Author's Note
Alright, my first story is naturally a creation myth. What sparked this story was someone wondering who Bonnie is. Now anyone who's read my stories have noticed that sometimes when I bring up the ponies almighty god, I mention Bonnie and Faust and some have asked me who Bonnie is.
Well, if you've watched any of the MLP documentaries floating around YouTube you'd know that Bonnie is the original creator of the entire pony franchise. It was her designs for a pony toy that sparked My Little Pony in the first place so I thought it was appropriate that she have her place in the pony pantheon.
As I was thinking about this, this little gem of a creation myth began to form and I just had to share. Like I said, I have always enjoyed mythology so don't be surprised if I borrow some elements from other familiar (and not so familiar) myths. In this one, I'll be borrowing from Aztec mythology so just sit back and enjoy.
How the World Began
"Alright little whippersnapper, off to bed." Granny Smith ordered and Applebloom groaned in disappointment.
"Aw Granny, can't I stay up just a little longer? Pleeeeaaase??" The filly pleaded but her grandmother stood firm.
"Sorry honey, it's getting late and tomorrows a long day." The older pony said. "Yer going to need your rest as much as possible my little apple seed."
Applebloom pouted and Granny gave her a small smile. "Aw chin up my little apple cake, if ya get ready and into your bed as quick as possible, I'll tell ya a story before bed."
Applebloom's expression brightened and the filly was upstairs and getting ready at a speed that would have Rainbow Dash impressed. Granny always told the best stories.
With her teeth brushed, face washed and her PJ's on, Applebloom dove into her bed as Granny settled into the rocking chair they kept in her room for such occasions. With filly and mare settled in their places, Applebloom could hardly contain her excitement.
"So what story are you going to tell me Granny?" She asked excitedly. "Are you going to tell me a story I know like the Founding of Ponyville or the Tales of Timber or are you going to tell me a story I've never heard before?"
The old mare hummed thoughtful as she considered her options. "Hmmmm, have I ever told ya the tale of Bonnie and Faust and how they created the world?"
Applebloom's eyes widened and she shook her head fervently. "Not yet you haven't." She said with no small amount of excitement.
"I haven't eh? Well then settle down you silly filly and let's get started." Granny said. Immediately, Applebloom bundled under her blankets and grabbed a stuffed teddy bear she kept for occasions like this (it was a family heirloom that my grandmother, mother and sister had) and Granny Smith cleared her throat to begin
In the beginning before there was light and harmony, there was nothing. Just a big ol' empty void and Bonnie herself. Now as you can imagine, being all by your lonesome can get rather lonely. So Bonnie set about creating a world. Gathering dust and compressing it, she created a world on which she could create. From there she molded the first ponies from clay and paint and gave them a world on which they could flourish.
These ponies were very grateful to Bonnie and set about living, growing and spreading. Bonnie was happy with her creations and in time she bore a daughter which she named Faust and when she was old enough, Faust helped her mother lead and nurture this world.
But as time passed, these original creations grew dark and became corrupted. This angered Bonnie and Faust and after many failed tries to point them in the right direction, they agreed that there was no other choice than ta start over. First they had to wipe the slate clean of course.
Faust descended to the doomed planet first and swept up the good ponies who didn't deserve to be destroyed. Mostly the children with some adults that weren't irredeemable. Then when she was clear Bonnie laid waste to her creation, burning everything till even the very planet was naught but ash and cinders. And when she was done, Bonnie gathered the ash and cinders and turned it into ink which she gave to Faust.
"Here my child, take this and use it to create a new world much better than before." She said as she presented the ink bottle to Faust.
"And what of you mother?" Faust asked as she graciously accepted her mother's gift.
"Do not worry my child, for I shall become the foundation on which you shall create your new and better world." She said, and with that, Bonnie became the planet upon which Faust would create this world.
Honoring her mother's wishes, Faust dipped her wings into the ink and began to create. She created mountains and seas, forests and deserts, lakes and streams. She even created other races aside from the ponies to share this new and glorious world with. Griffins, dragons, minotaurs and more. She loved them all, but most believe that Faust and Bonnie were always partial towards ponies since they were made in their image.
She also made other deities to help govern the world. Gods of life and death, the sun and moon, order and chaos and many many more. In some versions of this tale, order and chaos predate Bonnie and Faust and helped create both worlds. Nopony is sure which tale is true and Discord isn't talking, but I'm getting off topic. When Faust was satisfied with her creation, she brought the survivors to the new world.
What happened next?
Don't interrupt, it's rude. Now as for what Faust did next, I would think that was obvious. She stayed and taught our ancestors. She taught them many things, how to grow food and defend themselves, what plants were good and not good to eat and more important skills they would need to survive and flourish. She also taught them to love and tolerate one another and gave us the golden rules with which we were to lead our lives.
When she taught our ancestors all she could, she gathered them together and declared that her part had been done and it was time for them to stand on their own four hooves. After giving them a finally warning to head her teachings, Faust vanished. Many believe that she disappeared into the Aether where she remains to this day watching over us like a loving mother.
"...And that is the story of how the world as we know it came to be." Granny concluded and Applebloom looked up at her in awe.
"So is that why after Applebuck season, we bury some of our more choice apples and give thanks ta Bonnie?" Applebloom asked.
"That's right Bloom." Granny Smith confirmed. "Bonnie is the earth mother and the original mother of ponykind. Seems only right to pay our respects by giving her some of the fruits of our labors. After all if it weren't fer her, we'd have no earth upon which ta grow our apple trees."
"So is Bonnie still alive?" Applebloom asked tiredly and Granny moved over to the bed to pull the blankets up.
"Of course she is." Granny answered. "She may have become the world on which we live, but she's as alive as you are. She's just asleep which is what you need ta be right now."
Applebloom yawned. "Night Granny."
"Night child." Granny said as she pressed a kiss into the little filly's forehead. "And always remember this. There's always life wherever ya go. From the richest soil to the hardest rock, there will always be life. Ya just need ta look hard enough ta see it."
Applebloom let out a small sound of confirmation as she curled up, closed her eyes and began to sleep. Her job complete, Granny quietly exited the room and switched off the light, plunging the room into a darkness that was only illuminated by the moon and stars. And as the little earth filly slept, she dreamt of kind warm faces belonging to two alicorns. One with a bright red mane and the other with a golden blonde mane.
A/N: And that my friends is my creation myth. Now for those of you wondering how I borrowed from Aztec mythology, let me explain. The ancient Aztecs had this belief that the world they lived on was the fifth world created by the gods. The others were all destroyed or something. I'm not entirely clear on the details so don't shoot me if I did it wrong.
Anyways, I took this idea and decided to mesh it with the fact that the current MLP generation is the fourth generation. And yes I know it doesn't make sense because there were three generations before that but I thought it would be too excessive for Bonnie and Faust to lay waste to the world three times. Anyways, I hope you liked. This beautiful picture is Let the Rainbow Remind You by JaDeDJynX.
Author's Note
This little vignette takes places after the events of Hearthbreakers and is inspired by the folktale of the same name. Enjoy!
Stone Soup
After Maud's carols, it was time for dinner once again. And just like yesterday, Applejack was served a nice big bowl of stone soup. The farm mare was still slightly put off by the unusual Hearthswarming cuisine, but she'd decided to swallow her pride and learn more about the Pie family customs and that was just what she was going to do.
"So...soup with stones in it huh?" She said, more to strike up a conversation than anything else. "Gotta say, I've never heard of it. Or edible rocks."
"It's a rather common dish around here," Maud answered her. "Especially at this time of year. There's actually a legend about it."
"Really?" Applebloom asked and the other Apples looked just as intrigued.
"Oh-oh-oh! You so have to tell them the story!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly to her sister before turning to the Apples. "It's the best story ever and nopony tells it better than Maud!"
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind hearing this story ifn' ya don't mind." Applejack offered. Maud didn't say anything at first except sip some of her soup before replying.
"Okay." She said then cleared her throat as the Apples and Pies hunkered down to listen.
Our community wasn't always as tight-knit and friendly as it is now. Legends hold that once we were cold and unfriendly towards our fellow neighbors. Even more so to strangers and travelers. So when two strangers came into town one day, it should come to no surprise that they were treated coldly. They were two mares traveling together, some say they were sisters who were tired and hungry. But the town had no inn and nopony was willing to let them into their home or give them food. Even so, small as a loaf of bread.
With no other option, the duo set themselves in the center of town and pulled out a cooking pot which they used to boil stones. Such an odd action peaked the town's curiosity and after a short time, a young stallion approached to ask what they were doing. The older of the two mares smiled and said that they were making stone soup, the greatest soup ever but it would taste best with some vegetable broth.
Intrigued, the young stallion rushed home to procure the item and as he did, more ponies came up to the pair to as what they were doing and every time it was roughly the same answer with a thinly veiled request for an ingredient. It wasn't long before the entire town was gathering all kinds of ingredients. Potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, cream, kale, different kinds of beans, and even side dishes like salads and bread to go with it. By the time the soup was done, everypony had come together and were enjoying themselves in each other's company for the first time.
It was like a big old party where everypony was invited!
Exactly. There was enough soup for everyone to eat their fill and the next morning, the travelers left our town, leaving it a much better place than it had been before.
"Wow." Applejack said, impressed as she looked down at her soup in a new light. "That's amazing. Who'd have some soup with stones in it would have such an impact. Reminds me of Ponyville's zap apple jam."
"Me too." Applebloom agreed then turned to Maud. "So you all eat this soup to remind you of that day huh?"
"Yes," Maud replied. "The first ponies to partake in that feast kept the spirit and lessons they learned that day and subsequently passed them on to the next generation who passed them on to the next generation and so forth. It has become a tradition ingrain in our community."
"Huh, I wonder whatever happened to those two travelers though." Applebloom pondered and Limestone shrugged.
"Eh, their probably long gone by now." She said before plucking a stone out of her soup and crunching it.
Few Days Later
"Tia, you still have this old thing around?" Luna asked and the addressee looked up from her book to see the soup pot that Luna held in her magical grip. Visually speaking, it wasn't very impressive. It was old, plain and slightly dented,
but Celestia had hung onto it for the past few centuries.
"Of course I did Lulu," Celestia said as she looked at it wistfully as though remembering past meals. "We made such fond memories with this pot."
Luna blinked once before a look of realization crossed her face."You don't mean that time we tried to cook rocks do you?" She asked then groaned. "I still can't believe your ploy worked. At that point, I was ready to eat the rocks straight up. You were the one who suggested we cook in the center of town."
Celestia chuckled. "It worked didn't it." She reminded her lightly. "We had ourselves a decent meal and as an added bonus, we united a community. You know they still tell stories about that day and have made it a tradition to make soup with stones in it around this time of year."
"You're kidding," Luna said with an absolutely gobsmacked look on her face. "Will wonders never cease." There was a long pause as she looked at her sister then at the pot before a small smile spread across her face.
"Care to make another batch with this pot?" She asked as she held the pot up. Her sister had bookmarked her book and was on her hooves faster then she'd seen anyone ever do.
"Would I ever!" She exclaimed then skipped out the door. "I'll go get the stones."
A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating my stories a lot recently. Things have been busy/tiring plus I haven't been getting much inspiration lately. Hopefully, this is a sign that I'll be getting back on the horse. Anyways, hands up if you predicted that twist at the end.
Cookies for all who did!
