//------------------------------//
// The Return of Luna 
// Story: Anno Equestria: A Brief History of the Pony Nation 
// by Insert Pen Name 
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Anno Equestria
A Brief History of the Pony Nation
A FiM fic by (Insert Pen Name)

The Return of Luna
AE2010


The summer of AE2010 would be a time of unprecedented significance for the Pony nation. The previous decades had been a period of relative peace and stability, and many ponies naively lived under the tacit impression that the crises and revolutions of history were a thing of the past, and that their lives would continue on, as always, without incident.

As we are all now well aware, of course, great events were in motion that would shake the very foundations of modern Equestria.

As has been discussed, few modern ponies, if any, realised that Princess Luna had once sat alongside her sister, Princess Celestia, as co-ruler of Equestria. Though the story of the Royal Sisters and Nightmare Moon had long been a staple of Equestrian folklore, it now existed in a heavily bowdlerised form, to the point where Princess Celestia was scarcely recognised as the elder princess of legend. The Nightmare Prophesy, while not unknown, existed only in a select few works, and even then its authenticity was, at the time, dubious. As a result, the significance of the year AE2010, the thousandth anniversary of Princess Celestia's reign as monarch and the purported date of Nightmare Moon's return from exile, was completely overlooked.

Even the Princess herself hardly seemed concerned for such an historic milestone. For the Summer Sun Celebration of AE2010, Princess Celestia had chosen to make her appearance in the small and hitherto unsung village of Ponyville. Naturally, the town was quite elated at the prospect of the Princess's visit. At the height of the Celebration, most of the townsfolk had gathered into the town hall to witness Princess Celestia's raising of the Sun. It was much to everypony's shock and horror, therefore, when instead of their beloved Princess, a shadowy mare of darkness suddenly appeared before them.

Nightmare Moon had returned, "on the longest day of the thousandth year".

Eyewitness reports vary wildly concerning this event (hysteria being what it is), but all agree that Nightmare Moon cruelly proclaimed that Princess Celestia had been somehow eliminated, and that the she had once again brought about darkness everlasting, before vanishing into the night. Panic soon set in, and a state of emergency was declared in Ponyville. Elements of the Royal Guard attempted to cordon off the village, but word of Nightmare Moon's return somehow got out anyway, spreading through nearby Canterlot like wildfire and reaching as far as Manehatten before the Sun returned the next day. Within less than three days, all of Equestria had learned of Nightmare Moon and her vow of eternal night. Only the brief duration of the crisis averted a nation-wide panic.

Back in Ponyville, however, not every pony in town was taken quite so off-guard by the return of Nightmare Moon. Among the crowd was nineteen-year-old Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student protege, who had been deployed to Ponyville to oversee preparations for the Celebration. In a stroke of providence, Sparkle had stumbled upon a copy of the Nightmare Prophesy in her studies, and now made haste for the Ponyville library in search of further information on Nightmare Moon and her previous defeat a thousand years prior. Sparkle was soon joined by five other young mares from Ponyville: Applejack, a local apple-farmer; Rainbow Dash, the village weatherpony; Rarity, a prominent local seamstress; Pinkamina Pie, an eccentric baker and entertainer; and Fluttershy, a self-employed conservationist. Their research evidently provided the information they needed, for within the hour, the six mares had ventured into the nearby Everfree Forest in search of the ruins of Old Canterlot, where the Elements of Harmony were purported to still reside.

The details of their quest are, unfortunately, largely classified, but it is known that Nightmare Moon pursued them through the Forest to the ruins of the old palace in Old Canterlot, where Sparkle and her companions successfully recovered the Elements of Harmony. In the confrontation that followed, Nightmare Moon attempted to destroy the Elements, but she was too late; the Elements bonded to the six young mares, and together they unleashed their power against Nightmare Moon. Instead of banishing her again, however, the Elements of Harmony purged the fallen princess of her corruption, restoring her to her original form as Princess Luna. In that moment, the sun finally rose again, and Princess Celestia reappeared in the palace.* Freed from Nightmare's dark influence, Luna tearfully reconciled with her sister, and together they returned to Ponyville amidst a massive celebration.

The aftermath of Luna's return, however, was rather less triumphant. The day after the events in Ponyville, Princess Celestia brought Luna to the new palace in Canterlot, and presented her to a very surprised crowd. Unfortunately, instead of welcoming their lost Princess with open hearts as Celestia had no doubt hoped**, the populace reacted with near-universal terror and dismay. The truth of Luna's identity had preceded her arrival in Canterlot, and as a result, the distinction between Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon was one that few ponies were able or willing to make. Princess Celestia would spend the next several months grappling with Parliament and the nobility in an effort to restore the Diarchy and return her sister to her rightful throne. Her opponents, fearful of the public backlash, bottlenecked her at every turn, and attempts to appeal to the general public were only marginally more successful.

During this period of uncertainty, Luna withdrew from the public eye. By all accounts, her return to the world was not a painless affair. Though physically unaged by her millennium-long interregnum, Luna had been greatly inflicted by her ordeal; emotionally traumatised, magically weak, and repentant to the point of self-loathing, it would be months before Princess Luna regained the strength and confidence to assume her throne as co-ruler of Equestria.

While Luna slowly readjusted to life in Equestria, the media quickly zeroed in on the mysterious new Princess. Before long, a significant amount of rumour and speculation had arisen around Luna, quite unbeknownst to the Princess herself. Much of this was focused around the nature of Nightmare Moon, specifically what her relation was to Luna, and more specifically whether she might possibly return again. Princess Celestia was quick to release an official statement declaring that Luna's corruption was the result of an outside force, but this did not deter many sensationalist authors from publishing theories that Nightmare Moon was somehow still connected with Luna, some even going so far as to spuriously suggest that Princess Luna was merely Nightmare Moon in disguise, awaiting her next chance to strike. As one can imagine, these publications did little to aid Luna in winning the hearts and minds of her subjects. Even today, the younger Princess still struggles against her dark reputation.

For all the media focus on Princess Luna, there was surprisingly little attention on the heroines of the day. Despite official recognition as Bearers of Harmony, and the dedication of a splendid commemorative stained-glass window in Canterlot Tower to their deed, Twilight Sparkle and the other Bearers quickly receded back into obscurity. Sparkle herself remained in Ponyville with her new friends, and has not became a figure of significant public renown, even despite her connections to Princess Celestia. While the six Bearers have since committed many great and noble deeds (none of which shall be described here), few have garnered much media attention. Whether this is due to modern media trends or the result of some sort of royally-mandated blackout is subject to debate.

Princess Luna finally resumed her throne on the eve of the autumn equinox, AE2010. The day before, Princess Celestia unveiled a new Equestrian Constitution that, in addition to other minor amendments, officially restored the Diarchy between Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Night Court was opened for the first time in a thousand years, and on Hearth's Warming Eve, Princess Luna resumed her stewardship of the moon as well. After a millennium of loss and regret, Equestria's Royal Sisters once again sat the throne together.

The return of Luna marks the passing of over two-thousand years of Pony history. In that time, ponykind has risen from a race in exile to the most advanced nation in the world. We have experienced prosperity and hardship, loss and gain, peace and bloodshed in no small measures. And now, with our beloved Princesses to lead us, new heroes to inspire us, and new discoveries yet ahead, it may very well be that even now the story of Equestria is still only just beginning...



~ FIN ~



* The whereabouts of Princess Celestia during this time are a complete mystery. The Princess herself has declined all attempts to question her on the matter.

** Some have suggested that this was Celestia's intent in allowing her sister's name and memory to fade; in the hope that she might have a "fresh start" on returning to Equestria. Others have simply accused Celestia of whitewashing history for her own benefit. This historian is more inclined towards the former.