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// Who are you princess Celestia? 
// Story: The shadow 
// by TwiwnB 
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Twilight had come back from Luna’s room. She had then spent the rest of the day pretty normally and hadn’t seen princess Celestia anywhere. Dusk was approaching and soon the sun would hide again behind the horizon, signaling everypony that the time to sleep was coming.

Twilight was ready to answer to that signal. She was tired and she was happy. Two very good reasons to go to sleep and enjoy some neat dreams.

At that very moment, she heard the voice:

“Don’t you want to know?”

Twilight didn’t have to turn back to know who was saying those words. Only one pony in all of Equestria could provide such a warm, gentle, and yet powerful tone.

Twilight had prepared for that moment:

“Princess Luna explained everything to me. I understand you want to win your challenge with her, but I would like to stay out of it.”

“I do have to apologize to you, my dear Twilight. I understand why you would feel betrayed. Yet, I assure you I never lied to you. Every single word was true. And I truly wish you would find out why I don’t have a shadow.”

“Why?” Twilight asked. “What can be so important to you that my own wish not to take part of it should be ignored? I am not a tool. I am a pony. I deserve better.”

A little silent ensued, during which Twilight wondered if she hadn’t be too harsh on Celestia.

After all, even if she too was an alicorn now, there was a lot she didn’t know. Celestia and Luna had lived thousands of years, met countless ponies, lost almost just as much. Maybe it was normal in such circumstances to forget how to properly treat another pony. Maybe, in a thousand years, she too would have forgotten.

Maybe that was the lesson.

“Again, I have to apologize. I am acting selfishly and I do see how frustrating it can be for you. I did say I was asking a favor from you. You certainly don’t have to grant it to me. I just really wished you would.”

“But what for?” Twilight asked, turning back and facing princess Celestia directly. “So that you could proclaim yourself best princess over princess Luna? And then what? What would it change?”

“I admit it: there is very little at stake. And maybe there is a lot. It all depends on you. The future depends entirely on how we build it. So maybe I was wrong, and maybe you don’t need to unveil my little secret.”

Twilight’s curiosity was urging her to stop pretending she didn’t care and just bite in any of those baits and follow them no matter where they may lead. There was something to be learned. That fact was clear. Celestia was promising it. So in the end, she would deliver.

“No.” Twilight found the strength to reply. “I do not need to unveil your secret. If it doesn’t concern Equestria, it doesn’t concern me.”

“Then let me reveal two things to you. And if, after that, you still don’t want to grant me my wish, then I shall leave you alone and never bother you with it ever again.”

Twilight had no choice. Her curiosity was about to choke her. And once she would have heard what Celestia had to say, she could go back in her room and find whatever way to console herself from having missed that opportunity to learn.

“Here is the first thing: my fur isn’t white by accident. It had to be or I couldn’t have existed. And yet, it shouldn’t be white at all.”

Twilight heard the words, but to prevent her curiosity from taking over, she didn’t even try to make sense out of them. She hadn’t heard anything. She was fine. Everything was fine.

“Here is the second thing.”

Twilight’s fur was bristling with excitement. Her heartbeat was so loud she couldn’t even hear it anymore and her face was covered by some salty liquid to compensate how hot everything was feeling now. And yet, she couldn’t move, or complain, or do anything else but wait for what princess Celestia would reveal to her.

And Celestia spoke:

“My name isn’t Celestia.”

Twilight’s head exploded. A huge blaze had taken over, forcing reason to abandon ship. She was only driven by her emotion and her instinct.

“Tell me your secret.” Twilight said. “I want to know.”

“There is a condition.” Celestia replied.

Twilight already sort of knew what the condition would be. The victory smile on Celestia’s face wasn’t letting much doubt about it. She was back into the game, into Celestia’s hooves, ready to serve the purpose the sun princess had devised for her.

Twilight wondered how many of those challenges Luna could have won against such a great adversary.

“Tell me, Twilight Sparkle. Who is the best princess? Do you prefer the princess of the sun, or the princess of the night?”

“Can’t I choose Cadance and we can call it a tie?” Twilight asked, trying to get herself out of that situation while still obtaining the knowledge she was after.

The smile Celestia was displaying didn’t let any doubt on the matter: she wouldn’t get around the problem so easily.

She had to choose who the best princess was.

“I can’t. I’m sorry, I like princess Luna a lot. She is a great princess. It makes no sense to oppose you against her. You complement each other. You are a team. It’s only together that you can be the best princess!”

But Celestia’s look was proving too authoritarian to accept such a weak copout. She wasn’t asking anymore: she was demanding. She was ordering Twilight to choose.

“Come on, Twilight Sparkle. Just be honest and say what you think. What you have always thought, what everypony in this land truly thinks: who is the best princess?”

As the sun was now reaching the horizon and Celestia had grown so big she was supplanting Twilight's mere existence. She was everywhere, overwhelming, more powerful than the universe and her will ruled supreme.

So Twilight confessed:

“You are! Everypony adores you. I adore you. You are kind, and patient, and always ready to listen to us, and dedicated and altruistic. There hasn’t been a day in my life when I didn’t hope than one day I could become just would it only be nearly as perfect as you are…”

“That is the truth.” Said the imperial voice from the huge Celestia.

And the huge Celestia wasn’t white anymore, but black. Completely black. Which was normal. It all looked completely normal.

And then a voice came from the other side of the corridor, approaching and as the voice approached, Celestia on the wall quickly shrank.

“It is the truth: you better never forget it.” Luna said, emerging from the darkness.

Twilight looked at Celestia, what was left of her at least, and saw her legs going along the wall and then along the floor right to Luna’s hooves.

“A shadow?” Twilight asked, incapable to accept what she was witnessing. “What is happening? Where is princess Celestia?”

“I am here.” The shadow said.

And Twilight had just blinked that the shadow was gone, replaced by Celestia, in all her glory. Only her four white legs were still going to the floor and then directly to Luna.

“Do not worry. Everything is fine. I just wanted you to know.” Celestia explained.

“I told you not to trust her.” Luna responded. “She always has a plan and she always obtains what she wants.”

“I don’t understand…” Twilight simply said, lost beyond measure.

Luna walked towards Twilight and her hooves detached from those of Celestia who stayed behind, understanding that she wouldn’t be welcomed to come closer right at that instant.

“I told you I have many shadows, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna explained. “Nightmare Moon is one of them, the shadow of my inner rage, my jealousy and my despair. Celestia is another one of them. The shadow of everything that is good inside of me, displayed in the real world. The one I decided to listen to and follow.”

“Celestia is your shadow?” Twilight asked, still unable to grasp the concept of it.

“Perfection doesn’t exist, Twilight Sparkle. She is just a projection. A part of myself. The part everypony likes. The rest of me, ponies like less. Some part of me, they are right to reject.”

Celestia approached at her turn and sat in front of Twilight.

“Do you mind me being a shadow?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure.” Twilight replied.

“You are a princess too now.” Luna explained. “Ponies will also only see a part of you. And that part of you will become more real than yourself to everypony around. I guess the best part of me wanted to warn you, so that you wouldn’t risk following the same path that I have once your shadow is loved more than yourself.”

Twilight looked at Luna, then at Celestia, then at Luna and then at Celestia again. She was confused, unable to feel the ground under her hooves. She wasn’t certain to be awake anymore.

Out of the confusion, she tried to find anything that could bring her back to the reality she knew and wanted to be a part of.

“Princess Celestia… are you real?” She asked.

Celestia smiled:

“Of course I am.”

“Then who are you princess Celestia!?” Twilight screamed in catharsis.

Luna and Celestia looked at each other, giggled and both at the same time put their right hoof on Twilight’s muzzled, bumping it to show her she shouldn’t worry, and then said as one voice and one big smile:

“We are your friend.”


THE END