Why there seems to be no Alicorn children.

[Phosphorous 136]

You see how there seems to be no other Alicorns in Equestria besides the royal four. My headcanon consists of this.

1. Another Alicorn would threaten Celestia's reign, since she could both use magic, and infiltrate areas inaccessible by ground.
2. Celestia placed rules on Equestria to prevent other Alicorns from appearing.
3. Cross-type marriages are taboo, if not against the law.
4. In the case of an Alicorn birth at the hospital, the doctors would claim that there was a miscarriage, and hand the foal to the authorities.
5. If an Alicorn foal is found, the foal is taken away, and an investigation occurs. All who knew the little Alicorn would be detained.

These are the possible things that could happen when they were taken away.

1. The Alicorn baby is "dealt with" in a morbid matter.
2. The foal is taken to a top secret facility where they are brainwashed, and trained to be highly specialized military units.
3. Highly specialized surgeons perform a wingectomy or hornectomy on the poor pony. A memory loss spell is then cast on them, so that they will forget their past.
4. Memory loss spells are also performed onto the witnesses.
5. The witnesses are classified as 'mentally-ill', and are held in mental institutions.
6. The witnesses are "dealt-with" in a morbid matter.

[boiteporte 591]

Well, there are only three Alicorns in the show. Twilight, Cadence, Celestia and Luna.

Now, we know Celestia and Luna were both born as Alicorns.

 

Cadence and Twilight became Alicorns later on.

I'm thinking that there could be born Alicorns but they would have to be related to Celestia and Luna somehow. (Basically, the Royal Family).

 

Alicorns are very rare creatures, so that's why we don't see a lot of them.

[ReGen 1,466]

I'm guessing Alicorn is some sort of rank if you're not related to the Royal Family by blood.

[Banul 3,831]

Something so dark seems out of character for the alicorn princesses. I like the think that the majority of the alicorns live outside of Equestria in some kind of isolated hermit nation and keep to themselves, making alicorns rare outside their homeland.

[Untitled Goose Q 5,138]

Or possibly all Alicorns ascend in the same way Twilight or Cadence did, and that all ponies have dormant genes that when activated magically causes the transformation.

 

Frankly, we don't know enough about them. But to have Alicorn children "dealt with", brainwashed or altered seems completely out of character, and in fact I see no evidence for it at all.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,324]

Alicorns are an exceptional rarity. (see what I did there?) There are only four known examples in their world. Two natural born, and two ascended. Why would you think such dark and terrible things that couldn't possibly ever be accepted as canon to the series?

[Nulln 755]

I see Celestia and Luna as sort of gods in the pony universe.  They are the only (known to us) natural alicorns.  Their birth is a mystery to us, but I'm sure something special must have happened for them to be born alicorns.  

 

As we've seen, if a pony reaches their, I guess we could say full potential, then can become an alicorn as well.  

 

But ponies are allowed to marry other races.  The cake family already said that they have unicorn and pegasi ancestors, and they had unicorn and pegasus kids.  I don't think an alicorn could be born that way.

[More_Fluttershy 127]

This is not something they could do. This should not be legal. This is all against all basic human, or in this case pony, rights! Yet if they made an episode based on this scenario...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8JCX9E0bEI

[Shanks 10,816]

The easy answer is probably the right answer in this case and the easy answer is that alicorns are extremely rare, the ones that are both rather than ascend are probably the result of some genetic mutation. As to what causes said mutation, who knows there are a million different answers.

[Nulln 755]

If we're talking about genes, maybe the gene to make someone a unicorn, earth pony, pegasus turns off the ability to produce the others when one race is chosen.

Like the race gene picks pegasus, the baby can't have a horn like a unicorn.  If it picks unicorn, it can't have wings.  Pony, it can't have horn or wings.

A born alicorn might be a mutation where all 3 somehow find their way on the race gene.

Like how if you're a girl, your gender gene is XX, for a boy it's XY.  But rarely a mutation occurs where you're XYY, which would be squishing an extra allele on the gene. 

 

I could probably explain this in more detail, but I feel like I'm being confusing to people who don't know about genetics.  XD

[Phosphorous 136]

From what I know, I think that the two separate genes for wing and a horn are not interconnected. However, they are both recessive, allowing for the Cake's situation. I believe that there is a dominant gene that inhibits the growth of a horn, and the same for wings. An Alicorn would be free from these inhibitory genes. 

There could be a connection, if the genes encoding inhibitory proteins are near each other on the same chromosome. 

 

But ponies are allowed to marry other races.  The cake family already said that they have unicorn and pegasi ancestors, and they had unicorn and pegasus kids.  I don't think an alicorn could be born that way.

 

Just because they can marry each other, doesn't mean it is not taboo. For a long time in the US and South Africa, Blacks were not allowed to marry Whites, yet mixed-race children arose from secret marriages. The Cakes probably hid their heritage.

[More_Fluttershy 127]

You know alicorn isn't just a pegasus/unicorn crossbreed. There has to be some earth pony present. 

[Nulln 755]

From what I know, I think that the two separate genes for wing and a horn are not interconnected. However, they are both recessive, allowing for the Cake's situation. I believe that there is a dominant gene that inhibits the growth of a horn, and the same for wings. An Alicorn would be free from these inhibitory genes. 

There could be a connection, if the genes encoding inhibitory proteins are near each other on the same chromosome. 

 

I would say that the horn and wing genes must be turned off when one or the other (or neither) is selected, whether it's a trait of a single gene or even each separate genes.  Either way, that's the way it must be for the ponies, because you can't have a baby born with both just from being from different pony races.

 

 

Just because they can marry each other, doesn't mean it is not taboo. For a long time in the US and South Africa, Blacks were not allowed to marry Whites, yet mixed-race children arose from secret marriages. The Cakes probably hid their heritage.

 

But this is a magical world of friendship and happiness and ponies, not humans and racial conflict. XD 

The different pony races don't have race conflicts like that.  They would never make a rule like that, or even have that stigma in their world.  

Inb4 Zecora: the ponies feared her when they first saw her, so maybe some would think that'd be a racial fear from the ponies.  But it really wasn't.  Zebras are not ponies, they're as different a species as the griffins are. 

Edited August 6, 2014 by ScumCandy

[Jammo 986]

Alicorns are born via ascension.  They are pony angels with Celestia being like an Archangel.  I wouldn't dismiss the idea of Celestia gaining her powers from an older Alicorn that is either MIA or dead.

[Fractured 2,684]

The Crystal Heart Spell mentions that Celestia went through an ascension process like Cadence. I think it's a process that only occurs when you embody a concept so strongly it becomes you. It's likely an alicorn and another pony would just make another normal pony.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Shimmer5000

[cuteycindyhoney 13,324]

I see Celestia and Luna as sort of gods in the pony universe.  They are the only (known to us) natural alicorns.  Their birth is a mystery to us, but I'm sure something special must have happened for them to be born alicorns.

The royal sisters are either angels or from another world entirely. My headcanon says that the Crystal Castle is what remains of the starship they came to Equestria in.

Edited August 7, 2014 by cuteycindyhoney

[Phosphorous 136]

But this is a magical world of friendship and happiness and ponies, not humans and racial conflict. XD 

The different pony races don't have race conflicts like that.  They would never make a rule like that, or even have that stigma in their world. 

Just because they don't have conflicts and supposedly view themselves as equal brothers, doesn't mean there is no stigma attached with mixed-type marriages. Based on the assumption that horns and wings are recessive, a pegasus wouldn't like to marry a unicorn or earth pony, since that would most likely result in their child to be tied to the ground. Similarly, a unicorn would like their child to use strong horn magic. 

 

The Crystal Heart Spell mentions that Celestia went through an ascension process like Cadence. I think it's a process that only occurs when you embody a concept so strongly it becomes you. It's likely an alicorn and another pony would just make another normal pony.

 

In my headcanon, I think that the "ascension" process involves scalpels, a talented unicorn surgeon, and a poor pegasus/unicorn's wings/horn. For Twilight, she could have been teleported to a surgery room in Canterlot, and given a knockout spell or deep anesthetic. The place where she met Celestia was inside her mind. That's explained by her memories flipping through. Perhaps, Celestia was singing to her unconscious body during her time knocked out. And then, she was teleported back to Ponyville.

[yeet 2,027]

Why don't we go for one of the more obvious things here.

What if only alicorns can reproduce to make alicorns, but not any other type of pony. And obviously the only alicorns left are female, so they can't really reproduce more alicorns can they.

[Malinter 3,064]

Maybe Celestia and Luna have had children. But sired by a regular pony and therefore mortal.  Celestia might be able to watch her subjects age and die but direct offspring are a different matter. That said, if Celestia's children grew on to have offspring of there own, it would have two possible uses.

 

1/The princesses would have a family, though it would be spread far and wide over time.

2/Being decended from her might allow for seemingly normal ponies to acsend to alicorn again.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Shire Pony Malinter

[Deathstroke 1,564]

I think alicorns are some sort of an accomplishment rather than race

[Nulln 755]

Just because they don't have conflicts and supposedly view themselves as equal brothers, doesn't mean there is no stigma attached with mixed-type marriages. Based on the assumption that horns and wings are recessive, a pegasus wouldn't like to marry a unicorn or earth pony, since that would most likely result in their child to be tied to the ground. Similarly, a unicorn would like their child to use strong horn magic. 

 

Except this is My Little Pony.  That's just not how they are.  They don't think any less of each other for their differences, and know that each one is important in their own way.  Even in the show, they have mixed couples out in the open, happily together.  In the Heats and Hooves Day episode, they showed at LEAST 2 couples, with an earth pony and a pegasus together.  If the pegasus is living in ponyville, they're going to be on the ground anyways, and I'm sure something like that wouldn't matter.  I don't think the parents want what they have for their kids like how we do in our world.  The cutie marks help them find their own talents, and their own unique way in the world.  A pegasus child doesn't have to have a flying baby, and unicorn doesn't have to have a baby with strong magic.  Most of the unicorns only use their magic for everyday tasks anyways, which the other ponies have been shown as quite capable of doing without magic.  And Scootaloo can't fly, but she gets around just fine, and even Rainbow Dash, the flyingest pegasus around, doesn't mind hanging out with a flightless pegasus, and has never even brought the issue up.

[GlitterdotSparkle 8]

I think alicorns are some sort of an accomplishment rather than race

 

Agree with Deathstroke. 

[Espurr 449]

Um. This concept seems a bit... dark.

 

However, I can see a fanfic in this!

 

But in lighter tones, who really wants kids as powerful as you? Or powerful enough to destroy Equestria or whatever.

[paradoxical 1,735]

I think that if there is a conspiracy type thing it's while said pony is in the womb with a painless spell to prevent the genes from displaying.  Thus Twily overcame that gene and for some reason it was removed with Cadence (or they missed it [is it true cannon that she's not Alicorn born?  Or is it just word from "God"])

[Fractured 2,684]

I think that if there is a conspiracy type thing it's while said pony is in the womb with a painless spell to prevent the genes from displaying.  Thus Twily overcame that gene and for some reason it was removed with Cadence (or they missed it [is it true cannon that she's not Alicorn born?  Or is it just word from "God"])

True stuff, they explained it in the Crystal Heart Spell