The shadow

by TwiwnB

Search for the sun

Twilight was staring at princess Celestia in the garden. It had taken her a moment to finally realize what was wrong, but it had become clear as daylight now. She had checked it again and again, making sure there was no rational explanation for it, an angle she had forgotten, any light source she might have forgotten in her model.
She hadn’t made any mistake: Celestia had no shadow.

Nopony else seemed to have noticed. They were wandering in the garden, never looking down as nobility knew so well how to, and enjoying the glorious day their princess had created for them, surrounded by the scents and colors of flowers, completely oblivious of that simple fact: the princess didn’t have a shadow.

Twilight found herself in that very stupid situation where you are either the only genius to have discovered something very important, or the only one not to be aware of something very normal for everyone else.

She was pretty sure Celestia had always displayed a shadow before though. It wasn’t a detail she had given much thought in the past, but she would have noticed it during all those years if there had been anything special in that regard concerning princess Celestia. And none of her friends had made any remark about it either.

There was no way in Equestria Twilight would be the only pony not to know that it could be normal for Celestia not to have a shadow.

So something was clearly wrong. That was the logical conclusion, the only one that made sense.

Twilight listed the alternatives.
Celestia could have used a spell to hide her shadow. But not only had Twilight never heard of such a spell, she also couldn’t see why Celestia would have done such a thing in the first place.
Celestia could have become translucid, letting light pass through her and therefore not form a shadow, but that hypothesis would imply the possibility for Twilight to see through the royal princess, which wasn’t the case.
Celestia could… well, not be princess Celestia.

It was the only logical explanation. The most difficult to believe too. The word “changeling” immediately came to mind, but could have one of those creature not only copied Celestia’s appearance, but also and most importantly, her composure?

Celestia looked royal, like she always did. In the middle of the royal garden, she was still eclipsing the most beautiful flowers and the tallest of plants. Her hooves felt more stable than the ground. Her mane was directing the swing of leaves in the air. Her eyes, more than anything else, were wider than the sky, dyed of a bluer blue, decorated with, in their middle, an even brighter and more powerful sun holding the reins of the whole universe under its sight.

Twilight was slowly beginning to panic there. On one hoof, it was pretty clear that princess Celestia had been replaced by an impostor. On the other hoof, Celestia was impossible to replace, no matter how gifted or magical the impostor may be.

She didn’t know what to think anymore. She didn’t know what to do anymore. Flee? Attack? Shout? Scream? Cry? Search an answer in books? What book would be talking about what to do in case of shadowless Celestia?

Her heartrate was exploding and it signaled her she was losing control of the situation. She was a princess now: she couldn’t afford to panic anymore.

She stopped, took a deep breath, bent her hoof and then slowly pushed in front of her with it, while releasing the air in her lungs.

The world stopped trembling and she heard the singing of birds again. She was in the royal gardens, ponies around her were enjoying a glorious sunny day and all she had to do was go talk with Celestia, her peer as a princess.

“Thanks Cadance” Twilight thought.

She then approached Celestia and engaged the conversation.

“Good morning princess Celestia. How are you doing?” She asked.

“Good morning again, Twilight. I am fine, thank you. How about you?” Celestia replied, with an amused smile.

Twilight remembered both of them had already met that day and she blushed for having forgotten that fact. Still, it was indicating her she was still more stressed than she thought, a good indication as she would have to be very careful in how she was going to question Celestia without showing her real intent.

And already, she was noticing that even if Celestia had found her mistake funny, the tone she had used to ask for her well-being hadn’t contained any sarcasm or irony. Nothing but true and deep concern for her health and happiness. A tone that was almost unique to princess Celestia. Or lovers.

And yet, Twilight had heard it from somepony else, even if she couldn’t remember who.

At least, she had a lead now, no matter how faint.

“I’m fine, thanks.” She told Celestia. “Excuse me to ask such a thing, but today brings back so many memories to me. I remember my first day at your school for magically gifted unicorn. It feels like so long ago.”

Celestia’s expression changed by a millionth of a millimeter, enough though for a very experimented observer to notice she was analyzing what she had heard with that sharpened intelligence of hers.

“I remember it quite well.” She responded to Twilight with a laugh. “I gave the introduction speech and you were staring at me the whole time. I could see in your eyes you were so impressed you couldn’t hear any of my words. And when everypony else was called to continue the tour, you stayed there for a moment, looking at me. I have to confess, the look on your face when the teacher called out to you was priceless.”

Twilight didn’t doubt it for one second. She had felt so ashamed to be called out doing something wrong in front of princess Celestia that, at the time, she wouldn’t have minded simply ceasing to exist.

Quite a memory indeed. For a moment, Twilight had forgotten why she had asked, but she remembered she wasn’t there for old times’ sake. She was there to know the truth about Celestia being Celestia. Her first question had only been a test, she had others.

“Yeah…” Twilight responded with a faint laugh. “That was awkward. Just like the time I had sent you a poem I had written in place of the report I was supposed to deliver. I still can’t believe you not only never punished me for it, but actually took the time to read it, analyze it and compliment me about it.”

This time, Celestia only smiled a bit more than the first time. A gentle smile, a comprehensive one. The smile of a mother.

“I probably would have, if you had ever done such a thing Twilight. But unless my memory is failing me, you never did. Other students did. Not poem though. One sent me a love letter she had intended for a stallion that, at first, I thought was directed at me. It took me quite a while to figure out how to react. In the end, I figured the letter wasn’t for me and I simply asked the student to send me her report, pretending I hadn’t received anything from her.”

Celestia had passed the second test. Not only had Twilight never failed to send her report correctly, but she knew the pony Celestia was talking about. She could still hear her voice from when she had learned Celestia had never received the letter. Relief and joy. Also, for some reason, the stallion the student was in love with was assigned to do some research work with her. Destiny at work at the time.

Now it was clear Celestia had had something to do with it.

And it was clear she had chosen that anecdote very carefully. Because only Celestia could have known. And because Twilight knew about it too.

In other words: Celestia was aware that Twilight was testing her.

And yet, she was just waiting for Twilight’s next question, accepting to be questioned. She didn’t even look frustrated from Twilight’s distrust.

“Excuse me to ask it so bluntly, but could you tell me about prince Sombra?”

“Which one?” Celestia replied. “The one I fought here in Equestria? The one I fell in love with? Or the one you haven’t met yet in the dimension Sunset Shimmer’s fell in?”

Things were now pretty clear at least. Either the pony Twilight was talking to was princess Celestia, or it was a creature that had stolen both her memories and her intelligence. It left only one way to know for sure.

“I am not moving the sun now Twilight.” Celestia said before Twilight had even decided whether or not she would dare ask for it. “I am sorry, but I wish to keep the peace of this day undisturbed and ponies worrying about the sun moving strangely in the sky goes against that wish. But I would gladly have you at my side when I raise it tomorrow. And if you explained to me the meaning of your behavior, I could help you make sure no doubt is left on my identity.”

Twilight knew what Celestia had meant with those last words. She too knew that watching the sun rise along with Celestia casting a spell wouldn’t prove anything. The proof would come only if she were to raise it at an undefined moment chosen independently of her own will. So that she couldn’t “prepare” a fake event. Even so, there were ways around to fake it anyway. For those, Twilight had no answer yet, but Celestia would probably offer more than one, all satisfactory.

At this point, Twilight had to recognize that even if princess Celestia had been replaced by an impostor, the impostor was way too talented and too smart for her. Or simply, she was speaking with princess Celestia and she had overestimated the seriousness of the situation by quite a lot.

She had to decide though. She could either trust the pony in front of her, or still remain in doubt. In a corner of her mind, Twilight couldn’t prevent herself from asking “what would princess Celestia do?”.

“I’m sorry.” Twilight said. “I’m making a fool of myself. It’s just… princess Celestia: you have no shadow.”

Celestia didn’t reply immediately. But she didn’t bother to check whether it was true or not. All of her attention was focused on Twilight. The latter could feel Celestia’s look piercing through her skull, reaching her very mind, looking deeper and deeper into it, unlocking doors to parts that even Twilight didn’t know existed, uncovering aspects she had always ignored. It was feeling very awkward, almost disturbing and yet, both quiet and thrilling at the same time. For the few seconds it lasted, Twilight wasn’t alone in her mind anymore and the feelings she experienced were so new and incredible for her to mind at all.

But it ended. Only remained the gentle smile of the sun princess.

“Would you mind me not having a shadow?” Celestia asked.

Twilight didn’t know what to respond. Yes? No? What difference was a mere shadow making in the great scheme of things? Celestia was still Celestia and that fact only really mattered.

Celestia smiled brighter. Her shoulders now looked lighter and she couldn’t prevent herself from quickly deploying her huge wings and have them experience a freedom of movement they were usually deprived of, before bringing them back to her, back in position, back in order, where they were expected to be.

“Everything is normal, Twilight.” Celestia explained. “You shouldn’t worry about it. I can assure you that nothing has changed.”

She offered Twilight another smile. One made of pure joy. And for the first time since Twilight had begun that discussion, that smile looked fake. It was Celestia’s smile, Twilight knew it very well. But it wasn’t joy that was motivating it. It was the will to reassure, to comfort.

Twilight didn’t say anything, but couldn’t take her look away from Celestia’s smile. She couldn’t just bring herself to ignore the plea behind it. She wanted to understand and more than anything, she wanted to help.

“Everything is normal.” Celestia repeated. “Yet, I would like to ask you a favor if you don’t mind.”

“Of course!” Twilight immediately agreed. “Anything you need.”

“It isn’t something I need. Your curiosity and wonderful mind just offered me with an opportunity to shed light on something I consider quite unfair.”

“Do not worry, I’m going to correct it!” Twilight assured her confidently.

“It doesn’t require to be corrected.” Celestia replied. “Only to be acknowledged. Then, you will be free to do whatever it is you want with it.”

Twilight didn’t understand. But she was willing to do whatever it was Celestia would ask her. She would be able to figure the rest out afterwards.

Celestia understood and asked for the favor:

“Could you unveil the mystery of my missing shadow?”

Twilight got caught off guard. Or maybe she had just been awaiting it all along. All the same, the logic of it escaped her, as Celestia obviously already knew why she didn’t have a shadow. Or maybe somepony had stolen it, or maybe she had lost it in some sidereal bet.

It didn’t matter.

“I will!” Twilight replied, bombing her chest, ready to conquer any problem and solve the mystery.

Then she realized one detail:

“I don’t know where to begin though…”

Celestia smiled. She knew the answer of the mystery. So she knew what lead to give Twilight:

“Begin where all shadows come from and eventually disappear. Search in the night.”

And as she didn’t intend to have Twilight solve that riddle, Celestia added:

“Go ask my sister.”

Comments

[LEGION55]

Its KING Sombra.