Darkness and Light: A Tale of Two Brothers

Introduction

Within us all, there is light, which is made of hope, happiness, and joy. Then there is darkness, an entity made from the evils of the heart. This “entity” is created from dark emotions such as anger, hate, rage, sadness, and greed.

For some time now, since the fall of the Princesses of Equestria, the land has been split in two. Darkness covers one half of the world, which a good half of the pony populace fell into. And then there is the side of the world that is bathed in light. But, a long three-year war plagued the land of the once united Equestria. The purpose of this war was to gain supremacy over the opposing realm.

The war had began because of the foolhardy question that the ruler over the dark realm, King Night Hooves, had within his dark and twisted mind. (Which you shall see to have changed later on.) Which is greater? The force of Light? Or its counterpart, Darkness?

After the long three-year war, a treaty was made after both captains of the armies saw the great suffering being brought upon their people. Captain Bright Light Bravery of the Light Army and Captain Shining Moon of the Dark Army, fell madly in-love. Their love wrought reason to form among their fellow compatriots. Soon it was realized by King Night Hooves, that love itself was stronger than any light or darkness. The treaty was signed by both King Night Hooves and Queen Lady Light themselves.

        The treaty stated, So long as this truce stands, both rulers shall send two of their subjects, one colt and one filly, to the opposing realm, monthly, to learn their ways of life. And upon doing so, peace and equality shall be upheld. May the great and powerful Celestia and Luna watch over us and ensure this treaty to be true to its promises. And thus the nation of Brighthooves came to be.

        However, this is not where the true story lies. That was only but the history of this story. The true tale lies within the secret lives of King Night Hooves and Queen Lady Light. For you see, shortly after the end of the war, it was said that they had fallen in-love. Another part to that story was, Queen Lady Light had borne two young colts. One of light, and another of darkness.

But because of the royal duties these new parents had upon their shoulders, both the king and queen agreed that each of them would take their respective kin and raise them. But this agreement came with a price. Both rulers would never have the capability to see their child once they were able to move about on their own. And once the young colts were capable of doing so, the young colt of light, who later was named Light Heart, was sent to live with Captain Bright Light Bravery, while his brother Shadow Hooves, as became known, was sent to live with Captain Shining Moon. The young colts, at the time, wouldn’t have remembered their parents. (This was due to their tender age.)

        Both captains did not however, live under the same roof, as orders by the king and queen themselves. They feared that the two young colts wouldn’t develop into their respective persona correctly if raised under the same roof. Light Heart was to live in the ways of light, while Shadow Hooves was to live in the ways of Darkness. The Queen was reluctant to let go of her children, but decided that it was for the best. In secret, she placed a hidden mark under Light Heart’s right front hoof that looked like a bright star surrounded with constellations. On Shadow Hooves’ left front hoof, she placed a hidden mark that looked like a purple moon surrounded by purple stars. After she had done this, both of the brothers were each placed in pegasai-drawn carriages and whisked away to live with the captains, to which they were assigned. As the carriages rode off into the sunset, Queen Lady Light thought to herself, Farewell for now my sons. For we shall be reunited again during more pleasant of times. May you find each other one day as well, as the celestial marks will guide you to do so. And so begins the tale of two brothers.

Chapter 1: The Crossing

*Five Years Later*

        “Hey dad, where are you going?” asked Light Heart. Bright Light Bravery chuckled and ruffled Light’s mane. “Son, you know that I am Captain of The Royal Guard, remember?” asked Bravery. “Oh, right!” Light Heart replied. They both laughed for a bit before Bravery asked, “Would you like to come with me today?” Light Heart looked up at Bravery for a moment, giving him a thoughtful expression.

He didn’t like the idea of death or war, but his interest in his father’s job got the better of himself. So with all sincerity, he responded, “Ok” as he giggled. They both then gathered what was needed and then set off for the castle. It took them a while to trot over to the castle, as they did live a few miles away. Once they arrived, Bravery presented a hoof towards the opening gate and drawbridge. “Son, behold, The Palace of Queen Lady Light!”

***

In the dark realm of the world, we see a small house that is decorated with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other rare gems. From within, we see a young colt speaking to Shining Moon. “Mommy, why are you dressed like that?” Shadow Hooves pointed a hoof at his Moon's armor. Moon looked at him scornfully. “Shadow Hooves, you know that I work for the royal guard! Don’t play dumb or talk like that, it makes you sound stupid!”

After this was said, Shadow started to cry and trotted off to hide in his room. Feeling bad for what she had done, she thought to herself, I’m a complete foal! I shouldn’t have done that! Ugh, the stress from combat training is getting to me… I better go talk to him. She started to trot over to Shadow’s room when she suddenly heard a knocking on the front door. She hesitated for a moment before going to see who it was. Once she opened the door, she noticed that it was King Night Hooves. She quickly stepped back so he could enter.

She saluted as he trotted past her into the room. She noticed that his guards were stationed just outside her front door. “Good day, Your Majesty!” she said. “At ease, soldier.” he replied, looking past her. “Yes sir!” she replied as her composure relaxed a bit. “What brings you to my humble home, Your Majesty?” she asked.

He studied the room for a bit before facing her. He asked, “Where’s the boy?” She winced as if she had been wounded. With a dumbstruck expression, she asked, “What do you wish to do with him?” He looked away from her, facing his head downward so that his eyes were shadowed by his mane. He answered her saying, “You know as well as I, Shining Moon, that the time is upon us once again.”

She caught meaning of his words and began to take the same pose as him, as she started shedding tears. Angrily murmuring, she asked, “Why him?! Why must he go?!” He snapped at her instantaneously, stating, “Because, he is my son! And he must learn the meaning of equality! Else the darkness within him will cause a tyrant to rise to power and throw this world into ruin and war once again!” Then in a softer tone, he asked, “Do you want to live in a world such as this again?” When she was silent, he trotted over to her and placed a hoof upon her shoulder. She looked up at him and half smiled a sad smile along with tearful eyes.

“Will he be alright?” she asked, her voice wobbly. “Yes, he’ll be just fine. Trust me, no harm shall come to him my dear friend. If it pleases you, I can have Captain Bright Light Bravery watch over him during his stay in the realm of light.” She hugged him and started to shed tears as she whispered, “Thank you, Night Hooves.”

***

        “Would you mind getting that for me Light Heart?” Bravery asked, as he carried multiple documents with his magic. “Ok daddy!” Light Heart replied. He trotted over to a desk where a jar of ink along with a quill, was resting. As his horn glowed yellow, he levitated the jar and quill while carrying it along side him as he trotted back to Bravery. As Bravery took the jar and quill with his own magic, Light Heart asked, “Father, why are we in a library? Aren’t guards supposed to train for battle?” After Bravery set down the supplies, he took the jar and quill with his magic and set it beside the rest of the supplies. He replied without looking away from his studies.

“Yes, it’s true that we must be combat-ready. But we also have to keep our wits sharp and our knowledge updated.” Light Heart then looked at Bravery with a thoughtful expression. “So there’s more to being a royal guard than I thought?” he asked. Bravery stopped his studying and down-turned his face, his eyes shaded by his mane. Murmuring just loud enough for the little colt to hear, he said, “Yes… there’s more to it than you think.” Not changing his posture, he thought to himself, I haven’t seen her in over five years. I hope she’s faring well with your brother, Light Heart.

Just then, a soldier of the royal guard came into the room and announced as he saluted, “Sir, her royal majesty seeks an audience with you!” Worried, Bravery replied, “Is there anything of the matter?” The soldier shook his head and replied, “Not to my knowledge sir!” Taking command, Bravery said, “Good man, you’re dismissed!” The soldier saluted and trotted out of the room. As the door closed, Bravery thought to himself, I wonder what’s going on?

Bravery glanced over at Light Heart, whom was staring at the door that had closed behind the soldier. Bravery was concerned about him. He asked, “Light Heart?” The little colt snapped out of his trance-like state and looked at him saying, “Hm?” Bravery frowned and asked, “Something the matter?” Shaking his head, Light Heart replied, “No… I was just wondering why he had that look upon his face.” he replied.

“What ‘look’ do u speak of little one?” he asked, his voice sounding serious. Closing his eyes, Light Heart sat silently with a thoughtful expression. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at Bravery with a worried look and responded, “It seems as if he knew something bad was going to occur.” Bravery looked down, his eyes shaded by his mane once again. He finally gathered the courage and asked, “Light Heart, son, do you remember the bed-time story I have told you? The one about how our nation came to be?” Light Heart nodded his head and responded, “Yes, why?”

Bravery looked at him dreadfully and told him, “Most of that is true, son. But not all of it. It’s that time again. Surely you know what I mean?” As Light Heart looked at him, dumbstruck, Bravery thought, He can’t know the complete truth. Not yet at least. He needs to focus on what is at hand. And knowing that information will only distract him from the duties he will have to perform. Light Heart’s expression changed to sadness as he asked, “Am I next? Are they sending me to the other side?” Sympathetically, Bravery trotted up to Light Heart and placed a hoof on his shoulder, to which Light looked up at him with tears forming in his eyes, and pulled him into a hug. Light Heart accepted the hug as he let go of the tears he had been holding back and cried. “Why daddy? Why would you let them send me away?” he asked, still in tears.

Bravery closed his eyes and murmured into Light’s ear, “It’s out of my control son. You know I would be in trouble if I tried to go against the Queen’s orders.” After what seemed like hours, Light Heart pulled away and looked down, his eyes shaded as well. “We better go then.” he said grievingly. Bravery got up slowly and then nodded while saying, “Yes, let’s go see the Queen.” They then gathered up their things, and stood tall as they exited the library.

Without looking at him, Light Heart said to Bravery, “Father, promise that you won’t forget me after I am gone.” Without looking at Light Heart, Bravery responded, “Trust me, I won’t.”

***

        “Why do I have to go mother?” Shadow asked, as tears escaped his eyes. “Do you hate me?” he asked, sniffling. As Shining Moon embraced him, shedding tears of her own, she replied sweetly but sadly, “Shadow… you're my son, I love you. Nothing in this world will change that.” She kissed him upon his forehead and hugged him tighter while she said, “Cheer up my son, don’t be sad. We’ll see each other again soon.” Shadow sniffled and looked up at Moon with a sad smile and tears still in his eyes. “Mother, promise that you won’t forget me while I am gone.” he asked.

“Trust me, my son, nothing in this world could keep you from my heart.” she said, as she nuzzled his ear. All was silent, until a guard addressed her and said, “Captain, our company is ready for escort to the outpost! We’re ready to go at your command!” Quickly drying their tears, Moon and Shadow turned to face the group of readied guards. Shadow then took up position in the center of the formation alongside his childhood friend, Stardust. His face started to turn as red as a lobster’s shell. He’s had a crush on Stardust since he had first met her two years ago.

She didn’t seem to notice his nervousness as Shadow said, “H-hello Stardust, how are you?” She looked at him and smiled while giving a slight nod. She then replied sweetly, which made Shadow’s face burn even more, “Hello, my dear friend, it’s been so long!” As Moon laughed amusingly at Shadow’s little predicament, she took up position at the front of the group. She looked back at the two with a look of sadness as she thought, It seems that dreaded time has finally descended upon us. To say goodbye to the only likeness of a son that I ever had, it saddens me so. But my duties as Captain of the Royal Guard comes first. She looked down at the ground in front of her, her mane shading her eyes as she thought, But still… it saddens me to say goodbye to my only son. She looked back at the young two ponies and smiled as she thought, I will miss you… Prince Shadow Hooves. You may not know of your heritage as of yet, but one day you shall see, that you were destined to be the next King of our realm. I hope that Captain Bright Light Bravery is faring well with your brother, Shadow Hooves. She then looked at the horizon before her, from which the realm of light could be seen. She had shed a tear as she smiled and thought, I can only hope you can  forgive me, Shadow, for upholding the ruse of being your mother. I love you, my son.

Moon then dried the tear which she had shed, and called to the guards, “Forward, march!” As they began their journey to the realm of light, Moon looked at the sky -which was in the morning’s beautiful twilight glory- and thought, I shall miss thee, Prince Shadow Hooves….

***

        “Light Heart, can you hear me?” asked the young filly standing next to him. Light Heart quickly glanced up at Sundancer, a filly with a coat as white as snow, yellow eyes that are clear and far-seeing, a mane and tail that were golden as the sun itself with highlights that were bright blue as the sky, and bright yellow markings that were shaped like rings and stripes. She was a pegasus with a loving heart and a talent for sharing light and hope with those who had none left within their heart. Blushing, Light Heart responded, “Y-yes, I’m fine! No worries!” He laughed nervously and smiled, hoping that she wouldn’t notice his admiration for her. Jokingly, Bravery said to Light Heart, “You need some help back there son?!”

        Light Heart’s face burned even more bright red as he started to panic. “No-no-no, everything’s just fine! I just-” Bravery began to laugh with the rest of the guards. “Hahaha! I’m just yanking your chain son!” Light Heart was too embarrassed to respond to Bravery. While Light Heart made the attempt to hide his blushing face from the group, Sundancer looked in his direction with her blank eyes and asked worriedly, “What just happened? Are you ok Light Heart?”

        Still blushing, Light Heart managed to gather his words and respond nervously, “Oh um, it’s nothing really! Just a father-son joke! hehe…” Sundancer was silent for a bit, from which Light Heart guessed she was thinking. She finally responded with a giggle and said, “Ok then, I guess it’s nothing a little filly like me would get anyways.” She then smiled to Light Heart, which made him start to blush once again. Light Heart then thought to himself, I know he was only joking, but that was TOO close! He then sighed quietly and thought as he smiled while looking at Sundancer, Well, if I have to be with any beautiful mare or filly while I am in the realm of darkness, I’m glad it’s Sundancer who goes with me!

        As their party neared the outpost, Light Heart had sunk back into his trance-like state,  from which he began to think about the events that had occurred hours before their departure.

*** A Few Hours Earlier***

        “You summoned us Your Majesty?” Bravery asked as he and Light Heart bowed. “Yes, I have summoned you.” She then looked at the young colt and said, “Although, your presence young colt, is a bit unexpected.” She smiled and asked, “What is your name, little one?” Light Heart bowed and replied in the manner which was to be expected from all of the queen’s subjects, and said, “I am Light Heart, Your Majesty!” Queen Lady Light gasped and stared at the young colt, trying to believe what she had just heard.

She had not seen Light Heart since he was but only a foal, a mere infant! To see her own son she had not seen for five years, standing before her, she was in shock! She wanted to embrace him dearly, but the agreement which was made between her and King Night Hooves five years ago, kept her from doing so. She began to notice the stares from Bravery and Light Heart. She quickly regained herself and responded to Light Heart’s introduction. “Yes, it is good to meet a new face. Welcome, young Light Heart, to my palace.”

        Light Heart smiled and replied, “Thank you, Your Majesty!” Queen Lady Light smiled then turned to face Bravery, from which she had said, “As you know, Captain Bright Light Bravery, that time is upon us once again. It’s that time, where we must send two of our own, one filly and one colt, to the opposing realm to assure peace and equality between our two kingdoms.” She paused to look at Light Heart. She said to him, “You, Light Heart, must go to the other side.” Light Heart, not able to control his frenzy of emotions, burst out and asked, “Why! Why me?! Surely there’s some-pony else who can take my place!” Bravery quickly bowed and excused Light’s outburst, to which Queen Lady Light held up a hoof to stop him.

        She then stepped down from her throne and trotted up to Light Heart. Bravery held his breath as she approached the young colt. With a serious look upon her face, she bent her neck down to Light Heart’s level, and said to him directly, “You should know better, young Light Heart, than to speak out of term in the presence of royalty.” She then lightened her expression to a light smile as she said, “But I shall let it go, under one condition.” Light Heart gulped as she whispered the dreaded words into his ear. “You shall do as I say and go to the realm of darkness.”

Light Heart looked at the ground, his eyes shaded by his mane. Queen Lady Light then said in a calm tone to Light Heart, “I will send the young filly known as Sundancer, to accompany you on this journey if it makes you feel better little one.” Light Heart looked up at her, shocked to hear her name the filly whom he had admired for so long. Unnerved by how she knew about the filly, he asked, “H-how did you-” She chuckled and replied, “I can sense your fondness for her, young Light Heart. I also feel that your time as well as hers, has come.” She trotted back to her throne, from which she sat once more, and said, “I can also sense that something extraordinary will happen to you once you arrive. What exactly will occur, I cannot say for certain.”

She closed her eyes, lost in thought. Bravery, by this time, had let go of his pent-up breath that he had forgotten he was holding. Queen Lady Light finally opened her eyes and said, “But nonetheless I am sure something will happen.” She then took up a commanding tone and said, “That is all I have need to tell you.” She turned to Bravery and said in the same tone of voice, “Captain, I want you and your company to be ready for departure within the hour!” Bravery saluted while responding, “Yes, Queen Lady Light! I shall have them ready by then!”

“Then you are both dismissed!” she said. “Good Day, Your Majesty!” he replied, then turned to Light Heart and said, “Let’s go son!” Light Heart responded with a slight nod. They began to trot out of the room. As Light Heart neared the exit to the hall, Queen Lady Light called out to him, “Light Heart!”

The young colt stopped to turn around. When he faced the Queen, she said to him in an omniscient voice, “The clue is in the hoof!” Light Heart nodded, turned to face the door, and galloped as fast as he could after Bravery. And as the doors to the throne room closed behind him, he thought to himself, The clue is in the hoof? What did she mean? Guess I’ll find out soon enough! He then relaxed his mind, taking in the scenery around him as he followed Bravery to the barracks, in preparation for the journey to come.

***Present Time***

        It’s late in the evening. Captain Shining Moon’s company is seen resting near the outpost. The outpost was a small building that held supplies from both realms in the event that one side needed to take something that was dearly needed and could only be found in the opposing realm. It was heavily guarded, to keep looters or thieves from stealing any supplies. There was a building, in which the guards who protected the border lived in, that sat across from the supply building. The sky overhead was even split into light and darkness, but both sides still experienced night and day nonetheless.

        Light Heart had snapped out of his trance-like state after Sundancer worriedly asked him, “Light Heart?” He turned to look at her staring face and responded, “I’m still here, anything of the matter?” Sundancer, Light Heart noticed, trotted a little closer beside him. Scared, she asked him, “You can feel them too right? The ponies that live in darkness, their lights… they barely have any left within their heart.” Light Heart moved closer to her and gave her a slight hug and said sweetly, “Don’t worry my dear friend, I won’t let any harm come to you.” Sundancer looked at him and smiled.

“Thank you, Light Heart, at least I know that there’s some-pony I know and trust watching over me.” Just then, Bravery announced to the group, “We’re nearing our destination, prepare for the exchange!” Light Heart and Sundancer took up their positions in the center of the group. Light Heart looked at Sundancer as he asked her, “Looks like we’re nearly there, are you ready?” Sundancer smiled as she responded to him, “Mhm, I am ready.” And together, along with the rest of their party, they made their way closer to the outpost.

        Once both parties had arrived, the Captains greeted each other. Shining Moon saluted as she said, “Good evening, Captain Bright Light Bravery! I hope you have fared well since we last met.” Bravery responded in kind before saying, “Good evening to you as well, Captain Shining Moon! I hope the same for you as well.” Moon looked at him and smiled. “I wish we could sit here and spend the rest of this night catching up, but alas, our duties keep us from doing so!” she said dramatically. Bravery smiled and said, “Yes, tis a shame that such pleasantries cannot be fulfilled.”Bravery then chuckled as he said, “Let’s get this done and over shall we?” Shining Moon did the same as she responded jokingly, “Yes, let’s be done with this task already.” Both Captains stepped aside to reveal their chosen two from their own realm. As Light Heart and Shadow Hooves came into each other’s view, their marks upon their hooves began to glow. Light Heart looked down at his hoof as the marking of a Star surrounded by constellations began to glow yellow. Light Heart alarmingly asked, “What’s happening to my hoof?!”Across the empty space between the two groups, Shadow’s marking that looked like a moon surrounded by stars, began to glow purple. He looked equally alarmed by this strange happening as he asked, “What’s going on here?!” Even though both of them had asked what they did, it seemed that no-pony around them heard their plea for an explanation. Then the whole world around them turned gray as they looked up at each other. Both of them gave wondering looks, as if to ask, Who are you? But before a word could be uttered, the strange magic that kept others from hearing them vanished as well as the graying color that blotted out the natural colors of the world in which they live.“Goodbye son, I will miss you.” Bravery said to Light Heart. The young colt was surprised to hear his father’s voice once again. Light Heart shook his head and asked, “Did I miss something?” Bravery looked at him strangely and then continued what he was saying. Then to the both of them he said, “Alright you two, time to start moving.” Across the field, Moon said to Shadow as she hugged him, “Goodbye Shadow Hooves, I shall never forget you.”Shadow hugged Shining Moon as he felt confused as to the strange event that had just occurred. He decided to figure it all out later and resumed with the situation. “I shall miss you as well mother. Please do not forget about me while I am gone.” After goodbyes were exchanged, the pairs from both groups started to trot towards the halfway point to make the exchange. As the two groups of pony children passed through the halfway point, Shadow and Light Heart’s hooves began to glow even brighter as well as tingle. They stared at each other as they passed.Nodding to each other in a silent agreement, Shadow and Light Heart thought to themselves, I must find him once again, after this is all over. Once the pairs reached the opposing group, the guards closed in a wall around their individual pairs. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Captain Bright Light Bravery.” Moon said jokingly. Bravery chuckled as he gave a slight nod and said, “The same with you, Captain Shining Moon.” Once they readied their troops for the journey home, both captains gave the word for their groups to move out. And as Light Heart and Shadow Hooves trotted away with their new comrades, they looked at each other once more as they thought, I hope to meet you again soon, my mysterious friend.And with that, the brothers trotted away in the twilight that was formed from the last rays of Celestia’s great sun, never to see each other again.

End Episode