> Dawn's First Light
>  by Thresha8
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> Dawn's First Light
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	Darkness. That's all this world had ever known. There was no time or colors or life, just darkness. The black was so thick that anyone who lived here would suffocate if they were to stay too long. But, of course, there was no life here. There could never be life in this darkness, and yet something stirred. Then there was a sound.

"GASP," The filly sucked in as much air as her little lungs could muster, gaping like a dry fish. She coughed and hacked, trying desperately to slow down her racing heart. It took several minutes, but she finally had her breathing stabilized to a heavy pant. 
"C-Celes-tia?" The filly managed to say between breaths. Her voice was raw and cracked, as if she had not used it for years. Suddenly her breathing skipped when she realized that she had spoken her name. That made her ponder. How did she know that was her name? Why was she here? Where was here? 	
After she thought the last question, Celestia had the sudden urge to slap herself in the face. 'Maybe it would help if I opened my eyes first.' She thought. She slowly opened her eyes and found... nothing. The small filly blinked then rubbed her eyes with both hooves. It didn't help. There was still nothing. 'No,' She corrected herself. It's not nothing. I can feel the ground under my hooves. It's just... dark.' Her eyes scanned back and forth, a bead of sweat rolled down her brow. 'Very dark.'
Celestia yelped and whipped her head around. Had something touched her?! Fear began to roll from the filly's pores, dampening her coat. The darkness was all around her, in front of her, beside her, rapping its heavy claws around her throat. Celestia found herself once again gasping for breath, only this time instead of receiving the oxygen she needed, her lungs were filled with the heavy smog of darkness. She couldn't breathe! It was everywhere, even inside of her! Quivering with fear, her legs suddenly gave out and collapsed. The hopeless filly whimpered in defeat and curled into a ball and wept. 
'It's over,' She cried. 'I've only lived long enough to know my name! But it wouldn't matter any way, there's nothing to gain in this world. It's better now than later.' Slowly her eyes began to close for the last time. 
Or it would have been the last time if something hadn't caught the filly's attention seconds before. 'What is that?' She wondered, her eyes now wide open. Off in the distance was a... something. Celestia had never seen anything like this before, but then again, this was the first thing she had seen in her short life. It was very small and yet it stuck out like a welcoming beacon in Celestia's eyes. She took a confident step forward. Suddenly, the invisible claws that had been choking her vanished. Her lungs now cleared, she was able to take larger and faster steps. With each step she took towards the beacon, Celestia could sense new details she had been blinded from before. 
The ground under her soft hooves was not hard or flat, it was cold with thin malleable blade-like protrusions that lightly brushed against her fur. The air around her wasn't completely filled with darkness, there were smells and temperature. The musky scent of dead vegetation flooded her nostrils. The air around her would slightly shift, stirring her feathers and mane, bringing with it an icy cold. Celestia jerked to a halt, fore she had reached the edge of the darkness. 
Looking down, she gasped in shocked awe. She could see the ground! Lowering her tiny frame, the filly investigated. Was this the same ground she had walked on and was presently standing on now?! Celestia looked up in amazement. Everything behind her was black while in front of her was white with the gray ground below. As if in a trance, the filly reached out towards the whiteness before her, her hoof passed from nothing into a shape and color. For the first time Celestia smiled. She waved her hoof back and forth hoping it wasn't a dream. It wasn't. A triumphant laugh bubbled from her throat as she pounced into the light. She danced in circles around the white border marveling at the sight of her stomping hooves, her white feathered wings, and her draping gray mane.So great was Celestia's joy of sight that she didn't notice movement in the center of her oasis. 
After a few minutes, Celestia's laughter finally subsided. 'Wow,' She chuckled nervously. 'That went a little crazy.' She sighed in content, her eyelids began to droop with sleep. Before they could close, however, Celestia's eyes snapped open when her ears picked up a soft scratching sound beside her. Whipping around, she saw something she had failed to notice before. in the center of the light was a large black egg with gaping jagged cracks running down it. Upon closer inspection, Celestia could see light filtering out through the cracks and pouring itself onto the ground around her body. That's when Celestia realized that whatever was inside the egg was the source of the light. Just as the thought ran through her mind, the filly yelped when she was suddenly blinded by white light as the egg burst open.
Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to deplete the spots that danced in her vision. After a few moments of silence, Celestia curiously opened her eyes. 
"Chirp?" 
Her eyes focused on the source of the sound. On the ground before her sat a tiny newborn bird. Its bright red feathers were damp and clung tightly against its frame. It's tiny yellow eyes blinked up at the pony towering over it.
"Chirp?" As the sound escaped the chick's beak, Celestia felt her eyes water and her heart inflate with helium.
"D'awwww," She squealed, scooping the baby bird into her hooves and muzzling it's tiny body. 
"Eep!" It yelped in surprise. It struggled in the pony's grasp but soon relaxed as her soft muzzle stoked its feathers. Celestia was glad that she had found this new source of light. Not only did the chick light up the space around her, but also inside her heart as well. 'I'm so glad this little bird wasn't born in darkness like me.' She thought as a single tear fell from her eye when she realized that she herself would have to face the darkness again.
"I-I Just wish the rest of this world was as beautiful as you." She choked, holding the little bird tightly against her chest. The chick didn't know why the pony had stopped stroking it, or why she had started crying. Seeing no other solution, it chirped up at the pony and began rubbing its tiny head against her fur.
Celestia's crying paused. She looked down to see the chick stroking her chest as if trying to reassure her with its presence. Although her tears kept flowing, Celestia couldn't help but smile. 'It doesn't matter if the rest of this world is dark Her heart filled with content. ' What matters is that I'm happy now.' After this last thought a bright amber light suddenly erupted from Celestia's horn.
"W-What's going on?!" The golden aura encased the filly in a large bubble and lifted her into the air. A great whirring noise could heard, drowning out the baby bird's panicked chirps as it fell to the ground in an attempt to distance itself from the scene. Celestia tightened herself into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut trying to ignore the energy building up inside of her.
"AAAH!" She screamed as the energy suddenly burst out through her horn and eyes. Upon opening her eyes, Celestia suddenly felt peace, and she knew what she had to do.
She blinked and her eyes began to glow just as brightly as her horn. The aura around her suddenly burst, similar to the chick's egg but instead of illuminating the area, this light illuminated the world. Sweat began to roll down Celestia's brow. The energy inside her was beginning to empty, and when it was gone she knew the world would grow dark again. She couldn't let that happen. With her eyes screwed shut, Celestia began to lower herself under the giant sphere of light. She suddenly let out a scream and with the last of her energy she reared onto her hind legs and swung her horn into the light. 
The world rippled. The filly fell. And the great ball of light was thrown into the sky.

"GASP," The filly sucked in as much air as her little lungs could muster, gaping like a dry fish. She coughed and hacked, trying desperately to slow down her racing heart. It took several minutes, but she finally had her breathing stabilized to a heavy pant. Celestia groaned. Hadn't she gone through this before?
With a loud groan the filly opened her eyes, expecting to see nothing. She blinked, and rubbed her eyes with both hooves. It wasn't a dream. Instead of seeing nothing Celestia saw everything! 
The ground under her hooves was no longer gray but bright green as was the plants all around her. The sky above her was a light blue with a ting of pink. The pony's eyes traced the sky in awe then stopped when they reached the horizon. Peeking its head over the horizon was the light she had created. It illuminated the entire world, just as she had hoped. 
Celestia smiled. The darkness was gone! The world was now beautiful. As she realized this, a warm feeling flooded her coat. Looking down, the filly saw that her fur was no longer a dull white, but was tinged pink. She also found that her draping gray mane was now flowing with the colors of the sky. When she turned to look at her tail, she noticed a mark stamped on her flank. Taking a closer look, she realized that the mark was a simpler version of her light in the sky. The sun.
Celestia's smile grew larger. She suddenly felt the urge to dance, but before she could do so, she was interrupted by a small sound next to her.
"Chirp?"
Celestia's eye's widened. She had forgotten about the bird! Looking down she saw a baby bird gazing up at her quizzically.
"Oh my!" She yelped scooping the chick into her hooves. "I can't forget my little light now can I?" The filly giggled as the chick chirped adorably. 
"Hey!" She paused. "I haven't given you a name yet have I?" She tapped her chin in thought.
"How about Sparcia?" The chick cocked its head. "How about Fia?" The chick snorted. "Fiera, Philly, Philo-mena?" The chick chirped.
Celestia smiled. "You like that? Philomena?" The chick responded with another chirp causing the filly to giggle.
"Well Philomena, I'm starting to get hungry, so maybe we should investigate the rest of this place." Celestia placed Philomena safely on her back and began to walk.
"After all, who knows what we'll find?"
"Chirp!"