Princesses of Equestria

Chapter 4: The Spring Equinox Festival

The time had come. The trumpets had sounded. Somepony fired a party cannon. As its confetti-laden echoes faded, Equestria's citizens rubbed aching ears, and assembled in the pavilion of Canterlot palace.

Raw-hided farmers from Applepaloosa, Manehattan's upper crust, the spandex-clad Wonderbolts of Cloudsdale, the Crystal Empire's faceted natives, a pair of greasy cider salesponies, a haughty stage magician, a mysterious potion-selling zebra, an even more mysterious tutu-clad dancing bear; from all four corners of the realm they came.

Watchful royal guards kept the teeming mass in a semi-orderly state, and cleared a way for ponies of particular importance. Prince Shining Armor, brother of today's soon-to-be-crowned Princess. Princess Cadence, ruler of the Crystal Empire, destroyer of the wicked King Sombra, love of Shining's life and, according to rumor, Twilight Sparkle's quote "greatest foalsitter in the history of all foalsitters!" unquote.

There was Captain Spitfire, the most decorated Wonderbolt in the current century. There was Rainbow Dash, caught in the throes of a fangasm after Spitfire complemented her on being the fastest flyer in the current century.

And there were Rainbow's four closest friends, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. As bearers of Harmony's Elements, and Twilight Sparkle's beloved companions, they'd gotten the best seats to her coronation. As had her assistant, Spike.

There was a slight delay at this point; the guards hadn't expected Fluttershy to bring a dancing bear, or for Pinkie to cart in the cake to end all cakes—a teetering sugar-frosted juggernaut done up like the palace's solar clock. The guards didn't ask questions. They knew better. So instead, they cleared extra space with the steely determination and organizational skill that Celestia and Luna had hired them for.

In two briskly efficient minutes, the Elements' bearers, and the crowd of Equestrian citizens behind, were safely seated upon Canterlot's neatly cut lawn. Satisfied, Captain Flash Sentry sent a wing signal to the trumpeters lined along the ramparts, and to the trio of alicorns waiting upon the palace's lofty verandah.

Another fanfare, the strident blasts of a royal anthem, played as Canterlot's monarchs took center stage. The crowd stilled, waiting with bated breath. They weren't kept waiting long.

"All hail Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" cried the royal guard.

"HAIL, PRINCESS CELESTIA! HAIL, PRINCESS LUNA!" Equestria's citizens responded, and knelt to their rightful rulers.

Celestia and Luna smiled, bowed lightly back and, without further ado, began. "Good morrow everypony," they decreed in unison, their booming Canterlot Voices reaching all ears. "Good morrow, and welcome to the Spring Equinox Festival!"

As they spoke, sunlight and moonlight gathered upon the two sisters' horns. They held their heads high, focused, and loosed! Their spells shot up, up, met far above the pavilion ... and amongst the blending energies, faint pinpricks of starlight appeared.

"In the beginning," said Celestia in a reverent chant. "Queen Eponia, great mother to us all, birthed Equestria."

Focus sharpened. Forms took shape. A star specked alicorn glided in a void without end. Queen Eponia was a nebula made flesh, her dusky fur swirling with galaxies, her mane a cosmic aurora, shifting through the rainbow's spectrum. She slowed, reaching a decision.

"With her body, Eponia made the world," said Luna, matching her elder sister's rhythm, continuing the story they both knew so well. "With her breath, she made the skies."

Queen Eponia folded her swan's wings, curled in on herself, and cast a spell from a horn large enough to pierce planets. Or to create them. Supernova energies flared, rippled across their summoner, changed her. Starry flesh became fresh earth, and clouds flowed out Eponia's mouth.