Shadows and Sunlight: Shady's Origin

The group followed her lead, making the short trip down the street to the spacious book emporium. While the two of them kept going forward up the steps, the rest halted in their tracks.

“Pardon me, Princess. I understand that Twilight is usually the bookworm here, but ain’t the library already closed for the day?”

The younger sister responded to Applejack’s valid inquiry, manifesting an ethereal key made from magic and turning it into the lock.

“Astute observation, Applejack. Normally, this would be the end of the road for anypony wishing to access the library. However, being a former ruler of Equestria does have an advantage or two.”

The latch clicked and the door opened. Both walked in and the rest of the younger ponies followed suit. Twilight went in with a bit of worry. A bit of her goody goody two-horseshoes nature kicked in from accessing a place of business outside of operating hours, but she swallowed her thoughts. The room before them was only lit up by the magic emitted from the two sisters’ horns. Despite the low light, those two seemed to know where they were going.

“As thrilling as this trip through the library in the dark is... why are we here, exactly, Princess Celestia? Couldn’t this have waited until the daytime?”

Sunset had asked the alicorn, with an obvious nervousness in her tone.

“There’s a particular book that was written by Star Swirl the Bearded in this section that we can use to get all of you and Shady back to his home. The sooner we get it, the higher the chances of Amaterasu surviving.”

Celestia said out loud, not turning her head to see the mare.

“I just hope it's still here after all these years...”

She followed up her statement, but only to herself. The group continued to trail the sisters, unsure of where they were heading. Starlight whispered over to Rarity, who was next to her.

“This is exciting! It feels like some kind of secret stealthy adventure!”

The snow-white unicorn looked back over at her with a content grin.

“Absolutely, darling! Not to mention that Princess Celestia and Luna leading the way adds extra thrill to it.”

In the moments that followed, both sisters made a sudden and sharp turn down another row of books. Following the change in direction, the presence in the air shifted dramatically. Something about the area they were in gave off a more sinister presence, at least to Sunset. Everypony else seemed fine.

They stopped on a dime, turning their gaze to the right side of the aisle of books. There was a doorway leading to another comically large room of books. How the hay does anypony find anything in Canterlot Library?

Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she stared into the junctioning room, before looking down at the Mane 8 and Shady.

“It’s in here. I’m not sure why we even passed a law to have the books in the library audited every moon, since they’re never in the correct places.”

Everypony entered the room, and Sunset made a slight right turn, trying to make out the names of the books by their spines.

“Princess Celestia, can you just tell us what the name is? -huh? What did that spine- OOF!”

In her infinite wisdom as a former star pupil of Princess Celestia, the goldenrod unicorn walked right into the ending of another shelf. The force of the impact caused a book to fall down, landing on the front cover. Without examining it, she picked it up with magic and skimmed the contents, her eyes widening as she did so. Regardless, she pressed on, her heart racing until her flight response forced her to release the book. In her system shock, Sunset was hyperventilating, slumped down with her back against the shelf. Long forgotten memories played out in her head, which brought tears down her face.

“NO! NONO! I’M PAST THAT! PRINCESS CELESTIA, I’M SORRY!!”

“Sunset! Are you alright?? What’s wrong??”

A quick gallop from Twilight had her over to Sunset in a moment’s notice, the rest of the group right behind her. Celestia heavily sighed in the background, her head dropping and ears folding back. Luna only gazed in their direction, mimicking the expression that Twilight wore.

She couldn’t say anything. Her senses were clouded by the trauma revived in her by the book. The rest of them only exchanged the same worried look, for once unsure how to help. Her head fell into her front hooves. The white alicorn headed over to her former pupil, which Sunset saw from her peripheral vision.

“Sunset... I...”

Her mouth stayed open as if she wanted to say more, but nothing else came out. As any good friend would, Starlight put a hoof on her shoulder and spoke softly.

“Hey, Sunset? Listen to me for a sec, okay? I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but it would probably help if we all talked about it, right? Let's go to the table over there.”

She helped the bacon maned unicorn off the floor and over to the table, where all eleven of them got situated. Shady sat himself next to her, putting a front paw on her shoulder. Starlight sat opposite, with a hoof on her other shoulder.

“I’m sorry... I thought I had forgotten about that day... I thought I was strong enough...”

The snow-white princess sighed once more, lifting a hoof upside-down.

“From the moment we entered the library, I knew there was a good chance that this would happen. I was hoping you weren’t the one to find the book, Sunset.”

“What is it exactly that’s got you all sappy? Does the hero die at the end of that book or something?”

A flying in place Rainbow asked, before getting her tail yanked on once again by Applejack.

“Now’s not the time, Rainbow Dash.”

Celestia intended on explaining, but Sunset brought it up first. She lifted her head from her hooves and closed her eyes.

“Nothing like that, Dash. That’s... that’s the book that I was caught reading by Princess Celestia as a young mare, while I was still her student. Long before Princess Twilight took my place as her pupil... the book that I sought out and gave up my studies to read... It’s how I learned about the powers of the mirror in the first place...”

She briefly paused to levitate the book over to the table with magic, setting it down in the center with the front cover exposed.

“Canterlot Castle: A History Volume 2.”

Everyone stared at the book briefly before exchanging glances with one another and focusing on Celestia. She had a worried look across her face, and looked back at her former pupil.

“I understand that we made up years ago when Twilight convinced you to seek out my help with your friends’ memories, but... I see the day still bothers you.”

The alicorn’s face depressed further, and her body language followed suit. She considered that this might be the best time to get some things off her chest. Her former pupil outburst in a wallowing sob, looking at her mentor with the second most upset expression you’ve ever seen.

“I’ve lost sleep over this!! It comes to mind no less than twice every week!! Not a second goes by where I wish I could undo all of it!!”

Her face landed back into her crossed hooves on the table and her sobbing continued. Shady leaned in and gave her a warm hug, not letting her go, while Fluttershy flew across the table and did the same.

“We’re always here if you want to talk about that stuff. Remember that, okay? It does no good to bottle up emotions like that. Take it from me: I did that once and the end result had Trixie wanting to skin me alive.”

Starlight reassured her while keeping a hoof on her shoulder.

“Starlight’s right, Sunset. My question is: why didn’t you say something sooner? You’ve been back to Equestria multiple times since I went after you, and now you live here permanently. Both of the princesses were just a small trip away to Silver Shoals.”

Twilight asked confusedly, putting a hoof upside down.

“I didn’t have the courage, Twilight. Even though we made up, I didn’t want to risk bringing it up with her.”

Her face was no longer buried in her crossed hooves, but now resting on top of it with sniffles and a wet face. The white alicorn couldn’t hold it back any longer. Her eyes closed and her head tilted downward ever so slightly.

“I’ve wanted to tell you this ever since I removed you from your studies: I’m sorry, Sunset Shimmer. From the moment you mentioned it would be the worst mistake of my life... I knew you were right. I was rash and should’ve been more open to the idea of informing you about the mirror, rather than shoving it under the rug.”

“Just from your constant magical prowess alone, you were more than ready to know. Though I suppose you got more experience than I could’ve possibly taught you.”

“Hours after the confrontation, I ran over to your room in the nearby tower, hoping to apologize. That’s when I found out you had barged through the guards and jumped through the mirror... I was heartbroken... You meant so much to me and I... I ruined it by getting mad at you for studying magic...”

It was then that the emotions began to show through the otherwise calm and collected white princess horse.

“The following day, I asked the guards to help me move the mirror into the throne room. They asked me why not some place hidden, and my thought process was that it was meant to be a reminder of what I had done... and for my hope that you might come back on your own someday...”

Sunset, water dripping down her equine face, got up from her position at the table and galloped over to the princess and jump-hugged her, front hooves wrapped around her waist.

“Princess Celestia... I’m so sorry... I’m glad I came back...”

Everyone else around the table looked at the two of them warmly, appreciating how it turned from a tension filled library quest into a wholesome one. The silence between them was broken by the only creature in the room who wasn’t a pony.

“That does beg the question... WHY did you do the things that dominoed into being removed from your studies?”

She looked down for a moment before re-establishing eye contact with the dog.

“Well, you’ve probably heard a similar story about Princess Twilight. As her star pupil, Princess Celestia wanted me to not only learn magic, but also make friends. As a young mare with the high of being the top of the class at magic school, I thought magic was the only way to attain success as a unicorn, and that friends were a waste of time. Of course, this attitude made me a bit of a bully if somepony didn’t agree with me...”

“Then came the day when she first introduced me to the mirror. Told her that I saw myself as a powerful alicorn... and a... human? She quickly told me that it was meant for high level unicorns. That I wasn’t ready. As a young mare I didn’t agree with it. I demanded that she make me a princess. After being denied my hot-headed wish, I tried being smooth every time I asked about the mirror, which ended in me being barred from using the library until I made friends.”

Her expression went from neutral to down in record time.

“So I snuck into this very part of the library... and... you know the rest... For a short version, I was insatiable for knowledge and made the horrible mistake of crossing my mentor... But considering that Twilight came after me and showed me the error of my ways, plus the friends I made over there and now you guys and girls... I guess it's true: friendship is magic.”

Both the mentor and her former pupil looked each other in the eyes and hugged once more. Upon letting go, she returned to her spot on the opposite side of the table next to Shady and Starlight. Sunset took a deep breath, wiping away remaining tears and composing herself. The group shifted their focus onto the book that started the whole scene.

“I had been avoiding the library as a whole because I knew it would bring back the memories of that day. But having you all here and understanding Princess Celestia’s side of things gives me the confidence to put it behind me.”

She gave an openly warm expression, which made everyone, including herself, chuckle lightly. Past issues were resolved. With the tension relieved, Twilight picked up the book and flipped it open to the very first page.

“We shouldn’t forget why we came here in the first place. We need to find the spell that was written by the princesses and Shady’s mother. You said it’s in this book, right Princess Celestia?”

The aforementioned former ruler looked at the pages that laid before her.

“Correct. If memory serves me right - which can become blurry over a millennia or two - the incantations were written close to the back. Although skimming the whole book wouldn’t hurt.”

They all gathered around the edges of the table, attentively looking for anything that appeared to be related. Being magic users themselves, Twilight, Starlight and Rarity all studied over any paragraphs that mentioned spells, while the rest gave insight whenever fitting.

Minutes went by and the majority of the book had proven to not really serve much use. It contained a plethora of spells used in ancient Equestria, but nothing related to what they had been after. That is, until the last ten pages of the book began to talk about the crystal mirror. That aspect alone had gotten the attention of both Celestia and Twilight.

“Yes! Just as I had hoped. The spell is still legible.”

The white alicorn called out suddenly, Twilight’s attention drawn to the runes on the parchment. Shady gazed over at the pages as well, maw agape.

“That looks exactly like Ammy’s penmanship! ...I have no idea what this says.”

Twilight chuckled lightly at his reaction.

“It’s in old pony language. As someone who’s not from Equestria, I wouldn’t expect you to be able to read it, silly. Although... you say it’s in her writing. If that’s the case, why is it in Old Ponish? And why is it mentioning the crystal mirror? I thought it only led to the other world?”

The other sister filled in the missing details.

“While the intended destination for the mirror is that other world, it can be temporarily changed to some place else through use of this particular spell, and a lot of magic. As previously mentioned, this spell was written in ancient Equestria. The old style of language is no longer used in modern times, so it can’t easily fall into the wrong hooves.”

“That being said, the well-known Star Swirl the Bearded played his part in the creation of the spell. He was the one to create the crystal mirror in the first place, as a means of banishing the Sirens.”

The goldenrod pony’s ears flicked at the mention of that name, but she didn’t say anything regarding it. Another voice did, though.

“If that mirror can be told to take you to Shady’s home, then where does it end up?”

A very shy pony that sat at the end of the table, asked. Celestia flipped a hoof upside down and responded to her inquiry.

“Not to be a bearer of bad news, but... we don’t know where it ends up. We’ve never actually been over there through the use of the mirror. She’s teleported us directly with her mist warp ability, but - and I don’t mean to be rude when I say this - I doubt Shady here has that kind of capability.”

He looked at her with both front paws on the table, bolstering a middle of the road expression.

“No no, you aren’t wrong. I can easily take myself and only myself, but taking ten others with me with one brush stroke is more complicated. However, I can’t use it in Equestria, not even in this form. Not sure what’s up with that.”

While acknowledging what he said, Celestia sat back, letting the spotlight fall onto whoever was going to be next. An imaginary lightbulb once again popped up over one of the ponies heads. This time, it was AJ.

“It should be a given that I’m a mite unfamiliar with all this magic stuff and all, but wouldn’t it be wise to copy the spell down onto something, like a journal? The original book should be kept here.”

Her statement made Starlight’s face light up as she opened her saddle bag with magic and pulled out her book, along with a quill, setting them both onto the table next to the other one.

“Aha! I had a hunch that bringing this with me would come in handy! This is my own personal journal, but we could copy her spell into it.”

The two sisters gave her the okay in the form of a nod, and the pink unicorn went straight to work. Before long, the entire section on the spell and inner workings of the crystal mirror were duplicated word for word and diagram for diagram.

“Yes! We finally have it! The spell that will allow us to help Shady and Amaterasu!”

She exclaimed ecstatically at the very moment the book closed. It was stowed away into her bag once more, and almost as if on cue, both princesses stood back up and headed in the direction of the door. Shady himself let out a smile, something that really hadn’t been seen since he arrived.

“Now that we have what we need, the next step is to head over to Ponyville and actually go through. Everyone, gather close to us. It may be a bit jarring for those not accustomed to teleportation.”

Both her and Princess Luna began casting magic, only for Celestia to stop halfway and grab the history book.

“Whoops! Wouldn’t want that to be out of place when the librarian comes in tomorrow morning.”

She mentioned as the book flew back into its proper place on the shelf through use of magic, before casting the unified magic with Luna once more. Everyone gathered around the two of them and after placing a hoof or paw onto either princess’ body, the eleven members whisked away in poof of unicorn magic. Within seconds, the group reappeared in the street of Ponyville, a moment’s walk from Twilight’s castle.

Still standing guard at the entrance was Gallus, who was surprised to see this many creatures in the same group as Princess Twilight. He bowed formally in the presence of both sisters.

“Goodness! Princess Celestia, Luna, and Twilight! It was just a few of you leaving here yesterday. Looks like you’ve got enough ponies for a party!”

The white alicorn chuckled at his inquiry.

“We sure do! Although we’re here on official, non-party business. If you wouldn’t mind, I would prefer that you disallow entry to anycreature other than us for the remainder of the evening.”

He nodded in understanding and gave a traditional salute with a front leg.

“Yes ma’am, you got it.”

The griffon stepped aside and let them pass, which prompted Pinkie to speak up in disappointment.

“Oh come on, Princess Celestia! How’d you know about my super secret surprise party for Gallus next week? Now it's not a surprise anymore...”