Discord's Legend

II. Colorsplodges

or, In Which Twilight Learns About Alicorns

Twilight woke up to the sound of belching fire. She picked it out of the air and started to read it.

"Twilight,

Spike told me that he was worried about you last night. I'm coming over.

Cadence.

"Cadence is coming over? Cadence!" Twilight asked Spike with a shrill, stressed voice. "But this place is a tip! Quick, help me clear it up Spike! Quick!"

A pink glow appeared in the middle of the room. "Twilight?" Cadence stepped out of the portal.

"Why does this place have to be on a layline?" Twilight groaned. Cadence walked over to Twilight but she looked different from normal. Happier... in a way.

"Twilight. I'm afraid I lied to you in the letter... it wasn't that I wasn't worried... it's that I have some news for you..." Another glow, this time blue, appeared while Cadence spoke in a murmur. "It's that... me and Shining Armor are having a baby..."

"A baby! Awwww. Do you know if it's an alicorn or a unicorn yet?"

"It's an alicorn... do you want to feel her? Her name will be Colorsplodges; Celestia says she'll be the next alicorn of colours."

"Wait, so every alicorn has a purpose? Even you? And what do you mean next? Has there been one before?"

"Well... yes. There has been an alicorn of colour before... before Celestia was born. Her... sisters. There were three of them-Sungold, Waterblue and Rosered. Celestia said they was beautiful; as beautiful as the colours they put into the world. But then-oh god, they fought Discord. And they sacrificed themselves... they sacrificed themselves for their pregnant mother and their sister..."

"Their mother?"

"The alicorn of words-she was pregnant at the time with Luna... but then she ran away into solitude. And she never came back.

"As to your final question-I am the alicorn of love, the ruler of the Crystal Empire."

"Wow... so there used to be three alicorns of colour and now there's none...?"

"Soon to be one, yes!" Twilight saw that Cadence's beaming smile had become fake from telling the history of the alicorns.

"Um... Cadence? You can relax and go home if you want."

"Thank you. Telling that legend has taken a toll on me and Splodges. And one last thing Twilight-no one quite knows if that's true. Celestia certainly believes it, but her memory is often dodgy when it comes to periods when she was young and relies on legends from that age."

Could Celestia ever be wrong? Cadence seemed to think so... Twilight made a mental note to research that age-another that seemed to have been burnt out of the Histories... or not covered. A ball of pink light exploded.

"Twilight?" A colt's voice asked.

"Shining Armor?"

"If anything like that happens again... like Discord, Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon... protect your niece. When she has matured she will likely give you amazing gifts...but help her survive that long."

There was a lump in Twilight's throat. "I will."

"Love you Twi."

"And you." A blue ball of fire vanished, and her brother with it.

She sat in her chair for a bit, contemplating everything that had happened. Spike had long since settled down to sleep and Twilight wondered how nice it must feel to be without a care in the world... the ability to sleep whenever you wanted to... not making checklists...

***

Twilight woke up with a start. There was a bang at the door-a furious, impatient bang. She brushed the sleep out of her eyes and walked over to the door.

She opened to see Rarity and Applejack; distressed with tears in their eyes. "Girls? What is it?"

"It's Dinky."