Shadows of the Sun

by theamberfox

Chapter 2

Shadows of the Sun
By theamberfox

Chapter 2

Standing at the end of Celestia’s bed, the figure wordlessly observed the princess. After only a moment, it began to turn around as if it was just going to walk away and leave her, and its purpose, with the darkness. But a single, bright flash of lightning illuminated the room and in the brief moment of clarity it offered, Celestia’s eyelids parted, allowing her to fix her gaze on the silhouette in front of her. It was a pony she hadn’t seen for a long time and, noticing her stare, it turned back slowly as a weak smile formed on its lips.

Opening its mouth, it spoke so softly that it was only barely audible over the fierce storm, “Princess Celestia?”

She recognized the voice. Gentle and compassionate, the silhouette’s voice had a youthful and unmistakeable harmony. It was her student, Twilight Sparkle. The pony everyone thought had vanished forever, to have died on the difficult journey to Prance, was standing in her room, smiling back it her.

Using a single flame that burst into several smaller parts, Celestia ignited the various torches around the room, revealing two very sad looking ponies. The princess looked terrible. Wet with tears, she leapt from her bed and stood awkwardly beside it. The dramatic events from earlier in the day had worn on her, both physically and psychologically. What little jewellery she had worn had been discarded hurriedly upon returning to the bedchamber. They were uncomfortable trinkets, serving only aesthetic purposes, and were completely unnecessary in the confinement of her room.

Twilight, drenched from the rain and splattered with mud, was barely recognizable to Celestia. Her normally well-kept mane and tail hung heavily on her body and made it difficult for her to stand. The long journey through the downpour and darkness had exhausted her and she was adorned with small cuts and bruises as reminders of the hardships she endured.

“They said you died!” Celestia cried, desperately trying to keep her composure and hold back her tears. “But… But I didn’t believe them! I couldn’t…”

The weak smile grew brighter on Twilight’s face and she leapt at the princess, embracing her tightly. The two were both crying now, but it was out of joy and not sadness.

“I'm sorry, Princess Celestia," Twilight said, holding her tightly. "I should have sent something. I should have found some way to tell you what happened."

Amid the violent storm just outside the room, the two held each other for what felt like an eternity. The tears in their eyes flowed freely, let loose by the heartfelt reunion.

“Why were you gone so long? What happened to you?” Celestia asked, indifferent to the mud and water that covered her body as she finally pulled away from her student.

“I... I got caught up in a really big mess.” Twilight replied, tears still streaming down from her eyes. “I know you want to hear everything, but I don’t really want to talk about it right now. I can tell you the full story later, but I think I need to go and find my friends. They’ll definitely want to know I’m still alive.”

“You don’t want to stay for the night?” Celestia asked, her voice panic stricken by the thought of her pupil leaving again. “The storm is only getting worse outside and you need to rest. You can’t possibly want to go out in that again?”

Twilight glanced at the window. The rain was still pelting the thin sheet of glass separating them from the harsh weather outside. Lightning flashed again, but with the room bathed in torchlight, it was barely noticeable until the trailing thunder rattled the furniture and shook the floor beneath her hooves.

“I… I guess you’re right, but I’ll need to leave as soon as I can in the morning, probably before you wake up.” Twilight replied, her voice faintly revealing her fear of battling the storm again.

“That’s alright. I understand that you want to get back as soon as possible. But for now, we should both get some rest. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

”I’ll come back as soon as I can. There are some things that I need to tell you.” Twilight said with a concerned expression.

The unicorn started for the sofa in the corner of the room. It was a large and comfortable looking green couch, its colour clashing with the rest of the objects in the room. The large white and gold bed, dressers, wardrobes, tables, and chairs were perfectly organized around the spacious room, with the strange green sofa placed clumsily off to the side.

“I can’t possibly let you sleep there.” Celestia said, rushing in front of her. “Not after all you’ve been through. I’ll sleep on the couch, please, you can have my bed.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you, Celestia.” Twilight replied.

Normally, Twilight would argue with the princess, unwilling to accept such generosity so easily, but she was tired right now and just wanted to get some sleep. But as she moved over to the empty bed, its sheets tossed haphazardly to a corner, she noticed herself in the reflection of the nearby mirror and frowned.

“Oh. I can’t... I can't sleep like this.” Twilight said, looking at the mud and grime covered figure in front of her.

“That’s alright, Twilight.” Celestia smiled, glancing at her almost equally as dirty coat, “When you’ve lived for as long as I have, you learn how to take some mud out of a pony’s hair.”

Celestia's horn glowed dully and the mud and water on the two ponies slowly lifted off, forming into a ball that she lowered into the sink of the nearby bathroom. The alicorn, now clear of rain and dirt, appeared almost exactly as she usually did. Her regal beauty shined magnificently despite the absence of jewellery and cosmetics. Twilight, however, was not quite so fortunate. With the mud gone, the cuts and bruises were made more obvious. The princesses’ magic had even opened some of the wounds, letting the blood slowly trickle down her legs.

“Oh Twilight…” Celestia said quietly, her smile falling and revealing the pain inside her heart.

“I’m alright, Celestia. Really.” Twilight explained, noticing the princesses’ sadness and trying to keep a smile on her face despite the obvious pain she endured.

Celestia pulled some bandages out from the cupboard in the bathroom and began to wrap them around the open wounds. Healing magic, while not unknown, was dangerous. It was just as likely that a pony would make a wound worse, than better and, while Celestia was certainly capable of this feat, she decided it was best to avoid using such powerful magic in such a sleep deprived state.

“There. We can fix you up properly tomorrow.” Celestia said as she finished wrapping the worst of Twilight’s injuries. “Now, please get some rest. I want to know everything about your adventure when you come back from Ponyville.”

Twilight merely nodded before climbing into the bed. Utterly exhausted by the events of the day, she fell asleep instantly, not bothering to pull the sheets up over her body. Breathing quietly her chest moved slowly up and down as the oxygen entered her lungs. Celestia carefully pulled the sheets over her, a small smile forming on her lips and tears building in her eyes.

“I’m just happy you’re alright Twilight. I didn’t know what I was going to do without you.” Celestia whispered before finally lying down on the green sofa across the room.

~

It was light out when Celestia awoke. Despite her absence the sun had risen above the horizon and was glowing brightly in the sky outside the window. Both of the princesses had full control over the sun and the moon, so they were able to take each others place whenever they felt it was necessary. And after the difficult ordeal that Celestia had gone through, Luna had been more than happy to raise the sun and let her sister sleep in a few extra hours.

Celestia dazedly lifted her head off the arm of the green sofa and opened her eyes. Her neck was stiff from sleeping all night in such an awkward position. Stretching slowly and getting up from the bed, a blanket fell off her back and formed a soft lump on the floor.

"Twilight?" she asked softly as she turned to face her bed, remembering the previous night’s encounter.

The bed was empty and her student was gone. Celestia panicked for a moment, but soon relaxed when she remembered what Twilight had said.

"I’ll come back as soon as I can. There are some things that I need to tell you."

Reminded of the promise Twilight had made before they had both fallen asleep, Celestia walked over to her dresser to retrieve her crown and torc. Twilight would be back later today and more pressing matters required her attention at the moment.

Glancing at the brilliant gold hands on the delicate white clock on her dresser, she noticed how late it was. The clock’s small and large hands pointed to the ten and five respectively. It was ten twenty-five in the morning, almost noon and well past the time she was supposed to be awake.

"Good morning, sister." Luna said with a falsely cheerful disposition as she gently opened and closed the door behind her. "I was so glad you finally got some decent rest that I didn't want to wake you for the sunrise. I know you haven’t been sleeping well lately…"

Luna had tried to be supportive for her sister, but it was difficult. After everything she had gone through, she knew what it was like to lose someone. It was an unpleasant feeling and, no matter how hard you tried to push it away, it remained, tugging at your heartstrings and making every day a painful reminder of your loss.

"Luna!" Celestia replied sharply, smiling back at her sister. “I have wonderful news to share with you.”

"Ummm. Is it about why you were sleeping on that awful couch?" Luna asked, desperately trying to smile.

"Actually, it is.” Celestia replied excitedly. "Twilight was here last night Luna. She's alive!"

"Really!?” Luna asked in shock, “But what happened to her? I mean, where is she now?"

"Understandably, she wanted to go and tell her friends in Ponyville. I gave her my bed to sleep on last night, so I slept on the couch. She was in really bad shape, Luna. She had cuts and bruises all over her and the storm last night wasn't helping." Celestia replied, trying to answer all of her sister’s questions.

Celestia paused for a moment, turning her head to look out the window at the flooded streets below. The storm had passed some time in the night, but it had left a trail of destruction in its wake. Plants were uprooted and many of the houses below were nearly flooded by the shear volume of water that had accumulated. The city’s inhabitants were running between the buildings, talking amongst themselves and trying to repair the damages from the storm. The repairs would take time, but time was something that Celestia always had an abundance of.

"But, she's coming back later today to tell me about what happened to her." the elder sister continued, beaming brightly as she ignored the ugly sight outside her room.

"So you don’t know… what happened?” Luna asked with concerned look. “Everyone thought she was dead, Celestia, yet she shows up in your bedroom in the middle of the night?”

Celestia’s pleasant smile persisted, “I know it’s hard to believe, but this was very real, Luna. I can assure you, no part of me thought it was a dream.”

“Well, we’ll know when she comes back.” Luna replied with a fake smile, trying to hide her doubt.

“Well actually, Luna,” Celestia interrupted, her smile falling slightly. “I was hoping that you could watch over the political situation again.”

“Oh… sure… I can do that.” Luna replied hesitantly, disappointed that she wouldn’t get to see Twilight.

“I promise you’ll get to spend some time with her.” Celestia said as the smile returned to her face. “I just want to make sure that everything starts running smoothly again now that she’s back.”

“There are some muffins in the dining hall if you’re hungry. I guess Twilight’s friends don’t know she’s alright yet.”

Celestia turned back to the window and continued to watch the bustling crowd as Luna left the room and closed the door.

I’ll let Twilight surprise them, she thought.

~

"Scribe, you may now start recording the events of today's assembly." Prairie Star said, glaring at the young pony in the corner that vigorously began writing on the paper sitting at his desk. "It is now one o'clock in the afternoon. The council assembly has now convened.”

Prairie Star, a light brown earth pony with flat, golden hair running down the side of her neck, was the council's director. She kept the events of the assembly in order and provided a mostly unbiased opinion. It was her job to speak in a monotonous and otherwise boring tone at all times in an effort to maintain her impartial status. It was something she had become exceptionally skilled at, but it had the unpleasant side-effect of making her a very dull and unattractive pony.

"As of yesterday, there are three articles on the agenda up for discussion.” She continued, “The first order of business is regarding the recent political situation in Equestria. We left off with Lord Thunderhorn making the last comment. As it is written, ‘We cannot let what has happened over the last few months destroy our lives and question the decisions of our ancestors. We must stick to the traditions this country was founded upon, lest we be carried away by the tide of change and make choices that we will eventually come to regret.’”

She sat in the largest seat at the great oak table at which she and all her colleagues were seated. The table, although battered from many arguments and flaring tempers, was a thing of beauty. The elegant legs spiralling down from six equally distanced places were complemented by the intricate carvings that detailed the surface. They told stories of grand events that had taken place over the course of history, both glorious and terrible and, although the top was once bare, it was now covered with a thick sheet of glass to protect the carvings from further harm.

"Sir Goldenroot, you now have the floor."

Sir Goldenroot was a pale green earth pony and a respected scholar who had been knighted several years ago, though the reason why was unknown. Upon hearing his name, he leaned in towards the table, glancing around once before stopping and making direct eye contact with Prairie Star.

"My thanks, Director."

On his flank was a rather elegant looking golden tree that, strangely, bore no leaves whatsoever. It was something he obtained while working as an arboreal researcher in his youth. He was always interested in the forests and the animals that lived within them, paying especially close attention to the Everfree forest near Ponyville. But as he grew older, he abandoned his passion in favour of politics. It was something that he felt he was good at, being able to articulate his thoughts with ease and approach everything with a logical nature.

"My friends, it is a great tragedy that such a conservative thought would prevent us from changing this nation for the better. It is true, we have lived in such a way for many years, our lives going unaltered for as far back as we can remember, but does that mean we are the epitome of our organization? Is there nothing we can do to improve this system?

"We have suffered a devastating plague for nearly half a year and only when things start to return to normal, do we seek to confront the issue. Why have we waited so long? Is it because of our structure, our lack of ability to realize our true problems?"

Goldenroot raised his voice sharply as he asked the almost rhetorical questions. His words were clear, everything perfectly understandable, yet at the same time, filled with such extravagant passion that he could have convinced an entire crowd to eat the hair off their own heads. The group sitting at the table, however, was conditioned to this type of speaking. They had heard speeches like this their entire careers and, although they were not completely unmoved, they were also not immediately persuaded.

"What Lord Thunderhorn seems to suggest is that we did nothing, because we could only do nothing. I do not believe this is so."

Goldenroot stopped speaking briefly to glance hard at Thunderhorn. The grey unicorn was listening to him attentively from across the room, his black hair, which had started to turn silver with age, shining in the sunlight.

"I believe that we are afraid of change, of what it can do to us and of what it can do for us. But we should not be afraid, for that would surely be unwise. Like the great pillars of stone that hold the roof above our heads, I remain solid in my conviction. I wish to expand the council by another five members, giving the duty to commoners. I believe they can benefit our great nation with the very knowledge we seem to lack. Unlike us, the commoners do not live a life of luxury, they feel the pain of the drought and the hunger of the food shortage, the hardest.

“Let this event open our eyes as it has opened theirs. They are no longer blind to our role. We cannot leave keep them out forever and nor should we. It is through their greater wisdom that we can guide our nation to prosperity and pull ourselves out of the bowels of destruction, before it closes its gaping jaws upon us.

"With that, Director Prairie Star, I return the floor to you."

Goldenroot, satisfied with his argument, relaxed in his chair and let a small grin make its way across his face. Looking out across the table, he saw that Lord Thunderhorn was shaking his head slowly. He knew that Goldenroot had a point and he didn't like it.

Prairie Star acknowledged Goldenroot’s final words with a single nod in his direction. "I realize that Sir Goldenroot's argument was directed towards you, Lord Thunderhorn, but we have been without Lady Vortex's opinion for far too long. Lady Vortex, you may now have the floor."

Lady Vortex, or Vortex as she preferred, was one of the only members of the council that regretted holding the position. A former member of the Wonderbolts, she liked to be on the cutting edge of the world. She wanted to be where all the action was, not with a group of squabbling nobles for such long periods of time.

She was elected to the position as the youngest member to date, sparking a decision by the council to institute a minimum age requirement of thirty years to all council applicants. But Princess Celestia decreed it to be unlawful to remove Vortex from the council with a technicality and refused to acknowledge any bill that suggested it, so the law would only apply to future applicants. At only twenty-five, she was elected into the assembly by vowing to give voice to the country’s youth. The youngest members of the voting public, sick and tired of being excluded from important decisions, elected Vortex by a landslide. She trailed only Lord Thunderhorn in the polls, him being a conservative minded and retired general of the royal army that usually won over the entire elder population of Equestria.

"Alright. I see what you're getting at Goldenroot. You think that the commoners should be able to participate right?" Vortex said, looking directly at him.

When she actually started participating in the council; however, it became apparent to her what little power she actually held. Before anything got passed to Princess Celestia for review, it would have to receive three votes in its favour. Generally, this was an impossible task for her to pull off, so she had become mostly apathetic to the proceedings. Most other members of the council refused to acknowledge anything she said seriously, passing it off quickly and moving it aside. Only Goldenroot, who was always very logical and understanding, ever supported her.

“Well I can tell you this. I already know I'm not going to sway any opinions in my direction…”

She paused for a moment and glanced over at the brilliant white pegasus beside her, slowly working a brush through her long blue hair and completely ignoring Vortex’s words.

“…so I'm not going to tell any of you how I feel about the whole thing until we vote on it.” she continued, “You can have the floor back Star."

Her casual approach to the council was considered degrading to most and insulting to others. She refused to acknowledge the other members with their proper titles or sometimes even their full names.

"Lord Thunderhorn, you may now have the floor." Prairie Star responded, not taking her eyes away from the discourteous pony that was now stretching her legs and yawning loudly beside her.

"Thank you, Prarie Star." Thunderhorn said, nodding his head towards the distracted director.

His voice was rusty, but commanding. His stern glare would slowly turn and focus on each member of the council from time to time when he was making a point. On his flank, was a black cannon, a reminder of his former position as a general in the army.

"I don’t quite understand where you’re getting this Goldenroot. Why are you so certain that they will help us and not just create unnecessary conflicts within our society? Everyone is greedy in some sense and I don’t believe you could ever convince me otherwise. If we give them the right to participate in the council now, they won’t fix the problem of the drought. They won’t even think about the drought. They’re going to be much more worried about taxation issues and how they’re not being treated ‘fairly’. I realize we have more than they do, in an economical sense, but we pay for everything they don’t. If an earthquake shakes our house apart, we’re the ones who have to pay for it. However, if the same disaster strikes their house, they get money from the government to make everything new again. And where does that money come from? It comes from us.

“Our positions grant us certain advantages, yes, but they also have a lot of disadvantages. It’s our responsibility and we’re blamed whenever anything goes wrong. It’s out of our pockets that we fix the mistakes, so I don’t understand why they should take the responsibility when they don’t take the cost.”

“This isn’t about money, Lord Thunderhorn!” Goldenroot intervened, getting up from his seat and glaring at the grey unicorn, “This is about our well-being! Every single pony in this country is worth more than you could ever imagine. Whether they’re a commoner or a noble, we cannot put a cost on life.”

“We will have order Sir Goldenroot!” Prairie Star shouted. “I know that you may not approve of what Lord Thunderhorn has said, but you are not permitted to intervene while he is speaking.”

Goldenroot, still furious with anger, slowly backed down into his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a single hoof.

“It seems that we’ve reached the same point as yesterday and not everyone is able to remain sensible in our discussion.” Prairie Star continued. “We will resume this topic tomorrow at one o’clock and bring a conclusion to this issue. We can’t afford to squander any more time on this.

“Now, let us move on to the second article on the agenda, which discusses the idea of tax corrections and reimbursements during times of economic hardship. We left off with Lord Crescendo making the last comment…”

~

With the council assembly finished for the day, the young pony in the corner packed his things and headed out the door in a rush. With the exception of Goldenroot, the other ponies began to follow suit, getting up from their seats and leaving. Thunderhorn, with a small smirk on his face, looked over his shoulder once before heading out the door with Director Prairie Star and the other two council members that had remained inactive for the entire assembly. Vortex stayed behind, eager to speak with Goldenroot about the day’s discussion.

“It’s fun seeing you get all riled up like that.” Vortex mocked.

The dark blue pegasus was leaning nonchalantly on the large table, one hoof propping her up. On her face, she shared a less menacing, but otherwise identical smirk to that on Thunderhorn’s before he had left out the door.

“I can’t believe how stubborn he is.” Goldenroot replied, staring down into the carvings on the table. “Our ancestors accomplished so much, but we haven’t done anything. In the five years I’ve spent in the council I’ve just sat here and argued with that old fool day after day. I want things to be different Vortex. I want things to be better. Not just for me or you, but for everyone in Equestria. We can’t do that if we don’t let the whole country help us.”

Vortex, pushed herself upright and leaned over to Goldenroot. The smirk on her face had faded and was replaced by a look of complete sincerity.

“You’ve got my support. As long as you can find one other pony to back you up, we’ll get this through.”

She slowly began walking out of the room, turning her head back and flashing a smile at Goldenroot who was still staring at the delicate carvings through the thick sheet of glass, before leaving out the door.

Goldenroot continued to ponder the idea. Vortex was right, he only had to convince one of the other council members and the new law would be sent to Celestia for review. Since Thunderhorn was obviously not an option, he would have to convince either Lady Wind Dancer or Lord Crescendo.

Before she joined the council, Wind Dancer was a celebrity. As her name suggested, she started her career as a dancer, but soon became involved in such things as modelling, acting, and singing. Her fame and fortune played a large part in the election and masked her misunderstanding of what it really meant to be part of the government. Only wanting to increase her fame, she was disappointed when she discovered that the council did quite the opposite. She was mostly apathetic of decisions within the council and favoured a conservative mindset. To her, change only meant that things would get worse, and she generally voted against every law suggested. If Goldenroot wanted to convince Wind Dancer to vote in favour of his law, then he would have to convince her that it was advantageous to her on a personal level.

Crescendo, a musical prodigy at the ripe age of fourteen, had conducted the largest orchestra in Equestria, the Equestrain Symphony Orchestra, in his late thirties. He retired nearly a decade later to apply for a position in the council. Unlike Wind Dancer, he was an extremely intelligent, but subdued individual. With every proposition, he would pick out the advantages and disadvantages, writing them down in his notes in case he ever needed to call upon them for reference. During the nine years he was a member of the council, he had never suggested a new law. Many mistook him for a conservative, like Wind Dancer and Thunderhorn, but the truth was that he was genuinely neutral. He was logical, like Goldenroot, but would only ever support a change where the gain drastically outweighed the loss.

Unsure of whether or not he would be able to convince either pony, Goldenroot decided to try and convince them both. It was now three o’clock in the afternoon, meaning they had only spent two hours in the assembly. That left Goldenroot with almost one full day to collect his thoughts, organize meetings with the two council members, and attempt to get them both on his side before one o’clock tomorrow.

“I guess I’m not getting any sleep tonight.” He whispered to himself as he gathered his things and left the room.

________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer:

“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and its derivatives are the sole intellectual property of Hasbro©. I do not have, nor claim to have, the rights to the intellectual property that this story is based on.

Comments

[blayzekohime]

Well I wouldn't say you brought her back from the dead, since I seriously doubt anyone thought she was dead :D

[HeirApparent]

Celestia... when dead ponies show up in your room in the middle of a rainstorm, you don't give them your bed. You take them to the hospital, where other people can confirm that said dead pony is in fact real, is not a hallucination/impostor, and can confine her to a couple weeks of bedrest!

Besides that, I find myself liking your story. It's not exactly character driven, but it's nice to see your version of the politics behind Equestria.

[theamberfox]

2900 Prance certainly did.

2901 Thanks. That's what I'm going for. In all of the other in-depth fanfiction that I've read, I felt that the government wasn't explained very well. It was mostly just "Celestia rules the world and all it's inhabitants.". Naturally, I didn't find that very believable. In the real world, absolute monarchies never last and most are puppets to the nobility. A thousand years under one ruler and no one even questions why? She would have to be doing a pretty spectacular job to pull that one off.

All that aside, regarding your comment, I'm not really going to say anything about that right now. I want everyone to interpret Twilight's return in their own way. If you think she's an imposter and Celestia's an idiot, then I'd like you to continue thinking that she's an imposter unless told otherwise. Stories with only one interpretation are usually too straightforward and predictable to be entertaining anyway.

[HeirApparent]

2904 Yeah, I think the best fanon explanation I've heard about Celestia's reign is that she's been brainwashing everyone into loving her. Eh.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to imply that Twilight is an impostor; as of right now I clearly have no idea what's going on with her. But, I do foresee that Celestia simply letting her go, without anyone else seeing Twilight, is going to cause a whole lot of complications down the road that could have been easily avoided.

Sorry if I'm complaining, it's just that it always bugs me when I see characters doing something stupid solely for the sake of plot progression. One of the reasons I can't stand horror movies.

But hey, obviously it's a bit too earlier to judge your story. I'm sure you'll come up with something good. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Treppen]

Celestia is waaay too emotional.

I mean, immortality, hello? She's lived for over a thousand years. Plenty of her students have died.