The Celestia Code

The Celestia Code #1

by iisaw

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

239 pages, ebook

First published October 27, 2013

Reviews

[Dallas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ancient civilization in the desert contains hints of rebellion, madness, and a plot to overthrow nations. An intelligent, intrepid magician and a street-smart, athletic archaeology major are the only ones with a clue how to stop it. Never thought fanfiction would be this legitimately good; while show-knowledge is helpful, there's enough humor, adventure, and suspense to carry it on it's own.

[Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while, but this was overall an excellent story. There were some subjects described that I wish weren't there, but personal opinions aside, the awkwardness and cultural faux pas were portrayed well. The emotional build-up was well-paced.

[Facedeer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun post-Twilicorn fanfic in which we get to see our favorite newest Princess bust out some of her demigodly alicorn might and princessly authority. However, Twilight is still well characterized as the Twilight we know from the show. The other main character is an original character named Jigsaw who was, in my opinion, well-written.

Inspired by the DaVinci Code but telling its own story, much of the story is focused on unraveling an ancient archaeological mystery from before the unification of the three pony tribes into the nation of Equestria was complete. It's a nice mystery with a nice payoff.

Then story continues on after that with an additional mystery discovered after the first one is solved, and things get more tense and action-oriented. I thought this part of the story was a bit weaker than the first paart - it gave Twilight and Jigsaw less breathing room for characterization. It was still quite good though, and given that the original mystery had been resolved an escalation was narratively reasonable. The story built on itself towards a good climax.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a print version of this off Lulu, and thus the podfic version, as read by VisualPony, was shot to the top of my to-listen list. And...man, glad it was! A fair bit superior to the sequel, in fact, and I normally associate authors as improving in subsequent works.

Twilight finds references in some guarded books to Celestia being a tyrant. Confused, she enlists the help of a grad student, Jigsaw, and sets out to find answers. Along the way, her team becomes entangled with Changelings, and the mystery of Celestia itself seems to be tied up in the love-stealing creatures. The big revelations are shocking, and certainly wouldn't fit into the show, but I was glad to go along with the author's headcanon!

Glad I bought that copy! And I can not wait until the sequel is printable, as well. It may come in second place, for me, but it's still a great listen.