Nature is one of the most important parts of pony society. All of the races of Equus are in tune to nature, making it an important part of a pony’s daily life. We get all of our food from nature and many social traditions, such as Winter Wrap Up and the Running of the Leaves, have to do with nature. More than a few ponies have nature-related cutie marks, such as those responsible for growing food or taking care of the animals that surround us.
Nature consists primarily of two parts, the flora (plants) and the fauna (animals). While there is much more to nature and quite a few more parts, those are the two primary categories. The flora of a place greatly impact who can live there and what happens in the place. Sometimes, though rarely, the flora can even become alive, such as in the case of the Everfree Forest outside of the town of Ponyville.
—Excerpt from The Natural World of Equus
“That. Was. AWESOME!” Vinyl shouted after she finished. She glanced at the next page and shut the book.
“I must agree, that wasn’t like any other myths that I’ve read so far. I wonder why the Princes included it. The other twelve parts must be scattered throughout. But now may I have my book back Vinyl?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, here you go. The next one is about trees or something and we should really get back to practicing.”
“Do come to our concert tonight Twilight, I am sure that you will love it. But now we must get back to last minute practices as Vinyl said. My cello and I cannot wait for the stage.” She gave the alicorn a small smile before heading backstage with the other two musicians.
“Well that was certainly an interesting tale. I wonder what happened to Aquarius. If I had to take a guess though, I would think that at least eleven parts of the story are told from the view of the other eleven constellations. But Celestia never mentioned them being real ponies.” Still deep in thought, Twilight wandered out the door of the concert hall and began walking through the vibrant streets of the Canterlot art district. Ignoring the street painter pegasi creating beautiful landscapes by dipping their wingtips in paint and the earth ponies carving masterpieces out of granite mere feet away from her, Twilight walked over the cobblestoned street. “I wonder if there was a footnote. Vinyl wouldn’t have thought to read a footnote.”
She stopped and pulled the ancient tome out of her saddle bags and flipped to the last myth that she had read. “A real and historic document that can be found in the restricted section of the library? Why would the princess keep it there. No matter,” she said with a smile, shutting the book loudly and sending up a small cloud of dust. “I’m a princess now, I can get into any part of the library I want.”
Twilight dashed off at a gallop, leaving behind the artists, one in particular who had started a new painting, a new painting of the oddly shaped symbol that had appeared on the back of the book that he had seen when a certain lavender unicorn paused in the street. It was a symbol found nowhere else in the world, except to serve as a warning to scholars and historians that the book contained an extremely rare enchantment.
*
“I’m sorry Twilight, I can’t let you into that part of the library.”
“What?! But, why not Mrs. Dewey?” Twilight whined.
“Well,” the old librarian huffed, “It is because of nothing that I have done. I would have let you into there now without the fuss that you are making now. But when Princess Celestia dropped off the book that I was to give to you, she also said that I was to, under no circumstances, let you into the restricted section unless you had a signed note from her. And before you dash off to your mentor,” she called down the hall at the running backside of Twilight, “she also said that she would not give you such a note until you finished that book.”
“Fine. It appears that my mentor knows me better than I thought. I’ll just go read the book then.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what is the book about?” Mrs. Dewey called, once again stopping the moving form of Twilight.
“Oh, it’s some collection of ancient Equestrian myths that she wanted me to read for some reason or the other.”
The librarian’s old eyes twinkled. “I love mythology. Would you like to share a few chapters with another bibliophile?”
“I would love to.” Twilight trotted over behind the circulation desk and made herself comfortable on the soft and carpeted floor of the library. “The Birth of Nature: All That Grows Green. After the world was created, there was little color upon its surface…”
***
After the world was created, there was little color upon its surface. It was a barren place, a surface of earth and soil and rock, but little more and little living. It was a world with unlimited potential, limited only by what the few living beings chose to do with it. Among the immortals and gods who created the land named Equus, there was one called Natur. She roamed the world and found the small places where her song had taken its root, small places of green and beauty. But they were far too small for life.
Natur took the seeds of these places, the places she named sanctuaries, and brought them to the other immortals. Each one took a few, shaping it in their own fashion to create those things that they had been tasked with. Vesi created the corals and sea plants to live under the oceans that split the land, Ignis created the tall, strong trees that would grow under the sun, and so on, until every plant that would exist had been made. And they returned the seeds to Natur to spread over the land, as was her duty. She traveled far and wide, bringing nature to places that would have never seen it otherwise. And the land was filled with all kinds of color and beauty. But a few were still missing before the earth could be populated.
There were still three seeds that remained, the seed that would create the Tree of Life, from which all creatures would spring from, the seed that would create the Tree of Harmony, from which all peace and balance would come from, and the Tree of Knowledge, from which all that is known would come from. They were seeds that could not be simply planted in a field, for they had to be protected from the dark forces that were present even then.
A place for the Tree of Harmony was found first, in the shadow of a solitary mountain. The Tree of Knowledge came next, on an island in the middle of the ocean. But no place could be found that was suitable for the Tree of Life, for it would yield the most precious fruit: all that would breathe. Natur ventured far and wide over Equus before finding a single place where the tree could be planted. It was placed in the center of three pools and its branches quickly grew into the heavens and many creatures emerged from its trunk to populate the earth.
And so, the world of Equus flowered and became green, and the goddess Natur fulfilled her role in the world. And a legend was born.