Beneath the Eternal Sun
by Darkmetroidz
First published
Underneath a sun that never sets, the ponies of Equestria struggle to survive in a harsh new world that will test their friendships and their morality.
Every day, Celestia's sun rises, then sets. Except one day, it never does.
Soon, all of Equestria is beginning to wither as the constant sunlight takes its toll on the landscape. The rivers flow with dust, and entire harvests die to the heat. The old ways of peace and plenty become a faded memory as everypony struggles to adapt to the harsh new reality they are confronted with.
Under the sun's constant watch, powers new and old will rise to claim Equestria as their own, some for the benefit of ponykind, others for the benefit of themselves. With their world dying around them, ponies of all stripes are driven to pick sides with these titans in hopes of securing their survival.
Can Equestria be saved? Or will the once-majestic country wither and die beneath The Eternal Sun?
(Other tag due to character limit. Also includes: Discord, Trixie, Dr. Hooves, Cadence, Shining Armor, King Sombra, Braeburn, Scootaloo and more.)
Chapter 1- The Solstice
The brightest days have the darkest shadows. -Unknown
Zero Hour
June 21st, the first day of summer. A day celebrated across Equestria to mark the beginning of a season of barbeques and pool parties, of warm weather and vacation. The colts and fillies had only recently finished school for the year, and everypony was eager to enjoy some well-earned rest and relaxation. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, when Celestia's sun graces the sky for almost sixteen hours of nonstop sunshine.
At noon, the sun would reach its highest point, hanging directly overhead in the sky before starting its slow journey downward to begin the relatively short night.
Except this year, it never set.
Nopony noticed it at first. But as the hours dragged on after noon, the sun stayed put at the highest point in the sky. By the time six o'clock rolled around, there was growing suspicion about why the sun had not begun its descent. By nine, there had still been no change, and by ten, parents had to explain to their children why they had to go to bed while it was still sunny out.
While the sun had not moved, the moon had remained curiously absent the whole time. When the next day rolled around, everypony had begun to suspect that either the Princesses were slacking off, or were playing a prank.
Days passed, and still there was no end to the constant sunshine. By the time the sun had been out for a week, it was becoming obvious that this neither gross incompetence or a joke. At this point, two scenarios had emerged, and it was difficult to tell which was worse: something had happened to the Princesses, or one or both of them was doing this intentionally.
Applejack was making her daily rounds of the orchard, inspecting her trees. This day, she looked over her harvest fearfully. The sun had been shining on her crop for a week, and she was starting to worry the heat and sunlight might damage her apples.
Big Macintosh walked alongside her, each farmer inspecting a different row of trees. "I don't like this one bit, sis." He said finally.
"Ya think this sun might be causin' harm to the trees?" Applejack asked.
"I know it sis." Mac sighed. "Look at the leaves. They're getting dried out from this confounded sunshine." He took hold of a low branch and showed it to her. Sure enough, the leaves were dry and crunchy to the touch.
"You think the crop might be damaged?" Applejack was terrified of the idea of a ruined harvest. Sweet Apple Acres was more profitable than most farms, but the loss of an entire season's harvest would ruin them.
"If things don't get any better, we'll be lucky if we even get a crop. And even if we get any apples, they're gonna be real small and dry. Won't be any good for cider, and nopony in their right mind would eat 'em." Mac looked off into the distance, towards the mountainside city of Canterlot. "I don't know what the hay is goin' on up there, but Princess Celestia had better put an end to these shenanigans, or we'll all be up a creek."
Author's Notes:
Hello and thank you for taking a look into what probably will be my most ambitious project to date. I will apologize in advance for any inconsistencies and delays in my publication schedule. I will be starting college soon, so it may be some time between updates. I ask that you be patient with me and i will do my best to deliver as good a story as i can write. I've been working on this idea for quite some time now and I hope you're as excited as I am to see it to the end.
Chapter 2- Hell's Gates
That morning, Canterlot Castle might have been the gates of hell. And that would make Celestia… -Princess Luna
1 Hour since the Solstice
Princess Luna liked the summer solstice for different reasons than most other ponies. Since it was the longest day of the year, that meant Luna got almost sixteen hours to sleep after she put the moon down. At six-thirty in the morning, her princessly duties were officially done for the day, and Luna could retire to her soft bed and silken sheets for a well-deserved rest.
Her slumber was disturbed shortly after. A little after noon, Luna woke up soaked in sweat. Her bedroom had become unbearably hot in the few hours she had been asleep. She threw every sheet and blanket off her bed, but it was not enough to cool herself down. Usually, Luna's bedroom was one of the coldest rooms in the castle, but now it felt like an oven.
With only a couple hours worth of sleep, Luna was barely awake when she rolled out of bed. I'll just go turn down the thermostat and get right back to bed. She thought. There was still a long time before she would have to raise the moon, but still, she wanted to get back to bed as quickly as possible to get every second of sleep she could.
In her stupor, Luna was registering very little of what was going on around her. Her eyes were still partly crusted with sleep, and she navigated her way through the castle more by memory than by sight. Had she been awake, she might have noticed the groups of Royal Guardsponies, sitting along the walls of the hallway, stripping off their armor, manes slicked with sweat, talking and complaining to each other.
"What, is she trying to cook us?"
"Stars, it's like a furnace in there."
"Did you see her eyes? They were terrifying."
Luna had gotten very close to the huge twin doors that guarded the entrance to the throne room when a tiny version of herself, a manifestation of her conscience appeared on her shoulder. "Uh, boss?" It squeaked in a high-pitched version of Luna's voice. "We don't have a thermostat." It disappeared in a puff of smoke, taking any remnants of Luna's sleepiness with it, replacing it with realization, and fear. That's not good. She thought.
Cautiously, she opened the doors of the throne room, only to be blasted by a wave of heat so thick it felt solid. Luna struggled to see down the long chamber, but could not see far because of the heat distorting the air. Luna stepped foot inside, the oppressive warmth closing in on her, threatening to crush her. She estimated the temperature to be at least one hundred twenty degrees, probably more. Definitely hot enough to be dangerous. Luna lit up her horn, working to cast a spell she had learned years ago that would draw heat out of the body, and while she was still uncomfortable, she didn’t have to worry about collapsing from heat stroke.
The walk across the room only took a minute, but to Luna it felt more like an hour. Each step felt like it was being taken underwater, between the exertion of the spell and the toll the heat was having on her stamina. It's a terrible time to have a dark coat. She mused. Dark colors attracted more heat, and Luna's fur was about as dark as it came. Luna took great caution to keep her hooves on the red carpet lining the center of the room. If her hoof strayed off onto the bare marble on the edges of the chamber, she could expect painful burns on the bottoms of her feet.
Through the heat distortion, she could see two gleaming points of light at the far end of the room. Even at a distance, there was no doubting it; it had to be Celestia.
As Luna drew even closer, she was able make out her sister in greater detail, and quickly realized something was very, very wrong. The first thing Luna noticed was her mane. Usually her sister's mane cascaded in serene colors, now it seemed to dance red and orange like it was made of fire. Similarly, her eyes burned with an unearthly glow, and instead of warmth and kindness, radiated hatred and aggression.
Still, Luna was not afraid. Celestia was only ever frightening when she was protecting Equestria. Luna saw no reason to be worried.
"Sister, would you please turn the heat down?" She shouted, trying to get her attention, "I cannot sleep because of how warm it is in my bedroom!"
Without looking down at her, Celestia's voice boomed in Luna's ears, "Silence!" She hissed. In spite of the deafening volume, her mouth did not move. Instead, her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, assaulting Luna deep in her brain. "The heat and the sun are to remain as they are, and I will not allow you to change that, Luna."
Now Luna had more questions. It was definitely her sister that was making it so hot, but why? What was there for Luna to interfere with, and why was she mentioning it? And what had she said about the sun?
"Sister, please be reasonable. I just want to go back to bed, but I can't with this ridiculous heat." Feeling a bit of courage, Luna dared to ask another question. "What did you say about the sun?"
Very suddenly, her sister's voice turned from intimidating to angry. "For thousands of years, ponies have prospered beneath the light of my sun! The sun is what brings life to Equestria, and I have decided that from now on, it will remain where it is!"
Luna swallowed hard. Her sister's rhetoric reminded her of that of Nightmare Moon. "S-sister, this is madness! There has to be a balance between day and night for there to be harmony in Equestria! Without the night, there is no-"
"SILENCE!" Celestia roared. "I will not allow you to stand in my way, sister! Take this as a warning. You will not receive another." Without another word, a ring of fire formed on the floor around Luna that slowly started closing in towards her. The flames danced at neck height, just low enough so that Luna could see over the top, but in the confined space, there was no room for her to jump out. Luna tried to fly, but her wings had locked out of fear. She saw a flash from Celestia's eye, and a small lance of flame shot out of the ring and seared the right side of her face.
Luna screamed in agony as the fire ate away at hair and flesh. The smell of charred fur filled the air as Celestia watched uncaringly while her sister suffered at her hooves. Luna could feel the fur on the right side of her face burning off, followed by what felt like her skin melting. Had she not snapped her eyes shut immediately, she surely would have been blinded.
All Luna could think was fly, fly fly! Acting without thought, her wings spread wide and propelled herself towards the nearest exit, a stained glass window depicting Nightmare Moon's defeat by Twilight Sparkle. She couldn’t think straight. All she could do was put as much distance between herself and Canterlot as possible.
As she flew out the hole she created, she could hear Celestia's voice calling out to her telepathically. "If I ever see you or your accursed moon, I will not hesitate to kill you!"
Bits of shattered glass dug themselves into Luna's back and wings, but she was too scared to feel them. Her entire world had turned to chaos with one simple act. Celestia, her ever kind, nurturing sister, had injured her without warning or reason. There was so much to process, but Luna could register almost none of it. She was acting more like a wounded animal, running away without thought.
It took a few hours for Luna's adrenaline levels to lower to the point where she could think clearly. Unfortunately, that also meant she was feeling the full wrath of her injuries, both the burn and the broken glass. She was also incredibly tired. She would not be able to keep flying for much longer. She needed to find a safe place to land, where she could hide and recover, at least until she could make heads and tails of what had happened. For the first time since her escape, Luna slowed down enough to figure out where she was.
Her escape had put her along the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, near the town of Ponyville. Hiding with Princess Twilight would be out of the question. Luna had no idea what she knew, but she could not risk Twilight turning her over to Celestia. Twilight Sparkle had a good heart, but Luna also knew she was like putty in Celestia's hooves. If Celestia were to track her to Ponyville, Luna was unsure what Twilight would do.
Better to err on the side of caution. The Castle of the Two Sisters was not far, and while it was not ideal, it had one benefit that outweighed any problems; it was private. Few ever dared visit it, which would make it a perfect place for Luna to sleep for a few days to allow the pain to abate and her wounds to start healing.
The ruins came into view quickly. Her wings were horribly tired from her panicked flight. She could not muster the strength to come in for a controlled landing. Instead, she aimed herself at whatever looked soft and allowed herself to crash land.
Like a falling star, Luna slammed down on a pile of dead leaves that had piled up in one of the courtyards. She landed on her left side, leaving her burnt face exposed to the blazing sun. Luna was completely spent. There was no energy left in her tired, aching muscles. All she could do was lay there in agony, her face complaining of its burns, her back and wings the glass, and her muscles of their aching and cramping. Finally, Luna's body simply shut down. She fell unconscious there in that pile of leaves. This is not how I wanted to go back to bed. She thought weakly before her mind finally faded to black.
Chapter 3- The World on My Shoulders
All work and no play makes Twilight a dull mare. Like I had a choice. -Twilight Sparkle
1 Month, 2 Weeks since the Solstice
At any moment, Twilight felt like she might collapse from exhaustion. She had been working herself half to death for nearly a month now, and still there was no real signs of progress. If anything, the situation in Ponyville had only gotten worse.
Equestria had just seen its sixth week of constant sunshine, and the nonstop light and the heat wave and drought that had accompanied it were really starting to take their tolls. It had been with a heavy heart that Twilight had signed into law a number of austerity laws, including limiting the use of food for nonessential purposes, and enacted very strict guidelines regulating the use of water. Among other things, gardening had been one of the activities that had been deemed wasteful, making the use of water on flowers a crime. The law had come with an enormous backlash, particularly from florist ponies like Roseluck, but Twilight left them in place. Perhaps better than anypony else, she understood that water was a finite resource in their current situation, and they would have to take every step possible to make the supply last as long as possible.
Rarity's singsong voice ate at Twilight's mind. "All work and no play makes Twilight a dull mare." She had commented. What she failed to appreciate was that there was nopony else to handle the crisis, and so it had fell to Twilight to try and manage.
Only a week into the crisis, Mayor Mare discovered she was ill-equipped to handle a large-scale disaster of this sort. Her pride crushed, she stepped down from power and granted Twilight full control of the town. At first, Twilight had been reluctant to pass laws on her own and thought to run them by Princess Celestia first. However, when her letters went unanswered, she gave up and went about ruling as if there was nopony else more powerful than herself.
When Twilight first realized her status as Princess now really meant something in a legal sense, she worried the power might go to her head, and cause her to become pushy and uncaring. Her prediction was halfway right. She did not become mean, but it seemed like everypony else did.
When times were good, Ponyville was perhaps the shining example of community in Equestria. Its residents all lived in perfect harmony, all taking care of each other and working together. But that was in the past, in a time when nopony ever went hungry and the idea of shortage was a foreign one. A new Equestria had been born with the eternal day, and it was one Twilight wanted no part of. The denizens of Ponyville had become mistrusting, petty and selfish, and they would all bring their issues to Twilight to resolve.
Twilight currently sat mediating a major disagreement. It was difficult, not only because the issue itself was extremely important, but also because two of her friends were the representatives for the opposing sides.
A conference room had been set up in the cutie map's chamber, with Twilight sitting in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The farmers had accused the weather ponies of letting the crops die on their watch, because there had been no rain, and barely any clouds, since the Solstice.
"If we all up an' starve, it'll be because you wouldn't give us no rain!" Applejack snarled. Her words stabbed at Twilight's heart like knives. The accusation was beyond cruel. She seemed to be implying the pegasi were doing this out of malice.
Rainbow Dash was as offended as Twilight was upset. "Do you think we want this to happen? Do you think we don't know we might run out of food? We know what we're doing Applejack, but I can tell you don’t. There's a lot more to being a weather pony than just clearing clouds." Dash dug around in the saddlebag on her back and pulled out a chart that was hastily drawn on a sheet of paper. It was crude, but it conveyed the information it needed. Regardless, Rainbow Dash had come prepared with materials. Either she had taken Twilight's teachings to heart, or she was really angry about this whole mess. "We get a budget of water that we need to make last the year. That water makes all the clouds, rain and snow we get in Ponyville. The problem is, with the sun being so bright, almost any clouds we set up evaporate before long. The only clouds that don't break up are storm clouds, but they use a ton of water. There's a reason we only get a couple huge thunderstorms a year. That's because if we did any more, we wouldn't have enough water for winter."
Now with a clearer understanding of what was going on, Applejack's face had softened considerably. She no longer looked angry, just upset. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash. I shoulda known y'all had a good reason. But we still gotta do somethin! Ponville needs local crops to survive. If we all lose our harvests, we may not live long enough to plant another."
"We've been trying to figure out how to keep your crops watered while we keep to our budget." Dash sighed. "We haven't been able to come up with anything."
After listening for long enough, Twilight raised her voice with a suggestion. "Why don't you just put rain clouds on farms and nowhere else? It will keep the harvest watered, and won't break your budget since you're not putting clouds over all of Ponyville!"
Rainbow Dash cracked a relieved smile. "That should work. We definitely have enough water to make it until the harvest. After that…" Her expression suddenly turned serious. "No promises."
Twilight sighed. It was never that easy. "For the time being, cancel winter. We have to focus on survival, and that means stretching our water supply as far as it will go. Do you know if you will get any more water from Cloudsdale?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Rainbow shrugged. "We can't get a straight answer from them. I guess it depends on what shape the reservoirs are in when it comes time to collect water."
"Which reminds me, Applejack, how is our drinking water supply looking?"
Applejack cleared her throat. "Well, the lake is still goin' down, but thanks to your laws, it ain't as bad as it was. They threw Rose in the slammer for a few nights after they caught her there with a watering can, but otherwise everypony seems to be cooperatin'."
"Good, good." Twilight breathed. With their business done, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were able to leave as friends. Twilight smiled seeing them walking out side by side, discussing their own plans to help out the town. It was good to see some ponies still were willing to work together for the good of everypony, instead of themselves. If only every meeting went as well as that one.
Her well-deserved moment of peace was broken by the sound of claws frantically being dragged along the crystalline floors. Spike came rushing down the hall past Applejack and Rainbow, nearly bowling over the latter, with a letter clutched in his claws.
"Twi… light!" He gasped, trying to catch his breath. He always complained about the size of the castle, even though Twilight insisted they could use the exercise. "You got a letter!"
"Did Princess Celestia finally answer me?" She asked excitedly. Hopefully the Princess could clear up what was going on. Mistrust of the solar Princess had been spreading, at first only in whispers. But nearly two months into the disaster and ponies were openly declaring Celestia was the cause of their problems. Twilight herself had a hard time believing it, but even she was beginning to have to accept that it was likely no coincidence.
"No, it's from Shining Armor!" He handed her the paper, which she read curiously.
Twily,
Sorry I didn't write sooner little sis. I don't have much time, so I'm going to keep things short. What's going on has been no accident. Princess Celestia is keeping the sun where it is, and I think it will only get worse from here. Princess Luna is gone. I don't know what happened, but there was a broken window in the throne room, and blood and ash on the floor. I'm scared little sister. Princess Celestia isn't acting right. She's been talking about traitors and rebels like there's some whole conspiracy against her. I'm planning on resigning from my position as Captain of the Guard soon. The sooner I'm with Cadence and away from here, the better. Take care baby sister. I promise I will write again as soon as I can.
Your BBBFF,
Shining Armor
A cold shudder ran down Twilight's spine. In one short letter, her brother had managed to confirm all of her worst fears and more. Her brother, her stalwart knight was always so brave. He had faced off against the specter of King Sombra in the arctic without hesitation. If he was afraid now, Princess Celestia must have become truly horrifying.
Spike was trying to scramble to her side to see what was going on. "Is everything alright?"
"No Spike. It's a lot worse than we thought."