Issac

by Eyes

Questions

Twilight gently closed the cover and secured the buckle of the old leather diary, being extremely careful not to damage the heavily destroyed book. "Spike, have you had any luck finding anything on Star Swirl's theories of Horadric devices?" She asked, placing the diary on the table softly, dwarfed beside the large stacks of tomes.

"No, nothing yet." He called down from the ladder, with a short sigh, "Are you sure this is even a real thing? By the way you described it to me, it sounds like something straight out of Ogres and Oubliettes..."

Twilight let out a long sigh and plopped her head on the library table, "no, no I'm not. But that's why we're looking. If there's even the faintest chance this device existed, or could exist, it could completely change the way we think about charging gems with magic." With a groan she lifted her head to glance up at Spike, "That's enough looking for now, I've found something a bit more curious anyway."

"Finally," Spike groaned with relief, as he slid down the ladder. "So what has you so interested now? Did we stumble on Star Swirl's secret cookbook?" He asked with a small bit of sarcasm.

"No, I wish. But, it's a diary-"

"Oooh, Star Swirl's private diary. Did he have a secret crush on Princess Celestia?" Spike asked, walking over to Twilight and hopping up onto the chair next to her.

"No, let me finish." Twilight sighed, "It's a diary written by a foal named Issac, before Nightmare Moon. I don't understand why it would be here of all places. I mean, sure, it shines a little light on who Princess Luna was before Nightmare Moon but other than small little hints, it's basically just a foals diary - albeit a very old one."

"Sure seems like time hasn't been kind to it." Spike pointed out, as he leaned close to smell the book. "It wasn't burned by magical fire either, so it wasn't a dragon."

"I noticed." Twilight groaned in exasperation, "it's in a strange dating style, the wording is odd... It's just weird!"

"Well, go ask the Princess. She was there, right?" Spike replied, grinning up to Twilight.

"Yes! Excellent idea, Spike!" She replied, grabbing the diary in her magic as she hopped up and sprinted out of the library.

Spike sighed as he looked at the tall stacks of books piled up on the table, "I guess I'll just take care of these... No, don't worry... I got it..."

---

Twilight confidently walked through the giant doors leading into the throne room, the small badly burned diary hovering in her translucent purple magic. She smiled as she trotted down the red carpet leading up to the dais to speak to her mentor and confidant. Upon reaching the dais she bowed respectfully then quickly looked up to see her teacher smiling gently.

"What can I help you with today, my dear Twilight?" Princess Celestia asked, holding her gentle smile.

"Um, I was in the older sections of the library today. While I was looking for research material related to Star Swirl the Bearded's theories, I came across this diary," Twilight began, levitating the book closer to Celestia. "It's pretty beat up and doesn't have a title, It also uses odd language and a dating system I've never seen before. I'm also curious about this foal, Issac."

Celestia remained silent as her smile slowly faded and the colour drained from her face. "Princess?" Twilight asked, her voice full of concern.

"Issac." Celestia whispered to herself, her head falling as tears began to well in her eyes.

"Princess, are you alright?" Twilight asked, rushing up to the dais.

"Yes, my student," she replied, her voice stubbornly refusing to break. "That's just a name I haven't heard aloud in quite some time. And Issac was no foal, he was a child, a human boy."

"A Human?" Twilight paused, cocking her head in confusion, "I thought they were just myths, there's never been any tangible evidence that they ever existed."

"That's true, and by all rights they don't. Not on Equis anyway." Celestia began, returning her gaze to Twilight. "Any myths you've heard, or read, about Humans were about him for there has only ever been one Human and that one was Issac."

"But what happened to him? The diary doesn't say and the remaining pages are burned."

"I'm not sure myself, Twilight. He blamed himself and hated me for not being able to save my sister from her own darkness." Celestia explained, her voice finally starting to break. "He left soon after her banishment and I haven't heard from him since, not even a rumor." She paused for a moment to regain some of her composure, "but, I highly doubt he's gone. He was trained by my sister, after all."

"But, that was over a thousand years ago. How long do Humans live?"

"According to him, around Eighty to One Hundred and Twenty years." Celestia answered with a sigh, "I asked him the very same question on the Thirtieth anniversary of the day my sister found him."

"Then how-?"

"We never could figure it out, his body just stopped aging. He just always said, 'Must be the magic, or something'." She answered, with a sad smile.

"But what happened between the time the book stops and before Nightmare Moon?"

Celestia smiled down at her student, "always curious. Never lose that spark." With a 'pop', Celestia summoned another slightly charred book into the room. "Not all of the diaries made it through the fire, but this one is the closest to the end of the one you hold, if memory serves." She slowly lowered the diary down to Twilight. "Twilight, may I have that diary? I thought it was lost to time... And I would like to read it again."

"Certainly, Princess." Twilight replied, hovering the diary up to her.

"Thank you, my dearest student. I believe I need to catch up on my reading and when you finish that one, I have one more that also survived." Celestia smiled, "Is that all for now?"

"Yes, Princess. I think I need to catch up on my reading as well." Twilight replied in monotone, staring at the new diary as she began to return to her chambers. "Good day, Princess."

"Good day, Twilight." Celestia replied in turn, staring at her own diary. "I hope you're still out there, Issac."

---

Deep in the Castle of the Two Sisters a loud sneeze breaks the silence. "I had better not be getting sick again, damn drafty old ruin." The cloaked bipedal figure sighed as it stood up from the decrepit bed. "Should be any day now."

Author's Note:

Soooo, this chapter isn't exactly what I wanted it to be. The original was shorter and more streamline, just Celestia and Twilight with the one-liner from Issac. But because of story approvers, mods, and the Fun Police/ect... I preemptively changed it to fit the 1k word limit.

I hope you like it anyway.