“And as the three new friends looked around, they saw the Fire of Friendship melting the ice made by the Windigos. The three commanding officers were dethawed and looked around, wondering what happened. When Smart Cookie explained, they all understood, and hugged. Then the snow was melted, and everypony exited the cave, seeing the wonder and beauty of Equestria. They all went their separate ways, still spreading the light of the Fire of Friendship. The end,” Twilight Sparkle finished. Spike smiled, then started snoring.
Twilight smiled. She had been telling Spike the story of the Fire of Friendship as a bedtime story, but had forgotten how much she loved it. She thought back. There was the Pegasi, the Unicorns, the Earth Ponies… “Wait a minute!” she shouted, causing Spike to startle awake.
“What is it, Twilight?” Spike said, making a fighting pose. Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated Spike back into his bed.
“None of your concern, Spike. Go back to sleep.” Spike nodded, then pulled his blanket up. Soon, Twilight heard his snores continue.
Twilight ran into the library area of the castle. Pulling random books out of the shelves, she looked at the titles. “Where is it?” she wondered out loud. She pulled another book out, and read the title. It said, The Fire of Friendship.
“Found it!” Twilight said, then read the story again. It was the same as it had always been; the same as Twilight had always known it.
“But…” Twilight was very confused. “What about alicorns?”
*******************************************************************
Princess Celestia was tired.
That of course was an understatement, for Princess Celestia was always tired around this time of day. She needed a break.
Right when she was about to step down from her throne and take said break, a guard poked his head into the room. “Your highness?” he asked her.
“Yes?” Princess Celestia replied.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle has requested a private meeting,” the guard answered. “She says it’s urgent.”
Celestia nodded, indicating that she would let Twilight hold the meeting. This could be her break time.
The guard nodded to somepony out of Celestia’s view, and Twilight entered the room. She bowed. “Your highness.”
Celestia smiled. “Hello, Twilight.”
“I’m sorry for disturbing you. However, I’ve come across something that none of my history texts even mention!” Twilight was clearly confused.
“What is it, my faithful student?” Celestia asked. “Clearly, it’s important, otherwise you wouldn’t have come all the way up to Canterlot.”
“It is, Princess.” Twilight took a deep breath. “Do you recall the story of the very first Hearth’s Warming Eve?”
Celestia nodded. “The three races of Equestria- pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies- were rude and unkind to one another, and it became so bad that when they left their home, they took their hate with them. They caused a freak ice storm, and just when all seemed lost, one pony from each tribe admitted to not hating the other two. They became friends, and they caused the Fire of Friendship to appear, driving away the Windigos and saving what is now known as Equestria.” She paused. “What about it?”
“Well, Princess, I was reading the story to Spike and I had a thought,” Twilight said. “If pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies founded Equestria, then where did alicorns come from? I mean, the four princesses of Canterlot- you, Luna, Cadence, and me- are alicorns. Being an alicorn shows that you are of royal status- except, how did alicorns come to Equestria in the first place?”
Celestia’s eyes were wide. Then she smiled. “Twilight, I need to tell you a story.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “A story?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes. A long time ago, there was a pony who lived in Canterlot back around when Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire.”
Twilight gasped. “That’s about 1000 years!”
Celestia nodded. Then she continued. “His name was Golden Glow. He was a scientist working at a university in Lower Canterlot. One day, he had a thought that put him ahead of his time- what if there was a type of pony that could fly like a pegasus, but use magic like a unicorn, and be as strong as an earth pony? He started to experiment, putting genes of each race of pony into a surrogate egg. Then he did it to a second, in case the first one failed.”
“A type of pony that can fly, use magic, and be super strong? Princess, you’re describing an alicorn exactly. Are you saying that alicorns were made as an experiment?” Twilight couldn’t believe her ears.
Celestia shook her head. “I’m almost ready to tell you. After he did that, he inserted the eggs into a surrogate mother. She gave birth two months later. The resulting foals had wings and a horn- the first two alicorns.”
Twilight held up a hoof. “But what about Cadence? Golden Glow must’ve been long dead by the time she was born.”
Celestia blushed. “Well, Twilight, do you know how Cadence is my niece?”
Twilight nodded, wondering what Celestia was getting at.
“Well, Cadence is actually my daughter. I had too much cider at a party one time, and met this stallion…” Celestia trailed off, leaving Twilight shocked. “You can probably guess the rest.”
“Okay…” Twilight said. “But wait, when you made me an alicorn princess you used a spell. Did Golden Glow make the spell also?”
“No, Twilight.” Celestia put a hoof around Twilight’s neck. “You know that spell you did to return the Breezies to their home? I used that spell, but for three different types of ponies; earth, unicorn, and pegasus.”
Twilight sat down. “This… this is a lot to take in. I mean, who would’ve guessed? The creation of alicorns was a genetic experiment!”
“Yes, Twilight. However, you can not tell anypony about this.” Celestia stopped and stared Twilight in the eyes. “After me and my sister grew up, ponies started noticing our… differences. We were placed in foster care for our own safety, and Golden Glow was instantly fired from the university he worked at. Our mother adopted us, and we grew up like normal little fillies. After the advent of what I personally call ‘Gen 4,’ the whole matter was placed in the Canterlot Archives under ‘For Celestia’s Eyes Only.’ It was soon forgotten, and we were chosen, because of our unique powers, to rule Equestria.”
“I promise.” Twilight nodded.
Celestia smiled and nuzzled Twilight. “Good. Does that answer your question?”
Twilight nodded again.
“Tell Spike I said hello?” Celestia asked Twilight. Twilight nodded once more and, spreading her wings, flew off towards Ponyville.
Celestia smiled. Oh, it felt good to tell somepony else that story. Now, she definitely needed a break.
