting their world from outside threats. Are we meant to do that?

We leave the city of the crystal ponies, but not without the promise to return in case Sombra violates the freedom of his subjects in any way.

FLASH

The Elements of Harmony in our saddlebags, we travel north to the Crystal Kingdom one more time.

"We should have put an end to Sombra's rule on our previous visit!" Luna snarls, her wings pumping the air angrily.

"Would intervening and trespassing on his freedom not make us the same as Sombra?" I dare to ask.

"The cost of our inactivity is far greater. Would thou not agree, sister?" She pierces me with her furious eyes. "How could I look Terra or Mother in the eyes after we had let him enslave a whole species of ponies?"

"Bear in mind that Terra's soldiers—if dragons are indeed the militant forces our sister has brought on her world to protect it—have not lifted a claw to intervene. What right do we have?"

Luna slams her hoof against the cloud below her. It blackens and explodes with a loud thunder. "The very one given by our Mother. The duty to protect her children and lead them towards their bright future, the duty Mother has bestowed upon us. If not anything more, then at least the obligation of a parent to scold a rowdy child, who upsets their playmates in a sandbox."

I cannot help but smile. While Luna's metaphor is a little far fetched, it also hits the nail on its proverbial head. Indeed, Luna would know a tad more about raising a family than I do. She has formed closer bonds with her subjects than I have ever had the courage to. Up to the point, in fact, of testing the limits of the pony body Mother had given us.

Who would have thought we were genetically compatible with the children?

Perhaps it is the reason why her heart burns with fiery passion while mine remains cold, collected. Funny, how our respective celestial bodies should dictate otherwise.

FLASH

A crystal arrow deflects off my force field and shatters into tiny pieces. As in slow motion I watch the fragments fall to the ground, a vision of hundreds upon hundreds of broken crystal ponies screaming in my mind.

I no longer wonder whether Luna had been right or not. It does not matter. What matters is my conscience, forbidding me to allow such misery any further.

Luna and I cross our horns. They erupt with colorful light, casting the evil king deep under the ice surface of the northern plains. His magic leaves him and he will soon wither and die himself, like the kingdom he had created and destroyed.

As we leave the land of crystals, shattered in the recent battle, I weep my apologies and prayers to my sister, hoping that she would let the crystal ponies again into her world.

FLASH

Since then, Luna and I take a more active role in leading Mother's children towards their glorious future.

The treaties with zebras and griffins are signed, dragons keep their promise to fly over Equestria without landing within its borders, and we take pride in ruling the country the children have created.

I sometimes worry about Luna, though. She seems distant, absent almost, so unlike the cheerful and rumbustious sister I've known for so long.

I cannot and will never understand the pain she had felt when her loved stallion had died. Neither will I ever know what it feels to watch one's children, then one's grandchildren, and then their children, all pass away, generations after generations of ponies withering away before her eyes. I do know one thing, however: I will never be as courageous as Luna to form such a bond with a child of Terra.

Especially after watching Luna's suffering.

If only there was a way I could help her...

FLASH

I have waited in my helpless denial far too long. Oh, Luna, why must you pay for my stupidity?

After several centuries of watching her descendants die, Luna finally snaps, welcoming darkness blacker than the void of the deepest space in her heart. Powered by delusions, grief, despair, and decades of mourning, she refuses to lower the moon.

I try to plead and reason with her, but my words fall on a pair of deaf ears. I wrestle with her magic, trying to force the sun up the sky. She responds with force.

"If my family is forbidden to stay on Terra, what right do other ponies have? The night will last forever, until this world is as dead as my moon!"

Her words ring in my ears as I fall inside the castle, stricken by a blast of her alicorn magic.

I lie there, watching the starry sky above me, fighting an internal battle. I bit my lip, tears flowing from my eyes, as I make a final decision.

I can't let Luna destroy the children. By the duty, bestowed upon us both by our Mother, I have to protect the ponies. A sacrifice of one life will result in a salvation of millions. If only the choice was as simple as this arithmetic. But lives are not comparable this way. Each of them is equally precious, yet each of them imparts a different weight on our lives.

I rush to the castle vault where the Elements are stored and ready to be used. Magic, kindness, and generosity respond instantly, sharing their warmth with me as they rotate around me like little planets around the sun. Of all the ponies, I know best how it feels.

How can I persuade loyalty, honesty, and laughter? I know I can't, but so can't Luna. Not the way she is now. Oh, where has the smile on her face gone, where does her loyalty lie?

The stones of her elements lie dormant—broken, lifeless husks of their former glory. Magic flows through my horn as I bid them towards me. And they respond. Out of pity for their former bearer? Or simply because of detecting a host with a fraction of those traits? It makes no difference.

I soar above the castle, the Elements revolving around me. Luna is already waiting. Our magic clashes together as I briefly wonder what she has been waiting for. She could have easily buried me beneath the ruins of the castle and hold the everlasting night over the planet... Has her love for her descendants forbidden her to make her threats a reality?

The Elements concentrate their magic, and a powerful beam of force strikes my sister. Her cry of pain mingles with mine of regret as her mortal body evaporates, and she is sent back to her moon. The wards, akin to those Mother had placed upon us, secure her stay there as I fell from the sky, washing my aching heart with rivers of tears.

Eventually, after an eternity of pain, I gather myself up and look above me. The moon looks back at me, its twisted surface displaying a horrified face of a very familiar pony. Oh, Luna. I hope Terra will invite you back to her world after you will have served your punishment.

FLASH

How can mere years and decades drag on so slowly for a pony who remembers millennia and knows what it's like to be a star?

I rise the sun each morning and the moon each evening, only because of routine, and thanks to the faith my subjects have in me. Life on the planet is so empty with no one to share it with. I tried searching for Terra, but she has been as secretive as ever, clearly not interested in meeting her sister.

FLASH

During my travels, I visit the northern plains of Terra. For a moment there, I thought I heard a faint hum of my sister, but it disappeared as soon as I arrived. The plains look different, however. Ice and crystals seem to be growing, taking shapes of buildings. Could this mean Terra plans to sing the crystal ponies back on her planet?

If that's the case, I cannot let the tragedy of Sombra repeat itself.

FLASH

Mother, forgive me, for I know not what I am doing.

An orphaned filly by the name of Cadence sleeps in the chamber I have prepared for her, while I gather the Elements from the palace vault. Six stones revolving around me like my personal tiny satellites, I look down at her. She's so innocent, so trusting, so... vulnerable... Mother, let my damned soul know salvation after what I'm planning...

The filly rolls in her sleep, revealing her chest... It's now or never.

Mother, sisters... Please, forgive me!

I pierce the filly's heart with my horn, exiling her soul from her body. Her scream pierces my ears and stabs at my heart in return, as my mind nearly collapses under the weight of my guilt.

I must be strong now. My horn dripping with blood of the innocent filly, I forcibly inject my alicorn magic into the dying body. I have no time to watch it sprout a horn and a pair of wings. The Elements revolve around me in protest as I leave my pony form, catching Cadence's departing soul in the net I have woven with them.

My mind nearly shut down with disgust towards myself, both of my magic sources completely drained, I push the filly's soul back into her transformed body. Her heart starts its beating, and I nearly cry, both of shame and of joy, as my exhausted body falls on the filly's side.

With the last ounce of magic left in my star, I cast the final spell, reforging Cadence's memories, ridding it of my horrible deed. I won't let anyone else share my guilt and shame.

As my mind drifts into oblivion, I hope my sisters—both of them—will forgive my foolhardiness. I can never hope the path I have chosen is right, but I pray it will be worth it.

FLASH

I can feel the wards placed on Luna breaking. She will soon join me on Terra's surface. Oh, how I have missed her, every day without her dragging on—an endless torture of solitude. Will Luna's heart be free of the pain it had been subjected to, though? Or will she return as a vengeful spirit?

I cannot be sure. I am certain of one thing, however: I will do anything in my power to restore her back to her previous cheery self.

But how can I do it without the Elements? They have forsaken me and turned into ordinary stones the moment I used them to alter the body of Mother's child.

I wonder, though... Will they react to a new set of hosts?

FLASH

It's now or never. Luna's ward will not last longer than two decades. I have taken an apprentice—a unicorn filly, skilled in magic beyond her age. The magic I hope will help her to unite and rekindle the spark in the Elements. My soldiers have found five other fillies, and are following my instructions to lead their lives in the proper direction, forging strong bonds towards a particular element. It requires certain sacrifices, I'm well aware of this...

But I will do everything in my power to restore my sister.

Mother, please forgive me.

FLASH

The wards on Luna's prison finally break, and she invades our old castle with a fury of ravaging tornado. I don't stand to fight, cowering in the vault the Elements had been hidden in. I put all my hope—and perhaps the fate of all the ponies—in my student. She gathers her carefully prepared friends, brought together by my agents always working in the shadows, and together they rekindle the Elements. As the magic of friendship flows through the castle, I can't stop my body from shaking. I would have never believed how perfectly they are able to bond with the Elements. Their synchronization is far beyond perfect, reaching levels I would never even dream of. Is it because a single pony was raised to harbor the single element?

I don't have time to ponder on this. Nightmare Moon strikes, and they fight back, the purple unicorn—my faithful student—leading the charge. In one glorious blast, they unleash the power of Harmony upon Luna. Her poor heart, drowning in pain, guilt, sorrow and shame, is cleansed and wiped, and she returns to the caring and cheerful personality I have known. I rush to her, offering my friendship, and she accepts, tears flowing from our eyes.

FLASH

What is this uneasiness I have been feeling for several months? Like a drop of atmospheric pressure, announcing a storm before a single cloud can hinder a perfect, sunny sky, the feeling of unease which hasn't left me ever since I adopted Cadence only grows stronger.

I have little time to worry, though. Luna still struggles with her guilt, quite unable to look our subjects in the eyes. I try to convince her to join the court with me, but she refuses, instead deciding to guard ponies' dreams.

FLASH

How is this possible? Discord has broken from his stone prison and threatens the country once again. The element bearers wield the magic of harmony, casting him back into his prison, but the damage he caused will take many moons to repair.

I had hoped the uneasiness I have felt would pass with his banishment, but it only grows stronger. If he was not the cause for it, what was?

I'm much too occupied with the royal wedding which is about to take place in the capital city to worry about it, though. The alicorn princess I have created is going to marry the brother of my faithful student. Admittedly, it was not part of my plan, but doesn't obstruct it in any way. However, I cannot shake the feeling that forces far beyond coincidence are at work here.

FLASH

A perfect copy of Cadence storms into the castle, stopping the ceremony dead in its tracks. The princess at the altar bursts in green flames, revealing her hideous form. She calls herself a changeling, but I cannot see her as anything more than a twisted caricature of an alicorn.

The fact that she had taken the form of my Cadence...

It takes a while before I am able to shake myself from the shock. I strike her with my magic, but she deflects it and strikes back. As a jolt of pain shoots through my body, her image mingles with Cadence's before my eyes. The two creatures clash in the vision, and a new alicorn—her body mangled and covered with holes as if she was decaying—pierces me with her undead eyes.

I snap awake in a cocoon of green goo, quick enough to witness the defeat of the changeling queen at the hooves of my princess.

The wedding ceremony is started from the beginning, and the ponies celebrate the victory of love and life anew.

The only one unable to share their happiness is me, as I am left wondering whether the giver of all life on the planet—my own sister, Terra—was trying to tell me something...

FLASH

The squad of pegasi, whom I have ordered to keep the northern plains under surveillance, brings back the long awaited news. The tribe of crystal ponies has emerged from under the ice, like I anticipated.

I quickly dispatch my envoy, Cadence, to station there and welcome them back. A good thing too, as dark magic of the fallen unicorn king from the past reawakens with his former subjects.

My student is there with the princess, preparing the magical weapon I devised. The crystal heart the shape of Cadence's cutie mark is placed in the socket and northern lights erupt above the kingdom. I can see them from the castle. As they paint the sky in colors, I could swear I hear a sigh of disappointment reverberating throughout the atmosphere...

Terra?

FLASH

I wake up with a scream, my body drenched in sweat, trying to remember the nightmare which had caused such a reaction.

The only thing I can summon from my memories is a broken pony doll with a long horn and a pair of wings.

I fly through the window to a balcony at which Luna, the keeper of dreams, takes guard each night. I ask about the vision which has tormented me. She merely shrugs, oblivious of what I'm talking about.

Weeks pass and I can't shake the image from my mind. What forces have I unleashed by altering the body of one pony?

I take another huge gamble. I free the spirit of chaos from his prison, trusting my student and her friends to befriend him. His power could become of use in case the Elements are too weak for whatever my sister tries to warn me about.

My student and her friends are successful, and I rejoice as Discord announces his power to be accounted for the good of pony kind.

But what if it is not enough? I can't take the chance, not when the safe being of my subjects is at stake.

The whole atmosphere seems to be buzzing with anger as I take another gamble. I make up a fake spell and trick my student into activating the Elements' powers against herself. As her body evaporates, I intercept her mind and soul, casting them into an undying alicorn body.

Just like Cadence.

Just like the broken doll of my dreams.

The moment I do, the angry humming of the planet explodes in a violent, thunderous cry of anger.

After which there is only silence.

FLASH

An otherwise peaceful night is disturbed as a set of semi sentient vines invade the castle and kidnap me and Luna. We wake in the midst of the Everfree Forest, right in front of the crystal tree which our sister had created to bear the Elements of Harmony.

I look around, half-hoping to finally meet her, but the cave is empty. The entrance is blocked and we cannot escape or break free. The vines are impervious even to the powerful alicorn and celestial magic.

I no longer have doubts it is the doing of our sister. But what could she mean by all of this? Why doesn't she meet us muzzle to muzzle?

Is it a test set up for my student? Will she and her friends make the right choices this time?

My pondering is broken when a powerful, soundless, ground-shaking blast of magic rolls over Equestria, evaporating the vines wherever it reaches them.

I leave my prison just in time to see my student and her friends gathered in front of the tree. A quick glance at its branches confirms my fears. Terra had demanded Mother's misused Elements back, and my student has delivered.

What of Equestria, sister? Will you risk leaving your world and your children with no defenses? What of this box you left for my student? Is it a consolation prize of sorts?

I have never imagined you so spiteful, Terra...

FLASH

The trials of my sister continue as she brings back yet another threat Luna and I had defeated long ago.

The magic thief, Tirek, breaks free from his prison in Tartarus and roams the land, stealing the life essence of the children and growing stronger. Sister, what are you planning to achieve this time?

I feel like I'm playing a game of battle chess with Terra. I usually consider myself quite versatile, the number of my wins over many skilled players being a testimony to my skills, but with her... I feel like a foal whose hoof is guided by a grandmaster to her own demise.

Yet I refuse to give up. I order my student and her powerless friends to step down. Instead, I send forth an ally even Terra's schemes couldn't have taken into account.

As Discord falls prey to Tirek's deceitful words, I see my chances of victory diminishing. Still, I refuse to hoist the white flag, as I take yet another gamble. I, Cadence, and Luna forfeit our alicorn magic, transferring all of it to my student. She makes a stand against Tirek, whose pool of stolen essence was empowered even by the magic of chaos taken from humiliated Discord.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen... Is this what you wanted, Terra?

As the spells of my student and the magic thief clash, penetrating the walls of his former prison Tirek had sent us to, I can't shake the feeling that a much more devastating spell is being weaved deep within the planet's core.

My student takes a gamble—has she learned this from me?—giving up our combined alicorn magic to the thief. As he walks away, reveling in his victory, my student and her friends use the fail safe device left by Terra in her magic strongbox. Magic similar to that of the Elements explodes throughout the planet, vanquishing Tirek, and freeing us from our prison.

How could you do this, Terra? Don't you remember what happened the last time? Children will die without their essence.

I brace my consciousness for the impact which will send it back to my celestial body, pretty sure my mortal one is already doomed. But... Nothing of the sort happens. Terra gathers all the essence Tirek had stolen under her atmosphere, and lets my student and her friends redistribute it back to its owners.

With our magic restored as well, we join my student to celebrate her victory, just in time to witness a crystal-carved castle sprouting from the ground like an enormous flower.

To me, it is but a caricature of Canterlot and the Crystal Palace mashed together.

Touché, sister. But... I am allowed a small victory too, am I not? The land of ponies is saved and my subjects enter another time of peace.

FLASH

My wings burn from the effort I'm pushing them through as I soar through the sky with the speed of a white comet. Luna must have been mistaken! There is no way her words could be true.

I land in front a small house on the outskirts of the city of Baltimare, my gilded hooves cracking the ground below me.

A pair of confused ponies—a unicorn stallion and a pegasus mare—rush forward to check what happened. They bow before me, but I shove them aside, storming into their house.

My hoof skips a step and I tumble forward, as a figure of a filly playing with her toys reaches my eyes.

By Mother...

I drop on my haunches, unable to utter a word as the little alicorn smiles shyly my way.

The filly's parents jump inside. They try to help me up on my hooves, but I can't miss the fact that they have instinctively taken place between me and the filly.

I pierce the mother with my glaring eyes, forcing out the only question which really matters. "Are you her biological parents?"

The young mare blinks in confusion, smiles uncertainly, and nods. In that single moment, I feel the whole universe created by Mother collapsing on my shoulders.

I leave without saying a word, my shaky wings taking me back to the castle in wide zigzags.

Is this the reason you had demanded the Elements back, Terra? Is this why you had let Tirek out of the prison within you? Have you used the Elements to alter the stolen essence of the children before giving it back? Have you modified it to allow the birth of alicorns among other ponies? You must know the consequences...

FLASH

My worst fears are confirmed. As decades pass, more and more alicorn mares are born into this world. It makes ponies happy, as they still consider having an alicorn daughter a blessing.

A cry of helpless frustration escapes my lips as I lower the sun from the palace balcony one evening. Can't you all see, you blind lot? All too soon you will miss the days stallions were born into your families.

FLASH

More decades pass and the number of alicorns matches the population of ordinary mares. The ponies begin to catch a glimpse of the tragedy where they had looked for a blessing before.

I watch over the nation of princesses, hearing every single cry of a mother who gave birth to an alicorn. Is this my punishment for pushing my dirty hooves into the process of life and death?

Even despite the large platoon of guards, sent all over the country hospitals, to make sure helping little alicorn fillies into this world is uninterrupted, the unfortunate incidents still happen.

My hooves are stained with the blood of hundreds of unborn fillies, whose life was extinguished before they could take their first breath of Terra's air. Red spills from under my horseshoes, and I can't wash it away, no matter how long I drench my hooves in water.

Sister, why do you torment me so? What must I do to earn your forgiveness?

Oh, Mother...

FLASH

And so it happens. As the natural process of procreation was broken beyond repair, with the alicorns giving birth only to fillies, the day every undying mare dreaded beyond death finally comes.

I read the eulogy during the funeral of the last stallion who had lived in Equestria. My voice is calm and my eyes are dry, but the only reason behind it is that I have no more tears to shed.

As his body is buried underground, a perfect, uninterrupted, ear-shattering silence spreads over Equestria like a poisonous cloud.

Everypony left alive knows what's left in store for them as a species. The selected few mares, lucky enough to be non-alicorns, will soon grow old and die. The remaining lot, trapped in their unageing bodies, are forced to roam this world until they die of wounds or live to see the end of times.

I unfurl my wings and fly away, not caring where the winds will take me. It is no coincidence, however, that I soon find myself gliding over the place where this chapter of the story had begun.

I fold my wings and drop heavily into the Everfree forest. It takes me a while before I find the cave where the tree of Elements once grew.

"What do you want from me?!" I cry out, a fresh batch of tears dripping from my eyes. "You have made your point! How can I atone for my sin?"

I drop on my haunches, burying my snout in my hooves. For the immeasurably long time, my own weeps are the only sound reaching my ears.

And then I hear it. A faint, barely audible humming coming from under the ground. As the notes of the song I heard twice so far invade my ears, my heart ties into a tight knot, trying to switch places with my stomach.

"No..." I whisper. "I couldn't..."

The song of destruction continues.

FLASH

I have no idea how much time has passed, but the song of destruction continues to ring in my ears, every second of the day and even in my sleep. Luna has forsaken her pony body centuries ago, and I'm left on the surface of the unchanging world with a population of alicorn princesses.

Nothing ever changes, and nopony seems to care any more. They just live their life away, every day the same, the world submerged in an eternal stasis, praying for salvation. But death doesn't visit alicorns, and those who lack courage to take their lives, are doomed to roam this static world forever.

I now see what my sister was trying to warn me about. The price I have to pay is great, but so is the magnitude of my sin. There is no future for this world. By altering the genetics of a single pony, I have inadvertently disturbed the plan my Mother had for her universe.

My horn flares with light as I overload my mortal body with more celestial magic than it can handle—a sophisticated suicide, no less. Moments later, I'm back inside my celestial body, my mind set on the only thing I can do to fix what I have broken.

Terra's gentle hum still ringing in my soul, reminding me of my duty, I grasp the planet firmly within my gravitational pull, effectively stopping the movement of the sun right above Equestria.

As the temperature on the planet's surface steadily rises, rivers evaporate from Terra, soon followed by seas and oceans. With no water, the flora my sister had tended to with her loving hooves dries into oblivion, and soon the food chain is broken beyond repair.

The cleansing lasts centuries and, although I'm back in my star, I feel the flow of time as if I still had my mortal body. After an eternity of torment, the last alicorn dies from hunger and heat. Only then does my sister stop her dreadful song, and I welcome the silence of death with indifference.

My core feels empty, devoid of any emotion, the overwhelming silence reminding me of the funeral of the last stallion so many millennia ago.

In perfect silence only the complete extinction can bring, I move my sun away, restoring the cycle of day and night.

FLASH

Eons pass in complete silence, and a tinge of dread creeps under my corona, as I begin to wonder whether I will hear our sister sing the song of life one more time.

I try to probe the planet with a fragment of my celestial consciousness and—to my utter surprise—I find the wards around it put down. Could this mean...

I share the piece of news with Luna, and together we don our mortal bodies, descending on the planet's surface.

Everything is calm and quiet under the sun, which travels slowly across the celestial dome as it should. The ground is scorched and splintered, the sky perfectly clear, with no signs of any water to form clouds. The air, though as dry and hot as the splintered ground beneath our hooves, has at least cooled down enough for our mortal bodies to breathe.

The planet has survived, but it has become a barren wasteland. And the fault is all mine.

We both spread our wings and soar into the sky. Tears well up in my eyes as I see the familiar ruins of the Canterlot castle on the horizon. Below it, the ever-living forest, rightfully deserving the name Everfree, stains the beige of the ground with its vibrant green trees, like a nasty purulent pimple on a pony's face.

As we fly over the remains of the Everfree Forest, a movement catches Luna's eyes, and she points her wing down. Like a pair of vultures, we circle around the spot, before finally deciding to descend on the border of the forest.

We take a few steps towards the wall of trees, unsure neither what to expect, nor what we are expected to do. As we loiter before the wall of thick trunks, afraid to disturb the ever-living forest's serenity, another alicorn emerges from between the trees, greeting us with a distant smile.

Afraid that blinking may make the vision vanish, we slowly approach her, our mouths widely open.

She's slightly smaller than me, but a notch bigger than Luna. Her coat is brown, like the flourishing ground; her eyes are blue and sparkling, like water in the oceans; her mane and tail—dancing in the ethereal wind, just like ours—are different shades of green, interwoven with leaves and twigs. I squint my eyes, trying to discern her cutie mark.

The alicorn beacons at us to come closer. As we do, she opens her mouth and her voice carries a gentle hum. Notes string into a song which seems familiar and yet feels different.

As my heart skips a beat, paralyzed by the beauty of the melody she hums, the alicorn paws the ground with her hoof. The soil, previously dry and cracked, moistens and takes a nourishing brown color—similar to the hue of her coat. She points her horn at a nearby rock and crystal-clear water springs from under it, forming streaks, then streams, then rivers.

She spits at the nourished patch of ground, and immediately a green twig sprouts to life, blossoming into a healthy, strong oak.

She turns around, and finally I get to see her cutie mark. It's a blue circle, dotted with patches of brown and green and white.

"Terra..." I hear Luna's trembling voice, and it acts like a trigger, breaking the invisible chains which held us bound to the ground. Our third sister, Terra, keeper of life and protector of the planet. After all those eons, I finally get to see her. Tears invade my eyes as both Luna and I jump forward, tackling her in a powerful hug. Terra's humming never stops and all too soon she breaks free, much to our regret.

Her gentle smile never leaving her face, she nods at me and raises her left wing. Several crystal orbs, all wrapped in the warm embrace of her emerald magic, float up. Each orb is semi-translucent, and through the glow I can make out the silhouettes of a dragon, a griffin, a zebra, a camel, a deer, a mule... She hides them under her wing and raises the other one. There are only three orbs there, floating in the embrace of her magic, but they are all larger and shine with distinct orange light. I can discern silhouettes of an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn within them, the tiny figures looking like sleeping foals, ready to wake up any moment and seize the world Terra is restoring.

I hung my head, fresh batch of tears dripping on the ground beneath me. Though Terra hasn't spoken a word, her message is clear. There are only three races of ponies conceived by Mother. There should never be other alicorns than Luna, Terra, and I.

"I'm sorry..." It is everything I can mutter as tears roll down my cheeks and fall on the fresh, nourishing ground.

Terra accepts my apology with a gentle nod and squats on my side, wrapping her wing around my back. She's so warm and soft...

I open my eyes as Terra knocks on the ground with her hoof. A hexagonal crystal strongbox—why does it look so familiar?—sprouts from under her hoof. She presents it to me and—after a moment of hesitation—I tap it lightly with my horn. The box unfolds, letting a set of scrolls and a book spill from inside.

It takes me a while to recall what those are, but finally I recognize the friendship reports my student had sent to me, and then—after I made her an undying princess—noted down in her diary. Silent tears roll down my cheeks as I skim through the parchments, memories of my sin refreshed.

Terra points at the box, then at the castle, and our sisterly bond lets us understand each other without such a meaningless medium as words. The lessons on friendship are worth preserving and passing on. And it will be my duty in the coming generation of ponies.

I nod, offering a non-verbal confirmation. I understand and agree to fulfill the duty.

Her smile brightens for a moment as Terra points at Luna. She comes closer, and our middle sister wraps us in a tight embrace. The sweetest tears of joy of finally meeting muzzle-to-muzzle flow from our eyes as we bask in each other's warmth, the three immortal beings celebrating their bond stronger than the flow of time itself.

Warm smile never leaving her face, Terra gently unfolds from the embrace—much to my and Luna's regret—and points her wing at the sky. We both understand and nod quietly. She relayed what she had to, and wants to continue her work in peace. Though the meeting with her ends far too soon, we respect her wish and leave our mortal bodies.

Terra's work lasts for several millennia, during which we observe from the sky how the planet slowly turns blue and green and brown. We know immediately when our sister finishes. Her song ends, the wards are lowered, and the planet shines once again—a colorful gem amidst the dark universe.

We descend on the planet the moment we feel Terra's call vibrating throughout space, like a mother's evening call to make her children come back home. The whole atmosphere is still vibrant with the echoes of her song as we don our pony forms, reviving on the freshly recreated planet. We try to locate our sister, but our efforts are fruitless. The pony kind has been restored by her, however, and ponies welcome us as their rulers again, letting us lead them towards the glorious future.

FLASH

And so we do, leading ponies through the age of prosperity.

The teachings contained in The Book of Friendship—a compilation of lessons and anecdotes my student had written down in her life—are taught to little ponies in schools, making them live their life in Harmony since their youths. As time passes, the facts described in the Book grow into myths and legends, starting a religion. My student is proclaimed the messiah of the new faith, and as long as she and her teachings are remembered, Equestria prospers.

FLASH

Millennia pass uneventfully as we keep Equestria under peaceful and benevolent rule. We can observe first hoof how the evolution changes ponies, and are beyond amazed at how rapidly they grow.

Unicorn inventors create breathtaking contraptions which let earth ponies and pegasi use some of their magic. They name the new branch of magic technology.

It eases the lives of Mother's children, letting Earth ponies slowly replace their natural labor with technological tools. Meanwhile, the pegasi craft complex weather systems, making the necessity to tend to weather by hoof a thing from ancient history.

The golden age of ponykind is upon Equestria, and both Luna and I—and I'm sure Terra too, wherever she is—revel in it, proud beyond words of Mother's children.

FLASH

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

Even the memory of my students cannot withstand the corroding flow of time. As millennia pass, times and beliefs changing with them, her existence is questioned, up to a point where she is considered nothing more than a fairy tale remembered by few, passed onto fewer still.

As the ponies abandoned their natural ways, their connection to the magic of harmony is severed beyond repair. Nopony cares about me or my sister anymore. We still bring forth day and night, but are regarded as mere relics of the days long passed. We are still the princesses, but have no power over any subject in the democratic society. Though it saddens both of us, remembering our past mistakes we choose not to intervene, letting the children follow the path they have chosen for themselves.

If we regret one thing, it's that the children don't even allow us to guide them, our teachings falling on their deaf ears. The bored minds of ponies, who have too much free time on their hooves, lean towards violence. Spears and swords, and bows, and arrows are replaced with crafty weapons designed and enhanced to end life in an instant. As killing tools advance from pony-on-pony skirmishes to weapons of mass destruction, the whole Equestria holds its breath, every little spark able to start a carnage of ponies.

And neither I nor Luna are allowed to do anything more than watch, bringing forth day and night over the battle zone the whole of Equestria will inevitably soon become.

FLASH

War... War never changes.

Even Discord teamed up with Tirek couldn't have hoped to do it better.

A simple misunderstanding between the dragons, griffins, and pegasi over the unused part of the sky, escalates out of proportions with a speed of a stuntpony performing a sonic rainboom. Casualties on every side increase as the conflict grows, consuming more and more of the land.

The pegasi cover the sky with dark, impenetrable clouds, hoping to hinder the movement of griffin patrols. What they don't take into account, is the fact that no amount of technology can help the earth ponies grow plants without sunlight which they all need to flourish.

The earth ponies are forced to issue a food export ban.

Needles to say, the griffins and dragons—carnivores as they are—find means of satiating their appetite, even at the cost of sacrificing lives of herbivores. The pegasi patrolling the sky or the earth ponies unprotected by semi-automated defenses of city complexes, are an easy prey.

Our mortal bodies discarded long ago, Luna and I can only watch as the formerly allied nations jump to their throats, hundreds of thousands of lives extinguished like frail candle lights with a strong gust of wind.

If only we were allowed to intervene earlier...

Driven into the corner from which they have no hope of escaping, the unicorns finally decide to launch the cleansers.

As terror fights with regret and the sense of loss within our cores, Luna and I can only watch as those high-casualty, low-precision spells of mass destruction—a perfect opposite to the magic of harmony—hit cities and countries, reducing them to ashes faster than it takes a pony to blink. A chain reaction grows out of control, and in mere hours, in a gigantic flash of epic proportions, the pony civilization, upon which all the nations and species worked for millennia, is wiped from the face of Terra.

And we can only weep in our celestial bodies, like mothers who have lost their children in battles they had no interest in winning.

Because war... War never changes.

FLASH

When the flashes on her surface are over, and the whole planet submerges in the silence of extinction, we notice black clouds forming over Terra.

As a mother donning a black funeral dress, our sister wraps the whole planet in a shroud of impenetrable clouds.

There is no song this time, probably because there is no more life to sing to sleep. Only black silence accompanies us as we drift through lifeless universe, three celestial bodies gifted with undying consciousnesses.

FLASH

I can't recall how much time has passed, but the period of silence is the longest yet. Our sister is mourning, and both Luna and I regret nothing more, than being unable to descend to offer our company and a shoulder Terra could cry on. But her wards are raised, and we are reduced to passive spectators of her grief.

Until she specifically asks us to come over.

The day the clouds dissipate and uncover the scorched planet, she lowers the wards, calling us with a song she has never sung before.

We respond immediately, donning our pony forms without a moment of hesitation. Hearing Terra's song vibrating throughout the atmosphere is enough to tie my throat in a tight knot, tears streaming from my eyes as I'm powerless to stop them. I glance at Luna. Her face doesn't display emotion, but tears flow from her eyes as well.

The air is heavy with loss and despair. The sky slowly frees itself from the embrace of the dark clouds, patches of blue ripping from the black surface. I look up, noticing my own sun from behind the clouds. It looks red, ill, like it was bleeding. The clouds soon disperse, however, leaving it as bright and warm as it ever was.

Our sister comes to greet us, her eyes red and swollen from all the tears she must have shed. When she sees us, a fresh wave flows down her cheeks, her song breaking with an occasional weep. Luna and I embrace her in a gentle hug, and we just sit—the three immortal beings basking in their comforting presence—on the surface of a dead planet, letting our hearts bleed with loss.

I can't tell how much time has passed as we simply lay, sharing our embrace. It could have been minutes, it could have been centuries. How can you tell when time has no effect on your body, and there is no change in your surroundings to measure its flow by?

It is Terra who eventually breaks the hug, ever so gently, like she was afraid to offend us. She raises her left wing, uncovering the several crystal orbs with silhouettes of various non-pony creatures. The seeds of life.

Her song stops, letting a near-perfect silence—broken only by our breathing and Terra's sobs—encompass us like thick fog. The emerald glow around the dragons' orb dissipates as our sister frees it from the gentle embrace of her magic.

Before Luna and I can so much as blink, the orb touches the rocks and crashes into thousands of tiny shards, the ear-shattering tink reverberating in the perfect silence like an explosion of a supernova.

Luna and I try to rush forward, hoping to stop our sister from doing something she would regret, but are stopped as our hooves sink in the mud.

Terra only looks at us, her eyes distant and emotionless, as she releases the orbs of zebras and griffins from the embrace of her magic. As in slow motion, we follow the orbs with our eyes all the way down, until they shatter into oblivion, rendering the life of the whole species contained within them effectively extinct.

I try to shout at my sister to stop her foolishness, but my voice cannot break free from my throat. Soon, though, it is too late. As the last orb—holding the essence of the crystal ponies—shatters against the unforgiving ground, the chains of mud around my hooves are loosened. I can finally move my body, and yet I remain glued to my spot.

What can I hope to achieve now? What words can I utter to a mother who had just buried several of her children?

Terra raises her head, and pierces me with her eyes, all emotions sucked away from them. She raises her other wing, revealing the three orbs of pony kind.

My hoof shoots up as I try to stop her from shattering those as well. But she doesn't intend to. The three orbs dance before my eyes, then return under her caring wing. Our eyes connect, and—like before—I understand her without the need to exchange words.

I wanted to protect Mother's children by adding my own to her playground. But my children got rowdy and quarreled with Mother's. And, instead of punishing them like a good mother should have, I let them run as they pleased, until it was too late to intervene. What a hypocrite I am, teaching you not to intervene with Mother's wishes, only to repeat your mistake later on. Can you ever forgive me?

All that expressed with a single glance. Tears well up in my eyes as a lump in my throat forbids me from speaking. So I nod instead.

A hint of an apologetic smile crosses Terra's face as she buries her head in my neck. I wrap my wing around her, feeling her warm tears flowing down her cheeks and into my coat. I wave my hoof at Luna and she joins us into yet another sisterly embrace.

Terra eventually breaks free, wordlessly thanking us for assisting her in this difficult moment in her life. Then she points at the sky again, and we know that—once again—it is our time to leave her to her work.

As soon as we reach our celestial bodies, Terra's vibrant voice, singing the most beautiful of songs—the song of life—reaches our cores, filling them with indescribable warmth.

FLASH

In record time, the world is restored, and new generation of ponies fills the planet with their cheerful presence.

We immediately set down to teach them about the harmony of life, and they accept and soak up the knowledge like a sponge soaks up water.

The civilization grows and prospers in the astoundingly short amount of time, making both me and Luna—and I'm sure Terra the most—proud.

Mother's children never forget about the magic of harmony, which brings them as a civilization farther than every generation before could ever hope to get.

FLASH

Comments

[Karach]

Chapter 1 - dumping headcanon on an unsuspecting reader - complete.

For anyone interested, the story comprises three chapters (sans the prologue and the epilogue), all of which are already completely written and almost entirely edited.

Here, have a proof:
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5331373/blogs/chapters.png

The planned publication dates are next Thursday for chapter 2 and 4th of December for chapter 3 and the epilogue. So the chance of this story entering hiatus or becoming cancelled is nearly non-existent.
Unless, you know, I get hit by a meteorite in the course of the next two weeks, or the plane which is to take me to Scotland next week never reaches its destination, or something... It could happen, but I certainly hope it won't.

[Swissy]

Wow. Just...wow.
That was beautifully written, and I could feel the emotion in there. There were a couple of spelling errors, but hell, I don't care.
Favorited. I'll be looking forward to next week!
~Horizon

[Karach]

5294239
Thanks, if you could feel some emotion, I guess I did something right.
Dang those spelling errors, though. No matter how many times I proofread, they still slip by. To think I even make my lousy PC read them for me, and it still isn't enough. F*CK! Sorry 'bout that. That's my OCD kicking in.

[Swissy]

5296592
No, I understand. Sometimes I take an hour to write ~500 words because I just can't get it right! Grr!
Anyways, I look forward to more!

[Europa]

Yikes, so Celestia killed Twilight and Cadance? Talk about Tough Love. Wonder what happened to Discord throughout all this, though.