LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
Ribbondale, 1,390 years ago
Luna walked through the dusky forest outside of Ribbondale, searching for a familiar spot from her childhood. Despite the intervening years, she still had the appearance of being in her teens.
She found what she was looking for: a small treehouse high in the boughs of an enormous tree. She spread her wings, preparing to flutter up to it, but paused when a head peered out of the treehouse door: the pale pink head and magically flowing mane of her elder sister.
"Celestia?" Luna demanded. "What on earth are you doing in my treehouse?"
"Your treehouse?" Celestia said smugly. "I don't see your name on it."
"It's right there on the door frame," Luna countered, fluttering up to Celestia's eye level. "Lulu and Lara. We scratched that into the wood when we were eight years old."
"Oh yeah?" Celestia taunted. "Well, what are you going to do about it, Lulu? Are you going to shoot at me with your silver moonbeams? Fine, go right ahead. You'll only damage your rickety little treehouse."
Luna growled. "What are you even doing in there? You're too big to fit properly."
"Mostly, I'm doing it to annoy you," said Celestia. "So, where is Annihilara these days? Must be hard, being twenty-two years old and still a—"
"SILENCE!" Luna bellowed, her eyes glowing silver.
"Girls," said a calm voice.
They both looked down. Gaia stood there, with a shiny luster in her earthy-brown coat. New wrinkles were etched beneath her almond-shaped spring-green eyes, and a streak of white was in her green mane. Behind her was a trail of grass and flowers which had sprouted out of the forest floor when she had walked there.
"Mother!" Luna said delightedly, swooping down upon her for a tight hug. Celestia extricated herself from the treehouse and also floated down to the ground.
Gaia looked from one of her daughters to the other, disdainful and suspicious.
"I'm glad to see that you're both back in Ribbondale," she said calmly, "What I am not glad to see is the pair of you bickering like children."
Luna hung her head. "I'm sorry, Mother."
Gaia shook her head. "You two are the faces of the most celebrated band of adventurers in three generations, and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I thought that meant you two would get along."
Celestia shook her head. "Not at all."
"We haven't actually used the Elements of Harmony in years," Luna muttered. "They don't work, because… you know, we hate each other."
"Doesn't really matter," Celestia said casually. "The threat of using the Elements is just as powerful a force as actually using them." She opened a knapsack she was carrying, producing the six Elements. As was customary, the pearl floated in the center while the five gems orbited around it. The configuration drifted toward Luna. Celestia tried to pull them back with her golden magic, attempting to hold them into place directly above herself, but despite her best efforts they continued to force themselves into the spot directly between her and Luna.
"Yes," Luna said snidely, glaring at the Elements. "And the threat only works when we're together."
Celestia shrugged. "Hey, I'm just glad to give my little sister something to do."
"I'd love to escape from this thankless profession…" Luna began.
"Oh, quit whining, it's your whole life," Celestia teased.
"…But without me," Luna retorted through gritted teeth, "Celestia would have to admit that she's useless—"
"Or Luna would have to rejoin the normal workforce and find out she has no life without me," Celestia mused.
"…And she'd get mauled by the first dumb thug she tried to challenge," Luna finished, snarling.
"Or I'd discover that, in the overall scheme of things, there's not that much difference between adventuring with you and adventuring without you," Celestia sneered.
"Or you'll realize that I've just been letting you think you're actually capable of magic by doing all your casting for you!"
"GIRLS!" Gaia roared. With that fierce proclamation, her eyes glowed green and there was an explosion of pollen and flowers, which first expanded from her horn and then started drifting down to the ground on the wind.
The two of them fell silent.
"My girls… my sweet daughters," Gaia said with regret. "I just can't believe that two grown mares can't settle their differences like… well, like two grown mares. Why hasn't your relationship changed at all since you were children? Have all possible bridges between you two been burned?"
Luna and Celestia glanced at each other, then hung their heads in shame.
"That's quite saddening, my darlings," said Gaia. She flapped her wings and took to the air. "Come back to town with me, won't you? Have dinner with me before you continue on your way? Just promise me you'll… be safe. Try to make sure that the day you might be called upon to actually use the Elements of Harmony never comes."
Gaia flew away, a cloud of airborne pollen trailing from her wings.
Celestia grinned mischievously. "Mother is right, you know. We are the most celebrated band of adventurers the world has ever seen."
"Sister," Luna said calmly, "you must believe that I am being completely sincere when I say I truly no longer give a damn about your corrupt and money-hungry adventuring party."
"It is mine, isn't it?" Celestia said sweetly. "It's true. We're celebrated!" She took to the air and struck a triumphant pose. "We've gotten rid of scores of bad guys who would have ruined the lives of millions! We're the reason others have decided to put a lid on their dreams of being bad guys, for fear of our retribution! We have successfully brought peace to the pony nation!"
Celestia put an arm around Luna's shoulders. "Come on, shorty. Face it: you're just as big of a jerk as I am. You have every right to prance around and brag about what a great hero you are. You hate me for doing it, but you'd hate me a lot less if you gave it a shot yourself and realized how good it feels."
"Fine, fine," Luna grumbled. "Yes, we're miracle workers. We're the force of balance in the universe. We… we, I don't know. We rule the sun and moon."
Celestia cackled… and so did someone else.
"Oh, my dear little girls…" said a deep female voice. "You don't know how good it is to finally hear someone say that. I've been waiting many years to hear a boast like that."
Celestia and Luna cringed and turned around. Towering above them was a massive creature, around four times the height of Celestia. It was a macrauchenia, with silver fur that glowed like starlight, even more powerfully than the golden aura around Celestia and the silver around Luna. Her mane was a blinding white, and she was draped in glittering white lace. She had slanted eyes that were solid orbs of glowing blue.
The towering creature leaned down upon the two sisters, who were frozen in fear, their eyes bulging and their mouths hanging open.
"That's right," the creature said brightly. "It's me, Stellaris, the one who actually controls the sun and the moon. Let's see who our little heathens are this evening…"
She sniffed at them with her long and flexible snout, then took note of the floating Elements. "The Elements of Harmony," she mused. "Those freaky things, whatever they are. You two are their bearers? Well, that's a point on your favor. And… oh my! Take a look at your cutie marks! Why, it's as if it was meant to be. Clearly, you are qualified to handle the sun and the moon, as you claim."
The massive queen of the universe rose to her full height once again. "Celestia. Luna. Prepare yourselves…"
One of her eyes turned white, the other black. From her eyes shot jets of magical energy, the white one piercing Celestia's heart; the black, Luna's.
That magic swirled around them, lifting them off the ground. They cried out in pain and fear. After a few seconds, the two sisters dropped back to the ground. They stared at each other nervously, then up to the mighty goddess with increasing horror.
"Now the responsibility of guiding the day and night falls to you two," Stellaris declared, wandering away. "That's one less thing for me to have to worry about. Celestia, you'll be raising the sun. Luna, you'll bring forth the night. Of course, the world is round, so you won't be doing exactly that. More like… kick-starting the cycle every twelve hours." She turned back around and jabbed Celestia in the chest. "You'll have to start waking up earlier." She stroked Luna's head. "And you, well, you're probably under a bit less pressure, lifestyle-wise. Just make sure you don't forget. And do take care of my stars, won't you?"
She turned her back to them again. "My domains are now your domains. I think you'll find it's an awesome privilege."
Both Celestia and Luna tried to speak, but Stellaris cut them off instantly by raising her hoof.
"I know, I know," she said casually. "'But Queen Stellaris, she's the one who said it!' 'Well, you're the one who made me say it!' I really don't care what your circumstances were, girls. I've waited centuries for someone to make precisely such a claim so I could load my powers off on them… and you two are absolutely perfect for the job. Clearly, your blasphemous jest was ordained by destiny. Boy, is that a load off my mind! Now it's time for me to retire."
She inhaled deeply, peacefully, then turned back to the sisters one last time. "Oh, and, incidentally… As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, you'll live about four times as long as a normal pony, so you've got some time to think about this: you may control the sky, but you're still mortal. When you've both died, the sun and moon will remain stationary in the sky. So, if I were you, I'd start looking into methods for obtaining immortality, or else the end of your lives will mean the end of all life on the entire planet. No pressure, though." She nodded to Luna. "Oh, and night is due right about now, sweetheart. Hop to it."
Stellaris was instantly enveloped in a sky-high pillar of shimmering and pulsing rainbow sparkles. When they faded, all that remained of the queen of the Old Gods was a burn mark on the ground.
Luna suddenly jumped, startled, lighting up her horn and frantically waving her head. In an instant, the twilit sky darkened, the red of the sunset making way for the stars.
Celestia turned to glare at her younger sister. "Look what you've gotten us into this time!"
In response, Luna lifted a hoof and, casually and without even looking, punched Celestia in the jaw.
"AUUGHH!" Celestia roared, clutching her face and spitting out blood and broken pieces of her teeth. She stared in disbelief at Luna, who was furiously following the trail through the forest back to Ribbondale.