Chapter 19

Letters of the Past

The sun rose over the mountains of Canterlot. The town of Ponyville was in the process of being inhabited by ponies of all three races. The royal guards had been sent to investigate the Everfree Forest. Last night was not what they had expected the start of the new age of harmony to be like. The Master of Chaos, Discord had proven to be a powerful foe to the kingdom and its rulers. The King and Queen were back on their hooves but their eldest daughter, Aurora couldn’t help but to feel that something wasn’t quit right with them. They seemed slower than ever and more likely to express their disappointment when they were given bad news. One example of unfavorable news came to them when the royal guards told them that the Everfree is no longer a safe place for the ponies of the kingdom and anyone venturing inside the forest. They ended their report with the advice that anyone brave enough to go into the forest should take great care. It was then decided that a warning sign would be placed at the mouth of the forest as an act of caution to all daring to go inside. Celestia and Luna had awoken to find that their victory over Discord and fulfilling their duties as Princesses was met with newfound respect and admiration amongst the citizens and guards. Celestia blushing furiously accepted her fans, cries of joy and was pleased to share her knowledge of flying to new flyers. Luna on the other hoof didn’t know how to handle the new popularity surrounding her.

Most days now the two sisters would be seen venturing into the forest with a few guards or in some cases, Black Wood and Wind Chime who wasted no time in performing their skills. Wind Chime would check in on the animals of the forest to see how they were coping with their new homes while Black Wood would examine the slightest hints of magic in the air. One particular lead he had found turned out to be a very unfriendly bunch of trees that came to life when approached and furiously swung their branches at them. A new trace of magic he and the two sisters sensed was coming from somewhere far in the Everfree. When Celestia and Luna asked the guards about it, they would mysteriously go deaf or change the subject by informing them that the next part of the forest was clear of any approaching dangers. This strategy did not sit well with Black Wood who continued to periodically venture out on his own in order to find the source of the unknown magic. Lost on what they should do for the forest, Celestia and Luna visited Scorpan in the cave he his older brother and Discord had taken refuge in during the winter to ask him about anything Discord might have done while they were living together.

“Nothing that I saw made me any more suspicious than I already was about him,” said Scorpan one afternoon outside of the cave.

Was it their imagination or did Scorpan always appear worried about having them around the cave? Still the two sisters continued to question him whenever they got the chance. According to Scorpan, Discord was a dangerous creature who should be taken seriously. He especially was against Celestia’s decision on banishment. He warned her that Discord would not take the threat seriously at all and insisted that they should be on high alert for his eventual return. Celestia took Scorpan’s advice into consideration over the next couple weeks. When the two informed Snap Shot and Commander Hurricane about Scorpan’s warning they took their orders to heart as they agreed to work together on setting up a daily watch patrol in both the sky and land. With the guards on new patrol duties, Ponyville and Cloudsdail continued to grow in population. Nearing the end of spring, Celestia and Luna were now in full control of the sun and moon. Luna had set up her own station in the east wing tower of the castle. Every night she would head to that part of the castle to perfume her duties as Princess of the night. She had just finished yet another successful moon rising. The guards below had switched their patrols yet again.

Celestia was below the castle in the mysterious library going over old books and letters. She had hoped that she would find something from the past that would tell her anything about Discord. The Pheonix had perched itself on a candleholder and provided light with her own glowing body. So far Celestia started her search in the files of the former Princess of Equestria. She caught little side notes of a type of strange creature who had just started to make their presence known to their world. Could it be Discord? Something told her that wasn’t the case since the next note had informed the Princess that the creature was a large black dragon. This turned out later to be The Defiler. Celestia was all too familiar with the amount of damage and destruction he could bring. She continued to look through other files for another hour until she finally came across something that wasn’t about Discord but a type of tree rumored to be somewhere in the Everfree Forest. She began to read the note directed to the former Princess.

“Your highness, I am writing this letter to inform you that our suspicions were correct after all. It appears as hard as it is to believe, there is indeed a tree that carries immense power within the Everfree Forest. As we approached it, the Unicorn guards could sense the power coming from within its very bark! Upon further inspection there appeared to be strange markings on it, six to be precise. Almost like they were supposed to symbolize something. What that is we don’t know. Starswirl himself is very intrigued by the idea of a tree containing magic. Should we let him see what he thinks of it?

Your Captain of the Royal Guard, Captain Feather Duster.”

At the end of the letter Celestia sat back thinking hard. She was sure something about the letter sounded awfully familiar to her. Black Wood had said something was trying to repair the damage that The Defiler had inflicted on the forest and even put up a fight to attempt to stop Discord’s magic from spreading as well. Could the source of the strange secondary magic within the Everfree be the same tree from back then?

With having some kind of lead on the strange occurrences in the forest, Celestia quickly brought back more letters that had been sent to or written by the former Princess after the remarkable discovery. She was in luck. Just after that letter she found the Princess’ response.

“Dear Captain Feather Duster, You have done well to inform me of your findings. I will write to Starswirl so he can accompany you in the next outing.

Signed, Princess Beatrix.”

And after that another note was written. Not to the Captain of the royal guard, but to Starswirl.

“Dear Starswirl, I understand your fascination with the sacred tree, but I think you’re being too quick to state that this is the same tree that is said to hold the Elements of Harmony. Even if it is the Tree of Harmony I do not think we should tamper with or try to harness its power for our own personal gain. Please don’t do anything rash and leave the tree alone. I will tell the royal guards to leave their posts in the Everfree Forest by tomorrow. I hope you will do the same.

Singed, Princess Beatrix.”

“Why would Beatrix not want to master the trees magic?” Celestia found herself wondering. “According to legend the master of the Elements would be granted the power to restore harmony to the lands and vanquish any foe that tried to disrupted it.”

Then the idea of someone with bad intentions came to mind. What if the one with the Elements was not out to restore piece but to upset it? If someone like Discord or The Defiler were to get their claws on it then the damage would be far worse. It was then that Celestia understood why Princess Beatrix forbade Starswirl or anyone else in the royal guard to go near the tree again. If the Tree of Harmony fell into the wrong hands, the outcome would be severe. Not one letter about the topic had told Celestia where the tree was. If Black Wood is on the trail of the Tree of Harmony then she must do the same to stop him before it is found again and with Discord out there somewhere, who knows how fast it would take for word to reach him and what if he decides to go after the sacred tree himself. On the candleholder, the Phoenix let out a sharp caw that alerted Celestia. She spun around to see her father at the library doors. His expression was blank as he stared once at Celestia and then at the files she had uncovered.

“Father,” she said in surprise. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. What are you doing down here?”

“I should be asking you the same thing,” said Night Shade now frowning at his daughter. “What have I told you about coming down here?”

“I wasn’t down here for no reason,” said Celestia clearly not prepared for this.

“I thought I told you not to come down here unless it was of great importance,” said Night Shade firmly.

“It was,” said Celestia truthfully. “Honest. Ever since Discord left, I wanted to see if I could find anything else about him. If he returns like Scorpan warned us he might, we need to be ready!”

“I see,” said Night Shade raising an eyebrow. “And you think you will find anything about him down here?”

“Well, I wasn’t having any luck up there.” Celestia said pointing a hoof at the ceiling where the main floor of the Castle was. “So I thought I might as well try down here.”

“Celestia,” said Night Shade sounding fed up with her. “Discord is gone! Finished, you banished him yourself! Now, if you want to be of any use to the kingdom, go back up and focus on real problems! It will be yours and Luna’s responsibility one day to look after this kingdom!”

“Since when do you care about how we preform our duties?” asked Celestia standing up to face her father. “You and mom may have been interested in our endeavors before, but lately you two have been keeping a lot of things from us!”

“We have been perfectly honest with you two about everything so far!” said Night Shade just as loud.

“Have you?” argued Celestia. “When were you going to tell us about Discord then? When were you going to tell us about the Griffins gaining territory? When were you going to tell us about a giant flying bat monkey who just so happens to be an old friend of yours?”

“There are some things you and Luna aren’t prepared for yet!” Night Shade boomed, his horn giving off small sparks.

“I think we are!” objected Celestia. “We helped you and mom fight The Defiler and save Canterlot! We found out about Scorpan and befriended him too! We fought Discord to save you two and won! We can now raise the sun and moon without any trouble! You want to know what I think? I think you two are the ones who aren’t ready to let us be the ones we are destined to be! You yourself told us five years ago that we have more power in us than we could ever imagine! This world would one day need its Princesses of Equestria! And now that we are so close to doing just that, you two….”

“That’s enough!” Demanded Night Shade stomping his left hoof making a loud thundering rumble go off. “Celestia, you and your sister have come so far, but… You are not ready to take on your roles just yet.”

The horrible words wrapped themselves around Celestia like a Boa Constrictor and began squeezing the fight out of her. A lump was forming in her throat and her eyes began to water.

“Is that what you think?” she asked her voice cracking. “Is everything we have done all for nothing?”

“No,” said Night Shade. “But your recklessness still shows Celestia! You are far too impatient! You have no time to think things over! You run off and expect everything to be fine when what’s done is done! And as for Luna… Let’s just say she has her own battles to focus on before she can rule over anyone!”

Celestia couldn’t take anymore of her father’s criticisms. She galloped passed him with the Phoenix tailing close behind. As her hoofsteps died out, Night Shade heard her give a small sob before the door to the main castle floor closed. Night Shade sighed and approached the now darkened desk. He made his horn glow bright to see what his daughter had been looking at. His eyes found the letters about the Defiler and then he saw the ones about the Tree of Harmony. He read over them quickly and once he had finished he left. Not even bothering to return them to their rightful places. Back upstairs he nodded over to a pair of guards who had spotted him. They stomped their hooves in response and continued their patrol. Night Shade went up to his and Star Bright’s room where he informed his Queen what had happened underneath the castle.

“You know what this means,” he said seriously.

“Yes,” replied Star Bright just as serious.

“I must be off!” Night Shade said making his way to the balcony. “He will want to know!”

Spreading his wings, Night Shade took off into the night sky. His black body helped him vanish instantly under the cover of night as he made his way to his destination. A cave lied hidden in the mountains just a few miles away from a small village. He landed in the canopy where he located the mouth of the cave and flew inside. The cave was damp and warm. The rock walls leaked out water from above. The further down he went, the longer the cave got. His lit horn provided him with light to see what was ahead of him. The cave went into a vertical drop and he followed a spiral path that led him to a single chamber. In it were chard fish bones that lied scattered across the floor and at the center of the chamber were the skeletal remains of a dragon. Resting inside its rib cage playing a soft melody with what looked like tailbones was Discord. When he spotted his new prized puppet he leaned back inside the skeleton and said in a casual manner.

“Well, let’s have it then. What have you got to tell me?”