Once upon a time...
In the magical land of Equestria...
There were two regal sisters who ruled together and brought harmony to the land.
To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn.
The younger, brought out the moon to begin the night.
Thus, the two maintained balance for their kingdom and subjects: all the different types of ponies.
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her sister brought forth, but slept through her beautiful night.
One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn.
The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young ones heart put her beyond all reason.
It was then that the lord of chaos, an evil creature known as Discord, chose to strike.
The land of Equestria was thrown into a realm of turmoil, where the very forces of reality were twisted into new horrific shapes.
The regal sisters put aside their differences to defeat this new threat, but they found that the vile magic of Discord was far more powerful than their own.
Celestia and Luna were forced to match the Lord of Chaos by harnessing the most powerful magic known to Equestria:
The Elements of Harmony!
Using the elements, the sisters defeated Discord in a great battle, and turned him to stone.
The ponies of Equestria celebrated the sister's victory and the bitterness of the younger ebbed away as she saw the gratitude in the hearts of her subjects, and found new joy in her duties as the bringer of night.
The two sisters made their peace, but they found the Elements had been completely drained of power.
With his final breath, it seemed Discord had chosen to evaporate the powerful magic within the Elements.
Despite the best efforts of the sisters, the elements remained dead.
But they believed that the magic would reawaken one day.
Until that day arrived, Celestia decreed that the Elements of Harmony were to be sealed away.
And so, the sisters constructed a great vault inside the Temple of Harmony, where the Elements could await a time when they would be needed again.
To this very day, stories are told of the Elements of Harmony, locked away in a secret temple, awaiting the touch of one who can wield them again.
******Twilight Sparkle looked up from ancient tome she had been absorbed with for the past several hours. She noticed with a faint gasp of surprise that the sun had long since begun to set over the distant Smokey mountains, and shadows had begun to stretch into her study, casting long silhouettes over the oval floor of the Canterlot study. Where had the day gone? She could hear Spike knocking about downstairs, care free as ever. Twilight quickly reread the final passage of "Equestria: A History" and scrunched up her nose in concentration.
"The Elements of Harmony?" She said out loud, her voice slightly weak from lack of use. She was sure she had read about these artifacts before...but where? Hadn't Princess Luna mentioned something about the "Elements" during one of their private sessions?
Another series of loud clunks and bangs downstairs. Honestly, what was that dragon up to? It sounded like he was trying to pull up the stone flooring! Twilight tutted and gave the large tome she had devoted the afternoon to an affectionate pat. it had been a fascinating read, after all - even if the young unicorn did find herself frustrated trying to recall a lesson from many years ago. What had Luna said? The Elements represented... kinship? was that it? No-no... Friendship.
That was it! She remembered now. She remembered inwardly rolling her large purple eyes at the very idea of it.
Why would she need friends when she had books? Books were far more interesting. Well, she had Spike as of course - She counted him as a very dear friend - but that's really all she needed. More friends would prove an... inconvenience.
And where was this "Temple of Harmony?" Twilight had certainly never heard of that. Perhaps one of the other history books could shed some light on...
Another loud bang downstairs.
"Spike?" she called, closing Equestria: A history with a delicate hoof. "What are you doing down there?"
"Mmf!" was the muffled reply.
"What did you say?"
"MMF!"
Twilight rolled her eyes as she clambered to her hooves, and trotted down the extravagant spiral staircase that connected the small balcony where she liked to read to the main study area below.
The scene that met her was one of complete chaos. Pieces of clothing were scattered all over the room - and given the enormous size of the study, that was quite the feat! Spike seemed to be struggling in a small red tunic. He appeared to have completely knotted himself into the fancy piece of clothing. One of his arms was flailing out of the neck line, while the rest of the baby dragon was in the process of being smothered by the fashionable one piece.
"Spike? What in the name of Celestia are you doing?"
"Mwhligt!" The flapping dragon/tunic hybrid yelled, turning towards the sound of her voice. "Het thfs offa me!"
Twilight suppressed a giggle and she formed her face into a well practiced wall of concentration. Her horn gave a purple flash of light causing Spike to raise into the air, and with one fell swoop dragon and tunic were flawlessly separated.
Spike fell to the floor with a small thud, and glanced up at Twilight sheepishly.
"Thanks Twilight, thought I would never get out of there!" the dragon picked up the tunic and inspected it with his discerning lizard eyes.
"I was sure I could fit into this...have I put on weight?"
"Why are you trying to fit into that fancy little suit anyway?" she asked, as Spike gave his stomach an affectionate pat and begun to pick up the stray pieces of clothing that had been scattered about the room. "I can't imagine destroying half my study was intentional... special occasion?"
The dragon gave a disbelieving snort. "Moon Dancer is having a party in the castle courtyard tonight. I've told you about seventeen bazillion times this week!"
Twilight gave a slightly awkward shuffle. Spike had mentioned Moon Dancer's party several times over the past few days... not just him, but half the ponies in Canterlot had asked if she would be attending. Twilight honestly couldn't think of anything more monotonous than listening to Dancer droning on and on about her oh-so-perfect life. No, why on earth would she want to do that when she could study something important?
"Oh," She said finally, with the enthusiasm of a glass of cold tap water. "That."
"Aw com'n Twilight! It'll be fun! There'll be nibbles and-"
Twilight forced down a snort. She fully well know why Spike wanted to go to the party, and it was NOT for the cuisine.
"-What's with the face?"
"You only want to go because Moon Dancer will be there..."
Spike blushed deeply, turning his scales a rather delightful deep purple in the process.
"T-that's a complete-"
"Aw come on Spike, you've been obsessed with Moon Dancer since we arrived at Canterlot. It's fine - you go and have fun. I'm going to stay In and-"
"-Study." Spike finished for her with a groan.
"Yes! Study!" Twilight snapped, turning on her hoof and strutting back up the stairs to her bedroom.
Why couldn't anypony understand that there were more important things than talking drivel with a bunch of posh unicorns who would endlessly question her about the princesses personal lives? She didn't have time for it! She stomped over to her workplace and began sifting impatiently through the pile of paperwork she had completely failed to tidy.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to make you angry!" Spike called, as he lovingly folded the clothes back into their respective drawers. "I just think It would be good for you to get out of the study once in a Luna moon, you know?"
"Too busy!" Twilight called back, as she located a plain scroll in the mound of detritus and gave it a magical yank to dislodge it. She may have pulled slightly harder than necessary, as the entire mound collapsed like a stack of cards. Twilight gave no mind to it however, and trotted back downstairs.
"Take a note please!" She ordered, passing the scroll over to Spike her caught it half-heartily.
"Twilight, are you alright? you've got the whole...twitchy scholar eye thing going on."
"I'm fine. Could you please write this down Spike?" Twilight repeated, beginning to pace the study as she always did when she was going to dictate a letter.
Spike sighed with resignation as he produced a fine crimson feather quill.
"Ready?"
"Ready Twilight."
"My dearest teacher," she began, pushing forward her front lip in a show of importance as she paced the study. "I recently came into possession of a rare tome, borrowed from the Canterlot library. While I enjoyed the theoretical arguments of the author, I have found myself curious about a certain artifact mentioned within the book, a collection of items called "The Elements of Harmony." Could you shed any light... - Spike are you getting this?"
Spike's face was screwed up in concentration, his forked tongue in his cheek as he tried to keep up with Twilight's rhetoric.
"Theo...thereac...thre-"
Twilight stopped on her well practiced circuit of the study floor and eyed the small dragon with a restless expression as he toiled to spell the long word.
"Analytical?" the unicorn ventured.
"Ana...likat..." the dragon attempted.
"...Clever?" the unicorn ventured again, slightly testily.
Spike grinned up at her and nodded, as he resumed his note taking.
Twilight acknowledged the dragon's clarity with a small smile and resumed her meaningful striding around the study.
"-Could you shed any light on these enthralling-" Twilight cast a sideways glance at Spike and smiled.
"-on these... erm...items. your ever faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
Spike's scribbling reached its end and he rolled the scroll up with a small flourish. "Done! Who's it going to?"
Twilight considered that for a moment, her expression was thoughtful as she grabbed the finished letter from Spike with a sharp magical tug. She had been intending to send it to Princess Celestia, but Luna was far more interested in mythology and legends and would probably have more to share - issue being that Twilight would have to wait until her night-time duties were over before she could hope to get a response.
Twilight eyed the scroll for a moment, and then a sly smile spread over her face. Illusion spells weren't exactly her forte, but a simple multiplication spell should do the trick... the unicorn gave the letter a blast of energy, enveloping it in a sparkling purple field of magic. The scroll gave a severe shudder, then a perfect copy leapt out of the original - wax stamp and all.
"Woah, never seen you do that spell before!" Spike marveled, giving the copied scroll a cursory examination.
"Send a copy to each of the princesses Spike."
The dragon nodded, and rose one of the scrolls to his mouth. With a burst of green flame, the letter was blown into the air in a plume of emerald smoke - speeding out the window and out of view. Spike then repeated the process, but this one flew in the opposite direction, flying through the study door towards where Twilight guessed Celestia was.
"Y'know they won't reply for ages right? It's the Winter Moon Festival soon, they'll be busy getting prepared..."
"Nonsense!" Twilight shot back scandalized. To be honest with herself, she had actually completely forgot that the Winter Moon Festival was imminent. What an inconvenience! Although, she had to confess - the thought of seeing Luna raise the moon in front of everyone was going to be quite the marvel...
"But I'm their prize student!" the unicorn insisted "They'll always take time to help me study. And besides, the Winter Moon Festival is ages away-"
"-Its next month."
"-Is it? I thought Luna was a bit more bright than usual... figuratively speaking of course."
Spike rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the rather dashing silver plated mirror he had been admiring his reflection in.
"You know Twilight, I wish you would come to Moon Dancer's party. It'll be good for you to get out of this library, at least for a while. Shining Armour's going - he said he barely sees you out of your room anymore."
Spike started pulling faces at his reflection, and Twilight simply snorted and totted over to the huge observation window which offered a dazzling view of the west of Equestria.
Twilight observed the very last sparkle of sunlight starting to wax and wane as the night asserted its dominance over the sky.
Bright oranges and violent reds were slowly replaced by calm purples and wisps of a darker mauve. As she watched, small pinpricks of light started to present themselves in the nighttime sky: ready and eager to demonstrate their beauty to the world below and while it was not visible from her observation point - Twilight knew that the moon was already glowing brightly on the other side of the Canterlot castle, lighting the night with its brilliant glow.
Twilight found the nighttime incredibly comforting. She recalled with fondness how on many occasions she had stayed up throughout the night studying, only to find herself in the company of Princess Luna, who eagerly educated the unicorn on the many constellations she had created to add beauty and complexity to the night sky. Luna had demonstrated the incredible magical precision it took to bring life to such a canvas and it was something Twilight found herself jealous of. No matter how much she studied, or practiced or cursed herself - that kind of magic would always be beyond her. Twilight had confided to Luna as much, only to be offered private lessons in the finer parts of astrology. The lessons had been difficult, almost overwhelming in their complexity - but Twilight had endured. Her understanding of the heavenly bodies that effected the world was still patchy - perhaps they always would be - but studying every constellation of the nighttime sky had been one of her favorite ever pet projects. Luna had been so impressed and touched by her interest that she had gifted Twilight with a achromatic telescope she had built herself, and It remained one of Twilight's most prized possessions. Sometimes having friends was...acceptable. it would be good to talk to her brother again - perhaps she had been a little distant.
Just a little.
"I shall speak to my brother tomorrow," she said at last, pulling herself away from fond memories. "I guess it has been a while..."
"He'll be gla-" Spike didn't finish his sentence. His entire face inflated as a letter forced its way out of his mouth with a belch of green smoke.
Spike caught the scroll with a deft hand.
"A-ha!" Twilight cried triumphantly, recognizing Celestia's royal seal. "I told you she would take the time to reply Spike!"
Spike rolled his eyes as he broke the seal with a sharp claw and unraveled it, clearing his throat rather grandly in the process.
"My dearest, most faithful student Twilight!" He began, putting on a slightly posh accent. "You know that I will do everything in my power to aid in your studies, and that I trust you completely-"
Twilight gave a rather immodest flick of her mane.
"-but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!"
"What?" Twilight gasped, hoping her ears had misheard.
"-My dear Twilight, there is more to a young ponies life than studying!" spike continued, a gleeful grin slowly spreading over his face.
"What?" Twilight repeated, looking horrified.
"So I am sending you to supervise the preparations for the Winter Moon Festival in this years location: Manehattan!"
Twilight stood and stared.
"WHAT?"