Cadence Unbridled (Sections 1 & 2)

by Flikaline

Alicorn History

Alicorn History

‘There weren’t always alicorns.’ Celestia began.

Cadence looked up.

‘Alicorns had a purpose for coming into being,’ Celestia continued, ‘the first alicorns were born to unicorn couples who had great ability and good hearts. They were special, often referred to as the ‘chosen ones’ in the early days, but like you, Cadence, they were all mortal. Their purpose didn’t become clear until a few generations of them had come and gone.’

‘Why did it take a few generations?’ Cadence asked.

‘Great ability and a good heart isn’t necessarily all that is required,’ Celestia replied, ‘there are other things that only time could tell if they and their offspring had.’

‘What like?’ Cadence inquired.

‘Like working out how best to use their powers, many of the early alicorns did not pass their alicorndom onto their foal because they allowed their abilities to corrupt their good hearts or they used their powers selfishly and refused to help other when they could easily. Alicorns also had to adapt over a few generations to become immortal. At first, they didn’t realize they were immortal at all. It took a while. Once there were a good number of immortal alicorns, unicorns became unable to produce mortal alicorns, never mind immortal ones.’

‘Why was that?’ Cadence wondered out loud.

‘It was just nature’s way,’ Celestia explained, ‘there were enough of us, if unicorns continued to produce alicorns, even if it took generations for their offspring to become immortal, there would have become too many of us, because an immortal alicorn death was so rare, and of course, we can produce more immortal alicorns by breeding among ourselves or promoting unicorns worthy of joining us.’

‘So what was the purpose?’ Cadence asked, ‘And what’s this about unicorns becoming alicorns?’

‘To preserve knowledge, great amounts of it over time, which could be then used to help ponykind,’ Celestia told her, ‘that was the purpose. You must understand, Cadence, that alicorns were brought into being for the benefit of all other ponies. There were all different types of pony life being brought about through adaptation at this time too.’

After a few moments, Celestia began to answer Cadence’s second question.

‘It is incredibly rare for an unicorn to become an mortal alicorn, there have only been a couple since the beginning that have then progressed onto being made immortal,’ Celestia said, ‘it is most common for a unicorn like this to be the offspring of an immortal alicorn, but even then it is an amazing feat. If the unicorn is not the offspring of an immortal alicorn, then they will be the offspring of two unicorns, that, at the beginning, would have been able to produce mortal alicorn foals. In both cases, the unicorn will be destined to become an alicorn, and play their part in making the world a better place for ponies.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Cadence murmured, ‘if a unicorn is destined to be an alicorn, why weren’t they just born as one in the first place?’

‘Maybe this is a bit beyond you at your age,’ Celestia responded, ‘but I’ll try to explain. You were meant to be an alicorn from the start, or you wouldn’t have been born one. Some ponies have no real destiny besides what their cutie mark is telling them, (You may have noticed yourself that someponies’ cutie marks are more specific than others?) and it won’t really impact a large amount of ponies what they do, presuming they don’t become malcontents, but for those ponies that do have a specific destiny it does matter greatly. A unicorn, who is destined to become an alicorn, did not have everything required from the day they were born. There are many ways for such a unicorn to become an alicorn, it may require them to study, learn specific things or become a more rounded pony overall, for example.’

Something had just struck Cadence.

‘Auntie Tia, you keep referring to unicorns rather than ponies,’ Cadence said, ‘is that because . . ?’

‘Anypony can physically be made into a mortal alicorn, but it can be very dangerous if it is the wrong time and especially if it was never meant to be.’ Celestia explained, ‘Your mother made that mistake with your father.’

Cadence stared.

‘She suspected that the three of you were in danger to a certain extent from near your birth,’ Celestia went on, ‘being inexperienced, and not really knowing much about it, she turned your father into a mortal alicorn, thinking it might lessen the danger you were in. It was a terrible mistake, a pegasus can never become a true alicorn, though they can survive the transformation, unlike earth and prairie ponies. It’s quite simple why it can never be, magic is a skill you’re born with, the skill and control cannot be transferred, unlike a pair of wings, which are essentially are some extra muscles, bones and feathers. Non magical ponies may be able to handle a spell which has nothing to do with unicorn magic, but no more, unless they also happen to be part sky pony but that almost never happens as sky ponies hardly ever marry somepony who isn’t also a sky pony. Your father simply couldn’t handle or control the magic he had been given.’

‘Are there any unicorns who are likely to become alicorns around now?’ Cadence inquired.

‘Well, there might be. I have made mistakes in the past, thinking somepony had it in them but they lacked something they couldn’t get hold of but I think you know of a unicorn who was meant to be but had her destiny interrupted.’

Cadence thought for a moment.

‘True Star?’ Cadence said hesitantly. Celestia nodded.

*

‘Does becoming an alicorn always hurt?’ Cadence asked Dusk, ‘I mean, Auntie Tia told me that earth and prairie ponies can’t survive it.’

‘No,’ her grandpa replied kindly, ‘it only hurts if it was never meant to be.’

‘What other types of pony are there, Grandpa?’ Cadence inquired, ‘Can any of them become alicorns?’

‘Well, Cadie,’ Dusk said, ‘sky ponies can’t be because they have magical ability and can fly already, although it relies on their small amount of magical ability, also because both of these skills work in a different way from a pegasus or a unicorn. Prairie ponies, as you mentioned, can’t, they can do magical stuff with potions and stuff very well but nothing beyond that. Flutter ponies can fly but can only do a small amount of magic with the aid of their ruler, who is known as a fluttercorn, as she has flutter pony wings and a unicorn’s horn, but she is the offspring of Silver Swirl so she’s probably one of a kind.’

‘Who’s Silver Swirl?’ Cadence asked curiously.

‘I’ll have to explain what a diamond pony is first,’ Dusk said with a laugh, ‘Silver Swirl was the only foal of the Immortal One but is part diamond pony, so . . .’

‘The Immortal One?’ Cadence questioned uncertainly.

‘You don’t know? I would have thought, nevermind, I’ll explain,’ Dusk told her, ‘the Immortal One was the first immortal alicorn, no-pony knows what his real name was, he was always referred to as that. He started the Union Of The Alicorns and was essentially the leader of all alicorns. He had the ability, among other things, to produce a foal without having a mate; he passed this ability onto his only foal, Silver Swirl. He was the first immortal alicorn death, no-pony knows exactly what happened, but it seems all the other alicorns were magically sharing their found knowledge into him so he would know everything, but it became too much for him, mentally and physically, rumors say he died by exploding in some shape or form. Silver Swirl was never meant to rule over the alicorns, she had three unicorn friends who had been given diamond pony abilities by her father, but I still haven’t explained about diamond ponies, have I? Diamond ponies are in many ways are on a par with immortal alicorns, they do not have wings, but they can fly to a certain extent, they have a diamond shape on their forehead which is effectively is their equivalent to a unicorns horn. They are quite a bit rarer than immortal alicorns but you are more likely to see one as those few who do travel tend to get about a lot. Many of them have greater magic than immortal alicorns. Many of them are not immortal but if they survive foalhood, they often live to about two hundred without being given more time, as it is known.’

‘What do you mean?’ Cadence asked.

‘Diamond ponies, are given extra years to prove themselves worthy of being made immortal or of being given more time to live,’ Dusk explained, ‘Not much is known about them though, as they mainly keep to themselves. They very rarely marry ponies who aren’t also diamond ponies. Silver Swirl is their princess.’

*

‘So Dusk was telling you about Silver Swirl?’ Aquila inquired.

‘Yes,’ Cadence responded, ‘but he didn’t really get round to telling me much. I don’t know who her three friends were and he said she was part diamond pony . . .’

‘Well I can answer that,’ Aquila said in what was supposed to be bright tone, ‘Silver Swirl had a unicorn’s horn, a diamond pony’s diamond and a flutter pony’s wings, daintiness and delicate body. She wasn’t as small as a full grown mortal alicorn but no-where near as big as a full grown immortal alicorn. She had silver markings on her, silver eyes and hair, and her mane and tail were filled with stars; her hooves were silver too.’

‘Did you meet her then?’ inquired a very interested Cadence.

‘Yes,’ Aquila replied with a small, sad smile, ‘while I was pregnant with True Star. Silver Swirl blessed me and her. And then . . !’

Aquila looked like she was only just holding back tears. After a few moments, she managed to pull herself together.

‘And then she said, beware of a stallion who is black as shadow and red as blood. She can . . . she can see the future, you see . . .’ Aquila murmured.

‘Did she . . ? Did she say anything else?’ Cadence asked cautiously.

‘She said royalty would aid her in rebirth. I always presumed she was referring to True Star becoming an alicorn.’ Aquila added.

‘I was going to ask you about that,’ Cadence exclaimed, ‘how did you know she was meant to become one?’

‘I knew she was special from a very early age,’ Aquila began, ‘and not just because she was my little filly. What Silver Swirl had said, and the fact she blessed us, had me suspicious before she was even born. Silver Swirl blessing anypony is very rare. When she was quite young, I took True Star to a small gathering of immortal alicorn and their mortal offspring. I got a lot of positive comments about her there and when she gained her cutie mark, I began to be almost certain that she was destined to be an alicorn. After training her a bit to find out her potential, I announced my intensions at the Union Of The Alicorns. She was so close to it too when she died.’

‘So who were Silver Swirl’s friends?’ Cadence inquired timidly.

‘Oh, look at me rambling on about True Star when I’m supposed to be answering your questions about Silver Swirl.’ Aquila exclaimed; there was almost some humor in her voice. ‘She had three friends, they were not immortal, but were meant to live about a thousand years at least, two mares, Golden Glow and Copper Glow, and one stallion, Silver Glow. No-pony knows if it’s true, but many believe Silver Swirl loved Silver Glow but everypony knows that he and Golden Glow fell in love and left together, not, however, before Copper Glow betrayed them all. Many ponies think Copper Glow was probably the first malcontent, or one of the first at least; no-pony really knows what happened to her. No-pony really knows what became of Silver Glow and Golden Glow. The three of them were supposed to support and advise Silver Swirl.’

‘Have there been any other almost immortal unicorns?’ Cadence asked her.

‘There is one,’ Aquila answered slowly, ‘have you ever heard of the Morning family?’

Cadence shook her head.

‘They were an old pony family,’ Aquila began, ‘Morning Frost was a nice enough stallion, liked by many who lived near, loved by his two younger sisters, but one day, everything changed, no-pony knows how it happened, and it wasn’t realized what had happened until ages later, some think Copper Glow may have been involved, anyway, his personality was stripped from him, most of it, all that remained was evil and any other traits such as cunning, which might be useful. This is unnatural, and wouldn’t have been permanent if the evil inside him, which he had never used before, hadn’t created a sort of shield which wouldn’t allow his other traits back in.’

‘What happened then?’ Cadence inquired, aghast.

‘He essentially became immortal because without those missing part of himself, he was unable to die or even seem to get older,’ Aquila said, ‘it must have been some powerful sort of magic, or some experiment gone wrong. No-pony knows exactly why he can’t die, because it still doesn’t make much sense, but the fact is he can’t, at least, not until he is defeated and put into such a state that the other parts of his personality can return. As soon as this happens, he will probably die.’

‘What did he do?’ Cadence asked, unsure if she really wanted to know.

‘Oh, he’s done terrible things,’ Aquila replied, ‘he hasn’t always succeeded though, but he has a knack for getting away when he gets caught. The spooky thing about him is he knows how to act as if he’s his normal self. This act foaled everypony, especially his youngest sister, but his other sister was rather suspicious and began to try to convince everypony there was something wrong. He secretly enslaved his youngest sister who was too frightened to tell anypony, and then, just before his other sister’s wedding, Morning Frost arrived with his youngest sister, who he had put in chains. He told the bride that unless she placed herself on the altar and allowed him to kill her, her younger sister would be killed in her place.’

‘What happened?’ Cadence inquired quickly.

‘The poor mare was prepared to go through with his demands.’ Aquila responded, ‘Luckily, Morning Frost had misjudged the time slightly, and everypony else arrived on the scene much more quickly than he had thought but, of course, he managed to escape.’

‘Auntie Tia said that the first alicorns had great ability and good hearts,’ Cadence said, ‘so are all immortal alicorns good?’

‘All immortal alicorn feel it is their duty to be good and help other ponies as much as they can,’ Aquila told her, ‘we all have flaws, some more than others, but . . .’

Cadence waited.

‘There is one exception,’ Aquila said, ‘Veneficia, she definitely is evil, none of us have managed to figure out how she came about. Any alicorn can go bad, it is very rare though, but Veneficia was born bad. I had never seen her before she turned up to the Union Of The Alicorns once; she was the only one who was against prohibiting the use of stripping away alicorndom. Ironically, she’s the only one who ought to lose hers.’

‘You can do that!’ Cadence exclaimed, ‘You can . .!’

‘Most alicorns chose to forget how to do it, performed spells on each other. The ones of us that didn’t do that, were the ones who thought we might need to know the spell to reinstate alicorndom,’ Aquila went on, ‘using this punishment wasn’t just a humiliation and safety measure, it meant that these ponies had to start their life all over again, would have to face the fact that they would probably die and they would have magic pent inside them that they couldn’t get out which caused all sorts of damage.’

‘What like?’ Cadence asked.

‘You may have noticed there are quite a few pony subspecies around.’ Aquila said.

Cadence nodded.

‘Most of them were caused by this punishment,’ Aquila informed her, ‘the trapped magic worked away at their bodies and mind, changing them. One of the troubles was other alicorns didn’t necessarily make the best judgments who to use this on even when they were doing it as a general punishment. I’m sorry to say mortal alicorns did the worst out of it as only one immortal alicorn was needed to do it to a mortal alicorn. The punishment was invented in a time of suspicion, after alicorns had stopped going round in herds. After a few times of going to the Union Of The Alicorns, the suspicion disappeared but the punishment lived on for a while.’

‘Whose idea was it to stop this punishment?’ Cadence inquired, ‘was it anypony important or . . ?’

‘You’ll never believe this,’ Aquila replied, ‘but it was Agalma’s idea.’

Cadence gaped.

‘I know,’ Aquila replied, almost smiling, ‘hard to believe her of all ponies cared but the odd thing about her is, that when everypony else seemed to hate mortal offspring she was okay with it, and now everypony’s okay with it, she’s so against it. She changed so much, in fact, I wish I knew why.’

Author's Note:

I know lots of you are going to disagree with what I've put here but that's just my opinion and what I'm going on in this story.