At Twilight’s words, I part the curtains with my magic, blinking for a moment in the glare of the Element of Generosity’s spotlight. It may sound ironic, but I am actually very sensitive to the basic light spells – the light has an unpleasant starkness to it.
I walk to the front of the stage, noting the awe on every face I see. I wish I could say that I don’t like it, but on some level I do, and it’s not like I can’t avoid those looks whenever I want. I look over the ponies who’ve decided to show up- Twilight and her friends, of course, the foals from my niece’s wedding, and a few other faces I vaguely recognise. Plus one other Pegasus I couldn’t miss. I wonder if anyone else recognises her?
Twilight’s looking at me expectantly. She’s waiting for me to talk, to fill the awed silence, but I know how these things go far better than she does. I want to gauge the crowd’s mood before I decide exactly which of my prepared stories to tell.
Sure enough, after a pause that feels far longer than it is, the noise in the audience starts. But it’s not what I would normally expect – I’m used to a susurrus of surreptitious whispers, not a single pony standing up and talking straight to me, much less an orange filly with under-developed wings.
“Um, ‘scuse me Princess. Can you tell us how you got your Cutie Mark?”
… Well, that certainly narrows it down.
“My Cutie Mark? Of course I can, my little pony. It happened over two thousand years ago, but some memories are never lost. This was in the days before Equestria, when I was no more in charge of the sun than my sister was in charge of the stars. In those days, the Earth Ponies were in charge of the ground, just as they are now, and the Pegasi were in charge of the clouds, just as they are now.
“However, back then there were Unicorns in charge of the sun and the stars – a council, each represented by different animals. There were twelve in total, each represented by a different animal – the Rat, the Monkey, the Dog, the Pig, the Snake, the Ox, the Rabbit, the Rooster, the Tiger, the Goat, and my master, who was represented by the most lauded symbol of all, the Pony.”
Twilight frowns as I list these symbols. I got careless, allowed myself to get sucked into the story with unnecessary details, even this early. I can’t let it show, but it’s a reminder that I must consider my every word – even I can be foolish sometimes. I have to distract her before she interrupts, but thankfully I know exactly how to do that.
“Some of you may have heard of my master. He has his own wing at the Canterlot Archives, and my sister has told me that someone in this room dressed up as him last Nightmare Night..?”
Bingo. That got her attention.
“In truth, he was not my direct master – none of the Council had fillies for apprentices in those days. Nonetheless, he was the Master of a group of scholars, some of whom had apprentices, and I was an assistant to one of those Unicorns. Please remember, I would have been no more than ten or eleven at the time.”
I am always amazed at the effect a white lie can have. I was actually just seven at the time, but I remember Twilight mentioning something about a group of fillies who were self-conscious about not having their Cutie Marks at nine, so there’s no harm in letting them think I got mine when I was older than they are now. Sure enough, the orange filly who spoke to me earlier broke out in a small grin when I said that. I guess she’s one of them…
“I was living with my teachers back then, but I maintained regular contact with my sister – I would send her a letter with my magic whenever I could, and she would occasionally fly up to the school to see me. It was in one of these letters that I briefly mentioned an interesting problem I had seen my masters discussing. I won’t bore you with the details, but it dealt not just with the Sun and the Stars, but also with how they interacted with weather systems and farming.
“Now, I knew nothing of those subjects back then – no Unicorn did – so I thought that my sister might be able to shed some light, as it were, as she was working with the head council of Pegasi. Sure enough, she had a flash of insight that helped us figure the problem out. I went first to the scholar I had heard discussing the problem, but he flew into a rage when he found out it had taken correspondence with the council of Pegasi to solve the issue. I was threatened with expulsion – and believe me, for a filly my age, that was a terrifying prospect.”
It might be just me, but I’m pretty sure Twilight muttered something to herself at that. Something about “not just for a filly…”
“I was scared, I don’t deny it. I panicked, and went straight to Starswirl himself to make my case. He listened to me carefully, and asked that I present my case to him with my sister – and the scholar. So there we were, my sister and I, arguing a technical argument many years ahead of our level, with some of the most powerful Unicorns in the world looking down at us from their desks. But our argument was good, and the solution we had figured out was extremely persuasive, although radical.
“After the debate, Starswirl called the both of us into his office. He smiled at us kindly, and thanked us both for solving the problem. It turns out that until then, the problem was considered impossible, but we had figured out a solution that allowed the Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies to produce harvests larger than ever before. My heart swelled with pride, and I am sure that my sister felt just the same.
“As we realized just what we had done, Starswirl looked at us, and said ‘Your sister has acted as a shining beacon in the darkness of our knowledge, and you yourself have forced the issue through the barriers in the way to enlighten my students. And I can see that these actions truly represent who you are, as will you if you examine your flanks.’
“My sister raised her wing, revealing her Cutie Mark, a shining beacon in the darkness – a single star on the black night sky. I turned to check my own flank, and saw a cloud, parted by a single sunbeam. My heart swelled, knowing what my special talent is, to bring truth and clarity to those who need it even through the most difficult of obstacles.”
“Wait a moment, Princess. Ah’m pretty sure Ah ain’t blind, and Ah can see your Cutie Mark clear as day. It’s an eight-pointed sun, not sunbeams partin’ clouds.”
I had expected this, and know exactly what to do. I smile, arching an eyebrow at her, and then I concentrate carefully on myself, forming a picture in my eye of who I used to be. I haven’t performed this magic in public before, only ever using it when I needed a way to escape the public eye. I can feel myself shrinking and remember what it's like to be a normal pony again, even if it is just for a single evening.
The crowd gasped. I opened my eyes. In front of me was a crowd of ponies the same size as me. In front of them, a white Unicorn with pink hair and a sunbeam-through-clouds Cutie Mark. Only two ponies seems to understand, and every other pony in the room is clearly amazed, some of them talking in an excited whisper to each other, others staring at me with gaping mouths. I freely admit that I have no idea why the Bearer of Laughter is just taking this in her stride.
"Good evening, my new friends. My name is Beamshine. This is who I was before I became Princess – before I became Celestia.”
It’s strange. Never before have I revealed this secret to anypony save Luna. No-one else has ever known that Beamshine is actually Celestia, and yet I just revealed my secret to at least fifty ponies, some of whom I have never even met. And yet, it feels… right. I feel almost at home here.
Twilight must see how weird this feels. She nods to a few faces in the crowd, then walks onto the stage along with the other Bearers and a grey-haired, tan mare I recognise as the Mayor.
“I know it can’t have been easy revealing your secret to us, Prin- Beamshine. But I want you to know that if you ever want to get away from it all, if you want to escape from the royal court for an evening or a weekend, just come on over and we will be happy to just be friends.”
I hug Twilight – feels strange to hug someone the same size as me for a change – and before I know it, I’ve been pulled into a group hug with all the Bearers. As we pull apart, I make eye contact with a midnight-blue Pegasus with a smile on her face. I know exactly why – after all, the story about the other cutie mark is far less happy, least of all for her.