“Gah! Luna, what is it? I was having such a good dream…” Celestia complains, rolling over and covering her head with her blanket. Luna grabs the blanket in her magic and rips it away from her older sister.
“Luna, it is not nearly time for me to raise the sun, let me sleep!” Celestia exclaims, starting raise her voice. Luna stomps her hoof on the ground in frustration.
“Sister, this is no time to be stubborn. A start has fallen,” Luna says, leaning forward with excitement and anxiousness.
“Stars fall all the time Luna! You should know, you're the one who brings them forth every night.” Celestia says, rolling back over and facing Luna with a scowl.
“Has your time away from the heavens made you forget dear Sister?” Luna replies, lifting her muzzle. “This is no ordinary star, and this next century may very well be your last among your little ponies,” She continues, leaning down with a step forward. Celestia sits up at that, her eyes widening.
“Already?” Celestia asks, for she had known this day would come, but had no idea it would come so soon.
“It may very well be, neigh, I'm sure it is.” Luna finishes, kneeling to the ground in front of the only family she'd ever had in this land. “I'm sorry sister, I merely thought you ought to know as soon as possible.” Luna adds, nuzzling Celestia. They sit there until almost dawn, mourning the loss to come.
Finally, Celestia stands, her muzzle crusted in tears she hadn't realized had fallen. She solemnly raises the sun.
1
“Which one is it?” Celestia asks, turning to Luna. Luna herself stands, almost as tall as Celestia now, and looks at her older sister with a mixture of sorrow and hope.
“Daybreak. Do you wish for the coordinates of her landing?” Luna replies, wondering how her sister will handle this development. Celestia nods, and a paper teleports in front of her at the prompting of Luna's magic.
☀
I am a star, I shine, it's what I do. So why am I falling very, very fast? The ground is coming at me very quickly and frankly I am NOT ready for this.
“AAAAAAAAUGH!!” I scream reaching my hooves out in front of me. When did I get hooves? I don't have hooves, or I didn't have hooves, but then again I didn't fall before. I flail about, trying to learn what else is new when I feel something stretch on my back. WINGS! Perfect now I can just fly down, wait...How do I use these?
‘I'm doomed’ I think to myself still screaming, and still falling. The ground is even closer than before. I swallow and reside myself to my doom.
Suddenly a something, or someone grabs my arms -legs?- and keeps me from falling any further. I let out a deep breath and let them carry me slowly to the ground.
As we get closer I notice that I'm being carried to a clearing, a very large clearing, with -oh what were those called again, I stopped paying attention decades ago. I also notice that there's five, uhm….hmmm…oh yeah! Ponies, that's what the others called them. Heheheh.
“Uh Twilight, this filly is not normal,” the (I presume) pony carrying me says, as they set me down. All the ponies gather around me, and I stare at them wide eyed, they stare back.
Three of the ponies had wings, two had horns, and two had neither. One pony, whose eyes were the widest, had both. A golden lock of hair falls in front of my eye. I scream in delight.
“Hair? I have hair, it's golden! Ooh I always loved gold! EEE!” I sqeal, clapping my hooves together. Hooves.
“Yes, you do have hair, um...Twilight, ponies don't normally freak out over their hair merely existing.” The white one says, patting her own, purple mane.
What were the different ponies called again? Ugh it's been soooo long since I've actually paid attention to this world.
“I know Rarity, but honestly I think the fact that she’s an ALICORN is stranger,” Replies the only one with both wings and a horn. I tilt my head.
“Alicorn?” I question, trying to remember what one that was.
“Yeppy doodle noodle!” The pink one says, bouncing over and pulling out a mirror? From her mane? She holds it in front of me and pulls apart my mane some. “See! See! See! You have a horn,” She says, pointing out my horn. I let my mouth fall open slightly as she turns me and lifts up one of my wings. “And you have wingsies too! That makes you an Alicorn!! Which is super duper uber rare! So rare that every alicorn is royalty!” She says, and I blink at my reflection. Royalty?
I twist and turn in the mirror, trying to see if my silver coat sparkled any. To my disappointment it didn't. I was just a pony, with a silver coat, a gold mane, and somehow both wings and a horn. Just like the purple one. I gasp and run up to her.
“You're an alicorn too!” I exclaim, looking up at her with wide eyes. With any luck I might find out why I fell to this place of mortals.
“I am. I'm Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship, and who might you be?” She asks, lowering her muzzle so her eyes are level with mine. Who am I? Easy, all stars are named, even if the silly ponies decide to rename us without even asking.
“Her name is Daybreak, and she is a very important little pony.” A majestic voice sounds from behind, and I turn to look. WOW. Before me stands a beautiful white alicorn with a mane of pastels that...move on their own?
Twilight trots up to the alicorn and hugs her. “Princess Celestia! What are you doing here?” She asks, taking a few steps back. Princess Celestia, as I guess she's called looks at me.
“I'm here because something very important has happened,” Princess Celestia says, walking over to me. I fall on my rump and stare up at her. “Daybreak, do you know why you fell?” She asks, and I nod.
“Well obviously I was pushed. Someone thought they could outshine me and decided to just push me while I napped through the day.” I reply, standing up and holding my muzzle high. Princess Celestia giggles and I frown. “This is no laughing matter, it happens quite often and we never do see the ones who fall again. It's quite tragic.” I say, but she laughs some more.
“No little one, you were not pushed. It was merely your time to fall.” She says, wrapping her hoof around me and pulling me close. I frown and jump out of her grasp.
“Stars don't just fall out of nowhere! We either get pushed, or become so dim that we can not hold our spot any longer, and we burn up in a brilliant display on our way down. I shone for millions of years, and I was still shining bright. I mean sure I'd had brighter nights, but it absolutely was NOT MY TIME!” I yell with a huff, stomping my hoof on the ground.
“Hold up! You're saying you, a little alicorn filly, were a star?” One of the winged ones say, flying up to me and getting in my face. “No way, nopony is that awesome.” She says, crossing her front legs.
“Rainbow Dash, don't be rude.” The white one from before says, I think Twilight called her Rarity?
“I think it's just super duper that she's a star! Or was a star? I've never met a star before but I'm sure we'll be very very very good friends!” The pink one says, squeezing me in a tight hug.
I manage to push her off of me with some effort. “Gah! You ponies have no respect! I am older than your homes! And you're - you're treating me like a baby!” I yell, flapping my wings angrily.
“Well you are a teansy little filly, silly!” The pink one says, holding her hooves close together. I sit down and cross my legs with a huff.
“Celestia, what is this all about?” Twilight asks, approaching me and sitting down as well.
“Very well Twilight, perhaps I should give you a bit of background knowledge first.” She says, and everypony gathers around to hear.
☀ ✴
Once, a very long time ago, there was a newly founded kingdom. In this kingdom were three tribes of ponies. There were the Unicorns, the Pegasi, and the Earth Ponies. These three tribes of ponies had just learned to live together peacefully. Yet all was not yet equal, for peace does not happen immediately.
The pegasi still ruled over the weather, but had no knowledge of climates. Without that knowledge, or the knowledge of plants - which was held by the Earth Ponies - the Pegasi soon found they could not keep balance.
The Unicorn ponies still ruled over night and day, yet they had no knowledge of the intricacies of the year, nor how day and night need to blend perfectly with the weather to maintain balance.
And so, without the balance of night and day, hot and cold, and everything in between, the Earth Ponies soon found their crops failing.
In order to prevent the Windigos from returning, the ponies held a meeting. They decided that in order for everypony to be equal and safe they would need a pony that had knowledge of this world far beyond their own, a pony that each tribe could trust as if she were one of their own.
So the ponies decided upon a unicorn to lead a team of researchers, in search of a way to find such a pony. After many, many tries the research ponies came up with a spell that would allow them to communicate with the heavens. They had hoped to ask the stars if they knew of such a pony that they sought.
The stars said they knew not of a pony such as the one they sought, for the stars had been watching Equestrian for many, many years and had never seen such a creature. The lives of creatures born upon this world are just too short to learn that much.
There was one solution, though, that the stars could offer. The stars would send down one of their own, and bestow upon them the unique abilities of all three pony tribes. This star would have knowledge of the world beyond that of any pony born to this land. She would also appear immortal, for she would not be truly of the land and therefore would be an exception to the rules of most mortals. She would, however, not stay there forever.
Even stars have a time when they must depart, and the stars promised a successor to fall one-hundred sunrises prior to the originals departure.
With a deal struck, and a solution discovered, the ponies rejoiced. They waited for the stars to make their decision of who to send down. After three days, and on the third night, a star fell. Everypony followed the star, and the pegasi caught her. In their arms they held a white filly, with the wings of a Pegasus, the horn of a Unicorn, and the strength of an Earth Pony.
The filly trained for her role for ten years. All three tribes looked to her for advice and knowledge, and she gained the trust of everypony around her. The Earth Ponies soon gave her their loyalty, trusting he with the delving of land. The Pegasi turned to her for the weather, and trusted her with the climate and seasons. The Unicorns, with much love and admiration for the alicorn, handed over the control over day and night.
With the trust of all the ponies the Alicorn soon became the leader of the country, and was deemed princess.
☀ ✴
Celestia opens her eyes and looks at everypony, a smile gracing her face. “That first Alicorn was me, and now that Daybreak has fallen, she will soon carry the responsibility that has fallen upon my own shoulders for millennia.” She says, with a finality that could only be the truth.
“I refuse to accept this!” Twilight and I yell at the same time. We look at each other and then back to Celestia.
“You're Celestia, you've ruled for thousands upon thousands of years, you can't just leave!” Twilight exclaims, waving her hooves about.
“There is a time when everypony must depart from this world Twilight. Mine is nearly here, you're going to have to deal with that.” Celestia replies, scolding Twilight for her outburst. “What about you Daybreak, what is it you can't accept?” She says, turning to me. I stand up and hold myself with pride.
“I am a star, I belong in the heavens. I wish to be sent home, get some other star to replace you if need be, but I do not want the job. I want to shine with our kin,” I reply and point a hoof towards the sky, “I want to shine brightly and look upon this boring world from above.”
Celestia sighs and kneels in front of me, looking at me eye to eye. “Unfortunately that is not possible. While I do not wish to force an unwanted future upon anypony, there is no known way to send you home. You have fallen, and that is something nopony can change.” She replies, her voice taking on a regretful tone.
“So I'm stuck here? I'm really truly stuck here?” I ask, my eyes watering. “For hundreds of thousands of years…” I add with a whimper. I lay my head in my hooves and start to cry.
