LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
Ribbondale, 1,402 years ago
Far in the east of the continent that would someday be encompassed by the nation of Equestria, hidden in a deep valley of lush green forests, was the ancient city of Ribbondale.
The city didn't dominate the wilderness over which it had been built. It was built to coexist with the wild lands, each house customized to fit in perfectly with nature: some houses on stilts of differing lengths to keep them level upon the sloped ground, some with holes in the roofs for the trees in the floor to grow out of. Many of the homes were shades of healthy green to match the forest, lined with black iron and with magnificent spires and winding spiral staircases on even the smallest of dwellings.
This city was home to the immortals. Sometimes called alicorns, they were the rarest and most powerful subset of the pony species. They were plentiful here; in fact, every inhabitant of the city was of this majestic race. Each had a horn longer than that of any unicorn, wings more impressive than any pegasus could hope for.
Most breathtaking was that each had a magical aura that surrounded their bodies at all times, an aura tied to the nature of their cutie mark. One's body might crackle with rainbow-colored lightning with every flap of their wings; another immortal might shimmer like a gemstone, or exude smoke bearing the intoxicating scent of apples.
On average, an immortal was only slightly taller than any other kind of pony, but a decent percentage of the population towered over their neighbors with their long and powerful legs and graceful necks. One such pony walked along the stepping stones of the valley toward its center. Tempest was her name, and she had crystalline blue eyes and a deep blue coat. Her cutie mark was a hurricane, and she was surrounded at all times by a swirling whirlwind that whipped her long stormy-gray mane and tail around rapidly.
"Sister!" Tempest called, raising a hoof in greeting.
Tempest's sister was just as tall as she, with earthy-brown fur, almond-shaped spring-green eyes, and a mane and tail of the same green. Her mane was tied into a bun and decorated with chopsticks. Her cutie mark was the planet, all its oceans, forests, deserts, and plains clearly defined… and everywhere she went, flowers, grass, and clouds of pollen appeared out of nowhere and floated around. Her name was Gaia.
The sisters greeted each other with a gentle tap of the tips of their horns. "Well met, Tempest," Gaia said softly.
"Likewise, dear sister," Tempest said with a graceful nod. "Did you bring—?"
Tempest's question was answered when a small filly peered out from behind Gaia's legs, a filly with a periwinkle coat, pale blue mane, and dark teal eyes.
From behind Tempest, with an uncannily similar posture and expression, came another filly, this one bright pink, red-haired and green-eyed.
"Lara!" the blue filly squeaked happily.
"Lulu!" the pink one shrieked back.
The two of them raced out from behind their mothers and embraced, jumping up and down in unison. They turned around and began to run toward the center of the valley, but Tempest held them back.
"Hold on there," she said to her daughter. "Greet your aunt before you go running off with your cousin."
"Hello, Aunt Gaia," the pink filly said sweetly.
"Good morning, Annihilara," Gaia said, nodding back to her with a smile.
"Come on, Lara, let's go!" Luna cried. The fillies darted off.
In the center of the valley was an open area dotted with picnic tables of glass and iron. Above this area, another filly was flying around. Older and taller than Luna and Annihilara, this one was uniformly pink: her coat, her mane, her eyes. Unlike her sister and cousin, she had a cutie mark, a great golden sun, though she was still too young to possess a constant aura.
Celestia swooped down upon a table, coming in between two fillies her own age: Ragnarok, pale gray with a wavy blue-and-white mane and pink eyes, and Xanadu, dusty black, orange-eyed, and her straight orange mane and tail decorated with green and black beads.
"Hello, girls!" she said brightly.
"There you are, Tia," Ragnarok said with smirk. She made to smack Celestia in the head, and Celestia blocked with her forearm. They both laughed.
"Oh, girls," said Celestia, "take a look at what I found."
She turned and displayed her cutie mark to them.
"Ooooooh!" they exclaimed together. In their excitement, their developing auras were displayed: Ragnarok's body surged with tiny pink bolts of electricity from her cutie mark, itself a pink lightning bolt. Xanadu's mark was a dark green diamond of light, and the air around her began crackling and snapping with similar sparks.
"Impressive, Tia," said Ragnarok with a smirk. "Very impressive… I was worried about you for a while, but you've done it."
"Look at your mane!" Xanadu exclaimed, her eyes widening.
Celestia's pink mane and tail were still fairly short, but were flowing and floating as if she was underwater.
"How'd that happen?" Ragnarok asked, trying to sound dismissive.
"I think it comes with the cutie mark," Celestia said, shrugging. "If you like that, you should see my aura."
She squinted hard, her horn glowing yellow for a moment, then her entire silhouette started burning with golden light, her outline shining like the sun. She could only maintain it for a few seconds; afterwards, she looked exhausted but very smug.
"Wow," Xanadu breathed. "But what does it all mean? Are you going to have power over the sun?"
Celestia wrapped an arm around Xanadu's shoulders and leaned toward her confidentially. "Xanadu… you're an imbecile."
Xanadu thrust her nose in the air snootily. "No I'm not!" she said. "I'm just ditzy."
"Is that what Ragnarok told you?" Celestia said in amusement. "You can't sugarcoat things like that for her, Ragnarok. You have to be honest."
She backed away, slouching cockily in her seat. "Anyway, no. The sun represents leadership and wisdom. You know what that means? I'm going to rule this whole town someday!" She spread her front hooves and tiny wings triumphantly.
Her broad grin faded at the sound of a tiny voice. "Celestia! Celestia!"
"Oh, boy," Celestia muttered. "Somepony sound the alarm bells; Ribbondale is being invaded by twerps."
Luna galloped down the slope and hopped up onto the seat next to Celestia, closely followed by a casually trotting Annihilara.
"Hellooooo, Celestia," Luna sang.
"It's Tia," Celestia said shortly. "Tia."
"Really?" Luna mocked. "Because I'm pretty sure your name is Celestia. That's what Mother named you."
"Well, Mother doesn't know everything," Celestia said, sliding off the seat. "I'm feeling like a trip up into the canopy. Xanadu, go fetch some snacks and meet us there."
Xanadu looked confused for a moment. Celestia glared at her harshly, and she squeaked in fear and flew away.
Ragnarok trotted after Celestia. "You can't order Xanadu around, Tia. That's my job."
"Well, I think I've received a promotion," Celestia said, tapping her cutie mark. "Oh, don't be scared that your 'authority' is slipping. We'll order Xanadu around together."
"Lulu," Annihilara whispered. "Come on, cousin, let's play together, just us."
"I know, but I want to spend time with my sister," Luna whispered back. She raised her voice. "Wait for us, sister!"
From higher up, on the cobblestone paths lines with short iron fences, Gaia and Tempest watched the scene unfold.
"It seems my Luna and your Lara are inseparable," said Gaia.
"Cousins should be friends," Tempest said simply.
"Yes… yes, I suppose…" Gaia muttered. "I… I only think that sisters should be friends as well, my sister." She touched Tempest's hoof with her own. "Look at them… Luna worships Celestia. But Celestia will have nothing to do with her."
Down below, Luna was racing after Celestia as fast as she could. Celestia took to the air in an attempt to escape, but was too slow and weak of a flyer and soon drifted back down to the ground, Luna right behind her.
"Were we so different?" Tempest said comfortingly.
"I know," Gaia said, rubbing her temple with a hoof. "But they were so close to outgrowing that dynamic. I thought they would, that they would achieve a healthier relationship, but they've slipped back into… this."
"Well," Tempest said delicately, "in their defense… their father just left them. That can be an extreme blow to a young filly's psyche. It's only natural for them to regress a bit."
"Yes, I know that," Gaia fretted. "I just… I fear for their future."
"Of course you do," said Tempest. "They're your daughters. But on the subject of their father… how are you handling it?"
"Oh… well… it wasn't as much of a blow as you might think," Gaia said absently. "I know it surprised everypony outside the household, but in truth, Helium had been growing distant from the girls and I for years."
"That doesn't answer my question, Gaia," Tempest said softly. "How are you?"
"You know the answer to that, Tempest. I'm a mother. I'm only as happy or unhappy as my children… and they're in a very bad place. Celestia is self-righteous and full of herself, Luna is blindly obsessed with being just like her sister. I know that's normal for their age, but I can't shake the feeling that they won't ever outgrow it."
Tempest nuzzled her sister's face with her own. "They'll be fine, sister. They're tough little fillies."
"Yes," Gaia said bitterly. "Tough enough to hide how they truly feel. But feelings are just as important as strength, we all know this. My fear is that they'll stay the way they are now, shielding their hearts and denying their true selves, even when they're older… maybe forever."