NaNo2014: Shadows of Friendship: Part 28

Twilight slipped away to the Golden Oak Library when her brother was distracted by the arrival of the Wonderbolts and as she reached the door of the great tree, she could hear the party become even livelier. She looked back the way that she had come to find that Rainbow Dash had been unable to resist joining the impressive flying squad in the skies.

“Sorry everyone.” Twilight whispered as she slipped inside and put Spike to bed before she started packing up her things. She knew her brother and while he would let them rest for a little, if he had his way they would be headed back to Canterlot not long after sunrise tomorrow, if not at some point this afternoon. She fully planned on going back to enjoy the party for a little bit. After all she wanted to try and get permission to send everyone letters, but she did not want to end up rushing around at the last minute before they left and find out halfway home that she had forgotten something.

She was halfway done when the windows to the balcony opened with aid of a golden yellow light and Princess Celestia poked her head into the bedroom. “Twilight? May I come in?”

The unicorn in question jumped a mile, having been engrossed in making sure all the books she was packing were actually her own and not ones that had been pulled off of the library shelves in their desperate search for answers. She wheeled around and stared at the Princess, her mind blank for a moment or two before she nodded, “Y…Yes, of course.”

The Princess stepped into the room cautiously, as if she wasn’t certain that Twilight would really want her there, “You’re packing already? Are you so keen to leave Ponyville?”

“No.” Twilight sighed, “But I…” She trailed off, having never told the Princess about the bullying after the first few times and wondering how best to phrase it. Instead she changed the subject. “How’s Luna?”

“She’s much better, thanks to you. I left her with your friend, Pinkie Pie. She was saying something about Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” Celestia smiled when Twilight chuckled. The unicorn could just imagine her friend doing that, “She told me what happened and that the Shadows spoke to you. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I…” Twilight frowned slightly, “I don’t know how much to believe and how much was them trying to demoralise me.” She admitted as Celestia watched her pace back and forth. “You know then? About my other form?”

“I do, yes. I always knew you were something special, my dear student.” The Princess nodded, watching the agitated unicorn who was still wearing her crown as she walked around and around. “Now you know it too.”

“I don’t know anything.” Twilight objected, turning around to stare at her mentor, frustration clear, “Only what you told me in your letter and what the Shadows told me. How could I possibly have been an alicorn in the past when I’m not that old? I’m just…”

“Twilight, may I tell you a tale? It’s one you’ve never heard before.” The Princess asked in reply. “And it may help clear up a few things.” When Twilight nodded, Celestia trotted over to the bed, got settled and invited her student to join her in getting comfortable. Once she had followed directions, Celestia cast a spell that coated the floor in a mirror like surface that started showing images.

“A long time ago, back around the time that Equestria was founded, Luna and I were travelling, trying to make alliances with other Kingdoms. We went to many different countries to find new friends and eventually we went to Saddle Arabia.” Princess Celestia told her, the mirror surface flicking between images as she spoke, showing the Griffin Kingdoms, the Dragonlands and many more before finally settling on the sandy plains of Saddle Arabia.

“This was long before Luna first ran into the Shadows,” Celestia reassured her, “But while we were there, I asked about the former royal family of Equigypt, hoping that someone survived that I could offer asylum to. After all at the time we had many enemies and I thought that…well, it does not matter what I thought because we were taught that there were none left and more importantly, Luna and I were taught why.”

Twilight stared at Celestia for a moment, surprised, then she turned back to the mirrored surface, which was showing a unicorn dressed in Saddle Arabian silks, showing Celestia and Luna scrolls and artefacts.

The images continued to shift and change before her as they revealed a unicorn of pure white, surrounded by an insane inferno of Shadows, facing down a alicorn who looked a lot like her in shape and form and was wearing the puzzle, but whose wings were not damaged at all. Their surroundings were ruined, much like the Castle of the Two Sisters had been and when they could see through the gaps, they could see that the rest of the country was much the same way.

As the pictured warped, the Shadows around the unicorn became the demonic dragon like creature that had been revealed when Twilight had been fighting Nightmare Moon. Then there was a flash of magic from the alicorn and the demon and unicorn were sucked into something on the ground, while the alicorn’s image ripped into two. An alicorn and a unicorn who looked exactly like her. The alicorn was sucked into the puzzle while the unicorn collapsed and a stallion rushed to her side and started sobbing.

“According to the legends, the Princess killed herself to save what was left of her people, but she ripped her soul in two when she did so. It was believed that she was gone forever. By her own people’s traditions she had given up her rights to the afterlife and would either walk the path that some would call purgatory forever, or fade away to nothing. There was a chance, one slim chance that she might return one day, when the world needed her to face the darkness again and apparently,” Celestia said, turning away from the images, which faded away, and looking at Twilight, “That was what happened and I got very lucky.”

“Lucky?” Twilight asked, confused and still absorbing everything that Celestia had shown her, “What do you mean?”

“Luna heard what the Shadows said to you, she was aware for all of it. She just couldn’t do anything about it and if they’re Shadows are to be believed, I didn’t just get a very impressive student when you came to my school that morning, but I found my Equigyptian Princess.” Celestia sighed, “I thought I might have done when I saw you and saw your puzzle, but after Sunset Shimmer and my sister, I was so frightened that…”

“I understand.” Twilight offered, daring to nuzzle her teacher gently, able to see that the alicorn was just as tired as she was, and surprised and pleased that Celestia reciprocated, nuzzling her back in much the same way the Princess had nudged Luna earlier, “If I had not had my friends, it’s possible I would have fallen the same way.” She admitted, “You were right to keep it from me until I was old enough to understand the power I held.”

She felt the ruler of Equestria relax a little at that. “So you forgive me for keeping this from you for so long?”

“Of course.” Twilight nodded, a thoughtful expression taking over as she mulled over things, “Though I have to ask…what happens now? Now I know the truth about my puzzle, my past and my role as the Guardian of Shadows?”

“What do you want to happen, my faithful student?” Celestia asked her frankly, “For that’s the most important thing. Not what I want, or what you think is expected of you, but what you want for yourself.”

“I…I promised Luna that I would be there for her. I want to keep that promise.” Twilight told her, “But being lonely hurts. All the time, like there’s a hole in my chest that nothing can fill…” She trailed off, looking embarrassed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t…”

“No, please, tell me.” Celestia sounded pained, as if knowing that she had been failing Twilight much the same way that she had failed her sister, “I want to know.”

“I…I’ve been so alone. The other unicorns in school don’t like me, I’m too different.” Twilight told her bluntly, unable to stop herself now the dam had opened, “And I’ve had fun here, I’ve made friends here and now…I don’t want to give them up but I can’t expect you to come here to teach me or Luna to want to fly all of this way to visit so…I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Sometime the hardest part about being a Princess is making the difficult choices.” Celestia told her student, “But, if you’ll trust me, I think I have a solution, but I need to speak to the mayor first.” Twilight blinked at her, wondering what she could possibly mean. “Shall we return to the party?”

“But don’t I need to pack?” Twilight asked, confused.

“I will send someone to assist you later, but I think Spike could probably do with some unbroken sleep.” The Princess told her, “Come on, we’ll walk back together.” She paused to consider Twilight properly, “You know, I believe that crown suits you.”

Twilight tried to ignore the blush that spread across her face at Celestia’s compliment and the Princess’s chuckle as they headed down and out, picking up a couple of cupcakes from the party that had been held in the library on their way out.

“So hungry.” Celestia admitted as she ate the slightly stale cupcake, “And this is still delicious.”

“Pinkie Pie does make great cupcakes.” Twilight agreed, still confused over what her tutor was up to and just as hungry as the alicorn next to her. “Just watch out if she sets out any drinks. She likes hot sauce and she got me with it the other day.”

The Princess let out a bright laugh at that, “I might have caught a couple of the servants doing something rather similar not that long ago. I think it might be a prank most ponies try at some point.”

“I wish I’d had some warning.” Twilight grumbled, remembering her horrendous overreaction, which had at least, resulted in her completing the puzzle. “I chugged the whole bottle before I realised what it was.” Celestia started laughing at that, embarrassing the unicorn further. Luckily she had stopped giggling before they reached the party and the Sun Goddess slipped away to talk to the mayor while Twilight was grabbed by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie and dragged onto the dance floor.