Elements of the Past

Two of the Royal Guard stood awkwardly outside the doors of Celestia’s study, trying to ignore Twilight Sparkle’s yelling. Neither of them had ever dreamed she would raise her voice to the Princess.

“How dare you! I won’t! To even think such a thing!” Twilight raged. Celestia watched her faithful student with a growing sense of déjà vu. She had been through this several times before, though she hadn’t expected sweet Twilight to be so vocal. “If anything goes wrong, if you went wrong, we could just use the Elements of Harmony!”

Celestia spoke, a stern note entering her voice, “Enough.” She motioned for Twilight to sit. Glowering at the ancient monarch, Twilight lowered herself on her stool again. “I promise I will explain, dear Twilight, if you’ll but give me a moment. The elements of Harmony are extraordinarily powerful, of course, but they have a simple weakness.” Twilight was still glaring at Celestia.

“They seemed quite effective against Nightmare moon,”

“Yes. They probably did. Since she didn’t expect them to work at all. And didn’t know who bore them.”

Twilight stared back, at the implications of that, “Princess, what do you mean?”

Celestia looked quite somber as she spoke next, “The Elements are the most powerful force in this world. Yet, without just one of the Elements, they can’t work properly. Since the identities of you and your friends are now public, we must take certain steps.”

“Are you saying that someone would go after me? To stop me from using the Elements?”

Celestia shook her regal head. “No, not you. No one would go after the most powerful unicorn born in recent memory. If an Alicorn was attempting to control all of Equestria she would probably go after Fluttershy first.” Celestia swallowed hard. “I simply adore your friend, but she is no soldier.”

“Princess, neither you nor Luna would do such a thing!” Twilight said, raising her voice again.

“The decision is made, Twilight. I do however; have a way to convince you of its necessity.” Celestia stood up, looking bemusedly at her untouched tea. “Follow me Twilight.”

The two guards outside the study were very careful to avoid eye contact with their Princess and her student, when the pair exited the study. Both ignored them, which was strange in among itself. Princess Celestia addressed all the ponies of her guard by name, and seldom stood on protocol.

The pair of teacher and student headed to a section of the palace that Twilight had never been before. Twilight realized, startled, that they were heading in the direction of the archives. She frowned but followed. They eventually reached a solid looking wall of some glossy, matte black substance. Twilight spoke, this time in a very small voice, “Princess, I don’t want to know these things.”

Celestia gave her student a sympathetic look. “I know, Twilight. Which is the only reason you’re going to be allowed to learn these spells. If I thought for a second you had an interest in the subject, we would never speak of it again.” A brief flare of Celestia’s magic illuminated a series of runic patterns covering the door, bathing the two ponies in red and purple lights. Several seconds passed, and then the seemingly solid wall split down the middle. A cold, stale draft wafted out of the revealed passage. Celestia bravely walked forward, into the dark corridor. Twilight hesitated for a second, and then followed.

The pair reached a wide, winding stairway. The doors closed behind them, shutting off all light, leaving only the soft glow of Celestia’s horn to see by. Twilight peeked over the edge of the stairs, and then swallowed hard, looking down at the seemingly endless void beneath them. “The archives are down there?” Twilight asked, nervousness colouring her words. Celestia nodded, and then started down the stairs. Twilight followed, carefully staring at the stairs and not the endless darkness on either side of them.

To Twilight, it seemed like they descended on those endless stairs forever. The air seemed to grow fouler with every step. Unconsciously, Twilight found herself with her own horn glowing, hoping to dispel the gloom. Noticing her student’s discomfort, Celestia slowed her stride, falling in step beside Twilight, and offered her a kind smile. “There’s been nothing alive here in fifty years. You don’t need to be afraid.”

Boldly, Twilight responded, “I’m not afraid. The air just feels so…” Twilight trailed off.

“Wrong?” Celestia finished for her.

“Yes.” Twilight shuddered. “I don’t think anything will hurt me down here, but I think that it wants to.”

A knowing expression crossed Celestia’s face. “This is not a happy place.”

They took a couple more steps before Twilight paused, “Princess Celestia,” Twilight paused and inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the suddenly foul taste in her mouth, “You promised you’d explain. You haven’t.”

“There is a history recorded, and stored within these archives. One I’ve suppressed.”
A dark look crossed Twilight’s normally soft features. “That you’ve suppressed? Doesn’t everypony have the right to know history?”

“Sometimes,” Celestia sighed, “Sometimes for people to heal, things need to be forgotten. I’m afraid you need to discover the darkest parts of Equestria’s long history. Please, trust me, my faithful Twilight,” Celestia gave Twilight a plaintive look.

“Of course I trust you!” Celestia was startled by how strong Twilight’s outburst was. With that, Twilight strode confidently forward, leaving Celestia to follow along behind her. The two walked in silence for many minutes, eventually reaching a small, simple room, at the bottom of the stairs. The room was worked stone, and looked perfectly plain. There was a tattered looking curtain drawn across an opening in the far wall, and a scarlet line running across the floor, bisecting the room. Twilight looked at the line, curious. She could feel it, ancient magic coursing through the floor. She reached out with a simple sensing spell, and then reared up as if struck, a jolt of pain coursing through her horn. “Princess, what is that thing?”

“The final protection of the archives. It only will admit those who have no malicious intentions.” Celestia walked across the line, wincing in pain as she did. Seeing Twilight’s concerned eyes, she spoke, “Do not worry, Twilight. I do not believe it will harm you.”

Tentatively, Twilight put a single hoof across the line. She was quite surprised when she felt next to nothing. The only change was that the air on the other side of the line was dryer, and warmer. She strode across the line, and then stopped. She opened her mouth, as if she was about to speak, but then stopped, and nodded. Celestia used a gentle gust of magic to push aside the curtain, revealing a single roomed chamber.

Bookshelves lined the walls of the room, which was surprisingly tiny, smaller even then Twilight’s cozy bedroom back in Ponyville. A desk stood, lonely, in the center of the room, and single nearly spent candle rested upon it. Celestia walked towards a shelf, and delicately used her magic to prise an ancient looking tome from its companions. Celestia gently placed the book upon the desk, and then looked towards Twilight. “I wrote this over one thousand years ago. In places, it is far too personal, to be a formal history. More like a journal, though it covers events that I reconstructed through magic and interviews.” Celestia was speaking in a soft, sorrowful voice. Twilight had to push back an instinct to reach out and comfort her teacher. “I never had the talent for essays, analysis and objective discussion that my sister did. That you do.“ Celestia smiled briefly, and then continued. “Please don’t judge Luna too harshly. I was…” She hesitated, before carrying on, “Distraught when I wrote this, and didn’t perhaps explain her side of it.” Celestia continued to speak, a slight catch in her voice, “Everyone neglected my poor sister, no matter how she tried, and I was the worst of anyone, piling work on my lonely little sister so I could run off to bathe in the people’s adoration.” She shook her head, “And there were other things. It doesn’t excuse what happened…” she trailed off, avoiding Twilight’s gaze “Still, you need to know about Luna, about Nightmare Moon, and The Longest Night.”

Celestia said little else before she departed, only explained that she would be in her study, waiting for Twilight to finish, that the candle was spelled to burn extremely slowly, and that there would be guards at the top of the stairs if she needed refreshment. She left Twilight alone in that tiny room, the only lights cast by the now guttering candle, and the illumination of Twilight’s horn. The room smelled of ancient paper and wax, scents Twilight usually enjoyed. Yet perhaps knowing what was inked on the pages cast a sharp edge to the scent. Twilight felt nervous. She was not precisely afraid. She had felt like this before, first when she had confronted the Ursa Minor. Not afraid, but anxious. She looked down at the familiar, ornate script on the cover, recognizing the flourish in the ink, the delicate way the ‘t’s were crossed, the elaborate and often animated way the ‘I’s were dotted.

“Nightmare Night”
A record by Celestia, First Daughter of Solaris, Sole Monarch of Equestria, Bearer of Element of Laughter, Holder of the Golden Fire, Conqueror of the Night, and Phoenix-friend.

Twilight opened the cover, and started to read.