Beginning
By Wish I Was There
December 21st, the Winter Solstice
Canterlot
Celestia woke to the sound of silence. The absence of birds singing, her servants preparing her breakfast down the hall, and most notably, the lack of commotion on the streets was a rairity to experience in Canterlot. On any other day, this soundless awakening would be an event unheard of since Celestia had been crowned-
But not today. Today, the city stayed home.
The Princess of the Sun cracked an eye open, and wasn't really sure whether she did. The darkness was absolute, thanks to her neglectful act of sleeping in a little late and forgetting to raise the sun. The Alicorn sat up, yawning and stretching, as her horn lit up in preparation for her sunrise. Celestia straightened her posture, taking a sitting position not unlike that of meditation. She closed her eyes, exhaling as her horn flared, casting away the darkness as the sun started to rise over the horizon.
After a minute or so, Celestia was able to stop, letting physics do the rest of her work for her. The mare turned to the edge of the bed and slowly rose. She had an impulse to check the calendar to make sure it was the right day, like she had done in days past. Now, however, the silence was answer enough.
The white Alicorn started to move towards her dresser, allowing herself to slow down and reflect on some of the relics she had around her room, as she always had on the solstice. A pristine blue flower, perfectly preserved in a pale green jar. A cloak, made from Draconian leather adorned with two feathers. An ancient jar filled with yellow powder, engraved with a Falcon's head. An outlawed weapon of pure death, crafted of Iron and wood in the shape of a curved 'L'. Finally, atop her dresser sat a Golden helmet, always slightly warm to her touch.
To anyone lucky enough to visit the Princess's room, these would just seem like little knickknacks, but they held a far greater meaning to Celestia and Luna.
'We'll always remember you-'
Knock Knock!
Celestia looked at the door. "It's unlocked" she called out.
"You ready yet?" Luna replied. "We gotta hurry if we wanna be on time!"
The Sun Princess sighed. "Yeah. I'll meet you there." She waited for her sister to respond, but eventually her quiet hoofsteps gave her an answer. 'Everyone else stayed home to pay their respects. Once again, it's time for me to pay mine.' She turned away from her dresser, and proceeded to follow her sister.
Canterlot Castle
The Statue Garden
Celestia found Luna gazing at a stone tablet, supposed to contain the origin story of ponykind. It was, of course, indecipherable, but nevertheless was Luna's favorite artifact here.
Aside from the memorials, of course.
Celestia tapped her sister on the shoulder, guesturing to the back of the Garden, towards a statue of Celestia's coronation. Luna gave a sad smile, crossing in front of her and trotting over to the statue. Once both rulers were there, Celestia used her magic to push the topaz jewel on the statue's crown in, until she heard a click.
The statue slowly moved backwards, eventually revealing a stairway leading to the Sisters' destination.
Luna descended into the darkness, with Celestia following soon after, closing the statue behind her.
The sun Alicorn lit her horn, a golden glow lighting the path ahead.
The only sounds heard were the hoofsteps of monarchs.
After several minutes, the narrow passageway led to a larger, cubical room containing an altar, two chairs, and five pristine statues: A minotaur, of the Vyne breed, a Stagaia, A common Earth pony, a Gravewalker, and finally, a Pheonequus. Each of these statues was created with amazing attention to detail, to the point where the real-life counterparts would look at the statues and wonder why there was a mirror in front of them.
'At least, if they were alive, they would.'
Celestia sat herself down upon one of the chairs, as Luna did the same. They looked at the tome that sat upon the altar, the title alone bringing back memories and emotions in a heartbeat.
The United Tribes of Equus: The Story of Equestria's Founding
Written by Princess Celestia
Celestia herself looked at the pages with a mixture of awe and sorrow. The names writtin in this book were the names of her oldest, truest friends she ever had, second to none. Looking back on the days when they walked this earth was... hard.
Luna nudged her sister. "May as well start now, eh?" She started to open the book when her sister's hoof shot out to stop her. "Something wrong, Celestia?"
The Sun Princess sighed. "Sorry... It's just... Difficult to do this."
Luna smiled. "I know."
She turned to the first page of the manuscript, and her voice rang out, loud and clear.
"I, Princess Celestia Semparius Solarium, write this with my sister, Luna Semparius Nyte, in the hopes of preserving the deeds of the bravest people we have ever known."
Celestia was silently reading along, word for word, as her sister continued.
"These are the stories of the Dreadclaw wars, the unification of Equestria, and the Alicorn Purge. They have been gathered from every corner of the known world, but for the sake of comprehension, I have written it out as the story that it was, in chronological order."
Luna paused. Celestia was still reciting the introduction verbatim, too wrapped up in though to realize her sister had stopped.
"Before I begin, keep this in mind: Very few people know about the events described in this book. It is best if they are kept secret to the majority of the world. Thank you."
Celestia stopped.
And Luna began to read.
