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// It was the age of Dreaming 
// Story: Short stories about ponies and whatnot 
// by shutaro 
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	Long, long ago, before the age of the Tribes, before the age of the One Herd, even before the age of Grazing, there was a time that we ponies have no name for, but the zebra shamans call it the age of Dreaming: a time when there was no distinction between races because everpony — everyone was a dreamer.

Back in that day the star-beasts and demons roamed free, and everything had to be bargained from them. You had to trade with them though, because the Sun and the Moon brought only light: the demons and star-beasts had stolen their warmth and taken them as their own. And so a dreamer would go to the demons to bargain a day’s worth of warmth for a bit of her life every day, and every night a dreamer had to trade a bit of his love for the warmth of the night to the star-beasts. Because those were the only things one could trade: Life for the demons who had no life of their own, and love for the star-beasts who could not love, not even themselves.

Nopony knows how long this went on, because time meant nothing to the dreamers, but it is said that in the end almost all of them had traded their immortality and unending love away, except for four: The brothers Chaos and Deceit and the sisters Truth and Order. They realized that if the dreamers continued to trade, they would eventually have nothing left. They would be banished from the dream, to a place no one returned from: The waking world beyond the eternal dream. The four decided to get the Sun’s and Moon’s warmth back.

Truth and Order went to the island the demons lived on. When they arrived, they started to make fun of the simple huts and caves the demons dwelled in. The demons were prideful and asked how the two dared to mock them; they commanded the Sun’s flames after all. The sisters acted bashful and offered to build the demons the most wonderful palace of all, if only they would forgive them. The demons agreed, and the two sisters went to work. They cut the most beautiful palace into the Earth, but hid the door and locks. 

The demons were impressed and forgave Truth and Order. But when they went into their new home, they complained: “You have build this place without windows. It is too hot!” 

So Truth raised a brazier next to the entrance and said, “Put some of your fire in here so you won’t be too hot in your beautiful house.”

The demons did as Truth had suggested, and when the night came they put almost all of their flames in the brazier. It burned as high as the sky.

When all the demons were asleep, the sisters slammed the hidden doors shut, closed all the locks, and placed their mightiest seals on them, so the demons could never leave again. When on the next morning a dreamer came to offer his life for the day’s warmth, the sisters smiled and carried the burning brazier to the Sun, where it has burned brightly ever since.

Chaos and Deceit went to the star-beasts and told them what Truth and Order had done. “Serves them right,” the star-beasts laughed at the demons' misfortune. The brothers laughed with the star-beasts, but warned them that Truth and Order might one day come for them, too. The star-beasts looked at the two and asked “Do you think us idiots? You are Chaos and Deceit! We will not make deals with the likes of you.”

The brothers played to be hurt by this mistrust. “We will show you that you can believe us. We will build you a house that can never be locked!”

They toiled a whole day, and when the night came they had turned the whole sky into a house for the star-beasts. “There is no way anyone can ever lock the whole sky. You can trust us.” The star-beasts looked at this and were impressed. “This is a wonderful house you have build. Here, take some of our flames and magic for your own. Now you will never have to bargain with us again.” The brothers revelled in their gifts, and greed grew in their hearts.

When the day came, and the Sun rose into the sky the star-beasts yelled, “Oh no! The new Sun is so hot and has such strong magic. Chaos, Deceit, help us!”

Deceit summoned a brazier and said “Quick, put your fire in here. I will safeguard your flames.” 

Chaos made a lantern and said “And I will guard you magic in this,” and the star-beasts did as they were told. 

Deceit took the brazier and carried it to the Moon. But when he saw the delicious fire he greedily took the first coal and licked the flames off it, then dropped the coal on the Moon. Then the next, and the next and so on, until he had eaten all the flames, and the Moon was covered in black spots of coal.

The sisters noticed this and went to ask Chaos for help.They knew they had no chance to force Deceit on their own. But when they arrived at the star-beasts’ house, Chaos was just about to eat the magical lantern. He was so angry at the two sisters who disturbed his meal, that he crushed the lantern in his claws. Now the magic was free and was equally split between Truth, Order and Chaos. Deceit on the Moon and all the dreamers on the Earth only got some morsels though. But the star-beasts were now trapped in the sky, without their magic they could not walk back to Earth.

That’s why the Sun is warm, the Moon is covered in dark spots, and why there is magic in the world.

What became of the four? Well, the zebras say that it is all a dream, and the dragons won’t answer for any price. Some ponies say that Truth and Order turned into our Princesses Luna and Celestia, that Deceit became the first dragon and that Chaos has walked the Earth in the guise of Discord. But who knows, you will have to ask them yourself.