And that's how Equestria was made!by The Collab CageChaptersFlutterverseRealm of Shadow and LightTwinkleshine's hearth's warmingFlutterverseWritten by Hope “It all began with silence. The world was neither dark nor light, but a perpetual haze of light diffused across all existence, and all was quiet.” “Slowly, the light began to coalesce into a single point of flame. The Sun.” “A pony of great power, but so young as to be an infant, appeared on the face of the silent world, and its first sounds were the cries of a child without a mother. The Earth saw this child weeping, and did not want the young pony to cry, so the Earth brought forth plants and other pretty things, to bring a smile to the foal’s face. Those plants lived from her smile, growing strong in the everlasting sunlight.” “For a time, that was all the child needed to be happy; the gardens of the Earth brought her joy for many hundred years until the now aged filly began to grow tired of the silence that only she shattered when she would trot across the land. In her sorrow, the filly hid the sun for the first time. The night greeted her with no stars or moon, only the infinite depths of space.” “This frightened her, and she brought back her Sun, only to see the plants and gardens had withered without her light. The filly began to feel fear for the first time, the darkness driving her scared thoughts to the concept of death, that now lay all around her for the first time. The filly cried again, afraid of death and afraid of the darkness. The Earth brought the gardens and the plants back from the brink of death for the child, and strengthened them to survive the times when the Sun would not shine.” “The Sun would swing with the frightened pony’s mood, sometimes staying in the sky for years, other times swinging out of view with astonishing speed. Now that the filly had tasted fear, her thoughts were dark more often than light.” “With these dark thoughts came more tears, and the Earth sought to quell these tears with animals, companions to the lonely and scared pony.” “Most of these animals were like her, and walked upon the earth on hooves or paws, eating from the plants. A few of the animals would prey on the smaller animals, and since they had been created this way, the filly saw nothing wrong with it. A small number of these animals flew, and the pony wanted to fly with them, so the Earth gave her wings and the power to shape the clouds into her own playground.” “She found great joy in the calm and gentle creatures, playing with them and celebrating the life they shared, until in a blink it was over. She did not know how to handle the death of a creature, and she looked to the plants to see what they did with their dead. The plants were simple, and when one died, it would fall to the ground and decay over time, before becoming dirt or sprouting up as a new plant.” “She buried these first animals, hoping that they would sprout anew, but she waited in vain. The first graves were shallow and dug with only hope in mind. The ones that followed became deeper, and more somber. The night returned whenever one of her animal friends died, and the Earth saw the pain that the pony felt. The pony needed a creature that would last.” “The Earth decided that the young mare needed an equal, a creature that would stand with her through both the day and the night, and while the Earth could not create more light, it gave birth to a great mirror, a shining Moon to show the Sun how bright it truly was.” “So the second pony was born.” “The ponies did not speak, but they communicated through the dance of their Astral bodies through the sky above. The two ponies danced their way through the gardens and through the skies of the Earth, as the Earth looked on in joy at the peace and happiness that had come to it’s surface. Sadly it was not to last forever.” “The plants and animals of the world suffered as the Sun and Moon played across the sky, sweltering or freezing since they could not tell the ponies of their suffering. The Earth could feel the pain that played across the magic of the world, the magic of closeness and love that gave all things the strength to live. The Earth pondered for a great time how to make the ponies understand their effect on the world around them, so finally the Earth gave them magic.” “With their new horns, the sisters of the sky were able to feel the chaos and hurt that the world felt, and they found a balance. The Sun and the Moon would journey across the sky in a gentle pattern, giving each their own time above, and an equal time below.” “With this new order, the Sisters could not communicate as they once could, and they were forced to create words and speech. This language allowed them to speak and to share their thoughts without harming those around them. The words grew stale over time, however, and the sisters did not speak. They would play with the animals, or dance in the gardens and clouds on their own, but there was nothing to tie them together.” “The Earth wanted the sisters to be happy as they once had been, but they were drawn so closely to their own interests. The pony of the night spent her time with the intelligent, aggressive, and sturdy animals. The pony of the day spent her time with the gentle, carefree, and proud. The Earth took the sum of these animals and created three new ponies.” “The pony of the Earth was sturdy and carefree, the pony of the sky was aggressive but gentle, and the pony of magic was proud and intelligent.” “These three ponies fascinated the two sisters, and soon they had names for them. The pegasus, the unicorn, and the earth. However, the three new ponies then asked what they should call the sisters.” “The older sister gestured to the sky, and was thus named Celestia. The younger gestured to her moon, and was named Luna. Thus began the age of the ponies.” “The ponies quickly became the most common animal on the Earth’s surface, spreading out across the plains and valleys and mountains. Wherever they went, the sisters followed, learning about the ponies. The Sun and Moon set themselves into a pattern that the ponies enjoyed, one that lasted just long enough to find food, enjoy eachothers company, and then to sleep through the night.” “The ponies became used to having the sisters around at all times, though they became jealous when they would spend more time with one of the ponies over another. This jealousy and rivalry for the attentions of the Sun and Moon became so bitter and charged with hate that the first windigo was born from the conflict. The windigo fled from the harmony that the sisters represented, in fear of the power they held.” “The three types of ponies began to hold contempt over each other for the attentions of Celestia and Luna, even when the two would each visit a separate group, there was always one group that felt that they were being left out. Most commonly, it was the Earth ponies who were left without one of the sisters to care for them. Though this caused anger between the other two races and the Earth ponies, the Earth ponies became stronger and more self sufficient from caring for themselves.” “The Earth itself watched all this with great worry and sadness, seeing the strife between the ponies. The Earth wanted to bring a third sister into being, to care for the third group of ponies, but its magic was stretched too thin. It pulled its magic back from the many ponies that lived across it, but the magic was tainted with a hurt and coldness that the Earth had never felt. Despite this, the Earth wanted to help the sisters, so it brought forth a third being, a being tainted by the pain and hurt the ponies felt. This being was not a third sister, it was a brother, and it named itself--Discord.” “Discord looked out on this world full of bitterness and strife, and he was happy. He had been born into a paradise which he turned into his playground. The unicorns were the first to fall, their pride making them weak to the trickery and lies of the Chaotic brother. The Earth ponies were second to fall, as they felt the sting of a now familiar neglect that Discord reminded them had been their lives for far too long. The pegasus held out longer, sheltering the sisters from their new sibling with their aggressive nature, and gently turning aside the tricks and attempts Discord made on them.” “They did not hold out forever. Finally Discord had his reign over the world, and the sisters fled. They had never been outmatched before, and they turned to each other in fear and sorrow, knowing that they could do nothing to hold him back.” “The Earth itself cried out in pain as its magic was corrupted, bent into a twisted mess of its former self. Luna cried out with it, her Loyalty egging her on and demanding that they stop Discord, but Celestia reminded the brash sister that they would do more good by finding another way.” “The world around them began to die, and Celestia had had enough, crying out that they could at least steal away the ponies to another place, to care for them Kindly. Luna stopped her sister, pointing out that the ponies were not as kind as they once were.” “As they sat and watched the rivers of fire and ice consume the world around them, Luna began to Laugh and smile, much to the shock of her sister, but Luna explained that even in these dark times, the memories of the past and the beauty of the world were still there, and a light returned to their hearts.” “Discord finally came for the two sisters, riding upon the backs of monstrous beasts he had created during his rule over the land. The sisters rose to greet him, but their brother offered them not death but a deal. He wanted their power, he wished to be able to control the Sun and Moon. This power had always been the sisters alone to wield, and they were quick to denounce it, but Discord offered something in return. He would let a single, unharmed, unchanged pony go free if they agreed. Celestia thought of the pony she could save, and in the spirit of Generosity, she gave her power without knowing if she would ever get it back. She relinquished a small portion of her power to him and collapsed from the pain.” “Luna screamed and raged at her brother for so long that her voice faded to a whisper, and finally she gave a small part of her power as well. Luna then turned to her sister and revived her, caring for her until Discord returned with the pony they had won. The pony was young, an earth pony who had never known anything but chaos and disharmony. The pony was afraid of the sisters, who were so kind and so gentle, but slowly she began to open up to them, and the Earth found it’s conduit to help Celestia and Luna. As this new friendship grew, the young pony told the sisters that they had done wrong. She told the Sun and Moon themselves that she had not been worth the sacrifice. This Honesty was the final key to the Magic that lay at the heart of all things, and it summoned the Elements of Harmony from the order and structure of magic that made up the Earth itself.” “The element of the Bard took the form of a necklace that shone every color of the night sky and the moon. Luna wore it with a smile as she stood by the side of her sister and the young pony.” “The element of the Sage took the form of a shimmering cloak that shone like the most brilliant sunrise, and Celestia wore it with humility and grace.” “The element of the Warrior choose the form of armor, plating the pony in deep crimson metal that matched her coat. The mortal pony thought it looked tacky.” “With these elements, the friends were sure that they could defeat Discord, for the first time they were confident that they would be victorious, so they set off to find him. But he had been watching, and when he saw that they had managed to unlock a new source of power, he fled.” “Across the broken and ever changing world, the three chased the one for many years, always one step behind, but spreading order and harmony along the way. In the path of their hoofsteps now lies every major city in the history of the world.” “After years of chasing the chaotic brother across the face of the Earth, they finally cornered him on an island that once stood to the west, and they waged war. The warrior wielded magic of the Earth itself, tearing up the land to wield as weapons. The sisters negated their brother’s power and let the warrior strike the final blow. The magic of the Earth turned the brother back to what he had once been, a figure of stone.” “This ended the reign of Discord and began the age of harmony. The tribes of ponies were suspicious of the sisters, after living for so long under the rule of their brother, and they turned their tails when the sisters came to visit. The mortal pony that had fought with them grew old, and when she passed away the Elements were returned to the earth along with her. The sisters raised a great monument to her over her grave, a mountain taller than any other that rose from the center of the continent they now called home.” “Her name had been Canter, and the was the eternal reminder to the sisters how much they needed the mortal ponies to survive and be happy.” “Over the following years, the sisters watched from afar as the ponies developed their own culture, their own laws and government, and eventually their own problems. The sisters attempted to keep the cycle of day and night as rhythmic as they could, alternating roughly every 12 hours, but the lands that the ponies inhabited became cold, crops began to fail and ponies began to suffer despite their efforts.” “The sisters were still turned away on every visit. It had been hundreds of years since the reign of Discord, but the age of harmony was still frightened of the ones they saw as gods, the now aged mares who never changed in the eyes of the short lived ponies frightened them.” “As the lands grew colder and colder, the ponies began to fight. Wars broke out, and many were lost, but the conditions continued to grow ever worse. Some children grew on unrefined hay alone until the day they passed away. Finally a council was called together, and all three tribes sent their finest leaders to figure out the situation and resolve it. Sadly they were unable to put their prides aside for the sake of their people.” “The tribes left the lands to the north and traveled south, following the path of the birds. All of them found the same beautiful land and tried to establish the same systems they had in the past, but the cold followed them. We all know the tale of the windigo, but what is not told is that the sisters fought back all but the weakest of them, to give the ponies a chance, to let them fight back with a glimmer of hope.” “The tribes finally found their peace when the snow cleared, emerging to see a paradise with the sisters clearing away the snow. Talks were held, the sisters told the ponies of their desire to guard them and make sure they never went hungry or cold again.” “Finally the ponies saw the wisdom and kindness of the sisters, that showed not a glimmer of the madness their brother had held. The government was disbanded, and leadership was thrust upon the sisters, who became the Princesses of the new land. The Earth looked upon the new land of peace and prosperity, and it was happy that its children had finally found happiness.” “And that... is how Equestria was made.” Fluttershy finally opened her eyes from the telling of her epic tale, her forelegs spread wide into the air with an expression of wonder on her face. The three fillies in front of her had mixed expressions. The first to speak was Sweetie Belle. “What does coalesce mean?” she asked politely. Fluttershy’s face fell. Scootaloo had fallen asleep and was snoring softly as she mumbled something about “awesome” but Apple bloom seemed to be fascinated. “Is tha’ really wha’ happened?” she asked eagerly. Fluttershy ran a hoof through her mane nervously. “Um... I don’t know. But it was a really good book!” she said with a sheepish smile. Realm of Shadow and Light Picture by TakaiWolf. *** Written by Masterweaver There was a time, long since past, when the world had no light, no song... no life. There was no day, no night. There was no joy, but neither was there sorrow. There was... no thing. Into this world stepped our mother. What a magnificent creature she was, young ones, her legs thin and graceful, her wings broad and powerful, her form a living white in shade. With eyes whose color to this day resides in the sky, she looked upon the darkness; the horn that grew forth from her elegant blood red mane emitted the first light the world ever knew, forming into a great quill. She was the Writer. And so she took to writing. Hither and thither did she fly, sketching small stories out of light itself, and those stories became living worlds. Look up into the night sky, and you shall see them yet; a million upon a million upon a million of individual tales, so far as to look as pinpricks to mortal eyes; not even I have seen them all. Oh what wonderful and terrible things did she make in those first few eons, the dawn of time itself, all in balance and in harmony. Oh what amazing and horrible creatures spawned upon those realms, realms that not even the most long lived and stern willed pegasus can ever touch... It was an age of glorious balance, youths. An age that I wish I could have seen with my own eyes. Hmmm? No. I am not as old as that. The Writer made all these worlds of their own nature, but with every realm she poured her heart into she grew exhausted. The dwellers of the world would either acknowledge her not or grow demanding upon her, and she would eventually leave for her next tale. But even in her pain, she gained a constant entourage; true friends, from whatever world she wrote, who understood her and kept her happy. Though always they were mortal, they lifted her spirits; whenever they passed away, she would encase their bodies in great mound of crystal ice. Hmmm? Yes, the comets of the night sky still remain to this day, so much more then any pony has seen... some have taken to collecting them as trophies, much to my ire. It came to pass that the Writer grew tired of watching her companions succumb to time. Why was it that she could survive forever, but they could not? She sought the answer within herself; she sought it in the lights of the stars. And then she saw the truth: Life was not merely existence, but song. She herself was a great song, and so were the lights in her wake. The friends she had made were melodies, yes, but they were only part of the song; when the song called for them to end, so they would go. In her quest she found their souls resided even yet, watching from the stars that hosted the multitudes who had passed from their respective worlds. But when she tried to gather them up, the stars quavered; the souls of the dead assured her they were happy, and always would hear her, but they could no longer play a part in the orchestra. What? Oh no, you misunderstand. What you see as stars are in fact the suns, the core of the worlds. Deceased ponies reside not amongst them, but rather glow forevermore on the surface of my sister's sun. What does the moon do? Little ones... The moon is kept clear so that if a great evil comes, I can call upon its full power. What great evil? Patience, patience! All that I have said, all that had happened in that era, I know because my Mother told me. You see, she took it upon herself to write two new songs. The first she called Celestia, for she was meant to be a bright seer of the future, able to know of all the potentials. The second, Luna, a contemplation of past failings and successes, disasters and glories. Together the songs were to advise her on her course of actions. But unlike the other songs, which were worlds, these were beings of their own right; she imbued them with more then any of her previous creations, and so did they take portions of their form and make mimicries of her own. To be quite honest, Celestia's was always a tad flashy for my taste, I prefer a more subdued aesthetic. Remind me to tell you about the millennium she chose to be pink-- Well, yes, in a very real sense I am the moon. But you can't very well have a conversation with a celestial orb, can you? Hmmm. It would be best to think of this body as... ambassador? Extension? Call it my face, if you will. My sister and I flew alongside our Mother, experiencing the variety of worlds. Wherever I landed, the inhabitants grew a taste for the sciences, a curiosity of the underpinnings of the world. Where my sister landed, songs and the arts took form, all exploring the nature of the self. We usually landed together, and would seek to encourage friendship, but sometimes one of us would stay behind to let the other influence a realm. Sometimes we would land after a while, sometimes not. Our journeys were long and amazing, the three of us. Then... came Discord. How to explain him.... Every world is a song, little ones. I have said this. A song and a story. And while our mother wrote them all, she did not keep her eye upon them; she had meant for them to become their own stories, and they did. But sometimes, a mortal would find their world's song. Sometimes, a mortal would learn how to... write, and they would rewrite themselves. We did not know of this, but over the ages legions of these risen beings began to fly between the stars. They called themselves dragons, after the beat of one of the most ancient stories. Dra... gon... dra... gon... Yes, little ones, even this world has a beat. The tribe of the Earth Pony can feel it most easily, but if you listen carefully you may discover the sound you've been hearing all your life. What do dragons have to do with Discord? Well, you see, he was a dragon himself once. But his lust for power drove him to constantly rewrite himself, to consistently drown out and consume other singers. It came to the point where he grew able to devour stars; his mind shattered, and he declared that the only song he wanted to hear was his own. So while we were all innocently traversing the realm between, he was consuming entire worlds in preparation for his battle with our mother. The time came when our mother noticed the darkening patch in the sky. She grew wary, wondering what monster could cause such devastation; as her daughters, we went to advise her. My suggestion was to remain where we were, prepare the natives for battle and let the beast come to us in order to usher in its own demise. Celestia, on the other hoof, spat in rage and fury; she wanted blood for all the futures that had been ended, and claimed to delay was to risk complete destruction. The Writer contemplated our words, and came to a decision; I would remain behind while she and Celestia went to battle this wretched foe, crafting the most powerful artifacts of Harmony I could. If she could not defeat the monster on her own, Celestia would be sent back to retrieve the great power. To this day.... to this day, Celestia has refused to tell me what happened. I know not why, but knowing what I faced later I suspect she was... gravely scarred. I spent a century on each manifestation of Harmony, consulting with the natives and meditating on my own thoughts. Honesty to know when the song is twisting into senselessness and when it grows strong. The Kindness of strangers, bringing forth singers that would otherwise not be heard. Joy in seeing the new and unusual paths the song could take, no matter how strange. The Generosity it took to allow another to take your melody. Loyalty... to those who are part of the song. Then came the lynchpin; some call it magic, some call it trust, some unity, some friendship. Whatever it was, it would bring together individual singers for a greater whole. Yes, Joy is Laughter. Neither word is... entirely accurate for the true form of that particular element. It is could be considered to be Hope as well... or Wonder, or Good Cheer. No sooner then three days after my final craft, the sky of the world I resided on darkened. Celestia crashed before me, bloodied and broken, and on her heels were the Draconequuii, dragon-steeds, those that had taken the same path as Discord. I fought them off as the natives of the world brought my sister into their healing homes, but they would not cease their assault; for every one I killed, five would modify themselves to become immune to that method of death. I grew increasingly creative, battling a hundred thousand at least in a battle that is far too brutal for your ears. The elements of Harmony lay out of my reach, hidden safely away in the homes of trustworthy native. Then came Discord, singing his... no. It was not a song. It was... the destruction of notes, the shattering and corruption of reality itself. He towered over me, shifting constantly as he deflected my spells; do not assume the shape in the garden was his former shape, nay, in fact he had no shape but that of the void he filled. He proclaimed himself king of the Draconequuii, and by extension emperor of all reality. He toyed with me... I... I... .... ...thank you, little ones. We all need the comforting presence of another, from time to time... ...Nay, I shall continue. To let the story end at such a critical juncture would be in poor taste. I simply... do not like to think of the time when Discord had me helpless. He... claimed to have done much worse to my sister... and that even that did not approach the torments my mother had endured... But then, wonder of wonders, Celestia re-emerged, the elements of harmony orbiting in her grasp. Their power blasted into the army inexpertly, but it was enough to release me from the grip of Discord. I flew beside my sister, both of us wounded but strong. And as Discord laughed at our foolhardy attempt, thinking it another form of his own rewriting power, my sister and I sang our own song, backed by the choir of those mortals who had remained to help us. The Elements of Harmony shone once more, but this time as they were meant to; being wielded not alone, but in unison. As their power washed over Discord, it... hmmm. It took the broken notes and tried to make them whole, I suppose is the best way to put it. That is how he became stone. You thought Discord was defeated in Equestria? Ah, that would be a clerical error that evolved to become historically accepted. My sister has never exactly been fond of revealing secrets, she values discovery more then straightforward logic and reason. And to be fair, a Draconequues did torment the ancient world for some time-- Now now, little one, patience! I will explain that when I come to it. In retrospect, our greatest mistake was not destroying the Draconequii right then and there. Yes, we did drive them off and take their leader as a trophy, but I was so worried about our mother that I allowed them to scatter instead of destroying them. Celestia and I, healed by the power of the Elements, flew into the dark space where she had fallen in search of her body. When we found it.... oh little ones, be glad you are not immortal, that you cannot suffer the greatest of pains. If we had not used the elements on her broken form... Nay, I am... composed. It still hurts to think of her like that, but I will not succumb to sorrow for something that has been righted. She turned to us, then, and asked what had become of Discord's army. And we realized then that though Discord himself had been beaten, the Draconequuii still roamed between the stars. It was our decision to hunt them down, but our mother stopped us from rushing off into the darkness of space. She made us write a new word, a world that would serve as a home for all those displaced by the Draconequuii; my sister's sun and my own moon were placed in orbit round this new-formed globe, forever to remind us we sought not vengeance but healing. Of course, it is unwise to leave a world without servants to maintain it. So we crafted the mothers of the five tribes. The first, we named Epona, strong in form and granted the power of Honesty, so that she might sense the song of the world and direct the others in best service. Second came Sylph, with wings of gossamer that gave her the ability to weave the magic of herself and her descendants together in any way she wished; with Kindness was she to guide and maintain the society of the refugees. Then came the wild-hearted Hippocamp; she we gave the realm of the sea to indulge in endless Joy and be minstrel to those who had lost hope. Unicorn was the fourth, and her we granted a horn of magic; her Generosity was to lead her to craft whatever others would need in this new world. Finally did we make Pegasus, whose Loyalty would have her defend the world with powerful eagle's wings and protect the helpless. Ah... I had heard sea ponies had descended into myth. I know not why, though I have my suspicions... but rest assured both they and the flutter ponies remain, though the flutter ponies now keep to the hidden realms. Well of course we gave them stallions! They were mortal, after all. To place so much on a mortal alone would be foolhardy. The first to come to our new realm, of course, were the dragons. No, not the Draconequuii, those... monsters stayed away from the Elements of Harmony. These were noble beings who used their writing only to better songs, heal wounds. A number of them had lost their home to the Draconequuii, and only managed to save fragments of their original worlds; still, it was enough to begin truly populating our new realm. Some of the dragons turned to my sister, and made a great spectral bridge that could reach out to whatever world she needed it to, so mortals hunted by the Draconequuii would not need perish. Others, in an attempt to assist me, formed a group devoted to... ...well. You know how Pegasi nowadays run the weather? The Moondreamers served much the same purpose on a far grander scale, intent on repairing the damage of the Draconequuii. Yes, little ones, our own system is the unnatural one; I fear that Celestia and I did not have our mother's talent at creating worlds that could run themselves. What were the Moondreamers like? Well, one resides in Everfree to this day. I hear her child visited Ponyville once, actually; Twilight rocked him to sleep and returned him to his mother. Ursa Minor, yes, that was the little cub's name! It has been so long since I saw him, is he faring well? Well I do apologize for the damages done, but he is an infant. Of course Ursa Major is a dragon! Ah, I see the confusion. Spike and his kind are the mortal descendants of dragons. There used to be a word distinguishing the two types, but... languages change, sadly. Where was I... ah yes, the initial refugee arrival. Well, the ponies made them welcome, and during that first era Celestia and I worked hard to ensure that they could all live in peace. Of course, we would eventually leave to seek out the Draconequuii, taking the Elements with us, but before we did Celestia crafted a beacon that could, in time of need, summon forth the power of Harmony from within the tribes themselves. In turn, the flutter ponies crafted the first cutie marks and granted them to my mother, my sister, and myself. Well, no, cutie marks were not in our original song, but they are quite a wonderful magic. They bond with the soul, producing an image of the core on the flank of the body. Sylph would later adapt them to her own race, inspired by the unified diversity of ants and the like. Of course, back then marriages between the tribes were frequent, so the magic of cutie marks would be passed to the children of the flutter ponies. Yes, I suppose it is technically possible to be without a cutie mark. But for that to happen, one's bloodline would have to be completely separate from the flutter ponies, and to be quite frank that tribe in particular loved to breed in frequent and massive quantities. I suppose it came as a result of their fragility; even the sea ponies did not suffer so much as they did, for the flutter ponies refused to complain. I suspect the current bearer of Kindness has more then a little of Sylph's blood in her veins. Worry not, little ones, if a member of your family possesses a cutie mark, you do too; it simply has not shown itself. Our war with the Draconequuii? Well... though it was far less brutal than the battle with Discord, it was far more... tiring. The beasts had scattered to the winds, and wherever they trod they left horrors in their wake. Horrors I refuse to tell you of, for fear you may go mad. I would fight through the army, accompanied by whatever mortal heroes remained, while my sister would use the Spectral Bridge to send the refugees to Gaia. No, Equestria is a country on Gaia's surface, not the name of the world itself. Our mother remained, conferring with the dragons who made up the Moondreamers on how to alter and maintain Gaia's environment for every creature. My sister was always... lax with which mortals went through the Spectral Bridge, so that the young world was filled to the brim with multitudes of odd beings. The oddest was that group of talking potatoes. No, I'm not joking. There was a small population of talking potatoes... they were eventually consumed by some monster or other, so they dwell not in this modern world, but that is an example of how silly Celestia can be. Of course... she would also let through dark sorcerers. At the time, we saw only the Draconequii as our enemy. Early Gaia was plagued by our ignorance, the ponies being scattered and devastated again and again by a number of foes ranging from minor criminals to emperors bent on domination. The cloud ponies, who you now call pegasi, tried their hardest to keep them from attacking innocents, but it was an endless task. Great numbers of flutter ponies were taken advantage of, and so they grew into increasingly reclusive and untrusting communities. The craft ponies were browbeaten into submission, with the sorcerers ripping horns from those that dared defy them; entire generations would pass where the the descendants of Unicorn feared to use magic. The sea ponies... oh, the sea ponies... Slaughtered for sport, the oceans running red with blood. The great sorcerers even tempted some of the dragon's mortal children, turning them to monsters in their own right. Why were earth ponies spared? Oh, they were enslaved, do not doubt it... but lacking a horn or wings it was assumed they were mundane creatures with no power of their own. And into this mess stepped Tirek. Who is Tirek? Be glad that he is dead. He was a cunning Draconequuii, but where Discord desired to dominate, Tirek only wished to destroy. He took the form of a powerful pony, but where his head should have been was the upper body of a human. Yes, they existed too, though they had not arrived before he did. Tirek's entire form was warped with disharmony and, worse, he had watched the elements of harmony in that first fateful battle. And he had somehow... managed to craft their antithesis, which he controlled with great strength of will. He tore across the land, enslaving ponies and torturing them for his own twisted pleasure. Yes, little ones. What you thought was the era of Discord was in fact the era of Tirek. I implore you to understand, this monster was only less evil than his master in that he intended to end the tortures he inflicted on ponykind. Through execution and the nullification of all reality. Eventually he came to what was known as Dream Valley, so named because it would on occasion serve host for the Moondreamers. Tirek intended to find the Spectral Bridge, so as to use its power to travel across the universe and cut swathes of destruction. But a brave if somewhat brash pegasus used the bridge before he could find it, bringing back a human girl who embodied harmony itself. Together with a collection of ponies, she went out to find the beacon that Celestia had made. You see, while there were a number of evil sorcerers amongst the refugees, there were a number of good ones as well. One of them had taken it upon himself to hide the beacon away from the powers of evil; it was he who gave them the knowledge it took to retrieve it. They called it the Rainbow of Light, not understanding it was merely a channel for Harmony, but they did not need to understand; the power they poured into it was enough to not only destroy Tirek, but scatter the elements of Discord to the ends of the world. Hmmm. I too have often wondered why Discord was turned to stone where Tirek was destroyed... My closest explanation is that where Discord is broken notes, Tirek was silence. I was not present to witness his defeat. Understand, while I crafted the Elements, I did not create them; they are manifestations of concepts that existed before I was born. Of course this was not the end of the human girl's involvement with the ponies. She and her family became, for lack of a better word, adventurers and guardians to the ponies of dream valley even after a coven of witches nearly drowned the land with a terrible weapon known only as the Smooze. Of course the ponies themselves assisted in their own defense; in fact, it was during this era that Applejack the first rescued the first crystal ponies. Yes, I thought that would get your attention. I suppose it's a good example of how deeply evil marred the land in that time. A wizard of horrific intent had been capturing and enslaving earth ponies in his deep and dark crystal mines. So long were they down there, in fact, that their eyesight had all but vanished. But when Applejack the first was captured, she shattered the magic throne of the wizard and led the slaves out of the collapsing caverns. Some of the gems that the wizard had been using to house his power became embedded in the eyes of the blind slaves, their magic granting them vision once more; over the generations, the crystal magic would encase more and more of their bodies. In those ancient times such situations were common. While my sister and I fought the Draconequuii, the human and her family fought the more common evils alongside pony kind. The Moondreamers were unable to help, as they were being assaulted by yet another Draconequuii... You would never have heard of her, but her name translates to Queen Scowlene. Yes I know it sounds ridiculous in the modern tongue, but understand: Scowlene single-handedly prevented an organization of ancient dragons from assisting in their chosen task. It came to pass that the human girl realized all the monsters tormenting ponykind were coming from the same spectral bridge that had brought her to Gaia; she took it upon herself to end the flow of evil beings once and for all, intent on destroying that which the dragons of old had made. But when she tried... Well, it is difficult to put into mortal phrasing. The closest I can say is that she became the Spectral bridge, her form becoming that of an immortal alicorn with the bridge emblazoned as her cutie mark and the power to travel between the realms. No, she is not a frequent visitor to Equestria. Right now she is out battling Draconequuii and saving mortals from their torments. She did leave her granddaughter here, though, since her current lifestyle is not at all conducive to the raising of children. Well, no... she's Cadance's great grandmother, technically. She doesn't talk about what happened to her daughter. Well, she did tell us, but... I will not betray her trust. When did my sister and I return to Equestria? Technically, we never left; Equestria as a country didn't exist back then. Oh, I jest, I jest, I know what you meant. Well, after gaining the power to warp literally anywhere in the universe, the human turned alicorn renamed herself Mosgalea and sought us out. She informed us of our mistakes, shaming us with our ignorance; so it was we swore to return and right the wrongs we had inflicted upon the world. In turn, she offered to allow pony foals to be raised in her original world, secluded from dangers. Thus began the age of the Cleansing; while we and the stallions of ponykind ran over all of Gaia to lock evil beings in the chains of Tartarus, the mares maintained their own society neath the safety of Mosgalea's wings. Unfortunately... generations of being protected and distant from dangers made those ponies a little... silly. The mares drew into their own tribes, growing increasingly distant from each other. There was even a period where the ponies completely forgot about the other tribes. The stallions, too, became more focused on fighting alongside my sister and I than in, shall we say, forging relationships with those protected by Mosgalea. The sea ponies disappeared entirely into the watery realms... I can feel them, understand, I still hear them in the heartbeat of the world, but I do not know where they are. So much was lost in the Cleansing, and not all of it should have been. Yes, this was when the tribes began to quarrel. The craft ponies took the name of their mother, calling themselves Unicorns and proclaiming that they were the superior race because of their control of magic. The cloud ponies decided to become the Pegasi, reveling in great cloud art they kept jealously hidden from the other races. The flutter ponies, already shattered and hidden by the traumas of the First Age, grew further into their separate clans, hiding in the wilds in order to avoid being hurt once again. Only the Earth Ponies kept their name, but as they tried desperately to keep the tribes together they only succeeded in being mocked. It was the Unicorns that eventually brought the end of harmony. They had grown so arrogant, so proud, that they claimed the Sun and Moon as their own. Do you know the feeling of having your tail pulled? Imagine that, all over your body, coming from nowhere. This is what Celestia and I felt as the orbs of the sky where wrenched from our control, taken by coordinated covens of mages in their foolish attempts to claim all the world for themselves--! ... My apologies, little ones. To this day I am... infuriated that my body was taken from me in such a manner. I did not mean to frighten you... please, come out from under the table? No, I'm not going to become Nightmare Moon again. That was caused by... well, that is something further down the line of our tale. Well, we would not stand for such actions. We sent the stallions back to their respective tribes, which only worsened the situation when the lust for combat they had gained at our side made them take up arms against each other. The delicate peace was shattered completely, and the tribes took to their own banners. I had grown tired of the quarrels of mortals and intended to simply leave to fight more Draconequuii, but before I did I left the unicorns a little... gift. An amulet, which would increase their power, but at the cost of forcing their minds down more primal and animalistic paths. Celestia, however, preferred a more subtle approach; while I was off in the night sky, she shifted into various pony forms and attempted to manipulate the tribes into peace. Well, yes, we can shapeshift. These forms are, after all, merely our faces-- What? Well, I could, yes, but-- I really don't see why I should-- .... Oh very well, I was tasked with entertaining you, after all. Prepare thyselves for spectacle! Thar. How do Ah look? Am Ah not tha perfect reflecshun of ya? Well of course Ah still have mah cutie mark. It is an expresshun of mah core, Ah cannot alter it any more than mah sister can! Well, yes. We did keep in contact. Ya see Mosgalea didn't think sisters should be parted, so she flew alongside me an' used her warp magic ta send messages back an' forth. But even with Celestia manipyalaten' things in tha background, tha three tribes just grew more and more hostile towards one anotha. Ta be quite frank, Ah think they would still be that way if tha Crystal Empire hadn't sent in tha Windygos. Ya did not know they were sent by tha empire? One of these days Ah must consult with mah sister, allowing such histery ta fall out of tha public's sphere of knowledge is in poor taste indeed. Well, to understand how tha crystal ponies commanded tha Windygos, ya must understand how tha Crystal Empire began. Ah told ya 'bout tha crystal-eyed ponies, yes? Well, way back in tha time before tha spectral bridge was destroyed, thar was a big intelligent mountain, capable of maken' living things out of stone. One of tha beasts he made was a massive canine, meant ta guard tha crystal heart that contained his soul. Yes, that is tha same crystal heart that Spike retrieved in tha recent battle against Sombra, but yer moven' over tha important details again. Tha stone canine, ya see, could turn any intruder ta stone, but itself was actually fairly heartless... until tha human girl and her pony friends used tha very crystal heart he was guarden' ta give him a soul. Of course, in gratitude fer fixen' his mistake, tha mountain let some of tha ponies live inside him, with the crystal heart. Tha stone canine would eventually pass away, but so loved was he by tha new inhabitents that from his cropse came a new form of life. Yer sister, little one, has met thar descendants. Yes, tha brutish diamond dogs are, in fact, guardians of tha liven' mountain, an' at one time they were actually great allies ta ponykind. But that was all before tha rise of Sombra. Sombra, ya see, was a product of tha great tribal wars. When unicorn fought pegasus, pegasus fought unicorn, and both fought earth pony. He lusted fer power, but among tha unicorns he was seen as a commoner, so he took ta traveling. Eventually he discovered tha Crystal Ponies; at that start of tha cleansing, they had hidden themselves in tha Desert of Jewels, using tha harmony of crystals ta protect themselves from, well, us. We would nevar hurt them, but they only saw two powerful alicorns rampaging across tha world. Of course by tha time that Sombra found them they had changed into tha crystal ponies ya'll know. An' thar power fascinated him; here were these hornless ponies performing great magic! He went away then, an' returned as a friend with a great gift: A magical, heart-shaped crystal that would amplify thar positive emotions into a great power. Of course he had not told them he stole it from tha diamond dogs; when tha canines invaded, he came ta tha defense of tha crystal ponies, supposedly out of tha will of his own good heart. Tha attacks grew more and more dangerous, though, and at last tha crystal ponies were desperate enough ta hear his most treacherous suggestion: instead of pouring love into tha crystal heart, they should pour hate into it. Thus were spawned tha Windygos, who were sent ta drive that diamond dogs back and who Sombra used ta repel all tha pony tribes from tha land he would claim. It was not long befer he claimed tha very amulet I had made, and enslaved tha crystal ponies into constructien' an empire in tha now empty wastes. What happend ta tha liven' mountain? Without tha crystal heart, it died. Canterlot is built upon its corpse. Of course ya'll know what happened next, to a degree, as it is told every hearth's warming eve. Yes, tha tribes--Ah'm sorry, but being at such a minuscule height in a room designed fer me is a bit disconserten'. Would ya'll mind if Ah changed back? Thank ya. Ahem. Now... the plays performed on Hearth's warming eve are mostly accurate, if very sparse in their detail. The tribes did migrate south, each of their own accord, and they did continue to quarrel even as the Windigos followed them, and they did eventually unite in harmony to push the Windigos back. But there are some details left unmentioned; Starswirl's theories regarding the Windigos were regarded as crackpot by the majority of unicorn nobles, Princess Platinum was only a diplomat and not technically a ruler, and private Pansy was in fact secretly engaged to Smart Cookie before the migration. In fact, that is why they sought out Star Swirl's apprentice, so they could be wed without either the pegasi or earth ponies knowing of it. No, Smart Cookie was a stallion, actually, and Pansy's father Commander Hurricane would never stand for their love, even after Equestria was united under one banner. He eventually disgraced himself and fell out of favor with the pegasi leaders. Well, most of the early days of Equestria were mostly paperwork, restructuring the leadership so--Oh. You want to know when my sister and I took the throne? Well to be honest it was a few years later. I at first refused to believe the war had ended, but Mosgalea's constant badgering on the behalf of my sister eventually convinced me to return home, though I made her swear to continue my campaign against the Draconequuii in my stead. When I returned, I found that the Windigos were still invading the edges of Equestria as the new country was named. They were... weaker though. So it was I suggested to my sister that we lead a charge against them. She had, you see, managed to pose as a high-ranking pegasus and helped rewrite the governmental system. All it would take was a little push here, a little legislation there, an epic battle against a dark overlord, and we could ensure that these ponies never again fell to hate and rage. No... I still did not trust ponykind... I... I have learned from my mistakes, that is what I was meant to do, after all. But at the time, I looked into the past of the ponies and saw only war. Celestia agreed to my plan, mostly to ensure that I did not go off myself against Sombra. You see, he never stopped questing for power; in fact, he had found the core of Tirek's weapon, hidden away in some cavern or other, and that, alongside the amulet I had made, made him feel confident he could handle anything. Even when my sister and I appeared in our full glory, he laughed at us. He was well on his way to becoming a true Draconequuii, limited only in that he was not directly rewriting himself. Still, he managed to throw the Crystal Empire out of time even as we defeated him, and we gathered the artifacts as spoils of war. The ponies trusted Celestia, who had lived among them and effected great triumphs. But I... I was a mystery, a protector yes but a fierce warrior. I would point out stars every night and say, "Here is where I battled the great Cthulhu, Here where I saved a race known as the Yehat, here I did this, here I did that." Whispers grew that I was a bloodthirsty monster, and less and less of them would listen to my wisdom... I grew enraged at their lack of gratitude. I grew jealous of my sister. I took the very weapon Sombra had used and turned it against her, intent on pushing her sun down to show all that I had achieved. The core of Discord's Elements infected my body and my mind, but then... ...Celestia took the very Elements of Harmony I had forged and robbed me of my face. .... Yes, little ones... It was... very.... disquieting. .... ....again, I thank you. I know now that the pony tribes are truly friendly and peaceful once again. My sister was right... and though her actions were harsh, they were fair. She and I have made amends, do not worry. I'm sorry, I can tell you nothing more of the past. It is hard to observe a world from afar, even if you reside over it every night. The next event I can recall with clarity was my return, and, well, you were there for that were you not? Oh, I assure you, there is much more that happened. What I told you is only a brief outline of how Equestria was made. Shall I tell you more or-- Oh! Sister! Welcome, I take it the ceremony is over then? I suppose you will have to go now. Oh worry not, my little ponies, I enjoyed regaling you with such tales! Perhaps we can establish a correspondence so that I may continue. But for now, run along, your sisters are waiting for you. .... Actually, Tia, I found them quite enjoyable. I suppose you were right. But if you ever have us watch young ones again, inform us at least a day beforehoof. I swear to our mother it took half an eon to get those three to settle down... Twinkleshine's hearth's warmingEquestrian Origins: A Bedtime Story It was seven in the morning when Twinkleshine finally walked through her door. She blinked a few times and shook her head in an attempt to stay awake. The princess had sent a new project which had dictated she spend her whole night looking over papers. She threw down her packed saddlebags and stumbled into the bathroom. As she prepared for bed, she idly went over what she would have to do when she got up in the evening. The equations she had painstakingly put together all night long would go to Twilight Sparkle. But first she needed to hit the market before all the stalls closed. It was a little irritating to be awake at opposite times from every other pony in town, but she loved her work with Princess Luna enough that it was worth the scheduling nightmare. Twinkleshine finished in the bathroom and proceeded to lower the blinds in her room before slipping into bed. She gave a relieved sigh as her muscles relaxed and the comforting weight of the blankets settled over her. Moments later she was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of the rising activity in the town around her. =/\/\/\/= Ditzy Doo arrive with the mail right after lunchtime, which served as her wakeup call. After a short, groggy chat with the bubbly pegasus she closed the door and set the mail down on her kitchen table. She poured herself some orange juice and began making toast before she sat down to go through the modest pile on the table. Bills and ads made up the usual assortment, but there were also three letters. One was the usual check up letter from Princess Luna, she liked to keep an eye on Twinkleshine’s astronomical research. Another was an invitation to a community dinner hosted by the mayor, but that was quickly discarded, those kinds of dinners were hosted all the time. At the last one, however, Twinkleshine raised an eyebrow. It was a letter from her brother who lived all the way in Las Pegasus. Twinkleshine eagerly sliced the letter open with her magic and floated the letter out. Hello Twinkle! This letter is supposed to be one of those really nice invitations inviting you to come join us for our Hearth’s Warming holiday dinner! But, I just couldn’t let you have one of those. After all, what kind of brother would I be if I couldn’t even take time to write you personally? (It’s not like I have much to do anyway) So, I would like to invite you out for a few days, you can stay at our place if you like. The girls love it when you spend the night, you always had a knack for those bedtime stories. Mom and dad should be arriving the day of the dinner, they don’t plan to stay. If you have anypony you want to bring, we can accommodate one more without much trouble. If you can make it let me know! Two weeks from tomorrow is when I hope to see you! Your brother, Solar Breeze She smiled as she set the letter down. A trip to see her brother and his family sounded like a good idea. The nice thing about her job was that she was at liberty to set her own hours. So long as she produced results in a reasonable amount of time she could do what she wanted. Twinkleshine yawned and got up to catch her toast. She contemplated her response to Breeze as she planned out the rest of her day. A letter to the Princess must be written and she needed to see about finishing up her current project in two weeks, if she could. She smiled, already anticipating a good holiday. */\/\/Two Weeks Later\/\/* Twinkleshine sighed in exhaustion as she leaned back against the train seat. Getting ready for the trip had been rough, but she had finished her work and sent it to Princess Luna just in time. It had taken several sleepless nights, or days in her case, to complete the project. As she looked out the window at the passing scenery, she decided the lack of sleep was worth it. It was going to be a wonderful treat to see her two nieces again. They were always wonderful angels when she was there. Although, she had received letters from her brother saying they acted like that only for her. It made her feel special even though it was laughably wrong of the fillies. She looked out the window as the scenery whizzed by. There was not much to see really; the White Tail Woods were certainly pleasant to take a walk in but the trees did not allow one to see far while on a train. What you could see was so close it passed by before one could get a good look at it. Twinkleshine turned away before she got a headache and settled into reading a dream diary she had acquired. Soon, her head began to droop. Her eyes kept traveling up to the top of the current page as her mind tried fruitlessly to process the words. Oblivious that the surrounding trees had disappeared in favor of rolling hills. Before she was fully asleep, her head drifted into the book; but her soft snores were inaudible over the clattering of the train. "Miss? Hello Miss?" Twinkleshine jerked up and wiped a strand of drool from her cheek. "We will be arriving at Las Pegasus in fifteen minutes.” The suited pony retreated from the door of her cabin. Twinkle looked down at her book in surprise, not remembering she had dozed off. She closed the book, grateful that she had not soaked it. She got up and stumbled around the cabin, her mind hazy with denied sleep. Blinking rapidly and shaking her head, she tried to pull her luggage off the racks. It proved difficult as her body was unwilling to give up the opportunity of slumber. As the train came to a stop she realized she still was not ready to disembark. She scrambled to organize her things as the conductor ushered people out of the cabins in orderly fashion. Moments later, she headed out of her cabin awkwardly toting her things; not trusting them to magic while this tired. Las Pegasus, a truly inspirational city if Twinkleshine ever saw one. It had foregone the traditional “pegasus only” cloud usage like Cloudsdale. Instead, buildings made from earth materials were infused with, what would be, physically impossible addons had they had not been made of the soft, spongy material. True, many places in the city were only accessible by pegasi, but the bulk of the attractions, casinos and stores, were open to all races. Twinkleshine took a deep breath as she walked off the train, the air carried a faint salty tinge from the distant coast. The scent was not strong, as far inland as they were, but it was refreshing all the same. She felt her head clearing as she continued to breathe in the air. Her excitement grew as she strode from the busy boarding platform. Her eyes darted about and she quickly spotted her brother standing a little apart from the crowd which was moving in and out of the station. He had not seen her yet. As she moved towards him, Twinkleshine felt her cheeks begin to pull upwards the closer she got undetected. He suddenly spotted her just before she crashed into him. He laughed and caught her up in a bear hug. “Woah, I didn’t expect you to not be carrying your things without magic... How’re you doing?” “Exhausted! I’ve gotten hardly any sleep trying to prepare for this trip. See what I go through for you Breeze?” She grumbled, yet unable to wipe the grin from her face. He scoffed. “Yea yea, whatever Twinkle. You wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” Laughing, they both trotted away from the busy hub, Breeze now carrying her suitcase in his magic. Twinkleshine paid no attention of their walk to his home. She lost herself in chatting about everything she could with her brother. As they approached the house Breeze pulled a key out from under a nearby window sill and let them into the house. “Oh! We are home!” Twinkleshine exclaimed, surprised. “Thank Celestia! I’m wasted!” Groaning, she threw herself down on a couch inside the door and closed her eyes. Breeze chuckled. “I’m going to take your things up to the spare bedroom, I’ll be right back.” Twinkleshine heart his footsteps on the stairs and distant shuffling. Moments later he was tromping back, but did not stop next to the couch. Twinkle cracked an eye and saw him heading across the hall into the kitchen. He called back over his shoulder.“Hey, I’ve got to get dinner going Twinkle. Why don’t you just relax there for a few minutes.” She smiled and snuggled into a pillow that had been so thoughtfully placed at the end of the couch. It was certainly nice not having to cook for herself, she intended to enjoy every bit of it. Dozing off was not a problem even with the clattering coming from the kitchen for somepony as tired as Twinkleshine. So, she did just that. The next thing Twinkleshine knew was that two unidentified objects were squealing and jumping all over her. “Auntie Twinkle!” The two objects chorused. A grin spread across her face as she came awake enough to realize that the two objects were her nieces. “Kids! What are you doing? Get off your aunt, let her sit up!” Solar Breeze’s wife, Bezel, flew across the room and swiped them both up, one in each hoof. She gave each of them a stern glare and somehow managed to hang on to each of them until they wilted under her glare. Twinkleshine had no idea how the pegasus was able to grapple, let alone fly with, two fillies whose combined size was as big as her. But then, being a top weather mare for a large city was not achieved by weak pegasi. Twinkle thought that Bezel’s attitude was much like their own head weather mare, Rainbow Dash. The only thing that was different was the brazen tomboyish attitude. The pegasus would take flack from nopony and was extremely confident, but she had a motherly demeanor that must have come from bearing children. At least, that was what Twinkleshine guessed; she did not know Bezel as well as she would have liked.. “Hello Bezel.” Yawning, Twinkleshine got up and smiled. “Good to see you Twinkleshine. Sorry about--” “Bezel! You’re home!” Breeze grinned and moved to embrace his wife. The children wormed out of their mother’s grip and ran to hug Twinkle, pointedly ignoring their parents affections. Eventually they all made it to the kitchen. It did not take long for dinner to be placed on the table with all the ponies helping. Twinkleshine tried to help herself, but her brother would have none of it, insisting that she take a seat and wait to be served. She nearly nodded off once more while waiting, but the two fillies made sure that did not happen. Soon enough, everything was prepared and they began eating. Twinkleshine ate mechanically, not paying attention to what went in her mouth. Bezel’s voice cut across Twinkleshine’s blank mind. “So Twinkle, Breeze hasn’t told me anything about your plans for this weekend. Have you two come up with anything... interesting?” “Er, well, we don’t really have anything planned, no.” Twinkleshine mumbled in between bites. “Was there something you wanted to do Bezel?” Breeze asked. “Well, not really. But if Twinkleshine is staying past tomorrow’s dinner then we should probably find something to do. How many days are you staying?” Bezel turned, addressing Twinkleshine. “Breeze didn’t tell you?” She raised an eyebrow at her brother who put on a nervous grin at his wife’s glare. “I told him I would stay through the whole weekend, if that’s okay?” “Of course!” Bezel gave her a big smile. “Not like I could do anything about it now, huh dear?” She gave Breeze another glare. As dinner continued the children began to pick up the conversational slack as Twinkleshine talked less and less. They told her about all the things underneath the sun that they knew until Bezel told them to finish their food. They migrated to the living room where Twinkleshine eventually dozed off again while the others performed various activities. As they would be hosting a dinner the following day, there was plenty of work to keep them busy. Twinkleshine didn’t know how long she slept on the couch, but eventually Breeze was shaking her awake. “Hey Twinkle, it’s almost nine. You should head to bed, you will sleep much better there.” She came awake, feeling oddly rested. “Hmm, oh it’s alright Breeze, I really should have been helping you a bit though.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “Ha, not a chance Twinkle, you were dead on your feet when you got here. I think-” “Auntie Twinkle!” The two fillies bounced into the room and ran up to the unicorns. “Momma said we could ask you to tell us a bedtime story if you weren’t too tired.” Twinkleshine gave a smile and helped her brother scoop them up. “Well I think I can manage that, I think I have just the story for you two.” She intoned mystically. “Well what is it?” “Ah, we need to get your teeth brushed and you in bed first; No spoilers!” Twinkleshine laughed as the fillies squealed and bounced off to get ready. Breeze snorted. “Huh, wish they’d do that for me.” “Well, you never did have mom’s charm, it’s actually a little surprising they don’t run screaming in fear from you.” “You know, I wasn’t the one who ever had that problem... I distinctly recall--” “Shut up Breeze or I’ll put spiders in your bed! I have a reputation to keep up for your children.” She glared, but was unable to hold back a grin. He spluttered, but she slipped past him before he could think of a response. They waited for the girls to prepare for bed then walked them to their room. Breeze pushed their beds together and laid down in the center with a filly on each side. Bezel wished them good night, giving her children each a kiss before heading to bed. Twinkleshine settled herself on the end of the beds, adopting a storytelling pose. She cleared her throat, deciding where to begin. This story was long and complicated, but if told right it would be a fantastic tale. Princess Luna had recounted these events to her, she had been dying for a chance to repeat her newfound knowledge. “This is the story of how Equestria was made,” she began, “It’s history is an amazing story that dates all the way back to the beginning of the world.” She glanced at her audience, amused that it took so little to entrance children. =/\/\/\/= “The very beginning of our world, let me see now. There are many different facets in this creation story. I’m sure you fillies know our Hearths Warming tales by heart now right?” The girls nodded their heads vigorously. “Daddy got us a book that tells--” “Of course, hush girls.” Twinkle insisted quietly. “The Hearths Warming stories play only one part in this story, there is much more to cover. This story begins back with the earliest memories of both princesses.” “Oooh, how old is Princess Celestia auntie Twinkle?” Twinkleshine gave the interrupting filly a glare and she cowered. Breeze grinned and hugged his daughter. “I’ll get to that.” Twinkle huffed. “Now be quiet and listen. We need to start at the beginning. That means, like I said, at both of the princesses earliest memories.” Twinkle repositioned herself on the bed as she continued. “They were not the alicorns we all know and love back then. Technically they did not physically exist. All that existed were the sun and moon. I am told that the planet was shaped from some random mass that just appeared one day.” Twinkleshine paused with a thoughtful expression. “Actually,” she continued, “there really wasn’t anything like day or night back then, but lets just go with it. Anyway, this planet was given shape along with land, water, air, and everything else on it. Ponies were created and placed in a place what could be referred to as Ancient Equestria.” “Hey Twinkle,” her brother interjected. Twinkleshine arched an eyebrow. “Heh, sorry. But, you are saying created and shaped...” he paused, frowning in thought. “Who is doing this exactly?” “I asked our Princess Luna the same question, but she couldn’t tell me. She said that the memories were unclear.” “So, where does--” Breeze was cut off as one of his daughters put a small hoof over his mouth. “Shh daddy! Let her tell the story!” Twinkleshine laughed as Breeze grimaced at his daugher. “Whose side are you on huh?” “She does have a point, ask your questions once I finish the story. Who knows, maybe they will be answered before then.” Twinkled grinned at her brother who rolled his eyes, but he remained silent. “Anyway, continuing... Ponies were given the Elements of Harmony and instructed on their use. They were also given control of the sun and moon. Remember, they were already there, just now ponies were instructed on their use.” Twinkleshine glanced at the other ponies on the bed. “Before you ask, no, the princesses were not created with the other ponies. But before I explain where, and when, they came into Equestria I need to go over some history. Realize that the Elements of Harmony were meant to combat disharmony and chaos. Mostly in magical and extremely powerful forms, things that ponies could not fix on their own. The reason for their creation was that Discord already existed in this world.” The girls collectively gasped. Breeze absently hugged them closer, but his attention remained riveted on his sister. “However, Discord must have understood what the elements were supposed to do because he never showed himself for hundreds of years. Thus, ponies prospered in Ancient Equestria. They soon forgot what the Elements were for since they never had to use them. I would go so far as to say that the definition of “harmony” was never even fully understood.” Breeze raised an eyebrow and frowned. Twinkleshine noticed. “Um, what I mean is, how can you truly appreciate love, tolerance, harmony and all things good unless you have something bad to compare them to? One cannot fully appreciate the good things he has if he always had them. It takes loss, pain and hard work to understand what luxuries are. Ponies back then never had Discord or any other power that tried to ruin their livelihoods. That helps yes?” “Yea, thanks.” Breeze murmured. He looked down at both his daughters. They were fast asleep, one was using his forehoof as a pillow. He maneuvered himself out from around his now snoozing daughters and motioned for Twinkleshine to follow him downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator while magicking down two glasses from the cupboard. Twinkleshine sat down and leaned her head against the table. All she could think about was that there was a bed upstairs with her name on it. Breeze set a down one of the glasses in front of Twinkleshine, it was filled with orange juice. As Twinkleshine took a sip from the glass, Breeze sat down in a chair across from the table and leaned forward. “So, what happened next Twinkle?” He asked, swiveling his ears towards her and leaning in. “Well,” Twinkleshine mumbled, “Ponies split, the races basically went their separate ways. The Elements were lost and things festered for a number of years. This is where the Hearths Warming tales come into play. All the ponies relied on each other to survive, but they would have nothing to do with other races outside of their needed negotiations.” “So, the Windigos came and fed off the ponies.” Breeze concluded. “Not immediately.” Twinkleshine perked up and became animated in her explanation. “You see, Discord created the Windigos, but he knew that he had to wait for quite a few more years until the Elements were completely forgotten. He was certainly patient, making sure ponies had no means with which to fight him. I guess this is also a testament to how powerful the Elements are, given that Discord makes sure not to fight them in any way.” Breeze frowned. “You know, from what I heard about Discord’s return a few months ago, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Where did you come up with this conclusion?” Twinkleshine snorted. “I didn’t make it up Breeze. You fail to recall I’ve had the unique opportunity to spend time with Princess Luna. She has told me a lot of things.” She glared at him across the table. “Discord was desperate when he escaped a few months ago. He probably knew Princess Celestia wouldn’t just sit still, letting him go into hiding and work from the shadows. So, he tried to take the initiative and sabotage her plan to use the Elements on him again.” She stared at Breeze, daring him to contradict her, and in extension, the princess. The stallion wore a thoughtful expression. He said nothing and the silence stretched into awkwardness. He cleared his throat nervously. “Yes, well, so that happened. What came next?” Twinkleshine blinked and shrugged. “Obviously the Windigos were defeated, but I won’t go into that. What was important is that it made Discord very angry. Angry enough that he decided that working on the sidelines wasn’t enough anymore. You saw what he did to Equestria in just a day? Imagine ponies having to deal with that for months.” Twinkleshine shivered. “Except, it wasn’t all cotton candy and soapy roads from what I’ve learned. Things got really bad. You see, Discord didn’t want to kill ponies, he wanted to make their lives miserable...” Twinkleshine trailed off, lost in thought and staring at the table. Breeze watched her intently, waiting for her to continue. But, once again, the silence stretched to uncomfortable lengths. “So, then what?” He insisted. “Oh!” Twinkleshine jerked. “Right, well...” She paused, tapping a hoof to her chin. “Ponies obviously realized they were unable to defeat Discord on their own. Evidently theology became very important at this time. Ponies were in terror every day of their lives and were looking for something beyond themselves to come and save them from Discord.” Twinkleshine stopped and looked at Breeze. “Now this part is a little unclear. Princess Luna was very vague on what was done or said that triggered what happened to... Well, summon her and Celestia. All they know is how and when they were created. “But, from what I could gather, they were created with bodies first. But then they were given what makes them special: They were imbued with direct access to the sun and moon, respectively. This also caused the princesses to “remember” everything that had happened since the beginning of time for ponies since the sun and moon had always been there.” Twinkleshine leaned back in her chair. “And that is it.” Breeze blinked in surprise. “What? That can’t be it... What happened next? Equestria isn’t still in the clutches of a nasty chaos demon, something else must have happened.” Twinkleshine sighed. “Ugh, yes yes, Equestria wasn’t left raining chocolate milk and coughing up rainbows. But the creation story is ended. I guess I can finish your history lesson though. “Celestia and Luna knew about the Elements and how to use them. They focused on finding them and suitable bearers. They avoided direct contact with Discord, but wherever they went, they did their best to comfort and encourage ponies. They had too. How else would bearers be found? Qualities that ponies had lost needed to be unburied, harmony had to be reestablished, hope had to be rekindled.” As Twinkleshine continued, she became less detailed and began mumbling again. “It was tough. Discord knew what the sisters were trying to do and he got violent try to stop them. Things got messy, or so I’m told. I didn’t get many details from that time period. I guess it was a pretty nasty war.” Twinkleshine stopped to yawn. “Well, long story short, harmony was restored. Civilization was in the dumps though. Children without parents, a stagnant economy, disease everywhere... Princess Luna had a lot to say about how bad it was.” Twinkleshine’s head began to nod forward, but she kept rambling. “From the references she made, I think that this was when a rift began to form between her and her sister. But I can’t say for certain, I might find out in the future though.” Twinkleshine was barely aware of Breeze leading her up to a bed. As he pulled the blankets up to her chin with his teeth, he heard her mumble one last thing. “That is how Equestria was made Breeze, don’t let anypony tell you different.” He smiled. It seemed like she had left out a number of important parts. But he figured those could be cleared up later the next day with a few comments and discussions with her. Quietly shutting the door, he sneaked up the hall into his room. He quietly slipped in beside his slumbering wife and drifted off to sleep.
FlutterverseWritten by Hope “It all began with silence. The world was neither dark nor light, but a perpetual haze of light diffused across all existence, and all was quiet.” “Slowly, the light began to coalesce into a single point of flame. The Sun.” “A pony of great power, but so young as to be an infant, appeared on the face of the silent world, and its first sounds were the cries of a child without a mother. The Earth saw this child weeping, and did not want the young pony to cry, so the Earth brought forth plants and other pretty things, to bring a smile to the foal’s face. Those plants lived from her smile, growing strong in the everlasting sunlight.” “For a time, that was all the child needed to be happy; the gardens of the Earth brought her joy for many hundred years until the now aged filly began to grow tired of the silence that only she shattered when she would trot across the land. In her sorrow, the filly hid the sun for the first time. The night greeted her with no stars or moon, only the infinite depths of space.” “This frightened her, and she brought back her Sun, only to see the plants and gardens had withered without her light. The filly began to feel fear for the first time, the darkness driving her scared thoughts to the concept of death, that now lay all around her for the first time. The filly cried again, afraid of death and afraid of the darkness. The Earth brought the gardens and the plants back from the brink of death for the child, and strengthened them to survive the times when the Sun would not shine.” “The Sun would swing with the frightened pony’s mood, sometimes staying in the sky for years, other times swinging out of view with astonishing speed. Now that the filly had tasted fear, her thoughts were dark more often than light.” “With these dark thoughts came more tears, and the Earth sought to quell these tears with animals, companions to the lonely and scared pony.” “Most of these animals were like her, and walked upon the earth on hooves or paws, eating from the plants. A few of the animals would prey on the smaller animals, and since they had been created this way, the filly saw nothing wrong with it. A small number of these animals flew, and the pony wanted to fly with them, so the Earth gave her wings and the power to shape the clouds into her own playground.” “She found great joy in the calm and gentle creatures, playing with them and celebrating the life they shared, until in a blink it was over. She did not know how to handle the death of a creature, and she looked to the plants to see what they did with their dead. The plants were simple, and when one died, it would fall to the ground and decay over time, before becoming dirt or sprouting up as a new plant.” “She buried these first animals, hoping that they would sprout anew, but she waited in vain. The first graves were shallow and dug with only hope in mind. The ones that followed became deeper, and more somber. The night returned whenever one of her animal friends died, and the Earth saw the pain that the pony felt. The pony needed a creature that would last.” “The Earth decided that the young mare needed an equal, a creature that would stand with her through both the day and the night, and while the Earth could not create more light, it gave birth to a great mirror, a shining Moon to show the Sun how bright it truly was.” “So the second pony was born.” “The ponies did not speak, but they communicated through the dance of their Astral bodies through the sky above. The two ponies danced their way through the gardens and through the skies of the Earth, as the Earth looked on in joy at the peace and happiness that had come to it’s surface. Sadly it was not to last forever.” “The plants and animals of the world suffered as the Sun and Moon played across the sky, sweltering or freezing since they could not tell the ponies of their suffering. The Earth could feel the pain that played across the magic of the world, the magic of closeness and love that gave all things the strength to live. The Earth pondered for a great time how to make the ponies understand their effect on the world around them, so finally the Earth gave them magic.” “With their new horns, the sisters of the sky were able to feel the chaos and hurt that the world felt, and they found a balance. The Sun and the Moon would journey across the sky in a gentle pattern, giving each their own time above, and an equal time below.” “With this new order, the Sisters could not communicate as they once could, and they were forced to create words and speech. This language allowed them to speak and to share their thoughts without harming those around them. The words grew stale over time, however, and the sisters did not speak. They would play with the animals, or dance in the gardens and clouds on their own, but there was nothing to tie them together.” “The Earth wanted the sisters to be happy as they once had been, but they were drawn so closely to their own interests. The pony of the night spent her time with the intelligent, aggressive, and sturdy animals. The pony of the day spent her time with the gentle, carefree, and proud. The Earth took the sum of these animals and created three new ponies.” “The pony of the Earth was sturdy and carefree, the pony of the sky was aggressive but gentle, and the pony of magic was proud and intelligent.” “These three ponies fascinated the two sisters, and soon they had names for them. The pegasus, the unicorn, and the earth. However, the three new ponies then asked what they should call the sisters.” “The older sister gestured to the sky, and was thus named Celestia. The younger gestured to her moon, and was named Luna. Thus began the age of the ponies.” “The ponies quickly became the most common animal on the Earth’s surface, spreading out across the plains and valleys and mountains. Wherever they went, the sisters followed, learning about the ponies. The Sun and Moon set themselves into a pattern that the ponies enjoyed, one that lasted just long enough to find food, enjoy eachothers company, and then to sleep through the night.” “The ponies became used to having the sisters around at all times, though they became jealous when they would spend more time with one of the ponies over another. This jealousy and rivalry for the attentions of the Sun and Moon became so bitter and charged with hate that the first windigo was born from the conflict. The windigo fled from the harmony that the sisters represented, in fear of the power they held.” “The three types of ponies began to hold contempt over each other for the attentions of Celestia and Luna, even when the two would each visit a separate group, there was always one group that felt that they were being left out. Most commonly, it was the Earth ponies who were left without one of the sisters to care for them. Though this caused anger between the other two races and the Earth ponies, the Earth ponies became stronger and more self sufficient from caring for themselves.” “The Earth itself watched all this with great worry and sadness, seeing the strife between the ponies. The Earth wanted to bring a third sister into being, to care for the third group of ponies, but its magic was stretched too thin. It pulled its magic back from the many ponies that lived across it, but the magic was tainted with a hurt and coldness that the Earth had never felt. Despite this, the Earth wanted to help the sisters, so it brought forth a third being, a being tainted by the pain and hurt the ponies felt. This being was not a third sister, it was a brother, and it named itself--Discord.” “Discord looked out on this world full of bitterness and strife, and he was happy. He had been born into a paradise which he turned into his playground. The unicorns were the first to fall, their pride making them weak to the trickery and lies of the Chaotic brother. The Earth ponies were second to fall, as they felt the sting of a now familiar neglect that Discord reminded them had been their lives for far too long. The pegasus held out longer, sheltering the sisters from their new sibling with their aggressive nature, and gently turning aside the tricks and attempts Discord made on them.” “They did not hold out forever. Finally Discord had his reign over the world, and the sisters fled. They had never been outmatched before, and they turned to each other in fear and sorrow, knowing that they could do nothing to hold him back.” “The Earth itself cried out in pain as its magic was corrupted, bent into a twisted mess of its former self. Luna cried out with it, her Loyalty egging her on and demanding that they stop Discord, but Celestia reminded the brash sister that they would do more good by finding another way.” “The world around them began to die, and Celestia had had enough, crying out that they could at least steal away the ponies to another place, to care for them Kindly. Luna stopped her sister, pointing out that the ponies were not as kind as they once were.” “As they sat and watched the rivers of fire and ice consume the world around them, Luna began to Laugh and smile, much to the shock of her sister, but Luna explained that even in these dark times, the memories of the past and the beauty of the world were still there, and a light returned to their hearts.” “Discord finally came for the two sisters, riding upon the backs of monstrous beasts he had created during his rule over the land. The sisters rose to greet him, but their brother offered them not death but a deal. He wanted their power, he wished to be able to control the Sun and Moon. This power had always been the sisters alone to wield, and they were quick to denounce it, but Discord offered something in return. He would let a single, unharmed, unchanged pony go free if they agreed. Celestia thought of the pony she could save, and in the spirit of Generosity, she gave her power without knowing if she would ever get it back. She relinquished a small portion of her power to him and collapsed from the pain.” “Luna screamed and raged at her brother for so long that her voice faded to a whisper, and finally she gave a small part of her power as well. Luna then turned to her sister and revived her, caring for her until Discord returned with the pony they had won. The pony was young, an earth pony who had never known anything but chaos and disharmony. The pony was afraid of the sisters, who were so kind and so gentle, but slowly she began to open up to them, and the Earth found it’s conduit to help Celestia and Luna. As this new friendship grew, the young pony told the sisters that they had done wrong. She told the Sun and Moon themselves that she had not been worth the sacrifice. This Honesty was the final key to the Magic that lay at the heart of all things, and it summoned the Elements of Harmony from the order and structure of magic that made up the Earth itself.” “The element of the Bard took the form of a necklace that shone every color of the night sky and the moon. Luna wore it with a smile as she stood by the side of her sister and the young pony.” “The element of the Sage took the form of a shimmering cloak that shone like the most brilliant sunrise, and Celestia wore it with humility and grace.” “The element of the Warrior choose the form of armor, plating the pony in deep crimson metal that matched her coat. The mortal pony thought it looked tacky.” “With these elements, the friends were sure that they could defeat Discord, for the first time they were confident that they would be victorious, so they set off to find him. But he had been watching, and when he saw that they had managed to unlock a new source of power, he fled.” “Across the broken and ever changing world, the three chased the one for many years, always one step behind, but spreading order and harmony along the way. In the path of their hoofsteps now lies every major city in the history of the world.” “After years of chasing the chaotic brother across the face of the Earth, they finally cornered him on an island that once stood to the west, and they waged war. The warrior wielded magic of the Earth itself, tearing up the land to wield as weapons. The sisters negated their brother’s power and let the warrior strike the final blow. The magic of the Earth turned the brother back to what he had once been, a figure of stone.” “This ended the reign of Discord and began the age of harmony. The tribes of ponies were suspicious of the sisters, after living for so long under the rule of their brother, and they turned their tails when the sisters came to visit. The mortal pony that had fought with them grew old, and when she passed away the Elements were returned to the earth along with her. The sisters raised a great monument to her over her grave, a mountain taller than any other that rose from the center of the continent they now called home.” “Her name had been Canter, and the was the eternal reminder to the sisters how much they needed the mortal ponies to survive and be happy.” “Over the following years, the sisters watched from afar as the ponies developed their own culture, their own laws and government, and eventually their own problems. The sisters attempted to keep the cycle of day and night as rhythmic as they could, alternating roughly every 12 hours, but the lands that the ponies inhabited became cold, crops began to fail and ponies began to suffer despite their efforts.” “The sisters were still turned away on every visit. It had been hundreds of years since the reign of Discord, but the age of harmony was still frightened of the ones they saw as gods, the now aged mares who never changed in the eyes of the short lived ponies frightened them.” “As the lands grew colder and colder, the ponies began to fight. Wars broke out, and many were lost, but the conditions continued to grow ever worse. Some children grew on unrefined hay alone until the day they passed away. Finally a council was called together, and all three tribes sent their finest leaders to figure out the situation and resolve it. Sadly they were unable to put their prides aside for the sake of their people.” “The tribes left the lands to the north and traveled south, following the path of the birds. All of them found the same beautiful land and tried to establish the same systems they had in the past, but the cold followed them. We all know the tale of the windigo, but what is not told is that the sisters fought back all but the weakest of them, to give the ponies a chance, to let them fight back with a glimmer of hope.” “The tribes finally found their peace when the snow cleared, emerging to see a paradise with the sisters clearing away the snow. Talks were held, the sisters told the ponies of their desire to guard them and make sure they never went hungry or cold again.” “Finally the ponies saw the wisdom and kindness of the sisters, that showed not a glimmer of the madness their brother had held. The government was disbanded, and leadership was thrust upon the sisters, who became the Princesses of the new land. The Earth looked upon the new land of peace and prosperity, and it was happy that its children had finally found happiness.” “And that... is how Equestria was made.” Fluttershy finally opened her eyes from the telling of her epic tale, her forelegs spread wide into the air with an expression of wonder on her face. The three fillies in front of her had mixed expressions. The first to speak was Sweetie Belle. “What does coalesce mean?” she asked politely. Fluttershy’s face fell. Scootaloo had fallen asleep and was snoring softly as she mumbled something about “awesome” but Apple bloom seemed to be fascinated. “Is tha’ really wha’ happened?” she asked eagerly. Fluttershy ran a hoof through her mane nervously. “Um... I don’t know. But it was a really good book!” she said with a sheepish smile.
Realm of Shadow and Light Picture by TakaiWolf. *** Written by Masterweaver There was a time, long since past, when the world had no light, no song... no life. There was no day, no night. There was no joy, but neither was there sorrow. There was... no thing. Into this world stepped our mother. What a magnificent creature she was, young ones, her legs thin and graceful, her wings broad and powerful, her form a living white in shade. With eyes whose color to this day resides in the sky, she looked upon the darkness; the horn that grew forth from her elegant blood red mane emitted the first light the world ever knew, forming into a great quill. She was the Writer. And so she took to writing. Hither and thither did she fly, sketching small stories out of light itself, and those stories became living worlds. Look up into the night sky, and you shall see them yet; a million upon a million upon a million of individual tales, so far as to look as pinpricks to mortal eyes; not even I have seen them all. Oh what wonderful and terrible things did she make in those first few eons, the dawn of time itself, all in balance and in harmony. Oh what amazing and horrible creatures spawned upon those realms, realms that not even the most long lived and stern willed pegasus can ever touch... It was an age of glorious balance, youths. An age that I wish I could have seen with my own eyes. Hmmm? No. I am not as old as that. The Writer made all these worlds of their own nature, but with every realm she poured her heart into she grew exhausted. The dwellers of the world would either acknowledge her not or grow demanding upon her, and she would eventually leave for her next tale. But even in her pain, she gained a constant entourage; true friends, from whatever world she wrote, who understood her and kept her happy. Though always they were mortal, they lifted her spirits; whenever they passed away, she would encase their bodies in great mound of crystal ice. Hmmm? Yes, the comets of the night sky still remain to this day, so much more then any pony has seen... some have taken to collecting them as trophies, much to my ire. It came to pass that the Writer grew tired of watching her companions succumb to time. Why was it that she could survive forever, but they could not? She sought the answer within herself; she sought it in the lights of the stars. And then she saw the truth: Life was not merely existence, but song. She herself was a great song, and so were the lights in her wake. The friends she had made were melodies, yes, but they were only part of the song; when the song called for them to end, so they would go. In her quest she found their souls resided even yet, watching from the stars that hosted the multitudes who had passed from their respective worlds. But when she tried to gather them up, the stars quavered; the souls of the dead assured her they were happy, and always would hear her, but they could no longer play a part in the orchestra. What? Oh no, you misunderstand. What you see as stars are in fact the suns, the core of the worlds. Deceased ponies reside not amongst them, but rather glow forevermore on the surface of my sister's sun. What does the moon do? Little ones... The moon is kept clear so that if a great evil comes, I can call upon its full power. What great evil? Patience, patience! All that I have said, all that had happened in that era, I know because my Mother told me. You see, she took it upon herself to write two new songs. The first she called Celestia, for she was meant to be a bright seer of the future, able to know of all the potentials. The second, Luna, a contemplation of past failings and successes, disasters and glories. Together the songs were to advise her on her course of actions. But unlike the other songs, which were worlds, these were beings of their own right; she imbued them with more then any of her previous creations, and so did they take portions of their form and make mimicries of her own. To be quite honest, Celestia's was always a tad flashy for my taste, I prefer a more subdued aesthetic. Remind me to tell you about the millennium she chose to be pink-- Well, yes, in a very real sense I am the moon. But you can't very well have a conversation with a celestial orb, can you? Hmmm. It would be best to think of this body as... ambassador? Extension? Call it my face, if you will. My sister and I flew alongside our Mother, experiencing the variety of worlds. Wherever I landed, the inhabitants grew a taste for the sciences, a curiosity of the underpinnings of the world. Where my sister landed, songs and the arts took form, all exploring the nature of the self. We usually landed together, and would seek to encourage friendship, but sometimes one of us would stay behind to let the other influence a realm. Sometimes we would land after a while, sometimes not. Our journeys were long and amazing, the three of us. Then... came Discord. How to explain him.... Every world is a song, little ones. I have said this. A song and a story. And while our mother wrote them all, she did not keep her eye upon them; she had meant for them to become their own stories, and they did. But sometimes, a mortal would find their world's song. Sometimes, a mortal would learn how to... write, and they would rewrite themselves. We did not know of this, but over the ages legions of these risen beings began to fly between the stars. They called themselves dragons, after the beat of one of the most ancient stories. Dra... gon... dra... gon... Yes, little ones, even this world has a beat. The tribe of the Earth Pony can feel it most easily, but if you listen carefully you may discover the sound you've been hearing all your life. What do dragons have to do with Discord? Well, you see, he was a dragon himself once. But his lust for power drove him to constantly rewrite himself, to consistently drown out and consume other singers. It came to the point where he grew able to devour stars; his mind shattered, and he declared that the only song he wanted to hear was his own. So while we were all innocently traversing the realm between, he was consuming entire worlds in preparation for his battle with our mother. The time came when our mother noticed the darkening patch in the sky. She grew wary, wondering what monster could cause such devastation; as her daughters, we went to advise her. My suggestion was to remain where we were, prepare the natives for battle and let the beast come to us in order to usher in its own demise. Celestia, on the other hoof, spat in rage and fury; she wanted blood for all the futures that had been ended, and claimed to delay was to risk complete destruction. The Writer contemplated our words, and came to a decision; I would remain behind while she and Celestia went to battle this wretched foe, crafting the most powerful artifacts of Harmony I could. If she could not defeat the monster on her own, Celestia would be sent back to retrieve the great power. To this day.... to this day, Celestia has refused to tell me what happened. I know not why, but knowing what I faced later I suspect she was... gravely scarred. I spent a century on each manifestation of Harmony, consulting with the natives and meditating on my own thoughts. Honesty to know when the song is twisting into senselessness and when it grows strong. The Kindness of strangers, bringing forth singers that would otherwise not be heard. Joy in seeing the new and unusual paths the song could take, no matter how strange. The Generosity it took to allow another to take your melody. Loyalty... to those who are part of the song. Then came the lynchpin; some call it magic, some call it trust, some unity, some friendship. Whatever it was, it would bring together individual singers for a greater whole. Yes, Joy is Laughter. Neither word is... entirely accurate for the true form of that particular element. It is could be considered to be Hope as well... or Wonder, or Good Cheer. No sooner then three days after my final craft, the sky of the world I resided on darkened. Celestia crashed before me, bloodied and broken, and on her heels were the Draconequuii, dragon-steeds, those that had taken the same path as Discord. I fought them off as the natives of the world brought my sister into their healing homes, but they would not cease their assault; for every one I killed, five would modify themselves to become immune to that method of death. I grew increasingly creative, battling a hundred thousand at least in a battle that is far too brutal for your ears. The elements of Harmony lay out of my reach, hidden safely away in the homes of trustworthy native. Then came Discord, singing his... no. It was not a song. It was... the destruction of notes, the shattering and corruption of reality itself. He towered over me, shifting constantly as he deflected my spells; do not assume the shape in the garden was his former shape, nay, in fact he had no shape but that of the void he filled. He proclaimed himself king of the Draconequuii, and by extension emperor of all reality. He toyed with me... I... I... .... ...thank you, little ones. We all need the comforting presence of another, from time to time... ...Nay, I shall continue. To let the story end at such a critical juncture would be in poor taste. I simply... do not like to think of the time when Discord had me helpless. He... claimed to have done much worse to my sister... and that even that did not approach the torments my mother had endured... But then, wonder of wonders, Celestia re-emerged, the elements of harmony orbiting in her grasp. Their power blasted into the army inexpertly, but it was enough to release me from the grip of Discord. I flew beside my sister, both of us wounded but strong. And as Discord laughed at our foolhardy attempt, thinking it another form of his own rewriting power, my sister and I sang our own song, backed by the choir of those mortals who had remained to help us. The Elements of Harmony shone once more, but this time as they were meant to; being wielded not alone, but in unison. As their power washed over Discord, it... hmmm. It took the broken notes and tried to make them whole, I suppose is the best way to put it. That is how he became stone. You thought Discord was defeated in Equestria? Ah, that would be a clerical error that evolved to become historically accepted. My sister has never exactly been fond of revealing secrets, she values discovery more then straightforward logic and reason. And to be fair, a Draconequues did torment the ancient world for some time-- Now now, little one, patience! I will explain that when I come to it. In retrospect, our greatest mistake was not destroying the Draconequii right then and there. Yes, we did drive them off and take their leader as a trophy, but I was so worried about our mother that I allowed them to scatter instead of destroying them. Celestia and I, healed by the power of the Elements, flew into the dark space where she had fallen in search of her body. When we found it.... oh little ones, be glad you are not immortal, that you cannot suffer the greatest of pains. If we had not used the elements on her broken form... Nay, I am... composed. It still hurts to think of her like that, but I will not succumb to sorrow for something that has been righted. She turned to us, then, and asked what had become of Discord's army. And we realized then that though Discord himself had been beaten, the Draconequuii still roamed between the stars. It was our decision to hunt them down, but our mother stopped us from rushing off into the darkness of space. She made us write a new word, a world that would serve as a home for all those displaced by the Draconequuii; my sister's sun and my own moon were placed in orbit round this new-formed globe, forever to remind us we sought not vengeance but healing. Of course, it is unwise to leave a world without servants to maintain it. So we crafted the mothers of the five tribes. The first, we named Epona, strong in form and granted the power of Honesty, so that she might sense the song of the world and direct the others in best service. Second came Sylph, with wings of gossamer that gave her the ability to weave the magic of herself and her descendants together in any way she wished; with Kindness was she to guide and maintain the society of the refugees. Then came the wild-hearted Hippocamp; she we gave the realm of the sea to indulge in endless Joy and be minstrel to those who had lost hope. Unicorn was the fourth, and her we granted a horn of magic; her Generosity was to lead her to craft whatever others would need in this new world. Finally did we make Pegasus, whose Loyalty would have her defend the world with powerful eagle's wings and protect the helpless. Ah... I had heard sea ponies had descended into myth. I know not why, though I have my suspicions... but rest assured both they and the flutter ponies remain, though the flutter ponies now keep to the hidden realms. Well of course we gave them stallions! They were mortal, after all. To place so much on a mortal alone would be foolhardy. The first to come to our new realm, of course, were the dragons. No, not the Draconequuii, those... monsters stayed away from the Elements of Harmony. These were noble beings who used their writing only to better songs, heal wounds. A number of them had lost their home to the Draconequuii, and only managed to save fragments of their original worlds; still, it was enough to begin truly populating our new realm. Some of the dragons turned to my sister, and made a great spectral bridge that could reach out to whatever world she needed it to, so mortals hunted by the Draconequuii would not need perish. Others, in an attempt to assist me, formed a group devoted to... ...well. You know how Pegasi nowadays run the weather? The Moondreamers served much the same purpose on a far grander scale, intent on repairing the damage of the Draconequuii. Yes, little ones, our own system is the unnatural one; I fear that Celestia and I did not have our mother's talent at creating worlds that could run themselves. What were the Moondreamers like? Well, one resides in Everfree to this day. I hear her child visited Ponyville once, actually; Twilight rocked him to sleep and returned him to his mother. Ursa Minor, yes, that was the little cub's name! It has been so long since I saw him, is he faring well? Well I do apologize for the damages done, but he is an infant. Of course Ursa Major is a dragon! Ah, I see the confusion. Spike and his kind are the mortal descendants of dragons. There used to be a word distinguishing the two types, but... languages change, sadly. Where was I... ah yes, the initial refugee arrival. Well, the ponies made them welcome, and during that first era Celestia and I worked hard to ensure that they could all live in peace. Of course, we would eventually leave to seek out the Draconequuii, taking the Elements with us, but before we did Celestia crafted a beacon that could, in time of need, summon forth the power of Harmony from within the tribes themselves. In turn, the flutter ponies crafted the first cutie marks and granted them to my mother, my sister, and myself. Well, no, cutie marks were not in our original song, but they are quite a wonderful magic. They bond with the soul, producing an image of the core on the flank of the body. Sylph would later adapt them to her own race, inspired by the unified diversity of ants and the like. Of course, back then marriages between the tribes were frequent, so the magic of cutie marks would be passed to the children of the flutter ponies. Yes, I suppose it is technically possible to be without a cutie mark. But for that to happen, one's bloodline would have to be completely separate from the flutter ponies, and to be quite frank that tribe in particular loved to breed in frequent and massive quantities. I suppose it came as a result of their fragility; even the sea ponies did not suffer so much as they did, for the flutter ponies refused to complain. I suspect the current bearer of Kindness has more then a little of Sylph's blood in her veins. Worry not, little ones, if a member of your family possesses a cutie mark, you do too; it simply has not shown itself. Our war with the Draconequuii? Well... though it was far less brutal than the battle with Discord, it was far more... tiring. The beasts had scattered to the winds, and wherever they trod they left horrors in their wake. Horrors I refuse to tell you of, for fear you may go mad. I would fight through the army, accompanied by whatever mortal heroes remained, while my sister would use the Spectral Bridge to send the refugees to Gaia. No, Equestria is a country on Gaia's surface, not the name of the world itself. Our mother remained, conferring with the dragons who made up the Moondreamers on how to alter and maintain Gaia's environment for every creature. My sister was always... lax with which mortals went through the Spectral Bridge, so that the young world was filled to the brim with multitudes of odd beings. The oddest was that group of talking potatoes. No, I'm not joking. There was a small population of talking potatoes... they were eventually consumed by some monster or other, so they dwell not in this modern world, but that is an example of how silly Celestia can be. Of course... she would also let through dark sorcerers. At the time, we saw only the Draconequii as our enemy. Early Gaia was plagued by our ignorance, the ponies being scattered and devastated again and again by a number of foes ranging from minor criminals to emperors bent on domination. The cloud ponies, who you now call pegasi, tried their hardest to keep them from attacking innocents, but it was an endless task. Great numbers of flutter ponies were taken advantage of, and so they grew into increasingly reclusive and untrusting communities. The craft ponies were browbeaten into submission, with the sorcerers ripping horns from those that dared defy them; entire generations would pass where the the descendants of Unicorn feared to use magic. The sea ponies... oh, the sea ponies... Slaughtered for sport, the oceans running red with blood. The great sorcerers even tempted some of the dragon's mortal children, turning them to monsters in their own right. Why were earth ponies spared? Oh, they were enslaved, do not doubt it... but lacking a horn or wings it was assumed they were mundane creatures with no power of their own. And into this mess stepped Tirek. Who is Tirek? Be glad that he is dead. He was a cunning Draconequuii, but where Discord desired to dominate, Tirek only wished to destroy. He took the form of a powerful pony, but where his head should have been was the upper body of a human. Yes, they existed too, though they had not arrived before he did. Tirek's entire form was warped with disharmony and, worse, he had watched the elements of harmony in that first fateful battle. And he had somehow... managed to craft their antithesis, which he controlled with great strength of will. He tore across the land, enslaving ponies and torturing them for his own twisted pleasure. Yes, little ones. What you thought was the era of Discord was in fact the era of Tirek. I implore you to understand, this monster was only less evil than his master in that he intended to end the tortures he inflicted on ponykind. Through execution and the nullification of all reality. Eventually he came to what was known as Dream Valley, so named because it would on occasion serve host for the Moondreamers. Tirek intended to find the Spectral Bridge, so as to use its power to travel across the universe and cut swathes of destruction. But a brave if somewhat brash pegasus used the bridge before he could find it, bringing back a human girl who embodied harmony itself. Together with a collection of ponies, she went out to find the beacon that Celestia had made. You see, while there were a number of evil sorcerers amongst the refugees, there were a number of good ones as well. One of them had taken it upon himself to hide the beacon away from the powers of evil; it was he who gave them the knowledge it took to retrieve it. They called it the Rainbow of Light, not understanding it was merely a channel for Harmony, but they did not need to understand; the power they poured into it was enough to not only destroy Tirek, but scatter the elements of Discord to the ends of the world. Hmmm. I too have often wondered why Discord was turned to stone where Tirek was destroyed... My closest explanation is that where Discord is broken notes, Tirek was silence. I was not present to witness his defeat. Understand, while I crafted the Elements, I did not create them; they are manifestations of concepts that existed before I was born. Of course this was not the end of the human girl's involvement with the ponies. She and her family became, for lack of a better word, adventurers and guardians to the ponies of dream valley even after a coven of witches nearly drowned the land with a terrible weapon known only as the Smooze. Of course the ponies themselves assisted in their own defense; in fact, it was during this era that Applejack the first rescued the first crystal ponies. Yes, I thought that would get your attention. I suppose it's a good example of how deeply evil marred the land in that time. A wizard of horrific intent had been capturing and enslaving earth ponies in his deep and dark crystal mines. So long were they down there, in fact, that their eyesight had all but vanished. But when Applejack the first was captured, she shattered the magic throne of the wizard and led the slaves out of the collapsing caverns. Some of the gems that the wizard had been using to house his power became embedded in the eyes of the blind slaves, their magic granting them vision once more; over the generations, the crystal magic would encase more and more of their bodies. In those ancient times such situations were common. While my sister and I fought the Draconequuii, the human and her family fought the more common evils alongside pony kind. The Moondreamers were unable to help, as they were being assaulted by yet another Draconequuii... You would never have heard of her, but her name translates to Queen Scowlene. Yes I know it sounds ridiculous in the modern tongue, but understand: Scowlene single-handedly prevented an organization of ancient dragons from assisting in their chosen task. It came to pass that the human girl realized all the monsters tormenting ponykind were coming from the same spectral bridge that had brought her to Gaia; she took it upon herself to end the flow of evil beings once and for all, intent on destroying that which the dragons of old had made. But when she tried... Well, it is difficult to put into mortal phrasing. The closest I can say is that she became the Spectral bridge, her form becoming that of an immortal alicorn with the bridge emblazoned as her cutie mark and the power to travel between the realms. No, she is not a frequent visitor to Equestria. Right now she is out battling Draconequuii and saving mortals from their torments. She did leave her granddaughter here, though, since her current lifestyle is not at all conducive to the raising of children. Well, no... she's Cadance's great grandmother, technically. She doesn't talk about what happened to her daughter. Well, she did tell us, but... I will not betray her trust. When did my sister and I return to Equestria? Technically, we never left; Equestria as a country didn't exist back then. Oh, I jest, I jest, I know what you meant. Well, after gaining the power to warp literally anywhere in the universe, the human turned alicorn renamed herself Mosgalea and sought us out. She informed us of our mistakes, shaming us with our ignorance; so it was we swore to return and right the wrongs we had inflicted upon the world. In turn, she offered to allow pony foals to be raised in her original world, secluded from dangers. Thus began the age of the Cleansing; while we and the stallions of ponykind ran over all of Gaia to lock evil beings in the chains of Tartarus, the mares maintained their own society neath the safety of Mosgalea's wings. Unfortunately... generations of being protected and distant from dangers made those ponies a little... silly. The mares drew into their own tribes, growing increasingly distant from each other. There was even a period where the ponies completely forgot about the other tribes. The stallions, too, became more focused on fighting alongside my sister and I than in, shall we say, forging relationships with those protected by Mosgalea. The sea ponies disappeared entirely into the watery realms... I can feel them, understand, I still hear them in the heartbeat of the world, but I do not know where they are. So much was lost in the Cleansing, and not all of it should have been. Yes, this was when the tribes began to quarrel. The craft ponies took the name of their mother, calling themselves Unicorns and proclaiming that they were the superior race because of their control of magic. The cloud ponies decided to become the Pegasi, reveling in great cloud art they kept jealously hidden from the other races. The flutter ponies, already shattered and hidden by the traumas of the First Age, grew further into their separate clans, hiding in the wilds in order to avoid being hurt once again. Only the Earth Ponies kept their name, but as they tried desperately to keep the tribes together they only succeeded in being mocked. It was the Unicorns that eventually brought the end of harmony. They had grown so arrogant, so proud, that they claimed the Sun and Moon as their own. Do you know the feeling of having your tail pulled? Imagine that, all over your body, coming from nowhere. This is what Celestia and I felt as the orbs of the sky where wrenched from our control, taken by coordinated covens of mages in their foolish attempts to claim all the world for themselves--! ... My apologies, little ones. To this day I am... infuriated that my body was taken from me in such a manner. I did not mean to frighten you... please, come out from under the table? No, I'm not going to become Nightmare Moon again. That was caused by... well, that is something further down the line of our tale. Well, we would not stand for such actions. We sent the stallions back to their respective tribes, which only worsened the situation when the lust for combat they had gained at our side made them take up arms against each other. The delicate peace was shattered completely, and the tribes took to their own banners. I had grown tired of the quarrels of mortals and intended to simply leave to fight more Draconequuii, but before I did I left the unicorns a little... gift. An amulet, which would increase their power, but at the cost of forcing their minds down more primal and animalistic paths. Celestia, however, preferred a more subtle approach; while I was off in the night sky, she shifted into various pony forms and attempted to manipulate the tribes into peace. Well, yes, we can shapeshift. These forms are, after all, merely our faces-- What? Well, I could, yes, but-- I really don't see why I should-- .... Oh very well, I was tasked with entertaining you, after all. Prepare thyselves for spectacle! Thar. How do Ah look? Am Ah not tha perfect reflecshun of ya? Well of course Ah still have mah cutie mark. It is an expresshun of mah core, Ah cannot alter it any more than mah sister can! Well, yes. We did keep in contact. Ya see Mosgalea didn't think sisters should be parted, so she flew alongside me an' used her warp magic ta send messages back an' forth. But even with Celestia manipyalaten' things in tha background, tha three tribes just grew more and more hostile towards one anotha. Ta be quite frank, Ah think they would still be that way if tha Crystal Empire hadn't sent in tha Windygos. Ya did not know they were sent by tha empire? One of these days Ah must consult with mah sister, allowing such histery ta fall out of tha public's sphere of knowledge is in poor taste indeed. Well, to understand how tha crystal ponies commanded tha Windygos, ya must understand how tha Crystal Empire began. Ah told ya 'bout tha crystal-eyed ponies, yes? Well, way back in tha time before tha spectral bridge was destroyed, thar was a big intelligent mountain, capable of maken' living things out of stone. One of tha beasts he made was a massive canine, meant ta guard tha crystal heart that contained his soul. Yes, that is tha same crystal heart that Spike retrieved in tha recent battle against Sombra, but yer moven' over tha important details again. Tha stone canine, ya see, could turn any intruder ta stone, but itself was actually fairly heartless... until tha human girl and her pony friends used tha very crystal heart he was guarden' ta give him a soul. Of course, in gratitude fer fixen' his mistake, tha mountain let some of tha ponies live inside him, with the crystal heart. Tha stone canine would eventually pass away, but so loved was he by tha new inhabitents that from his cropse came a new form of life. Yer sister, little one, has met thar descendants. Yes, tha brutish diamond dogs are, in fact, guardians of tha liven' mountain, an' at one time they were actually great allies ta ponykind. But that was all before tha rise of Sombra. Sombra, ya see, was a product of tha great tribal wars. When unicorn fought pegasus, pegasus fought unicorn, and both fought earth pony. He lusted fer power, but among tha unicorns he was seen as a commoner, so he took ta traveling. Eventually he discovered tha Crystal Ponies; at that start of tha cleansing, they had hidden themselves in tha Desert of Jewels, using tha harmony of crystals ta protect themselves from, well, us. We would nevar hurt them, but they only saw two powerful alicorns rampaging across tha world. Of course by tha time that Sombra found them they had changed into tha crystal ponies ya'll know. An' thar power fascinated him; here were these hornless ponies performing great magic! He went away then, an' returned as a friend with a great gift: A magical, heart-shaped crystal that would amplify thar positive emotions into a great power. Of course he had not told them he stole it from tha diamond dogs; when tha canines invaded, he came ta tha defense of tha crystal ponies, supposedly out of tha will of his own good heart. Tha attacks grew more and more dangerous, though, and at last tha crystal ponies were desperate enough ta hear his most treacherous suggestion: instead of pouring love into tha crystal heart, they should pour hate into it. Thus were spawned tha Windygos, who were sent ta drive that diamond dogs back and who Sombra used ta repel all tha pony tribes from tha land he would claim. It was not long befer he claimed tha very amulet I had made, and enslaved tha crystal ponies into constructien' an empire in tha now empty wastes. What happend ta tha liven' mountain? Without tha crystal heart, it died. Canterlot is built upon its corpse. Of course ya'll know what happened next, to a degree, as it is told every hearth's warming eve. Yes, tha tribes--Ah'm sorry, but being at such a minuscule height in a room designed fer me is a bit disconserten'. Would ya'll mind if Ah changed back? Thank ya. Ahem. Now... the plays performed on Hearth's warming eve are mostly accurate, if very sparse in their detail. The tribes did migrate south, each of their own accord, and they did continue to quarrel even as the Windigos followed them, and they did eventually unite in harmony to push the Windigos back. But there are some details left unmentioned; Starswirl's theories regarding the Windigos were regarded as crackpot by the majority of unicorn nobles, Princess Platinum was only a diplomat and not technically a ruler, and private Pansy was in fact secretly engaged to Smart Cookie before the migration. In fact, that is why they sought out Star Swirl's apprentice, so they could be wed without either the pegasi or earth ponies knowing of it. No, Smart Cookie was a stallion, actually, and Pansy's father Commander Hurricane would never stand for their love, even after Equestria was united under one banner. He eventually disgraced himself and fell out of favor with the pegasi leaders. Well, most of the early days of Equestria were mostly paperwork, restructuring the leadership so--Oh. You want to know when my sister and I took the throne? Well to be honest it was a few years later. I at first refused to believe the war had ended, but Mosgalea's constant badgering on the behalf of my sister eventually convinced me to return home, though I made her swear to continue my campaign against the Draconequuii in my stead. When I returned, I found that the Windigos were still invading the edges of Equestria as the new country was named. They were... weaker though. So it was I suggested to my sister that we lead a charge against them. She had, you see, managed to pose as a high-ranking pegasus and helped rewrite the governmental system. All it would take was a little push here, a little legislation there, an epic battle against a dark overlord, and we could ensure that these ponies never again fell to hate and rage. No... I still did not trust ponykind... I... I have learned from my mistakes, that is what I was meant to do, after all. But at the time, I looked into the past of the ponies and saw only war. Celestia agreed to my plan, mostly to ensure that I did not go off myself against Sombra. You see, he never stopped questing for power; in fact, he had found the core of Tirek's weapon, hidden away in some cavern or other, and that, alongside the amulet I had made, made him feel confident he could handle anything. Even when my sister and I appeared in our full glory, he laughed at us. He was well on his way to becoming a true Draconequuii, limited only in that he was not directly rewriting himself. Still, he managed to throw the Crystal Empire out of time even as we defeated him, and we gathered the artifacts as spoils of war. The ponies trusted Celestia, who had lived among them and effected great triumphs. But I... I was a mystery, a protector yes but a fierce warrior. I would point out stars every night and say, "Here is where I battled the great Cthulhu, Here where I saved a race known as the Yehat, here I did this, here I did that." Whispers grew that I was a bloodthirsty monster, and less and less of them would listen to my wisdom... I grew enraged at their lack of gratitude. I grew jealous of my sister. I took the very weapon Sombra had used and turned it against her, intent on pushing her sun down to show all that I had achieved. The core of Discord's Elements infected my body and my mind, but then... ...Celestia took the very Elements of Harmony I had forged and robbed me of my face. .... Yes, little ones... It was... very.... disquieting. .... ....again, I thank you. I know now that the pony tribes are truly friendly and peaceful once again. My sister was right... and though her actions were harsh, they were fair. She and I have made amends, do not worry. I'm sorry, I can tell you nothing more of the past. It is hard to observe a world from afar, even if you reside over it every night. The next event I can recall with clarity was my return, and, well, you were there for that were you not? Oh, I assure you, there is much more that happened. What I told you is only a brief outline of how Equestria was made. Shall I tell you more or-- Oh! Sister! Welcome, I take it the ceremony is over then? I suppose you will have to go now. Oh worry not, my little ponies, I enjoyed regaling you with such tales! Perhaps we can establish a correspondence so that I may continue. But for now, run along, your sisters are waiting for you. .... Actually, Tia, I found them quite enjoyable. I suppose you were right. But if you ever have us watch young ones again, inform us at least a day beforehoof. I swear to our mother it took half an eon to get those three to settle down...
Twinkleshine's hearth's warmingEquestrian Origins: A Bedtime Story It was seven in the morning when Twinkleshine finally walked through her door. She blinked a few times and shook her head in an attempt to stay awake. The princess had sent a new project which had dictated she spend her whole night looking over papers. She threw down her packed saddlebags and stumbled into the bathroom. As she prepared for bed, she idly went over what she would have to do when she got up in the evening. The equations she had painstakingly put together all night long would go to Twilight Sparkle. But first she needed to hit the market before all the stalls closed. It was a little irritating to be awake at opposite times from every other pony in town, but she loved her work with Princess Luna enough that it was worth the scheduling nightmare. Twinkleshine finished in the bathroom and proceeded to lower the blinds in her room before slipping into bed. She gave a relieved sigh as her muscles relaxed and the comforting weight of the blankets settled over her. Moments later she was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of the rising activity in the town around her. =/\/\/\/= Ditzy Doo arrive with the mail right after lunchtime, which served as her wakeup call. After a short, groggy chat with the bubbly pegasus she closed the door and set the mail down on her kitchen table. She poured herself some orange juice and began making toast before she sat down to go through the modest pile on the table. Bills and ads made up the usual assortment, but there were also three letters. One was the usual check up letter from Princess Luna, she liked to keep an eye on Twinkleshine’s astronomical research. Another was an invitation to a community dinner hosted by the mayor, but that was quickly discarded, those kinds of dinners were hosted all the time. At the last one, however, Twinkleshine raised an eyebrow. It was a letter from her brother who lived all the way in Las Pegasus. Twinkleshine eagerly sliced the letter open with her magic and floated the letter out. Hello Twinkle! This letter is supposed to be one of those really nice invitations inviting you to come join us for our Hearth’s Warming holiday dinner! But, I just couldn’t let you have one of those. After all, what kind of brother would I be if I couldn’t even take time to write you personally? (It’s not like I have much to do anyway) So, I would like to invite you out for a few days, you can stay at our place if you like. The girls love it when you spend the night, you always had a knack for those bedtime stories. Mom and dad should be arriving the day of the dinner, they don’t plan to stay. If you have anypony you want to bring, we can accommodate one more without much trouble. If you can make it let me know! Two weeks from tomorrow is when I hope to see you! Your brother, Solar Breeze She smiled as she set the letter down. A trip to see her brother and his family sounded like a good idea. The nice thing about her job was that she was at liberty to set her own hours. So long as she produced results in a reasonable amount of time she could do what she wanted. Twinkleshine yawned and got up to catch her toast. She contemplated her response to Breeze as she planned out the rest of her day. A letter to the Princess must be written and she needed to see about finishing up her current project in two weeks, if she could. She smiled, already anticipating a good holiday. */\/\/Two Weeks Later\/\/* Twinkleshine sighed in exhaustion as she leaned back against the train seat. Getting ready for the trip had been rough, but she had finished her work and sent it to Princess Luna just in time. It had taken several sleepless nights, or days in her case, to complete the project. As she looked out the window at the passing scenery, she decided the lack of sleep was worth it. It was going to be a wonderful treat to see her two nieces again. They were always wonderful angels when she was there. Although, she had received letters from her brother saying they acted like that only for her. It made her feel special even though it was laughably wrong of the fillies. She looked out the window as the scenery whizzed by. There was not much to see really; the White Tail Woods were certainly pleasant to take a walk in but the trees did not allow one to see far while on a train. What you could see was so close it passed by before one could get a good look at it. Twinkleshine turned away before she got a headache and settled into reading a dream diary she had acquired. Soon, her head began to droop. Her eyes kept traveling up to the top of the current page as her mind tried fruitlessly to process the words. Oblivious that the surrounding trees had disappeared in favor of rolling hills. Before she was fully asleep, her head drifted into the book; but her soft snores were inaudible over the clattering of the train. "Miss? Hello Miss?" Twinkleshine jerked up and wiped a strand of drool from her cheek. "We will be arriving at Las Pegasus in fifteen minutes.” The suited pony retreated from the door of her cabin. Twinkle looked down at her book in surprise, not remembering she had dozed off. She closed the book, grateful that she had not soaked it. She got up and stumbled around the cabin, her mind hazy with denied sleep. Blinking rapidly and shaking her head, she tried to pull her luggage off the racks. It proved difficult as her body was unwilling to give up the opportunity of slumber. As the train came to a stop she realized she still was not ready to disembark. She scrambled to organize her things as the conductor ushered people out of the cabins in orderly fashion. Moments later, she headed out of her cabin awkwardly toting her things; not trusting them to magic while this tired. Las Pegasus, a truly inspirational city if Twinkleshine ever saw one. It had foregone the traditional “pegasus only” cloud usage like Cloudsdale. Instead, buildings made from earth materials were infused with, what would be, physically impossible addons had they had not been made of the soft, spongy material. True, many places in the city were only accessible by pegasi, but the bulk of the attractions, casinos and stores, were open to all races. Twinkleshine took a deep breath as she walked off the train, the air carried a faint salty tinge from the distant coast. The scent was not strong, as far inland as they were, but it was refreshing all the same. She felt her head clearing as she continued to breathe in the air. Her excitement grew as she strode from the busy boarding platform. Her eyes darted about and she quickly spotted her brother standing a little apart from the crowd which was moving in and out of the station. He had not seen her yet. As she moved towards him, Twinkleshine felt her cheeks begin to pull upwards the closer she got undetected. He suddenly spotted her just before she crashed into him. He laughed and caught her up in a bear hug. “Woah, I didn’t expect you to not be carrying your things without magic... How’re you doing?” “Exhausted! I’ve gotten hardly any sleep trying to prepare for this trip. See what I go through for you Breeze?” She grumbled, yet unable to wipe the grin from her face. He scoffed. “Yea yea, whatever Twinkle. You wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” Laughing, they both trotted away from the busy hub, Breeze now carrying her suitcase in his magic. Twinkleshine paid no attention of their walk to his home. She lost herself in chatting about everything she could with her brother. As they approached the house Breeze pulled a key out from under a nearby window sill and let them into the house. “Oh! We are home!” Twinkleshine exclaimed, surprised. “Thank Celestia! I’m wasted!” Groaning, she threw herself down on a couch inside the door and closed her eyes. Breeze chuckled. “I’m going to take your things up to the spare bedroom, I’ll be right back.” Twinkleshine heart his footsteps on the stairs and distant shuffling. Moments later he was tromping back, but did not stop next to the couch. Twinkle cracked an eye and saw him heading across the hall into the kitchen. He called back over his shoulder.“Hey, I’ve got to get dinner going Twinkle. Why don’t you just relax there for a few minutes.” She smiled and snuggled into a pillow that had been so thoughtfully placed at the end of the couch. It was certainly nice not having to cook for herself, she intended to enjoy every bit of it. Dozing off was not a problem even with the clattering coming from the kitchen for somepony as tired as Twinkleshine. So, she did just that. The next thing Twinkleshine knew was that two unidentified objects were squealing and jumping all over her. “Auntie Twinkle!” The two objects chorused. A grin spread across her face as she came awake enough to realize that the two objects were her nieces. “Kids! What are you doing? Get off your aunt, let her sit up!” Solar Breeze’s wife, Bezel, flew across the room and swiped them both up, one in each hoof. She gave each of them a stern glare and somehow managed to hang on to each of them until they wilted under her glare. Twinkleshine had no idea how the pegasus was able to grapple, let alone fly with, two fillies whose combined size was as big as her. But then, being a top weather mare for a large city was not achieved by weak pegasi. Twinkle thought that Bezel’s attitude was much like their own head weather mare, Rainbow Dash. The only thing that was different was the brazen tomboyish attitude. The pegasus would take flack from nopony and was extremely confident, but she had a motherly demeanor that must have come from bearing children. At least, that was what Twinkleshine guessed; she did not know Bezel as well as she would have liked.. “Hello Bezel.” Yawning, Twinkleshine got up and smiled. “Good to see you Twinkleshine. Sorry about--” “Bezel! You’re home!” Breeze grinned and moved to embrace his wife. The children wormed out of their mother’s grip and ran to hug Twinkle, pointedly ignoring their parents affections. Eventually they all made it to the kitchen. It did not take long for dinner to be placed on the table with all the ponies helping. Twinkleshine tried to help herself, but her brother would have none of it, insisting that she take a seat and wait to be served. She nearly nodded off once more while waiting, but the two fillies made sure that did not happen. Soon enough, everything was prepared and they began eating. Twinkleshine ate mechanically, not paying attention to what went in her mouth. Bezel’s voice cut across Twinkleshine’s blank mind. “So Twinkle, Breeze hasn’t told me anything about your plans for this weekend. Have you two come up with anything... interesting?” “Er, well, we don’t really have anything planned, no.” Twinkleshine mumbled in between bites. “Was there something you wanted to do Bezel?” Breeze asked. “Well, not really. But if Twinkleshine is staying past tomorrow’s dinner then we should probably find something to do. How many days are you staying?” Bezel turned, addressing Twinkleshine. “Breeze didn’t tell you?” She raised an eyebrow at her brother who put on a nervous grin at his wife’s glare. “I told him I would stay through the whole weekend, if that’s okay?” “Of course!” Bezel gave her a big smile. “Not like I could do anything about it now, huh dear?” She gave Breeze another glare. As dinner continued the children began to pick up the conversational slack as Twinkleshine talked less and less. They told her about all the things underneath the sun that they knew until Bezel told them to finish their food. They migrated to the living room where Twinkleshine eventually dozed off again while the others performed various activities. As they would be hosting a dinner the following day, there was plenty of work to keep them busy. Twinkleshine didn’t know how long she slept on the couch, but eventually Breeze was shaking her awake. “Hey Twinkle, it’s almost nine. You should head to bed, you will sleep much better there.” She came awake, feeling oddly rested. “Hmm, oh it’s alright Breeze, I really should have been helping you a bit though.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “Ha, not a chance Twinkle, you were dead on your feet when you got here. I think-” “Auntie Twinkle!” The two fillies bounced into the room and ran up to the unicorns. “Momma said we could ask you to tell us a bedtime story if you weren’t too tired.” Twinkleshine gave a smile and helped her brother scoop them up. “Well I think I can manage that, I think I have just the story for you two.” She intoned mystically. “Well what is it?” “Ah, we need to get your teeth brushed and you in bed first; No spoilers!” Twinkleshine laughed as the fillies squealed and bounced off to get ready. Breeze snorted. “Huh, wish they’d do that for me.” “Well, you never did have mom’s charm, it’s actually a little surprising they don’t run screaming in fear from you.” “You know, I wasn’t the one who ever had that problem... I distinctly recall--” “Shut up Breeze or I’ll put spiders in your bed! I have a reputation to keep up for your children.” She glared, but was unable to hold back a grin. He spluttered, but she slipped past him before he could think of a response. They waited for the girls to prepare for bed then walked them to their room. Breeze pushed their beds together and laid down in the center with a filly on each side. Bezel wished them good night, giving her children each a kiss before heading to bed. Twinkleshine settled herself on the end of the beds, adopting a storytelling pose. She cleared her throat, deciding where to begin. This story was long and complicated, but if told right it would be a fantastic tale. Princess Luna had recounted these events to her, she had been dying for a chance to repeat her newfound knowledge. “This is the story of how Equestria was made,” she began, “It’s history is an amazing story that dates all the way back to the beginning of the world.” She glanced at her audience, amused that it took so little to entrance children. =/\/\/\/= “The very beginning of our world, let me see now. There are many different facets in this creation story. I’m sure you fillies know our Hearths Warming tales by heart now right?” The girls nodded their heads vigorously. “Daddy got us a book that tells--” “Of course, hush girls.” Twinkle insisted quietly. “The Hearths Warming stories play only one part in this story, there is much more to cover. This story begins back with the earliest memories of both princesses.” “Oooh, how old is Princess Celestia auntie Twinkle?” Twinkleshine gave the interrupting filly a glare and she cowered. Breeze grinned and hugged his daughter. “I’ll get to that.” Twinkle huffed. “Now be quiet and listen. We need to start at the beginning. That means, like I said, at both of the princesses earliest memories.” Twinkle repositioned herself on the bed as she continued. “They were not the alicorns we all know and love back then. Technically they did not physically exist. All that existed were the sun and moon. I am told that the planet was shaped from some random mass that just appeared one day.” Twinkleshine paused with a thoughtful expression. “Actually,” she continued, “there really wasn’t anything like day or night back then, but lets just go with it. Anyway, this planet was given shape along with land, water, air, and everything else on it. Ponies were created and placed in a place what could be referred to as Ancient Equestria.” “Hey Twinkle,” her brother interjected. Twinkleshine arched an eyebrow. “Heh, sorry. But, you are saying created and shaped...” he paused, frowning in thought. “Who is doing this exactly?” “I asked our Princess Luna the same question, but she couldn’t tell me. She said that the memories were unclear.” “So, where does--” Breeze was cut off as one of his daughters put a small hoof over his mouth. “Shh daddy! Let her tell the story!” Twinkleshine laughed as Breeze grimaced at his daugher. “Whose side are you on huh?” “She does have a point, ask your questions once I finish the story. Who knows, maybe they will be answered before then.” Twinkled grinned at her brother who rolled his eyes, but he remained silent. “Anyway, continuing... Ponies were given the Elements of Harmony and instructed on their use. They were also given control of the sun and moon. Remember, they were already there, just now ponies were instructed on their use.” Twinkleshine glanced at the other ponies on the bed. “Before you ask, no, the princesses were not created with the other ponies. But before I explain where, and when, they came into Equestria I need to go over some history. Realize that the Elements of Harmony were meant to combat disharmony and chaos. Mostly in magical and extremely powerful forms, things that ponies could not fix on their own. The reason for their creation was that Discord already existed in this world.” The girls collectively gasped. Breeze absently hugged them closer, but his attention remained riveted on his sister. “However, Discord must have understood what the elements were supposed to do because he never showed himself for hundreds of years. Thus, ponies prospered in Ancient Equestria. They soon forgot what the Elements were for since they never had to use them. I would go so far as to say that the definition of “harmony” was never even fully understood.” Breeze raised an eyebrow and frowned. Twinkleshine noticed. “Um, what I mean is, how can you truly appreciate love, tolerance, harmony and all things good unless you have something bad to compare them to? One cannot fully appreciate the good things he has if he always had them. It takes loss, pain and hard work to understand what luxuries are. Ponies back then never had Discord or any other power that tried to ruin their livelihoods. That helps yes?” “Yea, thanks.” Breeze murmured. He looked down at both his daughters. They were fast asleep, one was using his forehoof as a pillow. He maneuvered himself out from around his now snoozing daughters and motioned for Twinkleshine to follow him downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator while magicking down two glasses from the cupboard. Twinkleshine sat down and leaned her head against the table. All she could think about was that there was a bed upstairs with her name on it. Breeze set a down one of the glasses in front of Twinkleshine, it was filled with orange juice. As Twinkleshine took a sip from the glass, Breeze sat down in a chair across from the table and leaned forward. “So, what happened next Twinkle?” He asked, swiveling his ears towards her and leaning in. “Well,” Twinkleshine mumbled, “Ponies split, the races basically went their separate ways. The Elements were lost and things festered for a number of years. This is where the Hearths Warming tales come into play. All the ponies relied on each other to survive, but they would have nothing to do with other races outside of their needed negotiations.” “So, the Windigos came and fed off the ponies.” Breeze concluded. “Not immediately.” Twinkleshine perked up and became animated in her explanation. “You see, Discord created the Windigos, but he knew that he had to wait for quite a few more years until the Elements were completely forgotten. He was certainly patient, making sure ponies had no means with which to fight him. I guess this is also a testament to how powerful the Elements are, given that Discord makes sure not to fight them in any way.” Breeze frowned. “You know, from what I heard about Discord’s return a few months ago, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Where did you come up with this conclusion?” Twinkleshine snorted. “I didn’t make it up Breeze. You fail to recall I’ve had the unique opportunity to spend time with Princess Luna. She has told me a lot of things.” She glared at him across the table. “Discord was desperate when he escaped a few months ago. He probably knew Princess Celestia wouldn’t just sit still, letting him go into hiding and work from the shadows. So, he tried to take the initiative and sabotage her plan to use the Elements on him again.” She stared at Breeze, daring him to contradict her, and in extension, the princess. The stallion wore a thoughtful expression. He said nothing and the silence stretched into awkwardness. He cleared his throat nervously. “Yes, well, so that happened. What came next?” Twinkleshine blinked and shrugged. “Obviously the Windigos were defeated, but I won’t go into that. What was important is that it made Discord very angry. Angry enough that he decided that working on the sidelines wasn’t enough anymore. You saw what he did to Equestria in just a day? Imagine ponies having to deal with that for months.” Twinkleshine shivered. “Except, it wasn’t all cotton candy and soapy roads from what I’ve learned. Things got really bad. You see, Discord didn’t want to kill ponies, he wanted to make their lives miserable...” Twinkleshine trailed off, lost in thought and staring at the table. Breeze watched her intently, waiting for her to continue. But, once again, the silence stretched to uncomfortable lengths. “So, then what?” He insisted. “Oh!” Twinkleshine jerked. “Right, well...” She paused, tapping a hoof to her chin. “Ponies obviously realized they were unable to defeat Discord on their own. Evidently theology became very important at this time. Ponies were in terror every day of their lives and were looking for something beyond themselves to come and save them from Discord.” Twinkleshine stopped and looked at Breeze. “Now this part is a little unclear. Princess Luna was very vague on what was done or said that triggered what happened to... Well, summon her and Celestia. All they know is how and when they were created. “But, from what I could gather, they were created with bodies first. But then they were given what makes them special: They were imbued with direct access to the sun and moon, respectively. This also caused the princesses to “remember” everything that had happened since the beginning of time for ponies since the sun and moon had always been there.” Twinkleshine leaned back in her chair. “And that is it.” Breeze blinked in surprise. “What? That can’t be it... What happened next? Equestria isn’t still in the clutches of a nasty chaos demon, something else must have happened.” Twinkleshine sighed. “Ugh, yes yes, Equestria wasn’t left raining chocolate milk and coughing up rainbows. But the creation story is ended. I guess I can finish your history lesson though. “Celestia and Luna knew about the Elements and how to use them. They focused on finding them and suitable bearers. They avoided direct contact with Discord, but wherever they went, they did their best to comfort and encourage ponies. They had too. How else would bearers be found? Qualities that ponies had lost needed to be unburied, harmony had to be reestablished, hope had to be rekindled.” As Twinkleshine continued, she became less detailed and began mumbling again. “It was tough. Discord knew what the sisters were trying to do and he got violent try to stop them. Things got messy, or so I’m told. I didn’t get many details from that time period. I guess it was a pretty nasty war.” Twinkleshine stopped to yawn. “Well, long story short, harmony was restored. Civilization was in the dumps though. Children without parents, a stagnant economy, disease everywhere... Princess Luna had a lot to say about how bad it was.” Twinkleshine’s head began to nod forward, but she kept rambling. “From the references she made, I think that this was when a rift began to form between her and her sister. But I can’t say for certain, I might find out in the future though.” Twinkleshine was barely aware of Breeze leading her up to a bed. As he pulled the blankets up to her chin with his teeth, he heard her mumble one last thing. “That is how Equestria was made Breeze, don’t let anypony tell you different.” He smiled. It seemed like she had left out a number of important parts. But he figured those could be cleared up later the next day with a few comments and discussions with her. Quietly shutting the door, he sneaked up the hall into his room. He quietly slipped in beside his slumbering wife and drifted off to sleep.
