Celestia’s Origins
Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia had just finished their last round of croquet in the royal Canterlot garden and now they were having refreshments at a table set up next to one of the garden fountains.
Twilight smiled up at her mentor as she finished eating another cumber sandwich.
“Thank you so much for inviting me here to spend time with you Princess. I am glad that we get to spend some time together like the old days when you were my mentor,” She said before settling to work eating another cucumber sandwich.
Celestia took a sip from a glass of lemonade and replied, “I am happy that we can spend some time together Twilight, but I am afraid that this isn't the only reason why I've asked you to come here.”
Twilight Sparkle stopped eating at her side of the table.
“Oh no...is something wrong? Has a new evil surfaced? What are we going to do to stop it without the Elements of Harmony?”
Celestia let out a small laugh.
“No Twilight, there is no threat to speak of at the moment. But what you said about the Elements of Harmony has troubled me too. So I have called you here today to give you six new relics to bring back to Ponyville. But I must give them to you in confidence because their origins must remain a secret only known among the most trusted parties of Equestria. For this reason, I will give them to you in my room where we can have some privacy after we finish our refreshments.”
Twilight nodded in understanding and the two carried on eating their refreshments and talking about various things until they had both had their fill of the food in front of them.
Celestia then called upon her royal staff to clear the table. The staff arrived no sooner than she had called them and set to work clearing the table as Celestia led Twilight to her private chambers.
When the two were in Celestia's room, she took great care to make sure that no pony was at either of the main entrances and then she locked herself and Twilight inside. She put up a magic sound barrier to ensure that no one could hear inside of the room.
Then she walked over to a large chest that sat in front of her bed, opened it with her magic and took out a small golden box with jewels inlaid on the lid and on the sides. She handed the box to Twilight who took it from her outstretched hooves.
“What you are holding,” Celestia began as Twilight examined the box, “Contains six relics that were given to me by Star Swirl the Bearded. He told me to hold onto the relics and only hand them over when the embodiments of the six elements of harmony appeared in the world. Now that you and your friends have become the keeper of the elements, it is only right that I give these relics to you now. However, their origin must be kept a secret because it ties in with the origins of myself, Princess Luna, Prince Blue Blood, and Star Swirl the Bearded. You must promise me to keep everything I tell you today a secret, even from your friends. It is something that only the keeper of the element of magic can know.”
Twilight gave a small bow.
“You have my word Princess. Anything you tell me will be kept between just us.”
Celestia nodded.
“Then I will start by telling you all about where my sister, nephew, and I came from. You see, there is an alternate history for us and also Starswirl the Bearded in the Journal of the Two Sisters as well as the official history books in the Canterlot Royal Archives. But this is not the true history. For you see, me, Luna, Prince Blue Blood, and Star Swirl originally came from a different world.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What…do you mean Princess?”
Celestia let out a sigh and walked up to the large chest positioned in front of her bed. She sat on top of it and gestured for Twilight to sit beside her. Twilight walked up to the chest and hoisted herself up on it to sit beside Celestia.
When she was settled in her place beside Celestia, the Princess continued on.
“I was first summoned to this world to take care of a great problem the ponies of the land were facing. It was the first time that Lord Tirek and his brother Scorpan were causing trouble for every pony. The Journal of the Two Sisters says that Star Swirl scouted Luna and I to protect the land in the days of the three pony tribes. This is true. However he didn't scout us because we were born as Alicorns as the book details. He scouted us when we…were humans.”
Twilight let out a gasp.
“You mean to say that you and Princess Luna were once from the human realm?”
Celestia nodded.
“Yes. But you see, it wasn’t just us. We were scouted from the human world to bring balance to the land. I took care of Scorpan and Tirek with the help of the sea ponies and my other pony friends without Princess Luna the first time I was summoned to this land. Then Luna helped me solve other problems that arose, like the invasion of an army of bees who once stole the Sun Stone and brought chaos to the Sun Valley. Our nephew Blue Blood helped us on this adventure as well as he was once a human too. You see, my older sister in the human world (who never went on the adventures with us) was much older than me and had a son that was only a few years younger than I was. So that was how Luna and I had a nephew at such a young age.”
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought.
“So you, Luna, and Prince Blue Blood were summoned to Equestria to help bring balance to the land as humans a long time ago. But what about Star Swirl?”
Celestia used her magic to summon a small box resting inside one of her dresser drawers. When the box was in front of her, she took the item inside of it outside of the box and used her magic to return the box to its former place. She floated the object, which turned out to be an old photograph, over to Twilight who sat the jeweled box Celestia had originally given her next to her on the chest so she could hold the new item in her hooves.
The picture contained the image of four humans; a tall girl with a blond ponytail, a shorter blond haired girl with pigtails, a redheaded boy wearing a baseball cap, and an elf looking creature wearing a green cap and cloak. Celestia pointed at the tall girl with the ponytail and said that the girl used to be her, then moved to the smaller blond haired girl and said that it used to be Luna. She explained that the boy with the baseball cap used to be Prince Blue Blood. And finally, she mentioned that the strange looking elf-like creature was once Star Swirl the Bearded.
Twilight could hardly believe everything she was hearing but simply nodded to show Celestia she was trying her best to process everything that she was being told. She listened in silence as the Princess continued on.
“My original name,” Celestia began, returning the photo to the box it was once in and returning it to her the drawer of her dresser, “Was Megan. Princess Luna was once called Molly. Prince Blue Blood’s human name was Danny. And Star Swirl was once known as The Moochick. It was The Moochick who scouted Myself, Molly, and Danny to use a powerful magic known as the Rainbow Light to make sure the world maintained its balance.”
“The Rainbow Light?” Twilight Asked, trying her best to follow everything the Princess was saying.
Celestia nodded her head and used her magic to lift the jeweled box from before onto Twilight’s lap. She opened the lid of the box and lifted a pendant with a heart as the centerpiece in the air in front of Twilight.
“This is the Rainbow Light. It holds a magic greater than the Elements of Harmony. But after the last Great War, Luna, Prince Blue Blood, and I could not wield its power anymore.”
Celestia paused to place the chest next to Twilight and slip the rainbow light around her neck with her magic. Then said, “But since you are your friends were chosen as the new guardians of this world by the Elements of Harmony, and by extension the tree of harmony, I believe that the power of the Rainbow Light will work for you.”
Twilight looked at the small pendant around her neck and then returned her gaze to Princess Celestia.
“I've never heard of this great war. And why did the pendant stop working after The Great War took place?”
Celestia closed her eyes. Something like a thin layer of tears almost looked like it was forming underneath them, but Twilight couldn't tell for sure.
“The last time Danny, Molly, The Moochick, and I were summoned from Earth a great trouble plagued the land. A dragon overlord named King Titus wished to take over the world and claim it for his dragon kind. At this time, the high queen of the land was named Aurora. Her power was so great that she could raise the sun and the moon on her own. She could also maintain the balance of magic in all of Equestria and beyond, just by being present in the land.”
“But King Titus ended up invading her kingdom. Molly, Danny, The Moochick, and all of our pony friends tried to save the high queen, but King Titus engaged in a great battle with her. The battle gave her injuries that the Rainbow Light could not repair. Even though we were able to use the Rainbow Light to banish King Titus and his army to Tartarus, the life of our most beloved ruler could not be spared.”
“However, the land still needed her power to raise the sun, raise the moon, and maintain the balance of magic. So with her last bit of life force, she transferred the power to raise the sun to me, the power to raise the moon to Luna, and the power to maintain the magic of the land to prince blue blood. The spell turned my sister and I into Alicorns, and prince blue blood into a unicorn. She changed Star Swirl into a unicorn so he could guide us in our new forms. And then she gave us all our new pony identities. But because there is a strict law that says that only ponies can rule the land, she made our pony friends promise to never tell anyone of our true origins. Then our beloved queen was no more.”
At this, celestia whipped a few stray tears from the corners of her eyes.
Then said, “After the death of Queen Aurora, Princess Luna, prince Blue Blood, and I were elected as the new guardians of the land. The rest of the ponies were told that we had been scouted by the mysterious unicorn Star Swirl to become the new protectors of the land and that we were born as Alicorns. We spread a rumor that the human children and The Moochick had returned to their world and were not able to return because of a banishment spell King Titus casted upon them. When Lord Tirek returned with his brother to bring chaos to the land the second time, Princess Luna and I tried to use the power of the Rainbow Light, but it would not work in our current forms. So we had to use the power of the five other artifacts in the chest that I gave you. They are known as the Jewels of Kratar. They were made by Star Swirl to project the latent abilities of those who used them. Their power however was not strong enough to defeat Discord when he appeared in our world the first time. To defeat him, Luna and I needed to use the Elements of Harmony. So the Jewels of Kratar went into storage and remained unused for thousands of years. And then from that point on most everything else in the Journal of the two Sisters and the Canterlot Royal Archives is true.”
Twilight placed a hoof on her mentor’s back.
“I am so sorry for your loss, Princess Celestia. I had no idea that something like this once happened in your past.”
Celestia opened her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
She wiped the rest of her tears away before she faced Twilight and said, “It’s okay Twilight. It is something that happened a long time ago so I have had many centuries to heal. Although sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. In any case, this story is connected with the Rainbow Light and the other relics I have just given you because they were items that Luna, Prince Blue Blood, and I used when we were still the guardians of the land. Now that you and your friends have been chosen by the Elements of Harmony to be the new guardians, I believe that you will be able to use the combined power of the Rainbow Light and the Jewels of Kratar to help maintain the peace in our land. But as I have said before, their origins must be kept a secret. No one other than the element of magic may ever know the true identity of Princess Luna, Prince Blue Blood, Star Swirl, or me. If you can promise to guard this secret with your life, then I will entrust these relics to you.”
Celestia used her magic to take the five Jewels of Kratar out of the box and show them to Twilight one by one. As they passed by twilight they each transformed into a different form. The red jewel transformed into an apple, the pink jewel transformed into a balloon, the yellow jewel transformed into a butterfly, the blue jewel turned into a cloud with a lightning bolt underneath, and the purple jewel transformed into the shape of a diamond. Celestia smiled as the new forms of the jewels hovered in front of Twilight.
“Like the Elements of Harmony, the Jewels of Kratar take on the appearance of their bearers. This is a sign that my original speculations were correct. You must give these to your friends, and keep the Rainbow Light for yourself in the event that balance must be returned to our land.”
Celestia placed the jewels back in the box and handed it to Twilight. Twilight looked at the box, and the necklace around her neck, and then faced Celestia with a serious expression.
“I understand, princess. Your secret is safe with me. I will give each of the jewels to my friends right away.”
Celestia smiled and then proceeded to use her magic to take down the sound barrier she had put up before. She used her magic to open the front entrance of her room and said, “I know that I can count on you, my most trusted student, to give this new magic to your friends and keep the origins of the royal house a secret. Now you must give these items to your friends. Then, until next time.”
Celestia smiled at Twilight, who bowed deeply and then left the princesses room, with the box hovering in front of her.
When Twilight reached Ponyville, she asked each of her friends to come to her castle to give them the new jewels that Celestia had given her at the Canterlot Royal Castle. Rarity was the first to show up in the main throne room. When she caught sight of the gold box sitting next to Twilight’s throne, her eyes glistened with delight.
She ran up to the gold box with jewels encrusted on the top and sides and ran her hooves over the surfaces.
“Oh, this box is just divine. Whatever is inside of it must be just as lovely.”
Twilight smiled and opened the lid of the box with her magic to reveal the Jewels inside of the box. Rarity used her magic to examine the jewels one by one, a frown clearly present on her face. When she was done examining them, she placed each one back in the box, and then turned to face Twilight.
“These are nice,” Rarity began, stroking her chin in thought, “But as of right now, they are just jewels. There is really nothing else that makes them stand out. However, with your permission, I would love to give each one my personal touch.”
Twilight thought this over for a few moments and then nodded.
“Sure, I don’t see why not. But I already asked everyone to come here so I could tell them about the jewels. You might have to wait until after our meeting.”
Rarity put a hoof to her chest and let out a haughty laugh.
Then she said, “Oh Twilight, do you think a clothing designer like me would ever go anywhere unprepared? Of course I brought my portable jewelry making kit.”
Rarity took a large box out of the saddle bag she was wearing and started unpacking her jeweler’s tools. Before Twilight could say anything else, she set to work setting each jewel into its own unique jewelry piece. She fashioned the red jewel in the shape of an apple into a pendant, the pink jewel in the shape of a balloon into a bracelet, the yellow jewel in the shape of a butterfly into a circlet, the blue jewel in the shape of a cloud with a lightning bolt underneath into a choker, and the purple jewel in the shape of a diamond into a horn ring.
When her work was complete, she showed each of the pieces to Twilight with Pride.
“You see? These look much better now. Plus, it will be harder to lose track of them if they are easy to slip on as jewelry pieces. So what do you think Twilight?”
Twilight examined each of the jewelry pieces Rarity had made one by one and then nodded.
“These are amazing Rarity! I just know that everypony is going to love them.”
Rarity beamed with pride and then set to work packing up all of her jewelers’ tools as Twilight returned the new jewelry pieces to the golden chest. As Rarity was finishing cleaning up the mess, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy walked through the main entrance of the throne room.
Twilight sat on her throne and summoned everyone to sit on each of theirs. They did so and the official meeting was called to order. Twilight explained that Celestia had given her five jewels along with the Rainbow Light to help maintain balance in case any threat were to arise in Equestria. Oh course she kept their true origins a secret, only saying that they were artifacts made by Star Swirl the Bearded. As she handed each of her friends one of the jewels, she credited Rarity for turning each one into beautiful jewelry piece so they could keep them by their side at all times. Everyone loved their new jewelry piece and thanked Rarity for her hard work.
The mane six spent the rest of the late afternoon having an early dinner in the castle dining room and talking about the events that had taken place during the week. At one point, Twilight wandered off into one of the long hallways outside the castle dining room and looked at a portrait of herself, Celestia, Luna, Princess Cadance, and her brother that had been taken at the Canterlot Royal Wedding.
Her gaze focused on the delicate smile of Princess Celestia and she felt her heart sink. Although Princess Celestia always seemed to be so happy and acted like nothing bothered her at all, Twilight had learned that she had experienced a lot of tragedy in her life. She had to witness the death of somepony she really cared about during The Great War. She had had to give up everything she loved in the human world to help protect the ponies of Equestria. Princess Celestia had done so much to bring peace and balance to the land for centuries before the mane six were chosen by the Elements of Harmony to help relieve some of her stress.
Twilight swore that she would never forget her meeting with Princess Celestia, and she would never take her role as a protector of Equestria lightly before returning to finish out the dinner party with her closest friends.
