There was once a beautiful mare, a Pegasus, with coat of vermilion, and mane of velvety violet, her feathers long, wings powerful, and hooves strong, indeed, her form divine as the horizon at setting sun. Her service, her duty, was to prepare the sky, at both dusk and dawn, to receive the Sun. Not only was Eventide beautiful, but swift as a sunbeam, and prideful. Too prideful.
Eventide's only true vice was her ego, her obsession with her own greatness, and the importance of her work. Ultimately, the day would come when her pride was brought to the attention of none less then Princess her self. And so, Celestia came before the mare, and confronted her. A challenge, of sorts, in speed and in grace, the winner to be crowned the swiftest and most graceful in all of Equestria, the loser, of course, subject to the will of the victor. The princess felt sure that, in this confrontation, Eventide would withdraw, showing her respect, or at least humility before her Ruler, yet, in her pride, the mare was eager to prove her self.
And so the trials of Eventide began, high above Equestria, in the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale. The Princess played fair, no task was offered which could not be completed by a Pegasus, and though the Alicorn could easily have won by using her magic alone, she chose not to. And so, in trial, after trial, the two competed. Alas, no matter how she tried, there was no defeating Her Highness, and in the end, Eventide's pride crumbled, her spirit broken, she conceded her defeat.
"Surely, now" thought the Alicron, "she shall accept her defeat with dignity", but no. The mare would be defiant to the very end. "Do as you will, Celestia" she spoke with fire in her eyes "what ever doesn't break me will only strengthen my resolve. I shall fly higher, higher then I was before, maybe even higher then you!". Celestia paused. She could not believe that the mare had spoken to her in such a way. Before her subjects, she had to respond, she had no choice. "Look at your self!" Said the princess, not in anger, or disgust, but only in pitty "you behave as though a head strong child. So be it then, a child you shall be, your name forgotten by the hearts of Equestria, your wings bound to the earth by the weight of your failure, and your mark banished, and so it shall stay, until you have earned back your brand, and the freedom of the sky." The mare looked up into the cold eyes of her Princess.. the fire gone, she wept, as she was cursed to a form she had long forgotten, she felt the clouds softening beneath her hooves, and part. She looked up as the sky fell away from her, tears lifting before her eyes like stars in the sky, as the wind, cold and cruel, whipped around her.
She would never remember hitting the earth, or how long she slept upon it's soil, was it minutes? years? she didn't know, but when she woke, she woke to darkness. She looked up, expecting to see Cloudsdale sillouetted against the night sky, but instead of stars, she saw light filtering through the branches of the Everfree Forest, though tiny specs as distant as the stars. She couldn't remember exactly how she had gotten there, she looked at her wings, and tried to take to the air, but all she could manage was a weak hover, before falling back to her hooves. She tried to think of how she had gotten there, brief glimpses fluttered before her eyes of the Mare she had been, and her eyes squeezed shut in shame. The princess was right, this was what she deserved.
The oppressive, if not outright crushing silence of the Everfree forest cracked like a whip at the sound of a voice. "HEY KID!" it shouted, mostly irritated, slightly concerned. The mare looked around, she couldn't see where it came from, then she looked up and gasped as a sky blue mare floated gracefully down before her, tucking her wings in. "What the heck are you doing in here?! It's dangerous! There are.." the mare frowned, as if hesitant to say, "Things...in here"
The young filly looked down and said "I...I..." she blushed.. "I don't know" she lied. The rainbow maned mare looked at her "You don't know...What's your name?" The filly shook her head.. "you don't know..you didn't hit your head on the way down did ya?" the mare looked up as if expecting to see a hole in the thick canopy in the shape of a little pegasus "lemme go out on a limb here, you don't remember...". The filly could only swallow and whisper "I can't fly..". Rainbow Dash couldn't contain her self, as she burst into laughter "Of course you can fly! All pega..." The laughter died in her throat as she saw the stricken look on the filly's face.
The mare curled her wings around the filly, and held her close "I'm sorry Kid, that was really bone headed...here, why don't you climb on my back, we can fly together..". The child climbed onto the back of her savior, and held tight as they burst into the air. This was strange, and exhilarating, she had never had to depend on another like this before, it was like being on a roller coaster, she even giggled, this was fun. "Uhm, you're Rainbow Dash, right?" the mare did a loop impressively in mid air "The one and only.." she paused, even slowing down slightly, before picking back up speed "how do you know who I am, if you don't know who you are??" The child hid her face from the older mare.. "Well, you're kinda famous..you made a sonic rainboom when you were just a filly,it was one of the prettiest things I'd ever seen.." Though the mare only laughed again "Squirt, I did that when I was just a kid like you, younger'n you even, theres no WAY you saw that.." The child blushed.. "Well, maybe I just imagined it..."
Rainbow Dash seemed satisifed, analytical thinking about the weird things kids say wasn't really her thing anyway. "We're almost there, squirt." She called back, the filly hesitated and said "Where are we going?", even if she could fly, even though no one would know her or care, she just couldn't bare going back to Cloudsdale. "There's a little town near here, called Ponyville, You'll like it there. Nicest ponies you'll ever meet, they've got a school, and lots of kids to play with, I've got a friend there named Rarity. Shes a little up tight, but she will do anything for someone in need, maybe she can help you find a place to live...hey, she has a little sister about your age, I bet you too will have lots in common.." She calmed some, at not having to return to her once home "Plus this year Ponyville will be having a big cellebration for Princess Celestia! You might even be able to see her in person, and who's responsible for cloud clearing? Why yours truly of course, and.." as Rainbow dash continued on and on about the preparations, the only thing that the young filly could think was "Oh buck, I can't wait. I'd rather kiss Nightmare Moon."
In the end, it worked out for the most part. She would never forget what Rainbow Dash had done for her, finding her in the dark place she was in, saving her, she started in a new school, and met two ponies who would become the best friends she could have ever hoped for, and so Celestia had her own way of showing mercy upon Eventide, not that it would be apreciated, but if not for trials, and her fall from grace, she would have never learned how friendship is the greatest magic of all. Who cared if no one would ever remember the name "Eventide". She had a new name now, and her whole future ahead of her.
Epilogue.
The princess sighed as she watched the sun setting. The laws of the magic which she had used meant that no one but her, could remember the beauty and majesty of Eventide's sunrises and sunsets, she especially missed the sunsets, it was like the sky was filled with magic. Not that the five pegasi whom had risen to fulfill the same duty were not doing a magnificent job. But it just wasn't the same. Sometimes, here, at the ending of the day, she would think of the final words that Eventide spoke to her. Like a fantom, whispering "I shall fly higher, higher then I was before.." she paused "Maybe even higher then me?.."
The alicorn smiled, and whispered "Show me. Freed from those chains that held you down, show me how high you can really fly."
