//------------------------------//
// Why The Moon Shines 
// Story: The Equestrian Sagas 
// by DmitriTheWriter 
//------------------------------//

In times thousands of years past, near the beginning of Creation, there was no Moon to light the night sky. The day was brighter than day, and the night was lit only by the twinkling of the stars. The beasts of the Earth frequently aired their grievances to the Sun floating about the heavens, but Helios would hear none of it. Why should he bow to the whims of those lesser than him?

One day, Helios went down to the Earth and walked among its fields and meadows, and there he met a songbird. And the songbird said unto him "Helios, Lord of Sunlight, I must humbly request on behalf of all beings that reside on the Earth that you dim your brilliant light. You see, on Earth, the day is too bright to see anything, and the night is too dark."

And Helios replied, "Yes, yes, I have heard that many times before from the mouths of earthly beasts; I have heard it so much that it scarcely concerneth me now."

The songbird said, "If I may, Lord of Light and Majesty, could you split your sun into unequal pieces so that I may fly by both day and night if I so pleased?"

To this, Helios simply laughed. "Do not be absurd! Doth not the Sun deserve to shine as bright as it may as part of its nature? Telling me to shine dimmer than what is possible would be like asking thee to fly lower, and not experience the clouds and the wind unique to the heavens."

Just then, Aeolus came down in defense of the songbird, "Helios, my brother," he said. "Why art thou so callous towards those who are not thine own, Helios? Dost thou not remember how Tartarus acted the same way towards us at the advent of creation?"

And Helios said, "Aeolus, why must thou come down in defense of this tiny bird? Dost thou not have better, more pressing things to do?"

And Aeolus said, "This is not about me, brother. If this is how thou speakest to mine own subjects, I shudder at the thought of what thy kingdom must look like when thou art sat upon thy throne."

Helios gestured for his brother to follow him, "Come, Aeolus," he said. "It is clear that thou art angry over nothing. A stroll across the meadow should calm thy nerves substantially." Aeolus reluctantly followed his brother, haughty of heart though he was.

It was then that Helios and Aeolus came upon a fair maiden sitting upon a rock. Her name was Eos, for she shone like the radiant dawn, and instantly both of them were smitten by her charms.

Helios knelt down in front of the fair Eos and said unto her, "Sweet, radiant beauty, thy fairness hath captivated me. Thy hair is as if spun from gold, and thy eyes are like stars in the night. O, fairest among all, wilt thou be my bride?"

Aeolus also knelt down in front of her, saying unto her, "Maiden of the dawn, I implore thee to be my bride instead. Would not I be better a husband than Helios, able to come to your aid as fast as the winds when he stayeth on his throne in the heavens, blind to the needs of the world?

Helios glared with outrage at his brother Aeolus, his eyes burning like fire, and said, "Would not the sun be a fiercer fighter than the winds, able to exact justice upon any who displease him or his beloved more than one who cares only for his birds?!"

It was at this that Eos chuckled to herself. She then rose from her rock and said, "Lords of Wind and Fire, there is no need to quarrel. To determine who is most worthy, I shall issue a challenge. Whoever among you can give to me the greater gift shall have my hand in marriage."

And so it was that Helios, in his mighty forge on the Sun, toiled away for seven days and seven nights. When he finished, he gazed upon his creation, his gift to his beloved with pride. It was the fairest pendant in all of Creation, shining like silver and as light as a star.

Helios descended to the Earth to gift this pendant to the fair maiden Eos, but she did not look at it with much elation. "Thy gift to me is magnificent," she said. "But when everything thou makest shines as bright as thee, it taketh its luster away, for a light needeth darkness to truly shine."

It was then that Aeolus gave to the fair maiden Eos his own gift, a vast tapestry woven from the clouds depicting Aeolus smiting Tartarus with bolts of lightning and casting her down into the darkness below the Earth. No other gods were to be seen anywhere else in the piece, and the haughty Aeolus stood alone upon Mount Kyriarchos.

Eos gazed upon this tapestry and shed a single tear, like a blade of grass sheds its morning dew, for she had never seen such beauty before. She said, "Aeolus, thy handiwork is magnificent! I concur that thy work shineth where silver doth not. Wilt thou marry me, o Patron of Wind?

Helios ignited with burning rage, and said, "Fair maiden, surely thou seest that this is nothing more than pure embellishment! Aeolus did not smite Tartarus on his own, nor could he have!"

Aeolus turned to his brother and said, "Calm thyself, o brother of mine. Tend to thine own needs first, and I shall tend to mine." He gazed lovingly at his bride-to-be, and they went off beyond the horizon, leaving the outraged Helios to fume to no one but himself. Aeolus and his wife knew each other well, and between them, they bore four children. These four children were the Four Winds of the Earth, and so their names were Boreas, Notos, Euros, and Zephyros.

Helios left for his own kingdom on the face of the Sun. He knew how long the beasts of the Earth had aired their grievances to him regarding his Sun, yet now he wished to right them. To this end, he gave his necklace a piece of the Sun's light, and set it to govern the night so that it may glow like silver among the stars. And so it was that the Moon was created, and Helios and the beasts of the Earth thought it was good.