"Wait, you mean the Cutiesaurs?" Majesty asked in disbelief. "I thought that thing was just a myth. Heck, I was just humoring Wind Whistler on her crazy search."
"Oh no, the Cutiesaurs is very real, my good princess." Nachlicht replied. "She is the oldest being on this world, predating even the ancients themselves.She was the first creature in this world to obtain a cutie mark."
The two mares walked the streets of Rainbow Falls, while all around them the ponies of the town hung Christmas lights, and decorated the trees all around them. A feeling of the holiday season filled the air, as wreaths and stockings were hung everywhere.
"But how did this creature earn such a mark?" Majesty asked. "I mean, this is a creature that had a cutie mark long before we ponies did. How was that first cutie mark earned?"
"It is a story that goes back into the mists of time, my good Majesty." The rainbow pony replied looking out across the snow covered hills. "To a time before ponies walked this world. Only the faintest whispers among the oral traditions oldest tribes of animals remain to tell this tale...."
When the world was young, and the purity of life had not been tainted by civilization, there was a time of peace. Nearly all of the animal tribes lived in harmony with one another, for the struggle with their environment to survive was too great to be quarreling with one another. In those days, the great thunder lizards roamed the planet. They were the ancestors of the Dragons, and mightiest of the animal tribes. Great in strength and size, they dominated the other animals, bullying them into giving them food and hunting land, while giving nothing in return.
But while they did not quarrel in those days, the other animals did not know friendship. It was clan against clan, only family could be trusted and cared for. It was into this world a young female Thunder Lizard named Gertie was born. She was different from all the others of her kind, lacking their greed and selfish natures. And when Gertie looked upon the other animals her kind tormented so, she felt nothing but pity for those lesser creatures. Why should her own tribe bring suffering upon those weaker than themselves?
In time, the young thunder lizard came to look upon her own tribe in disgust. And so did a most remarkable thing... she reached out to the other tribes for companionship. The others were hesitant at first, for why would a creature not of their own kind seek them out? But as they became convinced of Gertie's sincerity and kindness, the other animal tribes each came to accept her as one of their own. In turn, she was able to convince each tribe to form ties with the other tribes not of their own kind.
It was in this that friendship- caring for one not of your own family, and having them care in turn- first entered this world.
Using the gift of friendship Gertie had given them, the animals were able to unite against their oppressors for the very first time. The united animals fought a great battle against the thunder lizards; the first true battle, to occur upon this world. the untied animals vanquished the thunder lizards, driving the few survivors back into the caves, where their descendants would eventually become the dragons- hoarders of gold and valuables ever more greedy than their now-extinct ancestors.
As to Gertie, she received from almighty B'zekre a symbol upon her flank, to represent her special talent of bringing the animals together in friendship. This was the very first cutie mark, given for her talent for bringing others together. As the centuries past, other animals would earn this mark for their mastery of their special talents now and then. But it would not be until the rise of ponies that the mark would become a regular occurrence on the flanks of ponydom; an inherit part of who each pony was.
And so, all the races celebrate the Winter festival as a remembrance of how Gertie liberated all of our ancestors from oppression, choosing the evergreen tree and decorating it as a symbol of the evergreen warmth and beauty of friendship, that can withstand even the bitterest of hostile cold. And the tradition of exchanging gifts came about, to represent what a gift friendship is to all living things. Each tribe as their own version of this holiday, with it's own customs and rituals. But the meaning is always the same, the wonderful gift of friendship given to us by Gertie so long ago.
"The ancients later came up with their own story of how the holiday came to be- tied to a historical pony incident involving friendship- and the story of Gertie and her bravery were lost to them." Nachlicht finished. "Our own ancestors remembered her as the cutiesaurs, a friendly spirit who represented the spirit of the holiday season."
"And when the humans came, we turned our holiday celebration into Christmas." Majesty replied, as the tale ended. " But... whatever happened to the cutiesaurus? How is she still out out there?"
"It is said she has bestowed with an eternal existence, and continued to wander this world even after her species was gone." Nachlicht replied. "She's remained in hiding all these thousands of years, avoiding the various civilizations that came and went as the ages past."
"Wait a minute... let me get this straight." Majesty interjected. "So you're telling me, that the first creature to bear a cutie mark... the first creature to discover the power of friendship... has been out there since before recorded history began... and nobody has ever sought her out before now?"
"Every tribe has their own origin of how the holiday season came about... even the ancients had one! No one wanted to give the cutiesaurus credit for freeing all the animals and introducing friendship, so they made up their own stories about about what happened, and Gertie was forgotten." Nachlicht replied. "No race has ever tried to go after her, because nobody remembered or cared about her anymore."
"But why do you want me to go and find her, after all this time?" Majesty asked, confused. "Why break thousands of years of her solitude, to just now seek her out?"
"Because it's time somebody finally gives back, to the one who first gave us friendship." The rainbow-maned mare replied. "We want you to bring Gertie the Cutiesaurs back to rainbow falls, so she can discover the magic of the holiday season. We want to allow the lonely and forlorn founder of friendship, to be able to experience the joy of friendship once more."