Letters to Luna

by Minds Eye

Legacy of a Fallen Star

Dear Princess Luna,

I’ve been doing some research on our early history, or rather, the early history of our world. I hope to compile it into a sort of textbook, or perhaps a series of essays. To be honest, I don’t have much of a plan this time. Shocking, I know!

Anyhow, enclosed here is the opening chapter of my work. I sent it to Celestia, and she recommended that I have you look it over. She said that you might wish to read it, and that perhaps you would have something to say.

The first account is a combination of many things. Parts are adapted from legends, other from scientific analysis and others from—I must confess—simple hunches and guesswork. Still, I suspect you will at least be familiar with the legends—the sky is your domain, after all.

I hope you find it accurate enough. Let me know if there’s anything I missed, or if there is something to which you take issue. We should get together and discuss it some time. It’s been too long since we talked.

—Princess Twilight Sparkle

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In the beginning, there was rock, grey and lifeless. The world was barren and empty, and not claw nor hoof disturbed the dust which covered it. It spun around a young star, repeating a single cycle. As it was, it would have done so for all of time.

Then came the Comet.

It slammed into the world, bringing fire and light to the ashen wastes and obliterating all that was before. Fire rose across the land, bubbling up as magma from cracks in the firmament. For millennia the world was ruled by brimstone, and the Comet’s resting place was lost in seas of liquid flame. Where there had been stagnation, now there was nothing but unbridled Chaos.

But soon the fires began to fade. The land once more became the Ashen Waste, but the disparity wrought by the comet would not be silenced so easily. The First Oceans pooled in the valley of the Comet’s landing, and upon the very spot where the Comet fell, a gash in the earth bled black smoke from where the fires still burned deep beneath the ground. Over many years, the faultline grew, until at last it formed a great cliff, with the waves breaking against it far below. This place was the meeting of the land and the sea, the point at which both were greatest, balanced against each other in opposing harmony.

At the tip of this cliff grew a great tree. Its bark was as crystal, whiter than the winter snow. It was the first of the trees, and its roots ran deep within the earth, reaching out to clutch at the heart of the world. From these deep roots, the First Forests rose, both on land and under sea, and it was hardly a cosmic moment before the First Beasts rose as well.

Six stones, shining brilliantly, lay embedded in the great white tree’s bark. As the First Beasts began to roam the land, these gems watched like brilliant eyes, marveling at the strangeness of it all, the multitude of colors and shapes, the neverending beauty of the world. It would not be long before beasts freed the stones from the tree. The tree would wither, yes, but it would always remain. Dormant, not dead, for just as life could now persist without the tree, so could the tree persist without the stones.

These stones—pure fragments of fallen star—held power unimaginable. The first few who viewed them saw only their beauty, but soon there came those who would look upon them and see their true worth. They were separated, lost, and then brought together again as if by mere chance. Many tried to master their power, but their magics were selective. Those who would use them for nefarious or self-serving ends inevitably failed. Those who used them selflessly gained power incredible. Should the latter ever become the former, that power would abandon them swiftly. Though many scholars would inevitably seek the source of these mysterious powers, none would ever discover from where they truly came. They would eventually come to be called the Elements of Harmony.

Throughout history, the stones changed many times. Sometimes they were buried in a king’s crown, or in the hairpiece of a young child. Sometimes they would be carried away by a conqueror, or fall into the ocean and be gathered up by the fins of those who lived below the waves. Though they were said to represent virtues, the particular virtues they represented were not always the same. Sometimes there would be one bearer for each stone. Sometimes there would be only one for all.

Many bearers held them before they came to the ponies of Equestria who now bear their power, and since the world does not intend to end, it is likely that many more creatures will bear the Elements after we have passed to myth and tale.

I am Twilight Sparkle, and as many have done before, I have taken it upon myself to study these Elements—their origins, their history, their secrets—and to catalogue it so that the knowledge can be carried forward so long as time itself moves on. I cannot know what I will find, and that in itself is a grand, beautiful thing. The uncertainty thrills me.

For you see, I am a firm believer in the future. If history teaches us anything, it is that the world must always change. Though the Elements of Harmony are thought of as a weapon, a tool to vanquish evil, I believe they are far more than that. I believe that with their power, we upon this tiny jewel of a world could seek things far greater than ourselves. They are the keys to the universe, and it is we who have been granted ownership.

Perhaps, once we’ve broken free from the bonds that hold us to this world, that hold our body of knowledge to the level at which it currently rests, perhaps then we will find others, with their own Elements. Perhaps we won’t. As I said, it is this uncertainty which drives me onward, and which I hope will continue to drive all of us onward. Until the universe winds down, and then beyond into whatever comes after.

Author's Note:

Thanks to Horizon Runner for this story.

Comments

[Noble Thought]

Very interesting origin for the elements of harmony.

[Fuzzyfurvert]

Nice. This also came out very good and I don't think I've read an EoH origin story like it.

[QPaysTaxes]

Ooh, very well done. Could use some work, but a very nice short story. I like the backstory as well for the Elements.

[Minds Eye]

5324394
Thank you

[TheLastBrunnenG]

5324767
Would you consider tagging Luna and / or Celestia for this story? Luna's the recipient of these letters, and the subject of several, even if she's not reading them aloud. It might make this collection easier to locate.

[Minds Eye]

5732752
Alright, tagged it with Luna. Not sure how much it will help. The group this came from is pretty dead, anyway.

[Black--Soul]

Great story