Celestia narrowed her eyes down at her student, the young mare staring right back at her. “Who told you about that?”

Twilight took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, reciting, “Tick tock goes the clock, and it’s never coming back. But heed my words from days not yet unfurled, or all will fade to black.”

Celestia’s gaze hardened as her horn began to glow. “I see.” Golden magical wards and fields appeared on every exit from the room, be it door, window or staircase. The other girls looked around in confusion, and in Fluttershy’s case, fear.

“See what?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently, flying up to Celestia. “What’s going on?”

“It appears Twilight has received an urgent message from the future,” she said as she turned around to face the others. “That little poem is a sort of password to let me know as much.”

“Not the best poetry I’ve ever heard,” Rarity said with a small frown.

“Luna and I wrote it,” Celestia said.

“Oh, well, um… it’s not the worst, either,” Rarity stuttered with a nervous grin. “Far from. I love it.”

“Suck up,” Rainbow Dash teased with a grin, flicking her tail against Rarity’s nose while Celestia herself cracked a shadow of a smile.

“Twilight, I take it you were instructed to ask me that question?” the alicorn asked.

Twilight nodded, her nerve gone and looking to the side. “I was told that war is coming to Equestria, and that ascension may be our only chance. I wasn’t given any details, though, not even what the ascension process is.”

“War?!” the others repeated in shock. Against all odds, even Pinkie Pie seemed to appreciate the gravity of the word.

“War with who?” Rainbow Dash demanded more than asked, flying in the unicorn’s face.

“And wh-why?” Fluttershy squeaked, shaking. Twilight could practically see the poor pegasus’ imagination running wild.

“I don’t know; I wasn’t given any details about that, either,” Twilight said, her ears flattening. “I’d…really rather not talk about it. This whole thing scares me, too.” She gasped when she felt both Applejack nuzzle her face and Celestia drape a wing around her.

“Don’t worry, Sugarcube; you can talk when you’re ready,” Applejack assured. “We won’t pester ya about it, right girls?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie swore.

“Of course not,” Rarity said while Fluttershy nodded mutely.

“But–” Rainbow’s protest was cut off by a glare from Applejack. “Okay, fine, I won’t ask,” she pouted.

Celestia gave her student a small nuzzle of her own before retaking her seat at the table. “I suggest you all get comfortable. This explanation may take a while.”

“Yes ma’am!” Before anypony knew what happened, a pink blur shot through the room and pushed each mare onto a beanbag chair each the color of their coats and spun Celestia’s seat around to face them in a little circle. The blur came to a halt on the pink one, Pinkie Pie lounging with her hooves behind her head as if nothing had happened. “Everypony comfortable?”

“I would have preferred something less gauche to sit on, but it’ll do,” Rarity said, shifting uneasily.

“Feeling better, you two?” Pinkie asked, reaching over and hugging Fluttershy and Twilight.

Fluttershy squeaked but nodded. “Y-yeah; thanks, Pinkie.”

“A bit; thanks,” Twilight said simply.

“No problem!” the party pony chirped before letting her friend go.

“Can we get on with this? I need to get back to work ASAP,” Rainbow Dash griped.

“Which is Rainbow talk for ‘Ah need another nap,’” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Rainbow Dash said with a wave of her hoof.

“Girls, hush,” Twilight hissed. “This is important!”

Celestia smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Twilight. And you’re right, it is. What I’m about to tell you is top-secret. Very few ponies have the clearance to know what I’m about to tell you, or ever have. The only ponies alive today who know are myself, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor.”

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up and her eyes opened fully, but she said nothing.

Pinkie Pie did not have nearly that much restraint. “Top secret? As in spy stuff? Ooo, are we gonna be spies, because that would be so amazing! I have the outfit and everything!” She sped off and zoomed back within a split second, suddenly wearing a tight spandex outfit with a set of weird goggles over her eyes.

Celestia chuckled. “No, not spies, though I have no doubt that spies would love to get their hands on this information if anypony even knew it existed.”

“Aww.” Pinkie zoomed off again and the outfit was gone when she returned. “I wanted an excuse to wear spandex!”

Celestia rolled her eyes as a collective blush and chorus of facehooves overtook the other young mares. “Tell me girls, do you know who made the Elements of Harmony?”

“Ah haven’t the slightest clue,” Applejack admitted, scratching her head.

“Neither do I,” Rarity echoed.

“I never really thought about it,” Fluttershy confessed, looking at the floor.

“I don’t know either. No books I ever found about the Elements mention their makers,” Twilight said. “I never really noticed.”

“So who made them?” Rainbow Dash asked, her impatience waning in favor of curiosity.

Celestia shrugged. “Nopony knows.”

“Then why the hay did you ask us?” Rainbow asked with a facehoof.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Celestia assured. “You’re all familiar with the tale of Hearth’s Warming, I take it?”

“We only played the entire cast of the pageant last year,” Rainbow deadpanned, earning her an elbow to the sides from both Rarity and Applejack. “Ow!”

“Well, the tale of Hearth’s Warming is, shall we say… altered a bit,” Celestia said with the slightest hint of unease.

“Altered? Altered how?” Twilight asked.

“The tale has changed since when I was a filly,” the princess admitted. “Deliberately so, for political reasons. Today, it’s a tale of how the unity of all three pony breeds can beat the most impossible of odds. And while that is true, that’s not the whole truth.”

“You mean the Fire of Friendship…?” Fluttershy let her voice trail off.

“The Fire of Friendship is a symbol of the bonds that metaphorically melted the ice of the Windigos. Nothing more,” Celestia said sadly. “One of the few outright lies of the pageant is that the three tribes came together at the brink of death because they realized that they didn’t hate each other after all. They did hate each other, quite vehemently, and continued to do so for many decades. When I was young, there were still tensions between the breeds.”

“That’s… just depressin’,” Applejack said, her ears flattening.

“Hence why the story has been altered,” Celestia said. “The story was changed bit by bit over the centuries to turn it from a drama of hatred set aside into a heartwarming tale of how friendship and tolerance conquer all. A culture’s values both shape its stories and is shaped in turn by those same stories. What closer story to hold to a culture’s heart than how it was founded?”

“And it was all a lie,” Pinkie mumbled, deflating and sinking into her beanbag. Fluttershy pulled her close and hugged her gently, stroking her mane.

“Not all of it. Not completely,” Celestia corrected. “The pageant is fairly accurate save for the ending.”

“So how did it really end?” Rarity asked. “Obviously ponies survived, or otherwise Equestria wouldn’t be here.”

“Correct, and they did stop fighting and feeding the windigos’ power,” she confirmed with a nod. “But it wasn’t because of some revelation that breedism is wrong. No, it was because of what they found in that cave: the Elements of Harmony. The first bearers were chosen in that cave that night. You know all their names. Puddinghead was the element of Laughter, Smart Cookie was the element of Honesty, Hurricane was the element of Loyalty, Pansy was the element of Kindness, Platinum was the element of Generosity, and Clover was–”

“The element of Magic!” Twilight cut in. “Of course, that makes sense!” She paused and chuckled nervously. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Celestia chuckled. “Once all three leaders realized that they were bound together by the Elements, they took it as a sign to unite their tribes under one banner. Their subjects were not overly fond of one another, but the windigos were gone and they set their hatred aside for their mutual survival.”

“Well, ain’t that just a spirit-lifter,” Applejack grumbled.

“Sorry, this history lesson is interesting and all,” Rainbow Dash lied very poorly, “but what does this have to do with that ascension thing that Twilight was asking about?”

“I’m getting to that,” Celestia assured again. “The Elements and their history are tied very closely to it, I promise.”

Rainbow Dash huffed and crossed her forelegs over her chest, earning a glare from everypony else.

Celestia just smiled patiently and continued. “From then onward, the Elements chose their bearers in times of great chaos and disharmony to restore order. Discord defeated the Element bearers of his time and cast the Elements themselves across the continent. They were thought to be lost forever. That is, until my group found them.”

“Group? Wasn’t it just yourself and Luna that imprisoned Discord?” Rarity asked.

“That is another part of history that has been rewritten,” Celestia admitted, looking at the floor. “There were six of us, just as there were six of you. Luna was the element of Generosity, while I once wore the same tiara you do upon my head, Twilight.”

There was a collective gasp throughout the room. “You were once one of the Element Bearers?” Twilight asked, her jaw slack as she both squeed in joy and screamed in terror in her mind.

“I have the same element as Princess Luna?!” Rarity wobbled as if she were going to faint, but Fluttershy caught her and started fanning her with her wings.

“Yes, to both,” Celestia giggled.

“So what happened to the other four?” Rainbow asked, her interest piqued once more.

Celestia’s ears flattened against her head and a frown tugged at her lips, but she refused to let it set in. “Jackpot struck it rich when she found the crystal caves in what we now call Mount Canterlot. Hot Airiel spent her days drawing up the concept of steam powered technology, though for the life of her she never could get it just right. She did manage to invent the hot air balloon, though. Spotlight founded her own theatre company for aspiring actors, which still exists today. Apple Seed went on to explore the reaches of the Equestrian wilderness. We never found out what happened to her, but it’s safe to say time caught up with her too.” She sighed. “They all grew old and died.”

“Mighty sorry you lost all your friends, Princess,” Applejack said, tipping her hat down.

“It’s fine. It was inevitable.” She paused, looking for the right words. “After all… Luna and I ascended, and they didn’t.”

The gears in the sextet’s heads all clicked into place at once. They all shouted something different in equal amounts of shock and excitement, but the basic gist of all of them was, “Ascension turns you into an alicorn?!”

Celestia nodded. She might as well have turned the key and pressed the big red button in a nuclear silo.

“Does this mean we can be alicorns too?” Fluttershy asked with a mix of hope and trepidation.

“Why did you ascend and your friends didn’t?” asked Rainbow Dash, fluttering up to the princess.

“How do you do it? How does it happen?” Rarity asked, absolutely giddy and even kicking her hind legs in her seat like a filly.

“Are you and Luna actually sisters?” Applejack asked with a raised brow.

“What were you before you turned awesome?” asked Pinkie, who had somehow perched herself atop Celestia’s head and was peering down at her.

“Wait, if the Elements turn ponies into alicorns, where the hay did Cadence come from?” Twilight asked, holding her head in confusion. “And how did the Elements end up in the Everfree Forest?”

“Girls, girls, calm down!” Celestia’s horn glowed and she returned both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to their seats. “I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can. Yes, you can all potentially become alicorns, but it’s only happened three times in the history of the Elements of Harmony, so it’s doubtful that all of you or even one of you will. To ascend, a pony must have full comprehension and understanding of their element.”

“Pff, I know what loyalty is. Why am I not an alicorn already?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Hay, Twilight’s element is magic, and she knows magic better than anypony.”

“W-well, I am good, but not that good,” Twilight stammered with a small blush.

Celestia shook her head. “One can know a definition of a word but not truly understand it. Everypony knows the definition of love, but few ponies understand it as much as Cadence and Shining Armor do. Everypony knows the definition of heartbreak, but nopony cannot truly understand it until they’ve lost everything. Everypony knows the definition of eternity, but only an immortal like an alicorn can comprehend it. You must understand your elements with your hearts and souls, not your heads. You must understand them in a way that only a life-changing experience can grant.” She paused and let out a world-weary sigh. “And every experience that’s triggered ascension so far has been one of great anguish.”

Silence fell over the group as Celestia’s words washed over them. Their earlier excitement sank into the quicksand of sympathy and dread. Twilight was the first to break it, her voice hesitant and shaking. “C-Celestia… what triggered it for you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

The alicorn closed her eyes, her body going rigid. “I knew you would ask, but… it’s not a memory I would like to revisit. It wouldn’t help any of you achieve ascension, anyway.”

“Sorry; I was just curious,” Twilight mumbled, suddenly taking great interest in the pattern of the wooden floor.

Celestia’s gaze softened. She took in a deep breath. “To answer your other questions, yes, Luna and I are actually sisters. From the records of past Bearers, siblings being chosen are rare but not unheard of. Before I ascended, I was just a normal unicorn. I never got used to the wings. Heh, I’m still not, hence why I use the chariot so often. My name was Sunbeam, back then. My friends just called me Sunny. I adopted the name Celestia to sound more regal; more commanding of respect.”

“What was Luna’s name?” Pinkie Pie asked with a tilt of her head.

“That is for Luna to tell, not me,” Celestia answered with a small smile. “As for Cadence… she was an Element bearer herself, about a thousand years ago. The element of Kindness.” Fluttershy’s face flushed. “She…” Celestia’s smile vanished. “She had it the worst out of all three of us.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked, her heart sinking in her chest.

“That’s a tale for her to tell. It’s not my place,” Celestia said with a shake of her head. “The same for why the Elements were left in the Everfree Forest.”

“And we’re supposed to become alicorns ourselves according to this message from the future?” Rarity asked, looking to Twilight with fear clear in her eyes.

Twilight nodded with a frown and furrowed brow. “She said that if we’re going to win the coming war, it may be our only chance. Every alicorn is completely immortal and indestructible, and has immense power. Celestia, Luna and Cadence won’t be enough. We’ll need more.”

“But if we can’t speed it up at all, then what’s the point of us knowing about it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Because now you can pay attention and learn better from whatever the future holds,” Celestia answered. She paused. “In truth, that was the purpose behind the friendship reports. I wanted you all to keep in mind what life was teaching you and see if ascension can be gained in a relatively peaceful, bloodless time. Even if it’s possible, it looks like that method won’t be fast enough.”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile and heat up slightly. She opened her mouth to thank her mentor, but somepony else cut her off.

“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy said meekly as she pulled away from Rarity. “Sorry to interrupt, but before we get too far away from the topic of alicorns, what about the queen of the changelings? Isn’t she an alicorn?”

Celestia hummed in thought, and the few split seconds of wordlessness was enough to make Fluttershy shrink back. “I’m not entirely sure. Changelings were a problem for ponies back in the days of the three tribes, before they migrated north past the Macintosh Mountains. Everypony assumed that they died out in the storm of the windigos when the three tribes left them behind in what we now call the Badlands. Nopony had ever seen Queen Chrysalis in the flesh until Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding. I don’t know exactly how old she is, where she came from, or why she looks like an alicorn. Only she knows that, and we’re not on speaking terms.”

“So many questions answered, more and more questions raised,” Twilight groaned, rubbing her head.

“Such is life, my student,” Celestia giggled.

Applejack tried to say something, but her words were drowned out by the sound of the clock tower striking noon.

Celestia sighed and rose from her seat. “I really must be going. Luna is probably wondering where I am and asking the stars above to deliver her from the madhouse we call politics.” Her horn glowed and the magic wards surrounding the room vanished. “You are to not repeat a word of this to anypony, understood? I am quite fond of all of you, but if any of this got out I would have to punish you to the fullest extent of Equestrian law.”

They all gave their mumbled assurances that that wouldn’t happen, thoughts of the Canterlot dungeon or being banished into the Everfree Forest dancing in their heads and nervous smiles plastered on their faces.

“Good. Now, Twilight, was their anything else to your missive from the future?” Celestia asked.

Twilight paused and shifted in her seat. “Besides keeping Insano alive, no. Apparently he died soon in the original timeline. My… informant guessed that his technological genius could have really turned the tide against whatever enemy is coming.”

“Do ya know how he died?” Applejack asked, rising from her beanbag.

“Not exactly. One night during a journey we’re going to go on soon, we all had a particularly nasty fight that left all of us angry at him. We got ambushed in the middle of the night, and he was the only casualty,” she explained. “Whatever the future holds, we have to make sure he lives through it to help us.”

“Oh… joy,” Rarity said through gritted teeth, her left eye twitching.

“I’m not about to die for that plothole, but I guess I’ve got his back,” Rainbow Dash huffed with a roll of her eyes.

“We’ll worry about that when we come to it,” Applejack said. “For now, the princess needs to get back to Canterlot and we all have to get back to our jobs.”

“Well, maybe you do. I took the morning off for my spa date with Fluttershy,” Rarity said as she stood up. Said pegasus blushed a bit with a small smile.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped in horror. She snapped her head to the clock and exclaimed, “Oh buck, I totally forgot! I had a date with Redheart fifteen minutes ago! Gotta go!” With a gust of wind and a rainbow streak, the door was suddenly open and the pegasus was gone.

“Isn’t that their third date this week?” Applejack asked as she picked up her blown away hat.

“Ooo, I think somepony’s getting serious,” Pinkie giggled. She zoomed around the room and the beanbags were all gone and put away into wherever the buck Pinkie kept all her props.

“They have known each other for a long time. I’m not surprised,” Fluttershy admitted with a smile. “I’m really happy for them.”

“Now now, don’t start making wedding plans yet, my little ponies,” Celestia giggled, a real smile back on her face. “You’re all still young and you have a lot of years ahead of you to find somepony that makes you happy.” She sighed and trotted toward the door. “While I have many years ahead of me trying to keep this country from falling apart. I must take my leave.”

“You will tell Luna about the coming war and start preparing, right?” Twilight asked.

The alicorn looked down at her student. Celestia’s smile became more porcelain and practiced. “Of course, Twilight.” She leaned down and gave the unicorn a reassuring nuzzle. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”

Twilight smiled as her mentor continued her walk out the door. As the door opened, though, she blurted out, “Celestia!”

She paused and turned to look over her shoulder again. “Yes, Twilight?”

The young mare’s face turned as red as the apples on Applejack’s flank and kept her head down. “I…I hope you find somepony that makes you happy someday, too.”

Celestia’s smile seemed to radiate the heat of her sun as she said, “I already have.” She walked through the portal and motioned to her guards, and the door clicked shut behind her. Next Chapter: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch Estimated time remaining: 59 Minutes