Sonata bounced along the roads of Canterlot as she approached the Castle. As usual, she had a smile on her face and was singing a merry tune as she strolled across the sunlit path. With her joyful attitude, one would think that a pony like her had many friends.
One would be wrong.
Just as she was about to reach the castle walls, she stopped suddenly. In front of her were a trio of ponies from Luna's school for gifted ponies. Immediately the blue mare's smile vanished as she went quiet.
“Hello, Sonata,” their leader greeted. “I’m holding a little get-together later on and I would be quite honored if you could join us. Luna knows you spend far too much time cooped up in that castle!”
Sonata tried to smile, but her mouth ended up forming a grimace.
“Oh, a party? Sorry, but I'm sort of busy.”
“Darling, you can't be busy all the time,” said the pony. “You need to socialize, talk to other ponies, and make friends!”
That's what Luna always tells me, Sonata thought. “Um, thanks girls, but I really need to go. Princess Luna has a lot to teach me!”
And with that, she ran off as fast as her hooves could carry her. The white unicorn left behind huffed at this.
“I can't believe it! What sort of pony would ever say no to a little party?!”
“Let it go, Rarity,” one of her friends said. “Everypony knows Sonata doesn't make friends.”
Spike carefully held the little box in his claws. While he knew that Sonata wouldn’t want to go to Rarity’s party, that was no reason why he couldn't do so. And with his special gift, he would finally be able to sweep her off her feet and-
BAM!
“Spike! I'm home!”
Sonata looked around, searching for her little dragon. Much to her frustration, he was nowhere to be found.
“Spike? Did you go to one of those parties again?”
When no answer came, Sonata shrugged and closed the door behind her, causing the little purple dragon to fall to the floor.
“Spike! Where were you?”
Having lived with Sonata's eccentricities his whole life, Spike chose to take the most effective course of action and humor her.
“Well, I was reading one of my comic books when I got sucked into an alternate dimension,” he said, making little effort to hide the disappointment he felt upon finding out that his gift had been crushed.
Sonata gasped.
“For realzies? How did you get out?”
“Perhaps you sang a song and pulled him out.”
Sonata and Spike turned in the direction of the voice. There, standing before them, was none other than Princess Luna.
“Princess!” Sonata said as she quickly ran over to hug her, before she stopped herself and bowed down. However, she then felt a hoof on her shoulder.
“You do not have to bow, my faithful student. Here, we are family.”
Hearing this, Sonata quickly rose and smiled sheepishly.
“Um, yes. What do you wish from me, Luna?”
The smile that had adorned Luna's face vanished.
“I have come to discuss a matter of great importance,” said Luna. “Do you remember the story of the two sisters?”
Sonata scratched her chin.
“Let me see if I can remember everything: there were two sister alicorns, the big sister who lifted the sun and the little sister who lifted the moon. Then the little sister got jealous because everypony loved the day and never paid attention to her nights so she went crazy and tried to make the night last forever. But then the big sister took pity on her little sister and absorbed the evil within her sister’s heart and allowed herself to be locked within the sun, so the little sister took control of both the sun and moon. That's how it goes, right?”
Luna nodded, although she was still not smiling.
“That is correct. But tell me, Sonata: does it not seem curious to you that my cutie mark is the moon? And does it not seem equally strange that I raise both the sun and the moon, just as the moon sister did in the story?”
Sonata tilted her head in confusion. She knew that there was a point that her mentor was trying to make, but she couldn't see what it was. However, Spike stepped in to help her.
“Luna is the little sister in the story.”
“Oh,” said Sonata. “But I thought it was just that, a story!”
“All stories have some basis in fact,” said Luna. “And this is a story I have held in my heart for a thousand years. So please sit down so I can tell you everything.”
Obediently, Sonata sat on the ground. Spike did the same, snuggling into her chest. Finally, Luna sat in front of them, and began to speak.
“One thousand years ago, I ruled alongside my sister, Princess Celestia. However, after a time, I realized that everypony adored the bright, warm days that my sister brought forth, and shunned the beautiful starlit nights I created. Over time, I grew to resent my sister, foolishly believing that she hoarded the love and affection of our subjects for herself.
“Little did I know that by filling myself with jealousy, I was allowing something terrible into my heart. All my negative feelings were feeding a darkness more terrible than anything I could ever have imagined. As long as I held on to my hate, I continued to allow the darkness grow within me. And the stronger that darkness grew, the more it controlled my thoughts, leaving less room for love and kindness and replacing it with hate and selfishness.
“Then one fateful night, my jealousy and resentment reached a tipping point. In my mad desire to be adored, I refused to lower the moon. This would have deprived the earth of the life-giving rays of the sun, eventually killing everything. But the darkness within me would not allow me to see this; all I cared about was depriving my subjects of their precious light.
“Celestia tried to reason with me. She begged me to look at what was happening, and to think about the ponies who would suffer as a result of my actions. But the darkness within my heart had consumed me; I turned into a demonic being known as Nightmare Moon.
“Having lost myself completely to the darkness, I vowed to cover Equestria in eternal night. I would do anything to fulfill that goal, even if it meant killing my own sister. And so we battled for supremacy. Even with the advantage of wisdom and age, my sister was unable to prevail against my power.
“However, there was one way to defeat me. There are six magical gems known as the Elements of Harmony. These elements are the most powerful form of magic known to ponykind, and even Nightmare Moon would be powerless if Celestia were to wield them.
“And yet… she didn’t.”
Luna paused for a moment, her mind heavy with her sister’s most unexpected move.
“I don’t know why she took pity on me. I was a selfish, greedy, spiteful sister. If something bad were to happen to me, I deserved it. And yet Celestia chose to remove the darkness from my heart, setting me free from the anger and resentment that had long ago taken me. Yet in doing so, she was consumed by it herself, giving it a new form, one that called itself… Hellfire Sun.”
Luna shuddered as the memory of the terrifying mare swelled to the surface.
“Hellfire Sun then raised the sun, but it was a sun worse than anything Equestria had ever seen. Instead of warm and gentle, it was hot and cruel. If left unchecked, it could burn all of Equestria. And I was powerless to stop it.
“Perhaps Celestia knew this. Perhaps that’s why, just before taking the darkness from me, she left the Elements of Harmony with me. Whatever the case, I was able to use them to… banish my sister to the sun.”
As Luna finished her story, she noticed that Sonata and Spike had moved up next to her and were gently hugging her. Realizing that she had been shedding tears for a while, she quickly conjured a tissue to wipe them away.
“So, that’s why you raise the sun and moon even though you just have a moon cutie mark?” asked Sonata.
“Yes,” said Luna. “Unfortunately, ever since that day, I have been unable to wield the Elements. You see, the Elements of Harmony are powered by the bond that is shared between their wielders. When my sister and I used the elements, we had the bond of family to power them. However, when I turned the elements against her, our bond, and thus our connection to the elements, was broken.”
“So, if Hellfire Sun were to escape from the sun, you would be powerless to stop her, right?” asked Spike.
Luna paused, then answered him. “Yes.”
Sonata felt a shiver crawl down her spine.
“B-but that’s okay, because she’s never going to escape, right?”
Sonata smiled, hoping for her teacher to answer positively. As the seconds passed, however, she was met only with silence, causing her to be gripped by fear once more.
“Please tell me that she’s not gonna escape.”
“I’m afraid that she won’t be trapped forever, Sonata,” said Luna. “Shortly after her banishment, a prophecy was written that stated that on the sunrise of the longest day of the thousandth year after her banishment, the Sun would release its prisoner, and the land will burn.”
Sonata felt herself sinking back into Luna’s embrace.
“Um… didn’t you say that happened one thousand years ago?” Spike asked nervously.
“And when is the longest day?” asked Sonata.
“Two days from now.”
Spike jumped out of Luna’s embrace and ran out the door, screaming. It took all of her willpower for Sonata to not follow him.
“So… Hellfire Sun is returning in two days?”
“At sunrise, yes.”
“And you said you can’t use the elements?”
“If that was the case, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you, Sonata.”
Sonata blinked and scratched her head.
“So… you think I can sing to her and she’ll turn nice?”
Luna chuckled to herself.
“Oh, if only everything in life was so simple,” said Luna. “No, you cannot simply sing Hellfire Sun away. I fear that the only way to stop her is by using the Elements of Harmony.”
For a moment, Sonata thought about what Luna was saying. She then thought about what Luna had said about how the elements had been used by her and her sister together, powered by the bond they shared. She then thought about how Luna had always encouraged her to make friends. It was almost as if she wanted her to form her own bonds, as if-
It was then that the pieces of the puzzle fell together.
“You want me to use the elements?!”
“I was considering that option,” Luna said with a slightly playful tone.
“But I’m not a princess like you! I’m not even a pony! I’m… I’m just a siren who ended up looking like a pony due to some freak accident.”
Luna rolled her eyes.
“Just because you are not technically a pony does not mean you are incapable of wielding the elements, Sonata. You certainly have the magic necessary to activate them, should the need arise. However, there is one thing you must find if you truly wish to utilize the Elements of Harmony to save Equestria.”
“Tacos?”
“Friendship.”
With the exception of Spike’s continuous screaming echoing from outside, there was silence in the castle.
“I have… to make friends.” she stated dumbfoundedly
“Well, there is a small chance that I may be able to find some other way to stop Hellfire Sun,” said Luna. “However, if I fail, it will be up to you to use the Elements to stop her from laying waste to Equestria.”
Sonata felt a drop of sweat make its way down her brow.
“Okay. I just have to… make friends… with ponies… who probably don’t know what a siren is… and would probably freak out when they find out and never talk to me again.”
Luna smiled at Sonata encouragingly.
“Do not despair, my dear student. I promise you, true friends will accept you regardless of what you are. The only one who can stop you from finding true friendship is you.”
Sonata thought for a moment about what her mentor was saying. She thought about everything she’d been through in her long life; she had been banished to another dimension by a unicorn, only to wander for centuries until she was rejected by the only family she’d ever known.
And yet, when she returned to Equestria, she had been accepted by a princess who had gone so far as to take her under her wing, and she’d even managed to hatch a dragon, who looked up to her as some strange combination of mother and older sister.
Finally, her mind was made up.
“I’ll do it.”
Luna beamed at her.
“I’m certain you’ll succeed.”
Even with all her misgivings, Sonata couldn’t help but smile back.