The Shadow Keeper

by derpyland

Chapter 5

TWILIGHT SPARKLE FOUND HERSELF standing on the path that led to the Castle of the Two Sisters. To her great surprise, the castle was in beautiful condition. The castle's lofty towers were intact and in good repair, and bright banners flew proudly from flagpoles on the roof. The grounds were immaculately maintained and filled with a wide variety of colorful flowers. Behind her was the Everfree Forest, which was filled with tall, stately trees. Twilight could even hear birds chirping. A few clouds floated gently overhead, and a light breeze blew through her mane. The castle was a picture of serenity and grace.

Most oddly, Twilight felt fine. There was no sword protruding out of her neck. She didn't even see any scars. It was like she had never been stabbed at all.

“Well, this is certainly weird,” Twilight said aloud. “Hello? Is anypony there?”

That's when Twilight noticed him. In the distance, in front of the castle, there was a tall brown unicorn. She couldn't make out his features, but Twilight had a vague feeling that he was friendly. Since there wasn't anypony else in sight, Twilight trotted down the path and headed toward him.

As Twilight drew near, the pony said nothing; he just stood there and looked at her. Twilight noticed that he had a troubled look on his face. He had a short black mane, and his cutie mark was an oddly-shaped yellow crystal.

“Um, hello there,” Twilight said. “Are you real?”

The pony smiled. “As real as you are, princess. I am the Shadow Keeper. Welcome to my realm.”

Twilight looked around. “Do you mean this is the realm of shadows? Wow. I was expecting something, um, a little more creepy. You know – shadows, darkness, despair, maybe a few bones here and there. This looks like a happy place.”

The Keeper laughed. “I am not the keeper of those kind of shadows! Think of me as the pony of memories. I keep track of things that used to exist but are now gone. This place stores the shadows of the past. It is a peaceful place, but it is also a place of sadness and loss. What you are seeing is what used to exist in the days before the – well, in the older days. Sadly, this world is now gone. Only these shadows remain.”

Twilight looked around. “This is beautiful! I had no idea that the Everfree Forest was ever a happy place. I've always thought that it was a place of evil and darkness.”

The Keeper shook his head. “Not at all. When it was originally planted it was a garden of great peace and beauty. Unfortunately, Celestia destroyed it when she attempted to undo what the Five had done. It wasn't intentional, but her mistake could not be fixed. That is why I created this realm – so that the memory of what had once been would not be lost.”

“I see. But, um, I'm a little confused. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is Celestia stabbing me with that sword of hers. The next thing I new I was here.”

The Keeper sighed. “Yes, the stone dagger. Believe me, princess, it was never my intention for the dagger to be used in that manner. I created it so that ponies might have easy access from Equestria into this realm I have created. All you have to do is light the five-pointed star and use the dagger to cut the plasma that is beneath the arch. The portal will then open and you can walk right through it.”

“Well, that makes sense. But why didn't the dagger kill me? Isn't that what daggers usually do?”

“The dagger is a magical item. It is not made of real matter at all. It appears to be made of stone, but that is just an illusion – a shadow, if you will. When Celestia struck you the dagger pushed you into my realm. I truly do not understand why she attacked you with it. When I created the dagger and gave it to Celestia I explained to her quite clearly how it worked. It is not a great mystery.”

“Really? You mean you gave it to her? Well, that explains how she got it. I think Celestia might have forgotten how to use it, though. She seems to believe that the only way to reach the shadow realm is by, um, sacrificing a pony.”

“Sacrificing a pony?” the Keeper said in disbelief. “That is utterly ridiculous! What kind of demented mind would even think of such a thing? And what kind of pony would ever agree to those terms?”

“Celestia, apparently. I should have listened to Trixie – I really should have. She warned me that Celestia was out to get her. I just didn't think that Celestia was capable of doing anything like that. Boy, was I wrong.”

“I would not have believed it either. I knew Celestia long ago, and in her youth she was a very moral and upright filly. Apparently the long years have changed her and turned her dark. She seems to have forgotten many things that she once knew. Speaking of changes, I am afraid that I do not know your name. I must admit that I am somewhat confused. Before you came here you were blue and your friend was purple. Now you are purple and your friend is blue. Is there some sort of magic at work?”

Twilight nodded. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I was Celestia's student at one time; now I'm the Princess of Friendship. The blue pony that you saw was Trixie Lulamoon. She's the Element of Magic, which is one of the Elements of Harmony.”

“I am familiar with what the Elements are – or, at least, with what they were long ago. But why did the two of you change forms?”

“It was Trixie's idea – she wanted to test Celestia. She was convinced that Celestia hated her and was going to kill her. I thought she was just dwelling too much on the fact that Celestia had tried to get Trixie killed before, but I agreed to go along with the disguise in order to make her happy. So we switched appearances: I turned into her and she turned into me. Since I'm more powerful than Trixie, being an alicorn and all, we both thought that I could protect myself if Celestia tried anything.”

The Keeper paused before replying. “There are several things about your story that trouble me. First, you say that your friend Trixie is not an alicorn. Yet I can see that she has both a horn and wings.”

“Oh, right! I guess she does. The wings are fake, though. I created them for her out of magic so that she could find out what it felt like to fly. I was trying to improve her mood. She's been pretty depressed ever since Celestia tried to kill her. Well, 'tried' is probably the wrong word, since Trixie was actually killed. I had to bring her back from the dead.”

“Back from the dead?” the Keeper echoed. “The future is truly a strange place. But tell me, your highness. If Celestia had already made an attempt on Trixie's life in the past – especially a successful attempt – then why did you doubt that she would try it again? Why did you not believe your friend and take her concerns seriously?”

“I just thought Celestia was better than that! I was wrong, apparently. Really, really wrong. If that dagger had been made out of real stone then I would be pretty dead right now.”

“But isn't Trixie still with Celestia? And Celestia now knows about your ruse, for Trixie has revealed herself and accused her. Would it not be wise to bring Trixie here, where she would be safely out of Celestia's reach?”

Twilight nodded. “You know, that actually sounds like a really good idea. Can you do that by yourself, or do I need to go get her?”

The Keeper lit up his horn, and a moment later Trixie appeared. The blue unicorn looked around in a panic until she saw Twilight. “Where did you bring Trixie to?” Trixie asked.

The Keeper waved a hoof. “Welcome to the realm of shadows! Your friend Twilight thought that you would be safer here.”

Twilight ran over to Trixie and hugged her. “I am so sorry for not believing you! You were absolutely right. Celestia is dangerous and she is definitely out to get you.”

“Trixie told you,” Trixie replied. “Celestia can't be trusted. She's gone crazy! I think she's trying to raise the Keeper from the dead.”

The Keeper looked surprised. “But I'm not dead! I'm just in a different realm. Didn't Celestia tell you?”

Twilight shook her head. “That brings up another question. Can you explain what is going on?”

* * * * *

In the mighty city of Canterlot, a guard pony rushed into Luna's private quarters. The princess was standing out on her balcony, looking out to the horizon. The afternoon was far spent and the shadows were lengthening.

“Pardon me, princess,” the guard said. “There is an urgent message from Cloudsdale.”

“I know. I saw the rainboom over the Everfree Forest. That can only mean that my sister attacked Trixie, just as Rainbow feared.”

“She did more than just attack her, your highness. Rainbow Dash reports that Celestia actually killed her. She impaled Trixie through the neck. Trixie is now dead.”

“I feared as much,” Luna replied sadly. Tears ran down her face. “The moment I saw that rainboom I knew that somepony had died. I should have stopped Celestia from going to see the Keeper. I knew that going to his crypt was not wise, but she assured me that Twilight would be there and that she had good intentions. She promised me that she meant no harm to Trixie. I was such a fool to believe her! Now Trixie is dead yet again.”

“The Keeper?” the guard asked. “Is this some new foe?”

“He is not significant right now. The important thing is to arrest my sister before she can harm anypony else. To think that things have come to this! I must arrest Celestia. My sister once imprisoned me on the moon, and now I must imprison her. How did it come to this? What happened to you, Celestia? When did you lose sight of what mattered?”

“What are your orders, your highness?” the guard asked. “The pegasi from Cloudsdale are already on the way to the Castle of the Two Sisters, and the Wonderbolts are with them. They are armed and plan on attacking Celestia on sight, but if you are willing they would like you to go to her and negotiate her surrender. They think that if you talk to her you could save many lives.”

“Then I must go see her immediately. It is only right that I should be the one to confront her, as she once confronted me. I will do whatever I must to protect the citizens of this realm. Tell the Canterlot pegasi to remain here and protect the city. If Celestia escapes and tries to return to this castle then they are to arrest her. I will go to the Everfree Forest and talk to my sister. Perhaps I can reason with her.”

“I pray your efforts will be met with success,” the guard replied.

“As do I,” Luna said. “But I do not believe this day will have a happy ending. Things will never be the way they once were. Not after this.”

* * * * *

Celestia searched the tomb frantically, looking for anything that could help her reach the Keeper. There were five marble statutes in the room, each of them depicting one of the Five. In the center of the room was a large granite tomb. The tomb had writing on it, but the writing wasn't important.

On a normal day Celestia would have been drawn to the statue that represented her father, the leader of the Five. He had been gone for so long that she had forgotten what he even looked like. Celestia thought that she had destroyed every likeness of him in the world, but apparently she had missed one. But today the princess was frantic. She knew that pegasi were coming to arrest her, and before they arrived she had to leave Equestria and enter the shadow realm. Otherwise they might interrupt her plan and all would be lost. The world had to be set right – it just had to be. No matter what the cost. She had come too far to be stopped now.

“Where are you?” Celestia shouted. She wanted to cast a spell, but she had no idea what spell might help. “Keeper, come out! I need to talk with you. It's time to reforge the shattered shards and put everything to right again. But I cannot do it without you! Where are you hiding?”

* * * * *

“It all started a very long time ago,” the Keeper explained. The three ponies had left the ancient Everfree Forest and were now standing in an enormous cave that was hidden deep beneath Canterlot. In the middle of the air, hanging in empty space, was an enormous yellow crystal. It was one of the most impressive things that Twilight had ever seen. To her it looked more like a city than a crystal. She saw shapes within shapes, all interlocking and all connected to each other. The crystal refracted light in odd ways, channeling it to ever-changing sections within itself. It never moved, and yet it was constantly in motion. It almost looked alive.

To Trixie it was just a boring yellow rock.

“It's beautiful,” Twilight enthused. “It's so highly organized! It's like watching a tightly choreographed ballet. You can feel the magic pulsing through it. I had no idea that such a thing had ever existed.”

The Keeper nodded. “This is just my memory of it, of course, so it doesn't really do it justice. I realize that the crystal appears to be a magical artifact, but it's not magical at all – it's actually something much older and infinitely more rare. I don't know who created it but I do know what it did. In fact, I actually earned my cutie mark by working with the Order Crystal! The crystal was one of the foundational pieces of the universe. It provided order and regularity to this world.”

“Ok,” Trixie said. “I'm with you so far. The yellow rock provided order, which is really important to ponies like Twilight. But why did Celestia's father destroy it?”

“Oh, it wasn't just her father! I realize that Ember is the one Celestia is obsessed with, and it's true that he was their leader, but he wasn't in this plot alone. The group was called the Five because it consisted of five alicorns. The Five came up with a plan to take over the world and make ponies the dominant race. In order to do that they needed to change the world so that its operation depended on ponykind. Back when this crystal was functioning, Nature ran on its own course. Ember knew that if the crystal was destroyed then Nature would cease to operate, and the world would depend on pony magic. You might say that breaking the crystal would break reality itself. Once it was shattered the sun would no longer rise and set, the weather patterns would stop, and all sorts of things would fail. Ponies would have to step in and run things, and that would give them power over all other life forms.”

Trixie looked confused. “That was their plan? But that doesn't make any sense! The world has always been the way it is now. It's foolish to think that the sun once rose itself! How would that even work?”

The Keeper smiled. “Ah, the hubris of youth. Believe it or not, I am old enough to remember a time when the sun did exactly that. Stop and think for a minute, young one. If Nature always required the power of ponies to operate then how did Nature operate before there were ponies? There weren't always ponies in the world, you know! If Nature did not once run itself, then in the days before ponies the sun would have stopped in the sky and cooked the entire world, and all life would have died. There must have been a time when Nature worked without ponies. Otherwise there would never have been ponies at all.”

“That's amazing,” Twilight said.

“That is very strange,” Trixie replied. “Ok, so the Five shattered the Order Crystal, and Nature broke, and the ponies took over and used their magic to run things. Riots broke out and the Five were killed, and ponies have ruled the world ever since. I get it. But what is Celestia trying to accomplish?”

“She must want to reforge the shards,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “She thinks that the Keeper can somehow repair it. That's why she is trying to reach him.”

“Is that possible?” Trixie asked. “Can the shards be glued back together or something?”

The Keeper shook his head. “It cannot be done. Celestia must have known that fact at one time, for she has never come to see me in all the years I've been here. The fact that she is making her appearance now must mean that she has forgotten something she once knew.”

Twilight spoke up. “So just how impossible is it? Are we talking just kind of impossible, or totally-not-a-chance impossible?”

“There are several problems. First of all, the Order Crystal is made out of a unique material that cannot be found anywhere else in Nature. In order to reforge it the shards would have to be melted – but the shards are very resistant to heat and have a high melting point. The energy required to do that would be extraordinary. The only way to get that much energy would be to extract it from the sun, which would cause it to become unstable.”

“Destroying the sun sounds pretty bad,” Trixie commented.

“Indeed. Celestia and I discussed that very possibility a thousand years ago and agreed it was not a wise course of action. But there is a second problem that is even more serious. Even if you were somehow able to find enough energy to melt the shards, you would have to know how to reforge the crystal. As you can see, it is not a simple rock; it is an extremely intricate mechanism. Nopony knows how to recreate it. It is completely impossible.”

Twilight spoke up. “But suppose you could find the energy, and suppose you could reforge it. Would it work? Would things go back to the way they once were?”

“They would – but at a very high cost. If the Order Crystal was ever reforged it would reset the entire world.”

“Is that bad?” Trixie asked.

“It would kill everything and everyone! Didn't you hear me? It would reset the world. In other words it would start the world over again. No ponies would survive the reset. Now, I admit it would be nice to see the sun raise itself once more, but the price is simply too high. The crystal has been broken and it cannot be remade.”

Trixie spoke up. “Trixie does not like the sound of that. In her opinion Celestia is trying to fix something that isn't even a problem. Who cares if ponies rule the world? Isn't that just natural?”

“Apparently not,” Twilight replied. “Celestia must be haunted by the memory of what her father Ember did. She wants to make things right.”

“By killing everypony? That seems kind of harsh! Is anything worth that?”

The Keeper shook his head. “I fear that the princess may no longer be reasonable. Celestia has been tormented by the past for so long that I fear she cannot see the present. She has set some dire events in motion.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“I am the Keeper of Shadows. This means that I store the memories of things that once were – but like Luna, I can also see the shadows of events that have not yet occurred. Celestia is on the verge of unraveling the fabric of Equestria itself. There is already an army of pegasi on the way to arrest her. Her sister Luna is also coming from Canterlot to speak with her and try to negotiate her surrender.”

“Her surrender?” Twilight asked.

“Equestria is on the verge of revolt. What happens in the next hour could tear it apart. Celestia is quite strong and could do tremendous damage if she wished. If she chooses to wage war against the rest of ponykind then a great many lives could be lost. It is a dire thing to fight a pony who can control the sun. We need to take immediate action if we want to maintain the peace and keep the nation from unraveling. In fact, it already may be too late.”

Twilight turned to Trixie. “What do you suggest?”

“You're asking me? You're the Princess of Friendship! You've known Celestia for years. Why do you think that I would know what to do?”

“Because you're good at strategy! You're somehow able to find simple ways to solve problems. If it was up to me I'd probably go out there and try to turn Celestia into stone using the power of friendship. That's usually how things turn out when I'm in charge. I'm looking to you to find a different solution. I don't think my normal brute force approach is going to work on the Princess of the Sun.”

Trixie thought for a moment, then turned to the Keeper. “Can you bring Celestia here?”

“I can,” the Keeper replied.

“Well, there is one thing we could try. See what you think of this.”

Comments

[Emperor]

Aaaaand backstory.

It looks like Twilight's gonna have to start raising the sun earlier than expected the way this is panning out.