Shadow couldn’t help but open his eyes as the painfully bright sunrise poured through the huge windows. He sat up, thinking that it was time to see what sort of lunch he could pack up and if he was going to be late, but the bed seemed so comfy… it was never comfy…
His eyes shot open as he realized he wasn’t laying on the toppled bookshelf at all. The memory of the day before flooded back all at once and he nearly took off flying in excitement. No school today! Or at least probably, would he have to go to school now? He hoped not. He turned to see Lightning, still asleep near him.
“Oh get up will you?” Shadow said excitedly “brand new day, brand new exciting stuff!”
“Shut up Saber…” Lightning muttered sleepily “school doesn’t start till I say it starts…”
“No school today!” Shadow said, shaking her “come on! Aren’t you excited about what’s going to happen today?”
“No…school?” Lightning muttered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes “what do you mean? If I miss school…” she suddenly came to the same blurry epiphany as Shadow “Oh my gosh! We’re in Canterlot! Shadow!”
They started bouncing circles around the bed, ecstatic at the idea of spending a fun day in Canterlot, with royalty none the less. The idea of foreign adventure, as you may well know yourself, is the dream and passion of every child under the age of twelve.
“It’s about time you two woke up,” came a deep voice near the bed.
Lightning and Shadow turned sharply to see a familiar red stallion glaring at them. “Saber!” Lightning shouted, sounding more surprised than fearful “What are you doing here?”
Saber stood up and walked over, clearly furious “No note, no call, the house you were going to not only empty, but abandoned?” he spat “And I get called to duty at one in the morning only to find out you’re here, miles from home! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“V-very?” Light stammered out, the gravity of the situation starting to hammer home.
“Very doesn’t even begin…” Saber growled. He then sighed heavily and sat back down “Mom and Dad would’ve been proud of you wouldn’t they…? My six year old sister managed to get to Canterlot in one piece… I should be proud of you too…”
Lightning jumped off the bed and pulled Saber into a hug “Thanks for being worried big brother,” she said happily “it’s great to see you!”
Saber forced a smile and ruffled her mane “It’s great to see you too sis…”
Shadow, having no interest in this lecture from the start, had flown off the bed and begun to climb the stairs to the balcony level. He paused every few steps to look at the books, all huge with titles like The Canterlot Code of Conduct or Impersonation of Wizardry all of which seemed very important, though he could understand none of them.
When he arrived at the upper platform his attention was immediately captured by the huge glass sphere in the center. He gazed into it, amazed at the display within. A huge sphere of flame sat at the center while tiny planets orbited around it. There were labels on the planets like Zion, Gallifrey and Callisto. He pondered a bit as he spotted a green and blue one labeled Equestria which was very near the edge of the sphere. Equestria wasn’t round, it was flat!
Deciding to cautiously examine it, he climbed up on top of the glass and looked down. From this closer, though quite honestly much less cautious, vantage, he could see more clearly the planets and the huge glowing star. Another detail also presented itself as he watched intently, the space between the planets was not empty, but rather, full of miniscule rocks. They looked like granules of black sand, only visible when the sun shone behind them. As he watched one of them touched on Zion and disappeared in a flicker of flame.
“I see you’ve found the model of the solar system,” came Luna’s voice from the balcony.
Shadow jumped, sliding off the dome and landing on his face “Princess! I mean Luna! I mean Mom! I mean… um…”
Luna smiled and helped him to his hooves “Careful there,” she said smiling “I know it’s fun to explore but don’t get yourself scraped up.”
Shadow nodded, staring back at the dome “What is the solar system?” he asked “It looks like a bunch of balls, and sand, does it mean something?”
“It’s a model,” said Luna “of things beyond the sky. You see the ball of flame in the center? That is the sun that holds the planets in orbit. The planets are all worlds just like Equestria.”
Shadow, having trouble wrapping his mind around any of these concepts, asked the first question that came to mind “But doesn’t Celestia control the sun? How could that be the sun when Equestria is so far away?”
“Look more closely at Equestria,” said Luna, pointing out the small green planet “Do you see? It’s small, but down closer to the surface is a much smaller sun. That is the one Celestia controls.”
Shadow squinted down at Equestria “I think I see it!” he said “Barely though… I don’t know… why does Equestria have two suns?”
“The sun we orbit around is too far away,” said Luna, clearly enjoying this explanation “In the days before Celestia created our sun Equestria was very, very cold. The northern and southern hemispheres were totally inhospitable.” Shadow gave her a quizzical look, so she elaborated “That means it was too cold for ponies to live there.”
“Oh,” said Shadow “but why are they all round? Equestria is flat isn’t it?”
“Equestria is round,” said Luna “but it’s so big that when you walk on it you can’t tell.”
Shadow stared carefully at the ground for a moment; it was obvious he wasn’t really buying this explanation.
“Would you like to get some breakfast?” asked Luna “The dining hall is getting prepared for tomorrow, but I’m sure the chefs will be able to spare some time.”
“Oh!” said Shadow excitedly “Can Lightning come?”
“Well if her brother allows it,” said Luna, turning to where Lightning and Saber were walking toward the exit “would you two like to stay for breakfast?” she called down.
“Yes!” Lightning shouted and immediately ran up the stairs “do they have waffles? Oh my god, I just love waffles!”
“Lightning!” Saber called from below “We’ve intruded on the princess enough already and I need to get back to my post, come on!”
“Aw…” said Lightning “but I want to stay with Shadow…”
“Come on,” said Saber “I’m sure Shadow’s busy.”
Lightning lowered her head in disappointment and was about to walk back down when Shadow spoke up “What if Saber goes home and Lightning stays here? It can be like a sleepover party, come on Mom?”
“Well I don’t think I can impose…” said Saber awkwardly.
“Oh, it’s fine,” said Luna with a smile “we would love to have her if you would allow it.”
“Please?” Lightning said eyes wide and sad looking “Please, oh please, oh please?”
“Lightning,” said Saber “I may not be able to come get you for a few days, are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“Yes!” both Light and Shadow shouted in unison.
“Well as long as the princess is okay with it…” said Saber, looking somewhat desperately toward Luna again.
“She will be in good hooves,” said Luna.
“Come on Saber, please?” Lightning begged.
“You’re sure you’re okay with this princess?” Saber asked again.
“Of course,” said Luna “Shadow’s friends are welcome here anytime.”
“Well…” said Saber.
“Get out of here!” Lighting and Shadow shouted together.
Saber sighed “Alright he said “just please, please don’t get into any sort of trouble okay…?
Lightning wasn’t listening however, from the word “alright she and Shadow had begun a victory dance. “Thank you big brother!” Lightning shouted.
“You’re welcome…” said Saber, obviously still having doubts about this “Princess.” He bowed and left the room, muttering something under his breath.
“So what about breakfast?” Shadow asked quickly “can we go get breakfast now?”
“Yeah!” Lightning said “I can’t wait! Waffles, waffles, waffles!”
“Luna smiled down at them “Yes, come along,” she said “the sooner we get there the less busy the dining hall will be.”
As they passed through the foyer toward the kitchen Shadow noticed a great deal of ponies flying about the place. Pegasi were trailing techni-colored banners across the ceiling, unicorns were levitating decorations while Earth ponies wheeled the supplies around the room.
“What are they all doing?” Shadow asked curiously.
“Your aunt thought it would be a good idea to give you a welcome home party,” Said Luna “but I’d like it to more be celebration of the fact that you did just turn seven.”
Shadow’s wings began to flutter in excitement. This had to be the best birthday ever! Well, he supposed there was the one time dad had gotten Rainbow Dash to perform a sonic rainboom for him, but what could possibly top that?
A brown, bearded unicorn approached Luna from the crowd “Everything is going splendidly your highness,” he seemed a little sarcastic as he said this “I was just about to get started on the edible decorations, and I was wondering if you would allow me to add my own special touches.”
Luna gave him a stern look, but softened quickly “Very well,” she said “but remember, we’ll have the elements on hand, so keep it under control.”
The unicorn seemed to positively beam “Oh I’ll try,” he said “but I guarantee this, Prince Shadow, this is going to be the most fantastic celebration of your life…” without another word he vanished. Shadow thought it was teleportation but his horn hadn’t glowed in the slightest.
“Don’t mind him,” said Luna “he’s merely coordinating some of the events and putting his magic to good use. I hate to say it but I think the poor dear is starting to have fun with all this…”
“Is that a bad thing?” Lightning asked.
Luna didn’t answer, but kept trotting toward the dining hall. Lightning shot Shadow a quizzical look and they followed.
The dining hall was a vast room that was almost entirely empty. Long tables ran from one end of the room to the other and countless chairs were stacked against the walls. A few ponies in guard’s armor were moving the tables into a new order, and a pleasant aroma wafted from the kitchens situated near the back.
Lightning seemed to melt “I smell waffles…” she said dreamily “and toast with butter, and pop tarts, and custard…”
“Do you even know what custard is?” asked Shadow.
“No,” said Lightning “but I smell it.”
“We’re in luck,” said Luna “it looks like our worker’s breakfast is just getting started. If you would like I’ll alert the chefs to your requests while you two go and explore.”
“I’ll take whatever,” said Shadow, wings twitching a bit, betraying his otherwise calm attitude.
“Waffles!” said Lightning “Oh! With chocolate chips!”
“Duly noted,” said Luna, smiling “now go play; just don’t cause anyone too much trouble.”
They were both too busy running back into the main foyer to respond. They very nearly toppled a group of earth ponies hauling a cart of banners and the unicorns had to stop their spells to make sure the foals weren’t hit in the crossfire. Chaos seemed to be an inevitable outcome with these two today.
They tore down every random hallway they could conveniently reach, not even bothering to check the doors just yet. The exploration had really become more of a race between them, with no beginning and no obvious ending. A game of one-upmanship where fast beating wings attempted to match the speed of equally quick hooves, neither getting ahead of the other.
The ending of this pell-mell sprint was Shadow slamming into someone on a bad turn. Lightning, having shot right under their legs, turned to see a very tall white figure.
“Careful Shadow,” said the new pony “I don’t want my nephew getting himself hurt.”
Shadow stood, looking up, craning his neck to see the face of princess Celestia “Oh!” he said “I’m…sorry?” he wasn’t quite sure what to say, he was in awe, but as a prince should he be?
“Wow!” Lightning shouted, grabbing at a strand of aurora colored hair “I really like her mane! How did you get it to do this?”
Celestia smiled “It’s magic, Lightning,” she said kindly “I keep my mane like this so it doesn’t trail on the floor behind me, though some other princesses find it uneccesary.”
“That’s right…’ said Lightning “Princess Twilight’s mane wasn’t like this… I think she would look better with it.”
“Lightning,” Shadow muttered “you’re talking to Celestia, be respectful…”
“No, it’s quite alright,” said Celestia “I would much prefer you to be honest with me than respectful.”
“Yeah!” Lightning shouted “I’m just being honest, Shadow!”
Shadow thumped the ground with his hoof awkwardly “Okay…” he said “well we were just going exploring the castle a little bit, we’re really sorry to have bothered you.”
“What about there?” Lightning called, pointing toward an ornate white door at the end of the hallway “come on, that looks like a great place to start!”
Celestia turned sharply to look at the door herself “No,” she said sharply “that room is not safe for children. You two must promise me you will not set hoof inside.”
Lightning looked up to Celestia, shivering a bit at her serious expression “Of course!” she said quickly “I swear it!”
Celestia turned back to Shadow, who quickly recited “Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye! We’ll… never set hoof in that room!”
“Thank you,” said Celestia with a sigh “I have to go talk to your mother now Shadow, might I recommend the upper parapets if you’re interested in adventure? There’s plenty to do there.”
Shadow nodded, though he had no idea what that meant, as Celestia walked on. “I guess we should try to find our way to that place,” said Lightning “where do you think that is?”
Shadow, turning to make sure Celestia was a safe distance away, walked over to one of the windows and peeked out. “We’re not going anywhere,” he said “yes… there’s a window in that room!”
“Shadow!” Lightning exclaimed “we promised not to set hoof in there!”
“I’m not gonna let my hooves hit the floor,” he said with a smirk “I’ll be two seconds, I’ll fly over, look around, come back. You’re curious about what’s in there too aren’t you?”
Lightning looked at the door again. Big fancy door, plus the fact Celestia didn’t want them inside, it seemed intensely interesting. “Alright,” she said “but remember not to let your hooves touch the floor! Or I will stick a cupcake in your eye!”
Shadow smiled, balancing himself carefully on the windowsill. Looking down he could see a courtyard so far below that the ponies walking around looked like tiny ants. He gulped, the idea of his wings not holding him and loosing flight seemed all too real now.
“Hurry up and get going!” Lightning half shouted at him “Celestia could come back!”
Before he realized he was doing it, Shadow was sky walking. His wings held him up, flapping at a steady rate as he carefully maneuvered to the other window. When the fear finally started to settle, he realized what a huge accomplishment being able to fly steady here was. Even Scootaloo couldn’t fly without help yet!
Shadow poked his head into the room and looked around. He was very surprised to find that at first glance it looked empty. Indeed he was getting ready to turn around and fly out again when he spotted the small chest sitting in the center.
He took wing again, peering around the smooth white walls again. It was totally featureless and there were only three windows, seeming more to blend it into the rest of the castle than to serve any other purpose. The round room was clearly devoted purely to the protection of the little red box in the center. He fiddled with the latch, excited to find it unlocked. He was about to open it, but he heard Lightning on the other side of the door and reconsidered. Instead he scooped up the box and carried it out the window with him.
“What took you so long?” Lightning asked impatiently as Shadow flew back into the hallway “What was in there?”
“Just this,” said Shadow, putting the box on the floor gently “seriously, there was nothing else in there at all!”
“Weird…” said Lightning “is it locked?”
“No,” said Shadow, walking around the box, inspecting it closely “what do you think? Should we open it?”
Lightning nodded, fumbling with the catch. There was a click as it came undone and slid slowly open. The inside was red velvet with two small silver bracelets sitting inside, unmarked and plain looking.
“Huh,” said Shadow in disappointment “this isn’t interesting at all.”
“Dang it Shadow,” said Lightning “always you with your silly not-worthy attitude, just like with the necklace! Besides, these are really pretty, and valuable if the princesses went to so much trouble to hide them. Do you think they’re platinum or chrome?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” said Shadow “you can play dress-up here if you want, I’m going to see what that upper para thing was.”
“I’m not just going to let you walk away!” said Lightning, sliding a bracelet onto her hoof “you aren’t going anywhere until you try this on!”
“This is ridiculous,” said Shadow “I’m leaving.” He turned to walk away, but was suddenly jerked around to look at Lightning again.
“I told you, nowhere till you try it on.” She said smugly, sitting down next to the box again. Shadow had forgotten just how fast this filly was.
He rolled his eyes “Fine,” he said “though I still think this is really, really, really, really, really stupid.”
“Just put it on,” said Lightning, sticking her tongue out at him.
Shadow lifted out the silver band and slid it onto his hoof. This all seemed extraordinarily silly to him and he was more than a little chagrinned that Lightning had gotten him to play dress up. This was a fillies game!
“There,” he said “now can we…wha?”
“What?” Lightning asked, noticing his distraction.
“You’re…glowing!” Shadow exclaimed, tossing the bracelet aside in a panic. Indeed, Lightning’s hooves had begun to slowly illuminate, and despite Shadow’s horrified desperation, so were his.
“What’s going on?” Lightning shouted in horror as the light grew harsher, beaming so bright they had to shut it out of their eyes. They screamed together as the light grew to envelop them both in a powerful surge of brilliance.
Meanwhile, in the castle throne room, Celestia and Luna were seated in their respective golden seats, discussing matters of grave importance. It was surprisingly simple a room for what it was, the windows along either wall lacked any sort of outstanding detail and the only decorations to be seen beyond the huge red door were the great indigo banners criss-crossing the ceiling. If it wasn’t the room so clearly situated in the heart of the castle, it could easily be mistaken for just another side room.
“I still think it was a bad idea to let those foals go running pell-mell about the castle,” said Celestia, sounding slightly annoyed “they very nearly entered the timeless chambers, you know what might happen if they went in there…”
“You worry too much dear sister,” said Luna, smiling contentedly “the room is locked magically, even if I could worry they would break the spell, neither of them are unicorns. Besides, even if they did miraculously go inside, do you think they would activate it?”
“They’re children,” said Celestia coldly “if their simple pig-headedness did not lead them to open the box, their curiosity certainly would.”
Luna giggled, which seemed to infuriate Celestia even further “Maybe it would do them some good,” said Luna “to see things from a new light and all that, isn’t that what we designed the chamber for?”
“It still isn’t a magic with which to be tampered with,” said Celestia “who knows what sort of havoc they could unleash with the power in that room?”
“I know it couldn’t be all that bad.” said Luna.
“That’s as good as saying ‘what could possibly go wrong’,” said Celestia angrily now “try, at the very least, not to make the situation any more tense than I feel it has already become.”
“Nothing has come from it at all yet,” said Luna “if I know foals, I know they keep their promises very seriously. They more than likely turned out of that hallway and went to the parapets just like you said they should.”
Celestia stood up “I’m going to check on them,” she said “I simply do not trust them to keep their word.”
“Sit down Celestia,” said Luna “you allow the changelings more doubt than you’ve given these two. Will it really be an adventure for them if you’re hanging on their every movement?”
Celestia turned again “Unlike the changelings, those children have nothing to lose,” she said “life is still a game for them, we simply cannot let them run about unchecked.”
Luna was about to reply when she noticed a glow near Celestia’s hooves “Oh dear…” she said “Sister… please tell me you’re the one doing that…”
“Doing what?” Celestia asked angrily, looking down at her hooves. She gasped as she too saw the growing light “Luna! I told you nothing good would come of this!”
Luna lifted a hoof to her face, observing the glow that had begun to illuminate her own hooves as well “I would’ve never thought…” she began.
“Of course you didn’t think!” Celestia shouted “You never consider anything! You act rashly and let your emotions take over with every decision you make!”
“I won’t be talked down to like this!” Luna responded in like, the light beginning to grow brighter around the both of them “your judgment has always been equally flawed! You continue to idolize the morning and shun the night, you only give me glory now to prevent me from lashing out!”
“You did not have to endure both our tasks for a thousand years!” Celestia shouted, the room beginning to quake from the power of their combined anger, all the while the light grew more intense around them.
“I was locked away on the moon for a thousand years!” Luna erupted like a volcano “Because you were more interested in seeing me gone than you were in seeing me restored! You had the power to do either and you know that! I won’t bow to this outrage any longer!”
The light intensified to a piercing glare as the two royal sisters flung at each other, intent to kill…