Born of Fire

by nimaru

5 - Another Story's Beginning

Celeste's conscious slowly returned. She was still lying on the floor, but her body felt strange; misplaced – but the burning had stopped. She could still see the flicker of flames behind her eyelids, but now she only felt warmth... like being held in a loved one's embrace. Slowly and steadily, the warmth leached away the terror taking with it the shuddering that coursed through her body.

She became aware of the quiet. She could barely hear the fire anymore. Not a roar or even a crack; just the soft sound of flames rising into the air – like you might hear sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace just before falling asleep.

It was peaceful, but punctuated by sobbing. Whoever was crying sounded young and afraid. Celeste bent her ear... or whatever was left of it. It was a stuttered cry that exactly matched the rhythm of her own spastic breaths. She realized it was her own cry that she heard.

She'd been worried some other child had been caught in the blaze and was so relieved to be wrong that it took her a while to realize how easily she was breathing. Little by little, her mind began to take stock: there was no more pain and her body felt strange, but strong again.

The light behind her eyelids moved and Celeste instinctively turned her head to face it. Carefully, she opened her eyes, then froze. The fire was looking at her.

Celeste was captured by bright yellow eyes that whispered of light and laughing and the joy of playing in an open field. They also spoke of great power: the strength of the sun and soil; of nature itself. She might have thought it the very face of God himself – if God was actually female... and a horse... with hair made of fire... and a long pointed horn on her head.

"God" looked at her with pained concern and a hint of tears forming in her eyes. Noticing Celeste staring, she rose to her full height and extended an impressive set of wings. If Celeste didn't know any better, she would have thought the horse was striking a pose.

"GREETINGS! I..." the horse began before her voice broke. Could horses look embarrassed? This one was making its best attempt.

The shadows beside her chuckled. There was another horse she hadn't seen at first. He also had a horn and large wings, but was deep blue – nearly black while the "god horse" was white. Her mane was made of orange and yellow fire; his was made of pale light and sparkles – like sand under the moonlight. He was taller and more stocky, but not intimidating. His eyes made her think of a tranquil night with softly falling snow, but also the power of wind and storm and the vast and endless oceans.

She felt calmed in his gaze, but at the same time... bright blue eyes on a dark, fur-filled face... he reminded her of Kitty. He must have seen something in her reaction because he turned to Fire-horse and said, "shall we?"

She looked annoyed, but obliged.

"Celeste, of London. My name is Tau Sunflare. I brought you here because I need you... the world needs..." She became flustered and puffed out her cheeks. Her flames flared oddly pinkish.

Dark-horse, who'd been watching patiently, smiled then turned to Celeste and said, "She's been waiting for you for a long time. She had a whole speech planned you know..."

Fire-horse shot a look at him and made an annoyed noise. She flicked her tail on his rump with a loud smack, but it seemed to have no effect. He just looked at her and smiled serenely.

She glared for a moment then sighed exasperatedly as if he'd won some silent argument between them.

Fire-horse lowered her wings and relaxed her pose. Celeste, having been mesmerized by the interaction between the two snapped to attention when Fire-horse looked at her again.

"I... I brought you here because we need you. Your life was ending..." she broke eye contact and looked to away like she was ashamed. She hesitated.

Dark-horse laid his wing on her gently in support. Her head dipped slightly and she lowered her eyes, but turned to face Celeste again.

"I'm sorry for what you went through. I can't take somepony until their world has let them go. I wish it didn't have to be this way..." She stopped again.

Celeste was no expert on horses, but these were so human-like that there was no question of the guilt Fire-horse was feeling. "But you saved me," she said.

Fire-horse's eyes snapped up in surprise. She stared for a moment, then started slowly "... yes... I... suppose I did".

Celeste smiled, "Thank you."

Fire-horse's mane flared again, a much brighter pink this time. She might have imagined it, but her face might have flushed a bit too. She was imposing, but endearing somehow. Celeste decided she liked her.

Dark-horse looked at Pink-horse for a moment and some silent communication seemed to pass between them again.

"Look to the sky," said Dark-horse; who looked up himself.

Celeste obliged. Until he spoke, the three of them had been in total darkness, but with his gesture, the sky came alive with bright twinkling stars. It was incredible.

"Each light you see is a soul that lives in another world, in another time. When the conditions are right, Tau Sunflare can reach out to brightest of them and bring them here."

Suddenly curious, Celeste turned back to him and asked, "where is here? What is this place?"

"This place..." joined Tau Sunflare, "... is known as Equestria."

She gestured outward with her hoof and the darkness around them retreated. Suddenly, Celeste was sitting in cool grass under a bright moon-lit sky. The lands beyond faded into view as if being created at that moment. They were high upon a hill overlooking a valley in which snaked a lazy river. Small villages dotted the countryside and rising tall above the trees of the forest beyond were the spires of a castle.

Tau Sunflare gazed over the land with pride, then took a breath. "Our role is to nurture and grow this world and the ponies who live within it."

"Ponies?" Celeste asked.

"Yes," said Dark-horse. "In this world, we ponies live not unlike how you humans do on yours. But this world is young and in need of more direct guidance than we can provide. That is why we reached out to you."

"Why me?"

Tau Sunflare looked at her again with a solemn expression. "Because you were the brightest star I have ever seen. I know in my heart that you will become a guiding light for millennia to come. That's why I fashioned you in my own image and shared with you my power. So that you might help us to inspire and protect the creation we love."

Celeste was in awe of her words, but latched on to one part in particular. "Your image?"

How had she missed it before? Where her nose should have been was a long white snout. Her hair fell beside her in pinks and greens and blues; waving slightly even though there was no wind. If she turned her eyes up as far as they'd go, she could see the white horn upon her head. Where her hands should have been were hooves.

The god-ponies gave her a few moments to take it in.

"Oh." was all Celeste said. Tau Sunflare looked crestfallen. Clearly she'd been hoping for a different reaction.

"Give it time," rumbled Dark-pony; whether for her or Tau Sunflare, she didn't know.

"To be clear," he started again, "we ask that you live in this world with us. You are young and foreign, but we will raise you to learn of this place and of your role within it... if you will accept."

Celeste must have looked confused because he added, "we cannot force you to accept our gifts. It must be your decision."

Celeste looked to Tau Sunflare. The fire-pony was looking away, but trying to stealthily glance back to see Celeste's reaction from the corner of her eye. It was adorable. She definitely liked this pony.

Still... it was a big decision. Being reborn into a new world, with a new body, with a new fate.

"What about my parents? What about my friends? What happened to them?"

Dark-pony looked at her with sympathy. "Dispensation of souls among realities is a complex thing. We fear we could not explain adequately, but for now let us say that they are at peace. Your decision will bring no harm or distress for anypony that you care for."

Celeste looked over the land again. It felt alive and magical – like a fantasy book come to life. Compared to fire and disease or whatever other path her fate might have taken, this felt right to her, but she still had one regret. She gazed back into Dark-pony's eyes. He really did look a lot like Kitty.

He smiled; seeming to understand. "Raise your wing," he said.

Celeste looked to her side and was surprised to find a wing there. It took a few tries to figure out how to command it, but when she lifted it...

"Mew!"

It was a tiny blue pony with black specks on her rump. She had little wings and a small horn. When she saw Celeste, she gazed at her with the same striking, teal-colored eyes.

"Kitty!" Celeste cried, pulling her close.

Kitty squirmed and tried to bite her, but couldn't quite figure out how to work her new body.

Celeste laughed feeling her last reservations fading away. She smiled at the two god-like ponies. "I'll stay. I want to learn of this world and the peopl... ponies who live here."

Tau Sunflare smiled, "Then it's done! I, Tau Sunflare, dub you Celestia of the sun; light and protector of Equestria."

Dark-pony added, "And we, Orbash Duad Bonist, dub the one created in our image Luna of the moon, protector of tranquility and peace. Sister to Celestia of the sun."

Whatever expression Celeste made in response, it made him smile.

Tau Sunflare seemed impatient and continued, "You two will live by our sides in the castle. We will teach you all that we can about this world, about your power, and about your responsibility. After some time – perhaps several hundred years – we will return to the cosmos and our work there while you two will rule in our place together."

It was a lot to take in, but Celeste had seen too many amazing things already to question it. Instead, she asked, "so, we'll be a family?"

Tau Sunflare's eyes popped open and she stiffened. "...Yes... a... a family."

Orbash smiled widely and looked at Celeste with mischief in his eyes. "You can even call her 'Mother' if you wish."

Fire-pony glared at him dangerously, but the bright pink explosion of fire around her betrayed her true emotions. He just stared at her with a smile, saying nothing. He didn't have to; he'd already won. Celeste giggled. She decided she liked him too.

Mew! Luna added.

Celeste could tell she was getting restless and wanted to run around which probably wasn't a good idea in a dark field in the middle of nowhere.

Tau Sunflare's expression changed as she seemed to take in everything at once. "It's time to go," she said simply. Celeste wobbled to her feet... hooves and then looked to her new guardians.

"We're ready."

Tau smiled, unable to hide how happy and satisfied she felt. Her horn glowed brightly, surrounding the four of them with sparkling light. Then, with a flash, they were gone.

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Author's notes:

You have just read the first story I ever created for My Little Pony. I have dreamed of telling it since 2010 when I first thought of it, but I didn't have the artistic skill to pull it off. Since then, I have spent thousands of hours drawing ponies and writing; trying to build my abilities.

It was supposed to be a comic, but I eventually realized that if I ever have the skill I need, it won't be while MLP is still around so I decided to write the story instead. Now that it's out, a whole lot of things should make more sense:

• Celestia called Luna "Kitty" in my very first comic because she never dropped the nickname... not in private anyway.
• In a picture of Orbash and Luna I made in 2015, Luna meows at Orbash. It took her some time to learn words :)
• In my "Second Chance" story, this is why Celestia knew what was wrong with Heartsong.
• In the Gathering The Elements comic, Celestia had inner fears about dark, human-shaped shadows destroying Equestria. Her background as a human is why she had such gruesome fears.
• In Willow's love story, Celestia's vision haunted and gnawed at Willow's sanity. The visions of death and human-shaped shadows defeated all of Willow's friends except two: Rose Petal who's love was her strength and Heartsong, was once human herself.
• Celestia and Heartsong weren't the first or only humans brought to Equestria. Tau Sunflare has brought many souls to Equestria through history.
• Nopony can hold the title of king or queen in Equestria, because those titles belong to Tau and Orbash

I feel a great sense of accomplishment finally getting this story out. In theory, it should have been the foundation from which everything else was based, but I just didn't have the ability. Hopefully I was able to do it justice in the end, but at least it's finally been given form. Thanks for reading!

(I made this art last year in an attempt to push my art in a direction that would bring the story to life. It didn't take me long to realize I had way too far to go, but here it is just the same. It's the moment that Celeste (Celestia) fell in love with Kitty (Luna).

Comments

[Elokai]

Thanks for making and sharing this ☺

[Striving for Harmony]

I can't tell if I've given this a thumbs up because the thumb won't light up for me.

It's great to see another creation of yours, Nimaru. I still remember finding your character analyses of the Mane 6 all those years ago; they played a huge part in drawing me deeper into ponies. You have a gift for saying much with few words, it seems.