Ink Blot's Unassorted Encyclopedia of Absolutely Everything

by Nevlamas

History of Equestria: The Alicorns

Exactly a century after the three races’ arrival in the alien lands of Equestria, three very remarkable children were born into the world. Everything about them made clear they were special. To begin with, the three of them all had parents of different races. The idea of inter-racial marriage was a novelty to the ancient Equestrians, and rarely practised. At the same time (looking back), it is no surprise that the Elements of Harmony would have picked such shining examples of unity as their chosen ones. In the end, things happened the only way they could have.

All three children were born on the same day, the centenary of the first Hearth’s Warming Eve, but at different hours. The first stepped into the world at noon, when the sun was at its zenith, out in some small earth walker settlement. Her mother was a gardener’s wife, her father a pegasus warrior. The second followed at dusk, when day and night were in perfect equilibrium, and he would be the only male among them. He was son to a unicorn scholar who brought him forth in her study in Canterlot, with his father, an earth walker merchant, watching over them. The last of the three was born at midnight. Her mother was a citizen of Cloudsdale and it was there that she was born, the full moon shining in her eyes. Her father had been some unicorn guard in Canterlot, an affair that both parents had kept a secret for as long as they could.

Yet all three children had one thing in common: they bore the traits of unicorns, pegasi and earth walkers all at once. They were alicorns.

Their appearance turned Equestria upside down. The brightest minds of all the land were soon studying the infants in Canterlot, whereto their frightened parents had brought them. Accusations of infidelity and foul sorcery were raised, but one gaze upon the newborn children would always suffice to quiet such slander. They radiated Harmony. Even in the crib, they seemed so inexplicably dignified that visitors would often report feeling the urge to kneel down before them. As they grew, so did that effect. And so did their power.

Where unicorn children would learn to lift pebbles at the age of seven, the alicorn siblings could move entire buildings with their minds. Twinkle Star, who had succeeded Clover the Clever as royal advisor, taught them the most complex spells she knew, and they mastered them within the hour. The old wizard would often be heard remarking how keen of mind they were, how mild of temper and wise far beyond their years. Truth is, despite an army of scholars observing them day and night, the three of them had always been the only ones who really understood what they were. The eldest, Celestia, was quickly shaping out to become their leader. The others followed her and listened to her advice, and she cared for them like any big sister would. It is remarkable how easily the three of them came to see each other as siblings, despite having no physical relation whatsoever.

Then came the day of their rite of passage. Every culture had its own practice of passing children on to adulthood; now the alicorn siblings belonged to neither of those cultures, but were raised amongst unicorns in Canterlot. Unicorns initiated their children through their own ancient duty: it fell upon their race to combine their magic at every dawn and every dusk to raise the sun and moon accordingly. Before partaking in the ritual, every child would be taught the spell to then perform it in front of the entire community, proving that they had mastered it. Only then would they be considered adults.

Celestia was, as ever, the first to be tested. The people of Canterlot had come together to see her, and the streets around the Twilight Plaza were packed with onlookers. An hour before scheduled dawn, she called forth her magic and summoned the spell. No other unicorn had had wings before, so it was quite a sight to see her rise from the ground as her invocation grew in power. Then, to the utter shock of anyone who paid witness to it, the sun began to rise in the east.

All hell broke loose. Some where accusing the alicorn of trickery, some were accusing each other, some were too confused to make any sense of what had happened at all. In the commotion, it took a while until anyone noticed the undeniable proof that there had been no deception: Celestia had gained her mark, and it showed the sun in plain sight. The alicorns had been known to be powerful, but this was beyond all imagination. Incredulous, Twinkle Star ordered Celestia to lower the sun again, which she did without effort.

Luna stepped up while the unicorns were still gaping at her sister. Ever the graceful, she ascended into the sky and raised the sun for the second time in less than a minute. Yet she struggled with the spell, nearly failed to finish it, and her mark would not show. Still, she had done the impossible – and as it seemed, it wasn’t even her destiny. The onlookers were almost grateful when Melody, the third of the alicorns, failed to follow the example of his sisters.

Yet when the night came, and Luna earned her mark by raising the moon, it was Celestia who in turn could not do the same as easily. Yet Melody once again could not manage to keep up with either, and his mentors began to worry. Most likely disharmony touched him for the first time then – the taste of failure on his lips, being branded the lowest of alicorns.

Comments

[Normal]

Yet again in this chapter I have to point out you use words that are spelled similarly but mean different things. Retro perspective and there for example.

[Nevlamas]

2628247 Do so, do so, your help is appreciated.