An Incongruous Introduction
"I really don't know what you mean, Celestia." The voice echoed as it responded, although it was not exactly a voice at all. The medium by which the two beings spoke was more akin to sharing the same thought, while at the same time they 'heard' one another.
Unfortunately for Celestia, not everything the 'thought voice' said was in a language she understood; much of it came as abstract pictures, images of concepts or designs spanning across several obscure memories she herself had forgotten she even had. It was clear; the being she had just stumbled upon was using some sort of magic, or ability, to bridge the gap in understanding between them.
That sort of power made Celestia wary. However, she was still curious over the entire situation, and who, or what it was she spoke with.
"I mean," Celestia began to reply aloud, then paused, coughing to stifle her own words. She looked around herself coolly, remembering she wasn't alone on the castle balcony.
The two guards standing by the pathway's entrance arced their eyebrows towards her in tandem, curious as to why their Princess had spoken out.
Celestia smiled warmly at her little ponies. "You may both take your leave of me. I wish to be alone."
The two stood straighter at attention, saluted, then casually trotted through the archway.
Celestia refocused her attention on the being. It wasn't difficult, its... or perhaps it was 'his', but nonetheless, the entity's presence was overwhelming. "I meant no disrespect, stranger, I merely wished to know what exactly you were." She had to focus to try and deliver the proper meanings to her words, it was already apparent that the being took every word at its face value.
A long moment passed until the response came. "I already showed you what I am."
Celestia furrowed her brow in thought, it occurred to her right away that one of the images her mind had been flooded with may have been what he looked like. There had been too many though, she couldn't hang onto them long enough to make any sense of it all.
"Could you show me again? You overwhelmed me before, I did not see." Celestia focused the thoughts hard, trying to convey her meaning carefully, as one may speak slowly to a foreigner trying to grasp your language.
The being's presence returned in her mind, an image lay before her, of stars, gaseous nebulae, planets and the endless, vacuum of outer space.
Celestia held her breath while the images panned slowly through her mind's eyes, showing her the length and breadth of a world she had only ever looked up at through a telescope. Then, everything clicked for her. "This is you?" She pushed the thought out in a rush, the implications stunning her.
This creature, she thought, was it telling her that it was from space? Neigh, that it was space?
What returned to her wasn't an answer. It almost sounded like laughter, but it was garbled and far too high pitched. Celestia couldn't help but wince a little.
The voice then spoke again. "No."
Celestia waited, expecting more. Just before she was about to speak, the most vibrant image yet clouded her mind, storming in as an army of changelings bashing down a castle gate. Even her eyes saw some of the vision, imprinted over the blue sky she looked up at.
"This, is me." The voice whispered.
Celestia was at a complete loss. For a split second, she was even a little frightened. The vision of the mysterious creature, the force in her mind, was redder than blood, more powerful than her magic a thousand fold. Her breath caught, and held until the visage of the speaker disappeared from her sight.
"Celestia." The voice prompted her. Strangely, it held some character to it now.
Celestia calmed herself. She remembered that as Princess, it was unbecoming of her to be afraid, she had to be strong, always; even in the face of something so...incredible. Her thoughts regathered themselves, and an idea made sense of what it had been that was shown to her. The familiarity with the being she spoke with suddenly clicked.
"You are a star," Celestia thought to the being chatting with her. A light smile graced her lips.
The voice responded resonantly. "Yes."
"Amazing." She thought on instinct.
"Is it?" The voice returned, the character in its tone had grown. "The concept of amazing suits you far better, little one." The voice had certainly changed its tone, it sounded different now, much less like a monotone echo. There were less images accompanying its voice now as well, though some still flashed by. It also sounded, familiar... "The things you've shown me already are far more interesting than me, or my..." A vision of the Canterlot gardens hovered briefly, then faded. "Backyard."
Celestia spluttered, choking on a breath that had mixed with gulping and all around ended horribly. She patted her front with a hoof and looked back up to the sunny sky with trepidation. "Shown you? I haven't shown you anything." She thought immediately and before she could help herself. It wasn't like her to be so flustered, but the creature felt powerful. To herself, she worried that they were reading her mind, something that could doom Equestria.
"I understand." The voice returned, then waited.
It spoke again, less fiercely. "It was not your intent to show me those..." The now curiously emotive voice paused. "Memories. I owe you an..." It paused a second time. "Apology."
Celestia's expression had schooled itself. She watched the clear blue sky calmly, flatly, as she may survey an audience with the wild dragon leaders, or warily study a dangerous escapee from Tartarus. She needed to test something. Without trying to communicate to the being that claimed to be a sun, something that made scarcely any sense, she formed a simple thought. I love cake. Do you love cake?
Much to Celestia's dismay, a reply, in a very, very natural sounding voice, entered her mind. "I have never had cake. But, I am sure I would like to, if I could. It seems..." There was a two second long pause. "Delicious."
Celestia scrunched her eyes shut and groaned. "Please, stop reading my mind."
The voice remained quiet then, and did not answer her.
Celestia studied the sky once more, her horn aglow, trying to think of what to do. She shielded herself with everything she could think of. At the same time, the voice had piqued one of her oldest, deepest memories. It had used her father's voice.
Author's Note
Just a little story I thought I would write to pass some time, and to stem my guilt over subjecting Twilight to the discovery of pornography in my main story.
This isn't a fic that takes place in that verse, by the way, this is sort of its own thing. Enjoy!
