The bat ponies had always been a unique group of ponies. Similar to the pegasi, but not enough to allow cloud walking and weather manipulation; terrestrial like the earth ponies but flighted and thus "other"; mountain-dwelling like the unicorns but nocturnal and anti-social.
Always set apart. Always "other".
But never like this. No other bat pony had ever had dreams like Selena Lunaris did. She dreamt of other ponies - earth, pegasus, unicorn, and bat alike - and occasionally the other sentient species, like griffons and kirins. And when a bat pony mentioned a dream that included Selena, she remembered it. She recognized the dream they spoke of, and how it had started strange or scary until she arrived.
And so, Selena Lunaris found herself an outsider among outsiders, finding herself with neither friends nor enemies. Unanimous indifference followed her everywhere.
Selena found herself with very few hobbies, and not a single one interested anyone but her grandmother. Knitting, reading, and watching the distant lights of a unicorn village blink out at dusk. On full moon nights, she often found herself spacing near a cliff edge, staring down into the distance as the moon climbs into the sky.
Full moons were often celebrated in Selena's colony, but one fateful night changed everything.
Selena woke early in the evening, as she often did. Another rough sleep, another dream shared with a member of the colony. She stretched her wings wide and shook her hair from her eyes - it stayed, as it always does. She couldn't rely on her grandmother's trims anymore, and bringing those scissors close to her own eyes? Yikes.
It was too early to eat, Selena decided, and turned to watch the village.
And it wasn't a moment later, something changed.
A lurch in her stomach and a pain in her forehead was all Selena remembered when she awoke on the packed dirt cushioned with dry leaves. Ahead of her on the path, another pony walked on, completely unaware she was there. The pony had a long tail with colorful locs on the end - a unicorn? But she could see feathered wings tucked against her sides...
Selena hoisted herself from the ground and took a few shaky steps before regaining her balance. A breeze rustled past, shaking the trees but leaving the two ponies below untouched. Selena attempted to approach quietly, but the leaves underhoof crunched far too loud. Suddenly, she was at the end of the path - a small circle of trees surrounded a single cherry blossom - where the other pony stood.
Without warning, the pony whipped around, smiling wide until she saw Selena. She saw the strange filly look her over, as though she was the strange one! A spindly white and gold unicorn with rainbow hair and wings? Who was she to judge? "Where am I? Who are you?" Selena's quiet voice made her feel even smaller than the height of this pony did. She was barely chest height.
"Uh..." the filly hesitated, clearly not sure where they were either. Her wings shuffled, and she turned- "OH MY STARS!" The filly practically leapt out of her fur towards Selena, who jumped back in response. "WHAT ARE THESE DOING ON MY BACK WHY ARE THEY MOVING WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT WHAT IS HAPPENING!" She rambled nearly incoherently, racing in circles to escape her own wings. What on earth is she talking about??
"HEY!!"
The filly froze in front of Selena, finally distracted enough to engage with her. "Do you know where we are?" The filly shook her head. "Can I know your name then?"
She froze, then nodded, and pawed at the ground. After a few moments, she said, "Ce-Celestial Dawn. Uh... all I know about this place," she took a moment to walk around to the front of the tree, "is that this is the same cherry tree where my momma was buried, because she's right there." Celestial Dawn pointed at the stone at the base of the tree. "It's supposed to be outside my house."
Selena approached the tree, and looked down at the stone. It's face showed an etching of three horse shoes - Celestial Dawn's mother's mark, without a doubt. Selena brushed her hoof over those etchings, feeling the small ridges. Tears welled in her eyes, wishing she could give Dawn a happier dream than what she was seeing now.
"I'm... so sorry."
Suddenly the environment was fading, warping-
Selena lurched up in bed, her grandmother calling her name. Her head and neck ached from the strange position she'd found herself in. Shaking her head again, she made her way downstairs and followed her usual nightly routine. Breakfast, grab lunch, head to the cliff, prepare to spend all night there. But something was still... nagging at her mind. Who was that unicorn? What on earth was she doing? WHY did she have WINGS?! She watched the village all night.
In the morning, the ponies that normally gathered on the eastern cliff didn't use any magic.
After several days passed, a huge celebration began in the Unicorn town that lasted all day and all night for a full week. Loud music and the smell of food disrupted Selena's sleep the whole time - that, and occasionally seeing that white and gold filly in her dreams again. It was always brief, and stopped when another song woke Selena, but she kept appearing. The two never interacted, but Selena saw more than once that Celestial Dawn noticed her as she left.
Then months passed before anything changed. At one point just after dawn, a group gathered at the far exit of the town, then dispersed. Selena never realized she would find out what it was about.
Well over a year passed before Selena saw that white and gold filly again. Except, she wasn't much of a filly anymore. She'd grown quite a bit taller, and her wings were much fuller. Her dreads were decorated with bands of gold and rings, and her horn was adorned with twin gold chains trailing to her ears.
Selena took in her appearance from the sky, distant enough that Celestial Dawn wouldn't notice or recognize her. That mare was nothing but trouble, and yet here she was, at the entrance of the bat pony village, greeting the leader.
With some expert maneuvering, Selena was able to avoid the mare the first night, but that couldn't last forever.
The next night was a full moon, and Selena felt that compulsion to the cliff as the moon rose. She settled, and lost herself to her thoughts.
She blinked gently, gazing up at the moon and noticing-
"AAH!" Selena leapt to the left, that bright white snout stark against the moon's bright light. Her violet eyes sparkled, as did her grin.
"Princess-" she began, bowing deeply to Selena.
"ARE YOU INSANE?! Why are you sneaking up on me like that! Stop bowing, you look like a fool!" That grin never faded. "What are you smiling about, Celestial, what do you want from me?"
"You're the missing piece! You're the final piece of the puzzle! YOU are the missing princess we've been searching for!" Celestial Dawn's voice carried far across the plains, attracting ponies from their homes. "Princess of the moon, I must know your name!"
"Wha- huh?! What are you talking about?!" Selena took another step back, horrified at this individual making huge claims like that. Selena wasn't anything! She was just strange!
Celestial Dawn began to pace near the cliff edge, rambling on and on about things that sounded like nothing to Selena. "My mentor, Star Swirl, and I have been searching for my lunar counterpart for the past year! We've been to every western unicorn community we could find and found not a single other pony that looked like me! So we came back home, and now we're here to gather supplies before we head east, and we don't even have to go anywhere! YOU'RE THE PONY WE'RE LOOKING FOR!"
A large crowd had gathered by then, and the gray unicorn that had accompanied Celestial Dawn approached the duo. "Dawn," he said, his voice rumbling through Selena's bones, "we're looking for a unicorn. How could this pony be the one we're looking for?"
Dawn whirled around to the stallion - with whom she was practically eye level - and said "She has a connection to the moon! We have to take her down to the village and see if she reacts to the moonset tonight!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"Uh, yeah you are!" Celestial Dawn grabbed Selena's entire body with her magic, hoisting her up and making a break for the exit of the village. "You're going to at least give this a try! If I'm wrong, we'll be on our way tomorrow morning! I'll even leave you with a gift as an apology!"
Selena struggled in the magical grip, unable to free herself. "PUT ME DOWN! GRANDMA!! HELP!! CELESTIAL DAWN, RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT!!" But the magic never relented. It took half the night to reach the village, and it was nearly sunrise by the time they reached the Lunar cliff in the unicorn village. During the trip, though, Selena noticed a handful of bat ponies following Celestial Dawn, and then the many, many unicorns poking their heads outside to see who was shouting at such a late hour. Some withdrew almost immediately and slammed their window shutters closed.
When they reached the clifftop, Dawn was exhausted and Selena was completely drained of fight. The two caught their breath next to one another.
Celestial stood, and through heaving breaths, said, "Just... trust me... on this! Now will you... PLEASE... tell me your name?"
Selena threw her head back and sighed. "Fine, Celestial Dawn. Sheesh... My name is Selena Lunaris, but you can call me Selena. There, happy now?"
Dawn grinned. "Yes, of course! I've been happy since I met you in my dream last year!" Selena blushed; no pony had ever been happy to know her. Frustrated, she averted her gaze. Dawn came up on her other side and said "Alright, so face this direction-" she gently nudged Selena towards the west, "and stand like this-" then tapped her hooves to direct them around, "and do this when I do." Dawn then performed the rising and setting ritual she'd done for well over a year.
"Fine, as long as you leave me alone when this doesn't work." She glanced at Dawn, who excitedly tip-tapped her hooves to her right. And the two waited.
Star Swirl looked on at Dawn's at best questionable belief that a bat pony could be the one they've been looking for. It should've been clear they were looking for a unicorn. Bat ponies, alongside pegasi and earth ponies, didn't control the sun or the moon. Sure, the bat ponies had an innate connection to the moon, but what did that have to do with controlling it?
Star Swirl thought back on all the novels he'd read about bat ponies. They'd been described as cannibalistic flesh- and blood-eating savages tearing into ponies at complete random. But the bat ponies that lived not even a day's walk away had never once visited the village when he'd been there. And in their own village? Their own food stores were exclusively fruit. He would absolutely have to speak with the council about their incorrect knowledge on bat ponies.
Before long, it became time for sunrise, and he watched the duo closely. Dawn lit her horn and began the ritual-
"Oh, my stars..."
Despite lacking a horn, the bat pony had a lengthy trail of magic extending from her forehead. Like Dawn's own transformation, her eyes were alight and her mane flowed wildly. She performed the ritual perfectly, and Star Swirl once again watched an entire body part craft itself from the air. Magic flecks crafted bone, then flesh, then a fine layer of crystal unlike the velvet that coated Dawn's horn. At the same time, the back of the pony's mane grew lengthy and became a strange, glowing void of sky and stars.
As the ritual ended, the bat pony nearly collapsed before Dawn caught her and hurried to the clinic. She was gone before Star Swirl or the rest of the crowd could react.
She was RIGHT?!
White light filtered gently through Selena's eyelashes as she gently opened her eyes. Despite the brightness, it wasn't painful. She glanced around the strange space - a void, was the best way to describe it - dotted with small bubbles that had distorted pictures inside.
A small tingle trailed up Selena's spine, and she turned to see Dawn slowly appearing into the space. As soon as she was fully visible, she asked, "How do you feel?"
"Uh... confused. Where are we, exactly?"
"This is what I'm calling the Dreamscape. These bubbles appear to be ponies dreams - I used them to keep an eye on my family while I was traveling."
"So... why are we here? How did we even get here- did you knock me out?!"
"No! No, no, absolutely not! The magic you used tired-"
"What?? What magic? I don't use magic, I'm not a unicorn!"
"Well... you are now."
Selena reached for her head in that moment, and felt her hooves clack hard against something crystalline. She felt the small ache of stretching skin and realized it was real. Real and really attached to her head. Dawn approached with a small, empty bubble and held it aloft for Selena. She saw her reflection, and the horn, and the void of stars dancing behind her head. When she turned, the void trailed behind, not fully gone but clearly attached as well.
"What happened to me?!" She felt a tightness in her chest.
"You're like me! We're the same-"
"WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!! Ponies in your village LIKE you! I was already different enough from my village, now I've got THIS! And a HORN! How is any pony EVER going to take me seriously again?!" The tears poured out and her chest heaved as Selena collapsed to the ground. Dawn settled near her - too close for Selena. She shuffled away, too weak to fly but adamant on putting distance between herself and the pony that caused her downfall.
When Selena caught her breath, Dawn reached a hoof forward. "Do you remember how your village leader took Star Swirl and I in?" Selena nodded. "Do you know why they did that, despite our communities being so different and separate?" Selena shook her head. "They took us in because they took me seriously. Selena, we're not like the other ponies. We don't have to fight to move the sun and the moon. We don't lose our magic after moving them.
"Let's show the world who we are - the rulers of the sun and moon. Queens, princesses, goddesses, whatever you want to be called. They'll take us seriously. Whether or not they originally would have."
Dawn stood and offered a hoof to Selena. "Come. It's time to raise the moon."
The unicorns of that once distant village looked at Selena with strange, unkind looks. She couldn't place exactly what they were thinking, but she knew they didn't like her. And yet the celebration went on.
Dawn and Selena had woken to perform their ritual, and before long a celebration began with the Unicorns leading the charge. While the bat ponies were welcome, few arrived. Selena's grandmother arrived with the village leader and wouldn't stop boasting about her granddaughter, meanwhile Selena's own parents spent very little time around her - laughing nervously when another pony would ask questions about what she had been like as a foal.
Dawn, meanwhile, was heralded as a goddess, showered with gifts and food. New golden finery adorned her legs, tail, waist, and before long a crown was set atop her head. While Selena wasn't eager for them, gifts were given as well. Silver rings, chains, neck pieces, and a silver and obsidian crown swiftly adorned her.
The party went on for fourteen days and nights, and despite their exhaustion at times, the girls still performed their ritual to raucous applause and cheering.
When it was finally over, a carriage was brought before the duo, and a unicorn announced the proceeding construction of a castle for the "Princesses of the Skies." The title made Selena's skin crawl. In the beautiful forest below, a massive stone structure was partially built - just enough for the two to sleep in and a collection of cooks to feed them.
It was all too much for Selena, but she stayed silent. What else was there to do? She was already this thing now - an Alicorn, the unicorns had called her - so she might as well go along with what Dawn and the unicorns wanted.
"Dawn," Selena said one evening, "I don't think I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but I think if I had known it was this, I wouldn't have chosen it."
"What??" Dawn sat up from her bed and leaned over the edge. "You wouldn't have picked being royalty??" Selena shook her head, and Dawn leaned back. After a few minutes of silence, she said, "You know... I don't know if I would have either."
Selena stood and joined Dawn on her bed. "I'm shocked," she said as she got comfortable, "you seem so at home with all the attention and such, I'd figured you'd always wanted to be treated like royalty."
"Well, yeah, that's the dream of any filly trapped in a tiny town. When you're royalty, like Queen Platinum is to the unicorns, everything is easier. No more cooking and cleaning for yourself, no more carrying heavy books, and the like." Dawn paused. "But... I don't think I remember what I WANTED to do. I remember sneaking up to the top of a hill the night I became an alicorn. I think I was more curious about how the tradition worked, or maybe there was something... I don't know, pulling me there?"
"Pulling you there? Like a feeling? A tug in your chest, an itch in your hooves?"
"Yes! All of that!" Dawn laid fully back and spread her hooves against the ceiling. "Maybe we WERE meant to do this, but it would've been nice to be... warned? I guess? That it was possible the world had these plans for you?"
"Yeah..."
The two sat in silence for a while.
"Well," Selena said softly, "at least neither of us is alone?"
Dawn glanced over, then smiled. "You're right. Thank the stars for that."
A decade before anything changed. A decade of learning unicorn magic under Star Swirl and flight from Selena. A decade of the unthinkable.
Selena and Dawn spent the first few years traveling across the continent they lived on, introducing themselves to the ponies, griffons, dragons, and more. When they went north, they found the Crystal Empire, a community of crystalline ponies of all races. They met a dear friend and confidant, Empress Amore, who was quick to take the girls under her guidance for proper teachings of royal manners.
In that time frame, the three became close, and Selena found comfort in one of Amore's foals, a filly by the name of North Star. The two wrote regularly, and spent time together often.
One day, all letters from the Empire stopped.
News reached the princesses swiftly - Empress Amore had been killed in cold blood, and her children had fled across the continent to keep themselves safe.
Selena received one final letter from North, stating she was safe, alive, and wouldn't be able to write for a long, long time. She also mentioned she was pregnant, and couldn't wait to introduce the foal to their aunts Selena and Dawn.
The princesses vowed to return the empire to it's former glory, but when they arrived, there was little they could do. The Crystal pegasi and unicorns had been slaughtered, and only the earth ponies remained, unable to fight against their chains like the other two races could have.
A brief battle took place between the princesses and the one who called himself "King". Sombra was far weaker than they anticipated, and Selena's final blast of magic trapped his spirit in the ice surrounding the empire. However, because of the damage caused to it's citizens, the empire's own Crystal Heart cast the princesses out and locked the empire away. Somehow, the magic of the heart told the two that the empire would return at some point after 1,000 years had passed.
Neither thought this would affect them directly. They would simply pass the prophesy on to their own children and allow that event to come to pass on it's own. But not long after that, Star Swirl - now known to the world as Star Swirl the Bearded, a great mage teaching the princesses of the skies their magic - was lost to a battle with a villain known as The Pony of Shadows. He had informed the princesses this could happen, but neither had anticipated it.
And from then on, the world kept changing. Dawn became known as Princess Celestia, and Selena known as Princess Luna. The two fell in love and had children, then watched as their children grew older than them, then their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren, and so on. By Celestia's 147th birthday, both realized they'd stopped aging long ago. The two chose to avoid love as much as possible, though this put a toll on Luna.
Eventually, more villains rose and fell. Grogar, Discord, and several smaller threats. But one day, 280 years after the two became intrinsically intertwined, a long-taut thread snapped.
Luna looked on at the crowd cheering over her sister. Was it really so shameful that she should wish the same thing for herself? Was it really so bad that she wished for once, she could be the one in the spotlight? And was it truly so cruel to envision such vile things happening to her sister to have that come true?
Of course it was.
Celestia was a good pony. Luna was not.
But then, why had Celestia not checked on her sister in so long? Nearly 80 years had passed since the two spent any real time together. Surely she was just busy.
But then, why would Celestia bother to make nightly appearances. If she was truly busy, if she was truly so exhausted after her daily work, why on earth would she take that time at night to do something Luna could just as easily do? Why on earth wouldn't Celestia just ask her?? WHY-
"Well..."
A shiver snaked up Luna's back, her fur fluffing up heavily.
"It looks like someone has it all, and someone else has nothing..."
"Who's there?!" Luna lit her horn, searching for the voice. Every syllable sent shockwaves up and down her spine.
"You are, dear. You're here. I'm you, and you're me."
"What does that even mean?!"
"We are one," it whispered in her ear. She turned once more, seeing no one. "You are shunned by the populace and your own sister. She basks in the sunlight while you are left to the shadows. Why must you watch from aside? Are you not also entitled to love?"
Slowly, the magic faded. The stress eased. A frigid calm settled over Luna.
"We can be more. YOU can be more. Your body and my power combined, and they will be forced to respect you. They will have to take you seriously, as your sister had claimed all those years ago. She lied to you, forced you to accept this position you were thrust into, claimed you would no longer be an outcast. And yet here you are, on the sidelines. Unappreciated. Unloved.
"Those of your kingdom dance and sing and play and love in the daylight, and sleep during the night, ignoring the beauty and care of your moonlight, your stars. They are ungrateful for your beautiful dreams, thinking them a figment of their own imaginations. Why do they toss you aside? You are just as powerful as your sister, just as lovely, just as generous, just as honest, just as loyal.
"Nay. You are MORE powerful. More generous, more honest, more loyal. You are better than her. Make her know that."
The voice faded.
Tears flowed freely, staining the wood below.
"Luna?! Are you okay? Why are you crying?" Celestia. Acting as though she cared. Luna turned and raced towards the stage, then leapt off into the night. Her tears fell over the crowd, and they complained.
They always complained. It was too cold at night, it was too dark to farm, it was boring.
She would show them all.
Nightly, this voice would return, whispering sweet nothings into Luna's ears about the love she should be receiving from her subjects and the love that would come from them if she accepted the offer of power. At first, Luna just listened. It entertained the darkest parts of her soul, but she'd never wanted to truly act upon those things.
Then, as time went on, she began to consider the offer. Why shouldn't she take was she was owed? She gave everything and received nothing in return. Where were her adoring crowds, where were her banquets, where were her swaths of suitors? Piles of jewelry and gemstones, personally sewn gifts, songs and dances?!
Then, one night... That void circling behind her head engulfed her.
"Little lamb... I thank you for taking my offer." A figure walked among the shadows, only her eyes visible on their own. Her form was only visible against the stars behind her, blending in to the darkness. "Tonight, we will show them all. The moon shall retain her place in the sky forever more."
The time came and went for sunrise. Ponies in the city below chattered loudly, confused, scared. Good, they should be scared.
"Luna, you must lower the moon!" Celestia stood, fiercely opposing Luna. "The natural order of the world must be kept!"
"WHY?!" Her shout echoed loudly across the room. "WHY MUST I KEEP GIVING! WHY MUST I GIVE UP MY HAPPINESS FOR YOU?!" Celestia looked like she'd been slapped. "I GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU!! ALL THAT I HAD!!"
"I had to give up everything too! Do you think I don't miss my home village, my family?! My own children?!"
"NO, I DON'T!! You show no shame in giving up everything! You stand in the spotlight while I stay behind, picking up scraps! I am not adored like you are, I am not showered with gifts and letters and lovers! My subjects now sleep when I am awake! My own species is GONE! Did you never notice?!" The horror dawned on Celestia's face. "Bat ponies disappeared after my own lineage died off! And unicorns thrive! I HAVE GIVEN EVERYTHING!! NOW, I WILL TAKE WHAT I DESERVE!!"
The void overtook Luna's body. Her limbs stretched. Her fur became void black, her wings immense.
The sun rose behind her, as Celestia showed her opposition to the foe. To her sister.
And the ponies of the town below saw an eclipse. The moon opposing and hiding the sun. Screams sounded below as enormous beams of gold and violet magic split the castle in two. Two enormous figures could be seen racing out of the castle and taking their battle to the sky. Stray beams of gold hit the streets of the village, cracking the roads in two and bisecting entire houses. Clattering hooves raced far from the castle, screams echoing behind.
None bore witness to the fall of Princess Celestia.
She crashed through the ceiling beams into the depths of the castle - into the room housing the elements of harmony. The gems fell from their stones and suspended around the princess. She stood on shaking legs, looking up at the villainess. With a roar, Nightmare Moon raced towards the princess, horn lit for a final blow.
The elements spin faster than the eye can see. A field appears around the princess. And with an indescribable sound - loud, quiet, explosive, implosive, who's to say - Nightmare Moon disappears.
Silence settles. Then, is broken, as stones and wood supports crash to the floor. The elements of harmony disappear with a flash. Tears split the dust darkening the coat of Equestria's beloved princess, thinning the blood trailing down her face. She doesn't notice. Nothing matters anymore.
She stares above, the face of the moon barely visible. Across it's surface, a mark that had never been there before. The silhouette of a mare painted its face.
Her sister.
Her sister.
HER SISTER.
She had done this.
She had done this...
It was her fault...
Talk of the death of Princess Luna spread far and wide, and a mass funeral was held by the citizens. But Princess Celestia spent well over a year in isolation. She refused anyone but a cook and kept to herself in the crumbling castle. At the top of a mountain, a new castle was built alongside a new city. Canterlot, they called it. Built atop two locations lost to time. Two villages crumbled and rotted away.
Celestia couldn't bear to see it as it was demolished. Couldn't bear to see that group of headstones recycled into castle walls. Couldn't bear to see the final resting place of the bat ponies buried under concrete.
Canterlot, they called it. She so wished she had at turned up to name it. But Little Edenwood and its sister village were gone. Time had buried them together. Just as Celestia wished it had done with her and Luna.
All she could do now was hope. Hope that it was true the elements would free her sister as Star Swirl had claimed all those years ago. Hope that when that came to pass, she would be able to save her. Hope she could fix everything that had gone wrong in her life.