> Mother of Equestria > by Cinquain > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In times long ago, before Ponyville was Ponyville; before Canterlot was Canterlot; before Equestria was Equestria; She was there, helping us and guiding us. Her shimmering white coat was brighter than snow, Her deep sapphire mane bluer than oceans; the five stars on Her flank represented traits everypony desired: Kindness, for to be kind was to care; Honesty, for to be honest was to trust; Loyalty, for to be loyal was to love; Generosity, for to be generous was to give; and Laughter, for to laugh was to smile. She brought harmony to our lands, loving each and every pony as if they were Her own foal. She raised our Sun, raised our Moon. Ponies hailed Her as the princess, and so She was; Princess of the lands to be known as Equestria, named after Her Little Ponies. Time wore on, and as Her kingdom grew, She did as well. Her Little Ponies had accomplished so much, and She was Proud. They presented Her with the Elements of Harmony, five gemstones to match the stars on Her flank, and one more, for Her magic. She had two very special fillies, with horns of magic and wings of angels; the eldest bright as day, the youngest dark as night. Her two fillies carried on in Her place, one to raise the Sun and one to raise the Moon. They were the new princesses of Equestria, and Her Little Ponies loved them. As much as they loved the sister princesses, Her Little Ponies would never forget the First Princess of Equestria; they would never forget their M A J E S T Y. > 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I blinked, almost smiling at the story. Mom smiled in her own way, wrapping her foreleg around me. To my right sat Pinkie, her eyes shining the way they had ever since she was marked, and she laid her head against my barrel, delightfully warm and unusually calm. Maud and Limestone, way over on Mom's left, they even looked calm. In front of the crackling fire, it seemed as though this moment would last forever. But alas, good things never last. Limestone's face soon had it's usual hardness. Maud lost her serenity, falling back on indifference. Pinkie grew uncomfortably warm against my back, and Mom shifted at my side. I felt my ears droop, then flatten against my head as Limestone voiced her suspicions. Sighing, I wiggled Pinkie off my back and stood on shaky legs to wobble to bed. Pinkie called after me, and I heard her stumble on the hard floors. Mom rebuffed Limestone in her own hard tone, sending her and Maud to their room, and that was that. Pinkie caught up, and she ran her cheek against my own. Her smile was infectious, even if mine wasn't as large. She bopped my muzzle with her own, and we giggled. Pinkie always had a way to make me feel better. Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting my face directly. I tried to raise a foreleg to block it, but it didn't come. Blearily, I blinked my eyes free of sleep, coming nose to nose with a smiling filly. "Morning, Marbie," she whispered, her cheerful tone rousing me from my slumber. Even with my almost-smiles, my muzzle was starting to ache. "Morning, Pinkie," I whispered back, even quieter than she. Pinkie beamed. Her smile then faltered, just a bit, but she beamed brighter as if to make up for it. Nonetheless, it made me worried. I tripped over my words. "Is there a-anything wrong?" Pinkie sighed, dropping her grin when her ears drooped. "Marbie," she began, her eyebrows coming together in worry, "Do you think that story Mom told was... Do you think it's real?" I blinked. My words were swallowed up in the sudden silence. "Why wouldn't it be?" Pinkie's ears flatten against her head. "Limestone made it sound silly to believe in." "We can write a letter? To the princess?" "Do you really think she would read our letter?" "We'll just have to find out." A large grin began to dawn on Pinkie's face. At the end of the day, all our chores complete, we had cobbled together an acceptable letter. Dear Princess Celestia, My name is Marble Pie and my sister is Pinkie Pie and we are writing to you from Pie Rock Farm. Last night Mom our mom Cloudy Quartz told us a story about you and your sister. Pinkie wants to know if she's really the mare in the moon and if she is does the moon taste good because it's cheese or is it something else? My sister Maud Pie says it's rocks and she should know because she's marked and she says she's gonna get a rockterate in rocks when she's older. Maud is really smart but I don't think it's called a rockterate just because it's to do with rocks. Is that right or is it really a rockterate? Anyway the story Mom said was about your mom and I would liked to know if it's true or not because me and Pinkie say so but my sister Limestone Pie says it's a bunch of gravel but you shouldn't say that about the princess so I'm sorry about Limestone please don't send her away. I love her even if she's mean sometimes because you got to be mean sometimes or else other ponies will think you can't do anything. From Sincerely Marble Pie Pie Rock Farm > 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mom called me and Pinkie to her, right in the middle of our chores. Pinkie looked as confused as I was, so we hurried together. Mom looked very angry. I hid behind my mane. Her anger was cold and quiet, and very scary. Sometimes I think it would be better if she just yelled. "What is the meaning of this?" she seethed, air hissing out between her teeth. A scroll was in her hooves. Pinkie pressed herself into the floor, and all I saw was streaky grey hair. Mom began to read in a sarcastic tone, accenting her words with anger. "Dear Miss Marble and Pinkie Pie," she began in a sarcastic tone, "I am delighted to receive a letter from two wonderful fillies such as yourselves." She paused to glare at us. I shuddered against Pinkie, who let out a soft whimper. We should've never written to the princess. "And it goes on. Pray tell, Pinkamena, for what did you write?" she bit out, grinding her teeth on Pinkie's name. "What was so very important that you and your sister wrote to the Princess of Equestria?" About all we could do was cower against one another. Mom sighed. "Get out of my sight." We scrambled, our hooves scraping the hard wooden floors in an effort to just get away. Pinkie and I raced at full gallop across the farm to the far side, away from the house and our Mom in the house. Pinkie's mane was starting to droop, her ears flat against her head, and I was much the same, my chest heaving with the effort of our abscond. Pinkie collapsed to the hard dirt, covering her head with her forelegs, trying to muffle her sobs. I hated when she cried. I stumbled to her side, laying down heavily. We laid together for a long time. > 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I shocked awake, quickly propping myself up on my forelegs. Glancing around, I tried to calm my racing heart. Pinkie's warmth against my side helped, and I settled down, nuzzling her barrel before laying back down on the hard dirt. Hard dirt..? I'm sure my eyes widened comically as I shot up for a second time. The solid ground at my hooves and the starry sky at my head cemented the fact that I -- that we were indeed outside. My stomach ached with the absence of food. I sank sown to my knees, worry for me, worry for Pinkie on the forefront of my mind. I nudged her with my muzzle, and her eyes blinked drowsily. "Marbie?" she croaked, her voice rough with sleep. "Mmm-hmm," I hummed, leaning into her side, "We fell asleep." Pinkie raised her muzzle skywards, taking in the night. Her ears fell back against her head. "O-oh." I nuzzled her in a way that I hoped was comforting. "It's okay, Pinkie. If we sleep some more, we can wake up for breakfast. It'll be okay." My ears drooped with guilt. "I-I'm sorry for writing the l-letter." Pinkie smiled weakly. "That's alright, Marbie." We slipped into a comfortable silence, looking out at the mare in the moon. "My poor little ponies, what happened to you?" My ears pricked up at the soft sounds. A glance at Pinkie tells me she heard it, too. We looked around with growing unease, until I heard Pinkie gasp. She scrambled up as I looked at her, confused. "Marbie, hurry, it's..! Hurry!" I stumbled in my haste, nearly planting my face in a pile of rocks. "Pinkie, what --" The sound caught in my throat. "P-Princess?" Princess Celestia, the real life honest-to-goodness Princess Celestia was kneeling in the middle of our rock farm. The actual princess! She was here! And Pinkie was gazing at her, right at her feet. She was smiling at Pinkie. She was smiling at me. "Hello there, cute little filly. Am I correct in assuming you to be Miss Marble Pie?" I nodded, dumbstruck. She unfolded her wing invitingly. Pinkie was already tucked under her other wing. I trotted over, seemingly in a trance. She gently laid her wing over me, and it was like a huge blanket. I snuggled closer to the Princess before I knew what I was doing. I started to stammer out an apology, but she simply shook her head. "Do not apologize, Miss Marble." She smiled. Her wings were soft as they gave a gentle hug. She frowned. "I am sorry your mother did what she did." Her horn sparkled as I nodded again. A platter of warm pastries appeared, briefly shrouded in the golden magic of the princess. Pinkie shakily extended her hoof, a question in her eyes. Princess Celestia smiled, levitating a pastry in front of both our muzzles. "Feel free to eat, my little ponies. I hope you don't mind the chocolate filling..?" She chuckled to herself, as if she told a joke. Pinkie and I eagerly munched the soft treats as the princess ate her own. Her large wings were comforting, folding around us and pulling us closer to her. It was a few minutes before she spoke. "The mare in the moon is indeed my sister, though I'm most positive that the moon is rock, not cheese." Pinkie made a sad sound. The princess smiled, nuzzling her. "I am quite sure that if it were cheese, it would not be very good cheese, being in space and all." "The story about my mother is very true, my little ponies. Majesty was a grand unicorn, and a wonderful mother." The princess's head dropped. "I will always miss her. She passed on, nearly a millennia ago. That, dear fillies, is a very long time." We sat together peacefully. Princess Celestia cleared her throat. "Would you girls like to watch me raise the sun?" Pinkie and I eagerly nodded. The princess slowly stood, ruffling her wings. She put her horn to the earth, slowly raising her head. The sun flowed forth, breaking the horizon with brilliant, golden light. The princess smiled at us, spreading her wings before taking off. This time, my smile matched Pinkie's.