//------------------------------// // The Reason the Sun Rises // Story: Harmonics // by ezra09 //------------------------------// The magic governing cutie marks has been studied for centuries, but nopony has ever developed a set of concrete rules for it. Any time we think we have it figured out, it surprises us. Still, we have been able to learn some. Most cutie marks appear to be in one of three groups. Some appear when you discover what makes you happy. Sweetie Belle, for example. Her cutie mark appeared when she imagined singing for a crowd. The next takes a shape that is or will be very important to you. Twilight is a good example of that one. I knew the moment I saw her mark appear that she would one day wield the Element of Magic. The third appears after a life changing accomplishment. Rainbow Dash’s mark appeared when she accomplished the sonic rainboom for the first time. As a little filly, she accomplished something most ponies didn’t believe could happen. ***** “That’s the kind mine is, isn’t it?” Scootaloo interrupted. “Yes,” Celestia agreed. “We can’t deny that freeing Discord changed your life forever.” Scootaloo groaned and closed her eyes. That was putting it lightly. “After all, if you hadn’t done that, you’d have never gained a sister.” Scootaloo’s eyes snapped open. “Huh?” Celestia smiled kindly and continued, eyes drifting as she remembered the long passed days. ***** My cutie mark is also that third kind. You already know that my sister and I weren’t around during the founding of Equestria. Before we came along, the sun and moon were controlled by all the unicorns acting together. My sister and I are part of a rare race of ponies. We came from across the sea to the east when we were barely more than fillies, eager to see as much of the world as we could. Our magic, though not fully developed, was strong enough to see us through our travels. We traveled across the entire continent, seeing the crystal fields of the north, the roosting mountains of the ancient dragons, the bizarre creatures of the Everfree. For years we traveled from place to place, seeing sights and making new friends. Then, one day, the sun didn’t rise. It was confusing at first. We’d never wondered what made it rise and set each day, we thought it simply happened. We decided to wait it out, but days passed with no change. Finally we traveled by moonlight to the nearest town. The fear was an almost physical presence in the air. Everypony could sense the tension, and it only fed their own fear. The order of day to day life was a loosely held facade. In any moment it could shatter, giving way to chaos. The ponies of that town pointed us north, toward the mountain city of Canterlot. It would have been our next stop for sightseeing anyway, so my sister and I packed our few belongings and thanked the villagers, agreeing to send word if we found out what was wrong. To our surprise, they were expecting us. You’ve seen the Equestrian flag, I’m sure. My sister and I in the air, circling around each other. It’s been the Equestrian flag since this country’s founding, a good thirty years before anypony had met us. ***** “So the ponies who founded Equestria knew you’d become their princess?” “Not quite. There was a prophecy made by Starswirl the Bearded’s mentor, years before the ponies came to this land. It talks about two ponies with unicorn horns and pegasus wings coming from the darkness and,” Princess Celestia paused, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t remember all the details, but it was your basic vague prophecy. Doom and gloom and trials.” “So then you fulfilled the prophecy and saved the day? Just like in Daring Do and the Prophecy of Doom.” “Eheh, not quite.” ***** The specters were a cousin race to the changelings you’re familiar with today. They were generally larger, about the size of the average pony. They didn’t have wings or a horn. Their magic came through their shadows, causing the darkness about them to dance on its own. Like the changelings, these specters also fed on emotions. I’m sure you can guess which. Fear. The specters had come to Canterlot, storming the streets, stirring up chaos so they could feed on everypony’s fear. Their plans quickly changed when they learned that the unicorns in Equestria were responsible for raising the sun. Using the fear they’d already taken, they covered the city in shadow. They turned it into an inescapable cloister, and continued to feed on the ponies inside. After a day, the unicorns didn’t have the strength to resist them. Without the sun, panic would be but a heartbeat away. We can sit at home with our candles and magic, keeping the darkness out, but it’s pony nature to be afraid. With the specters out there, feeding on the entire country, it drew the fear that much closer to the surface. Starswirl the bearded had managed to escape the city with a small group, though even that much had left him weary. The ponies of Equestria had only one hope, the prophecy, and the arrival of those who would lead them from the darkness into the light. “I’m not interested.” Starswirl the bearded blinked. “Come again?” “I’m not interested in fighting a bunch of crazy, fear eating monsters,” I said. “Come Luna, let us try the next country.” ***** Scootaloo stared at the princess, mouth agape. “That’s it? You were just going to leave?” Celestia brushed her mane back, smiling sheepishly. “I think it’s safe to say everypony makes mistakes when they’re young.” “Yeah, I guess I can’t argue with that. So, what finally convinced you to help?” “Oh, we didn’t help. We left for the west, continued our vacation, and it all sorted itself out eventually.” Scootaloo stared, dumbfounded. Celestia winked, “Kidding.” ***** “Sister, these ponies need our help,” Luna said. Of course. “What are we supposed to do? Luna, we’re younger than most of them. Why should we fight their battle?” “Sister,” she said, drawing closer with narrowed eyes. If you’ve never been glared at by my sister, consider it a blessing. “Even forgetting for a moment that we are more capable in magic than most ponies alive, they’ve been drained of their strength. If this prophecy is to be believed, we can help them. And not just them.” She looked up to the night sky. “It gets colder each day. How long before plants wither and die? How long after that before ponies starve or freeze. If we do nothing, it will come back to us one day soon.” I sighed in defeat. “Very well, we will help on one condition.” “What’s that?” “I want you to stay safe. If these creatures attack, or if we’re forced to do something dangerous, I want you to stay behind. Take care of the ponies who can’t join us if you wish, but just stay safe.” The look I got from here then, oh if I could have bottled it and used it as a weapon, our problems would have been solved right there. After some arguing, she finally agreed, and we met with Starswirl to discuss what must be done. ***** “Let me guess,” Scootaloo said, “you had to find the Elements of Harmony.” Celestia laughed lightly, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. “That does seem to be our go-to solution for these kinds of things, doesn’t it?” Scootaloo nodded. “So, what happened next? What did the prophecy tell you to do?” “It wanted us to go to the top of Canterlot’s mountain, a peak so high, even pegasi hadn’t reached it. There, it was said, was a cave containing one of the most ancient magics known to ponykind.” Scootaloo groaned, burying her face in her hooves. ***** Da da da! The Elements of Harmony! The cave was simple enough to get to. The Specter cloister didn’t encompass the entire mountain, and the darkness made it easy to avoid being seen. I asked Luna to stay behind, of course. I should have been worried when she agreed without argument. The cave at the top of the mountain was empty, save for a bare stone table and some inscriptions on the wall. The largest inscription, written in an ancient script I’d picked up from the dragons, stated simply: She who would claim harmony must first serve harmony. I didn’t understand it at the time and dismissed it as unimportant. There was a power there. I’d heard that Canterlot was built on a confluence of ley lines, and I knew this was their center. With no other options, I tried to tap into the energy of those ley lines, hoping to redirect them. I woke up two days later at the base of the mountain, smelling of burnt mane. Everypony was surprised to see me when I arrived at the camp. They’d seen a flash at the top of the mountain, and Luna had gone to find me. When they’d failed, Starswirl assumed the worst, that I had been captured by Specters. They’d been planning a trip into the city already, hoping to free more of the unicorns. With me missing, Luna demanded they take her with them. So the two of them led a group of eight through the Specter’s spell. ***** “They didn’t come back, did they?” Scootaloo asked. Celestia shook her head. “They’d been captured by the specters almost immediately. I decided the moment I learned of it that I would drive the specters away and rescue my sister. I convinced the rest of the camp to join me, and we set to planning the attack.” “How many were there? Unicorns outside the city, I mean.” “Only twenty or so, all colleagues of Starswirl that had been near him when the Specters attacked. I asked them why they hadn’t tried to free pegasi or earth ponies, and they told me that with enough powerful unicorns, they could raise the sun and free everypony.” Celestia smiled, a fiery gleam in her eyes. “That’s what gave me an idea. A very stupid idea. I told the unicorns to surround the city, and charge when I gave the signal. Get as many of their fellow ponies as possible to join them. Don’t stop until they’ve driven the specters from their home. Before they left, they asked what the signal would be.” ***** You’ll know it when you see it. I stood at the top of the mountain, staring down at the dark clouds swirling around Canterlot. Reason told me it was impossible. My limbs shook with the fear of failure. But I had no choice. I couldn’t fail. I’d never felt anything like it before. The magic burned through me, so hot it threatened to sear my body from the inside. The leylines trembled under my hooves as their magic flowed through me into the open sky. And then, well, I can’t really describe what it’s like to feel the earth and sun and moon, all turning in space, realizing just how large everything is. I reached out, across thousands of miles of empty space until I felt the sun. When I tried to move it, I thought the weight of it all would crush me. It moved, slowly, a little bit at a time. For hours I stood, eyes closed, pushing the impossible weight toward the horizon until it crested the mountains, spilling golden light across the valley. It had the exact reaction you might expect. Ponies were still scared, but seeing the sun for the first time in days gave them strength. They fought through their fear, drove the specters away, and took back their home. ***** Scootaloo stared up at the princess in admiration. After a moment though, she asked, “That’s really cool, but what does it have to do with my cutie mark? It sounds like you did everything you were supposed to, and it all turned out great.” “Well, of course after the specters were driven away, I’d gotten my cutie mark. I was reunited with Luna, and they asked us to be their princesses. We,” Princess Celestia frowned, “well, I wanted to decline.” Scootaloo blinked. “All I wanted was to continue traveling with my sister. I still wanted to see the world and make new friends. Being a ruler is a lot of responsibility. And think about this, Scootaloo. The sun rises every morning before most ponies are awake. The unicorns of Equestria helped me while I was young, but it’s always easier to cast a spell on your own than to coordinate with others, so as I got stronger, I had less and less help. “I was little older than you when I discovered my cutie mark. I felt that I still had an entire life ahead of me to play and explore. Instead, I was being asked to wake up before sunrise and perform more difficult magic than most unicorns managed in their lives. Three hundred and sixty five days a year for the next three thousand years. It was a bit more than I was comfortable committing to.” “In the end, I resented my cutie mark. I asked myself why I should spend my entire life serving others. In the end, it was Starswirl who helped me make a decision.” ***** “Just go,” he said without looking up from his book. I blinked in surprise. “Uh, mister Starswirl, that’s not exactly what I was saying. I—” “You weren’t saying anything. You’re sitting there, beating around the bush rather than just spitting it out. You don’t want the responsibility. If that’s the case, then just don’t take it.” “But, what about my cutie mark?” “What about it?” “Well, my special talent is raising the sun, isn’t it? Isn’t that what I have to do?” Starswirl turned from his book long enough to dip down and scrutinize my flank. “Hmmm, I think I’m starting to go blind in my old age, but I don’t see any writing. Nothing labeled “Life’s purpose” or “Daily checklist”, not even “hoof wash only”. All I see is a picture of a sun.” “Well, yes,” I answered, stumbling over my words. “That’s uh, cutie marks are always a picture. A picture of your special talent. It means my special talent is raising the sun.” “Is that what that means? That’s disappointing.” “Disappointing?” “Yeah, I thought you had more creativity than that. There’s a whole list of things that cutie mark could mean. Sure, it could mean you have to raise the sun each day. Or it could mean you’re capable of raising the sun, or that you did raise the sun. Maybe it means you returned the sun when we needed it, or that you enjoy laying in the sun. Hay, maybe it means you enjoy gardening.” “Uh, gardening?” I asked, beginning to suspect the old unicorn was crazy. “Sure. Plants can’t live without sunlight. Maybe you’re meant to be like the sun, nurturing plants and helping them grow. No one can say for sure, but who’s to say that isn’t what it means?” “I guess,” I said, still unsure. “What does the cutie mark mean to you?” Starswirl asked, eyes locked on mine. “What do you want it to mean?” ***** “It took me a long time to find an answer to that question. Canterlot went on without me. The sun rose and set without my help. Finally, I knew what I wanted my cutie mark to mean, and Luna and I came back to Canterlot. And I’ll tell you something most ponies don’t know about me.” Celestia leaned in conspiratorially. “I may have gotten my cutie mark that day, but to me, it has nothing to do with raising the sun.” Scootaloo was quiet for a long moment before leaning her head into the princess’s neck. “Thank you.”