It was cold this day, the briskness a mere continuation of the previous night's coolness. Princess Celestia once again found herself on her bedroom balcony, staring out across the city of Canterlot and the countryside beyond. Ponyville lied some distance out, the large hamlet visible only as a mass of buildings, the town hall and the apple farm the only distinctive landmarks visible.
It was at this moment that Celestia heard a scrape of iron on marble, turning to find her sister standing before her, as regal as she ever was. Her midnight blue coat shined a clean sheen, her mane flowing majestically. She had not yet donned her accessories, save for her shoes, and as such looked strangely naked. She stood proud and stoic, confidence radiating off her as sure as her mane radiated her beauty.
"It is quite cold today, my sister. Do you think it means anything?" Celestia asked, turning back to look out across the landscape. Her sister joined her at her side, a scent of lavender wafting from the dark alicorn. Despite the cool temperature the brightness of the day remained the same as ever, Luna shielding her eyes from the worst of it.
"I think it means the sun's going out" Luna flatly commented.
"Have the ponies who made this discovery been taken care of?" Celestia asked, looking at her sister. The dark twin returned her gaze, nodding. Such a thing was something that the two often did, when it came about that some particularly clever spawns of their race had ousted some fact that the rest of their race did not need to know.
"It was a classic; I went to them with a grim look upon my face, asked for them to turn over to me their data proving the coming catastrophe, and when they all turned their backs... I hear the moon's weather is lovely this time of year" Luna said with a wicked grin, looking into Celestia's eyes.
"Sister! How utterly depraved, and indeed a classic. Every time you deliver that line after performing a purge I cannot help myself but to laugh or grin. You are a little fright, my dear sister" Celestia jested, Luna tilting her head innocently.
"Oh sister, that one is not even the most creative one we've come up with. Remember the heart attack spell? The weather 'accidents'? Such delights" Luna declared, her grin never once faltering.
"Oh sister, we can revel in such things later. For now we have much important business to tend to. Please, send for Princess Cadance. It is time we told her the true nature of things; the natural order of our universe... And the true nature of Alicorns" Celestia said, Luna smartly nodding before turning, grabbing her articles and crown before shutting the door behind her.
Leaving Celestia to steel herself for what was to come.
Princess Cadance looked as graceful and regal as royalty should, but internally she was shivering. The cold was uncharacteristically intense, and Cadance's light coat did very little in absorbing what heat there was. Cadance had never felt right in her skin; like it was a particularly too small article of clothing one never grew accustomed to. Always constricting, always reminding one of how it was not right.
But as a Princess she had to grin and bear it.
Entering the royal palace Cadance was graced with refreshing warm air, the temperature raised to comfortable levels by the power of the court wizards. Cadance allowed herself to sigh in relief, abandoning her posterity for but a moment to enjoy the reprieve from the minor bite of the outside.
The warmth briefly turned to freezing cold, accompanied by the sound of iron striking marble. Cadance turned to find Princess Luna before her, the dark Alicorn's expression as emotionless and stoic as ever. Nevertheless, Cadance greeted her with cheer. "Auntie Luna! What brings you down here during the waking hours?" Cadance asked.
"Your presence is required" Luna flatly stated, turning back, indicating that Cadance follow her. The Princess of Love complied, falling in beside the Princess of the night. The two headed for one of the nearby staircases that ascended up all floors of the palace, Luna unreadable as ever. Cadance, for all her talent in identifying what other ponies were feeling, she could never much ascertain what other ponies were thinking. That talent had always been Luna's.
"It is a bit cold today, is it not?" Cadance asked as the two entered the stairwell, beginning to ascend the stairs. For a time Cadance believed that Luna would not reply, the elder Alicorn choosing to remain silent as she oft did, but after a few moments she offered her reply.
"It is. I much prefer it this way."
"Oh I'm sure. I bet this bright sunlight is difficult for you to bear, though. You ought to come out to the Crystal Empire sometime, it's always so lovely there. Always so breezy and just the right temperature. In fact, I know that Shining likes to--" Cadance was cut off by Luna, whom stopped and raised a hoof, turning to face the younger Alicorn.
"Please, my Blood" Luna started, using the archaic term Alicorns used to refer to each other, as they were all blood-related. "No more words. There is a grave matter we are to discuss."
Cadance paused, following when Luna began walking again. She mired over what the elder had said, a startling realization that Luna had silenced her when she brought up Shining Armor, and Cadance was struck with a panic. Equestria had just finished a war against another race known as the Fascist Felines, but there had been errant attacks by fanatical Felines against Equestrians, and Cadance feared Shining had been the victim of one.
"Is Shining...hurt? Is this about the war?" Cadance asked, fearful of what answer she might receive. The two reached a landing with a door, Luna pausing to open it, passing through the threshold with Cadance closely behind.
"No. Something worse."
This only served to worsen Cadance's fears, and she remained silent for the remainder of their trek. The Princess of Love recognized the hall as the private wing, where Celestia and Luna's bedrooms were located. These sacred rooms were something of a legend throughout the Empire, wild rumors abound of forbidden love and grandiose chambers as big as entire houses. Cadance put little stock in these rumors, but even she had her fantasies about what went on in the private bedrooms of Equestria's rulers, such was their mystique. She had only been in Celestia's room but a few times, and never in Luna's. When wild thought gave way to rationale Cadance figured that all that went on in their rooms was sleeping; the elder Alicorns were celibate, Cadance could sense that well enough.
Before long the duo had reached the double-doors to Celestia's room, the heavy oak solemn with a dark finish, two brass suns on each door. The brass had dulled with age, its once bright sheen rendered a sort of golden brown. Luna knocked politely, though already her magic gripped the doorknobs. From within the room came a muffled "come in", and Luna turned the knobs, pushing the doors open with a flick of her horn.
The chambers within were still as alien and mysterious as the day Cadance had first entered. It was like a foal seeing their parents' bedroom for the first time, that sense of not belonging never once dissipating. Cadance felt as wrong being in Celestia's room as she did in her own skin, yet never did she display this feeling. She smiled at Celestia, who tried to return the gesture, but looked as grim as she did beforehand.
"Come in, please. There are some things we must discuss" Celestia said, gesturing to the three large sitting pillows she had set out for the three. She took her place on one, as did Cadance, but Luna remained standing, halfway between her fellow Alicorns and the door.
"Auntie Celly, what's this all about? Luna told me this was not about the war, but rather something worse" Cadance questioned, regarding Celestia's face and gauging her expression. Try as Cadance might, it was unreadable, save for the troubled look in her eyes.
"Cadance, the things we are about to discuss with you are...delicate. Matters intended only for our ears, for those of the Alicorn blood. They are not to be shared with any other, not even those you trust. Even if it was somepony you'd pledged undying loyalty to, they are not to be told what you will hear today. These words are never to leave these chambers. Do you understand?" Celestia stated, her tone firm and serious.
Cadance nodded. "I understand, Auntie."
"No, you do not" Luna chimed in, suddenly behind Cadance, who looked over her shoulder at the dark Alicorn. "But you will."
"Our star is going out, Cadance. It's dying" Celestia said, drawing Cadance's attention back to her. Cadance was taken aback by this, the casual nature in which this revelation was dropped inappropriate for the disturbing nature of the revelation itself.
"I'm...sorry? Did I hear that right? The sun is dying? How? It's going to go supernova?" Cadance asked.
"No. It has not the mass nor energy to go supernova or even nova, but it's still going out. It has reached that point in its life where it hasn't much time left. It will burn off the last of its energy and go dark, becoming a silent ball of iron and rock in space. Night will reign supreme, the day never to return, and the temperatures will drop by hundreds of degrees. All life will die" Celestia explained.
Cadance was dumbfounded, science not being her strong suit, plus the bizarre calmness Celestia was explaining this coming doom in. "I...don't understand. How?" Cadance said.
"Our star is a white dwarf, aged long past its main sequence. It was just close enough to our planet to provide for life, and having no other nearby star to compare it to, or any extensive research into the field of astronomy, we never did notice that it was in such an advanced stage of life. We only just realized recently what will happen" Celestia told the younger Alicorn.
"What... What should we do?" Cadance inquired. For a time the two elders were silent, Celestia's face one of...doubt. As if she were unsure of what to say or how to say it. When Cadance turned to look at Luna, she found the dark Alicorn once again standing near the door, her face as unreadable as ever.
"That is where the matter becomes more complicated" Celestia finally answered, looking away at nothing in particular. Cadance regarded her Aunt, struggling to make sense of this. "Cadance...you are of the Alicorn blood. You represent the pinnacle of evolution, of intelligent life. But even you can fall pray to your emotions. The things I have just told you are grave matters, indeed, but are nothing compared to the truths you are about to learn. Do you understand? Do you remember what I said? Nothing is to leave this room."
"I... Yes, Aunt Celestia" was all Cadance could say.
"Do not call us 'Aunt' any longer, Cadance, for the first truth is that you are not my niece. You were not born to other parents. You were born to us" Celestia said.
"WHAT?!" Cadance yelled, "I'm yours and Luna's daughter?! How in blazes did that happen!?"
"No, you are our sister. Alicorns can have intercourse, Luna and I regularly do, and that is how you were conceived, but Alicorn intercourse is not like regular intercourse. Alicorns are solely female, and the details of conception are irrelevant, but the end result is that Alicorn spawn are not daughters, but sisters. You see, Alicorns do not need a partner to reproduce, we can both sexually and asexually reproduce. As such, Alicorn spawn are so genetically identical to their spawners that they are genetically-speaking sisters" Celestia explained.
Cadance took a moment to take all this in, the collective bombshell leaving her without her tongue. Her entire understanding of the Alicorn condition, the fact that she was not related to her parents at all, and that she had failed to detect that Celestia and Luna were not celibate all keeping her from finding her voice.
"So...if you don't need a partner to reproduce, then why do you do it anyway?" Cadance said.
"For aesthetic reasons. All Alicorns are nearly genetically identical regardless, so sexual reproduction has only one purpose; aesthetics. An Alicorn will consider their best genetic traits, coat color, mane color, and so on, will consider a potential mate's genetic traits and pick one based on what they will believe produce the most aesthetically-pleasing spawn. You were born to Luna and myself, that is why your coat is light colored, why your mane has dark streaks, and why your wingtips are tinted blue. That is why Alicorns choose to reproduce sexually" Celestia continued.
"As well as the obvious reasons" Luna commented.
"Yes of course, thank you, didn't need to know that!" Cadance exclaimed, deeply unsettled.
"Yes, you did, because it ties into the main part of the truths you must come to understand. In addition to Alicorns being able to produce Alicorns, we can create and shape life from nothing. This was the genesis of our species. We create everything, from cells and DNA structure, to the general physical template. Most often it's in our image, that is to say we create a species that looks like us, but sometimes we deviate. This pertains directly to something known to us as the Alicorn Ideology. In such that we consider ourselves the penultimate species, the pinnacle of evolution. As such we are Goddesses, and our goal is to create the perfect species, on the perfect planet. You know how old we are, yes?" Celestia asked.
"Of course" Cadance managed to say.
"No, you don't. We are much older than that. Much older" Celestia told her. "Nor is this our first planet, or its ponies the first ones we've ever created. Our ideology has driven us to create the perfect race, upon the perfect planet. It is what we believe we must do. We have not yet succeeded. We thought we had it this time, but the sun going out has precluded us from ever finding out if this iteration is perfect, and so the cycle must continue."
"'Iteration'? 'Cycle'? Wait, wait, let's go back; what are we going to do about the sun going out?"
"Nothing, for we do not control our respective celestial bodies. I do not control the sun, nor Luna the moon. We are not Princesses of the Day and Night, just as you are not a Princess of Love. That is how you failed to detect my sister and I's romantic and sexual involvement. That is not a power Alicorns possess. Every interaction pertaining to love you've had in the past has been a psychological effect. As such, there is nothing we can do to prevent the loss of this iteration and planet. There is, however, a means by which our species may continue" Celestia continued.
"My Heaven" Luna uttered.
"Indeed. This is the final truth, Cadance: My Heaven. You recall that I told you that this iteration was not the first species we created? And how this was not the first planet we've tried it on? My Heaven is our means to find another; it is a spaceship, of alien design, belonging to a now-extinct species known as the Haro. Before that we had a ship called the Starglimmer's Dream, before that another, and so on and so forth all the way back to the day Luna and I set out to fulfill the Alicorn Ideology."
"So, My Heaven is a spaceship? I presume we're going to put everypony in Equestria on it. and that's how we're going to continue our species?" Cadance questioned. She watched as Celestia and Luna looked at each other, before each turned their attention to Cadance.
"No. Nopony save for ourselves are going aboard My Heaven when it departs. The rest will be left behind" Celestia answered.
"What?! What do you mean? Why are we leaving everypony behind?! I don't understand..." Cadance protested, bewildered and offended by what Celestia had told her.
"Of course you do not, for you are a whelp! You do not understand the Ideology! The why of it! We are ALICORNS, sister Cadance. We are GODS! We have endured this cycle for countless millennium, so why would this one be any different? Why should we bring any save for ourselves along? They are lost; this iteration is lost, there is no point to save them" Luna declared.
"But what makes us more important than any of them?!" Cadance demanded. "Why are WE the only ones who will survive while the rest will be left to suffer a cold, slow death?!"
"Because we are Alicorns, sister. None other matter. Only we have the means to continue our species, the rest would be dead weight, consuming resources without contributing anything to the propagation of our species" Celestia explained.
"But, they could still reproduce like normal. We could fit enough aboard the ship to create a deep enough gene pool so as to prevent genetic stagnation" Cadance countered, Celestia shaking her head.
"Such a process would be too slow. A gestation cycle takes nearly a year, plus there's the 15-20 years a foal is dependent upon their parents for survival. That's 20 years of consuming resources without putting anything back in. We can create thousands of ponies at once, thousands of fully-grown adults, complete with memories and experiences so as to make them seemingly normal ponies. Thousands of instantaneous workers contributing to the building of society. Such a thing far benefits our species as a collective than the individuals themselves" the Princess of the day told Cadance.
"I...don't know what to say. You're telling me that millions are going to die in...how long before the sun goes out?" Cadance asked.
"Six years" Luna replied.
"SIX YEARS!?! Wha-, WHY?! Millions are going to die in six years, and you're telling me that their deaths are the natural order of things? That us three can all just...FLY away into outer space and recreate our species instantly through the flick of a horn and live like nothing's ever happened?! That it'll all be alright?!" Cadance shouted.
"Of course. We've done it thousands of times before. Countless number of iterations of our species created, lived, and lost while we left to restart somewhere else. Such is the cycle. This is how it's been since sister Celestia and I left our homeworld to begin this process" Luna casually stated.
"This... This is insane... I...think I understand now... Six years is a long time to keep a secret, though" Cadance said.
"We won't be sticking around for those six years. We'll stay for another few years and then leave on My Heaven. You won't have to keep your lips sealed long. I know the loss of your first iteration can be difficult, emotional attachments being difficult to detach from, but you will get used to it. Or we'll get it right next time and we'll never have to endure the loss of another iteration ever again. At any rate, we will live, and that is the ultimate goal of the Alicorn Ideology" Celestia said.
Cadance was disturbed, and more than a little afraid, of her Aunt--Sisters--now. She rose from the sitting pillow, the elder Alicorns watching her in unison. "OK... OK. Is that all?" Cadance asked. Celestia and Luna nodded, Celestia rising in turn.
"I will see you out."
Celestia and Cadance walked to the door, the young Alicorn's eyes never once leaving the floor. She paused as the doors opened, the hallway beyond inviting in the wake of the terrible things Cadance had just learned. She turned to face Celestia, finding both of the elder Princesses standing before her side-by-side, their faces expressionless.
"Remember what we have told you, child; let the words you have heard in this room never leave it" Luna warned, closing the door in Cadance's face, the younger Alicorn having not even realized she had passed through the threshold. Cadance turned down the hallway towards the stairwell, her face pale, struggling to figure out how she was supposed to ignore her conscience.