In the beginning, there was Faust. Faust saw the emptiness around her and strove to fill it, creating the first of the two great spheres. The sphere of Earth, containing the domains of water, earth, and sky. From each of these domains Faust drew forth a spirit, and to each spirit she gave a name, and two gifts of herself.
To the Spirit of the Earth and its ever-solid sturdiness, Faust gave the name Tirek, the gift of Might and the gift of Honesty, that he might rule through respect and fear. To the Spirit of the Sky and its ever-clear freedom, she gave the name Scorpan, the gift of Empathy and the gift of Generosity, that he might rule through caring and peace. To the final spirit, the Spirit of Water and its ever-changing turbulence, she gave the name Discord, the gift of imagination and the gift of laughter, that he might rule through creativity and joy. This concludes her creations in the First Great Sphere.
Faust saw her creations and saw that they were good, and left them to rule her creation. For a time, Faust was not present in this land, and moved on to create other worlds in the void.
Discord saw the creation and loved his brothers dearly, but he knew there was no point to ruling an empty land. He took from his brother Tirek some dirt from his hooves, and formed the first Earth Pony, so that they might stand as a testament to his strength forever. From Scorpan, Discord took a feather from his wing and formed the first Pegasi, so that they might stand as a testament to his grace forever. From himself he took a horn, and Discord created the first Unicorn, so that they might stand as a testament to his ingenuity forever. He and his brothers looked upon his creations and saw that they were good, and set out to create more ponies to populate the land.
Time progressed and the three brothers ruled in Harmony. With time, however, came thoughts and questions, and with their mother gone on beyond, Tirek began to wonder why the ponies loved his brothers so, but seemed to shun him. For Scorpan, while generous and empathetic beyond measure, was not a fit king, and Discord, while loved by all and always creating, was not a fit king either. Tirek began to grow jealous of his brothers, and soon thoughts of rebellion grew. When asked by Discord if anything was wrong, he denied them and lied. And so the gift of honesty was lost.
Tirek left his brothers, but was followed by Scorpan. Before he departed, Scorpan bequeathed the gift of generosity to a mortal, and when the mortal passed, the gift of Generosity was lost.
For a time Discord ruled alone. He mourned for the disappearance of his brothers, and began to seclude himself away from the ponies, eventually hiding himself away completely. And so the gift of laughter was lost.
This concludes the age of the first sphere.
Many years passed, and Faust returned to see what her creations had wrought. When she saw the fallen state of her sons, she mourned, and strove to create the Second Great Sphere to protect her son’s creations from above.
The Second Great Sphere contained the domains of the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. Just as before, Faust drew forth a spirit from each domain, and gave each a name and two gifts of herself. To the Spirit of the Sun and its ever-shining radiance, Faust gave the name Celestia, the gift of wisdom and the gift of Kindness, that she might rule justly and softly. To the Spirit of the Moon and its ever-glowing beauty, she gave the name Luna, the gift of clairvoyance, and the gift of Magic, that she might rule with understanding and knowledge. To the final spirit, the Spirit of the Stars and their ever-shimmering wonder, she gave the name Chrysalis, the gift of passion and the gift of loyalty, that she might rule with love and devotion. This concludes her creations in the Second Great Sphere.
Faust looked down on her daughters, and saw that they were good. She instructed them to find the lost gifts. The sisters acknowledged their mothers’ request, but before they set out they each chose to create ponies as well. From a shed fragment of her youngest sister’s crystalline wings, Celestia created the Crystal Ponies, to stand as a testament to Chrysalis’ beauty forever. From a lock of Celestia’s flowing mane, Luna created the changelings, to stand as a testament to Celestia’s flexibility forever. From a cutting of hair of Luna’s cutie mark, Chrysalis created the Thestrals as a testament to Luna’s elegance forever. And so the new ponies spread through the land – the changelings and the Crystal Ponies going to the north, and the Thestrals to the east, establishing their own kingdoms with their own rulers. When the sisters saw that this was good, they followed their mother's commands, and sought the lost gifts. Celestia set out to the east, to the land of her own rising sun. Luna set out to the south, to seek the gifts in the deserts. Chrysalis set out to the north, to follow her sisters’ creations.
Soon after the birth of the three new races, Tirek and Scorpan returned in a furious rage, and the ponies sought Discord for salvation. When he could not be found, the ponies gave themselves in to the elder brothers, knowing they could not defeat them alone. For a time, Tirek and Scorpan ruled together. With the gift of empathy, however, Scorpan knew the ponies were unhappy and with time began to harbor small feelings of care for them, even going so far as to befriend a young mage given the name Starswirl. At this time, Scorpan sought Discord for counsel on the subject of their elder brother, telling him that Tirek was not right to rule by himself, and that the Mother Faust had intended for the three to rule as equals. Scorpan begged Discord to return with him to confront Tirek, but Discord would not. Scorpan returned to confront Tirek on his own, but the gift of power granted Tirek strength far surpassing that of his brother. Knowing he could not hope to defeat his brother on his own, Scorpan instead sought a peaceful resolution. Tirek’s reason had long since departed from him, however, and Scorpan was forced to leave.
In his wanderings he encountered his younger sisters, and, sensing that they may have been able to succeed where he had failed, begged them to aid the ponies in overthrowing and possibly healing his brother. They saw their elder brother’s sorrow, and agreed to return with him to assist in redeeming Tirek. With his sisters’ assistance, and the aid of the First Great Mage Starswirl the Bearded, the two brothers fought, and even with the gift of might Tirek could not overcome both Starswirl and Scorpan’s combined power. Tirek was banished to Tartarus and sealed there by Starswirl the Bearded, and his brothers mourned his loss. To cope with his sorrow, Scorpan sought peace within his own mind, and set out by himself far to the west. Discord, seeing that he could no longer rule as part of a trinity as his mother intended, ceded the throne to his sisters, and he too departed for parts unknown. So Discord was left alone, and not knowing how much he valued his friendships, eventually the madness of grief took him. For a time the three sisters reigned peacefully as one.
Many years later, Discord returned. His mind gone and psyche broken, Discord wrought chaos upon the lands. Even their powers combined were unable to match the Mad Immortal, and so they resumed their search for the lost gifts, the task their mother had set out so long ago. Celestia travelled far and found a great forest, Luna travelled far and followed the path of a great river, and Chrysalis travelled far and searched an endless desert.
After searching for a great while, Celestia found a beautiful crystal tree in the forest, with six jeweled fruits hanging from its many branches. She called out to her sisters, but only Luna responded.
In her journey to the desert, Chrysalis was confronted by a beast of many forms. He spoke lies to her, and planted in her the seed of narcissism. The beast revealed itself as Discord, and he spoke of Chrysalis’ unending beauty, and of how a creature so magnificent had no need for her sisters. Chrysalis believed the mad Immortal Discord, and she left and took the changelings with her, fleeing deep into the desert. She was never heard from again. And so the gift of Loyalty was lost.
Celestia and Luna returned to the tree of gifts, to use their power to seal Discord. Taking the gifts into themselves, the sisters used their magic to defeat Discord. So came to be the first use of the Elements of Harmony, and Discord was cast in stone for eternity to think upon his sins.
This concludes the age of the second sphere.