Long ago, A mare named Nightmare Moon was fated to return from her banishment on the very Moon itself yet only one pony seemed to have noticed, A young Twilight Sparkle. Twilight's Mentor, Princess Celestia sent her off to the small village of Ponyville to make some friends. Little did Twilight know the fate of Equestria was in her hooves from this moment onward. Celestia knew of what was to come, and she knew her only hope was that her student would figure out the right thing to do. Friendship. Twilight Sparkle made 6 friends in ponyville. and with these friends they stopped Nightmare Moon, One of Twilight's new friends a fellow Unicorn like herself had a new plan, to steal Nightmare Moon's cutie mark rendering her magicless, and she could be captured once again. With clever planning and distractions and her newest friends Twilight was able to take Nightmare Moon's cutie mark and trapped it. They had Succeeded but not as Celestia had expected. In a flash the white alicorn appeared, free from her imprisonment >"Princess Celestia!" "Twilight sparkle, my faithful student.. I knew you could do it" >but something was wrong, it felt, off. Celestia couldn't quite put her hoof on it but it was just wrong. >"but.. you told me it was an old ponies tale" "I told you to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to.. uh.. defeat her" >She stuttered as she saw the sixth friend twilight had made, something was wrong about her, indescribable in the moment. Quickly celestia resumed her speech "But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. now only if another will let it into hers.." >Yet it was still Nightmare Moon, Her sister was not returned. not freed from her own madness >>"No! I shall not kneel before thee, Sister! you take all the love from Equestria for yourself and let us toil in the empty night forever, What could you possibily change? Nothing! it's what we were born to do" >"S-sister?.." >>"Yes my little pony, She is our sister! I am Princess Luna! has she stolen my very history too? she covets the throne for herself. the night and day to for her lonesome and banishes me to the very moon itself" >>"Can you even come close to possibly imagining how it is there? a thousand years of grey rock and dust?" >>"Where there are no clouds, there is no sky at all to speak of. when the sun arises the surface burns like tarturus, yet when the sun is gone it's as cold as the highest mountain in the deepest of winters" >>"I've spent a thousand years walking the edge of night and day on OUR very moon to escape the heat or lack of it, and the air.. there is no air, I have to grant ourself every breath through magic, You cannot fill a skyless world with air. it merely fades into the stars" >>"and sleep? SLEEP? Oh my little ponies.. there is no sleep, You can't stop moving, you can't stop watching your breath. and you.. ha! you thought we would be happy to see you. didn't you? That Maybe we'd have learned our lesson as you'd say" "I.. I.." >>"There are no excuses for your action! I have been in the very horseshoes of Saddlphus pushing the boulder up the hill forever, and nigh endless torture for what? a simple desire to not be alone throughout my nights?" "No! you wanted the throne for yourself. it is what we were born to do! you raise the moon and watch over the night and as I do the day. do not cry about your position in life. I did not decide when ponies choose to be awake and when they choose to sleep" >Celestia, in a bright flash of magic teleported her and her sister all the way to the Canterlot dungeon "Here you still stay, I will not send you back to the moon. I truly did not know of the suffering I causes.. I'm sorry" >Nightmare Moon laughed >>"Oh sister, You have no idea the storm that arises, This is only the beginning. You will soon know what it's like to be tossed aside" >With that Nightmare Moon drifted into a deeper sleep then anypony else has ever had >What had she really done? Celestia had no idea the moon was like that, How could she have known?.. is ignorance really an excuse for such a terrible act?, she thought to herself. >Celestia returned to Twilight and her new friends in another bright flash of magic "Thank you my dearest Student for putting and end to her tyranny" >Twilight looked at her differently now, Celestia did not know what it was but guessed it was due to all the stress of meeting new ponies >"um.. Yes Princess Celestia, What's going to happen to her?" >Celestia Sighed "She will have to stay in the canterlot dungeon, she will be fed and given books and other such things if she wishes. I had thought.. I thought she would be sorry for what she did, I thought I knew in my heart she would be.. I.. I must go, Twilight" >Without a goodbye Celestia returned to her bedchambers to think about the recent events Back in the castle Twilight and her friends stood "Girls.. do you think we did the right thing?" >"Ah reckon we did but it does sound quite awful what Celestia did to her.. sister, anypony else still havin' trouble getting around that whole sister thing?" >>"I cannot imagine what it's like! walking around a dusty old moon for a thousand years?" >>>"I.. uhm, I don't know Twilight.. I know Celestia is your uhm mentor and all but.." "Yes?" >>>"I Don't think what she did was very nice, I don't think anypony has ever been through as Much as Nightm-.. Luna has" >>"Dahrling but she tried to take over Equestria didn't she?" >>>>"pft yeah but is Celestia really doing anything different now?" "Rainbow dash! how dare you say something like that about the princess!!" >>>>>>"I-I don't really know twilight, the moon sounds awfully unfun. and Celestia sent her sister there for a thousand years, that's a loooooong time" "What about you, Starlight? do you feel the same?" >Starlight Glimmer stood next to Nightmare Moon's Cutie mark in a jar >>>>>>>"Well Twilight, None of us really know Celestia. you're the only one that spent any real time with her, the question is.. what do you think?" >Twilight looked at where Nightmare Moon stood a short while ago "I don't know.. but for all the talk of the magic of friendship, I don't really see much magic in it" Many moons later Princess Celestia sat on her throne deep in thought just as daybroke, when her throne room doors burst open >"Princess Celestia!" >The royal guard raises their spears towards the entrance >There stood Twilight and her 6 friends "Lower your weapons, Twilight? what are you doing here at this hour?" >"We've come to talk" >From Behind them out stepped Luna, Tall and and her head raised high. she was as tall as Celestia herself. her coat darker and her mane a pure dark blue, not sparkling with stars like Nightmare Moon's had been "What is the meaning of this? why is she here" >"Princess what you did to your sister was a terrible thing, she may have made a mistake but the things you put her through.. nopony should ever have to experience that" "Are you here for an apology?" >>"No sister, I am not here for an apology. I would not believe you even if you tried to say you were sorry" >Celestia stood up and walked towards the group >"Princess Celestia, You have taught me many things including the magic of friendship but it's time you step down" >Celestia was in awe "Excuse me?" >>"Guards" >Celestia's royal guard raises their spears to her "What?! How dare you, all of you" >Celestia's horn glowed yellow and she blasted all the ponies around her to the ground "What have you done to my ponies, sister" >"I have done nothing, they came to me" >Luna struggled to her hooves "You are weak and once again try to take the throne for yourself, and now you have twisted the heart of even my faithful student to your cause" >"Celestia.. please, please stop this" "No twilight, she cannot be allowed to live any longer" >"Wha?.. NO" >Twilight took out a strange jar from her saddlebag and smashed it to the ground and out came Luna's Cutie Mark >Luna's mane began to glow and shine like the very night sky. a Nightly mirror of Celestia's own >Luna took a deep breath >"If a fight is what you what, I fight is what you shall get" "I've had much time to prepare for your return" >from thin air a flame appeared to float, it spread out into the shape a greatsword. Celestia grabbed the sword of pure fire in her hoof and pointed it as her sister >Starlight handed Luna a sword of her own, from first glance it was nothing fancy but there was clear craftsman ship and skill in its design. "You will fall once again sister, and we will be victorious and the Sun and Moon will be ours as it should have always been" >"Father always knew you had a darkness in your heart "Darkness? LIGHT!" >Her once beautiful mane burst into flame just as her sword was >Twilight and her friend's faces shown with fear "If you care for father so much, why don't you join him!" >Celestia lunged at her sister with a fury nopony had seen in over a thousand years from the regal mare >Luna shoved twilight aside and dodged her sister's advance. perhaps saving twilight >Celestia thrust her sword out and Luna caught it with her own deflecting it but the firey blade came too close to her fur burning it slightly >Luna winced in pain and stepped back once again >Celestia kept advancing and Luna kept deflecting and backing up. her sisters advance was nearly too much to even keep up with >And just like that Celestia's blade of fire scorched her sisters face, Luna screamed in pain and fell to the hard marble floor "What did you think you'd gain? Did you think a thousand years in prison would make you stronger? or that we'd have grown weak sitting on the throne all day? maybe you're right.. but even still we're stronger, as it always has been, as it always will be" >Luna once more got to her hooves, her face burned but nothing too serious, and then Celestia noticed something odd.. her sword. it began to Glow a brilliant Greenish blue >"Do you think I was truly alone sister?" >Luna's sword was engulved in Astral Moonlight and it sparkled the same as her mane >Luna swung her sword and from it came a beam of the same greenish blue moonlight. knocking Celestia back and surely hurting quite a bit from the sounds she made "Wh-what?" >Luna looked into the sparkling void that was her sword with a smile >"My guiding Moonlight.. my truest of friends. With it I was never alone" >she turned her eyes to her sister with the light illuminating her face with its dazzling light >Luna swung once more and Celestia this time dodged the beam of moonlight, Celestia lunged once more but Luna was prepared and slid to the side and thrust her sword towards her sister with a vortex of moonlight sending her sister flying >Celestia howled an unponylike scream and got to her hooves and wildly charged >Luna parried The attack and swung for a decapitating blow yet at the last moment stopped and merely hit her over the head with the pommel knocking Celestia out cold >"Starlight, Take her cutie mark" >Celestia awoke and could not move, she looked down to see herself tied with rope >>"Howdy Princess, or should ah say former princess" "Wha.." >"Sister, you have lost" "You vile traitor why I should have-" >>"C-Celesia stop >Celestia looked to Luna's side and saw her student.. twilight sparkle >>"What's wrong with you, Why are you so cruel. there is nothing anypony could have ever done to deserve what you've done to her" >Celestia had no response and merely turned back to her sister with a mean stare >"No, I will not send you to the moon. We have a far more humane punishment for you" "A Cell in the dungeon? oh please just send me to moon. at least there I won't have to hear your grating voice any longer" >"Wrong once again, Your memories will wiped and you will be made a filly once again and given to a family and you will live the life of a normal pony" >Celestia's mouth hung open in shock "Wha?.." >"You will grow up as you were before your wings, a young Unicorn. you wil never get your cutie mark but that cannot be helped. I would not take another ponies talent only to grant you one, this is a punishment" "W-when does it end?" >Luna raised an eyebrow >"Sister.. It doesn't, you will live the full life of a normal pony and pass on as everypony eventually does" >Celestia understood finally "No! send me to the moon, you can't do this. No please I beg you I don't want to die of old age like a.." >>"like a what.. say it!" Twilight yelled >Applejack put her hoof around Twilight in a calming gesture "you know what" >Luna sighed and spoke >"I am sorry I cannot grant you another cutie mark in your new life but, It cannot be helped" "No.. No no please don't do this please sister I beg you" >"I begged once, and what did you do?" "I.." >"Mhm, Goodbye sister.. I, I love you" >Lily Paddle, A simple earth pony living a simple life sat on her porch, Looking up into the night sky as crickets chirped >Her home was in a deep swamp, she Paddled a boat to get back into the nearby town. her husband, Marsh Cattail was asleep at this hour. but Lily liked to stay up and watch the stars >Lily heard a strange sound coming from something floating on the water, it looked like a small boat "Hello? whos there?" >the small boat floated over to her house and bumped into one of the support beams "Oh my!" >it was a tiny.. baby, she had a white coat, a pink mane and was a unicorn swaddled in a blanket "Wowie, honey! come out here. you gotta see this!" >"What could it possibly be, I'm trying to sleep" "A baby!" >Lily picked up the baby and held her in her hooves >"A baby what" "A baby baby!" >the door opened and out her husband stepped >"What does that even.. oh" >he took a peak into the swaddled wrap >"Daww, what a cutie. where did this come from?" "On that little boat" >lily kept smiling at the baby >Marsh looked into the boat and saw a small piece of paper, he read it allowed >"To whomever finds this child, Please raise her well. She is very special but needs a good home and that is something that we simply cannot provide" "Wait, we can keep her?" >Marsh laughed, "Welp I'm guessing so, do you know how to change a diaper?" "Uhhhhhhh" >"Guess I'll have to teach you that one, might not be so found of the little cutie once you've done that a few times" And so Equestria was ruled by Princess Luna of the Day and Night, Twilight and her Friends would continue down this new path in this new world