//------------------------------// // How It All Began... // Story: The First Alicorn // by SpellboundSparkle //------------------------------// In the beginning, there was nothing. There was no Equestria, no time, not even the unvierse existed. But at some point, things had begun popping up. They had no name, and no purpose, they simply existed. Today, they might be described as particles, but then tey had no name for noone existed to name them. And so, for an infinte period of time, the only things in existence were purposeless bundles of particles. Something happened in this infinte period of time, something one couldn’t begin to understand or explain, and gradually, they began to attract each other. And so, they collided to form… the very first alicorn. She had no defined size or purpose, but soon found she had an odd skill – she could create anything out of nothing. So the very first thing she did, was to wave her horn and bring time into being. For a while, this amused her young mind, counting seconds, minutes, hours, days. She soon decided she wanted more though. She created the sun. She never needed to sleep, so she stayed up for an infinite amount of time, gazing up at her beautiful sun which hovered inches from her face. She gave it light and heat, and found that she often became very hot when sitting under it for more than a hundred years at a time. This nameless alicorn soon became bored of this beautiful ball of gas though. She wanted somepony to share it with. So with a cosmic flap of her wings, she created the universe. Flying through this vast empty void, she felt inspired. This would be her work; filling up this endless void with light and beauty. And so, hanging the sun up in the exact centre of the void, she began her endless task. *** Billions of years later… She stopped for a couple of decades to rest her aching bones and replenish her magic. Billions of years since the creation of the universe, and she’d worked non-stop. Awe-inspiring didn’t begin to cover what she had created. Galaxies made up of billions of stars which all made her first creation look weak and pathetic; black holes, with enough power to devour light itself (there weren’t too many of them lying around); planets capable of supporting billions of different ecosystems and races. But she didn’t love any of these things. The only thing in the entire universe she truly loved was her original masterpiece- her sun. So she flew faster than the speed of light back to her beautiful creation. She’d left this patch of the universe clear for a million miles in every direction to ensure nothing outshone her beloved star. But now, she realised that she shouldn’t keep this stunning canvas to herself; she should create others to share it with. Many different minds, to appreciate the many different wonders of her universe, in many different ways. And so for the second time in the existence of the universe, she began her work. *** Exactly 100 years later… Finally, she had done it. Created a land of perfection and beauty, which could nurture and grow any beings she placed here. She was about to name it when she hesitated. Why had she created this land? To hold and support intelligent life of course. Intelligent life. Smiling, she flew over the snow-capped mountains. They would name it themselves when the time came. She flew on. *** 50 years later… Every river valley had been filled. Every cave perfectly hollowed. Every tree perfectly pruned. Just as she was about to cast the spark of life, and create her first sentient life, she hesitated once more. Obviously whatever creatures were created would have names, but what about her? She knew she was an alicorn. She had always been an alicorn, from the second those seemingly pointless particles had collided to form her body. But did she have an actual name? What would her creations call her? If would be infuriating to be constantly called the alicorn or the creator. So she sat down on a mountain, with her head in the clouds, and began to think. *** 10 years later… She stood up. The snow underneath her had flattened from her ten years of non-movement. She opened her eyes. Stretched her wings. She observed the land, and how it had grown, thrived and become her finest art. Finally, she raised her head and horn, and wrote her desired name in the stars above her head; Caelestis. *** 200 years later… Caelestis stepped back and gazed down at the figure in front of her. The inanimate river clay stared back at her with dull, empty eyes. It just wasn’t right! Over two hundred attempts at creating a half-decent life form, and every single one had failed! Caelestis picked the thing up with her magic and threw it back into the river. It slowly fell apart and reattached itself to the bottom of the flashing river. She sat down heavily, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Everything she’d made so far and she couldn’t even create a nice design for a creature, let alone a beautiful one. She was about to give up and enter an endless sleep, when such an idea struck her she actually jumped off the ground like she’d been electrocuted! Smiling, she picked up the clay from the river with her magic, and once again began modelling her newest idea… *** 1 year later… She stood up, looked down and smiled. Finally, something had worked. The creation in front of her was so adorable and original; how had she not come up with something like this before? It had taken her a year to come up with something so tiny, but she’d had to make sure every fur was in place, every organ functioning perfectly. She lowered her head and pointed her horn to this creation; it was almost time to bring it to life. As the first sparks of magic began to creep down her horn towards the clay, she whispered in an echoic voice the whole universe heard; “I name you, a rabbit.” *** 50 years later… Caelestis looked out over the land. Small creatures leaped and played on the ground and in the trees. Fish swam in the lakes and rivers. Birds looped and soared through the air. But it was all missing something. None of these creatures could ever support enough intelligence to admire the rest of her work. None of them could begin to comprehend the work she’d given up on more than 400 years ago, and started billions of years ago. No, for somepony to admire that, she’d have to create something… better. Brighter. Looking down at her shimmering golden body, she had the start of an idea. She pulled up more clay, sat down and began again. *** 20 years later… Looking down, she could hardly believe her eyes. There, right in front of her, was the first ever earth pony. It was yet to come to life, but Caelestis had finally done it. She knew that this being at last would have the intelligence to understand her work, and the appreciation to admire it. She’d roughly based it on herself, but hadn’t given it a horn or wings. One step at a time. She thought about it some more, and decided that after this, she would create unicorns, who would raise the sun and moon and stars, and pegasi who could control the weather. But what gift to give the earth pony, to make it special? She decided that the earth pony should have an intimate connection with the ground, be able to grow things and make things from the ground which the pegasi and unicorns would never have the ability to do. Changing the spell she’d used to bring every animal to life, she blended in this skill. She lowered her horn towards the clay; once more, the sparks began to creep down her horn. At the last second, she realised any intelligent creature needs purpose. The earth pony must have a purpose in life! The spell had almost left her horn; Caelestis let out one final spark, to give the earth pony a meaning. Satisfied, she watched it open its eyes. Glancing around it looked up, and saw her at last. “My little pony, my name is Caelestis.” ***