The Shadow Keeper

by derpyland

Chapter 1

Author's Note:

This story takes place after The Fall of Night and Sunrise. Now, if you haven't read those stories then you should still be fine; this tale ought to be able to stand on its own. However, those other stories will provide a lot of backstory, which you may find entertaining.

So, anyway, enjoy!

IT HAD BEEN SIX WEEKS since Trixie Lulamoon defeated the Necromancer and saved all of Equestria from his army of undead spectrals. After a grand celebration in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle took Trixie back home to Ponyville and invited the blue unicorn to live with her in her crystal castle. Trixie was very hesitant to do this; she had been living with Fluttershy since Celestia appointed her as the leader of the Elements, and she didn't want to hurt Fluttershy's extremely sensitive feelings. However, Twilight pointed out that Trixie was the Element of Magic now. Since the castle's map and throne room had accepted her as one of the Elements, it was only right and proper for her to take the position she had earned. Trixie's cutie mark was now embedded in the very same throne that had once belonged to Twilight, and the princess insisted that the castle was every bit as much Trixie's as it was hers. So Trixie reluctantly agreed to move in.

As the weeks went by and the two ponies settled into their new roles, Twilight hoped that Trixie would come to enjoy living in Ponyville. Sadly, that did not happen. Trixie remained moody and distant despite the best efforts of her new friends. She willingly studied under Twilight and tried to learn everything there was to know about magic, but outside of her studies Trixie largely kept to herself. She even tried to avoid being around the rest of the Elements – except for Rainbow Dash, who proved impossible to escape. Rainbow kept her word and stuck by her side every waking hour. Trixie didn't really like the constant attention, but she was reluctant to say anything. She knew that Rainbow felt guilty about killing her and was just trying to make up for it. It was awkward, but Trixie hoped that Rainbow would soon get bored with it and go back to being her old self.

Meanwhile, Twilight grew increasingly concerned that Trixie was only growing more unhappy as the days went by. So one fine morning she told Trixie that the two of them were going to go off, all by themselves, on a special expedition into the heart of the Everfree Forest. What Trixie didn't know was that Twilight just wanted to spend some time alone with her to find out what was wrong with her friend. As Twilight was about to discover, though, she picked the wrong day to reach out to Trixie. That particular day would be anything but peaceful and relaxing.

* * * * *

The dark and sinister Everfree Forest spread out for miles, as far as the eye could see. Ancient, gnarled trees grew high into the air and blocked out the sun with their twisted branches and thick leaves. At the base of the trees was a thick layer of vines, underbrush, and thorns. Equestria was full of inviting forests that were a delight to spend time in, but the Everfree was not one of them.

There were few paths that led into the forest, for most ponies would not dare to set hoof in that dreadful and dangerous place. Yet, despite the infrequent traffic, there were a couple dirt roads that snaked their way through the underbrush. How they were maintained, no one could say; perhaps it was a special kind of magic, or perhaps the forest itself created the paths as a way to lure unwary ponies to their doom.

Most ponies were intelligent enough to avoid those rather uninviting paths, but there were a few who rushed in where wiser minds feared to tread. Two foolish ponies had chosen to walk down one of those dirty, rocky trails on that fateful and unforgettable day. Trixie Lulamoon, magical unicorn and Element of Magic, walked closely beside Princess Twilight Sparkle. The path Twilight had chosen led deep into the heart of the forest – a place that Trixie very much wanted to avoid. Twilight, though, walked the path with confidence. She had been into the forest many times and had always emerged alive. (True, she had once been turned into stone by a cockatrice, but she doubted that would happen again.) Twilight wasn't afraid of what might be hidden in the shadows – but then, she was a powerful alicorn princess who was feared by pretty much everypony. Trixie, though, was just a unicorn. She wasn't used to battling angry trees and whatever other nightmares lay hidden just out of sight.

“Trixie does not like this place,” she said at last. “Not one bit.”

“I can't say that I blame you,” Twilight replied. “After all, the last time you were in this forest the Necromancer killed you. Are you still having those nightmares?”

“Sometimes. Not as much as Trixie used to, though. Luna has been helping me have happier dreams. She's been very nice to Trixie.”

Twilight smiled. “Luna is pretty amazing, isn't she? I'm glad you've been working with her. I'm also sorry that you had to go through that terrible ordeal all by yourself. I know that my friends weren't much help to you.”

“Your friends hated Trixie,” the unicorn said quietly. She didn't say it bitterly; she just said it. “All of them hated her. They wanted to kill her, and Rainbow Dash finally did. It was a bad time.”

“But it's all over now, right? After all, you fixed everything! You defeated the Necromancer and you restored all of the Elements of Harmony back to their old selves. Nopony is gray anymore. The world has been set right and everypony loves you. No one hates you and no one is out to get you. In fact, Rainbow Dash is so sorry about what she did that she pretty much lives in your shadow. I was sure she would have gone back to her old life by now, but she hasn't. I've never seen so much loyalty in all my life.”

Trixie sighed and looked away. “Rainbow Dash just feels guilty. The only reason she's being so nice to Trixie is because she thinks that if she helps me enough, she'll eventually feel better about herself. Only it hasn't worked, so she keeps trying harder. Trixie has tried to talk to her but she won't listen.”

“I think you're right. Maybe we both need to talk with her.”

“That would probably be best. Trixie is sure she will listen to you. After all, everypony listens to you. The whole world loves you, Twilight. They're so glad that you are alive again. Equestria is happy and peaceful because you are here. They were very, very upset when you were gone.”

“Yes, I guess that's true. The whole world is happy now – except for you. That's the one thing I don't understand. I mean, you did it, Trixie! You saved Equestria and you proved that you really are great and powerful. You are a national hero. What could there possibly be to be unhappy about?”

Trixie looked at Twilight, and then looked away again. She didn't respond. The unicorn just stared into the shadows, as if she didn't want to talk about it. The whole subject was clearly painful to her – but Twilight wasn't going to let this go.

The princess stopped walking and put a hoof around her neck. “Look, Trixie, it's just you and me here. We're all alone. I sent Rainbow Dash off on an errand to Canterlot and didn't tell her where we were going, so she's not going to suddenly show up or anything. There's nopony around for miles and miles. You can talk to me, Trixie. It's safe. Nopony else will overhear you, and I really want to know what's going on. I want to know what's bothering you so that I can help you. I don't like seeing you all sad and depressed. So what's wrong?”

Trixie stopped and looked at Twilight. “You know, for being such a smart pony, you're really not very smart sometimes.”

Twilight frowned. She removed her hoof from around Trixie's neck and stepped back. “Say what?”

“I didn't mean it like that,” Trixie said hurriedly. “But really, Twilight, put yourself in my hooves for a minute. Before you died I was a happy, self-centered pony who thought she was the greatest pony in all the world. I spent my time touring, showing off, and tricking other ponies into liking me. It might have been shallow and stupid, but it was a pretty great life and it made me happy. I may not have had any real friends, but I was happy. Well, mostly happy.

“Then everything changed. I went to the Griffon Kingdom, and I would have been killed there if you hadn't saved me. Then I had to watch you die, which was traumatizing. Then I had to go to Canterlot and explain to Celestia why I let you die, which was even more traumatizing. Celestia hates me, Twilight. She really, really hates me. She begged the Elements to kill me to get revenge for your death. That was pretty traumatizing too.”

Twilight interrupted. “But Celestia said she was sorry! She gave you a wonderful eulogy at your funeral. I know that you were dead at the time and couldn't hear it, but it was really pretty moving. She genuinely feels bad for what she did.”

“Trixie does not believe that,” Trixie said firmly. “You don't understand – you weren't there. Everypony hated Trixie. Celestia, your friends – they were all united in hating her. Only Luna and your brother stood by her side. It was awful. For weeks Trixie had to live with all that hate, and it hurt, and every day it hurt a little bit more. It still haunts her, and she cannot forget it or pretend that it never happened. Sure, you say that everything is different now, but it's not that easy. How does Trixie know that things really are different? All Trixie has seen are words – empty, easy words. When things get bad and Trixie's life is on the line, she does not believe that anypony will be standing there with her. If danger arises again, things will just go back to the way they were before. That is why Trixie is so depressed.”

“Trixie needs to stop talking about herself in the third person,” Twilight said. “That got old a long time ago.”

“Sorry. It's a hard habit to break. But don't you see? Everything is different now, but everything is not better. I don't want to be the Element of Magic. You were good at it, Twilight. You are powerful and strong, and you've read thousands of books, and you know practically all there is to know about magic. It made perfect sense for you to be the Element of Magic – but I am a stage magician. I don't have your knowledge or your raw power. When I had to go up against the Necromancer I realized for the first time in my life that I was neither great nor powerful, and that knowledge completely shattered me. The Necromancer actually killed me, Twilight. The only way I was able to defeat him was by pretending to be you, and even then I still got killed. Being the Element of Magic is absolutely terrifying. Don't you see? All of the other Elements – Rarity and Rainbow Dash and all the rest – wanted me dead a month ago. Why in Equestria would I be happy about having to work with them, and having a job that I know I cannot do? There is nothing about my life that I'm happy with. Why wouldn't I be depressed? Only a crazy pony would be happy about all this.”

“Oh,” Twilight said. She started to say something else, but she was at a loss for words. Twilight finally realized that she had completely misjudged Trixie. Her friend wasn't doing just fine; instead she was broken. The pain of her battle with the Necromancer had torn her apart, and nopony had bothered to put her back together again. Trixie was in great pain, and she felt utterly alone and helpless.

Tears formed in Twilight's eyes. “I am so sorry, Trixie. I had no idea you felt that way. I guess I had just never thought about it that way before. I really thought you were doing ok for the most part. Are you saying that you were actually happier when you traveled around and did magic shows?”

“I wasn't vulnerable then,” Trixie explained. “My life wasn't in danger. If one show didn't pan out then I could just go to the next city and do another one. No lives were on the line and nopony really expected anything of me. In those days I actually believed that I was great and powerful. Even after the incident with the Ursa Minor I still believed it. Now I know that I am weak and helpless, and you are the great and powerful one. The truth is I'm nothing special at all.”

“That is not the truth,” Twilight said firmly. “You did what nopony else could do – you saved Equestria from the undead. Even Celestia herself wasn't able to do that! Without you the Elements would have failed and everypony would be dead right now. You are an amazing pony, and you are the Element of Magic because you earned it. I admit it's a difficult and somewhat scary job, but I will be by your side to help you see it through. The two of us are going to tackle it together. You're not in this alone.”

“Thanks,” Trixie said.

Twilight waited for a few seconds, hoping that Trixie would say something else, but she didn't. Trixie just turned away from Twilight's gaze and looked down at the ground. Twilight couldn't tell if Trixie felt any better or not, but she hoped that she did. Twilight hated seeing any of her friends be so unhappy.

Twilight suddenly had an idea. She knew what would cheer Trixie up. “Speaking of happiness and saving the day, do you think you could do me a favor? Rainbow Dash told me that you do a really great impression of me, and I would love to see it. Do you think you could turn into me?”

Trixie immediately face-hoofed. “Twilight, I try not to do that anymore. Turning into other ponies and pretending be someone you're not is a great way to lose everypony's trust. Besides, I only turned into you that one time, and the only reason I did it was because there was no other way to defeat the Necromancer. It was the only option that I had.”

“I know, I know, and I'm not upset with you. I think it was a really clever idea! I would never have thought of it. But I would love to see your impression of me. Please?”

“Oh, come on, Twilight! You know how to do that spell. After all, I learned it from a book in your library; it's part of changeling magic. You can turn into me just as easily as I can turn into you. In fact, since you have alicorn magic, you could probably do an even better job than I did.”

“But I'm not a performer,” Twilight pointed out. “I might be able to look like you, but I could never convince anypony that I was actually you. You know how to pull off the character, and that's something I can't do. Will you please do it? For me?”

When Trixie hesitated, Twilight waved a hoof around. “Look, we're in the middle of a very scary and frightening forest. There's nopony else around but you and me, so no one will see you. You're not tricking anypony; I'm asking you to do this. Please?”

“Fine,” Trixie said reluctantly. Her horn glowed a brilliant blue color, and a moment later her appearance changed. Trixie's coat turned purple, her cutie mark changed into a magenta star surrounded by five tiny white stars, and a pair of beautiful wings sprouted out of her sides. She looked exactly like Twilight Sparkle. An outside observer would have found it impossible to tell the difference between them.

“Hi!” Trixie said cheerfully, perfectly mimicking Twilight's voice. “I'm the Princess of Friendship! I'm Celestia's favorite student and I'm loved by everypony. I like to read incredibly boring books about incredibly boring subjects, and I have a tendency to snore at night. Like really, really loud. It annoys other ponies sometimes.”

Twilight burst out laughing. “I do not snore! Not that badly, anyway. I mean, seriously.”

“How would you know? Trust me, you do snore. Remember, I sleep in the bedroom that's right next to yours and I can hear everything. I don't know how Spike ever got any sleep when the two of you lived in that tiny treehouse. That sort of thing must not bother dragons.”

Twilight interrupted her. “Hey, I've got an idea! Hold still a minute, will you?”

The alicorn's horn lit up and began to shine with a radiant purple light. Trixie looked nervously at her friend. “What are you doing? You're not mad about the snoring thing, are you? Do you want Trixie to take it back? Please, please don't turn her into an orange.”

A bolt of magic shot out of Twilight's horn and struck Trixie. To Trixie's surprise, it didn't hurt; instead it felt a bit tingly. She wasn't tingly all over, though; it was only her wings that felt funny.

Her wings! That's when it hit her. The wings she sprouted when she turned into Twilight were just magical constructs; they were part of her disguise. Trixie didn't actually have wings and couldn't feel them. But yet, despite that fact, she could feel them now. At least, kind of. She felt something.

Trixie experimentally flapped her wings. To her surprised she lifted off the ground. “What did you do?” she shrieked.

“I gave you a solid pair of wings,” Twilight replied, grinning. “Oh, they're not permanent – I'm afraid I don't know how to do that. This magic should actually be familiar to you; it's the same spell you used on Rarity that one time the two of you were trapped on top of that tower. Rarity still talks about that, by the way. To this day she can't believe that you were willing to do that for her. Only one of you could get wings and fly to safety, and instead of keeping them for yourself you gave them to her. That was really generous of you.”

“Trixie wasn't going to let any more Elements die for her,” the unicorn said, as she flapped harder and flew higher off the ground. “One was more than enough. Besides, Rarity saved Trixie and got her to safety, so we're even. Is this really what it's like to have wings?”

“Pretty neat, isn't it? They'll last for a few days and then they will dissipate. Try not to be in the air when that happens. Oh – and don't fly too near the sun, either. The wings are kind of delicate.”

“Got it,” Trixie replied. She carefully landed back onto the ground.

Trixie energized her horn to transform herself back into her normal look – but nothing happened. Puzzled, Trixie cast the spell again, but her form did not change. She still looked exactly like Twilight.

Trixie stared at Twilight with a look of panic in her eyes. “Why can't I turn back into myself?”

“Um, I'm not sure. Let me try.”

Twilight fired a bolt of magic at her friend, but nothing happened. Trixie's disguise remained stubbornly in place. Twilight tried twice more but the magic had no effect.

“It must be the wing spell,” Twilight said reluctantly. “The wing transformation must have somehow interacted with your disguise. When it gave solidity to your wings it must have done the same thing with the rest of your look. I'm afraid you're going to look like me for the next few days. Sorry about that.”

“I'm what? This is terrible! Do you know what other ponies are going to do if they see me like this?”

“It will be fine,” Twilight assured her. “I'll tell everypony that it was my fault. It wasn't anything that you did. They will understand.”

“They will not understand at all,” Trixie said sourly. “Trixie will just remain here in the forest until it wears off. Maybe she will get lucky and the bears won't eat her. What are we doing out here, anyway?”

“I just wanted to spend some time with you. This path will take us to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Have you ever had a chance to see it? It's actually a pretty neat place! I figured we could hang out there for a while. You know, just the two of us. As friends. Without Rainbow Dash.”

“Isn't that the place where Trixie died?” Trixie asked.

Twilight immediately froze. “Oh. Well, I guess there is that. I knew you had died in the forest, but I didn't realize – I mean – look, I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think this through. You're right; sometimes I guess I really am kind of dumb. I wanted to help you relax, not give you more nightmares. Maybe we should just forget the whole thing and go home.”

“It's fine,” Trixie said hurriedly. As much as she hated being in the forest, she wasn't sure if she could stand spending any more time with Rainbow Dash. “Don't worry about it. The castle sounds like a nice place. Let's go take a look. It'll just be the two of us, right?”

“Right. Just you and me.”

The two ponies resumed their walk down the winding road that led through the Everfree Forest. The sinister nature of the forest was soon forgotten as the friends began chatting about Ponyville, friendship, and magic. After a brisk half-hour walk they came to the end of the trail. Ahead of them was the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Standing right in front of the ruins, at the end of the path, was a large white alicorn.

Trixie was the first one to speak. “I thought you said it was just going to be the two of us!”

“I did,” Twilight replied, confused. “I have no idea what Celestia is doing here. I promise you that I did not invite her to join us.”

“Then why don't you go figure out what is going on. I'll go hide in that cloud up there until she's gone.”

“Come on, Trixie, you don't need to hide. Celestia is fine now, remember? She doesn't hate you anymore!”

“Celestia will always hate Trixie,” Trixie said stubbornly. “You weren't there, Twilight. You didn't hear what she said, and you didn't see what she did. I'm going to go hide until she's gone. Let me know when it's safe to come out.”

Trixie flew up into the air and disappeared into the cloudbank. Twilight sighed, shook her head, and went to go talk to Celestia.

Comments

[Emperor]

Well, it is the Castle of the Two Sisters, Trixie. Maybe Celestia just wants to chill out at her old home.

Going off the synopsis, however, I doubt that.