Twilight gazed up at her mentor, a bewildered expression plastered on the young Unicorn’s face.
“M—My lineage? Why would you need to speak to me about that?”
“Our lineage, Twilight.”
Twilight glanced over at Princess Luna, who had the same resolute look on her face, before turning back to Princess Celestia. The student was too perturbed, however, to respond.
“Twilight, what do you know about your family’s history?”
Twilight looked down at the cold stone floor, her mind now warped around her mentor’s statement and question. Was the Princess suggesting their family histories were analogous?
Eventually, the Unicorn found the nerve to respond to her diarchs. “My parents are Unicorns who were, like me and my brother, born and raised in Canterlot. I don’t know much about my grandparents or further generations, since they passed away before I was born.”
Celestia smiled. “My dear student, your lineage is one of more importance than you have been told.” She peered at the statues surrounding the three. “In fact, your ancestry is more crucial and esteemed than all others in Equestrian history. One that we both share.”
Twilight gazed at Celestia and Luna, then around at the magnificent statues surrounding her and the princesses. Each clearly had the wings and horn of an Alicorn, and each was adorned with a majestic crown similar to Celestia’s and Luna’s.
The sudden overwhelming realization hit Twilight abruptly. However, the mare still couldn’t grasp how or why it was possible, thus dismissed it immediately. “Princess . . . are you saying that we’re . . . related? Surely you aren’t—”
Celestia smiled. However, it was Princess of the Night this time who stepped forward and interrupted. “Precisely, our young subject. Thou art descended from the ancient and pristine royal Canterlot bloodline. Thou hast more importance than thou perceivest, Twilight Sparkle.”
The Unicorn collapsed backward onto her hind legs, her mouth hanging open in awe, her eyes fully dehiscent. Even though her considerable intellect had arrived at that conclusion already, her mind still could not comprehend it.
Eventually, Twilight regained her composure. “B—But how? My parents aren’t royalty; they’re just regular Unicorns. And so am I!” Twilight grinned sheepishly. ”I’m just a regular old Unicorn. Do I look like I have wings?” The Unicorn glanced down at both her sides. “Nope! No wings! Nothing royal about me!” she said frantically.
Twilight stood on four legs, and spun around to face the opposite direction of the princesses. Though it was hard for the intelligent and sedulous mare to believe her wise mentor was capable of constituting such an obvious mistake, however that was simply the only logical conclusion.
She began to stagger towards the exit, the half-cocked grin still on her face. “Thank you for the nice statuary tour, princesses, but I have much studying on friendship...”
The diarchs stared at one another and rolled their eyes. Celestia tapped her hoof with much chagrin. “Twilight Sparkle! You return and face me this instant!” she commanded in a tone that brooked no argument.
The Unicorn froze. Now contemplating the raw impudence of her actions, she lowered her head, and slowly turned and sauntered back in her mentor’s direction. Without a word, Twilight returned to her previous spot and looked up at Celestia.
“Good. Now Twilight, as my sister was saying, you are directly descended from me and from her, in addition to all the previous rulers of Equestria, whose sculptures you see in this room.”
Twilight shook her head. It made no rhyme or reason to her. “But, princess, how can I be descended from you? I’m a Unicorn! Don’t I need to be an Alicorn like you and Princess Luna to be considered royalty?”
Celestia glanced to her right at the two Alicorn statues directly adjacent to the three. “My most faithful student, could you please remind me the names of the ponies these statues depict?”
Celestia’s student studied the statues for a couple of seconds. “Princess, you already said that was you—”
“Precisely, Twilight. Now, could you please tell me who is depicted in the painting situated on the wall between the statues?”
Twilight moved a few steps over in order to bring the painting into her own line of sight. She was startled upon gazing at it a second time, since she had nearly forgotten it was there. The painting illustrated two ordinary mares, a Unicorn and a Pegasus. The white Unicorn stood in front of the royal Canterlot palace, her long, pink, flowing mane billowing majestically in the wind. A Pegasus mare with a deep blue coat and mane hovered directly overhead, her mane flowing in a similar fashion to the Unicorn’s. The Unicorn’s and the Pegasus’ cutie marks were identical to Princess Celestia’s and Luna’s, a magnificent sun and a crescent moon respectively.
“No,” she responded breathlessly. The similarity was undeniable. Though the princesses had already acknowledged the identities of the ponies, it hadn’t really sunk in yet, having arrived in the midst of an overwhelming rush of information.
“Are those mares really you and Princess Luna? But . . . how?”
Luna raised a hoof in the direction of Twilight. “Verily, Twilight Sparkle, ‘tis a picture portraying our persons, but it dates back two millennia ago, before we embarked on our journey—”
Celestia turned to face her sister and raised a hoof as well. “Luna, we’ll get to that soon, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. I’m sure this is already very shocking and confusing for her.”
Twilight, in fact, was more perturbed than ever. All this talk about her possibly being royalty, the princesses not being Alicorns at one point, and a mysterious ‘journey,’ was quite distressing to the poor mare. “But . . . I’ve read you were always Alicorns.”
Celestia turned to face her befuddled pupil again. “My most faithful student, my sister and I were not simply born Alicorns, and none of those who came before us were either.” She began to slowly trot further down the hallway, and Twilight followed. Luna, however, remained behind.
Celestia gazed up at the paintings of other Alicorn monarchs from a time long past. “Each and every one of us was born to ordinary pony couples, as it were, and all began as any one of the three pony races. As you discovered earlier, I began life as a Unicorn, and Luna as a Pegasus. And we were raised as such. Just like you Twilight, I seemed to have a great aptitude in the skill of magic.”
“Equestria was once ruled by several Alicorn rulers. At one time, with the exception of me and Luna, every Alicorn in this hall reigned over this land as equals. Each had an individual responsibility—to raise the sun and moon, for instance, or to create laws, or to keep the peace in Equestria. The list goes on, but you get the idea . . .”
Celestia stopped, staring up at one Alicorn statue in particular. “This Alicorn here, a stallion by the name of Prince Incantus, was the monarch who discovered my magical potential and brought me under his wing, just like I did with you, Twilight.”
Twilight studied the Prince’s statue. He was a very large, robust stallion, similar in appearance to Applejack’s elder brother Big Macintosh. “Princess, you said each Alicorn had a different job. What was his?”
“He was in charge of the education of ponies across Equestria, and was the dean of the School for Gifted Unicorns here in Canterlot,” rendered Celestia in a proud tone.
“So why did he choose you to be his personal student?” Twilight placed one of her front hooves over her mouth, and shot a frightened look plastered on the Unicorn’s face. “Forgive me princess, I didn’t mean to suggest you weren’t worthy of such an honor, as I’m sure you most certainly were.”
Princess Celestia chuckled, “Oh Twilight, there’s no need for an apology, everything is quite alright. But as I was about to explain, my exceptional magical talent was not his only rationale for selecting me, as that was not my only rationale for selecting you.”
If Twilight wasn’t flabbergasted before, she most certainly was now. She had never read in any book about a ‘Prince Incantus’ or any other past Alicorn before. Very little was known about the pre-Draconequian era and war over two thousand years prior, and Celestia revealing that the Unicorn’s magical talent wasn’t the only reason for her being chosen was like icing on the cake.
“My most faithful student, do you recall Luna declaring your descendance from the royal Canterlot family?”
Twilight gazed down at the stone-cold floor, deep in thought. Suddenly, her head shot up in the princess’s direction. “Yes, princess, I do. But how can that be?”
“There are many descendants of the royal family, and the mark of descendance is something only an Alicorn can detect. I am not sure to whom you are descended from, but I felt your royal heritage the first day I laid eyes on you at that entrance exam.
Celestia once again stared up at the Incantus statue. "Only a member of the royal family can become an Alicorn. However, nearly all spend their entire lives as normal ponies without discerning it, very few branches know such as my nephew Prince Blueblood, who is emphatically not qualified. Only a very select few are considered qualified for the journey, and even fewer succeed. None, in fact, have succeeded since Luna and I claimed the throne, but I foresaw the potential in you as a filly, and you have accomplished far more than any other student I’ve had in centuries past. That is why Luna and I have concluded that you, Twilight, are truly ready.”
Twilight’s eyes grew wide, slowly beginning to understand. “Your majesty, are you saying you want me to join you and Princess Luna in Canterlot? To rule Equestria as an Alicorn? And I have to go on this journey in order to do so?”
“Yes, my student. One cannot simply ‘become’ an Alicorn, one must prove their worthiness. You must first embark on a quest, a sort of test to prove your worth. You must seek out a wellspring, one that shall grant a royal member the title of Alicorn should you discover its splendor.”
“Where can I find it? And do I have to do it alone? Oh, Princess, this is too much for me to handle!”
Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I know, my student. I recall feeling completely overwhelmed when Incantus delivered me the same revelation. But he wouldn’t have if he didn’t truly believe I was ready. The same goes for you, Twilight Sparkle.”
A small grin grew on the Unicorn’s face as she peered up at her mentor.
“‘Tis not a journey for the feeble-minded pony.”
Twilight and Celestia turned their heads to acknowledge Luna had approached them.
“Thou shalt face unimaginable physical and intellectual hardships whilst on your quest to find the Wellspring of Immortality, as I, my sister, and all other Alicorns did so long ago. We cannot reveal to thee the location, only point thee in the correct direction.”
“As much as I would like your way to be easy, everything my younger sister stated is true. I will be honest, Twilight, this journey will test you to the fullest of your abilities.” Celestia glanced over at Luna. “However, you may bring one companion to help you along the way. One that you feel will benefit you the most. In my case, that was my younger sister.”
Twilight stared up at Celestia, then over to Luna. “What direction? Why can’t you just tell me? Who should I choose? Are you saying whoever I choose will become an Alicorn like Luna did? How am I descended royalty?” Twilight placed her front hooves over her eyes. “I don’t know!”
Celestia cantered past the Unicorn in the direction of the exit. “Relax, my student. I believe this is enough information for today. More shall be revealed in the morning, after you divulge into dinner and a good night’s sleep.”
Without another word, Twilight nodded and followed Celestia past the statues again, before exiting the chamber. Luna, however, remained behind.
“Princess Celestia, what happened to all the other Alicorns?” Twilight asked as they ascended the stairs to the dormitories. “I thought they were immortal.”
Celestia stopped. Sorrow masked the princess's face, appearing as quickly as it was replaced with her subtle, usual tranquility. “That is not important at this moment, Twilight. It is a story for another time. Right now, you should be deciding who you believe should accompany you on the journey.”
That was one of many things that troubled the Unicorn at the moment. Whom should she choose?