My forever headcanon

http://moonsonglunaris.deviantart.com/art/MLP-Creation-Story-333326416

Many, many eons ago, long before the time of Equestria, before any mortal creature stepped foot on grass, and the world was as fresh, sweet, and new as spring, the land was inhabited by strange beings; they were as insubstantial as a thought, as fragile as hope, and stronger even than love. They were without form, and they were at peace with the thought, as many were simple enough not to wonder.

The world was silent, and dim; there was no sun, no moon, no stars. The world existed in eternal twilight, though life still flourished.

In a great valley, ringed with mountains, a single tall peak jutted up from the very center. In the valley, a number of beings lived, mostly content. However, all was not completely at peace.

Of all the beings, four held a greater intelligence, and knew themselves for it. The most powerful of them watched over the valley, ensuring the safety and peace of It's charges. The others served as the Great One's watchers; they observed the valley, and brought word of any problems that arose to the Great One.

It was these three who begat the Great Change.

One day, the three approached the Great One, all feeling unsettled.

"Great One," the First asked, "what are we?"

"We are Life," the Great One replied.

"Why are we without forms?" asked the Second.

"We exist without form because we are All," the Great One replied, after a moment's hesitation. "To be given form is to sacrifice much; our formlessness protects us from the ravages of time, and illness. It grants us an escape from death, makes us eternal. It allows us to Know, to See, and to Understand."

The three whispered among themselves, considering the reasoning. Then, the Third came forward. "If we were willing to give these up, would you give us form?"

The Great One shivered in surprise. "Why?"

It was the First that spoke. "It is unfair to the world," it said. "We cannot harm or be harmed, but neither can we help."

"We wish to help the world," said the Third.

"It is hard to watch the world and not touch it," whispered the Second, longingly.

the Great One fell silent, and turned away; It considered all, and swiftly realized the wisdom in the three's request.

"I will grant the request," the Great One finally said, "with the knowledge that you understand; to become Formed is to know and acknowledge death, to accept limitation, and to withstand the loss of knowledge."

"We will agree to the terms," the three swore.

And so began the Great Change.

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The Great One approached the First. "You have shown knowledge and appreciation of the magic that flows through the world, and your form shall show for it."

The First's misty shape condensed, solidifying into the first creature; it was slim and slender, with four long legs, ending in sturdy hooves; a silken mane and graceful tail caught the soft breeze, fluttering gently; and a long, smooth horn sprouted from her brow, shimmering softly with an inner light.

"You shall embody magic," the Great One said, "and be able to direct it; but that power shall be a curse, and will claim you if you push too hard, or try to harness what you are not meant to; your duty shall be to guard the world from darker beings who seek to use that power for evil. Your Name shall be Unicorn."

"I thank you, Great One," the First replied, it's new voice soft and gentle, and female.

The Great One acknowledged her, and turned to the second. "You revel in freedom," the Great One announced, "and fly higher than the others; your form shall maintain that."

The Second's form was quite similar to the First's, with the graceful horn replaced by powerful wings attached to the Second's back.

"Your form is far lighter," Said the Great One, "and your wings strong; flight is yours, and I charge you with hold over the weather; I give you the power to move clouds, to draw water from the earth to form rain, and to bring lightning and thunder. But your limbs are weak, and your muscles poorly suited to lifting. Your Name shall be Pegasus."

"I thank you, Great One," the Second replied, echoing the First; it's new voice was smooth and rich, a sweet tenor, and male.

The Great One Turned from him and faced the Third. "You care deeply for the world around you, and seek to help it grow and flourish; your form will grant you that gift."

The Third's form matched the others, but bore neither horn nor wings; rather, its body was not slender, but strong and muscular.

"You shall possess the strength needed to work the earth and help it prosper; your gift shall be extended life, so as to watch over your charges; however, you shall not know magic, or the sky, in trade. Your Name shall be Earth Pony."

"I thank you Great One," the Third replied, its voice rough and deep, and male.

"Now, my children, as I have given you this gift," the Great One announced, "so I give another: Go, and create. Grant form to the other beings, and bring mortal life to this world."

And the Three did.

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Some years passed, and the Great One settled at the top of the great mountain in the heart of the valley. Exhaustion had touched the Great One after It gifted the Three with Forms, and so It rested.

When It awoke, It quickly realized that It was not alone; the Three stood before It, again unsettled.

"Great One," the First whispered, her voice shy and soft, "We are troubled."

"Have you trouble with your duty?" the Great One asked.

"No," was the Second's response. "We have traveled the world, and gave Form to all we found."

"I gave Form to those who wander the earth," said the Third. "I created deer, rabbits, and many others."

"I gave Form to those who favored the sky," added the Second.

"And I Formed those in whom magic flowed freely," finished the First, "Though they Formed strangely."

"But we realized that there is one who has not yet claimed a Form," stated the Third in his deep voice.

"I do not understand," the Great One admitted. "Why have you returned if your duty lies unfinished?"

"We are here to finish our duty," the Three replied. "You are the last without Form."

The Great One was taken aback; It had never considered taking a Form of Its own.

"You have given with no thought of yourself," the First explained. "we wish for you to join us all."

Deeply touch, the Great One acknowledged and accepted their gift of Form.

The Three amassed the last of their Forming powers, and unleashed it upon the Great One; they made It much like them in form, though taller; the First gave It a long, graceful horn, and access to the Deep magics of the world; the Second gave It great, powerful wings, to soar through the sky; and finally, the Third granted It strength unmatched, and the majority of his long life. Finished they granted the Great One It's power and duty.

"You shall control the deep magics that bring life to the world," the First granted.

"The skies shall never refuse you," offered the Second.

"Life shan't limit you, as it does us," gifted the Third, "though by no means are you free of death; it shall come to you, in time, but long after it claims us."

"And your duty shall be this," the Three said as one, "To guard the whole of the world, to rule and protect, and to serve. And your Name shall be Alicorn."

The Great One closed It's new-formed eyes; It knew Itself to be female, and she felt warmed to know how gifted she was.

"I thank you, my ponies," she said, her voice rich and sweet and smooth. "I have one last request to make and gift to give; birth more of your kind, and I shall grant them each a gift: a talent, unique to each. They will know their own and each others by a mark upon the flank, which shall tell of their special skill."

And the Great Change was done.

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As time went on, the creatures took names; and the Great One called herself Faustia.

She was a good, kind, and just ruler; a few scant years after she was granted Form, she created something new; she brought light to the world, in the form of a great flaming mass called the sun. The sun gave light and warmth, and quickened life upon the world; but the adverse was that it could not stand permanently or all it touched would die. So Faustia learned through difficulty to move the sun, allowing one area of the world to cool, as it warmed the next. she named the time of light Day, and the time of darkness Night.

Faustia decided, after a time, to grant light even in Night, though in a much gentler form. She created a great orb that caught and reflected the light of the sun as it warmed to earth, reflecting it upon the Night darkened parts, and she called the orb the moon.

As time went on, Faustia watched over her world. Slowly, the Three created more of their kind, and ponies populated the lands. But Faustia knew her time was marching steadily to the end, and that controlling both the moon and sun was wearing her thin. So she chose to create once again.

This time, rather than granting form to a being, Faustia chose to grant Life to parts of the very things they would control; she caught the flames of a solar flare, and shaped it into a filly, shaped after her, with both horn and wings. The filly had a white body, and softly pink mane and tail, and Faustia named her Celestia.

Faustia then gathered the very darkness of night itself; she formed it into another filly, this one smaller, and dark as night. Her mane, formed when Faustia gathered the dust of the moon and bathed it in the orb's silvery glow, was a soft grey-blue, and Faustia named her Luna.

Faustia raised the two as her children and heirs, teaching them watch over the world, and to manipulate the sun and moon. As they grew, they changed in form: Celestia's flowing mane and tail streaked with blue and green after a flare from the sun painted the sky with dancing light; Luna's changed completely, growing darker and ethereal, and glittered with tiny sparks of light after the younger created the first stars.

Faustia glowed with pride at her daughters, and knew the world was in good hands. And so, using the last of her power, she placed herself in the stars that Luna had created, forming the first constellation, the Great One.

Celestia and Luna continued their mother's work. And all was well.