Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria there ruled a regal draconequus who, though wise and spirited, was plagued by insanity. This mind~problem caused him intense fits of power and destruction. During these fits, he brought about the night and day whenever he felt as though he wanted to, made weather insensible, tossed away lives and created them thoughtlessly, and basically turned millions of ponies to madness. Twin alicorns, one dark as the night, one bright as the day, decided to combat his reign, and fought against him using the Elements of Harmony (Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter and Magic). The draconequus Discord was sensible at this time, and pleaded to the dark one for mercy. She, Luna, fell in love with the beast and had always been jealous of her sister’s seeming perfection and constant ability to act with fairness and grace. She agreed in exchange for his love, and Discord poured many of his dark powers into her, causing her to become a wicked mare called Nightmare Moon. Together, the two lovers created a new set of elements, the Elements of Change (Purpose, Strength, Patience, Common Sense, Optimism and Courage) which they used to send Celestia to the sun. Nightmare Moon helped Discord when he was mad, and what followed was a reign of balance that has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.
“Hm, Elements of Harmony and Change,” muttered the student Twilight Sparkle. “I know I’ve heard of those before,” she looked into the sky, as if asking the storm clouds above for assistance with her problem. “But where?”