“Yes, yes, yes” Celestia answered. “This is my old castle. But…”
“But”? I shot back in reply.
“But” She paused building the anticipation and making me nervous. “I wasn't the only princess to live here”. This made me pause and think back, far back. Nearly a thousand years ago. I’d only knew of the past from stories. That being said one in particular stood out.
“The Mad Moon Mare of Midnight”! I replied with glee. But she looked at me as if I was joking. “What”? She sigh in reply and corrected me.
“The Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon”. I kind of shuffled my hoofs in embarrassment.
“That one. But, wasn’t she a crazy Alicorn who demanded power and threatened to shroud the whole of Equestria in eternal darkness”?
“No”! Celestia shouted turning to face me. She paused for a moment and I drew back a few steps. “She was my sister”. She said with great solace retreating to the memories of the old library. “We used to have so much fun in here”. Her thoughts trailed off and for the first time in my life I saw her vulnerable side.
“Celestia”. I interjected, swiftly bringing her to her senses. And as if the moment had never happened she then turned to me and said.
“I brought you here for a reason Shadow, and that reason was to show you this” she levitated a small book in my direction which I instantly recognized as “the journal of the two sisters”. Because the title was conveniently put on the cover of course. I flipped through the pages and it somewhat got me familiar with the situation. Bringing me to the point when Celestia and her sister got their cutie marks. At first I thought it just to be a story Celestia had written to pass the time. But I knew better. The book taught me a lot and again I missed the book my father gave me.
“I’m sorry Celestia, I thought she was a myth”.
“Everypony thinks she is a myth, but I know that Twilight will one day see the truth”.
“How can you know this”? I asked her eagerly as I inched forward.
“Starswirl predicted it long ago. And what's more her cutie mark looks almost identical to the mark in the center of the tree of harmony”.
“I wish to see the tree, according to your journal it's near here”. She agrees and we make our way back outside of the castle after setting things back in order. “It’s nearly been one thousand years. If the legends are true then she will use the stars to escape her imprisonment”.
“That's why I must teach Twilight all I can in the time she has”.
“Tell me Celestia, how long did you intend to seal her away”?
“I did not intend to do anything”. She replied reluctantly. “The elements required both of us to control and even then we never knew the outcome. It was like the elements themselves decided, a sort of judgement...I felt it though, and Luna was supposed to be trapped forever”. As she spoke she looked away as if distancing herself from the conversation. Perhaps she was looking for the moon through the thick forest.
“Chin up my dear Celestia, next time will be different”. She could see through my ruse but it was all I could say to ease the tension. But we had arrived at the tree and she ushered me to approach it. So I did so. But, I did not take but three steps before the tree stopped me dead in my tracks. It...It spoke to me.
“I know you” it said. That’s all it said. Celestia swore it wasn't her, and she never heard it then nor since… After confirming that Twilight’s cutie mark was indeed similar to what was on the tree I asked Celestia to go back without me. When she left I just waited. And listened to hear the tree again.