Long ago, in the land of Equinia, there were two alicorn sisters who kept peace and harmony in all the land. The older, Lunaria, brought about the beautiful night sky and the stars, while the younger, Celeste, brought about a lively and bright day. All was peaceful and well for many moons.
As time passed on, and villages grew into towns, and towns grew into cities, the night became livelier and livelier, festivals and fireworks brightening the dark sky. In the day, the ponies who had played in the night grew too weary to take in the beautiful sunlight. Celeste grew angry with her sister, and refused to let the sun down, for she wanted her sun to be loved and valued by the ponies more than the night. Lunaria pleaded Celeste to no avail. The burning anger turned Celeste into a monster of fury and ignorance known as Solar Flare. She ravaged and burned the lands, never letting the sun down. Lunaria had no choice but to imprison her sister in the depths of the fiery sun. She was bound by chains, held to the flames that burned her with guilt, but as years went on, chains broke, and in time, Solar Flare will return, and burn the lands once again.
The leathery cover of the book fell onto the paes as Morning Dust closed it.
"Horsefeathers." She snorted to herself. "That's just an old mare's tale. Why would Queen Lunaria assign me this book to write a report on? She must be losing her mind." She knew she shouldn't say such things about her mentor and idol. She sighed, put the book back in her saddlebag, and went back to her small cottage by the river.
Shaking her yellow hair out of her eyes, she knocked on the door.
"Once second, Morning!" The muffled yell of Thorn came from inside. The door creaked open, allowing her to trot inside.
"Did you get my books cleaned while I was gone?" She asked flatly, unpacking her bags and placing the contents in their proper places.
"Yes, your majesty." Thorn growled. The blue mare turned and scowled at the dragon.
"Thorn, you know I don't like sarcasm." She huffed, and continued sorting her books and quills. She could feel Thorn's yellow eyes piercing into the back of her head. However, he stayed silent, and went on with her daily chores. He had to learn to respect her. He had lived his spoiled, pampered life, and now it was time he got to being helpful for once. She had work to do, he couldn't be a burden anymore. Do I really always have to work, though? The thought seemed to come from nowhere. Work never really bothered Morning Dust, in fact, she quite liked it! I want a vacation. The thought appealed to her. She could ask permission to go on a vacation, away from the hard work in Canterlot. It was a great idea! "Thorn! Get a piece of parchment and a quill. You're writing a letter for me."
"Alright, fine, demandy-pants." Morning whipped around to face Thorn, glaring at him. How dare he disrespect her like that? She screamed various insults and unspeakable words at Thorn. However, the black dragon seemed unfazed. He sat on his haunches, holding the quill and parchment, looking at Morning Dust, looking bored. "So what I gotta write?" He asked flatly. Morning Dust exhaled, and trotted around the room as she spoke her letter to Thorn.
"Dear Lunaria-" Morning Dust was cut off by a particularly loud cough from Thorn. "Ugh. What now?" She groaned, pausing in her tracks.
"Queen Lunaria is the ruler of all Equinia. So, maybe you should adress her as 'O dearest highest Queen, I kissy kissy your-"
"Thorn!" Morning Dust screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Alright, fine, have it your way." He grumbled. He continued to scribble every word that Morning had barked at him. In no time, he had written a letter requesting vacation, and signed it with Morning's name. He took a large breath, and burned it with vivid yellow flame. The ashes flew into the air, eventually dissolving into nothing. Morning Dust sighed, and swept her long, unkempt hair out of her face.
"Finally, it's done. She should send her repy in no ti-" Thorn broke out into a spasm, and belched flames that materialized into a large scroll.
"Man..." He groaned weakly. "She's gotta stop sending such painful letters..." He hiccuped, and a small yellow fire could be seen at the back of his throat. Morning Dust took the dark blue ribbon off of the scroll, and was rather disappointed to see only a few sentences.
My Dearest student, Morning Dust,
You have worked very diligently, and I am more than pleased to let you have a break from your studies. I have already rented out a room for you in Ponyville, have fun, but be wary.
-Lunaria
"Well that settles it!" Morning said boldly. "We're going to Ponyville! Pack my things, Thorn." She hopped around the room excitedly. Ponyville is one of the biggest cities in Equinia! It's got sightseeing spots, big shops, big plazas, big everything! She then stopped bouncing about the floor, reflecting on Queen Lunaria's last words in the letter. Be wary. She frowned, then shrugged. Queen Lunaria was over a thousand years old, and was probably losing her marbles by now. She continued bouncing around the room.
"Morning, your stuff." Thorn came in with various suitcases of differing sizes. He stopped, and looked at her as if she had two heads. "What are you doing?"
Morning Dust stopped in her tracks, and blushed. "...Ponyville!" She giggled.