From what I understand, it isn't mentioned in the show just how Celestia and Luna came to be.

Is there actually some canon info I'm not aware of, or are the alicorns' true nature and origin completely obscure?

What are your thoughts?

1553004

They we're born alicorns, so they must have been born from alicorn parents...

1553004

There is absolutely none, as of yet. The S4 premiere might have something, as well as the Celestia/Luna microseries in the comics, but those aren't coming for a while.

1553026 But who were their parents?

1553004 They've been around as long as their respective celestial bodies as far as I know. That's why Luna is younger than Celestia.

In reality, I'm not sure.
I'm just assuming they were created as a way for the celestial bodies to communicate with regular ponies.

1553026

We actually don't know if they were both born alicorns. They could have both been made from a spell.

1553004
While I can't speak for anyone else, I consider this video so good that I've integrated most of it into my own headcanon. It's a pretty convincing tale, and might give you some ideas.

1553004

Not exactly canon, but this is one theory.

1553043

Lauren Faust said they we're born alicorns. Even, if the writers do something different I'll still think they we're born alicorns.

1553038 The theory I've been rolling with recently is that they're merely the children of the Gods, left behind to guide the world and the ponies with what guidance they can give and what powers they have. Of course there isn't one solid idea that is generally accepted, so it really depends on what story you want to tell and what appeals to you the most.

1553063 I like that theory.

In my head canon, it is because of this likelihood that alicorns can't be considered actual Gods or Goddesses themselves, but merely very powerful wizards, like Star Swirl the Bearded seemed to be.

1553110 And that is precisely the reason why I like the theory, because it allows me to sidestep the whole immense power dilemma. Celestia and Luna cannot simply enact godly feats like moving mountains and carving vast swaths through dense forests because they themselves have limits. The only reason they can move the sun and the moon like they do is because their parents granted them access to the large celestial bodies they had created when they departed.

Beyond that, it makes them more reasonable to use in lengthy fighting sequences, and the reader doesn't have to sit there and wonder why they don't just vaporize the poor creature already.

There is no canon for their origins.
If you want it so badly, I suggest waiting for Season 4.
Otherwise, I suggest you should avoid the topic at all times. There is no information to work on, thus even trying to build a backstory on it will backfire horribly as the show progresses.

1553004 Sex, that's where they came from.

1553004
All I have for a canon for their parents is this picture.

And I'm completely alright with that.

My head canon.

The tri-government of equestria was founded(Elements aren't discovered yet.).
Celestia & Luna were born as normal old unicorns during the tri-government.
Celestia & Luna get their cutie marks making them experts at raising & lowering the sun for the unicorn side faction of the tri-government.
Discord comes to equestria and demolishes the Tri-Government. (And during this time Sombra took over the Crystal Empire)
Celestia & Luna discover the elements of harmony within themselves(some friendship & magic, and sisterhood crap) they usurp Discord.
The Elements of Harmony transform Celestia & Luna into Alicorns. <- This seems believable right?
Ponies all over equestria (except Sombra) establish them as the leaders.
They build a castle in Everfree Forest.
Luna over time starts become jealous of Celestia before they went to go deal with Sombra.
Nightmare Moon, Celestia banishes her to the moon. The show happens a 1000 years later.

1553318 I actually used that very picture as the model for Tia and Luna's parents in my main story :

They look just like I imagined them to be. If the creators of the show ever reveal their parents, hopefully they will at least somewhat resemble this picture.

1553355

I have no answers about canon but I have answer. It's that they are actually Buddhas, enlightened leaders who achieve the status of royalty by mastering a skill or practice.

You should the story I'm writing about it

1553841 That actually would be close to canon. Faust herself had said that the title of princess is 'earned' rather than inherited, in Equestria.

1553004

Well, Hearth's Warming Eve suggests the sun and the moon were originally controlled by the unicorn tribe. It's not really historically viable but the story is curiously specific on that point and never even mentions alicorns. So it's probably safe to say Celestia and Luna were not around back when Equestria was founded.

One might speculate that at some point after the founding of Equestria, something happened to the unicorns that made them surrender their control over the day cycle, either against their will or voluntarily, at which point Celestia and Luna gained sole control over day and night respectively, establishing themselves as the immortal rulers of Equestria proper. Now, the context here suggests their mutual origin lies with the unicorns - even if they were really born as alicorns like Faust claims, it's highly likely their parents were unicorn royalty. They may even have been daughters or grand-daughters of Princess Platinum, depending on at which point after the founding this all went down. Regardless, the sisters obviously have some kind of connection to the unicorns.

It's also possible that the alicorn form is meant to be a symbol of pony unity, representing all three tribes at once. Given their history to together it wouldn't be strange if the pegasi and earth ponies objected to being ruled over by unicorns, whereas they could all respect alicorn rulers. I could see Celestia and Luna serving exactly that purpose.

There's probably some kind of truly epic story surrounding their birth and rise to power. Still, since we have absolutely nothing to go, it's all speculation.

1553004
Who knows how they came to be....but I bet Lauren knows!!

1554194 An epic story, I eventually aim to cover in a fic of mine.

Thanks for the insight!

I tend to favor the golem theory. Celestia and Luna were created to guide the sun and moon in a regular fashion, sparing the many unicorns from this task. So they are powerful, have indefinite lifespans, and completely heal from any non-fatal wound. They were not intended to actually rule or even have contact with regular ponies. Really, they are more the pony equivalent of the Hoover Dam or Panama Canal than some kind of divine being.

1553841
Sounds familiar. Bronycurious?

1554194

It's worth pointing out that prior to Magic Duel, the show used the term "unicorn" to refer to Celestia and Luna (in the first episode). So when they say the unicorns raised the sun and moon, they could well mean alicorns were doing it, but alicorns were considered part of the unicorn tribe. At the very least, the fact that the unicorns were the only tribe to have a royal line suggests that "Princess" Celestia and Luna were affiliated with it in some way that they did not share with the other tribes. Alternatively, it could be that at the time they took over the unicorn tribe had supremacy over the other tribes, thus the unicorn royal line was considered the rulers of all ponies.

And yeah, Celestia and Luna's origins are probably some of the most fanfic-rich depths to plumb in all of MLP.

1554557

The guy who does my Little Critiques? what about him?

1555182

1555182

He's saying you ripped that idea off of him.

1555253

Um, no I did not. I've seen a couple of videos of the guy's videos but I didn't know that he talked about that. The whole Buddha thought came from, well my own understanding of Hinduism and Buddhism. The guy we know as "Buddha" was Siddhartha Gautama. I think what most of the western world, and even most western Buddhist fail to realize is that Siddhartha never taught his followers about theology. So in a way, Buddhism is much more a life philosophy than traditional religion, in which the central tenant is enlightenment.

You see Buddha means teacher. So Siddhartha was merely a Buddha, not the Buddha. The parallel with MLP is Celestia, she's clearly the teacher figure. The similarity is pretty easy to see if you have a passing knowledge of eastern cultures.

But long story short, great minds think alike, and instances of shared opinion are not always intellectual theft.