Book, Blade, and A Whole Lot of Magic

by Frustaz

Chapter 3

Days passed for Celestia, a mere blink of an eye for the immortal, but they crawled by for her. Her worry about the Blood-stained Grimoire. The human was a cause of deep concern for her. She didn’t have qualms killing, counter to the society of peace she has strove to develop.

However, today, she waited in the throne room, awaiting the arrival of her champions, The Elements of Harmony. It wasn’t long into the morning before they walked in.

“Princess Celestia! What is it this time? Discord causing chaos once again? Cerberus leaving Tartarus once more?” Twilight Sparkle, her student of many years and a dear friend in her own right, Bearer of the Element of Magic.

“Twi, sugar cube… Y’all gotta slow down sometimes… Being a ah princess musta given you some boost of sorts…” Applejack panted out. The Bearer of Honesty. A hardworking cowpony, and owner of the Sweet Apple Acres.

“Girls, someone Else has escaped.” Celestia sighed, ashamed of her inability to control the situations she caused for decisions centuries prior. Luna’s words especially stung from days prior, and it’s caused her facade of confidence to falter.

“Alright, shoot, who is it this time? We can beat just about anyone if we can beat a magic eater!” Rainbow Dash, the technicolor Pegasus, known for enacting the Sonic Boom and Bearing the Element of Loyalty.

“Darling, maybe we should let the Princess speak first?” Rarity, the Element of Generosity. Fashionista, owner of her own boutique and a common voice of reason for their friend group.

Celestia’s horn lit up and began to display images from her memory, of Murals and art long since destroyed and forgotten through the years. “300 years ago or so, a Human entered our world. Her name was Illua. She would be considered a hero by historical standards, but unfortunately at the time, I used my magic to seal her in a stone prison, similarly to Discord.” Images showed her leading discussions, pleading with nobility, and leading armies of poorly equipped ponies.

“She proved that Pegasi and Earth Ponies could perform magic of their own, created her own casting style for those without a natural focus, and developed medicine where we had not.” The illustrations shifted, showing Illua as an alchemist of sorts, garbed in strange clothes that protected her face and arms from what she worked on, with dozens of notebooks and spell tomes surrounding her.

Twilight looked on in wonder, as these images were from Celestia’s own mind, fragments of memory embellished by the nostalgia of times long past. “Princess, Isn’t Illua considered one of the Masters of Magic? She created Sigil magic, something that even Unicorns have great difficulty using, but inversely, it’s a type of magic almost any species can use now… why would she be sealed away?”

It was at this moment, Luna stepped out from the side passage leading to the Sister’s individual towers. Her mane lacked the traditional array of stars, as if darkened by storm clouds. “Sister, you were the sole keeper of the tomes for many years. Tell them everything. None of thine cryptic verbosity.” Luna took her seat next to her Sister, and gave her a sidelong glare. “If Twilight is going to be considered our equal… No. More. Secrets.”

The solar diarch sighed once more, and summoned one of the guards to her side. “No visitors or hearings. Please summon the housekeepers to bring food and drink for our guests. It’s going to be a long day.” The guardspony saluted her, and marched off, leaving them in a moment of privacy. Celestia sighed, letting her coat lose the immortal lustre it typically had, lowering centuries of mental walls for her closest friends and family.

“Three hundred years ago, Illua entered our world by means unbeknownst to all but herself. She saw the flaws in the society I had built, and sought to fix them. She saw the suffering the farmers and the craftsponies suffered at the hands of those I had appointed as governors, lords, and dames. While I could feel her presence as a incredible magical force, I suppressed that because I was too self-absorbed in the life of luxury I was living at the time. I ignored the plights of the people, and believed the Nobility who reported to me. I was content to sit on my throne, and let the Cruel and incompetent reign in my stead. I wasn’t the Princess that people revered me as.” Celestia had descended from her throne and laid next to her champions, leaving her crown upon her seat above. Her mane had stopped its eternal flow, and submitted to gravity.

“However. Illua saw the injustices from a level of an outsider, who was treated with disdain for her species. She began to rally the people, teaching literacy and magic to those willing to learn, and it resulted in what was a bloody civil war that took me nearly losing my life to realize my failures.” The listeners collectively gasped, including her sister.

“You… nearly died… whilst I was imprisoned in the moon?! Why dost thou hide such important information from history?!” Luna’s voice shook the stained glass of the room, but did not break it.

“… Please.. let me finish Luna. I’ll explain my reasons later.” Celestia deflected the question, but her shoulders slumped more, the shame returning in full force from memories long past. “The point is, I put her into the stone prison as my last gambit, and lost my rights to the Elements of Harmony then and there. I was not worthy. To make things worse, unlike Discord, who could shut down his conscious mind… Illua can't. She was completely conscious of every single second of her imprisonment. I tried to converse with her for the first few years almost daily, telepathically, but as time went on, I left her be. I am afraid of what she will do.”

“Now hold on a minute. What do you want us to do? Find her? Then what? Didn’t you just say she was technically a hero?” Rainbow queried, tilting her head. “You just want us to go.. find her? Not capture her or anything?”

Celestia summoned one of the embedded crystals from her throne, and summoned it to the center of their discussion, right as the housekeepers had brought in cushions, tables, and refreshments. Celestia remained silent other than some simple instructions, only to dismiss them rather quickly. “Now that they are gone, allow me to show you why I only want her found, and I would request that you report to me when you find her.”

With a pinch of magic, the Crystal began to glow, and emit a directed light. “This is day was known for many years as ‘Illua’s Revenge.’ It is not a pleasant watch, but it’s necessary for you to understand. Will you be alright watching, Fluttershy?”

“I don’t think so, but I really need to know so I don’t treat her like one of my animals.” Fluttershy, soft hearted Element of Kindness, was clearly determined despite the fear in her eyes.

“Very well…” With another pulse, the memory began to play.

Author's Note:

Chapter 3 of Rewrite

Comments

[EnderHooves]

Wow. I really like this version of it. Giving some solid body to the motivation the Elements have. Nothing mentioned of capture or blasting with the elements, no blind rush to do the princesses bidding. I love it. Less of the princess manipulating and obscuring the facts. Very nice, it looks like the talk she had with Luna really motivated her to be more open of her nasty past.
I look forward to seeing you bring up the fact that she fell into the same mindset she was in when Luna fell to the Nightmare.
Also, I found this little typo.

Princess speak first?..” Rarity,

Just a double period after a question mark.
I look forward to the next chapter.

[Xblaster]

Seems like I was partly wrong on sunbutt, well I guess I shall see how things turn out