Secret Tub Fun 7 - Prologue

In the beginning, the world was not as we know it today. There were no monsters, and the spirits did not slumber as they do now. The elements roamed freely, and our ancestors lived short lives in their shadow, clinging to the edge of existence. Two ancient ponies, the oldest ones in the world and among the first ponies to be born, would change this, and bring the natural harmony that we enjoy.


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A mountain sang out a mournful call to the heavens. His friend, a beautiful river, had been dammed by a rockslide from his neighbor. How was he to feed her meltwater from his great beard of snow now? Surely, she would die without it, and he would be left friendless. Alone.

Grandmother Moon turned her face toward the mountain. "Why do you cry, sad mountain?" she asked. "Is the night too dark? Are the stars too bright?"

"No, Grandmother Moon," said the mountain. "My neighbor has dammed my friend the river, and now I cannot feed her meltwater from my beard of snow."

Grandmother Moon looked at the other mountain, and then she looked at the river. Sure enough, the young silver ribbon was dying away. "Mountain, I cannot help you," she said with great pity in her heart. "I am Grandmother Moon, who gives light and rest to all things. I cannot save your friend. I will ask the stars. Perhaps they can help you."

And so Grandmother Moon flew out to the seven brightest stars in the sky and called their names. "O Stars, clever and mysterious, I have a young mountain in need. His friend is dying, and in desperate danger."

The seven stars winked and twinkled in their secret language. "What would you have us do, O Grandmother? We cannot help the mountain, for we are too far above. He cannot benefit from our wisdom in this. We are sorry. Ask the Four Winds. Perhaps they might help you where we cannot."

And so Grandmother Moon flew to the four corners of the world and gathered the Four Winds at the mountain's peak. "O Winds, can you help the mountain? His friend, the river, is dying, and in desperate need of your aid."

The Four Winds looked to each other. First among them was the East Wind. "I can blow a breeze to soothe her spirits and ease her pain, Grandmother, but I cannot help her. I am sorry."

Second was the South Wind. "I would be a danger to her. My heat would dry her waters even more quickly, and she would die sooner. I am sorry, Grandmother."

Third was West Wind. "I could blow a storm to fill her banks again, and keep her alive for a time, but I could do nothing against the rock slide. I am sorry, Grandmother."

Lastly, North Wind whispered to the gathered Winds and Moon. "I could freeze her, and she would not die. But she would no longer be a river, and would not be the mountain's friend. I am sorry, Grandmother."

Grandmother Moon frowned in thought. The Winds could not help her, and the Stars had no answers. As she thought, Mighty Earthquake rumbled in the distance. "O Beautiful Grandmother, I offer my assistance. I can shake loose the rocks and free the river. You have only to give the word."

Grandmother Moon was delighted to hear this, but just then, the Stars flew down to stop her. "No, Grandmother! You mustn't! Earthquake would topple the mountains and swallow the river, and none would be happy!"

Grandmother Moon frowned at Earthquake. "You would try to deceive me, O Earthquake?"

Earthquake shook furiously at the implications. "No, Grandmother! I would never try to deceive. I apologize for not having thought ahead and realized the consequences of my actions. I will not try to shake the rocks loose. But who will be able to help?"

Grandmother Moon thought long and hard. There was only one being left powerful and wise enough to aid them. She bid the Winds and Stars to be silent, and Earthquake to be still. She waited the long hours for her husband to crest the horizon, then bid the others to bow. "O Husband of mine, Great Grandfather Sun, there is a young mountain who needs you. His friend the river has been dammed, and cannot survive long without his meltwater. I have asked the Winds and the Stars, and Earthquake has even offered his aid, but none can help. Please, O Husband, tell us what we must do."

Grandfather Sun was wise and powerful, and saw all that happened in his light. He had seen the young mountain's troubles and had thought long and hard. "O Wife of mine, beautiful and compassionate, I am afraid the mountain is beyond our help. But all is not lost, for I have seen that the answer lies within the mountain himself."

Grandfather Sun gestured to the mountain, where two ponies, one white and one dark blue, dwelt on his sides. "Though we are powerful, we are each limited. My light shines across the world, revealing truth, bringing life and warmth, destroying evil. But I cannot move a rock. Stars, you are cunning and mysterious. None know your hidden movements, but you cannot touch a rock. Earthquake, you cannot move the rocks without destroying that which you seek to save. We are limited by our natures. It is our curse as spirits." He gestured lower, and bid Grandmother Moon look upon the two ponies. "But these two creatures are not. Their nature is to be free, to choose what they will do."

The two looked up from their shelter and saw the Great Spirits gathered around them. They held their tongues, in awe of the creators of the world.

Grandfather Sun bowed his head to them, and they returned in kind. "'See how they have taken the trees and stones and made shelter? Not content with what was offered; they have taken their surroundings and bettered them. They have elevated themselves above the common beasts."

Grandmother Moon nodded. "I think I see, O Husband. But how will they move the rocks? They are small and weak, and the rocks are so much bigger than they. They would surely be crushed in the attempt."

"We will each grant them gifts to take," said Grandfather Sun. "They will use these gifts to help the mountain and the river, and, should they prove worthy of it, they will be allowed to keep them." Grandfather Sun turned to the small white pony, who looked on him in awe, but unafraid, and bowed his head. "O white beast, I grant you the power and majesty of the Sun that you might better the world with my light. I give you the foresight and wisdom to bring harmony, and the clarity of mind to use it well." The white pony bowed low, and then was bathed in the Sun's light. She stood and named herself Celestia.

The Four Winds, ever impatient, leapt forward to be the next to give their gifts. "We, also, give you both sovereignty over the winds and the mastery of flight. The weather will answer your call, and the seasons will bend to your will." The Winds bowed one at a time to the pair, who then bowed in turn. Soft wings grew from their backs as the Winds' gift entered them.

The Stars descended, their glittering light shining bright as Moon's. "We grant you both the knowledge of the Heavens and the mastery of Magic that is the secret key to every answer you would wish to seek. Take this knowledge so that you might work wonders." They each bowed, and the pair bowed in turn. Tall, fluted horns grew from their foreheads and gleamed with magic.

Earthquake was hesitant. He had no gift he felt worthy of giving, for he was a force of destruction who had only recently realized his own nature. "O gentle beasts, I have little to offer you save the wisdom of restraint, for I have learned when to hold my might back, and when to let it loose. I offer this, and the secret wisdoms of the soil, so that your children might be fruitful and prosperous." They smiled, and said it was a generous gift, and Mighty Earthquake was pleased. As they bowed, he gave them a small measure of his limitless strength. Their bodies grew tall and powerful, their eyes sharp and keen.

Then it came for Grandmother Moon's turn to offer a gift. She had waited patiently for the others to give theirs and smiled approvingly as they gave their gifts. She descended to the peak and stood over the blue creature, who bowed her head fearfully. "Do not be afraid, lovely beast. To you, I give a heart full of love. I give you the compassion to do what must be done, and the love of your fellow being. I give you the knowledge of the hearts of others." She bowed to the blue creature, who bowed low in return. When she raised her head, she smiled at Grandmother Moon and named herself Luna.

Grandfather Sun smiled at his wife, for he knew her heart and knew the reason for her gift.

And so Celestia and Luna set to work on their first great task. They carefully placed the stones at the base of both mountains one by one, mindful of their weight and potential uses. They worked tirelessly for a night and a day as the Spirits watched. Finally, the morning of the second day, they removed the last stone. Bright River flowed free of her imprisonment, rejuvenated and happy.

"O wonderful ponies!" she cried. "Lovely Luna! Beautiful Celestia!" She sprang up out of her banks, fresh and cold with new water, and bowed low to them. "I am forever in your debt. Name one boon you would ask of me, and it is yours!"

The two ponies looked to each other. "I can think of nothing we need now. But we may have need of you soon," said Celestia. "We will call on you then."

The river smiled and bowed again, and then flowed down the mountain.

The neighboring mountain, an angry and sulking peak, rumbled at the indignance. The two sisters looked across at the mountain. "O Mountain, why do you rumble so?" asked Luna.

The neighboring mountain was sullen and dour as he spoke. "You have destroyed my work! I was going to rid myself of the bothersome fleas that live within me by choking their river and shaking them loose from my skin! They tunnel and scratch and make endless noise so that I cannot sleep!" Cracks appeared in his skin as he shook. "Without the river, they would have left me or died of thirst, but now they will return and they will resume their scratching and merrymaking!" Anger was replaced by grim satisfaction. "See how I have killed many of the ponies? Dam the river again, or I will kill them as they return, just as I have killed so many before them!"

Luna gasped in horror. How could a mountain hold such petty hatred in its heart? Celestia flew to her sister's aid. "O Sullen Peak, you are a spiteful and cruel thing, and you must learn the price for such jealousies. For every creature you have killed, I will make ten, and they will hollow you out and live inside you and around you, as will their children, and their children's children!" Her horn glowed and her forelegs waved, and many hundreds of ponies sprouted from the fallen remains of the dead. "And for every pony you have chased away, I will bring back a hundred! And they will live on the plains below, fed by the waters of the Bright River!" Her horn shone brightly, sending out a call to the ponies that had fled.

And thus the land that would later become known as Equestria was created.

Luna looked out at the teeming plain. "That is not enough, Sister. The Mountain will simply resent us and attempt to destroy the works of these beautiful beings." She waved down at the herds on the plain below. "I could not bear to see them die again. And so I will give them our gifts, so that they might have the tools to prevent this from happening."

Celestia nodded. "That is wise, Sister. But I urge you do not give them all of our strength. It would burn them from the inside out and leave them hollowed shells. We are ancient, and can shoulder the burden of this power. They are not gifted as we."

Luna nodded, and spread her forelegs wide. Her horn shimmered with silver light, and thus the three races of ponies were born. The Pegasi were given flight, and the mastery of weather given them by the Four Winds. The Unicorns were given cunning and the knowledge of magic, granted them by the Seven Brightest Stars. The Earth Ponies were given a measure of the strength and wisdom of Earthquake.

The two sisters looked out at what they had created, and saw that it was good. "But what of the ponies who stayed when Sullen Peak tried to shake? The ones who did not die?" Luna looked to her sister for an answer.

Celestia thought. "We will ask them out and ask why they stayed. If their answers are satisfactory, we will ask Bright River to reward them with eternal life.

And so the Immortal Rulers were born.

The first to come out of the mountain was a tall, muscular pony. He bowed to the sisters and puffed out his chest. "I am Crom, strongest of the ponies. I stayed to find the heart of the mountain so that I might crush it beneath my hooves and save my people. I did not wish to kill, but I did not want my people to die. Alas, I could not protect my people."

The sisters returned the bow. "We will give you strength eternal, that you will be able to crush any foe under your hooves, and the wisdom to know when to use it. There is much to do, Crom. We grant this boon asking that you help us in bringing harmony to the world."

"Then you will have my help." And so they made Crom immortal and granted him governance of the earth and growing things, and the secrets of the world below.

Next came four ponies, lean of leg and keen of eye. They bent low in a bow. "I and my siblings are called Boreas, Notos, Eurus, and Zephyr," said one. "We stayed because we are the swiftest ponies, and guided the others out when the mountain began to shake. Those that were trapped we brought to safety. We did not want any pony to die, but we could not save everyone."

The sisters returned the bow. "If you will join us, then we will give you the swiftness to overcome any obstacle and sight unending."

The four siblings agreed, and were made immortal. To them were given the governance of each of the four winds and the cardinal directions.

Lastly came seven ponies, lean and mysterious with stars on their brows. They did not speak their names, but took the names of the seven brightest stars in the sky. "We are the cleverest ponies. We saw that the mountain would not tolerate us and began to evacuate our people. We also guided Crom to the heart of the mountain. Alas, our foresight came too late, and many of our people were lost."

The sisters bowed. "Then, if you will join us, we will give you the knowledge of prophecy, and the foresight to avert any doom."

They nodded, and were made immortal. One of the seven, however, raised a hoof in caution. "Beware, O fair sisters. There is danger far ahead. It is hazy, indistinct, but present. A doom is upon us if we do not hold fast to each other. Our friendship must sustain us."

The sisters looked to one another, then to their world. "Then we will stay true to this friendship, and keep our bonds strong," said Celestia. Satisfied, they turned lastly to the first mountain and bowed low. "O Bearded Mountain, we ask to be able to stack the stones of our labors atop your slopes. We will make our shelter greater, and give our subjects a place to live in safety," said Luna.

The mountain thought, then agreed. "You may. I will give you my word of safety forever. No pony will ever come to harm while they live on my slopes or beneath my skin."

And so the First City and the Court of Immortals were founded.

When the last stone was set into place, Grandfather Sun and Grandmother Moon descended from the sky and looked at their two children. "You have done well," said Grandmother Moon. "You have created something greater than yourselves." She bowed low. "We give you governance of Sun and Moon in trust, that you may better serve the needs of the world. We will now slumber, and give you and your people peace."



And that is the story of how Equestria was made.