Now that we have our first confirmed case of unicorn-alicorn ascension, a few other questions naturally come up, and our headcanons of ascension could be placed in a historical context. First of all, here are the usual questions that can be tackled:

Are all alicorns products of ascension, or are alicorns born as well as made?

What was the story behind Cadence, Luna, and Celestia?

What perks do you get when you ascend besides royal titles, wings, and greater magical powers?

Is it restricted only to unicorns, or can pegasus ponies ascend to alicornhood? Can earth ponies, for that matter, or even crystal ponies?

Can you only ascend once? Is it possible, for instance, for a pony to ascend twice or more times than that?

Is the unicorn-alicorn change the only form of ascension? Do other species have their own versions (e.g. can a regular bear "ascend" to an Ursa Minor, and then to an Ursa Major)?

Would you prefer a different term to "ascend", e.g. upgrade, change, power-up, develop, transform, etc.?

How are the power levels ranked or worked out across species in the first place?

There's probably a lot more one can say on the subject, but in the interests of this group, I think a focus on the history of ascension would be more fruitful once we've gone over this territory. For instance, how would pony historians respond to the above questions, and what would they cite as evidence? Documentation? Secret diaries and journals of the princesses? The records of the Magical Sciences Society, or first-hand accounts from mystical beings and writers? Maybe even interviews from the princesses themselves?

I don't know it for a fact, but I've been told the official back story for Cadence is out as a short story. Apparently, she was a pegasus before she ascended.

Edit: I just looked it up the MLP wiki. The book that confirms this is the chapter book Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell. I guess in the story, Cadence ascended on her own, without the intervention of Celestia.

Celestia, Luna and Cadence are Natural alicorns.

Twilight, for lack of a better term is a "synthetic" alicorn (similar to Fallout Equestria, only without the whole "hive mind" thing)

Ursas are just a species of magic bear, separate from normal bears.

These are my opinions.

894779
Yes, Cadence was originally a pegasus orphan mentioned in Book 1 of the new book series by G. M. Berrow Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell.

894811
Lol, I just edited my post to say as much before I got your notification.

For something I've been writing I chose to say that Twilight is not the first "ascended" alicorn, and that indeed a pony from any tribe can ascend.

In my version, my idea is that a magical event powerful enough to unite the magic of the three tribes together in one place is what is required for ascension, and this happens during the spell Twilight cast.

As for Cadance, I was a bit miffed when "Crystal Heart Spell" came out, as it sort of contradicted my ideas, but oh well. For a number of reasons, I decided to say that she was a third type: a "hereditary" alicorn, inheriting it as part of her claim to the crystal throne, and that the alicorn nature had been passed down right from the first crystal princess.

That's just my version, though tailored specifically to the story that I'm writing. I only chose to ignore the book's version of Cadance as I had already planned too much of my own version when I heard about it.

Guess I'll start. I do prefer the term Ascend, it sounds far more elegant and special that "power up" or "upgrade".

As of this moment there are only 5 confirmed cases of Ascension, and 1 that may or may not be similar. The cases are from oldest to newest: Sejr (ex-Blueblood), Celestia Everfree, Luna Everfree, Cadenza Highwind-Everfree, and Twilight Sparkle. Out of the five only is was an unicorn prior to Ascension (Twilight), three were Earth Ponies (Sejr, Celestia, Luna), and one Pegasus (Cadence).

When they first Ascend the pony gains the attributes of the three main tribes, and that is about it so they are a Tier-2 Alicorn. Given time they will fully realize their connection to their Domain (Earth, Sun, Moon, Wind, Magic) and become a fully realized Tier-1 Alicorn (characterized by the flowing mane and tail).

It is possible for a pony to Ascend (and Descend) more than once. This only happens when they have exhausted their magic. Celestia is so far the only one known to have gone through this following her first fight with Nightmare Moon.

There is a way to rank a Alicorn's power through a tier system. There are four power tiers from 3 to 0, with three being the weakest. A Tier-3 Alicorn is simply their birth form, a Tier-2 Alicorn is the form they have right after Ascension (S1 Luna, Twilight, Cadence), Tier-1 is the form they have after fully realizing their power (S2 Luna, Celestia), Tier-0 is the level in which they seemingly forgo their mortal form Sejr is believed to have attained this form prior to her death, and Nightmare Moon is considered a false Tier-0.

Royal titles are given less by the consent of the Alicorn in question and ore by the populous since it is believe that the Alicorns are descended from Laurel the Blessed (and the goddess Epona).

894815
Hehe.

894811
Wait.. what was that? *looks it up* Well looks like I'll be ignoring that book. Funny I made Cadence a pegasus before I even heard of that book. But she ain't a orphan.

894821
I totally pegged Celestia and Luna as earth ponies, too. Even if their names have a more unicorn quality to them. I tend to use names as a way to guide my idea of the cultures involved. I'm temped to go on at length about my ideas on naming traditions in Equestria, but I won't. I think that deserves its own thread.

As for why I like the idea of Celestia and Luna ascending from earth ponies, I just think its a neat idea. I have no supporting cannon elements. It just makes for a good story.

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I blame the story Paradise (which is awesome by the way) for making me to start thinking the Sisters were Earth Ponies (ok originally Luna was an Unicorn) and Silfoe on DA made a really awesome piece of art that fits more or less perfectly with my headcanon. Ancient Ones

It's very hard to extrapolate a coherent method for explaining alicorns, in light of recent events.

I, for one, am fond of the "ponies as spacefaring race" theory. It explains why there aren't more alicorns, i.e. that the princesses came to equestria fleeing some cataclysmic event. Pony biology can be compared to the developmental biology of insects:

Transitional pony caste is specified at fertilization, and early foalhood development is characterized by rapid association with various skills until a strong association is formed, at which point the foal develops into the transitional stage of ponyhood. The pony continues to grow and metabolize friendship until it is ready to metamorphose into an adult alicorn.

Soon, Twilight Sparkle will be shown the spaceship of their ancestors and the proud alicorn empire will return to conquer the stars, and nopony and nothing is going to stand in their way.

My own piles of headcanon:

The Uplifting Race

Short version is that Alicorns are a cousin species of ponies who "uplifted" and engineered the pony species in an attempt to overcome what they thought was an encroaching magical disease in their own species, one that seemed to be affecting the whole planet in unpredictable ways. In the end they realised it was their whole species ascending to a higher plane of existence. Rather than leave the new pony races they'd created to die in the chaotic wasteland this ascension left behind they elected a few of their number to remain and care for the ponies until they were at a stage where they could effectively ascend from among their own number.

The Vanilla Ascension

Ponies occasionally ascend to become alicorns for various reasons, though nobody is quite sure why. Often they will require a little helping push from an existing alicorn though they can ascend entirely naturally as well. They can be forcibly ascended if an alicorn "gifts" her power to the pony in question but it's really not a good idea.

Common features of both:
Alicorns don't need to ascend from unicorns.
Partially ascended alicorns are possible.
Ascension doesn't necessarily require becoming an alicorn.

In total there are ten alicorn's that managed to ascend past the mortal coil. Each one was achieved through a great feat of magic with which became their power. Celestia and Luna are unusual within alicorn's for being a natural birth, due to their parents being the very first unicorn/pegasus relationship. The powerful magic over day and night was passed on, resulting in early birth ascension.

Discord was to be both the first male alicorn and the first ascended changeling. But due to his forging of the elements of disharmony he was corrupted. His changeling DNA was drastically altered by the sheer magical energies resulting in a hybrid of his most common forms, also known as a Draconequus.

Cadence became an alicorn when she was first joined with the Crystal Heart. Her connection with others was beyond powerful and even the goddess of Harmony looked down upon her. Her mother managed to find a loophole in Sombra's spell, leaving her only daughter in the hoofs of the Princesses. Where she would meet the next alicorn candidate Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle was always gifted at a young age, but due to her nervousness and sometimes uncontrollable magic abilities she always kept it in check. Starswirl's spell was actually never meant to create alicorn's but to unlock hidden potential within the user. Twilight's bond with her friends and the element of magic were powerful, resulting in her ascension. Perhaps the spell could have made Starswirl an alicorn if he had unlocked the powers of friendship but then again perhaps Twilight was just meant to reach it.

As for the other six, each of them were gifted with their powers after impressive feats of magic.

Terestrian the alicorn of Minerals, was an earth pony who could mold earth, metal and crystal into any form and would eventually create the golem-ponies resulting in her ascension.

Fae the alicorn of Nature, was a pegasus who was attuned with nature in a way Fluttershy can only dream of. This connection would eventually result in her transformation after her wings were torn from her back. After ascension her wings had been replaced by those of an insect and she would go on to birth the flutterponies.

Nyx the alicorn of Spirit, another pegasus who managed to reach alicorn level after she was wrongly imprisoned in Tartarus. Over time the cold hellish tomb would alter her physically and mentally, a spirit of what she was. Eventually Nyx escaped through a combination of her magic and wit, her tortured soul was given a second chance with her ascension.

Iridescence the alicorn of diversity, A young disabled unicorn who was open to all walks of life, religion, interests and everything that made ponies different. She was always willing to accept everyone's flaws and was later ascended after she stood up to another who hated anypony different. Though her disability remained the alicorn transformation allowed new abilities.

Helios the alicorn of stars, soon after Discords defeat Luna and Celestia were unable to shift the stars from day and night. Across the land they sought out the most powerful unicorns to do this titular job. One such stallion was Helios, gifted with the ability to shift massive amounts of matter. He proved his abilities countless times and was gifted with ascension by Luna. 1000 years later he repaid her by releasing Luna/Nightmare from imprisonment.

Siria the alicorn of light, the oldest alicorn to be created. She is sometimes referred to as the Elder. In her later days Siria was known to create powerful beacons that were given to the cities throughout Equestria. Her ability to control and harness light would eventually give her ascension which was almost declined by her. She was later persuaded to accept her new role.

And that's my whole ascension story/theory/head canon.

Under rules of ascension in the universe of Chaos and Harmony:

- Celestia and Luna were born fully ascended as True Foals of Harmony.
- Cadance ascended after demonstrating her boundless capacity for love and in the process, defeating Prismia (it's based on the canon of Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell but ended differently for the characters).
- Twilight Sparkle ascended after creating new magic utilising Harmony.

Each alicorn represents a control of a particular aspect (be it a physical object of immense size or abstract concepts) of Harmony and its local space.

894779

That depends entirely on the approach you use when you designate any particular pony merchandise as "canon" or not.

Since my main contact with the franchise is through the show, I consider Cadence's history fair game.

Prior to the Season Three finale, I would have said alicorns were simply the winners of a genetic lottery in the pony bloodline, and so all alicorns were natural. This would go some way towards accounting for their rarity, and it also opened up a nice line of inquiry concerning how porous the boundaries between pony breeds were.

Short of ignoring the finale (and there are so many reasons why I'd like to do that ), I'm either going to stick with my original idea, but modify it to "Twilight is the first non-natural alicorn", or admit more ponies into the non-natural alicorn category. Pony genetics is just too good to pass up, though.

897053
With my approach they still are winners of the genetic lottery

897053
I agree. The show is ultimately what we call cannon. The merchandise is a little more iffy in that regard. What is "cannon", as far as merchandise is concerned, can be taken differently from person to person. I for instance love the ideas presented in Twilight and the Crystal Heart Spell. (Though, I have not read this story. I've only read about it.) This is primarily because it confirms two notions of mine about the MLP universe.
Ascension to Alicornhood is possible for any pony race (at least both unicorn and pegasus).
Celestia does not have to be involved in the ascension process.

I'm also a fan of the third season finale because it confirmed my long held belief that alicorns are ascendent mortals rather than descendent gods.

I'm a huge fan of these ideas because they lend themselves to my world view of everyone being born with the potential for greatness. So as you can see my opinions here are entirely subjective and colored by my personal beliefs. When I call something cannon, I only mean from my perspective.

The problem is that the spell was never cast until Twilight finished it, and it would only work on the holder of the Element of Magic.

It's possible that other Alicorns ascended through other means (even if we don't take the non-show stuff as canon), but it seems to me that they could not have possibly ascended through that spell.

As for my story of what happened, I must again stress:

902043
While I acknowledge that the spell was an important factor in Twilight's Ascension it wasn't the reason why she Ascended.

902056

As near as I can tell, it was.

I explained how the spell worked somewhere, but I can't think of where right now.

Basically, it was a fulfillment of destiny spell, but it only worked if it was in that pony's destiny to cast it. It's one of those wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey things.

910840
One of those things that you need a PhD from the University of Gallifray to understand?

In my case it wasn't the spell that jumped started her Ascension, it was the sheer joy that she Twilight Sparkle had completed something that even Star Swirl the Beared couldn't complete.

To my mind, there's a creation myth where two alicorns (I picture the Fausticorn and the stallion CSImadmax designed for Craig McCracken) who created the universe to combat the endless Void. They had four daughters, setting the precedent for four Princesses now, and put them in charge of Equestria. (This being the name of the planet as well as the continent and country.) A Princess of Magic, one of Love, etc., etc.. The Princess of Magic cut herself out of the reincarnation cycle early and there was never another until Twilight ascended. Her vanishing resulted in the Tree of Harmony and the Elements. The Princess of Love was cut off too, but much later. This was part of Sombra's takeover, the creation of the Changelings, and Chrysalis's origins.

Anyway, both Twilight and Cadence are created alicorns, while Celestia and Luna are natural ones. As a result, they have longer lifespans than they would have had as mortals, but will not live to Celestia and Luna's age, and won't reincarnate. They also aren't as strong, magically, as Celestia and Luna, but more powerful than your average unicorn. They also have, to a small degree, the powers and skills innate to the three dominant pony tribes. Celestia and Luna, however, have it to a complete extent.

Unfortunately, nopony else can ascend like these two, as they were both special cases. Twilight was actually descended from Starswirl the Bearded and from Clover the Clever, a unicorn colt Celestia constructed from magic to potentially take Luna's place after her banishment. Cadence was a descendant of the Princess of Love herself, making her the rightful heir to the Empire and Celestia's niece. Theoretically, if another magical construct or construct's descendant could achieve Twilight's level of power, he could ascend as well, but there have been no records of such existing, so far as Celestia knows. (I think Shining Armor comes close, but turned down the offer because he didn't want to risk outliving any potential kids he and Cadence had.)

Anyway, that's my whole drawn-out theory I've been building since the finale. *shrugs*
EDIT: My apologies, had the wrong artist.