Dear friends,

I am sending you this letter to inform you that Princess Celestia has invited us to stay in Canterlot castle for the next week. You do not have to come if only out of obligation, but it would be appreciated. I understand if you’re busy.

Spike, sorry for disappearing like I did without previously informing you. That was rude of me and I apologize. Take some time off, hang out with friends, and check up on the library while I'm gone.

Pinkie Pie, if you can make it, Princess Luna requests you bring some of your cupcakes. She has been having… cravings as of late.

Please reply as soon as you can.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

As the letter burned away to be sent to Spike, Twilight yawned and removed herself from the folds of her blankets. It was just before dawn when she'd awoken, and the growl that permeated the air around her was heavy with indignation. The sound of an alarm clock going off somewhere in her chambers had woken her up. At first she'd mumbled and tried turning it off with her hoof, but her hoof had met no interference and had instead thumped the empty desk.

To her confusion, it was not where it should be.

Somepony had hidden it.

And therefore somepony was going to burn in Tartarus after she crushed the damn thing.

After scrounging around her room with her ears swiveling in every direction, she finally located the little cretin underneath her bathroom sink of all places.

Promptly, it was silenced.

Sighing, Twilight withdrew her head from the sink's bowels and looked in the mirror. She looked like a mess as usual. After closing the door she stepped into the shower and ran through the motions of waking herself up. As the hot water drizzled through her fur Twilight thought back to the previous day's events.

She'd barged in on Celestia and her doctor, heard information that she shouldn't have, and then been assaulted by her teacher with tickles until she was blue in the face. From there the two had spent morning court together, and by together it meant Twilight got to replace Luna so the dark mare could finally go to sleep herself. Twilight never said it, but she envied Luna's sleeping pattern. It involved less sunbeams in the face after all. While Celestia had listened to citizens and elites banter about unjust laws and civil squabbles, Twilight sat on a cushion next to the marble throne and watched with rapt attention. Each case was similar in form, but complex in its resolve. If one pony wanted taxes changed, and had proven a reason for its change to be valid and worth looking into, then it meant that a group would be dispersed to figure the best and most efficient way to do this. However, if it was a civil dispute between landowners, as an example; the situation was far simpler.

Twilight chuckled as she lathered her mane with shampoo.

Some ponies could get very verbal when fighting over territory. Celestia had mentioned during the recess that whenever in court, she would fine anypony who cursed in her name four bits. Twilight thought it was hilarious when the alicorn caught an upper crusted mare whispering idle insults about Twilight's close proximity to her highness' seat, and the mare lost twelve bits by the time it she put a hoof in her own mouth.

Sometimes Celestia would ask Twilight for her opinion on a case, or for information regarding a law or where to gain the most up to date information for a ruling. For Twilight, it made her feel useful. She wasn't just there for ornamental purpose, and she got to be part of the court dealings as an adult partner to Celestia and her work.

Celestia for the most part enjoyed the answered Twilight gave, and sometimes used them to turn a case over or to advance to approval.

Twilight sat down in the tub and started scrubbing her tail, frowning at the next part of the memory.

After court was out Twilight yawned and stood, beginning to stretch out her limbs as her teacher did the same. Celestia groaned as her wing joints popped rather loudly, and then stood fully, facing her student.

“Twilight, I was thinking now might be a good time to have a break with some tea, would you care to join me?” Twilight shrugged,

“Sure, assuming you don't have any--”

Her words were cut off as the private doors behind the throne, used by the princess' to enter the room, were flung open with quite a loud bang, and in strode Luna.

Quite literally fuming.

Both Celestia and Twilight were taken aback as she marched forward, her mouth in a scowl aimed directly at her sister. Celestia balked and took a step back,

“S-sister? Whatever is the--” Luna growled, silencing her and turned to Twilight with a less than friendly false smile,

“Twilight, would thou allow us a moment to speak with our sister?” The unicorn didn't get a chance to reply, as Luna cut her off, glaring at her sister once more.

“Thank you.”

“B-but Princess Luna--” Luna snapped her eyes down to Twilight and glowered at her.

“Thank....you.” she said through gritted teeth. Twilight squeaked and visibly shrank back,

“Heheh...uh, yeah sure I'll just be on my way.” And with that she teleported out of the room. Once she had left Celestia huffed and turned to her sister to speak, she did not get that chance however, as a scroll unfurled and slapped itself against her face.

“What...is...this?” Luna's voice was laced with such fury that Celestia swore she could taste the malice that permeated the room. Calmly pulling the scroll from her muzzle she looked and saw that Luna was sitting rigidly and her celestial mane was whipping about in agitation. Her wings were twitching as was her left eye. Celestia sighed and looked at the scroll reading it's contents.

She quickly lost any color that might have called itself home in her face.

Final results of Princess Celestia:

blood type: A-

coloration: silver

genus: Celestial

status: ungodly healthy.

Parents: unknown

Final results of Princess Luna:

blood type: A-

coloration: silver

genus: Celestial

status: reverently healthy.

Parents: unknown

Filed notes:

No known relatives to the genus 'Celestial' Save for two known living entities.

Patient A: Princess Mi amore Cadenza.

Residence: Crystal Empire.
Blood type: A-
coloration: silver
genus: Celestial
status: beautifully healthy.
Parents: unknown

Patient B: Twilight Sparkle.
Blood type: Ab+
Coloration: crimson red
Genus: Celestial
Status: Knowledgeably Healthy
Parents: Princess Celestia: mother. Father unknown.

Records to be withheld by order of Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, and Princess Luna.

Approved Doctor:

Dr. Whooves

Celestia blinked and re-read the scroll. Her frown deepened, and she glanced at Luna. It was clear the princess of the moon was not happy.

“So sister...when didst thou think thee would tell us such important information?” Luna stood and stalked towards Celestia like a lion cornering it's prey. Celestia stood as well but she backed away slowly,

“Lulu, I can explain! Just--"

“Pray thee tell us why our sister did not find it important to say that she was with child!?”

“Lulu. you're scaring me; calm down please and just--”

“WE WILL NOT BE CALM!”

Celestia wilted under her sister's gaze, physically lowering herself to the floor. Luna was now inches away from her and their muzzles were gently touching. Luna held her hardened expression for several minutes whilst watching her sister stutter incomprehensible sentences.

With a quick movement Luna's hoof struck Celestia square across her jawline, easily turning the alabaster alicorn's head to the side. Celestia blinked, her mouth gasping like a fish out of water. Tentatively she lifted a hoof and touched the spot where her sister had hit her. Luna turned and walked to a nearby window, staring out it at nothing in general.

“That, was for keeping such a secret from us. A secret that we would have rejoiced to hear, a secret you kept from us because of—because of fear!” Luna heard Celestia stand, she heard her hoof steps as she moved closer to Luna, until they were almost side by side.

“...We....we are s-sorry...Sister.” Luna snorted loudly. She was still very upset with Celestia but while she felt like hitting her hadn't done the job, once was definitely more than was needed.

“If thou were sorry, thee would have told us last night regardless of promises. Neigh, if thou were actually sorry thee would have not kept it a secret at all!” She turned and leveled a glare at Celestia, only to find her sister's head lowered, her solar mane obscuring all but the tip of her muzzle.

A droplet hit the floor, and with it's descent came the short, wracking sobs of Celestia.

“I..we...w-we are sorry Lulu...I c-couldn't tell you b-because...”

“Yes?” Luna did not soften her words, knowing Celestia was hurt, but also knowing her sister had hurt her far more than the alabaster mare knew.

“B-because if you knew...you might...might tell her...” Luna blinked, and turned, moving to sit in front of her sister.

“We would not have done that Tia.” Celestia finally lifted her head and Luna noted how the tears were streaming down her cheeks unobstructed. Celestia's political mask had shattered and she was showing her inner turmoil.

She was terrified. Luna felt her energy drain a little at the sight of her elder sister crying in earnest.

“Luna...would you...do you mean that?” Luna nodded,

“Tis not our responsibility to tell her of her heritage, but thine own.” Celestia balked, her wings trembling.

“I-I can't...I've tried many times but....I just can't.” Luna scowled and leaned down taking her sister's chin in her hoof. It was an odd feeling, being the reassuring one.

“Thou fears are reasonable for a mother, but we are confused. Why did thou lose her in the first place? Did thy courts disagree?” Celestia shook her head and inched forward, nuzzling her sister's shoulder.

“No... although many things influenced my decision to do so...the courts were a small part, but the larger part...was Discord...” Luna felt her breath hitch.

“The snake of chaos? What has he to do with all of this?”

Celestia sniffed and nuzzled Luna again, prompting Luna to place a wing around her sister.

“I was doing my rounds around the garden one evening, about twenty years ago. Not all of the garden statues are enchanted villains, but the few that are, I like to keep them in check. I was checking Discord's statue and I...I found something.”

Luna raised a brow and nodded.

“When I found I was pregnant, I failed to notice that my magic was changing focus, it was protecting Twilight inside me. But it was weakening the bonds of the seals in the garden. I couldn't fix them either while with child. It gave too much strain and I could risk the possibility of harming Twilight's growth.”

Celestia lifted her gaze until Luna and her horn were gently connecting at the bases.

“Eventually I knew, Discord would return, but I couldn't figure out when. To ensure he couldn't find out I was her mother, I erased all the files of my pregnancy and any that connected me to her. Eventually Discord did break out...and well, you know the rest.”

Luna frowned,

“But why not tell her after Discord was reformed? Did that not remove thine initial fear?” Celestia smirked wryly,

“Yes, it did. But by then I'd built a special relationship with her, a bond I am loathe to break. She sees me as the teacher, her the student. I don't want to ruin what I have Lulu. She is so happy now, and with the recent passing of Twilight Velvet, her adoptive mother, I can't just pop in and tell her something like that...can I?”

Luna kept her frown,

“I still sense this is all out of fear, She has yet to ascend and you and I know how badly that will affect her if she doesn't know. You and I both remember when our wings came thr--” Celestia's eyes widened suddenly and then just as quickly scrunched shut and she gagged.

“N-no no no stop! Just...no...I ….I remember... it was...unpleasant.” They sat there in silence until Celestia stood and leaned in to Luna,

It wasn't a request, Luna reached out and hugged her sister.

“Will....will you be there...when I tell her?” Luna nodded, but it was a pointless gesture.

She was going to be there even if Celestia hadn't wanted her present.

Twilight stepped out of the shower, and sighed, The royal sisters had not left the grand hall that day and she'd eventually wandered back to her tower room in the observatory to do some research. Albeit not something she had planned to research, Twilight had distinctly heard Doctor Whooves mention that Celestia's blood was silver in coloration, and that had tweaked a nerve in her thoughts.

Basically, there had to be a reason it was silver.

After spending half the day verifying that no, the castle library had no records on Celestia's previous checkups, and that no, they did not have any previous blood samples, Twilight found herself perusing the anatomy section for any reference guides on alicorns.

The hunt was so far...fruitless.

“Erg, why can't there just be one snippet of information on them, Celestia has been around for more than a couple thousand years, Luna likely just as long, so why is there nothing!?” She thumped her horn in between two books on the shelf and sighed in frustration...

“Why indeed.”

Twilight had been so absorbed in her work she barely noticed the gray unicorn that had sidled up next to her. She shrieked and backpedaled into the next shelf, threatening to knock it over with the sheer force. The gray unicorn quickly steadied the shelf and reset any books that may have fallen, before fixing his gaze on the younger purple mare. Twilight looked at him and sized him up.

He was old, well beyond his hundred and fiftieth year, and for unicorns that was an accomplishment. The average unicorn lived to be about one hundred and fifty or so, two hundred if they were extremely healthy.

This unicorn was light charcoal in coloration, with two-toned black and gray hair for his mane and tail. His beard was also of similar coloration. On his nose bridge was a pair of glasses, and covering his chest was a red college vest with a white collared shirt underneath it.

His cutie mark was an inequality sign.

Twilight frowned and stood back up, glaring at the elder unicorn; she'd never seen him before.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't hear what you said over the sound of my heart disintegrating instantaneously, could you repeat that?” He merely smiled and turned to the shelf, pulling a dusty tome from the shelf and flipping it open leisurely,

“I think you heard me, heart attack or no, Twilight Sparkle.” She blinked, lifting a hoof defensively,

“W-who are you? And how do you know me?” He chuckled, flipping a page with a flicker of magic,

“I suppose the proper question is not who I am or how I know you, but what you want to know and how to get it.” Twilight gave him a deadpan stare.

“Okaaay, a random unicorn I’ve never met tells me he knows what I’m after and I guess I'm supposed to ask you what that is right?” the unicorn closed the book and slid it across the floor to her, it came to a stand still facing her right side up. Twilight looked down and read the book's spine aloud,

“The genealogical history of the Armor and Sparkle family? What they hay is that doing in the anatomy section? Why on earth would I want....” She looked up and suddenly realized,

The unicorn was gone.

“...This?” She looked left and right but saw no sign of him. Stifling a gulp, she trotted to the end of the isle and peered out, looking around, but she was truly alone.

Okay...that isn't creepy at all... Shaking her head she walked back to the book and lifted it up in her magic, watching as soot and dust fell of it in sheets...no, that wasn't dust...

She leaned forward and sniffed.

“Its...dirt? Old sedimentary deposits, but definitely dirt.” She then inspected the slot in the shelf where he'd retrieved it, only to note that no sediment or dust was on the shelf...this book hadn't been there at all...in fact..Twilight lifted her head up and look down the hall from where the unicorn had disappeared down.

“It was never in this library...he brought it with him...but why would he have a genealogy book on my family's houses?” She shook the book and grimaced as a few crumbles of sand fell out from between the pages...

“And even more important....where did he get it? I've never even seen a genealogy book on my house...”

She was brought out of her thoughts by a gentle sound, a bell was ringing back and forth slowly somewhere in the building. It was coming from a large grandfather clock on the far wall notifying the library patrons that noon had arrived. This elicited a growl from Twilight's stomach that made her ears pin back against her head.

“Maybe it's more important that I get some food. I need to stop and eat before leaving for research expeditions into the castle...seriously Sparkle, you need to be more organized.”

She berated herself whilst exiting into the many halls and pathways of the castle, heading for her room...when she stopped and looked down at the book in her magic. It was obviously very old, the tome was frayed, the pages were yellow with age, but got considerably cleaner and whiter the farther into the book one went. The front had once held a title but now lay bare from the test of time. The only title she'd found was on the spine, and it was just barely readable for her.

She thanked spike for having terrible almost illegible writing... For once.

She flipped open a few pages and slowly started walking again, randomly dodging ponies while she read as if she had a second sense for their presence.

“Genealogy is the study of one's heritage throughout the ages...yada yada... This book details that of the Armor family, born under King Elictus?... Who the hay is that?... And passed on to living relatives...yada yada... Thus from here the Sparkle family was formed—wait what?” She stopped and flipped the page back, re-reading the passage.

“The Armor family was well known for their magical prowess, but around the time of Nightmare Moon's coup, almost all heritage is lost, save for rare lines near coastal regions. It is presumed that to safely protect themselves from the celestial war that raged near Mount Canterhorn, the Armor family crossed over the sea. Later, they returned, albeit now a mixed breed of pegasi, earth pony, and earth pony, originally being only unicorns.

“Upon their return to Equestria, another family had been created, equal in magical power to that of the Armor family, The Aurora family. It was decided that both houses could not own the title of “Magical Master' and thus a tournament was held, but after many disputes, scandals, and bloodshed, the houses came to an agreement that they would form one house, thus from here House Sparkle was formed...”

Twilight blinked, she never knew that, she'd never even heard this story! She flipped the book over and searched for an author's name or a date when the book was published...she found the latter.

And she laughed.

“Aha...Ahahaha! Th-that can't ehehehe....that can't be..this book couldn't...possibly be...that old...” Then she read it again. And again. And slowly, after each re-reading, her smile was overwhelmed by a frown.

Date published: 105 B.C.E.(before Celestial era)

Twilight's frown turned into a scowl and she slapped the book shut, before resuming her walk, albeit now a march.

“Hogwash! There is no known book that predates Celestia and Luna, this is a fake book and a joke...and who the heck is King Elictus!?” She frowned. She needed to see Celestia, she needed answers and she was going to get them even if it killed--

WHAM!

Twilight was brought out of her mumblings by a blue blur that had literally appeared out of no where and slammed into her. Together, they both tumbled down the hall and finally came to a stop outside a broom closet door where a maid was startled into action from her nap.

Okay, note to self. Don't make death comments in the castle while holding old tomes...Twilight groaned and opened an eye to see exactly who she assume it'd be.

“Rainbow Dash...” Said mare shook herself and stood over Twilight with a frown,

“There you are! We've been looking all over for you, Twilight!” She practically yelled the words, making Twilight grit her teeth and almost buck the mare in her stomach, but she was saved from committing assault on the cyan horror by a gentle magic aura lifting Dash off her.

“Really Rainbow Dash, must you go careening about the castle in such a fashion? It is very uncivilized of you!” Twilight smiled as an pristine hoof was put within grasping range and she was helped to her feet by none other than Rarity. The mare was sporting no clothing and no hat, a rare situation for the fashionista when inside the castle.

“Terribly sorry about that, Twilight, we were on our way to find you and this brute decided to do things the unreasonable way.” she jabbed a hoof at the cyan mare but the pegasus merely shrugged whilst standing and looked away,

“I found her before you did Rare's, I call that progress.” Rarity huffed and turned her nose up at the comment, Twilight smirked and floated the tome onto her back, before continuing on,

“If you two are here, does that mean the others are as well?” Rarity didn't stop moving, but she did slow down slightly,

“Er, well sadly no, Applejack is preparing for the spring rodeo competition, and Pinkie Pie has been...grounded? Yes, grounded, by Miss Cake for ahem...blowing up her oven. Again.” Twilight looked surprised.

“What was she trying to bake this time?” Rarity smirked,

“Oh you know, a triple decked three way cheese whatsit...something to do with a lot of cheese and icing...honestly, that mare can mix anything and make it taste good. However I peered into the kitchen to see what had happened, needless to say it looked like Pinkie Pie has blasted the room with cheddar cement, and...well, its not aesthetically pleasing.”

Twilight cringed at the visual imagery, if Rarity said it was that bad, then it probably was.

“Well, at least some of you came by, that's good, was Pinkie Pie able to make any cupcakes for Princess Luna?” Rarity smiled,

“But of course! I told her it was a royal craving emergency, and she made them on the spot.” from one of her many bags she procured a white box with twelve delicately crafted cupcakes, each one had blue icing with white sprinkles atop themselves. Twilight nodded and continued walking with her friends until they reached her observatory room, and while she set the tome on a nearby desk, the girls meandered around, inspecting the room. Rainbow Dash thought it was pleasant, open enough for her to zip back and forth from one side to the other without much trouble, while Rarity felt it was reasonable in the sense that it would suffice for a bedroom, she commented that it could use a couple couches and dining furniture.

“I mean honestly, hasn't anypony heard of lounging under the stars? How am I supposed to do that if I don't have a proper couch? And some nice wine mind you...” She flipped her hoof through her mane and lay down near the large window, overlooking Canterlot. Dash floated up and peered out the dual paned glass,

“I must admit though, the view is quite nice, you can even see Ponyville from here!” Twilight humbly smiled,

“Well the Princess wanted me to be able to have space for myself, but not feel detached from the world, any who, what do you girls want to do?” The three fell silent as they thought.

“We could go see a Wonderbolts show!”

“Dash, dear, those aren't happening for another month or two.” the cyan mare slumped in mid air,

“Crap, I got nothin.” Rarity huffed at the mare's inability to think beyond flight based subjects,

“How about a shopping day? We haven't perused the streets of Canterlot in quite sometime.” Twilight frowned,

“While I'd like the idea of getting out for a bit, I think I should stay here.” Both Dash and Rarity looked confused. Rarity flipped her ears back,

“Why ever would you need to stay darling? It's not like the princess' need us currently...or...oh my, did something happen?” Twilight shrugged and looked out the window, her expression dower.

“I don't know, Luna barged into the main hall yesterday and seemed livid about something, and demanded she speak with Celestia. but I was not made privy to that particular conversation and had to leave the room. Since then I've not seen either one of them....I'm, I'm kind of worried something did happen. I've never seen Luna so mad before, and I want to stay close by just in case.”

Dash groaned and plopped her rear down onto the floor,

“So what, we just sit here in the tower and chat idly? Come on! We do that at home, this is Canterlot, Twilight, I'm sure whatever the Princesses are arguing over isn't even related to us! Lets go somewhere!”

Twilight frowned, and looked around her. Her eyes fell on the tome the old unicorn had given her.

“W-well you guys can go shopping or, adventure around, I need to finish...something.” She levitated the tome over and started flipping the pages to where she'd left off, only to hear Rainbow Dash groan and Rarity sigh.

“Sweety, you read books all the time, and while it is very admirable of you to extend your vocabulary, Dash is right. You can do that at home, besides,” Twilight felt a light jab at the book and looked up to see the fashionista grimacing at it,
“Where on earth did you get that? It smells like it was in a morgue!” Twilight blinked,

“A...a morgue...” Suddenly, Twilight had a small inkling of where the unicorn had gotten the book. Her magic faltered and the book slapped the floor with a rather strong noise.

“Its...its not dirt...its...” Rainbow looked curious, and Rarity felt slightly ill, the book smelled like it'd been rolled around in death, it was even covered in a fine layer of gray dust and soot...

Twilight felt a cold shiver run down her spine. It all made sense, the book was extremely old, she'd never heard of it, seen it, or even knew of the stories within its binding. She was given it by a Unicorn she'd never met before, and yet he knew her....was he actually a....

“Twilight? Earth to Twilight, whats up? It's just some smelly--” She was startled into silence when Twilight shrieked and backpedaled away from the book.

“ Its ashes!” Twilight frantically dove into the nearby bathroom, washing her hooves and scrubbing them dry. as she finished, she began mumbling incoherent sentences as Rarity and Rainbow looked at one another in confusion.

“Twilight? Darling, what's the matter, it's just an old book...right?” Rarity gently tapped the door and found it slightly open, pushing it open she found Twilight standing on her back hooves with her face inches from the mirror,

“Twilight?”

“It was in a grave...”

“Pardon?”

“The Unicorn was a ghost....”

“Twilight dear, you're mumbling, you know we can't understand you when you’r--”

Twilight whipped her head sideways in a furious shake and then locked her eyes on Rarity,

“Earlier today I was researching information about Celestia and Luna's bloodline, but I couldn't find anything on it, nada, zip, zilch! Then I noticed I wasn't alone in that aisle, ohohoh no, he snuck up me, the sneaky little—anyway, that book, it was given to me by a weird old unicorn I’ve never seen before while in the library, when I turned to ask him about it, he was gone, poof! Now it all makes sense, the dusty tome, the unknown knowledge, the illogical date, the smell of death, the unicorn...Rarity, I think I was talking to a ghost in the Canterlot Library!”

She paused, catching her breath, never realizing how close she'd gotten to Rarity's face. The white mare had physically crouched and their muzzles were inches apart.

“T-twilight, you're scaring me, darling...” From outside the bathroom they heard Rainbow snickering, and then full out laughing. Twilight blinking, donned a confused, then embarrassed expression.

“I...s-sorry Rarity, I just had a really weird encounter a few hours ago...He never said his name either, but that book, I’ve never heard of it, and the book definitely did not come from the library...it does smell deathly, and I think you might be right...” They shared a look,

“While ghosts are most certainly a possibility, You don't think this stallion might have simply...” Twilight frowned, and left the bathroom, Rarity right behind her. They passed by Rainbow Dash who was rolling around giggling.

“Ahahah! G-ghost of the library, w-was he tall and handsome T-Twilight? Bwahahaha! D-did he ask you on a date?” She ignored the mare and sat in front of the book that had been left discarded on the observatory floor.

“You know what I think Rarity? I think some pony went and did something awful.” Rarity nodded solemnly,

“A most heinous crime, but who would do such a thing? And more importantly...who did he take it from?” Twilight frowned and levitated the book up, looking it over.

“This book is a genealogy book on the history of my family lines, the Armor and Sparkle houses. If it was taken from any pony, it would be from one of those houses...” She gulped, and slowly flipped the book open to the cover page. After searching for the property owner's name, she found it scrawled in the small space designated for names.

All color left her face.

This Book is Property of:

Mrs. Twilight Velvet

Author's Notes:

If there are any errors or misspellings, I would appreciate it if I could have them pointed out so they can be fixed. thanks ^^

A big thanks to Shadowed-ember for editing.