Twilight Sparkle loved Canterlot. More specifically, she loved Canterlot’s libraries. Book after book, hour upon hour, she could spend entire days lost in the deeper reaches of the royal archives. She had quite an impressive book collection at her home in Ponyville, if she said so herself, but it was nothing compared to the literary wonderland she so loved to get lost in. It had literally every book she could imagine, and many more she could not. Rumor had it that the archives had a copy of every single book ever written. If a thing could be learned, it could almost certainly be learned here.
Which is why it was especially infuriating to Twilight when she could not find what she was looking for.
She was on vacation, but as her assistant Spike grumbled the day previous, “a vacation with Twilight is no vacation at all.” That was before he received a dirty look and light smack on the head.
To Twilight, it was a vacation of sorts. Getting lost in the world of information that was the archives was a joy all on its own. She had come to Canterlot in part to visit her parents, but mostly because she needed certain books that she simply did not have in her own collection. She was in the middle of a deep study of ancient Equestrian history, and was absolutely, positively stuck on one of the most well-known, but poorly documented events in history: the War of Madness.
It was the first documented war in Equestria, and was also the worst, that much was obvious. It marked the first time that the tyrant Discord had terrorized the world. Scholars debated on why there was so little recollection of it, but many concluded that printed material was scarce back in the ancient days. Ponies at that time would not have been worried about recording history, they said, but rather survival. Many also hypothesized that many of the already scarce material of the day was destroyed in the chaos.
Twilight was determined to fix this. She would gather every known fact from every known source, and compile them into something that made sense. Easier said than done, of course.
Twilight had retrieved nearly every book on the subject, and had read many of them cover to cover, some more than once. After briefly visiting with her parents, she all but galloped to the archives, and started her research, the sun still high in the sky. Minutes dragged on into hours, with an ever growing stack of research books to her left and ink-splotched notepaper to her right. It was an hour from midnight before she dismissed a sleepy Spike, who had been gathering books for her all day long.
“Aren’t you coming?” Spike said, stifling a yawn.
“No, not yet,” Twilight responded, not bothering to look up from her book, “I think I’ve almost got something. I’ll be up in a little bit. Don’t wait up.”
“I wasn’t going to,” Spike mumbled, stretching his sore muscles. “Well, don’t stay up too late. Good night!” he said, walking towards the exit.
“Mm hmm,” Twilight dismissively hummed.
That was two hours ago. By the dim candlelight, Twilight had since read through another quarter of a book, with having written only one or two additional lines of notes. She scanned each and every line of relevant data with nearly zero success. The old dusty tome either told her things she already knew, or information so vague that it was useless. She even began to notice inconsistencies, things that supposedly happened but, when examined logically, could not have been possible. It drove her mad with frustration.
“Twilight? Is that you?”
The voice behind her nearly made her jump out of her skin. The only other person nearby was the door guard. Even the librarians were gone. Normally, ponies were not allowed to stay this late, but as the princess’s personal student, she was allowed special privileges. The only other person she could think of with late night access was…
“Princess Celestia?”
“Hello, my faithful student. It’s nice to see you!” she said, wearing a smile as gentle as the morning sun.
“It’s nice to see you, too!” Twilight said, returning the smile with faltering grace. Her fatigue and surprise made it result in more of a grimace. The Princess quietly chuckled, knowing she was sincere.
“I tried to visit earlier, but I was told you were busy.” I also need to get this project done! “What brings you here?” Twilight asked.
“Well, this is my library,” the princess said, walking toward Twilight’s desk. Seeing an apology form on her student’s lips, she quickly added, “But I just came to pick up a novel. It’s a new one, the Wayward Knight. Ever read it?”
“O-oh. Yes! It’s very good,” Twilight said, quickly recovering. “You read novels?”
“Oh, this and that,” Celestia said whimsically, “I like to keep up with the things ponies are writing nowadays. Besides, a pony has to have fun sometimes.” She walked a bit closer to Twilight’s desk, and peered over her shoulder. Seeing the thick stack of hastily written notes, she lightly laughed. “It seems you could be writing a novel yourself! What are you doing here so late?”
“Oh, just a project of mine. History, actually,” Twilight said. “I was doing a bit of reading a while ago, and couldn’t help but notice a certain time period that missed a lot of information.”
“Oh?” Celestia said.
“Yes,” Twilight said, becoming more relaxed and slipping into a tone of explanation. “Everything leading up to and during the War of Madness.”
“I see,” Celestia said. She tapped a hoof to her chin in contemplation. “Have you tried Quiver Quill’s Guide to Ancient Equestria?” she offered.
“Yep,” Twilight responded, pointing to the stack of books that was easily twice her height. “Right there. Starting on page 256. I feel his timeline is…” she paused, waving her hoof in the air, looking for the right word. “…incomplete.”
“Prime Edition’s Complete History?”
“I’ve checked it. Too broad. Not nearly enough detail.”
“Scribe Inky’s The Maid of Canterlot? That’s a personal favorite of mine.”
“Too narrow. It focuses on only one pony’s life throughout the entire war, and the Old Equestrian is a little difficult to decipher sometimes. Although, did you know Canterlot use to be a small, earth pony town? Oh, well of course you know. It’s just strange since you think it would be unicorns mining the mountain for gems, or even pegasi for its high elevation, but nope! Earth ponies. No one really knows, but I think it might be because…”
Twilight trailed off as she realized she was rambling. She looked at Celestia and blushed, who returned it with a good natured smile.
“Well, anyways,” Twilight continued, “It’s fascinating, but not what I’m looking for. Besides, it ends really abruptly for some reason.”
“Yes, I suppose it does,” Celestia said contemplatively. She came up with more titles as suggestions, but she had read every single one. Many of them were still tucked away in the precariously tall stack of books to her left.
“Goodness, Twilight! I don’t know what to tell you,” Celestia laughed, after having exhausted her extensive knowledge of books.
“I don’t know what else to do,” she moaned miserably, throwing her hooves up and planting her face on the desk.
“What kind of information are you missing?”
“I’ve got a basic idea of everything, but there still so much missing. Important names, for one. Apparently, there was this great general who united the pony tribes on his own, but there isn’t a single mention of his name! Some of the dates are messed up, too. The pony tribes themselves were supposed to have already united and founded Equestria, but every text I’ve read describes them as fighting just as venomously as before, at least until the anonymous general brought them together. And another thing-“
Twilight began, but conspicuously paused.
“What?” Celestia asked.
“Well, it’s not important…” Twilight sheepishly said.
“You can tell me, Twilight,” Celestia said, nudging her student on the shoulder. Twilight sighed.
“Well, it’s about, um…” she began. Celestia eyed her curiously. “It’s about you, actually.”
“About me?”
“Well, yeah…” Twilight laughed nervously. “There isn’t a whole lot of information about your life. You or your sister, for that matter. No early life, no activity in the war. All the information indicates you and Luna just sort of appeared, found the Elements, and ended it all. Not only that, but…”
Twilight trailed off as she noticed Celestia become distant. She was no longer looking at her student, her gaze having shifted to look at the flickering light of the candle. Twilight had no way of knowing what was beyond the impenetrable mask of indifference that Celestia wore. She assumed the worst.
“Not that it’s my place to look! It is your private life after all, and I know you don’t remember much of it, and I’ve asked before, and I’m sure it must be unpleasant to think about all those years, and I’m so sor-“ She stopped as a hoof gently touched her lips.
“It’s okay, Twilight,” Celestia said slowly, “You’re right. Much of that information has been lost.”
“Y-yeah…” Twilight responded cautiously. There was an awkward pause. “Princess?”
“Twilight, why don’t you meet me tomorrow night? In my personal study.” Her gaze shifted from the candle to her student. “Would you do that?”
The response was quick. “Yes, of course!”
“Good,” Celestia said. “Bring a quill, and lots of ink and parchment.”
“You’re going to help me study?” Twilight asked, her voice half full of hope. The princess smiled in response.
“Yes, I’ll help you study.” The princess gave her an exact time, in the evening when all of her royal duties will have been completed.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, my faithful student. Until then, try to get some sleep. Good night, Twilight,” said Celestia. She began to walk toward the exit, the novel she came to pick up completely out of mind.
“Good night, princess,” Twilight said. She thought for a moment, and added, “Oh! Should I bring the books?” Celestia stopped, and half turned her head back towards her.
“No, they will not be necessary.”
**********
Almost immediately after she left the library, Princess Celestia began to have second thoughts. She had been thinking about it for quite some time, actually, but what she had just done was completely on impulse.
No matter. She could easily cancel the appointment.
But should she? Would she? She felt the memories, bursting at the edge of her mind, craving to be shared. It was not a history, or a biography, but a story, full and true, something that not even her sister Luna knew the whole of. It was a story that Celestia was only the smallest part of, and yet she was the only one that had the power to recount it. It was a painful story, but all the more beautiful for it.
It was a story that deserved to be told.
**********
Twilight arrived at her mentor’s personal study an exact five minutes before she was due. She was eager to begin. It had been so long since she last talked with the princess, let alone studied with her one on one. At the approval of the golden-armored door guard, she was allowed entrance. She walked in and closed the door behind her.
It had been a while since she last saw it, but the princess’s study was exactly like she remembered it. As always, it was well lit with a set of magical lights that were never too bright and never too dim. The large windows to the south provided an excellent view of Canterlot, and far beyond that, Ponyville. In one corner, there was a trio of comfortable chairs surrounding a coffee table, and in another was a large wooden writing desk surrounded by cushioned stools. Lining the whole of the room were bookshelves, all of which had books of both fundamental basics, advanced knowledge, and personal importance.
In her fillyhood years, the study had been a bastion of peace and learning, under the careful tutelage of the Princess Celestia herself. Now, it was a nostalgic reminder of the “good ol’ days”, but still remained as great a place as ever.
Sitting at one of the desks was Princess Celestia, warmly smiling at her student. In front of her sat two cups of tea, steam pleasantly rising into the air.
“Twilight,” Celestia happily acknowledged, “Come in!” She did so, as any lingering anxiety from the night previous melted away into the warmth of the room.
“Princess,” she smiled, “Sorry, I am a little early.”
“No need to apologize,” Celestia gently countered. In fact, she had counted on her being early. She was always early.
“So,” Twilight began, removing her saddlebag and unloading the contents onto the desk, “Where do we start? Is there a book in here that I missed? One that isn’t in the archives?”
“No, no book,” Celestia said calmly, taking a sip of tea.
“Oh. A scroll, then? Scrolls are okay. Kind of hard to read though,” she said, sitting down directly across from Celestia and shuffling the blank parchment into an organized pile.
“No,” Celestia replied, gently laughing, “No scroll.”
Twilight paused. “I don’t understand. If there’s no material to study from, then what are we here for?”
Celestia shifted her gaze to a nearby window, looking contemplative, as if preparing to say something but not knowing how to say it. After a moment, she looked back, an expression of seriousness playing across her face.
“Twilight,” she finally began, “I need you to do something for me.”
“Really? What is it? I promise I’ll-” Twilight began, but was cut off.
“Don’t promise just yet,” Celestia gently rebuked. Twilight fell silent. “I need you to write something for me.”
“Write something? Like, as a scribe? Spike is better at that than I am,” Twilight replied.
“No, this has to be you,” Celestia said. “And I don’t just mean dictation. It’s not a letter, it’s a… story.”
“Well, okay,” Twilight said, unsure. “What kind of story?” The question caused Celestia to again become briefly contemplative.
“A history, I suppose you could call it. My history.”
There was an awkward silence.
“Your history?” Twilight weakly repeated.
“Yes. I know I’ve told you I don’t remember most of it, that after centuries the memories have faded.” She paused. “That was wrong.”
Twilight was speechless. After a moment of flustered contemplation, she managed to say the only thing in her mind.
“But why?”
“Because you’re right. The recorded history of that period is severely lacking, and ponies deserve to know. After all, I witnessed it firsthand,” Celestia said confidently. After another second, a little more meekly, she followed up with, “It’s also been such a long time since I’ve told anypony. I’m afraid I actually will forget if I don’t.”
“But why hide it?”
“You said so yourself. Earlier, in the library. ‘I’m sure it must be unpleasant to think of those years’ I believe were your words.” Celestia took another sip of tea. “Well, you were right. It is unpleasant. However, some things simply have to be done, pleasant and otherwise.”
“And you want… me? Surely there are better biographers, or, or historians that could-” Twilight said, stumbling around her words.
“Oh Twilight,” Celestia said, smiling. “Don’t short change yourself. You’re the brightest pony around! You know Equestria’s history extraordinarily well! Some of it…” she began, but rephrased, “…well, much of it is distasteful, but you know that as well as anypony. I would be honored to have you record this for me.”
Twilight blanked, looking for the right words to say. Celestia saw her expression, and realized she had not even considered the possibility of her student declining. She began to worry. She could have a real biographer or historian write for her, but did not want to. Much of the account she planned on telling was deeply personal, and not something she could share with just anypony. In front of Twilight, she had the courage to be herself. In front of anypony else, she was the Princess of the Sun.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Twilight’s voice.
“I-“ she began, pausing. Celestia leaned in an infinitesimal amount, anticipating the reply.
“I… I would be honored, Princess.”
Celestia breathed an inaudible sigh of relief, and inwardly laughed. Of course, she had no need to worry.
“Where do we start?” Twilight said, magically gripping her quill and dipping it in a well of fresh ink.
Celestia took a long sip of tea before responding. “At the beginning.”