The Royal Equestrian Family

by Loyal

An interview with the Princess

Perking his quill, Paper Prose raised an eyebrow at the princess seated across from him, arching an eyebrow to punctuate his question.

"Princess, are you ready to begin?" He asked softly. Celestia heaved a sigh that Prose could have sworn would move the heavens themselves.

"As ready as anypony can be for something like this, I suppose..." Her tone was melancholy, the sort of low sadness that would have broken a lesser pony's heart. Giving a slight nod, the star reporter for the Canterlot Observer set quill to paper and began...

BREAKING NEWS! INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCESS!

In a chance interview with Canterlot royalty, our very own Paper Prose was allowed the opportunity of a lifetime. On the evening of July 6th, 7443, Princess Celestia agreed to a chance interview with press sources all across Equestria about the recent crisis that nearly swept the nation by storm. The Canterlot Observer has the inside fix on the entire interview, and has released the notes for all to read, faster than any other news publication. In response to what was quickly developing to be a national crisis, Princess Celestia promised to answer any and all questions regarding the rumor of a fourth alicorn, said to be related to the Royal Equestrian Family. The alicorn, who sources indicate waStory continued on 4A->

Twilight Sparkle heaved a sigh and lifted the pages with a thin thread of magic, rolling her eyes as the paper settled open on the target page. "Honestly," She huffed. "This is why I hate periodicals..."

"What was that, Twi?" Spike called from below.

"Oh nothing, just reading the paper." Spike padded up the stairs onto the balcony Twilight was seated on.

"Really? I thought you hated papers."

"Oh, I do, don't get me wrong. But when I went to go pick up breakfast this morning, I spotted this headline. I just had to investigate." Spike lifted a corner of the paper to read the cover.

"Wow, really? As much as you hated papers, I'd have figured Princess Celestia would hate them more."

"I know, right?" Twilight said, smiling up at the adolescent dragon. "I need a drink if I'm going to keep reading. Why don't you catch up, and I'll read the rest out loud for you?" Twilight quickly went down the stairs, pouring a glass of hay juice as fast as she dared without spilling. Putting the bottle back in the fridge, she rejoined Spike, who appeared to be reading the last lines of the header. Printed underneath it was a picture of the Princess, seated across from what looked to be a dozen reporters with notepads, with even more cameraponies in the background.

"Interesting. Here, go on and read for me, then." Twilight took the extended paper and hovered it in the air before her, flipping pages to where she wanted to be.

"Ahem. So..."

s seen walking freely through the Canterlot gardens on July 2nd. The source of the rumor, Garden Pony Earthen Hedge, was working in the Canterlot garden on the afternoon of the 2nd when he saw what appeared to be an alicorn walking freely about through the Princess' private garden. Reportedly, Earthen Hedge confronted the individual, and was assaulted by a visage so dark and terrifying he left screaming. Witnesses report Earthen Hedge was yelling incoherently and causing quite a stir among the palace staff. It was then Princess Celestia intervened, and explained it was her brother out for his quarter-century stroll. More hysteria followed as word began spreading about a fourth alicorn, related to the princesses, and the situation quickly grew out of hoof as authorities with the Royal Canterlotian Guard were unable to bring order to rioting hordes of ponies filling the streets of Canterlot. Princess Celestia reportedly cast a spell calming everypony involved, explaining she would reveal all in an interview with the press within the next few days. What follows is said interview.

Q: "Paper Prose for the Canterlot Observer, asking a forum of questions submitted by authorities, my fellow members of the press, and concerned citizens across Equestria. Princess, rumor has it this fourth alicorn is related to you and Princess Luna. Is that true?"

A: "Indeed, the rumors on that front are true. Dark Conquest, the 'fourth' alicorn spotted that afternoon, was indeed brother to Princess Luna and myself. I will say now, however, that despite his appearance, our brother means Equestria no harm. There was a point in time when our world was held in his hooves, and very nearly succumbed to the madness our brother holds deep within himself. However, this is something Princess Luna and I have well in hoof, and while it was a threat thousands upon thousands of years ago, it is no longer a concern today."

Q: "You said your brother, Dark Conquest, once meant Equestria, and indeed, the entire world harm. How so?"

A: "It is a rather long and somewhat depressing story long ago in Equestria's history, so for the sake of the article I will attempt to keep this short as possible." The Princess appears to be collecting her thoughts at this time. "Dark Conquest is a member of the Royal Equestrian Family, an order that has ruled all of Equestria and long, long ago, helped shape the world into what it is today. Originally, there were two members of this family. King Chronos and Queen Gaia. Together, they breathed life into the world and used powerful magic beyond comprehension of even myself. There were several key elements to the world still missing, however, so they created the eldest brother and sister known to the Royal Family. Prince Solaris, and Princess Luminescence. They were the third and fourth alicorns.

"Time passed and as the world grew, more and more members of the Royal Family were created or born of the romance between all members present. As popular scientific theory goes to show, inbreeding yields offspring that are prone to genetic defects. However, since they are alicorns, and the most powerful amongst all the Royal Family, King Chronos and Queen Gaia would oversee pregnancies and creations. However, the seventeenth alicorn, a mare named Princess Rose, was a very talented liar and used her own powerful magic to conceal her pregnancy at the hoof of the fifth alicorn, Prince Tobias. She bore a child, my brother, Prince Dark Conquest. King Chronos quickly learned of it, but by the time he was able to discover the location of Princess Rose, Dark Conquest was fully-grown and his own magic in place. King Chronos was powerful, but he could not change that which he had wrought with his own magic after it had set. He tried everything possible, but could not change Dark Conquest's destructive ways. Seeing his failure, the other Royal Family members lost heart and gave up on stopping Dark Conquest.

"Alone, my brother raged across the land, unchecked and unheeded, destroying everything in his madness. It was myself and Princess Luna who finally stopped our brother, quelled his destructive tendencies, and locked him away in the caverns deep beneath where Canterlot now lays. King Chronos, seeing the two of us succeed where he himself had failed, granted my sister and I rulership over a new land, Equestria, and instructed the two of us to foster a land full of peace and happiness, to offset the madness my brother still battles with to this day."

Q: "My goodness, that's an awfully dark story... I trust everything turned out okay, as Equestria, and indeed the entire world, still stands?"

A: "Dark as it is, every cloud has silver lining. As any Pegasus will agree with me, it's quite tasty. Dark Conquest remains locked beneath the caverns, but King Chrona tasked me with not only keeping the world safe from his madness, but attempting to cure him of it as well. As such, we agree to let Dark Conquest walk the castle gardens once every quarter century, to get some fresh air and see the good in the world. A world he nearly destroyed. Over the millenia, Dark Conquest is but a shadow of his former self, a echo of the madness that once tainted his every movement. He enjoys poetry, crunchy hay fries, and hoofbiscus flowers."

Q: "An interesting development! But, the general public still only believes the existence of three alicorns. Yourself, Princess Luna, and the recently wed Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Exactly how many members of the Royal Equestrian Family are there? And what do they do, respectively?"

A: "All-in-all, there are Twenty-three members of the Royal Equestrian Family. And, hard as this may be to absorb, we are all tasked with one monumental quest or another. I suppose I should list them in order, then..." Princess Celestia listed every known member of the Royal Equestrian Family, the list is included in the table below.

Twilight flicked a gaze to a table of names and tasks listed beneath the article, which she noted was sadly coming to a close. Less than half to go.

"What do they all do?" Spike asked, piping up from his seat opposite Twilight at the table. Twilight took a sip of hay juice and opened her mouth to start listing them off, but just adjusted so she and Spike could read together.

"Here, it's this table down here... It looks like it's just their order of birth or creation, and their task... If they have one..." She said, tapping the paper with a hoof.

1. King Chronos- Unknown

2. Queen Gaia- Unkown

3. Solaris- Sun

4. Luminescence- Moon

5. Tobias- Knowledge

6. Melancholy- Sadness

7. Ephemira- Magic

8. Brittany- Kindness

9. Polly- Laughter

10. Jacob- Loyalty

11. Michael- Honesty

12. William- Generosity

13. Comitatus- Brotherhood/Sisterhood

14. Sophos- Strength

15. Imoheen- Mischief

16. Aqua- Water

17. Rose- Secrecy

18. Dark Conquest- Madness/Hatred

19. Celestia- Sun Escort

20. Luna- Star Escort

21. Mi Amore Cadenza (Cadence)- Love

22. Ebbon- Unknown

23. Unknown- Unknown

"Isn't that something?" Spike mused once they finished reading over all the Royal Family members and their duties. "Some of them are kind of vague, though... It says Celestia's duty is 'Sun Escort,' what d'you think that means?" Twilight nibbled her bottom lip in thought.

"I'm not sure. Hang, on there's more. Ahem."

Q: "That's a very long list. I'm sure nopony was expecting so many members of the Royal Family. Is there a reason this information hadn't been made available before?"

A: "Alas, Princess Luna and I are somewhat ashamed of our family... You see, there are several members who thrive on conflict and enjoy making lives miserable in general. That, and the secret of Dark Conquest, well... We tried to keep it secret, but everypony deserves to know how the world was created, I suppose."

Q: "You mentioned your duty was 'Sun Escort' and Luna's was 'Moon Escort.' While Solaris' merely said 'Sun' and Luminescence's was 'Moon.' That, and six of the princes and princesses were labeled as the same elements of harmony that have been wielded to protect Euqestria in the past. Is there an explanation for all this?"

A: "Your question is an excellent one. Each alicorn represents a powerful form of magic, or some timeless part of the world that has been around since the beginning of time. Now, this may be hard to grasp, but alicorns come in all different forms. Some, not as obvious as others. To answer the first portion of your question, I will say this much. Prince Solaris is TECHNICALLY the sun. Princess Luminescence is TECHNICALLY the moon. Solaris and I were close, so in addition to safeguarding Equestria, I assist him across the sky. Luna and Luminescence were good friends, so Luna helps her rise at night and light the land while Solaris and I sleep. My three aunts and three uncles stand for the Elements of Harmony themselves. Every time somepony laughs, Polly is strengthened. Every act of kindness keeps Brittany alive. Loyalty keeps Jacob's heart beating strong, and Michael thrives in truth. Acts of generosity are what keep William alive and sane. Ephemira, the eldest of those six siblings, is alive in every pulse and breath of magic that fills the whole of the world, and ties them all together into the Elements of Harmony."

Q: "That's very surprising, indeed... There was that, and the last two you mentioned, Prince Ebbon, and your unkown sister, what do they do?"

A: "Ebbon is a fledgling alicorn, recently born six short centuries ago. Speculation has it he was created to tame the dragons, but I cannot say for sure. As for my little sister, well... I do not know her name or her task yet, so I cannot say. Just know that Princess Luna, Princess Cadence and myself are the three youngest of the entire Royal Family. Mind you, each of us has weathered at least six millenia. Myself, well... I turn 7,552 in a month. By Equestrian standards, mind you... King Chronos... We don't have a number for how old he is."

Q: "I see. Well, this entire interview has been truly insightful, Princess. However, the fear is still in everypony's minds... You are certain that Equestria is in no danger?"

A: "I can assure the press, and all of my faithful subjects, Dark Conquest is no threat to Equestria or our way of life. In fact, in another two decades, I would hope the next gardener would be courageous enough to strike up a conversation with my elder brother."

"Is that it?" Spike asked as Twilight turned the page and scanned the other assorted stories.

"I guess so..." Huffing, she closed the paper and left it on the table as she stretched. "That was certainly... Interesting." She muttered, cracking her neck.

"I'll say! I never would have imagined there were other princes and princesses! I wonder why we never get to see them..."

"Well, as the story said, Spike." Twilight ruffled his head spines playfully, laughing as he swatted at her hoof. "The other princes and princesses might not exist in the form we think they do. Think about it." She lifted the paper with magic and hovered the periodical in front of his face. "You just saw Princess Ephemira. And if I'm not mistaken, every time you take a bath, you're surrounded by Princess Aqua." She sniffed the air and crunched her muzzle at what she discovered.

"Oh, no... Don't tell me..."

"Smells like some little dragon needs to visit Princess Aqua as is." Spike groaned and slid off the stool he had been sitting on. "Come on, baby dragon. Go take a bath then help me out with my letter to the princess."

"Aww... Do I hafta?" She nudged him with a hoof, smiling at the sad look she got in return.

"'Fraid so, little guy." Spike trudged off as Twilight turned to look back at the paper. One though kept nagging her, though...

Secrecy? Sadness? Mischief? Madness? Just how safe IS Equestria?

Comments

[Obsidian]

Interesting, but I think it needs to be expanded upon. As a oneshot, it lacks any sort of 'punch' or gravitas. Could be an interesting experiment in world-building, but still, a bit lacking. Plenty of unanswered questions to boot.

[Zytharros]

Hmm. Intriguing. May have to add those names to my head canon.

[BarrenBaron]

i was kind of expecting at the end

"oh the last alicorn listed? Lets say she's VERY close to me "

[Saveer]

Hmm... is Twily little princess unknown? Or am i guessing wrong?

[SPart]

more good than bad in Equestria... what could happend ? hehe
great read

[Alaxsxaq]

Always good to read a mythology story. I really think you should turn this into an epic or something.

[Loyal]

902607>>901897>>901793>>901779>>901772>>901771
I wrote this story when I was supposed to be asleep...
Just like I'm writing this reply when I'm REALLY supposed to be sleeping...
So it may be a little harebrained, and was originally intended to be much longer.
In fact, I may turn this into a full story, much like I did with "Rainwater Martini"
But I normally write clop (See my other, more extensive works) so... Yeah... First and one shot for many things. Like absence of sex.

[SPart]

902788
haha wellcome to the club than @.@ hope rainwater martini is a bit higher on the priorty list

[Ninja_Scootaloo]

So wait.. when twilight is using her element of magic, shes basicly the key to releasing Ephemira?

Great world building! I enjoyed reading this.

[FlimFlamBros.]

i like it! wouldn't mind seeing this expanded a little but don't stress yourself over it
it was great and Conquest would approve (not sure how he feels about being rehabititated)

[ICCUWAUSIMTOI]

Um... "genetic defaults"?

How about "genetic defects".

[Loyal]

903197
Technically, Ephemira exists in all the magic across all of the world. She's embodied in the element of Magic, but exists in every spell, every bit of levitation, in everypony's heart, mind, and soul.
903990
Dammit, you're right I'll fix that. Thanks for pointing it out.

[ICCUWAUSIMTOI]

905714

You're welcome.

[KartalTheWriter]

Very interesting concept. Definitely expand on it, but maybe in a different story. Let this one be a sort of detatched prologue.
In the list, it says Luna is the 'Star Escort' but later it calls her the 'Moon Escort'.

[Loyal]

908068
I had a line of reasoning for this... But I can't remember what it was...
OH!
Luna also guides the stars across the sky... And the moon is... Kind of close to a star? I guess? I can't remember exactly why I put star/moon instead of just keeping them the same... Grr.

[midnight thinker]

oddly reminiscent of the lore of the elder scrolls in addition to the greek pantheon

[Loyal]

945762
I draw a lot of inspiration from greek mythology. Perhaps not directly, but I'd like to think there is an alicorn or "Royalty" assigned to everything that is timeless and true throughout Equestria.

[Marching Thunder]

This would be a really, really good story if expanded beyond this. Also, I could see this becoming a Twilacorn story like expectations or such and it could be very, very good.

If such was the situation, would Twilight be the Alicorn of the Stars? the sun and moon are represented and they have escorts, but the stars aren't represented. Also, if romance was added, whomever was Twilight's companion would be her Escort eventually. I'd love to just blab some more ideas on how this could come to be if you were interested.

[Loyal]

980114
The idea is buzzing about in my head, and I very well may expand on it in the future. However. I'm suffering behind a bit of a block, and quite a few requests for my other work as well. I know where I would like to go with this story, and I've got it noted, so I needn't worry about losing the idea. But I won't re-visit this for a while.

[Marching Thunder]

980150
Oh, alright. I do think this one does deserve some more attention thoguh, it has so much potential.

[Loyal]

980299
I've an idea with a story I actually wrote a while ago. It involves Luna's sentence on the "Moon," and another, younger Alicorn. It, too, is written down, and will more than likely be addressed in the future. I'll get around to it, just not very soon is all.

[Marching Thunder]

980315
That sounds really good too. I've just got a special love for Twilacorn stories.

[Loyal]

980355
Alas, Alicorns are made or born, not shaped from ponies who exist. While I hold a certain place in my heart for Biologic Orthodoxy's Field Notes series, I won't be making Twilacorn stories. Well... Maybe a separate story in the future, but yeah... Not this time, I'm afraid.

[Marching Thunder]

980360
XD but this one leaves such a good foundation! And if they're made, why not make them out of a pony? Or a golem as Twilight has been known to be on occassion.

[Loyal]

980372
It's... Well, the King and Queen in the story forge alicorns from nothing but pure magic. As such, they're both incredibly rare and take centuries to even complete making. Realistically, Twilight would die in the process of being converted to an Alicorn. If not for the intense magics pulling her body, her very soul, apart and re-piecing it together, she'd pass from old age at the time it'd take. Celestia is (What'd I say, 8k years old?) And she's still REALLY young for an Alicorn. A child, really.

[Marching Thunder]

980393
True but Twilight is the element of magic thus a raw conduit for magic. Second Celestia said the unnamed one was so new she didn't even know anything about the alicorn other than that it exists. So what if Twilight was that Alicorn plopped down in a different form until she reached some sort of milestone/trigger.

Celestia I feel like I'm being rude even if I was enjoying this discussion, tell me if you don't want to keep this up.

[Loyal]

980409
*Shrug* I don't think it matters.
Twilight may be a user of the element of magic, but she isn't the element itself. That would be (Insert princess name here, I'm too lazy to scan the chapter for it) so... Yeah... Twilacorn fics are awesome, and I love them, but this isn't one of them.

[Marching Thunder]

980415
*Huffs in disappointment* Oh fine, no Twilacorn story. I still make my point that this is a good way to start one, even if I was slightly incorrect about the elements of harmony.

[Loyal]

980432
*Shrug* No issues. Ever since I read Field Notes on Alicorn Reproductive Behavior, I've been picking at the idea of writing one. I'm still toying with the idea, but I don't have anything substantial yet.

[Iroh]

Hay juice... I imagine that isn't very refreshing

Lol, you used tobias... for knowledge

I'm with everyone else in that this could be a story if you write it out a bit and, you know, add a plot.

This can be a "Twilacorn" story, if nothing else, because we all know that Twilight is overpowered, and does whatever the fuck she wants too

so yeah, I would like to read more... but I want a sexy changeling war first
(that line - if I were to say it anywhere but the internet - would make me seem less than sane)

[Loyal]

1147168
This, along with the follow-up to Rainwater Martini, are like...
At the BOTTOM of my priority list.
Honestly, I just put it out there so I'd have it down somewhere. A reference, of sorts. I wrote this at 10AM, which is WAY past my bedtime, after a long, long shift...

[Xanderfox]

Just read this, guess we now who who Alicorn 23 is eh?

[Hellpony]

2063790 No. As in Melody's Tales, Twi could be the physical incarnation of Ephimra.

[Raichu]

I knew Equestria was dangerous. Nice story.

[an1979]

Quite nice idea.

Nitpick:

King Chronos, seeing the two of us succeed where he himself had failed, granted my sister and I rulership over a new land,

- my sister and me

And maybe one or three fewer "myself(s)" ...