‘Twas a vibrant, sunny morning in the meadows of Old Equestria where a young Celestia and her sire, Mint Bliss, convened for the filly’s daily magic lessons. Mint Bliss had noticed his daughter showing great promise in her studies thus far, and after having her instructed at home he decided to bring her out in the field to put her budding prowess to the test.

Today, Celestia was going to try something extraordinary for a filly her age: creating life.

“Come hither, my fauntkin!” The stallion called after his daughter. “The time has come for thy field lessons! Art thou prepared?”

“Yes, Daddy!” Celestia affirmed, withdrawing a pouch of seeds from her saddlebags. “I stuffed my bubble-bow with everything that shall be necessary!”

“Splendid!” Mint Bliss grinned. “Prithee, plant thy seeds thither and show what thou hath learned.”

Celestia followed suit, carefully planting one seed into the earth and getting herself into the mindset for her spell. She inhaled the fresh, fragrant air of the meadow, clearing her mind of all other distractions and picturing the small sprout she intended to grow.

She lit up her horn and let her magic do the work, reciting the spell in her mind and mustering up all the energy she could to complete it. She felt herself begin to perspire and her head begin to ache from the effort, but she kept going. Just a little bit more…

“Celestia! Open thy eyes and behold!” The filly’s eyes snapped open and she almost fell to the ground as her concentration broke. Before her was not a sprout, but a vibrant, full-grown flower!

“My daughter, thou hath exceeded my expectations! A beauteous flower thou hath created!”

The filly knew not what to say but instead grinned, soaking in her father’s praise and her pride at the feat she’d just accomplished.

“Thou deserve the highest praise for this feat. So young, yet so promised!” Her father pulled her in for a hug. “Thou art surely getting a scrumptious desert this night as a reward. I shall have the maid prepare it at once. Thou ought to take great pride in thyself!”

And she was. Feeling brighter than the sun shining upon her, Celestia followed her father in anticipation for all the glory that would soon come to her.

*****

Luna paced her home, feeling lonely and abandoned as she once again waited for her sire to come home.

He always did this. He was never one to think with his brain or his heart, only his trinkets as he trotted off to swive with wretched harlots. He was seldom home and hardly loved his daughter, not giving a care to the fact that she was alone most of the time. She was often left to prepare her own supper.

The pegasus filly fumed with envy as she watched a pair of young fauntkins frolic outside with their mother and father. She thought herself an utter wind-sucker for feeling this way, but she couldn’t help feeling betrayed for being stuck with a hufty-tufty maltworm for a sire and a gaping absence where her dam should be. A dam who was surely just as much a wench as her sire, considering she, too, abandoned her.

Luna longed for a better life than this. She longed to be loved and adored by the ponies around her, not left behind by the ones she should have been able to depend on. But instead, she was left in the shadows.