Evil Sisters AU (Part 1: Intro Ramble)
Ten years prior to when her sister would have been released from the moon, Celestia snaps. 990 years without her sister, the shards of the elements she shattered corrupting her mind, Celestia frees her sister.
That day in Canterlot, a young filly named Twilight is testing to get into school. As the moon rises and the protections shatter, a rainbow lights up the sky, causing the filly to lose control. The newly hatched dragon, shifting in size thanks to Twilight’s magic, grabs his tiny pony parent and flees, Twilight still sparking.
The filly Fluttershy falls to the earth, rescued by woodland creatures. As an explosion of heat and magic lights the Everfree forest, the animals flee with their pony friend.
Applejack sees the rainbow lighting her way home, and worse, a rising glow like fire on the horizon. Panicking, she rushes home to check on her brother, grandmother, and baby sister.
The young Pinkie, sulking on the rock farm, is inspired to throw a party when she sees the brilliant rainbow light the sky. The Pie family and neighbors, noticing the glow on the horizon, wait in fear.
Rainbow Dash performs her first sonic rainboom, pulling into the finish line as an ominous glow lights the Everfree forest to the west. At first, she worries that she caused it somehow, but the excitement of the moment and her cutie mark wipe the worries from her mind.
Rarity’s magic, powered by the rainbow that lit the sky, drags her to a crystal filled rock overlooking the castle of the two sisters. In shock, she watches as Princess Celestia, mane and eyes now orange with fire, emerges with a dark mare, wearing the night sky on her head.
Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon capture the young filly who witnessed them, and arrive in ponyville to announce their joined rule. To the north, the sky is night. To the south, the sky is on fire. The two sisters wish to rule in harmony, and any that oppose them shall perish.
Opposition is spoken, and half of Ponyville burns. Princess Celestia, now called Daybreaker, screams that they have one week to pledge loyalty or the rest of Ponyville will burn. The sisters return to Canterlot, and fires spring up around the city as Celestia’s political opponents die.
Hondo and Cookie, terrified for their daughter's safety, are the first to pledge loyalty to the sisters, taking their infant Sweetie and following the two into Canterlot. Rarity, though terrified, is made into Daybreaker’s personal student and handmaiden, to keep her family loyal. Other foals and fillies around Canterlot are also kidnapped, their parents pledging loyalty or dying, and the children being drafted into military or castle training.
Twilight Velvet and Night Light swear loyalty to the sisters. Their daughter is missing, and Daybreaker is offering Shining exactly what he wants in life.
The news spreads through Equestria like a wildfire. The Pie family retreats into their caves with the nearby villagers, to plan and discuss. The Apple family starts gathering up the remains of ponyville and their orchard, organizing those who lost family and friends into a herd that can’t stay loyal to those who killed so many. They flee into the forest.
Fluttershy and her new friends hide in the wild. The random fire strikes have cooked animals alive in front of Fluttershy, and her heart grows angry at the princess who kills animals so needlessly. Silently, she apologizes to her parents and brother for not returning, and sets off with her animal friends to the north, away from the fire.
Rainbow Dash’s excitement dies as Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon’s power spreads. A royal announcement makes living in the clouds illegal, only the rulers are allowed to live above everyone else now. No clouds may mar the beauty of the royal skies without the explicit say of the royals. Windy and Bow take their daughter and flee to the tiny rock caves below, where they meet the Pies.
The dragon spike and the filly he’s carrying run north for nearly a week before Twilight’s magic runs out and Spike shrinks down. The week of power has left pale marks along Twilight’s right side, and her right eye is permanently black from the overwhelming magic. Spike is left larger than normal, and frightfully intelligent for a week old dragon.
Spike and Twilight are discovered by a fleeing stallion named Troubleshoes. At first, he thinks the two are just more bad luck, but he can’t turn away from their plea for help. As he lifts and carries the two, he tells them he heard of a place to the north, a wide area with a frightful castle, and two miles in every direction, no one may use magic.
The changeling queen, Chrysalis, is observing her territory with her warriors and the young ones in training. For the past few weeks, the sky had been putting everyone on edge, and the patrol let her children work off nerves.
The huge stallion, Troubleshoes, enters her territory, carrying a filly and a small dragon. He offers Chrysalis information, loyalty, and love if she agrees to protecting his two burdens.
Thinking about her options, she could say yes and then harvest them all, Chrysalis notices the young filly’s eyes. One eye is clear and purple, and the other is heavily blackened. A tiny voice, harsh from fear, pipes up. “P-please miss, I’m sure more ponies will come and help feed you with love. I ... I don’t wanna go back, I turned my professors into things and I think I killed my...my parents. And I...I’m so scared.”
Perhaps it was the tears, or the promise of more love to come, or maybe it was the youth of the filly and dragon, both so small like her own children before their second molt, but Chrysalis couldn’t help but say yes to the tiny filly. Lifting Twilight gently onto her own back, she led her tiny group back to the castle to talk and plan.
Over the next months, more ponies did come, and the changeling warriors led them all to the castle, where the ponies pledged loyalty and love to the changeling queen. Among the first were the ponyville refugees, who gladly set up farms around the castle to feed the non-changeling residents. Then came the half-feral filly Fluttershy, leading a pack of animals to the one place where the Sisters’ magic couldn’t spread. And then, nearly a year later, the Pie family, along with their village, the Bow family, and many other families, broke through the cliff surrounding the castle, having dug their way towards the rumored place of safety.Â
Ten years after Daybreaker’s rise, Equestria is still in flames. Refuges are rarer now, and civil war dots the landscape. The Changeling nation is the one safe place left, a haven to ponies, changelings, griffons, and a few young dragons.
The trusted unicorns in Changeling Lands are few and far between, heavily vetted by Chrysalis herself. They are given special holes in their horns that allow them to preform magic inside the changeling lands.Â
Twilight, Pharynx, Spike, and the changeling princess Ocellus are the main protectors of the royal throne. They and Chrysalis all wear gold earrings that connect them to each other for quick communication. (Spike’s are rings around his fingers that allow him to send written messages to any of the other four along with any generals in the changeling army).
Fluttershy remains the most feral, commanding a squadron of normal bears and Ursa Minors. They patrol the border mercilessly, capturing any that dare cross and bringing them to the changelings.Â
The Apple family and the Bow family run the farms around the hive, the Apples planting and the pegasi bringing rain. Other earth ponies and pegasi are also hard at work, keeping the food growing so the ponies may eat.
The Pie family, along with the unicorns and other earth ponies suited for digging are constantly at work building underground hives for ponies and changelings to live safely and in comfort while leaving plenty of room for the farms. They also run secret underground spy lines through several parts of Equestria, where they liberate prisoners and supply the hive with water.
On the Sister’s side, the head of the Royal Army, Shining Armor, and his betrothed head of Royal Defense, Rarity, plot to take down the pesky rebellion stirring in the Changeling Lands. Both are fiercely loyal to the princesses. Rarity’s plans and strategies brought down the dragon lands, a bloodbath that killed any dragons that didn’t pledge loyalty, enslaving the others as steeds and weapons for the royal army.Â
Damn this was a long introduction hahaha [sobs]. Probably because I’ve had this idea in my mind for hecking YEARS.Â
I’ll continue more later! But in the meantime, have what Twilight looks like here (as an adult) -Â
