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// 04 - Celestia's Virtue 
// Story: The Story of Everfree - a Narrative Chronicle 
// by Recon777 
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Young Celestia had been growing in the ways of her mother, agreeing with her that the mortal ponies had value, in opposition to her father’s assessment that they were mere pests. But something about Peri's regard for them seemed off to Celestia. She perceived something deeper within the mortals than even her mother did.

As she spent time with them, she got to know their way of life. She learned of the fear that they had of Periapsis despite the alicorn's apparent care for them. Celestia believed it would be better if the mortals did not have to live in this fear. Not only that, but she began to see them as actual people rather than animals to be cared for—people with their own rights, even.

At the age of twenty-two, Celestia did something unprecedented in all of history.

She had an impressive understanding of magical theory, and she knew the difference between alicorn magic and unicorn magic. She knew that these two kinds of ponies drew their power from vastly different energy sources, the Aether being the source of unlimited alicorn power, and the Lifestream being the limited source of unicorn power.

Celestia was also an accomplished spellcaster. She discovered the process by which an alicorn matures from a youth, with quite limited power, to near-omnipotence as an adult. She learned that if a young alicorn were to claim an identity with one of the forty virtues of the mortal ponies, that this alicorn would halt the transformation into full maturity.

Celestia knew this would be irreversible, and it would mean giving up tremendous power. But she could not deny her heart leaning toward the mortals. She truly understood them to be valuable people with a valuable ethical standard that neither of her parents understood. Celestia made her decision to undergo this process herself and discovered her virtue of Benevolence.

The process was surprising for her. As a young adult alicorn, Celestia had recently been struggling with the temptation of abandoning her unique perspective on the mortal ponies and just going along with her mother's view. But upon discovering her virtue, she could truly see them with incredible clarity. She was suddenly awakened to a whole rich world that she previously did not even know existed.

The mortal pony civilization came into sharp focus for her, and she wept over their treatment by her parents. She introduced herself to them for the first time as their Princess, and she promised to look after them and advocate for them. Celestia had finally become aware of the “Traits of Harmony”.