Do you ever wonder how parents name their foals, dear reader?
Let’s take some of the heroes we all love and admire, and try to find that out together. Don’t worry, I will help you with that, and I won’t drown you in genealogical gibberish. But in order to understand the tale I am about to tell you, you have to understand this secret first. Ready? Good.
Rainbow Dash, we all know of her amazing flying skills and capricious, daredevil tricks. Of course her name makes sense. “Rainbow” because of her rainbow mane and tail, and “Dash,” because of her never-satisfied need for speed. The rainbow is logical, yet, how could her parents know that “Dash” was going to be a suitable second part of her name? How could they know that their little filly was going to be one of the fastest and most awesome flyers in Equestria? They couldn’t.
And yet they did.
And what about Twilight Sparkle? I talked with her for a while, and found out that her parents’ names are “Twilight Velvet” and “Night Light.” Of course, looking at her mother’s name, the “Twilight” part fits right in, but where did the “Sparkle” come from?
Her parents could have decided that name when they saw their foal was a unicorn, as unicorns use magic. But it could also have been that, as she grew up, Twilight Sparkle’s magic would have been bad or average, like the thousands of unicorns who only know a simple levitation spell. Trust me, dear reader, there are lots of lazy unicorns in Equestria. If Princess Twilight’s magical abilities would have been mediocre at best, a name like “Twilight Sparkle” would forever be a burden to bear, speaking only of parental expectations which would never come true. But her parents saw that their child was going to be extraordinary. They were obviously very proud of their child’s future magical talent, and wanted to give her a name that honored her abilities. Hay, now that I think about it, they might even have found out about her future ascension to princess-hood.
That leaves one key question unanswered: how did they know?
I know how they knew.
Twilight’s brother is named “Shining Armor,” and—as you may or may not know—is the captain of the royal guard. As you can see, the name “Shining Armor” fits perfectly with his important job. But how could his parents know that their son, who was just a little colt, would one day be walking around in a glimmering set of armor, with a plumed helmet on his head?
Believe me, they could.
Our last example is Rarity. I didn’t have the chance to talk with her about her parents, as she is a very busy fashion designer. She simply didn’t have time to pause her life’s passion to do silly and unnecessary things—unlike us writers. By sheer luck, however, I ran into her parents at the Ponyville market. They were nice ponies and—lucky for me—they were very talkative. They told me exactly how they knew that their beautiful daughter would one day become a famous and successful fashion designer with a crush on pretty gems which are a rarity just like her name. They visited the Shimmering Eye too.
These four ponies, these four names, all came from the same place: the Shimmering Eye. I know that—unless you happen to wear antlers—you probably have never heard of this name before. “The Shimmering Eye…” It sounds quite ominous, doesn’t it? Yet, the Shimmering Eye is the most beautiful thing I can remember of my childhood. It is a landmark so pretty and powerful, it will make you want to bring out a spyglass—even though you’re standing right in front of it—to watch it better. You would want to take in every single detail, every reflection of light, every ripple, every fish, every wave, every water plant, every leaf floating on the mirror-like water. When you would look into it, your reflection would stare back at you with blissful eyes, bearing a smile which will be glued to your face the rest of the day. Just looking into the water will make you feel at peace with yourself, with those around you, and with the world. Just looking into the water will make you feel its enormous powers.
The Shimmering Eye, in all its glory, is impossible to describe, and yet there are a million different words with which to tell you, dear reader. But if I really, really have to pick out a word, one single word, with which to describe the Shimmering Eye, it would be a lake.
The Shimmering Eye is an enormous lake. Enormously long, enormously wide, and enormously deep. The banks of it are steep, and only on the northern side is a place where you can wade a few yards into the lake. No one goes for a casual swim into the water of the Eye, even though elks are always in love with water, and always long for some refreshment. No, no one is allowed into the lake without permission. And those that get permission to enter the lake, will experience something they will never forget.
I have bathed in the Shimmering Eye. Every elk, deer, and reindeer has bathed in the Shimmering Eye. We all know what it is, how it feels, and why we must live and die to protect it. We all know it is our legacy, our mission, our goal, and our treasure.
The Shimmering Eye is a bit of a half-mystery. Some creatures know of it, and some don’t. The ponies that live up north, like inhabitants of the Yaket Range or the mysterious village called Manehattan sometimes venture into the Bugbear Territory. Usually it is the brave, stout-hearted ponies that enter these strange, wild, and sometimes dangerous parts. Most of them are skeptical, and don’t believe in magical powers hidden deeply in that strange part of Equestria that we call home. Ha! I always love seeing their faces after they visited the Shimmering Eye. But sometimes there are other kinds of ponies who find us—or rather, we find them. Sometimes ponies enter the forest by mistake, get lost and scared, and need to be rescued. We often follow them around for a while, look at their behavior, and determine if it is safe to let them in on the secret or not. We always help those ponies, though we not always reveal the Shimmering Eye to them.
And if we really, really trust the ponies that reach us, we let them feel the power of the Shimmering Eye. They take their foals towards the Eye, and then Aeltha, our seer, performs one of the most sacred rituals: a naming ceremony.