The Alicorn Enigma

by Zobeid

Chapter Four: Correspondence

Twilight Sparkle retreated to her library home and took solace in her familiar habits. First she gathered all the history books she could think of that might shed some light on the origins and nature of alicorns. She’d pretty much read them all before, but she might have missed something — and besides, the mere act of gathering them together calmed her. Spike could tell she was upset about something, but she evaded his questions and asked him to fix some tea.

After Twilight had sipped her tea and skimmed through her books and was feeling better, she had Spike fetch some parchment scrolls and her quill and ink. Did she want the fountain pen, he asked? No. That newfangled, unreliable gadget was unworthy of correspondence with the princess. Did she want him to take dictation? No, not this time. This was personal. He took the hint and left her alone as she composed her letter to Princess Celestia.

She pondered. This would have to be carefully worded. She certainly didn’t want to relate the disastrous meeting at Derpy’s house — not in detail, at any rate. She began to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

This morning I learned that a strange an unfamiliar alicorn made an appearance here in Ponyville. I was both curious and somewhat a bit alarmed as I recalled the last time this had happened. After investigating, I learned that her name is Crystal Dawn. She quickly befriended Rarity quickly befriended her, and I gather that she hasn’t caused any trouble, nor does she seem inclined to. I remain very puzzled, though, as I wonder where she came from and what is her role in the scheme of things Equestria. Are you familiar with her? Anything you can tell me would

It has also occurred to me that I know very little about the origins of alicorns in general. I haven’t been able to find much in my history books written about the subject. I’m sure you are uniquely qualified to explain that to me — if it’s not a state secret too private, of course.

Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle

There. It was short and to-the-point. Most of all, the tone was calm and reasonable. There was no need to mention the ugly incident at Derpy’s house, after all. Twilight frowned and wondered briefly whether “uniquely qualified” might be taken as a slight toward Princess Luna. Then again, Celestia was the elder sister and therefore might logically be expected to know more about the subject; she would have already been around when Luna was born — or came from wherever it was that alicorns came from. Twilight looked at what she’d written and sighed as she realized she was over-thinking this.

Twilight then copied the letter, making a second draft without all the scratch-outs she’d managed to litter the original with. She rolled up the scroll, sealed it, and gave it to Spike.

With a green puff of dragon’s flame, the note was on its way to Canterlot. Twilight knew it would only take a few minutes to reach Celestia. The day was still young, so there was a good chance she’d get a reply in the afternoon if the royal schedule wasn’t too crowded. All Twilight needed to do now was have lunch and wait.

Lunch was okay. The waiting was not okay. Twilight paced. Then she read the parts of her history books that seemed to pertain, obliquely, to alicorns. Then she paced some more. Then she reread the same passages from her books, as if going over them again would cause something new to appear that hadn’t been there the first time.

She skimmed through basic history texts. Pony history was, by convention, divided into five eras: The Pre-Classical Era, The Classical Era, The Reign of Discord, the Renaissance, and the Modern Era. Unfortunately, the Reign of Discord had destroyed many records of earlier times, and information about them was fragmentary.

When had Celestia (in those times known as “Sola”) and Luna first appeared in the historical record? That was easy. They’d appeared — seemingly out of nowhere — to defeat Discord. As saviors of the land, and with any previous governing system of Equestria in tatters, they were offered queenly crowns by popular acclaim, and they had ushered in the Renaissance.

During the afternoon a few ponies came into the library to return books, or to look for some. Twilight forced a smile and helped them, but they could sense her agitation, and none felt inclined to stick around. Spike wanted to go outside and play for a while, but Twilight insisted that he stay close by.

After a while, to distract herself, she went upstairs and fiddled with the fountain pen some more, but her heart wasn’t in it, and she soon became even more frustrated with the gadget than she’d been before.

In the evening, after a listless supper, Spike finally belched up the awaited reply. Twilight eagerly seized the scroll with her magic and read…

---

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am pleased to read that you encountered Crystal Dawn. Yes, I am familiar with her, and I know her to be good-natured. As to her role in Equestrian society, she has chosen to lead a quiet life away from the limelight. I sometimes feel that her talents and potential are wasted, but that is her decision to make, and she seems contented.

As for the details of her history, I think it would be more fitting for you to hear those from Crystal herself. If she is still in Ponyville, I might suggest that making friends with her would be a good exercise for your ongoing studies in the Magic of Friendship. Although I know her to be wary of strangers, I am confident you can get her to open up.

Regarding your more general question about the origins of alicorns, honestly, I am surprised you never asked about this subject before. Although I must admit I have been evasive with historians, I would be pleased to relate the story to you, my faithful student. However, it is rather long and involved, and time does not permit me to include the tale with this letter. Perhaps we could meet the next time you visit Canterlot? It has been some while since you and I sat down for a face-to-face lesson, and I suspect you will enjoy this one.

HRH Celestia, dei gratia principissa, EQU:DEF

P.S.: If my script seems a a bit sloppy, I apologize. I’ve received a wonderful new invention, called a “fountain pen”, which holds a reservoir of ink inside and does not need to be continually dipped into an inkwell when writing. The nib is more firm than my familiar quills, and I am still getting used to writing with it.

---

Twilight read the (beautifully penned) letter with a sinking feeling. Then she read it again. “I don’t believe it!” she said, as Spike looked on. “A good exercise for my studies? But she hates me!”

Spike was shocked. “H-hates? What are you talking about?”

“I mean Crystal Dawn! This is awful… Now Celestia wants me to make friends with her, but I’ve already met her, and she hates me. I’ve… I’ve never flunked an assignment before it was even given to me before. What will the princess say when she finds out?”

“Twilight, calm down! I’m sure Crystal doesn’t really hate you. You must have got off on the wrong hoof…. somehow.”

Twilight took a deep breath, then looked at the letter again. “And what’s this? Time does not permit? I didn’t even get an answer about where alicorns came from.” She glanced at the wall calendar. “I wonder how soon I can manage a trip to Canterlot? But it would take a whole day by train, and I only have a couple of days to try and patch things up with Crystal. Gaaaah!”

Spike hmmed. “Hey, you need to make friends with Crystal Dawn, right? Who do you know who’s an expert on making new friends?”

Twilight gasped. “Pinkie Pie! I forgot all about her. She’s probably still looking for Crystal. Pinkie can be like my secret weapon. All I have to do is point her towards Crystal and follow along.” She glanced at the clock. “She’s probably back home by now…”

“Twilight, it’s late. Let’s take it easy tonight, okay? Crystal’s gonna be in town for the whole weekend, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Right… Okay, I’ll get a fresh start on this in the morning. At least now I have a plan. I’d better make a checklist for tomorrow!”

Author's Note:

I was just looking at my older stuff today and realized I had a partial chapter entered on this story for ages -- but never published. I checked my notes and found that I had a more complete version already written. So, here it is!

Bad news. . . I don't remember how this story ends! I started this back in the old days when I hadn't yet developed the habit of writing complete outlines for my stories -- and sometimes didn't even have an outcome in mind when I started them. (Which resulted in a lot of stories never getting finished.) So. . . If I ever do pick this up again, I'll have to re-invent it.