This story is a sequel to Sun & Moon Act I: Ascending Star

This is Sun & Moon, a full history of the lives of the two alicorns around whom Equestria's story is indelibly wrapped. And this is its second chapter: the story of the rift that almost tore the country apart, just as it was getting started.

Three hundred years ago, Princesses Celestia and Luna together defeated Discord and created the Elements of Harmony. They overcame the separate factions of Discord's nobility and the Orders of the Resistance to forge a new nation, peaceful and prosperous. Since then, they have worked tirelessly to build it up, rebuilding a democratic government in Canterlot and promoting the growth of cities and towns all across the land.

However, new threats are rising. After knowledge of Pegasus magic was lost during Discord's reign, a multi-year drought seemingly without end is now threatening to plunge Equestria into a famine, and to tear apart the peace that has held for three centuries. The two Princesses will have to use all of the resources at their disposal to stave off conflict, yet how far can they go while still keeping true to the ideals that got them onto the throne in the first place?

Separately, high above Equestria in Cloudsale, the young stallion Wind Swept struggles to come to terms with a destiny that is still mysterious to him. Thrown to the surface in a freak dust storm, Wind will have to understand a life that his fellow pegasi forsook centuries ago, and come to grips with the part that he will play in the upcoming struggle for Equestria's future.

And hanging over all of this, a shadow from a past before Equestria watches and waits, ready for a chance to plunge the world once more into a darkness without end.

Map by me
Cover Art by CrimsonRose97
Editing by The Fan Without a Face (who I most heartily recommend)

On the eve of the Day of Reaping, the start of the Equestrian Harvest, it is traditional that a legend be told over supper: the legend of how the traditions surrounding the Day of Reaping came to be. It is a story of love, ambition, and vengeance.

Long before Equestria, a grand Unicorn King maintains a splendid garden. On one of his travels he brings a scorpion back to live within it. That scorpion, resentful of being removed from her home, sets out to have her revenge.

A Note on Personality Modification: (From the Canterlot Magical Archives)

There are several spells out there in the world that purport to be able to reform a personality, to remove undesirable traits within the target and impress upon them a new way of thinking. Care must be taken in the application of this magic, as the mind is a very complicated thing, which nopony has ever truly figured out. While a sheer volume of magical influence may create convincing short-term effects, long-lasting change will always take time, no matter the strength of the pony casting the spell. Over the course of this time, it is very important that the target be given ample positive reinforcement in their environment, so that they can learn the error of their original ways.

Without such reinforcement, the risk of the original personality relapsing is high. Even with it, a sudden change of circumstance that encourages the original behavioural pattern can lead to a full relapse. If the target was an enemy of yours, we advise that you use utmost caution.

After what happened the first time around, the planning committees for the Grand Galloping Gala were understandably reluctant to invite Twilight & Co. back once more. Two years down the road, however, it has become impossible to continue following this doctrine, as refusing an invitation to a sitting Princess is something that simply is not done.

But there are many things which will be different this year. And either Twilight Sparkle will need to come to terms with what society expects from a Princess, or else society will need to come to terms with the sort of Princess that Twilight Sparkle will be.

Of course, that's not to say that this night won't be one to remember anyway. At the very least, the Treasury will once again be left with a memorable bill.

[Set in the interim between Seasons 3 and 4]

Featured on Equestria Daily August 26, 2017

Two years after her return, Princess Luna is still having a hard time getting back up to speed on her country, as well as mending the unfortunate reputation that some of her earlier exploits gave her. But Celestia has a plan to teach her sister how to truly be a proper Princess, and earn the public's respect in the process.

But they'll never get anywhere if they can't even agree on the weather.

Special thanks to:
Resda, for the guard pun
Mondai Shunketsu, for the weather ponies puns
Rest In Peace:
Bud Abbott (October 2, 1895 – April 25, 1974)
Lou Costello (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959)
Two true greats in the field of comedy.

This is Sun & Moon, the story of the two alicorns around whom Equestria's history is indelibly wrapped. And this is its first chapter, a story of the search for hope in darkness, and the lengths a pony would go in order to find it.

Equestria's history is a multicoloured and complex tapestry, speckled with the works of the great ponies of its past. But there is one dominant colour, visible everywhere, and that is the contribution of the two ponies who saw it all: Celestia and Luna.

A comprehensive understanding of Equestria is impossible without first knowing their whole story: from its start, in the middle of Discord's Chaos, to its finish.

Celestia and Luna were born into a lawless world, just two alicorns trying desperately to survive. Little did they know the great destiny that fate had chosen for them. On the road to that destiny, they will discover everything that lay underneath the Equestria of old, and set the stage for all that came after.

Illustrations by Doctor Tastybeaver