This tale takes place in a world split from Sisterhooves Social, following Sweetie Belle's spat with her sister. Instead of discovering down to Earth Applejack, this Sweetie Belle had an encounter with destiny. Is the pain her new life will cause the Element of Generosity worth the great things she will accomplish?
What if Sweetie Belle hadn't encountered Applejack after arguing with Rarity, but instead meet Princess Luna?
Celestia's day was ending, the falling sun painting the sky dusk orange as the moon took its place. Though there had been an improvement during Luna's captivity, many ponies still fled the night in their illuminated homes.
One pony, however, was not running for shelter. In fact, this pony wanted to get as far away from town as possible. It was little Sweetie Belle, who had been wandering in a general "away from Ponyville" direction since she had declared Rarity to no longer be her sister. Under the cover of the ever growing darkness, Sweetie had entered the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Her gloomy haze was finally broken by a majestic sight.
Atop a perfectly flat stone in the center of a circle of trees, the dark Alicorn, the sister of the night, Princess Luna herself sat in repose, her horn aglow as the moon reached it's position in the sky. With a content sigh, Luna opened her eyes and caught sight of the filly. She smiled warmly.
"GREETINGS CITI... I mean, hello my little pony." Luna spoke, originally with the Royal Canterlot Voice, but stopped herself mid-word. Though she still used the voice for speeches, Nightmare Night had made her much better at personal conversation.
Sweetie Belle took a moment to get her hearing back before replying. "Wow Princess Luna, I've never seen anything as beautiful as that! It was even cooler then your Nightmare Night appearance!" The filly exclaimed. "But aren't you supposed to be in Canterlot, where all the fancy ponies live?"
Luna sighed. "Alas, I must sometimes seek the sanctuary of the forest to perform my ancient duty. In the time of my absence, my sister has delegated my roles to snobby, intolerable upperclass ponies. Raising the moon is the only thing I really do anymore." She explained sadly. "And I did so enjoy my time in Ponyville."
Sweetie Belle offered an understanding smile. "I know what you mean." She stated sympathetically.
"Do you?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sister not doing anything with you, leaving you all bored and unhappy. I know what that's like. Plus she's always so snobby, never doing anything fun!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "But how could anyone not like you, Princess Luna? You were so much fun on Nightmare Night, I mean, Pipsqueak is still talking about it! You really are the greatest Princess ever!" She then blushed a little. "Plus, I really like your mane."
"Though you are but a little foal, your words have done more for me then all those of Canterlot, including my own royal sister." Princess Luna declared gratefully. "If only more ponies could see things as you do..." Then, a massive grin crossed the night regent's face. "I HAVE BEEN STRUCK BY GENIUS!" She declared, slipping into RCV for a moment. "Sweetie Belle of Ponyville, I extend to you the offer of an apprenticeship at my side, to explore the secrets of the night as MY personal student, and to show everypony that I, PRINCESS LUNA, am as kind and benevolent a Princess as my sister! Do you accept?"
Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. "Can you get a cutie mark for that?" She asked,
"UNDOUBTEDLY!" Luna exclaimed.
"THEN YES!" The little filly exclaimed with joy, setting the stage for a great adventure.
The next day, Rarity had worried herself sick. After searching until the night became too cold and dark to search further, she had reluctantly returned home for a futile effort to sleep, intent on rousing her friends the next day to help her look for her lost sister. However, just as rejuvenating sleep had finally begun to claim the weary unicorn at about 5:00 AM, a loud fanfare of trumpets jolted her from her bed.
Everypony awoken by the call rubbed sleep from their eyes and beheld an impressive sight. Outside the fashion shop, Luna's black chariot had landed and six bat-winged guards lined a path to the store entrance, three on each side.
Just as Rarity reached the front room of her store the doors burst open as Luna strode through in all her glory. "PRESENTING TO THE PONIES OF PONYVILLE, THE NEWLY APPOINTED APPRENTICE OF THE NIGHT, SWEETIE BELLE!"
Rarity gasped as Princess Luna folded back her wings, revealing the unicorn filly, who was now clad in a starry sky blue robe. Her nose upturned and her eyes shut, Sweetie Belle trotted forth, trying to seem indifferent to Rarity. Only after stumbling over a roll of fabric did she face her sister. "Hello Rarity." She stated coldly, deliberately addressing the Unicorn by her name.
Rarity's mouth was agape in pure shock. "What... How... Why... WHAT?"
"It's very simple, Rarity." Sweetie Belle spoke, briefly using Rarity's own accent to mock her. "Princess Luna is making me her apprentice. I've already worked things out with mother and father, and I have come here only for my stuff." Closing her eyes again and sauntering off nose in the air, Sweetie Belle went up the stairs (after a brief tumble caused by her snooty posture) Rarity turned to a widely grinning Luna.
"THOU IS HONORED BEYOND WORDS THAT YOUR PRINCESS HAS BESTOWED SUCH A GIFT UPON YOUR FAMILY, WE CAN SEE IT IN YOUR AMAZED STARE!" Luna proclaimed, completely misinterpreting Rarity's emotions. "YOUR SISTER SHALL LIVE A HAPPY, PRODUCITIVE LIFE AS MY APPRENTICE IN CANTERLOT!
"Canterlot!"
"Canterlot!"
"Canterlot!"
"It's only a model."
Luna was silent for a moment. "Please ignore that. All royal guards have been ordered to react that way to the name of the capital by our royal sister, on pain of death." By now, Sweetie Belle had returned with her things. "FAIR THEE WELL CITIZEN, FOR YOUR SISTER NOW RIDES TO... our nation's capital."
The royal chariot took to the sky, and everypony returned to bed, save Rarity. She stood in her parlor, letting it all sink in. She had lost her sister, ironically to the thing she herself always wanted: Canterlot high society. Then, she broke down and cried.
Months passed as Sweetie Belle took to magic with great aplomb. Not having grown up around magic interested unicorns, Sweetie Belle surprised everyone, herself included, with her talent regarding the mystic arts. Illusions in particular came naturally. During an attempt to talk her sister out of this apprenticeship business, Princess Celestia couldn't help but be impressedby the filly's mind.
Sweetie Belle worked nothing like Twilight Sparkle however. Where Twilight studied and memorized theory and formulas relentlessly, Sweetie Belle studied different rules and properties of magic, then let them assemble together in new ways and ideas in her mind. In short, while Twilight could memorize a thousand spells by textbook definition, Sweetie Belle could come up with a thousand different uses for one spell.
Luna also became much more outgoing with Sweetie Belle at her side. The cute little filly greatly defused the tension brewed by the imposing Night Princess, and the youngster's constant praise of the princess swayed many skeptical of Luna's reform. The two also developed a good bond as friends.
One day, however, Luna noticed Sweetie wasn't quite focusing on her work. Her solutions to hypothetical problems Luna liked to test her with were feeble and univnetive as opposed to her usual cautious yet creative ploys.
"What is it that troubles my student?" Princess Luna asked with great concern.
"Well Luna, it's my friends, the Cutie Mark Crusader. I miss them terribly." Sweetie stated.
Luna thought for a moment. "Well then, as a reward for your progress, I shall grant you a reprieve from your studies next night, and your friends shall join you here for the evening!"
"YAY!" Cheered Sweetie Belle, and the next night, she, along with Applebloom and Scootaloo were speaking excitedly about Sweetie's studies. Luna was watching the trio with an evaluating eye. Applebloom knew a great about potions for somepony her age, and Scootaloo, despite lacking exact terms, had a sound understanding of physics, developed from constant scooter-stunting. And the three worked together remarkably well...
"Fillies, lend me your ears! There is a matter we must discuss!" Luna called to the three.
The next day, Celestia, having just raised the sun, rested on her bed with a bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice, and the morning paper, regaining her energy before heading to the court. Today's headline caused her to spit her orange juice into her cereal, completely ruining breakfast.
Equestria Daily Reports!
Princess Celestia: Secret Racist?
Princess Luna, having taken a unicorn apprentice a few months ago like her sister, has just announced last night that a pegasus and earth pony have also entered a tutorship under her guidance. Princess Luna has clarified a number of misconceptions regarding herself during a number of public appearances at charity events, social gatherings, and civil work projects, to which she was accompanied by her apprentice, Sweetie Belle, who wowed reporters by creatively using a basic heating and cooling spell to purify several seemingly lost gallons of milk at the opening of a royally subsidized dairy. Now the Princess of the Night has taken an earth pony and pegasus under her wing.
Now, as Luna has explained to this reporter, as Alicorns, both our Princesses have the combined traits of all three pony races, yet Luna is the only one to have reached out to gifted non-unicorns. Historical research has shown us that all of Celestia's students have been unicorns, and her special school? Educates only unicorns. Who are the elite upper-class who assist Celestia in all her duties in Canterlot? Unicorns through and through. Draw your own conclusions Equestria.
That article, despite being the yellow journalism cooked up by a hotshot reporter looking to gain fame by taking on a Princess, marked the beginning of a change in the attitudes of ponies. Aided by her students, Luna slowly grew to be the favored Princess of Equestria. Celestia was still an object of fear to most ponies, and had little talent for public appearances after all this time. Even the nobility was unsure of how to interact with the Sun Goddess, who to make matters worse hadn't done a great deal of governing in quite some time. Sure, she signed papers, approved bills and such, but didn't propose or pass laws of her own creation, simply rubber stamping the legislature of the nobility. In fact, the last piece of legislature she had devised, produced, and put into law herself was a pardon excusing the Mane Six of the fines they had incurred at the Grand Galloping Gala.
Luna, by contrast, still had a 1000 year old mindset of direct, front line leadership, having not lived through the decentralization of power that, ironically, began as a result of a disinterested depression that engulfed Celestia as a result of banishing her sister. After overcoming her social difficulties with the aid of her apprentices, the four of them became beloved national icons for their bold, direct leadership.
Princess Luna was adored by the public for her willingness to get down to their level, as she had done on Nightmare Night. Speaking of that holiday, every year on the scary night a wild party is thrown in the Canterlot gardens, a rapturous night and energetic dancing, drinking a horror themed party games. Though no official rule existed, it was a well know fact that attendance at the Nightmare rave would usually sink any chances of being invited to the Grand Galloping Gala.
The nobles never adapted to Luna, nor did she to them. All of the night princess's social skills came from the CMC, and out of them, the only one with any inkling of how high society worked was Sweetie Belle, and she would forever think of them as the snooty ponies Rarity would blow her off to see. Never the less, Luna won the affection of the common pony, both from her relaxed social standards, as well as her hooves on approach. When Luna visited a newly layed railroad, she didn't just drive in a ceremonial gold spike, she'd use her magic to lay fifty feet of track in an instant. Upon a visit to the Cloudsdale weather factory, her curiosity drove her to invent a new type of cloud that had a faint silver glow in the moonlight, and quickly became a sky watcher's favorite. She also negotiated with Buffalos, Dragons and Zebras in person.
Luna's apprentices grew with this new social order, and had hooves in shaping it. Sweetie Belle, who's cutie mark revealed itself as a sickle moon with a red star within the crescent, something like this: (*, forever associating the fancy elite with Rarity's negligence, spent time not training with magic undercutting their authority. During her time as Minister of the Night, Sweetie Belle passed higher taxes on the elite then ever before, took away much of their ability to pass legislature, broke up several monopolies, and even punched out Prince Blueblood while drunk at a party, the second best moment of her life, behind getting her Cutie Mark.
Applebloom eventually took after her big brother, not her sister, and discovered a talent for math, management, architecture and urban planning. Her cutie mark was an shiny green apple with a pie symbol on it, and had the ability to bring a fully functioning town to life around an exploitable natural resource in days. She served time as both a royal engineer and carried the title of "Midnight Judge", a position conferred to her by Luna (To be honest, the three of them could do whatever they wanted really, provided Luna approved). As Midnight Judge, she investigates a number of elite ponies, including the father of her old nemesis, Diamond Tiara. Filthy Rich and a number of other corrupt ponies were put in jail or heavily fined by the Apple Judge, and rolling fields of all sorts of crops stand in the spot of many an opulent mansion built with stolen money. She also had the FlimFlam Brothers arrested on charges of fraud, but they were given a pardon for helping Scootaloo get her cutie mark.
The purple maned pegasus had gotten the brothers community service, as she had always been interested in how their machine moved under its own power. Together, the three invented a magic powered motorized scooter which became Scootaloo's cutie mark. After collaborating with Sweetie Belle to invent a magic battery, capable of storing magic, Scootaloo invented an entire variety of automated vehicles that ran entirely on magic. Her childish idolization of Rainbow Dash faded with time, and Scootaloo became a largely earthbound pegasus, darting around on her newest creation: The motorcycle.
As time passed, the Elements grew old and the CMC entered their prime. Celestia gradually lost her importence and prestige, and it was Luna who seized the spotlight. In all honesty, the sun princess was happy to be relegated to a minor role after her long life of leadership. Sweetie Bell's harsh attitude towards the elite had scuttled Rarity's dreams of entering the high society.
Years after the fateful Sisterhooves Social, a fully grown Sweetie Belle is signing an order granting a new steel plant to open in Fillydelphia. Her most recent project was the application of magic battery powered manufacturing factories. There was a knock on the door. "Enter."
A massive earth stallion stepped through, holding a letter with the symbol of the moon on it. "Ah, Sir Pipsqueak, what brings you here?"
"Letter from Ponyville, Minister Sweetie." He stated before leaving the letter and going about his business.
Sweetie's face fell and conflicting emotions arose within her as she read the letter. Without a word, she threw on a coat, and within the hour was riding a motor carriage to Ponyville.
The service had ended by the time Sweetie Belle arrived. A new headstone joined two others, and for a long time Sweetie stood in the rain, her mane becoming damp, wondering if she had done the right thing, if all she had accomplished as Luna's student was worth seeing her sister for the first time in years at her funeral.
Everyone offered their condolences when Sweetie returned to Canterlot, and Celestia began planning a state memorial, the first major thing she'd have done in years. The unicorn sat in her quarters for awhile, staring at the walls. Finally, her attention was caught by the stack of papers she'd left half done.
Crops were failing in the eastern province, annexed from the Griffin kingdom under Applebloom's guidance years ago. Ponies might starve. They needed a solution.
Eyes full of purpose once more, Sweetie Belle enclosed her pen in a magic aura and got to work.
Choices aren't always black and white. Sometimes both roads consist of equal parts success and ruin, joy and sorrow. Know that no matter the choice in life, some happiness can always be found on the most lonesome of roads.