Chapter 6: Celestia's Choice
"Now, tell me. Tell me what each of you have made for the land. What have you made for each of your own races....." Celestia said, pride obvious in her voice.
"Well, Princess, I created a little village for my race to live out of." said Spirit, the brown earth pony. She was shy of telling what she had made at first, but grew steadily more used to sharing her tale with the others. "I ran across the width of all of Equestria, trying to find the perfect spot. I wanted it to have meaning, to embody the earth itself. I settled on a little valley, on the east side of Equestria. There was a rolling meadow there, with a river running beside it, and mountains along one side. I thought it perfect, a true embodyment of the earth's natural beauty."
"Well done, Spirit" Celestia praised. "And what about its residents?" she queried.
"That was easily the hardest part. At this point, I had already made the town itself, all the buildings, a few farms and their lands, and so on. I tried to make the ponies out of the dirt, but they just fell apart when I tried to use the magic to bring them to life. Then I tried the mud, and the same thing happened." Spirit said, enthusiastically telling her tale. She stopped though, when she noticed Celestia was giggling. Spirit was mad that the Princess would laugh at her frustration, but decided not to voice her concern. She didn't need to, because the Princess put words to it.
"Please * giggle * dont be * giggle * upset. I just know * giggle * what you went through." Celestia managed to say inbetween bouts of merriment.
"Well, ok. Anyway, I was making the ponies, but after a while, I realized I needed real Earth! Not just dirt, but Earth! A mixture, the dirt, the mud, the water, the stone! All of it!" She said excitedly. "And when I did it, the ponies magically knew who they were, and where they belonged. The magic really must have made my thoughts a reality, to make them not even question anything at all." Spirit said, thoughtful.
"Yes, magic truly is a wonderous thing!" Celestia said, flying a few feet into the air in her joy. She settled back down a moment later. "You have done as I asked, well done, Spirit."
"Thank you, Princess." Spirit said, bowing slightly.
* * * * *
After a light repast, consisting of wild flowers from the clearing they were in, the three regrouped.
"It is time," Celestia said softly, "for another tale. Since you were so patient throughout the last tale, I'll let you tell your own story now, Dash."
"YES!" she cheered. "Now listen to this!"
"Dash, please, just a little humility....." Celestia chided.
"Hu... mili....what?" Dash said, contorting her face with each part of the word.
"Learn to tone down the theatrics, Dash" said Dawn, who the blue pegasus had almost forgotten about.
"Oh.... ok. Well, I decided to follow Celestia's request, as I like to think we each did, I tried to make it reflect my element. In my case, the sky and the clouds. I built a city sculpted completely out of clouds, with a LOT of help from the Princess's magic. Anyway, after making sure it would float on its own, I set about the second part, making the ponies."
Here, Dash looked away, slightly ashamed.
"I..... I sort of feel bad for this, but they all are just like me, with a few little changes....." she said, growing meeker at every word.
"Dont be frightened, little one." Celestia calmed her. "It's ok. They are unique, rest assured of that. The magic I gave you made sure of that." Celestia nuzzled Dash, and Dash nuzzled back, tears of relief flowing out of her.
"Thank.... Thank you...... Princess....." Dash said, in between sobs.
"Shhhh. Everything is ok. Cloudsdale, your city in the clouds, is a wonderful home for all the unique pegasi in Equestria. And your mind made them all so unique."
"Re... Really?!" Dash said, still crying, but less intensely.
"Of course. Would I lie to you?"
"No"
"Than you know I speak the truth. You made tham all unique, and you made a city truly reflecting your element. Well done Dash!" Celestia said. The other two cheered at this, making Dash feel accomplished, and she settled back into her normal, if less energetic for the moment, self.
* * * * *
Another meal passed before Celestia called for the third, and final, story to be told.
"Now, let us hear the final part of this tale. Dawn, if you would?" Celestia said, motioning for Dawn to get up and begin telling her tale.
"Well, I..... uh..." she stuttered out. She was nervous. She was afraid her tale wouldn't be as good, and she would dissapoint Celestia. "I, I'm sorry..... I can't..... I just can't....." Dawn said, falling to the ground and hugging her hooves. The other two instantly sprung forward, and began comforting her. Celestia was pleased they instantly knew how to try and help a friend.
Celestia moved forward, clearing the two away from the purple mare with her wings.
"Dawn, It's ok. We all get nervous. Don't be afraid to be scared, be afraid of not showing what you are capible of! You made somthing amazing, simply tell us what it is....." Celestia said, wispering to the little purple mare.
It worked. She got up a minute later, and slowly began telling her tale. She was quite methodical about it too. She told of all the plans she had in her head, the prototypes she had made. Then she went over the location she chose, then the architecture, and the materials she used. Finally, she got to the main point, the ponies.
"I wasn't sure what to do at first, and admittedly, I had forgotten about making them until I had begun to leave the city. It was quite simple at this point, the magic took over and made a template of myself each time. I just made the modifications of what I wanted them to look like and be, in my head. The magic did the real work, and then it brought them all to life!" Dawn shouted at the end. She startled Dash, who had fallen asleep over the course of the very, very, very long story.
"Wha! Where! I.... What?!" She questioned, still trying to figure out where she was.
"Dash! You fell asleep on Dawn?" said Spirit. She poked her. "We didn't fall asleep during your story....."
"Yea, but mine was never this BORING!" She said, yawning on the final word.
Dawn continued, unperturbed.
"After giving the unicorns I had just made a good lecture on their place in the world, and what they each were, the magic took over yet again. They each seemed to know what they were ment to do, and where to go. I left shortly after, and ended up right back here." Dawn said, rubbing her hoof a bit shyly at the end.
"An exelent tale, Dawn!" Celestia said, nodding enthusiastically.
"Th... Thanks..... Princess....."
"There is one more matter to deal with though." Celestia said, ominously.
"Really?" The three said in unison, wondering.
"Yes. I need to pick where I, myself, will live. And I think......" The paused, and all three ponies leaned forward expectantly. "I think I'll take up residence in Canterlot."
"Really?!" All three said, all three were shocked.
"Yes! I don't mean to spurn you two, but Canterlot is the central location, and governing-wise, it makes the most sense. Also, the city is the "City of Magic", and I think I'm going to teach the other unicorns how to use there new powers. I may even open an academy....."
While Dash and Spirit looked slightly dissapointed, Dawn couldn't have been more overjoyed.
"REALLY!? You really mean it Princess!?" Dawn said exitedly.
"Yes, but please, don't feel spited. It is just that I picked the central location. I'm not favoring one of you over the others. I... I know it's tough for you to understand, but it really does make the most sense." Celestia said, trying to put their minds at ease. After a few more minutes of explaining, it finally worked, and they were convinced Celestia was right, as always.
The Princess then went to each, removing the magic she had given each of them, and gave them one final instruction, one final order to carry out.
"Live free. Go and live as normal ponies. Have friends, have fun, and do as you wish in Equestria. Be free." Celestia said, giving her own version of a blessing upon them.
The three teared up, and gave Celestia a big group hug. They agreed, and went their seperate ways, each promising to visit the others soon.
And so, Dash flew away to Cloudsdale. Spirit ran back to Ponyville. And Dawn, accomponied by Princess Celestia, journeyed to Canterlot.
It was their last meeting all together, for quite some time.....
* * * * *