Prologue to Night Shade
Silence, aside from the scurrying about of a small dragon and his duties, it reigned over the Golden Oaks Library this night. This has been the way it has been since Twilight returned.
A few months ago she had been manipulated by the newly returned King Sombra in to not only embracing dark magic, but also in becoming his queen. But despite this she and Sombra had fallen in love, so when Sombra was finally put to an end by Celestia herself Twilight had not taken her lover's death well.
She had fallen in to depression, she accepted that she had been used, accepted that she was just part of his plan, accepted that she had been saved from the point of no return, but that did not stop her from loving him. She missed him dearly.
After her return to Ponyville Twilight had spent the last ten months locked away in her bedroom at the library, rarely leaving and even then usually only for meals and when she felt capable of seeing her friends. The other element bearers and her family had tried to get Twilight out and to cheer her up, but every attempt ended in failure.
Pinkie tried throw a 'We're Glad Your Back Party!' which didn't cheer her up. She tried to throw a 'Cheer Up Twilight Party!', it didn't work. She then tried a 'Be Happy Twilight Party!', it didn't work. She tried a 'Reading Party!', it didn't work.
Appljack tried to convince her with first hoof experience that life will move on.
Rainbow Dash bragged on and on about all the awesome things going on in Ponyville that Twilight was missing.
Rarity tried to get her to come out with promises of spa dates, clothes and looking for dates.
Fluttershy just asked kindly for her to come out.
Celestia tried to get her out with her own coming to terms of these tragedies past.
Cadence and Shining Armor would try to bargain with her.
Her parents would beg her.
None of it worked.
The citizens of Ponyville other than the bearers had tried to get her out to. There were many a night where flowers and greeting cards were left at the door of the library, wishing their princess well and for her to come out. The eight elite guard sent to watch Twilight began to grow weary of their new duty of not only standing in front of a library door, but of also being speciality garbage men.
'Twilight, why are you doing this?' Spike thought looking up to what had become just her bedroom.
“'sigh' I need some food.”
Spike went to the kitchen searching for a late night snack, browsing through the cupboards and the fridge he found some milk and cookies. Happy with what he found he turned to the library proper and just as he was about to take a bite from a cookie, he glanced the stairway to Twilight's bedroom.
He walked up to the door and knocked on it.
“Twilight, I 've got some cookies with me, you want one?”
The only response was faint breathing.
“I'm gonna leave one at the door if you decide to change your mind ok.”
Returning to the lower floor of the library, Spike looked at the plate of cookies he had beside a cushion bringing a faint smile to his face.
“Hey any of you guards want a cookie?”
He received no response from the front guards.
“Always so professional” Spike murmured to himself while rolling his eyes.
Spike grabbed a cookie and got ready to take a bite, only for an ear splitting scream to shake him from his cushion.
“AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!”
The guards broke down the front door their eyes alive with fury.
“PRINCESS!”
“TWILIGHT!”
The guards galloped through the library and up the stairs, Spike trailing behind, the first guard to reach the door gave it a quick and sudden buck with his back legs sending to the floor.
“PRINCESS TWILIGHT! What's.....”
Spike pushed his way through the cluster of guards eager to help Twilight.
“Urgh, let me through!”
Spike almost fell down after pushing through in to the room.
“What's wro!”
Like the guards Spike was speechless. Twilight was writhing and screaming in pain on her bed, breathing heavily and her body covered in copious amounts of sweat. But that wasn't what left them speechless, it was something that wasn't with Twilight the few times she'd been out. A large, swollen, pregnant stomach.
“Arrgh!” Twilight screamed “It's coming!”
“Oh my! Oh my! Oh my Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!” Fluttershy kept saying to herself sitting on her haunches in the waiting room outside the delivery room. All the while Twilight's screams could be heard.
“AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!”
“How did this happen?” Applejack asked to no one
“I think I have an idea!” Rainbow Dash quickly responded, her body stiff with rage.
“You don't mean!” Rarity gasped
“Yeah, him!”
Everyone froze and their eyes widened as it dawned on them who the father would most likely be, shock, anger and pity all went through their minds with the exception one.
“Poor Twilight” Pinkie's hair had turned to it's melancholy straightness, for a few seconds “But maybe now she'll be happy with her new baby, maybe now one of my parties will cheer her up. Ooh! I can throw a welcome party for the new baby! Ooo, ooo what do you think it'll be a filly or a colt? Maybe it'll be twins! Do you think they'll look like their daddy? What do you think she'll nbame them? Maybe she'll name them after her parenMMF” Before she could go on Rainbow Dash shoved a hoof in to Pinkie's mouth.
“Pinkie Pie you're missing the big picture here!” Dash looked Pinkie dead in the eye “Twilight's been keeping this secret from everpony because of what happened with Sombra!”
“Rainbow Dash is right dear” Rarity spoke up “She must have felt so ashamed to be the one to carry that mad wretch's child that she had to hide it. Poor Twilight.”
“Uh guys, I get all of that.”
“You do!?” Rainbow Dash and Rarity say confused.
“Yeah, but now that the baby's coming she'll be less mopey wopey and be happy again.”
Everyone stared at Pinkie with an open eyed look.
“Pinkie” began Rainbow Dash “that actually makes sense.”
“I know.”
The element bearers sat in silence after the conversation listening to Twilight's screaming, all sharing glances at one another each wondering how to respond to the screams.
Spike wasn’t present, while the guards brought her to the hospital Spike informed Celestia and was waiting at the front of the hospital for her arrival.
“IIIEEEAAARRRGGGHHHHHH”
Twilight let loose a scream louder than any previous one but after it there was only silence, then crying.
The doctor emerged from the delivery room doors, he was a brown unicorn with a striking resemblance to his earth pony brother. The element bearers swarmed around him four of them wearing looks of concern, Pinkie though grinned and jumped in place.
Then he spoke. “It's a colt.”
---
Celestia walked through the halls of Ponyville General Hospital the orderlies, nurses, doctors, surgeons and few patients who weren't in their rooms late at nigh all bowed as she passed. She was being guided by the same doctor who helped Twilight with two guards flanking her sides. Her face was a mixture of concern and anger.
'Sombra you bastard! An heir, that's why you used Twilight! Thank goodness your back in the darkness where you can't reach it.'
Celestia grew anxious with each step, desperate to see her student and what state was in. Was she happy? Was she still depressed? These thoughts and more ran through her mind as Twilight's door came in to view.
“I'd like to talk to Princess Sparkle alone for a moment Doctor.”
“Of course your highness, I'll be out here should you need anything else.”
The doctor bowed and sat beside one of two guards guarding the door.
Celestia magicked the door open and stepped inside.
“Twilight I”
What she saw cut the words from her tongue.
In the well lit private room, wrapped in a light blue blanket in a crib, laid a small black colt sleeping soundly. To it's right was Twilight's Miss Smarty Pants doll, it's left was a a rolled up note. The crib stood less than a metre away form Twilight's bed. But this wasn't what took away her breath.
In the bed laid Twilight, motionless.
Cadance, Shining Armor, Luna and Celestia sat around a wooden circular table in a dark room within Canterlot Castle, a magical light was suspended above the table illuminating the table and those seated. Guards were situated outside the thick wooden doors to the room, the sole entrance, with pegasi guard guard circling around the outside of the castle thus ensuring complete secrecy for what was going to be said.
“Shining Armor, Cadance” Began Celestia “This is hard to say. I have bad news about Twilight.”
“Oh no” Went Cadance
“What!? What happened to Twilly?” Gasped Shining Armor
“What has happened sister?” Luna asked
Celestia closed her eyes and sighed “She has taken her life.”
Luna and Cadance couldn't speak, Shining Armor though broke down.
“No, Twilly no! Why? Why?” He let his head fall on to his front legs as his eyes released a torrent of tears.
“Twilight.” Cadance could only mutter to herself in shock, barely able to hold back the tears.
'sigh' Luna was the most collected of the three. “Goodbye Twilight Sparkle.” Closing her eyes and thinking fond thoughts of the princess passed.
“HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!” Everyone was taken a back, Shining Armor flung his head head from his forelegs, his eyes already red and tears steadily pouring from his eyes.
“Do you remember that Twilight has been depressed ever since me and Luna saved her from King Sombra?”
Shining Armor could only nod, Cadance and Luna did to.
“Something happened to her while she was his queen.”
“'sniff' What?”
“She became the mother of his son.”
Everyone, save for Celestia, was shocked at what had been said. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air until Shining Armor broke it.
“That BASTARD!” He slammed his one of his hooves against the table with enough force, that it caused a large crack to appear. He stayed frozen in that position breathing heavily through his nose, now trying and struggling to hold back his tears.
Cadance stared at Shining, she'd known he was a strong and capable guard and when push came to shove he'd respond with the needed force. But she'd never seen him so broken, so hate filled in her life. She soon turned to face Celestia.
“I-If that's the case then where's the baby?”
Celestia's began to glow activating one of four magical lights hidden in the room's darkness, it showed a crib. She levitated from the crib a sleeping black foal wrapped in blue and placed it on the table centre. Shining Armor could only look at it.
What he saw was not a pony, but the living seed of darkness, something that had taken away his sister, something that deserved only destruction.
Both Luna and Cadance were both in shock and awe over the new born.
“Twilight left these with the foal before taking her life.”
Celestia's horn glowed again, this time in a flash of light bringing next to the baby's left and rightthe Miss Smarty Pants doll and a note. She gripped the note in her magic and began to read aloud.
“Dear Everypony
I'm sorry, sorry for everything I've done and how I've acted.
Though I was controlled by Sombra I did love him and he loved me, I know that to be true.
I had planned to end it just after I'd been brought to Canterlot but I couldn't do it, I'd realised I was pregnant just after I decided to end it.
I'm sorry I used illusion magic to hide my pregnancy, but I didn't want anypony to worry about me more than they did.
Everything I own I leave to my friends and family, they can choose what they want and donate what they don't want to charity.
Shining and Cadance could not bring themselves to stop crying at this point.
But for my baby I leave Miss Smarty Pants.
Shining scowled a the baby's mention.
As for Sombra and mine's baby, if it's a filly name her Night Light, but if it's a colt name him Night Shade. And I have favour to ask, please either Mum and Dad or Cadance and Shiny, please look after him or her.
Shining couldn't breath as that request was uttered.
I go now, hopefully I'll see my King Sombra again and one day our child.
Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle”
The room was again silent until Celestia spoke.
“I don't need to tell you that this foal was part of Sombra's plan for Twilight”
Everyone stared at the sleeping form of the small colt, each one thinking different things. Celestia was not sure how to feel towards it, it was Twilight's child and was innocent in all of this, but it's existence was part of a plan of Sombra's and that threw it's innocence in to question. Luna stared at the colt feeling nothing but pity not only for the colt, who would never know it's mother or father, but also for Twilight. Cadance was like her aunt, she didn't know what to think, but a slight anger towards Sombra rose in her. As for Shining Armor, he felt anger, sadness and hate. Hate more than anything at Sombra, which was the only thing he could see looking at what was meant to be his nephew.
“This the real reason I called this meeting. We need to decide what to do with the foal.”
Everyone looked to Celestia.
“It is clear this foal was born as part of King Sombra's plan, but it's role I'm not sure. Twilight was a very powerful unicorn, so it makes sense that Sombra would want somepony like that to birth his child, and ensure greater power for it. But that begs the question, why did he want this child?”
Luna rubbed the underside of her chin with her hoof “Considering what Sombra was it would be a good assumption that he and Twilight would have raised this foal to be loyal to him, and when the need or desire came use it as an extra body. Complete with the power it would amass through life.”
“We should kill it.”
Luna, Celestia and Cadance turned to Shining Armor, his head hung low.
“This was born as part of a plan of King Sombra's, we should end his plan now before it has a chance to even start.”
Cadance was stunned, she couldn't believe what Shining Armor was saying.
“Shining. How. How can you say that!?”
“How can you not?” He spoke clearly without any doubt in his voice, what ever he was feeling for Twilight was put aside for new found anger. “This is King Sombra we're talking about that monster enslaved the Crystal Empire, almost took away my magic and now he's taken away Twilly. For all we know this thing could already be under his influence!” He stamped a hoof on the table to punctuate the sentence, the foal's face contorted. “We'd be better off sending it to the shadows where it belongs, with it's father.”
Luna was taken aback by this “How can you say such things!” Shining Armor looked to Luna “Dost thou forget who this foal is?” Luna's voice rose as she spoke “It is a new born and it is not only Sombra's child but also Twilight's, we have have no immediate way of knowing if it is under Sombra's influence and yet THOU WOULD DEMAND IT'S DEATH REGARDLESS!” Until she then broke in to the Royal Canterlot Voice. She would've continued but a different noise broke her from her rising anger.
“WWWWAAAAHHHHAAHHAAHHAHAHA”
The foal had woken up and cried. Celestia, not wanting the meeting to be distracted casting a sleeping spell on to the foal, lulling it back to sleep. She cast a look of annoyance at Luna who could only hang her head awkwardly.
“What do you suppose we do then Luna?”
“We observe the foal from a distance, place it in a caring environment so that it may grow up like a normal foal would” Shining Armor's face showed complete disgust at this suggestion “and observe how it behaves and interacts. From there we could determine whether or not the foal is indeed in any way under Sombra's influence.”
Shining Armor tried but failed not to scowl at Luna “That's too risky Princess,we need to deal with the threat now!”
“I agree with Aunt Luna.”
Everyone turned Cadance, Shing's mouth a drop in shock.
“While we can't tell for sure that this foal is under Sombra's influence right now, the best course of action would be observe him for the time being and if he shows signs of being under his influence. Then we do what what needs to be done.”
Shining Armor couldn't believe what he'd heard, he was stunned. Cadance had actually suggested letting the son of King Sombra live, he was about to protest.
“I agree with the two of you.” Celestia began “It would be best to observe him and wait and see if he does a pose a threat to Equestria and I have just the place to send little, Night Shade. There is an orphanage not too far away from Canterlot, Luna, you will see to it that he is taken there while Cadance, Shining Armor and myself arrange moles to observe and report on him. And of course it goes without saying that he must never now who his parents were.”
Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor all nodded in agreement but inside Shining Armor was fuming. To him, the one thing he truly hated in all the world had just been given a chance to return.
---
1 Day Later
'Knock Knock'
'Uh, who could that be ?'
The head caretaker Kind Heart rose from her bed, looking out the window she saw it was still night out. The yellow earth pony mare shook herself awake and made her out the door of her bedroom and through her office and in to the main hallway.
'Knock Knock'
The knocking at the front door continued annoying the drowsy mare.
“Hold your horses I'm here.”
She opened the front door of the Blueburg Orphanage and, was greeted with darkness. Then she looked down.
There on the on the stoop right by the door, wrapped in a blue blanket covering it almost completely, was the sleeping form of a foal. Next to it was a fairly ragged doll with loose button eyes, thick strands of hair and wearing a pair of pants. A note had been pinned to it.
A small smile creeped along her mouth 'sigh'
“Come on, let's get you inside.”
She picked up the foal and the doll in her fore legs, using one to keep the two close to her chest. She hear it's soft breathing.
Closing the door she returned to her office, gently placing the foal on her desk she lit a lantern and unpinned the note attached to the doll. It read one word.
“Night Shade. Guess that's your name.”She turned to the foal “Let's get a look at you.”
Not wanting to completely disturb it, she gently unwrapped the blanket from the foals body. She could now see clearly it's jet black coat. But what she saw next stunned her. Her mind went completely blank as it registered what was wrapped up in the blanket, she didn't breathe for a full moment until she understood what she was seeing. Quietly, she spoke.
“Oh my! You, you look just like King Sombra!”
Author's Note
This is my first fic so any constructive criticism would be gladly appreciated as this is also my first serious attempt at writing in a long time, so I'm a little rusty.
If you want to get a general idea on what happened to Twilight, go read 'Kiss of the Dark'. It's previously incomplete status was the core inspiration for this, but I am planning to elaborate on difference specifics in the story proper as lore.
I'm gonna start planning the first story in the story proper after I get some feedback on this