The Dark Ages: The True Tale of Equestrian History

by Dragonas77

Born of the Elements

Chapter 2: Born of the Elements

Celestia lived the near perfect life those next few weeks. She didn't have Luna, but she did have her three new friends. Amazingly, she had cast magic without even intending to. She had gifted them their speech, and broke them from their mute prison.

"Celestia?" asked one of the three ponies. "What shall we do today?"

Celestia looked up, startled yet again. She loved her ponies, but it still startled her every time they spoke. "Well, I have a 'suprise' for you all" Celestia said crypticly.

The three bounced happily, shouting their thanks, without even knowing what the gift was.

A few minutes after Celestia finally calmed the ponies down, she led them to her suprise.

"Wait, what is this?" questioned one of the ponies.

"I don't know, I don't see anything....." said the second.

"Dont worry, my little ponies. Your gift lies before you. And now, to shape you as you should be....." Celestia said. She then directed each pony into a seperate spot in front of her. After this, her horn began to glow, and all three of the ponies were raised into the air. The ponies were scared, but soon calmed, knowing Celesia would never hurt them. She continued to raise them up, until they were about ten feet off the ground. Then she spoke to them.

"I will make you what you should be. Your form shall reflect your personality." Celestia strained to say, still working her magic simultaneously. "First, the brave one of the group. You are the strongest, and never run away. I bestow upon you, the Earth." and with that, earth was magically raised up and covered the whole pony's body. A moment later, it fused with her, and she was lowered back to the ground. She was now a light brown, the color of the earth itself. A reflection of the very earth that had made her what she is now.

"Next, the fast one of the bunch. You are always the first to volunteer, the first to be there for a friend in need. You are a bit careless, though, but we are all only ponies." and with that she worked her magic again. This time, she took the winds above and swirled them around the pony before her. They whipped around and around, and she was tinted light blue now. But, somthing strange had happened.

"What, what are these, 'things'?" asked the pony who had been wrapped in the wind.

"Wings, my dear. I gave you the power of flight, to reflect your free spirited personality. You are the first Pegasus, the flying ponies of Equestria." Celestia gently said, beaming with pride.

"And what about me, Princess?" asked the last pony, still held in the air, unchanged as of yet.

"I've not forgotten you, little one. For you, a special gift, a piece of myself. Magic....." Celestia wispered. Both Celestia and the last pony began to glow, and radiant light shone off the new purple pony.

"What is this?" the pony asked after being lowered to the ground. She had reached up and found a strange bump protruding from her forhead.

"A horn, my dear pony. You are the first Unicorn. You are gifted with the power of magic, and can use the magic of the world around us. You are the most logical of the bunch, the careful planner. You think everything out before doing anything, always planning ahead." Celestia said warily. She was shaking, barely able to stand from the amount of magic she had just used. Celestia began to fall, and all three of the newly transformed ponies rushed and caught her.

"Thank you, my little ponies. Thank....." she weakly said, and fell asleep right there.

* * * * *

The three ponies had time, and came to an agreement amongst themsleves. One of them was to always watch Celestia, to guard her and protect her. They rotated every few hours as to who was her protector. The remaining two, during their time not guarding the Princess, were expirimenting with their new powers. They learned quickly, and soon, all three had a basic understanding of their powers they were given. The Pegasus could fly for about a minute at a time, though not very high. The Earth pony could run much longer and faster than her sisters. And the Unicorn could now lift objects and move them around. It was very basic, but they were all proud of that they had figured out on their own.

* * * * *

Celestia awoke, and the Unicorn pony was standing beside her.

"Oh, what are you doing, little one?" Celestia weakly asked.

Suprised, the Unicorn jumped back a little, then regained her composure. "I'm guarding you Princess! We all have, and we're learning too!" the Unicorn merrily stated.

"Oh, my! How long have I been asleep?" Celestia asked.

"Only a few days."

Celestia felt foalish for exerting herself that much, to have slept that long. She resigned to scold herself later. "So! What have you all learned?" quizzically asked Celestia. She had a few ideas, but wasn't really sure what she had wrought upon the world.

"Let me go get them!" called the Unicorn, running to get her sisters.

* * * * *

They assembled before Celestia an hour later, all three were proud and smiling.

"Now, may we show you, Princess?" asked the three in unison. Celestia gave a slight nod.

First the Earth pony stepped forward. She was light brown, confident, brave, and strong, just as Celestia had intended. She lept forward, showing her abilities to jump and then proceeded to run. She ran for a good ten minutes before the Princess stopped her with her magic. Celestia has impressed.....

Next, the Pegasus trotted forth. The light blue Pegasus bent low to the ground, spread her newly formed wings, and jumped straight up into the air! And how majestic it was, she was made of the winds, and it truly showed. She was a natural flier, elegently performing loops and spirals, before landing in front of Celestia a few minutes later.

"Well done" she thought to herself. "The Elements truly seem to have bonded with them....."

Finally, the Unicorn stepped forward. The purple pony was scared, barely able to stand, but Celestia could sense the power within her.

"Go ahead, my dear. Show me, show us all, what you have learned." Celestia encouraged.

And it worked. The Unicorn straightened, then dipped her head as her horn began to pulse ever so slightly with a faint purple glow. It quickened, building its tempo, until it was a solid purple blaze erupting from her horn. Then, she released her magic, and lifted the stones surrounding her. She held nearly fifty small stones all around them, at eye level, for almost a full minute. Then she collapsed, falling to her knees and the rocks fell back to the earth.

Celestia and the other two ponies rushed to help her.

"You should not have taxed yourself so. But I think it is worth it, you are learning and pushing your limits, all of you. Well done, my faithful students. Well done indeed." Celestia prased the bunch. All four nuzzled each other, and then Celestia gave them an odd request.

"Turn around, and don't look until I say so." she asked. All of them wanted to question her, but knew she was helping them, though they didn't know how.

Celestia went to the first, the Earth pony, and touched her horn to the pony's flank. She cast the most complex shell she had ever cast, not even knowing how she herself had done it for quite some time. She always knew it was a blessing of the Steed. She touched her flank, and upon it, placed a Cutie mark. It was shaped like a boot, indicating the strength within her, and the running she had preformed.

Next, she touched the Pegasus's flank, and bestowed her mark. It was a single wing, for the amaging flight she had preformed, and would no doubt perfect in the coming times. Lastly, she approached the Unicorn, and bestowed her mark. A pink and purple star, representing the burst of magic that would grow stronger in the future.

"Ponies" Celestia said, beaming with pride at her work, both the ponies and the marks, "You may look. I've given you each your own mark, a symbol of both our connection and your own unique talents."

They were all so happy, they scampered off to train and learn even more. Celestia knew they just wanted to show off to her, but it taught them to discover themselves.

"Thank you." she said quietly once the three ponies were gone. She thanked the Steed for his blessing and guidance, for without him, they would be but bits of stone and earth. They would have no mind or tongue, but now, they are true ponies.

* * * * *