Shifting Shadow

by PrelateZ

Chapter 5: Approaching Shadow

Chapter 5
(Ponyville Library, the next morning)

Spike yawned as he made his way into the main room of the library. This last night was much more restful than usual, owing to the extra pillow Spike had taken from Twilight's bed. She hadn't used the bed at all that night, choosing instead to stay up and talk with Umbra. The two unicorns had spent most of the night talking and reading, eventually falling asleep atop open books, amid piles of still more books left around the floor.

"Twilight..." Spike whispered as he gently shook the purple unicorn. "Twilight, c'mon, wake up."

Twilight lifted her head from the book and faced the dragon with one eye half-open. "Wha...Spike? What time is it? I was reading and..."

"It's dawn, Twilight. You fell asleep reading again. Now come on, you have to read this letter." Spike brought a rolled-up scroll to Twilight as she slowly moved to a cupboard in search of breakfast. "It's from Princess Celestia!"

Twilight immediately released her grip on a loaf of bread to snatch the scroll from Spike. Her magic held the scroll up and opened it in front of her.

"To my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle," she read. "I have worrisome news to discuss with you. I feel a great power growing just miles from Ponyville, one that I cannot identify. I am coming to your library to speak with you in more detail. Please expect me soon after the sun rises, within about half an hour of receiving this message. Yours truly, Princess Celestia." She suddenly turned to Spike. "When exactly did you get this letter?" she asked, nervousness nearly breaking her voice.

The young dragon, too, now looked nervous. "Twenty minutes ago."

"What!?" Twilight shouted, startling the nearby, sleeping Umbra into full alertness. "That means we have less than ten minutes until Princess Celestia arrives! Look around, this place is a disaster!" The frightened mare paced about the room. "We have to clear off these books, sweep the floor, water the plants..." she continued to list everything, however minor, she felt needed to be improved for Celestia's arrival. Spike set to work at once, shaking his head as he watched Twilight's mounting panic.

Umbra stepped over a pile of books, stumbling as Twilight levitated the books up into their shelves at the same moment he was atop them. She seemed not to notice, and moved on to the next stack of books. He made a few simple sandwiches and stood by the table, waiting for Twilight's excitement to fall a bit before saying anything.

Soon, the library was once again as it was the previous day, spotless, save the crumbs from the sandwiches being eaten all around the table. Twilight was hastily brushing her mane as she ate, her magic speeding a brush across every stray hair. Spike simply stroked the spikes on his head, determined that they were not broken, and decided that was enough grooming for now. Umbra checked his reflection in the smooth surface of the plate he had been using: everything appeared fine to him, but it might be best to at least try to improve it before meeting the Princess, he thought.

He had no time to, however, as there came a knock on the door at that moment. Two earth ponies coated in white and gold armor stepped side-by-side through the door to stand on either side of it. Next came Princess Celestia herself. She was an impressive sight indeed, standing nearly twice the height of a normal pony. Her mane shimmered in shades of green and blue that resembled an aurora (odd, Umbra noted, since Celestia is the ruler of the day, and auroras are typically related to night) and seemed to flow in a breeze that didn't exist. Her necklace and crown, solid gold, were both set with a single amethyst gem. Her white coat shone in the morning sun, barely reaching through the library's small windows.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted eagerly as she rushed across the room to greet her mentor. She paused for a quick bow to the Princess before continuing. "I got the letter from Spike just minutes ago. What great power are you talking about that's growing near Ponyville?"

The great alicorn smiled as she looked about the room. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle. It is good to see my most faithful student again. And hello to you as well, Spike, and..." Celestia's eyes fell to Umbra. "Oh, and who is this? A new face in Ponyville? Ah, yes, he is the one you mentioned in your letter yesterday, the stallion who was found in the Everfree Forest."

Umbra approached the Princess, feeling more than a little uneasy. Something was familiar about Celestia, as if Umbra had seen her before, and the result, whatever is was, did not feel like a happy memory. He tried to remain calm as he bowed before the Princess. "Hello, Princess Celestia. I am Umbra. Your student has been a great help to me since we met, and I am hopefully well on the way to full recovery."

Twilight spoke up again. "Um, Princess? You told us you had some worrisome news to discuss?"

"Patience, my dear Twilight. Notice that the others aren't yet here. We'll have to get all six of you together before I say anything. If feel you may all be needed, should anything go wrong."

Twilight did not have to be told twice. Already she was halfway out the door, ready to go out and bring everypony herself. "Oh, of course. I'll find them all right away, Princess. Please just give me a few..."

"There is no need for that, Twilight." The unicorn froze mid-step as she listened. "I think Pinkie Pie spotted me in the sky earlier. That means it won't be long before everypony gathers around the library, our friends included. Be patient, my student, and they will come."

Sure enough, a great many ponies, led by Pinkie Pie, made its way across Ponyville to the library just twenty minutes after Celestia's arrival. They crowded around the windows, pleaded with the guards to let them in. Whispers spread around the group, all wondering why Princess Celestia had decided to come to Ponyville today, with her guards over her. Something strange indeed must be happening for the Princess, who was strong enough to move the sun itself, to want to be cautious.

A rectangular table had been set up in the large main room of the library. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Umbra, and Princess Celestia each took a place around the table.

"Welcome, my friends." Celestia began. "I have important news for all of you. You have all been gathered here because I have felt a great magical energy coming from a location several miles outside of Ponyville. Since I have been unable to identify it, we must assume it is not something that will help anypony here. As ruler and protector of Equestria, I must go to investigate. However, since I no longer hold the Elements of Harmony, I've brought you all here to ask for your help in this."

Pinkie Pie beamed. "Ooh, is this gonna be like when we found Nightmare Moon, and we'll suddenly have this super magic that blows everything away? That would be so much fun to do again!"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I fear it won't be fun for any of you. Whatever this energy is, it feels...well, here. Let me show you." Celestia stood up, setting her horn aglow. "This is an ability that all races, not only the unicorns, can use. Now, I want you to close your eyes, all of you. Try to feel the energy moving around you. I'm going to move somewhere in this room, and I want you all to try to find me without looking at me. Focus on my horn, on the energy it puts out." The Princess leapt up, guiding her ascent with a single beat of her great wings. She landed at the top of the staircase with not a sound. Slowly, one by one, everypony pointed a hoof in Celestia's general direction.

Celestia nodded her approval and ended her light spell. "Perfect. You can all open your eyes now. Everypony found me. Now, try to look around and find other magic in the area. It won't be as strong or easy to find, but it will be there. Tell me what you feel once you find it."

A silence filled the room as the seven friends closed their eyes and focused once more on locating nearby magic. Thirty seconds passed, then sixty. When it seemed to Celestia that this was taking longer than it should have, Fluttershy shuddered, gaining the attention of the others. "What was that, Princess?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Of course, Celestia thought to herself. Living with her animal friends in that cottage, a fair distance from the town, has made Fluttershy more in tune with her surroundings than anypony else. "You tell me, Fluttershy. What did it feel like?"

"It felt...dark. It was like a big shadow, creeping closer and getting bigger every moment. Was that the magic you were talking about?"

"I'm afraid it is, Fluttershy. You can understand why I don't want it to reach Ponyville, or anywhere else, for that matter."

Twilight Sparkle spoke up. "I feel it, too, Princess. It's enormous! What could ever be that strong?"

The other five soon felt the same energy. Applejack's eyes widened with fear, while Rarity appeared about to faint. Pinkie Pie jumped out of her seat with a yelp, and Rainbow Dash, who had always prided herself on her fearlessness, found it failing her at that moment. "You mean we have to go stop that? But it's...I don't even know what that was."

Still as stone in his place at the table, Umbra was at a loss for words. There was something odd about this energy. It took several seconds to realize the feeling; when he did, he was shocked. This magic was somehow familiar to him! It must be a part of his past, he realized, but then what did that mean? If this great, dark energy was related to him, just who was he?

Celestia broke the momentary silence. "Alright, now that we all know what the objective is, it's time to start moving. I hope we can all get to the source of this energy in a matter of hours, before nightfall. Is everypony ready to go?" She looked around the room. None of the seven protested. "Excellent. Let's begin."

Meanwhile, the crowd outside the door struggled to hear what was going on within the library. The guards refused entry, as expected, and would not say a word to any who asked. This caused a few of the more physically gifted (or perhaps just desperate) to try climbing up the side of the great tree and viewing the meeting from a higher perch. Somepony mentioned a strange energy felt somewhere outside Ponyville, drawing confused looks from all who heard. They had just begun to approach the speaker and question her about it when the door was opened. Princess Celestia stepped out behind two of her guards, followed by the other seven ponies in attendance. As they exited the library, the guards at the door closed it and promptly moved in place at the rear of the group.

Celestia looked around at the anxious faces of her subjects, aware that they knew something was wrong. "I'm sorry, everypony, but I can't tell you all exactly what it is we were talking about inside. The truth is I simply don't know. The eight of us are leaving to investigate, and we expect to return by sunset." The crowd's looks still did not change. "Please, don't worry. None of you are in any danger," she attempted to reassure them, again with no results. "I would never allow anything to harm you."

At the boundary of the Everfree Forest, a thick mist had gathered over the path, obscuring the vision of the travelers. This lasted only a moment, though, as Celestia raised her horn and set out a great ring of light, a magical wave that pushed the fog away and cleared the road of any possible threat. Twilight Sparkle noticed the Princess's caution: she was an alicorn, an immortal, with strength rivaled by few creatures in all the known world. What could possibly have her on edge? What could the energy she sensed be if she was worried about it?

Apparently reading Twilight's mind, Celestia leaned toward her. "I'm fine, Twilight," she said in a somewhat lowered voice. "I have no reason to worry; as long as we are all together here, nothing could stop us."

"I know, Princess," Twilight replied with a sigh, "but I'm still concerned with what will happen when we reach whatever's putting out this magic. I'm worried about Umbra." She glanced over her shoulder to ensure the grey unicorn could not hear; he was many meters behind, speaking easily with Fluttershy. "He came to us with no memory of who he was, carrying a picture of my library with him. Spitfire told him he was wanted on some important assignment in Ponyville, and soon after, this strong, unidentifiable magic appears. I can't figure out how they might be connected, but something tells me that they are."

"We can't come to any conclusions yet, my student. Umbra doesn't look like the type that would ever want to hurt anypony, and he hasn't harmed any during his stay in Ponyville."

"Well..." Twilight began, but dismissed the thought immediately, remembering that Umbra had no clue what he had done at the time, and that neither Lyra nor Bon-Bon was actually injured in the incident.

Rainbow Dash flew overhead at that moment, circling the group once before touching down in front of Celestia. "Hey, I think I found something!" she said between breaths, her chest heaving from what must have been an exhausting flight. "A couple miles ahead, I think. Somepony walked into a hole in the ground next to a big boulder, and when he passed through, the boulder slid over the hole like a door! Maybe that's where this magic's coming from!"

Celestia congratulated the cyan pegasus for her effort. "Excellent news, Rainbow Dash. A 'door' like that does imply somepony doesn't want to be seen. Thank you for this."

"Any time, Princess. No sweat." The lie was as obvious as the perspiration dotting the mare's forehead, each bead reflecting a little glimmer of sunlight.

"If you measured the distance correctly, we should be able to get there within an hour or so. If you can lead the way, we will..."

"Now!"

The unknown stallion's loud cry was paired with three figures falling from the trees, two large ponies landing atop Celestia, the third pinning Rainbow Dash. Before the others had time to react, bolts of magic sped through the air above, weaving together to form an enormous net. The net descended, and the magic strands' deathly cold seemed to sap everypony's strength away. The last sound Umbra heard before losing consciousness was the laughter of the same stallion who had begun the attack. "So you were bringing them here, huh? Sorry you had to get caught along with these foals, but it can't be helped. Nightshade will want to hear exactly why you're so late."

Nightshade? Who's Nightshade? Umbra opened his mouth as if to ask the question.

Then all was silent.