One day, Princess Luna, on a whim, decided to take a stroll around the countryside before the sun was about to set. She had travelled from Canterlot to a place that today is called Ponyville, but at that time, there was no town there. She was walking westward down a pathway without any guards and planned to stop at the Everfree Forest. The sun was almost completely beyond the horizon and it would soon be time for her to raise the waxing moon. The deep colors of the sunset were beginning to fade and the sky was turning darker shades of blue by the moment. The trees lined the paved stone pathway in the neatest row. Their uniformity blocked her view of anything to the north or south and allowed her to focus on the west. The view was quite picturesque.
As her armored shoes which were tinted artic blue beat upon the stones of the road with the force of her steps, she truly began to enjoy the peace of pride. The sun was about to leave the world, and it would soon be hers. The feeling that everything which the moon’s light touched would be hers was a comforting feeling as well as a peaceful one. Perhaps at some point in the night she would visit on of the towns and grace the ponies there with her presence. Though her peace was soon interrupted by Celestia’s words that lingered in her head.
Perhaps she had been too hard on the delegates. True, her sister had plotted against her, and she did feel it was better to be feared than loved, yet she was starting to feel a bit lonely. Celestia was receiving regular visits from their subjects, and was even beginning to make friends with some of the more wealthy citizens, who were beginning to take up residence in the capital. And though the alicorns had been alone for as long they could remember, and had been content, she was now beginning to feel a touch of jealousy. After all, being a princess was not about being an exaggerated owner of land, but a leader of ponies. Sociability was in her job description.
But once more her thoughts were interrupted by a sight ahead of her. At the edge of her sight, she saw an incident in the road. From what it appeared, two thugs, pegasi of about the ages of twenty, were beating upon an older female earth pony. One had reached into her saddlebag and taken her money, and the other was stomping her face into the ground. A great feeling of rage flooded through the body of the black monarch. She galloped towards the scene while channeling her great and awesome power into her long horn. And shouting, she said, “In the name of the Moon, cease this brutality, knaves!”
The two pegasi stopped what they were doing and saw a six foot tall, black alicorn with blue armor and piercing eyes charging towards them. So they were terrified and fled. But Princess Luna caught them up with her magic and held them in the air. And being held by the irresistible force, they began to cry out and beg for their lives. And the enraged moon goddess shouted once more and interrogated them. “How darest ye villains trespass so atrociously upon thy fellow pony? Be ye so audacious that ye see it permissible to sin in Our dominion? Answer quickly or We shall judge ye straight.”
Both were so afraid that they could do nothing more than sputter out incoherent syllables. Luna looked up and saw that the sun had finally dropped below the horizon. Being a merciful goddess, she decided for at least the sake of justice to give them one last chance. Her voice thundered across the roadway. “Give thine apology now, thieves! We shall hear your case without delay, and be just with ye if but ye art true.” But they were completely guilty and had nothing to say. So raising her head, she said, “Very well, We regret nothing then. We are true to Our word.” And she spoke in her mightiest and most imperious voice. “As the princess of the moon, We banish ye from this realm under penalty of death. Be ye thankful that We have not done so straightaway for none are more deserving of execution than ye!” So saying this she gathered up her energies and thrust them magically beyond the boundary of the Everfree Forest in a flash of lightning.
After justice had been appeased, Luna turned to the earth pony who was lying upon the earth and staring at her. She had many bruises about her and her head was bloody and injured. Luna took a step towards her and was about to cast a spell to heal her, yet as soon as she faced her the pony scrambled to her hooves. She had a clear visage of horror. When Luna was about to protest that she should not rise in her condition, the pony screamed in fear, “Keep away from me!” Then she fled, rushing around the goddess to the east.
Luna called after her, “Wait good citizen! You require attention.” But the shocked pony did not respond. She was running with all speed away from her princess. Luna did not feel it was right to use magic on a citizen who had just been beaten, even if she meant her no harm, and teleporting in front of the mare would probably cause her to go into shock. She did not believe that she would be able to catch up to her either even though she was usually much faster. So the princess was left standing there; lonely and confused. She saw no reason to continue her walk and, after raising the moon unceremoniously, began on her journey back to Minas Ithil.
The ordeal replayed itself in her mind over and over, but she could not understand it. She had saved that mare, and yet the pony was afraid of her? Not having dealt with many ponies on a social level, she was at a loss for what to say concerning what had happened. All the way back to the palace she pondered this, but she could make nothing of it.
Luna was pacing about the throne room of Minas Ithil. She had been doing so all night; trying to make sense of what she had seen and felt that evening. At some point, one of her guards by the name of Brazen Humour came to her and asked, “My princess, you seem troubled. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Luna did not respond for a moment. Yet after a moment she realized that she was being addressed “What?” She began. “Oh, yes. Brazen, thou cometh at a good time. Thou hath been among the ponies of the realm, no?”
“I have been among them in the day in recent times, my lady.”
“What sayeth they concerning Us?”
“They fear you, princess.”
Luna frowned. This was clearly not the answer she was looking for. “But do they love Us?”
The guard shuffled uncomfortably. “…ah, my lady I am not… I cannot say...” He obviously did not know how to answer.
Luna became certain he was not going to respond. “What of the moon? We know that they praise Our sister for the sun, and giveth great attention to its rising and setting. Doeth they likewise for the moon?”
“No, your majesty.” He said passively.
“Why ever so? Is not Our moon beautiful? Doth it not cause them to stare in awe?”
“They say that it cannot hope to match the radiance of the sun.”
Luna was silent. Calmly she thanked Brazen for his help and dismissed him. His answer was truthful, but by no means pleasing to her. The moon, her wondrous light in the night sky was not good enough for the ponies of Equestria. She could not wrap her mind around this. Was not the moon, which portioned its light more beautiful than the sun which illuminated everything without prejudice during the day? The moon was private. It was secret. It allowed for the concealment and discovery of the greatest secrets. Luna had learned far more in her time in the night than in the day.
Why was this? The answer was simple: The sun, giving light to everything, tried to make everything equally important. But the moon, being selective, caused ponies to value certain things above others. It made them more vigilant; compelling them to focus more on what it had to show. The night was the time for searching; the time for the most meaningful events to occur that only a select few could see. Yet still all of them ignored it. How could she make them see its beauty? How could she convey its magnificence? She took more time to find an answer for this.
Finally, on the ninth hour of the night, she stepped out of the throne room and climbed down the stairs of Minas Ithil. Her steps were slow and deliberate. She savored every moment of what she was about to do. The last time she had done it, they had revealed to her the Elements of Harmony which had given them victory in a single battle when they had been at an unbreakable impasse with Discord for nine years. Reaching the hub with eleven doors, she gazed to her left, pushed open the door that had a glowing horn on it, and began to walk down the hallway that it guarded. Luna was headed towards the tower of Magic, or Minas Mangul.
Minas Mangul was the shortest of the ten towers of the great palace of Canterlot, but it was the most estranged. Luna walked past the door and was soon greeted by another, which she had to cast a spell upon to bypass. At her request, Celestia had put twenty barriers in between the entrance to the hallway of Minas Mangul and the bottom of its tower. To bypass each barrier, she had to cast a particular spell that was not only very difficult to use, but also not prompted. For an enemy to break into the tower would be impossible. So she reached the bottom of the tower and climbed its stairs; maintaining her slow, but steady pace. This was certainly a rarity.
Reaching the door, she opened it and entered inside. It was morning by this time and her sister had already brought up the sun. At the top of the tower was another simple room. It was made of stone and lit by one window. Yet the floor was covered with a smooth surface that one could draw on. In a container sitting on a stool under the window to her left was a container full of different colors of chalk. So talking out a piece of white chalk, she began to draw a magical circle four feet in diameter. Inside the circle, she drew a six pointed star without lifting the chalk from the surface of the floor. And around the edges of the star, she began to write words in a language which only she knew. El, Hod, Jah, Nau, Al, Pha, Ome, Ga. Once this was completed, she used to magic to veil the window, and fell asleep.
When the sun was setting, the natural order of things awoke her and she found herself lying in the circle that she had drawn. She waited for seven minutes and unveiled the window. Seeing that it had become dark, she raised the moon from inside Minas Mangul. She then was ready. She looked directly forward and, keeping still, found a slanted table with a rack at the lower end. Leaning upon the rack was the deck of cards that she used for divination.
Now not much is known about these cards, but records have hinted that there once was possibly an entire race of alicorns rather than the lonely two which are living today. Within that race were three great goddesses by the names of Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. These alicorns were said to be the greatest magi of all time and were more powerful than any unicorn ever will become. It cannot be confirmed if they existed or not, but if they did, they had the power to control space and time on an omnipotent level. It is said that they enchanted this deck of cards which was in Luna’s possession to be able to make anything clear; whether that thing be in the past, the present, or the future.
Luna raised these cards from inside the circle and separated them. She took from the whole deck of fifty two cards, twenty two and put the rest aside. She then shuffled them, and drew three; placing them face-down. She then set the rest of the cards aside and took a deep breath. She had laid out before her the cards that would reveal fate: remind her of the past, clarify the present, and reveal the future. She took a moment and guessed what would come up. Three was the smallest number of cards that she could draw. Whatever cards came up would reveal everything she wanted to know about herself. But if she wanted to reveal something outside of her, she would have to draw more cards, but that was an even rarer occurrence.
With the cards that she anticipated affixed in her mind, she flipped face-up the first of the three cards which showed the past. She was right: The Hermit was the first card. The Hermit told her that she was an elderly and wise alicorn who had spent many years pursuing knowledge; fathoming many mysteries that mortals would never understand. However, the Hermit also told her that she was a lonely pony. Having experienced many things, few if any could relate to her. This first card came as no surprise.
The next card would show her the present. She flipped it face-up: The Moon. The Moon symbolized one who is in the process of introspection; walking down the path of self-discovery. This was quite true. Since last night she had been trying to understand why the people did not love her, but this inquisition into the desires of the people was truly an examination of what she was lacking. She was now finding that she was a sociable creature. Hence, she wanted ponies to adore and love her as they did Celestia, though she did not know what Celestia had that she lacked. Thus this came as no surprise either.
Luna had thought about all the things that had been happening recently. Many events had occurred, and those many events were causes which would yield many effects. She did her best to determine what sort of effects these antecedents would bring about, and she believed that she had come to a conclusion. So, with these deductions in mind, she flipped up the third card which would show the future. And of course, it was The Sta- …
She had expected to see The Star: a symbol of revitalization; a signal that her current quest would end in a triumphant discovery of something that would ease her dissatisfaction. Yet she was not looking at The Star now. She was in fact so sure that The Star would be there that when it was not, something did not register properly in her brain. For a moment she felt dizzy; not because of what was on the card, but because she was wrong. When she regained herself, she looked forward and saw what was truly in front of her. She froze.
In reality, she was staring at The Hanged Stallion. The card was certainly not one that she liked to see. The card featured a stallion hung by his hoof; being completely unable to do anything about it. The Hanged Stallion symbolized sacrifice and decision. This quest of hers would end in a realization where she would have to make a very serious decision. And no matter what course of action she chose to take, she would have to sacrifice something. This was very unsettling for her, but it was not what concerned her. The Hanged Stallion symbolized sacrifice, but it also symbolized helplessness. Whatever decision she was going to make had already been predetermined. She had no say in the matter. This made her feel cold and constricted; like she was trapped in a cage outdoors in the middle of winter.
She was not satisfied with this. She had to know more. She wanted to draw a larger number of cards. Now she had only done that once before to find the Elements of Harmony, and she felt that the foreknowledge beyond the three card spread was sacred. She paused for a moment as she returned the cards to the deck. She paused and thought about whether or not she should go forward with such an act. Eventually, she believed that because she had drawn a card as severe as The Hanged Stallion for such a general spread, this matter was one of great importance.
So she drew five cards this time from the full deck. This too yielded a result that was even more shocking for her and she resolved to draw more cards; revealing for herself an even greater scope of events than she had ever dared to foresee. Unfortunately, she never shared what these results where specifically, so one can say what she witnessed. After she had seen those cards, she was even more appalled. Yet she had not seen enough and drew once more.
This continued until she was finally gazing upon the most revealing spread of cards possible. Twenty four cards were laid face-down and flipped up, and Luna was suddenly gazing upon the whole expanse of time itself. She was seeing, by the interpretation of the symbolization of the cards, all the things that had happened, the things that were happening, and how those events would influence and determine the entirety of the future. From these twenty four cards, she was viewing the scope of eternity.
As she flipped the cards up, she did so in great distress. Each card revealed a woe which would befall either her or the world. Each card in succession revealed what appeared to be a greater travesty than the last. Every time she peered at the next card, she recoiled; for the tragedies which would certainly strike were appalling and terrible. As she neared the end, with the terrors becoming very hard to stomach, it took increasingly more willpower to continue. Finally, Luna was about to turn over the last card and took in deep breath. She did not want to reveal this last one. She did not want to know if the world would perish in a sea of fire and torment. It seemed to her that all the world would be reduced to eternal chaos and all goodness was dying before her eyes. Though she felt she had to know; for she had gone this far. She had to see her actions through. For this reason, she turned over the last card and gazed at the horrors.
But when she did this, she suddenly saw a light in the darkness. Without preempt, she saw in the progression of events a wondrous and perfect design that ended in paradise. What she saw was like victory of the master chess player who makes sacrifice after sacrifice throughout his game. Towards the end, everyone believes that he was foolish to even try to win the game; having lost from the very beginning. But then there comes a move in the endgame where he moves a single piece, and suddenly the whole crowd is in an uproar. It becomes surprisingly evident that he made all those sacrifices for a reason. Each and every one was calculated with perfect precision, and though it was extremely painful for him, they led him to an ultimate and flawless victory. Even so was what Luna was gazing upon when she saw the events as a whole.
Suddenly, this design which she saw, punctuated by pain and suffering and trials and tribulations, was so beautiful. Nothing that had happened was in vain, but everything that happened occurred for a deliberate and specific purpose. And the end, the ultimate result for which all these things had happened, was so amazingly beautiful that her eyes leaked tears of joy. What she was seeing was true magnificence, true perfection, true wonder. She could have never masterminded such a beautiful design. Neither herself, nor her sister, nor even, as Luna claims, the enchanters of the cards which revealed these things could have planned what she was viewing. Such a masterpiece was too perfect.
She looked at the difficulties that she would have to face along the way, and though she cringed when she saw them, she smiled and wept all the more hardly when she saw that she had not suffered in vain. She did not see any specific event. No one could discern anything specific from symbolism, but she was able to acquire an idea of certain states that she and the world would be in at certain times. Knowing this, she was at peace then; having hope that this was a good, pleasing, and perfect design. Seeing this, she suddenly felt the urge to go out into public and proclaim what she had seen. She had to go tell ponies about this beautiful news. But then she stopped herself. By the order of magic, nothing that she had seen must leave that room. Falling to the ground, she became very sad because she could not share such an awesome epiphany with the world.
So she pondered once more about what she would do because of what she had discovered. Soon, she conceived an idea, a wonderful idea which would accomplish several tasks all at once. Quickly she teleported to her balcony outside of her bedchambers at Minas Ithil, and she looked up at the black sky, which was empty but for the moon. It was then and there, in her state of great peace, that she began to weave a pattern that she would create in the sky. As she began to conceive beautiful and wondrous patterns within the godlike confines of her soul, she did something wonderful.
From so far off, she grasped with her magic, the dirt and dust in the heavens, and she pressed them together as hard as she could until the dust caught fire in many places and began to burn. She smiled. “Celestia may have sun," she said. "But I have many suns far away.” This word “many” was an understatement. She had created from the dirty, uncleanly dust millions of suns. It was only that they were very far away. And she gazed up at the great number the she created and was glad. The light illuminated the earth where she was like the moon.
But by no means did she stop there. She moved the stars around in the sky. She organized them and gave them form. She made sense of their chaos and made them orderly. She fashioned them into twelve patterns; each pattern resembling a different sign. From the east to the west, she created the images of a dragon, two twins, a prison, a sword, a scorpion, a fire, a beast, a six pointed star, a grave, a serpent coiled around a staff, and an alicorn. Each of these twelve signs symbolized a long era that Equestria would endure. And after she had made these images as wholes, she then paid great attention to each star. She moved each star in the heavens to be exactly where she thought it should be. And she gave each one a name. Each one had a name that further clarified the period that its image symbolized.
Even today, one can look up at these stars in the heavens, and know that they tell a wonderful story. That story is indeed full of grief and pain and suffering. And if you read the story, you might come to a point where you desire not to finish it. Because with the world in the hopeless state that it is in, you tell yourself that the story could not possibly end happily. But then, in the darkest part of the story, when it seems like there is no hope and the protagonist’s enemies are closing in, leaving no escape route, something happens. Something so incredibly awesome happens that resolves all of the conflicts in one, single, glorious moment. So it was with what Luna had seen, and with the story that she wrote with the stars.
When she finished her task, it had become day, so she was not able to view her handiwork. But it mattered little. Exhausted, she fell to the ground and slept through the day. When night came, she awoke to find that her guards had brought her to bed. And she rose and brought the moon out of its hiding place. Then she went outside to her balcony and looked up. And she saw the awesome work which she had made. All of the stars in the sky illuminated the world at night. They did not take away from the night’s secretive beauty, but they lit it up enough so that one could find one’s way. She saw the stars and being reminded of what she had found, she was overjoyed.
Though no one was around to listen, she spoke to the ponies of Equestria in a whisper. She so much wished that there was somepony there to enjoy the beauty of the night with her, but she did not dwell on what could have been be versus what was. She whispered nonetheless. Her voice, though so quiet, was full of passion and meaning. “Behold Equestria, my love for you. You will say in the coming days, ‘Who loves us more than Princess Luna?’ You will say to your foals, ‘Do you know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning of her reign?’ Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created the wonder of the sky? The one who brings out the starry host one by one and calls each of them by name. In days of hardship, your daughters will ask, ‘What proof do we have of this? What sign have we been given that shows we have not been forgotten?’ And you will answer them, ‘We have the stars in the sky. The stars were created out of love, that we might have an everlasting reminder.’
“Have you not seen? Have you not heard? Mortals will die and ponies will fall. They will endure hardship and suffer many things for a short while. They will try to bring themselves out of their misery to no avail. And they will cry out, ‘We have been forsaken.’ But so long as I sit on this throne, and so long as the stars are in the sky, there will never come a day when I will forsake you. I will bring the dead back to life. I will reward those who suffered harshly many times over for their perseverance. I will comfort the miserable and I will embrace and be with the forsaken. They will live and not die. And their joy will be complete during all their days.”