Dark Hopes

Chapters

Prelude
Luna's Student Part 1
Luna's Student Part 2
A New Friend
PonyVille

Prelude

Hello there. My name is Shadow Sparkle, and this is my story. I guess one could say that I was one of those ponies that often got overlooked, and the reason of that was that my other siblings just seemed to be doing so much better than myself: My brother, Shining Armor, is married to a princess, and my sister, Twilight, is a star student of Princess Celestia. As for me? Well, I was still stuck in magic kindergarten, barely able to levitate anything. Even the lightest quill around here was a huge challenge for me.

"Shadow?” The teacher, Mystical Book, called. "It’s your turn for the test."

'Huh? Oh, okay." I said nervously as I got up from my desk. Living with a sister that constantly suffered from many moments of anxiety, I had seen the negative effects of being nervous, but in cases like these, how was I supposed to feel calm?

"Shadow, your test will be to lift anything of your favor." Mystical Book said whilst she readied her clipboard.

Magic was something that I hadn’t really gotten a hold of, and the only reason why I was in magic kindergarten was that when I was beginning to practice it, Twilight kept on interrupting me, messing my levitation up by using her magic to stop me, and since she was way stronger than I was in magic, she would always triumph over me. I had gotten really angry once, grasping her with my magic and sending her flying across the room, but after that, I found that I couldn't even levitate a quill.

"May I use that workbook?." I asked, pointing to a workbook that was about 30 pages thick. That was the book I had studied last night to get ready for the test.

"A workbook? Alright. Levitate this workbook up in the air for 10 seconds." Mystical Book explained. "You may begin."

I gulped and looked at the book. I felt petrified as the other students were staring me down and I was unable to do anything. However, I eventually gathered up my courage to do what I was asked. I felt my horn get warm and I looked up to see a purplish aura surrounding my horn. A small wave of joy swept over me as I gained confidence as I focused on the book. The book shook as it slowly lifted in the air up to my head.

" 1,2,3,4,5…”

I could feel my confidence waver just like my magic was as I maintained the book’s mid-air position, and as I whispered out the duration, I could already feel myself regretting the act of under-estimating the weight of the book. I grunted out, willing myself to persevere for a little more “....8, 9.”

I let out a gasp of air as I felt my magic grow too weak to hold the book up, and the workbook landed on the floor with a small thud. As if I had just completed a marathon, I looked up to my teacher with a tired but hopeful smile. "Did I do it, Miss Book?"

"You did good, Shadow! You almost passed." Mystical Book said as she gave a small smile.

"Almost?” I asked with disappointment and confusion. “Didn’t I hit ten, Miss Book?” Oh my goodness… This couldn’t be happening!

"Well... Shadow, you let go at nine, but if it’s any comfort, you improved a lot since the last time we had this exercise! I am surprised!" Mystical Book reassured, although in my heart, the disappointment at being so close to passing made her words of comfort pale in comparison.

With my head hung low, I turned around and went back to my desk. Even though Ms.Book try to help me feel better I couldn’t help but feel a wave of depression. I was always getting picked on after school by the other unicorns and it was all because I didn't know how to use my magic as well as they did. When the school bell rang for dismissal, I immediately got up and ran, hoping that I could get a head start on getting back home. However, as it has always been since I joined this school, I was not given such a chance. A pair of ponies were already in front of me, cutting off my path of escape from the school.

"Where do you think you’re going, blank flank?" A taller blue pony grinned menacingly as he stalked closer to me. I instinctively took a step back in fear, but I soon got a hold of myself and stood my ground, silently scolding myself for showing weakness.

'Home." I stated, trying my best to remain as stoic as a guard on duty. “I’m going home. Where else?

"You know you aren't strong without your sister to protect you, you good for nothing colt." The blue stallion said with a malicious smile. Despite the stoic expression that I held, a storm of emotions was brewing within me as my mind went back to my sister. Drat! Twilight was leaving for Ponyville today! How could I have forgotten?!

"Well, before you head home, how about a little game, huh?" The orange colt beside the blue one sniggered as they started to close the distance between us. This was not going to end well, that I knew, so I quickly seized the opportunity to bolt through the small opening between the orange and blue stallion before they cornered me.

"Get back here, you idiot! We didn't even play yet!" The orange colt yelled after me. Not even a fool would listen to them, and that was why I put in more speed on my hooves, hoping that I would be able to outrun them.

"Looks like he wants to play tag, if you ask me!" The blue stallion laughed as they started to chase after me. Being of a smaller stature, it was not hard for them to begin closing the distance, and I quickly headed towards the hiding spot that was sure to cut them off from me. Ignoring the burn in my lungs for oxygen, I sprinted past a bakery, into a restaurant, and then out through the back of it. I kept on running, too fearful to even look back to see if they were actually chasing me. As soon as I caught sight of the cave that never failed to conceal me, I took a sharp turn, entered it and hid in the deepest part of the cave.

I only allowed myself to start breathing again when the sound of hooves went past the entrance of the cave, and a pair of voices cursed loudly in the distance. I took a deep breath, and knowing that I was finally safe once again, I sighed in a mix of relief and exasperation. "Fourth time failing that stupid test." With the adrenaline of the chase slowly ebbing away, my vision began blurring with tears as a lump grew in my throat. "Why am I not as good as Twilight or Shining Armor, or any unicorn for that matter, at magic? Why?" The fact that I was getting chased by older unicorns didn't bother me. What really did bother me was the fact that I couldn't really use magic. No matter what I did, I just couldn't use my magic properly.

The light clack of hooves on stone from the entrance of the cave made me realize that I was no longer alone. I looked up from my resting place, expecting to see a pair of blue and orange, so imagine my surprise when my eyes laid upon an alicorn with a pitch black coat and cyan armor. Seeing that she hadn’t noticed me yet, I decided to trot up to her and start a conversation.

"Hello?" My voice was almost a whisper due to the nervousness I was feeling, but at least I managed to catch the mare’s attention.

"Aww, a young colt." The alicorn looked at me with disgust, but I refused to flinch under her gaze. "What are you doing here? Don’t you know who I am?”

"Not really." I muttered while I studied her before looking up to the sky. Her eyes were slitted and predatorial, and if you asked me, it was better to look anywhere else, as long as you never looked into her harsh eyes. “I only know that you used to raise the moon. Also, I’m just here to look up at the night sky and look at the stars. They seem brighter than usual tonight."

"Really? I never thought anyone appreciate my night sky.” Her tone softened, if only slightly, and from the corner of my eye, I saw a smirk cross her muzzle. “Well then, at least I know that some ponies won’t be too fearful if I make night eternal!” I felt my hooves go shaky as I realized how familiar this all sounded, as if I had heard those words from a storybook before, and although I was slightly frightened, curiosity won me over.

"May I ask for your name, Miss?" I asked, still slightly wary of the mare whose appearance seemed to scream “DANGER”.

The alicorn stood there and then said in a calm voice. "I go by a name, but you ponies only know me as a nightmare.” I could see her gaze soften even more with the hint of a tear, but I looked away lest I become a victim of her wrath. From how she acted, it was safe to say that pitying her was sure to land you in her bad books, and I didn’t want that. “What they do not know is that I am forced to be one. I know I want night to be eternal, but more than that, I wish for my sister’s forgiveness. I know I will fail and I will gladly do so to be with my sister again if she forgives me. I have been on that moon for a thousand years, and I know my wrongs already. I just want her to forgive me.” She must have realized that I was starting (although I was trying my best not to show it) to pity her, because her gaze hardened again as she turned to look at me. Although the harsh glare in her eyes were gone, the mischievous, unpredictable twinkle in her eyes did not let me fully relax in her presence. “I know you come here to hide, colt. I’ve seen you hide here before when I was on the moon. Of course, it does not matter much to me, but out of curiosity, why are you hiding?"

I let out a sigh and then said, "I am getting bullied by older unicorns and I usually come here to get away from them." I did not know why, but when it came to this mare, I just felt like we understood each other’s plight. It was as if the dam to my heart collapsed, and I found myself confessing my deepest fears to her. “I’m weak." I muttered, not even meeting her gaze. "I mean, c’mon… I can't even use my magic properly!" A few moments of silence ensued, and like her, I did not really feel too comfortable about showing weakness to anypony. With a defeated sigh, I got up on to my hooves and turned towards the exit. “I’m really sorry for wasting your time, miss. I’ll just take me leave now-”

“Wait.” I paused, a shiver involuntarily running up and down my spine as her cold slipper rested on my back. I turned around, and the alicorn shifted and faced me with her horn glowing with a dark blue aura. "I don't know if this will help you out but this magic is for you. I do not desire to see a foal bullied, even if I am a nightmare or not." A blue orb about a size of a golfball came out of her horn and it floated lazily onto mine. The moment it touched the tip of my horn, I shivered as I felt a large surge of power run through my horn.

"I don't know the consequences of doing this when I am in this form. When I give magic I can't keep out the dark that will confuse you, but you are truly strong, even if you think or say otherwise. I daresay that my defeat awaits me, and the sun will rise once again, but my only wish is for my sister’s forgiveness. If I still remember you, I shall make a visit of course, but until we meet again, colt, farewell to you."

The alicorn unfolded her wings and took off at a stunning speed, leaving me sitting there and looking up into the starry sky as I muttered a few words, although I was sure she wouldn’t have heard it from this distance. “You’re not a nightmare at all…”

Luna's Student Part 1

Four years had passed since I had seen that alicorn, but unfortunately, I never saw her ever since then. I had really wanted to thank her for helping me, because just three months after she had given me her magic, I was able to pass the test and graduate from magic kindergarten! As if things weren’t good enough, my skill in magic seemed to grow exponentially, and my sudden boost had me earning the respect of my classmates. Gone were the days of oppression and bullying, and it was all thanks to that alicorn...

Well, almost all the oppression was gone.

"Shadow!” I groaned inwardly as I plopped a pillow against my head, willing for the voice outside to disappear. “Come on, Shadow! It’s time to wake up!” As if waking up wasn’t hard enough, there was the singsong voice of my mother to further annoy my already cranky spirit.

Resisting the urge to lash out at anything when I realised how early she had woken me up, I removed the pillow from my face and moaned loud enough for her to hear from downstairs. “Five more minutes mom…” I already knew what the answer was going to be, but hey: Doesn’t hurt to try, right?

“Nuh-uh! We can’t have your eggs and hay getting cold, now can we?” Her voice seemed louder now, and I was only given a second before I realized that she had begun levitating me. Still half-asleep, I settled for returning to slumber mid-air, but I was jolted awake as I suddenly felt gravity pull me downwards. That was enough to snap me out from my bleary state, and I couldn’t help but give a tired glare to my mother for her annoying but effective methods of waking me up once I landed on the couch. “Now, don’t give me that look, Shadow. I told you that the big day was today, didn’t I?”

"Big day?" I asked, trying my best to figure out what I had been missing. She did say something about going to bed early last night, but my mind only drew blanks when I tried to recall the significance of today. “What big day?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” She smirked as she walked about the kitchen. “I was pretty sure I told you a week ago!” As I racked my brain for even an inkling of what was going to happen today, I unconsciously shook enough sleep from my eyes to think clearly. Even then, I still came up with nothing, so I just returned a clueless, innocent look which caused my mother to roll her eyes.

"Its your sister's coronation." She deadpanned, although that was short-lived as she sprung back to her unusually excitable demeanor. "I can't believe it, Shadow! Your sister’s actually a princess now!" Instantly, realization came back to me, and I slowly nodded as my thoughts began to flow smoothly again. Now I remembered what she said last week. Goodness, why was I so forgetful? “It’s this afternoon, Shadow, so go get ready, alright? Daddy’s helping out with the coronation, so you, young sir, are going to help me to prepare some treats for her after your breakfast!”

I shrugged as I proceeded to tuck in to my breakfast, rolling my eyes with a chuckle as I listened to my mother continue to ramble on in the kitchen.

“Who knows? You just might grow wings and become an alicorn too! Prince Shadow Sparkle! Doesn’t that sound beautiful?!”

I highly think that’s impossible, mom, I thought to myself as I took a bunch of hay with my fork.

-Just before the Coronation-

"Luna?”

Princess Luna snapped out of her thoughts as she turned to see Princess Celestia standing beside her, concern evident on her face. “Are you alright? You seem quite distant, lately? Something about Twilight becoming princess?” Luna wanted to say that she was alright like she always did, but she soon realized that doing so was not the wisest of moves because Celestia would only get more concerned for her. Deciding that this was not really such a private matter, she sighed and surrendered.

"I am happy for Twilight, dear sister, and I have nothing against her. But I just feel really… Lonely. I know I have a caring sister and a few friends in Ponyville, Tia, but I yearn for something more. I have a faint memory of a young unicorn colt that was not scared of me back when I was Nightmare Moon. I helped him out then, but I do not remember who he is or where I met him-"

"And you want him as a student." Celestia finished for Luna, and the lunar princess nodded, slightly surprised at how easily her sister could read her thoughts. "Like Twilight and I. You want to be close to somepony, and you want to be his tutor. I know what you wish for because I know that loneliness, sister. After that day, I was probably as lonely as you, maybe even lonelier. Being a tutor of a pony requires much patience and care, Lulu, but don’t worry: I trust that you have the abilities to have a student of your own." Celestia felt a smirk play across her muzzle as she saw the stunned state of her sister, and she began walking off. " I mean every word, Luna. Anyway, are you still coming? The new princess is here."

Luna started to walk little faster to catch up to Celestia, just in time for the doors of the room to open to reveal a lavender alicorn with a slightly nervous smile on her face as she rubbed her hooves against each other.

"Hello Princesses." Twilight greeted. “Great day for us, huh?”

“Indeed it is, Princess Twilight!” Luna and Celestia moved forward to embrace the new alicorn, who blushed as she returned the gesture. “Let us be the first to welcome you to alicornhood, princess.”

“Congratulations, Princess Twilight. You make me proud to be your mentor.” Princess Celestia could not suppress a giggle as she saw Twilight wince at that new title, and she playfully chastised her. “I expect you to fully accept your new title, princess. No excuses!” With that, the three alicorns shared a moment of laughter.

During the Coronation -

"Where is she...? Where is she...?"

Standing from the cave, I continued scanning the castle, knowing that I was the only pony who had the best view of the castle. However, when I still failed to see where my sister was, I was beginning to wonder if I should have joined my parents in the crowd. I felt myself wince as I looked down from the cave as the normally grey and green colors of the castle courtyard was now a chaotic mix of colors resulting from the coats of everypony who attended. Luckily, I didn’t need to go searching through there for my sister, because soon enough, she walked out with two other alicorns onto the balcony.

The thunderous mix of cheers and echoes blocked my own attempts to catch the attention of my sister as she waved her hoof to the population in the courtyard. It only took a few more moments before the dark blue alicorn beside her looked up in my direction and pointed my position out to Twilight. My sister’s grin widened as she saw me excitedly waving about to her, and she waved back. Satisfied that she had seen me, I allowed myself to look back at the dark blue alicorn, and I nodded my thanks to her, unable to shake the feeling that she just looked so familiar.

I had more than enough time to pursue that thought as the three alicorns walked off from the balcony for the rest of the coronation, and I only snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the sound of wing beats, followed by the sound of hooves meeting stone. I turned around, expecting to see Twilight, but the pony standing beside me was none other than that dark blue alicorn that pointed me out to Twilight just now.

"Beautiful aren't they?" I turned to see where her gaze was focused on, and I mentally berated myself for zoning out for such a long time. The fireworks were already being released, and Celestia knows how much of the display I missed just because I was thinking about the mare before me!

"Yeah! It's... Awesome. I always enjoyed watching fireworks!" She gave a nod of agreement, and I immediately shifted aside, offering her some space to sit down to watch the luminous explosions in the sky. She was royalty, after all, and it was only right that I treated her with the honor she was due. "It's a really good view from here, princess. Nopony else except one other alicorn knows this place, so there's no crowd here." She laughed as she accepted the spot I freed up for her, and for the next few moments, we sat together, watching fireworks. With her being a princess, however, truly relaxing and enjoying myself here was going to be quite impossible. I couldn't help but keep sneaking glances in her direction, and I noticed that she too, had not let her mane down. "Is there... Something wrong, princess?"

Luna looked at me and then asked. "This alicorn... She didn't happen to be Nightmare Moon, did she?" The word Nightmare did sound familiar, as it was what that black alicorn introduced herself as, although she never told me her full name. Thinking that we had the same pony in mind, I nodded, and I instantly felt regret start entering me as Princess Luna seemed to tense up even more. Where was she going with this?

"She didn't do anything to hurt you, did she?" She asked with concern, making me wonder about why she cared so much about my well-being. Her duty was to look after her subjects, but this one-on-one attention was more than concern for citizens. It was as if she took this really personally. "Did she, young colt?"

"Not really." I answered, left clueless as I watched her sink back into a much more composed demeanor. "In fact, she actually helped me out by giving me her magic!" Whether it was about me encountering Nightmare Moon or anything else, I wouldn't know, but after saying that to her, she immediately seemed to take an interest in me.

"Our name is Luna, the princess of the night! And what is yours, young colt?"

"My name is Shadow." I replied

Luna and I spent the night talking and sharing stories with each other, watching fireworks until I felt my eyelids start to get heavy. Her stories were entertaining and interesting, but the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll on me. Something about her made me feel safe and like I was already home, and that seemed to be all the incentive my spirit needed to make me fall asleep by her side.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying down against the soft cushions of a bed. Looking around as I slowly got up to stand on my hooves, it didn't take long to deduce that I was back in my room. The idea of how I had managed to arrive safely back at home while I was asleep eluded me, but I settled for the answer that Princess Luna had taken me home instead of leaving me by the cave's entrance. I looked to my dresser table, but found that my alarm clock was nowhere in sight. Sighing in exasperation at being unable to tell the time, I opted to move to the window to see the starry sky outside.

That is, if somepony had not suddenly stood in my way. The stallion was twice my size, with a jet black coat and fangs potruding from his mouth. As if that didn't make him look predatorial enough, I looked to his eyes, gasping in shock as I realized his sclera was not white, but dyed a sick green instead that made him look like what I can only describe as "demonic".

"Who are you?" My words were barely a whisper, but the stallion chuckled nevertheless, apparently able to hear my awestruck gasp.

"I should have remembered how silly you were, Shadow." He raised his hooves to gesture to himself, a smug grin pasted on his fear-worthy face. "Don't you even recognize yourself, you dolt?" I looked him over, starting to see a few similarities between our forms (the obvious difference in size was the biggest difference, of course), but I couldn't bring myself to accept it. How do I even look like that?! This was impossible!

"But I'm here!" I protested weakly, my fear of how potentially dangerous this stallion was getting the better of me. "I couldn't-"

"Give it time and you will end up like me." The other me said as he stalked towards me. "The darkness will consume you, Shadow, and you will become more powerful than you realize!"

"Stay away! I will never become like you!" I yelled as I backed up against a wall. The stallion never gave up on his task of cornering me, and I could only backpedal, panic filling me as I felt the wall meet with my back. I thought I could feel the wall mocking me for being the weak colt I was, unable to even stand up against myself.

"Ohh, you can say that as much as you want, Shadow... but trust me that you will become like me in every way. In time, my friend. Just you wait..." The other me said with a manic grin. By then, he was towering over me, and I felt a tear slip from my eyes as just the fearful sight of him threatened to break my mind. "There will be a war against Celestia, Shadow. You will know what is right and fight against her. Make no mistake, Shadow: this peace that you think you know of is only a temporary facade." The other Shadow said as we where face to face.

"Help." My voice was trembling uncontrollably as I sniffed out the rancid stench that was his breath. He was obviously displeased about my meekness, because he began growling.

"You'd better learn confidence by now, Shadow. Speak up! What'd you say?" No time like the present, of course. Following his advice, I drew in a large breath, and with all my might, I shouted out a single word.

"HELP!"

As if it was some sort of magic word, everything in front of me suddenly shattered like glass, and the scenery changed: I found myself floating in the sky, treated to the sight of mountains, trees, and even a couple of lakes. The entrancing view only had me enchanted for a moment before realization dawned on me like a crashing wave: I had no wings! For the third time within such a short duration, the same word left my mouth as I felt gravity begin pulling me downwards.

"Help!"

"Calm my child." In the midst of the screaming wind as I rapidly lost altitude, a still, small voice reached my ears, and I felt my fall cut itself short as soon as I laid eyes on the mare who caught me: It was Princess Luna.

"Do not worry, Shadow. This nightmare is mostly untrue. You will not turn into the monster that you saw under the right guidance." She spoke soothingly as she released me at the entrance of the cave which the both of us were at before I fell asleep. "We've actually met a few years ago, Shadow. The pony that gave you her magic, Nightmare Moon; that was me, Shadow."

"How?" I questioned, unentirely sure if I could just trust a claim like that. Both had something to do with the night of course, but was that enough to go by? Was that why Princess Luna appeared to be so familiar even when I saw her for the first time? "No offense, your highness, but you don't exactly look like her at all, other than the cutie mark being some shades lighter."

Luna sighed before she answered. "A thousand years ago, life for me was so awful then. I truly thought that nopony appreciated the night that I gave them, but that they only admired the day. My sister was sure to tell me otherwise then, that ponies needed my night and that they loved it, even if they never said a word. Being the spiteful mare back then, the jealously from my sister and her day was getting the best of me, so I transformed into Nightmare Moon out of pure hatred and jealousy. Although I still loathed her for sending me to the moon then, I didn't realize that I had left my sister with so much more pressure. Till this day, I still feel guilty about the stress I put upon my sister just because I was too caught up with myself."

Hearing her story, I couldn't help but sympathize with her. "If it's any comfort, princess, you weren't the only one that felt like they weren't appreciated. I get overlooked quite often too, with my brother being a prince and my sister being Princess Celestia's very own student."

"And it is most commendable that you did not bow down to a desire to harm them, Shadow." Luna smiled reassuringly at me as she gave me a pat on the head. Something about her just made me feel so peaceful, and I couldn't help but smile too. "Back to my story, I came back a thousand years later. I arrived at the cave to find that I had somepony to accompany me, and you, my dear Shadow Sparkle, had made my cold heart warm again. You actually appreciated my night, and that was why I helped you with your magic then. What I find to be most intriguing is your ability to naturally subdue the dark magic that I had infused with you too. I made a bond with you that night, Shadow, and now that I am back here with a clear mind, I see that I can still give you the offer of a lifetime." I found myself puzzled as to what she was saying, opting to stay quiet to let her elaborate.

"Shadow Sparkle, how would you like to be my student?"

Luna's Student Part 2

I woke up with a start, panting lightly as I waited for my dream-induced adrenaline rush to ebb away. This was unlike any other dream I had, really: I couldn’t remember when I had ever had a dream so vivid that I didn’t even realise I was in it until I woke up. Now that realization had set in, I found myself positively miffed at my thoughts running a million miles per hour. Was rest seriously that hard to attain? I looked around me, finding that, to my surprise, I was not at the cave either. I was lying in my own bed in my own house, but who brought me here-

“Shadow!” Boy, does that voice sound familiar… Yet so strange… That was the same voice that never failed to wake me up every morning, whether it came from the kitchen or by my room’s doorway, but this time, her voice lacked its usual bubbliness. I turned my tired gaze towards her, about to bargain for a time extension for my sleep-deprived self when she added on. “We have a guest, Shadow, and she’s looking for you.”

It eluded me on just who this guest was, but knowing that it was common sense and courtesy to not keep one waiting, I got out of bed, excused myself for a few minutes to look more presentable and headed down the stairs to the dining room. I heard three familiar voices having a rather solemn conversation (judging from how hushed their voices were), but I never expected to find myself in the presence of Princess Luna, who was sitting with my parents at the dining table. As if on instinct, I made a move to bow, but Princess Luna merely asked me to get up and join them for a cup of coffee with a giggle, something that I was more than willing to comply with.

"Hello Princess Luna." I greeted, trying to hide my confusion at her uninvited appearance.

"Well, Shadow. Princess Luna has been talking about you, and I'm so proud of you!" I only looked on in confusion as my parents and Princess Luna gave me an approving smile. "She's giving you a chance to be her very own student!"

'Wait... That wasn't that a dream?" I asked with no small amount of confusion. The last twenty four hours were driving me crazy, to be honest. I was not even sure if I was still dreaming or not!

"It was a dream, Shadow. As the princess of the night, I have the ability to enter the dreams of my subjects, something you ponies call dream jumping." Luna explained to me before turning back to my parents. "Back to what I was saying now that Shadow is awake: I would like to take your son to Canterlot Castle as my personal student, and I shall only do so if I have your permission to tutor him." I felt my heart stop even though I'd heard her offer once already, possibly because I was hearing this for real. I looked over to my parents who had their jaws slack in surprise for a moment. Their stupor was quickly replaced with excitement as they enthusiastically nodded.

"Of course you can, Princess!" They both were close to yelling from sheer happiness. The only other times that I saw them that excited was when Shining Armor got married, when Twilight had been accepted as Celestia's own personal student (even though they just recovered from being turned into potted plants), and during Twilight's coronation. Judging from their looks, they were probably as proud of me as they were of my siblings now.

"My thanks to the both of you." Luna gave a smile to accompany her curt nod. "Go pack whatever you need, Shadow: You'll be staying in the student quarters for the duration of your studies."

I hurried back to my room to grab my saddlebags and some other belongings, including a picture of Mom, Dad, Twilight, Shining Armor, and I on a camping trip back when I was 7 years old. Just the sight of it brought a wave of nostalgia as I wandered off in my memories...

"Shining Armor? Can you go get some firewood?" Dad asked as we huddled around the warm campfire that he had built. Of course, if we wanted the fire to last longer, we needed more fuel, and our supply of firewood was running low. Shining nodded and got up to leave.

"Can I go with Shiny?" Twilight and I asked in unison just before Shining left.

"Ask your brother." Dad shrugged, causing the both of us to turn towards Shining Armor, silently waiting for his consent.

"Of course you two can come!" Shining said with an smile. "But we don't tolerate slackers, so if you're coming along, you help carry firewood too, alright?"

We walked with Shining Armor to the forest to gather dry sticks and logs to maintain the fire. It felt so peaceful then: the relatively quiet atmosphere and the chilly air was so calming, and it was near impossible not to keep holding on to your troubles in your mind.

"Well, look what we have here... It's an apple tree!" Shining exclaimed as he plucked one of its fruit off. Before that day, I used to love apples so much so that it actually was one of my favorite fruits and that was why I quickly hurried to Shiny's side. He used his magic to pick the apple and gave it to me, but as soon as I took a bite, I spat it out with disgust as its dry and bitter taste assaulted my taste buds. "Is there something wrong with them?" He asked, trotting up to take the apple from me and sniffing it. He turned it about and took a bite of his own, with the same results. He picked another apple from the tree to examine it (whilst muttering about how horrible that apple tasted), and with a small defeated hum, he motioned us to continue onwards. "Sorry Shadow. We got a bad apple tree this time. Better luck next time, huh?"

"Shiny! I found some logs over here!" Twilight called from ahead of us. Both Shining Armor and I went over to Twilight to grab the logs. I put a few logs on my back because I was unable to use my magic to lift them then while Shining Armor and Twilight used their magic to carry loads of logs.

I was slightly mad for his lack of observation that night, but I didn't mind it as long as we were together. After all, how much sense would it make to be angry at your brother for making a minor mistake?

"Shadow? Shadow, dear, are you almost done packing?" Mom shouted, snapping me out of my memories. "Princess Luna is waiting!" I heard her continue speaking, probably talking to Princess Luna. "I am sorry for making you wait, Princess. Do you want me to fetch him down?"

"There is no need for that." Luna answered back, "Leave him be, Twilight Velvet, we are in no rush. Besides, it is good enough for me that you two have given me the permission to teach him."

"Please, Princess Luna, the honor is all ours. He is a good colt, and I assure you that he won't be a burden." Dad said as I trotted down the stairs, my saddlebags now packed and ready. When he saw me, I felt slight dread as he smirked. "Although in all honesty, he does have quite the wild imagination. It was a few years ago, during the Summer Sun Celebration. Shadow came back past midnight claiming that some dark alicorn gave him a portion of her magic."

Princess Luna nervously chuckled, not knowing if she should tell them that it actually wasn't a lie. Instead, she opted for looking at my saddlebags, stuffed full of pictures and other items that had no relation to studying at all, such as the necklace my grandpa Lamp gave me. "What? I brought my stationary!" I defended, levitating out a few covered inkwells, pencils and quills. "The rest are stuff with sentimental value, don't need to know much else!" That caused Princess Luna to giggle as she draped a wing over me, and the both of us said our goodbyes to a pair of overjoyed parents.

"Well, Shadow? Shall we get a move on? I want to give you a tour of the castle before nightfall at the very least." As the both of us moved to our destination, I couldn't hide the wide grin of my face. My parents finally had reason to be proud of me, and that made me happy.

By the time we finally made it to the castle, Princess Luna had a wide grin on her muzzle. She could barely contain a excited squeal as we went past the castle gates where two guards stood with stoic expressions. As for me, to say that I was excited was also an understatement: despite seeing the castle so many times before, I had never seen the castle interior before, and as if that wasn't awesome enough, THE Princess Luna was giving me a tour of the place!

As soon as we entered the castle, Luna was quick to speed off to begin her tour, and I broke into a sprint just to keep up. Room by room, wing by wing, Princess Luna gave a quick overview of every place before shooting off to the next one, and it was only then that I could appreciate Shining Armor's strenuous training schedule for me. I was winded by the time we stopped in front of the place she introduced as the throne room.

Luna pushed the doors open with her magic, and I immediately felt my breath leave me as the beauty of the place came into view. The many stained glass windows and tapestries caused the room to be bathed in an array of colors, yet none of them ever clashed with one another. It took me a few moments of stunned, silent admiration before I realized that Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne with a friendly smile on her muzzle.

"Well, hello there, young colt. I trust that you've been enjoying the sights of the castle?" I nodded wordlessly, still lost within the dazzling, harmonious blend of colors that resulted from the sunlight penetrating the stained glass windows to realize that I was in the company of royalty. "And hello to you too, sister."

"Hello Celestia. I would like you to meet Shadow Sparkle, my personal student." Luna said with her gaze on me. I felt my heart flutter from the pride that was positively radiating from her. However, realization finally did hit me, and I found that being the center of attention of two of the most important ponies in Equestria did make me quite nervous.

"How old are you, Shadow?" Celestia asked.

"I am fifteen." I replied, my anxiety convincing me that the ground was so much more interesting to examine. To my relief, Celestia soon turned her attention back to her sister.

"Remember, Luna: Being a teacher takes a lot of responsibility and patience. He is at the age where his magical abilities will experience a major change, and that change will only make him stronger. If he is not tutored, his magic will start controlling him instead of him controlling it." Celestia said to her sister, and Luna had her head tilted down in slight pondering. "But I do believe that you will make an excellent teacher, Luna. Fear not, Luna, I have confidence. As for you, Shadow, please try your best to not burden my sister. She has quite the temper."

"Tia!" Princess Celestia chuckled as she waved a glaring Luna and I off. Luna did not need to be told twice to ask me to follow her to the left door of the room if it meant getting away from further potential blackmail. I followed Luna (who seemed to be trotting faster than she did before) to a room, and I found myself satisfied with the basic furniture of a bed, dresser, and nightstand.

"Here is your room." Luna ushered me in, levitating my saddlebags off from my bag for me. "Quite simple, really, but I assure you that it is adequate."

"Tell her I'm sorry, Shadow." I paused at the doorway as soon as I heard the foreign voice that just seemed so familiar. I looked to Luna to see if she heard the voice, but the smile that she wore on her face had not changed one bit, leading me to just conclude that I was only tired after the crazy nightmares of the day. After all, what did I have to apologize for? If I recalled my day, I hadn't done anything wrong. Besides, I had a bedroom in Canterlot Castle, and my teacher was THE Princess Luna; I was too excited to let some voice that could have very well been my imagination ruin my day, so I kept quiet about it.

"I will show you where we will begin your studies at." Luna said with a smile, blissfully unaware of the mental growling that I was becoming increasingly aware of.

"Tell her I am sorry, you foal. Tell her now!" The voice in my head snarled. I tried to appear as if nothing unusual was going on, but it seemed to be a losing battle as I started feeling lightheaded. I struggled to stay conscious, but it was becoming increasingly harder as my hooves felt like they were lead. "I don't have the time to play games with you, Shadow! Give me control!"

I let out a barely audible grunt as a major migraine hit me. I clenched my eyes shut in pain, but when I opened them I was in shock. The weightlessness that had encompassed me was explained as I found myself staring at my body, still conscious and breathing heavily.

"Luna." My body said, leaving me at a loss for words as I struggled for a logical explanation for this. How was this even happening?! It's impossible!

"Yes, Shadow?" Luna turned around, and upon seeing my physical body looking as if it was going to tumble onto the ground, she levitated it onto the bed with concern. "Are you alright, my student?"

The body opened its eyes, and I felt my train of thoughts break once again in surprise:Those slitted, predatorial eyes... They belonged to that alicorn I met four years ago!

"Luna I-I-" Her concern immediately turned into trepidation as she moved closer and took my body into a frantic embrace. How my body could still find a way to wrench itself out from Luna's grasp, I wouldn't know.

"What happened to you, Shadow?! No no no, this couldn't be happening!" Luna's horn glowed as she brought her horn towards my body, but once again, my body stood clear. It was safe to say that it was Nightmare Moon who was controlling me, and as if to confirm my fears, she spoke her name out loud.

"Luna, its me: Nightmare Moon."

"Nightmare...? I look for my very first student, and you have the nerve to take his body for your own?!" Her expression darkened quickly, and I silently thanked Nightmare for having the instinct of keeping my physical form alive. The thought of roaming the spiritual realm didn't sit too well with me. "Why are you still here, you scum?! I thought the elements had gotten rid you!"

"Luna please stop this! Don't harm Shadow's body, for he is still here! Give me time, and I shall explain!" Nightmare pleaded as she fell off the bed to dodge a beam of magic that shot off from the lunar princess' horn. Nightmare let out a yelp as my body got encompassed in Luna's magical aura, and she restrained Nightmare against the bed, demanding a clear answer from her. "The Elements of Harmony were never meant to destroy, Princess Luna. Right when I was separated from you, I was sent to this colt weakened and tired. I watched from his point of view as he lived his life, and when I saw how much he appreciated the night, I realised something."

Luna's scowl lightened up to a neutral state, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. "And what would that be?"

"I should have never made you get so angry. You created me for support but when all the jealous and anger had overcome you. I should have stopped it." Nightmare Moon stared forlornly at Luna, a tear falling from the eye of my body. "I am sorry, Luna. I never should have done that to you."

"I forgive you, Nightmare Moon, under the condition that you help Shadow and prevent him from falling into the same state that I did back then." Luna said, something that Nightmare Moon nodded to. In an instant, everything went black. I felt dizzy as I forced my eyes open, and Luna was in front of me with concern.

"Are you alright, Shadow?" Luna asked after checking me over once again.

"Y-yeah... I think I should be alright." I muttered out loud as I groaned, a slight throb in my head reminding me of the events that had just transpired. "Did all that really happen, princess?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But you don't have to fear, Shadow. Nightmare Moon never lies, and if she wants a change of heart, a second chance should be given. In the meantime, I shall give you some time to settle down in your new room." Luna, although slightly hesitant, nodded and headed towards the door, but not before turning back for a moment. "Oh yes, if you wish to, you can watch me raise the moon tonight. Just ask any of the castle staff to bring you to my room, and I will see you by the balcony." With a gentle smile, she left the room, leaving me to my own devices, as well as a strangely quiet being residing within me.

Once I began unpacking, I levitated the camping picture and necklace out onto the nightstand before the next thing I produced from the bag was a neatly rolled up scroll. "I remember this." I muttered to myself as I unrolled it. "I was going to give it to Twilight on her coronation day, but I must've forgotten about it.

Dear Twilight,

I finally passed my magic kindergarten test, and dad said for my reward is that we are going to a Wonderbolts show! I'm really excited about it, but more than that, I really miss you Twilight. Hopefully I will see you soon. How is Ponyville, by the way? I heard its a small village with earth ponies and pegasi. It would be really awesome if you could meet up with us and share your stories with us then! Hope to see you soon!

Love,

Shadow

I sighed as I rolled up the scroll and put it on my dresser, but I picked it up when a rather obvious realization hit me: why did I even think that sending it to her was impossible? I had the two strongest ponies nearby, and they knew who Twilight was! Of course they could send it for me!

With that thought in mind, I picked the scroll up and exited the room. Since it was still daytime, I headed for the throne room, hoping that Princess Celestia was still there. As I walked past the pantry, however, a voice calling my name stopped me.

"Shadow." Much to my relief, the voice was friendly and gentle, and more importantly, it was not coming from my mind. I peeked my head into the pantry to find Princess Celestia sitting there eating a hay and cheese sandwich.

"Hello Princess Celestia." I said nervously, earning a chuckle from her.

"Please, Shadow. You are my sister's student. Such a close position you hold to her gives you permission to drop the title. Call me Celestia." I nodded, complying with her wish for me to wait for her to finish up her snack. Once she did, we began trotting towards where I could only guess was their rooms. "You wanted to find my sister to watch her raise the moon, yes?" I nodded before I produced the scroll and gave it to her.

"I actually wanted to send Twilight this letter two years ago, but seeing how she was always so busy, I never did get to send it to her." Celestia unrolled the scroll and briefly read through it as we continued trotting. "I know it's really outdated, but she loves capturing our moments with the letters we write to each other."

"Such an interesting and touching concept you two have there." Celestia giggled, stopping right outside her room's door with the letter in her telekinetic grasp. "Don't worry, Shadow. I will make sure that this letter gets to your sister, as well as the original date that the letter was written on. Now, I do believe Luna is waiting for you by the balcony. Don't keep her waiting!"

I thanked Celestia for helping me before speeding off towards the balcony where Luna was, standing regally, but still with that gentle smile as she saw me. With her wing draped over me, I told myself that life was going to be so much better as I watched the moon take its place in the sky.

A New Friend

"Ugh..." I moaned, my face slapping against the magic tome in lying in front of me. "Is there anything to do?"

A week had passed since I had first moved to the castle and started studying magic under Princess Luna's. However, when your teacher had peculiar sleeping hours from six in the morning to five in the evening, getting bored was definitely bound to happen. It was pretty understandable since she was the princess of the night, but there was nothing to do but ready to spend the time. Unlike Twilight, I was not that entertained by books. I do like reading from time to time, but I'd rather go do something outside. Anything but books, thank you very much.

I trotted around my room, only to have my attention drawn by a conversation that was going on outside the window (partly because my room was quite near ground level). When I looked outside the window, I saw some royal guards going through a door on the far left of the castle.

"That must be where they train." I said to myself as I cast a bubble shield spell. "I wonder if I can go over there and get some extra practice." With some apprehension, I made my way to the barracks, bracing myself for the strict demeanors of the guards that Shining warned me about.

Once I had reached my destination, I opened the door, finding that the room was surprisingly empty. Trotting over to one of the practice dummies in the room, I picked up a conveniently placed sword, taking my time to examine the both of them. The dummy was full of gashes from what could only be from the sword, but as I turned my gaze to the wooden blade, I began to wonder just how they had managed to leave such deep cuts on the dummy with such a blunt and dull blade. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't realize that I finally had company.

"Put the weapon down, kid." I heard a deep stern voice said from behind me, causing me to let out an undignified yelp as I twisted around to face a stallion who gave me the hardest glare I had ever seen in my whole life. The training sword was quick to fall out of my telekinetic grasp and clatter to the ground. "This is a restricted area, kid. Only residents of the castle are allowed to enter the barracks. Now if you don't mind, I need your name to contact your parents."

"I'm sorry about that." I tried giving a chuckle to try to lighten the mood, but seeing the same harsh glare from him silenced me. "Uhh... The name's Shadow Sparkle, and my parents are Night Light and Twilight Velvet."

At the mention of my parents' names, his glare seemed to soften to a neutral expression. "Sparkle, huh? You don't happen to be related to Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle, do you?" Sensing that he was no longer hostile towards me, I decided to push my opportunity.

"I am, actually." I quickly nodded, unable to stop a proud smile from reaching my muzzle. "And I'm also the-"

"Sorry, kid. Security protocols and whatnot." He interrupted me as he began escorting me out of the room. I reluctantly followed, not wanting to rouse Princess Luna's anger if she found me in the dungeons when she woke up. "Residents only, nopony else."

"But I am a resident here!" I protested, although I continued following him towards the exit of the barracks. "I'm princess Luna's personal student and I live at the student quarters!" The incredulous look he gave me silenced me, and I followed him until he stopped. I looked around, recognizing the castle interior. "End of the line?"

"Eeyup. If you ever wanna come back here for a tour, bring princess Luna along." The guard smiled as he waved me off. "Then you can ask the guards to call General Swift Slash for a personal tour!"

"Nice to meet you, General." I muttered before leaving, wishing that my luck went better. With my entrance to the barracks now barred, I headed for the Canterlot Gardens, knowing that nopony had reason to remove me from there. I would practice my magic there, especially for teleportation, because that was what Princess Luna was going to test me the next lesson.

Ugh... Just the thought of the imminent test, coupled with how I had failed to cast the spell so many times was enough to make my horn ache. Nevertheless, following Twilight's advice that practice makes perfect, I began funneling my magic into my horn as I visualized another part of the gardens. I grunted as I felt resistance begin building up, but I willed for myself to continue persevering.

It took a few more seconds of sweat pouring from my forehead before a split second of weightlessness followed. I opened my eyes as soon as I felt hard ground under me, and the sight before me made a grin appear on my muzzle. The tulips that stood before me weren't there just a moment ago, and the sudden change in humidity could only mean one thing.

I had teleported!

I let out a loud whoop of victory as I pumped my hooves in the air. My first time teleporting successfully! This was a cause of celebration for me, but like a cruel twist of fate, my victory was cut short as I heard a mare screaming, "Watch Out!"

I looked up just in time to see a light blue pegasus with a red and orange mane flying towards me at top speed before the pain of impact shot through me. I quickly got up from the ground, although I was still in a huge daze. It took me a while before I realized that the Pegasus was unmoving on the ground. Fearing the worst, I stumbled up towards her in a hurry, but my fears quickly dissipated as she groaned out an apology.

"It's alright, miss. I'm fine enough, I guess." I lied, still wobbling slightly. "I'm more worried about you, miss. Are you alright?"

"Just a scratch on my side, and possibly a concussion." She said, wincing as she revealed a scratch on her left side. "It's not that bad, really. My name's Sky Breeze, by the way. What's yours?"

"My name is Shadow Sparkle." I looked up to the sky, giving her a puzzled look when I looked up to see that there wasn't a race going on. "No offense, but: what's the mad rush? There's no race going on here, is there?"

"Oh yeah... No race going on, but that doesn't mean a Pegasus can't practice speed!" She exclaimed, raising a hoof in determination. "I'm going to be the fastest cloud kicker that the weather pony patrol will ever see!"

"So how fast are you right now?" I asked, trying my best to hide my doubt.

"Well I can fly fast but..." She chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head, eliciting a wince from herself. "I tend to lose control."

"Oh I see." I said, hiding the sympathy that I held for her. Pegasi never really wanted to be sympathized with, and I knew better than to mistakenly arouse her anger at undermining her abilities. "You wanna go get a smoothie?"

"That would be nice." She said after giving my offer a moments thought. "I can always work off the calories later on!"

Sky and I walked to the closest smoothie store there was, and although all we did to pass the time was to chat and get to know each other better, I enjoyed it throughly. Hours flew by for me, until the chime of a clock reminded sounded, remembrance dawning on me that I had to be back at the castle at four. Glancing at the clock outside, I nearly upset the balance of my smoothie when I took notice of the time.

"Sweet Celestia! It's ten minutes to four!"

"What's up at four, Shadow? Something big?" Sky asked, tilting her head in confusion as I quickly finished the rest of my smoothie.

"I gotta go back and study." I replied, rushing for the exit. "I'll see you next time, yeah?" She giggled as she waved back at me.

"Yep. Until we meet again, Shadow. Bye!"

As quickly as my hooves could take me, I hurried back to the castle, dread filling my very being as I found myself at a conjunction. Although the castle was connected, one of them was the faster route of the two, and seeing that I only had five minutes left (thanks to a conveniently placed clock), I had to choose, fast.

"Hmm... Which is the right way to take..." Not too far away, I heard the chime of a bell, and with a grunt of frustration, I took off in the first direction that popped into my head. "I'm sure the right way's right!"

As if somepony was trying to remind me of how late I was as I ran about, every corner of the castle seemed to have a conveniently placed clock. By the time I was sure to stumble upon a fuming princess Luna, I took notice that I was back at where I started, at the same conjunction. However, if I wasn't as frantic as I was, I would have seen that the library was the first door to the left. Without the time to even slap a hoof against my face, I charged into the library, only to see Princess Luna sitting on one of the lounge chairs with a pair of reading glasses balanced stop her muzzle. Her expression was neutral, and I felt trepidation well up within me when I tried to guess the emotion that she was hiding. "About time, young colt. You do remember what our class rules were, don't you?"

"I'm sorry Princess Luna! I-" Luna raised a hoof before I could finish, and I swallowed my words with a gulp.

"It's quite alright, Shadow. You're a young colt after all. Surely you need some... Feminine company, don't you?" She winked playfully at me, and a smirk played at her lips. It was as if she already knew who I was with.

"She's just a friend." I protested, much to her amusement. "She accidentally lost control while flying and crashed into me."

"I know, I know. I saw the whole thing." Luna replied with a giggle as she watched my cheeks flush Crimson with embarrassment.

"Can we start please?" I begged. "Lesson time sounds more interesting than this!"

"If that is what you wish, Shadow." She chuckled as she led the way to one of the desks where a pile of books lay. I failed to stifle a groan as I caught sight of the smirk on her face which conveyed a silent message: "I got you good, Shadow."

PonyVille

"Alright, Shadow. Remember what I showed you: Keep calm, and stay vigilant." Luna said as she charged up a beam. This was the ninth time today that I was attempting to protect myself against a simple stunning bolt, and my mentor was obviously concerned for my safety as she could easily see the fatigue that I tried to hide from her. My words of assurance that I could take the stress had been betrayed by my heavy panting ever since my fifth try, but Luna was still willing to let me try. “Are you ready?”

Trying my best to shake away the temptation to collapse on the spot, I dug my hooves into the ground and cast a purple shield with what little magic I could muster. "I'm ready." I muttered through my clenched jaw, occasionally tilting off-balance as I waited for Luna to shoot. Maybe the third time was not the charm, but I was sure that I would be able to do it this time. “Bring it on!”

It had all happened so fast right after that: With a last pause of hesitance, Luna fired off her magic right at me. The bolt suddenly appeared so much more terrifying than it did in my mind, and unconsciously, my shield began faltering. In another rush to protect myself, I quickly poured more magic into the shield, but it was no match for the bolt that shattered it on impact. As if the shockwave of the shield breaking was not enough to throw me off balance, the bolt had continued in its path without slowing down at all, hitting me square in the chest a second later. I hardly registered the pain as I tumbled a few feet from my original position, but I was still quick to get back up on to my hooves.

“Okay…” I muttered to myself as I grunted, popping another shield into existence, although even a blind pony could tell that it was as thin as a sheet of paper. “Maybe the ninth time didn’t work, but I can’t keep failing… Right?”

My self-assurance was doing little to help me, but I forced myself to keep my shield up even as Luna trotted next to me with a bottle of water: A gesture that meant that I was to stop training for the day. This would be one of the rare times that I was actually unenthusiastic about finishing magic training, but who could blame me? I was so close to proving to her that I had done my shield-casting perfectly!

“Rest now, Shadow.” Luna waved the bottle in front of me, tempting me to let down my shield, but I shook my head, causing her to let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Shadow. Do you really need me to reiterate the dangers of magic overuse? We have already agreed on not spending a week in the castle infirmary because you pushed yourself too hard, haven’t we?”

“But I know I’ve gotten it this time, Luna!” I protested, silently cursing at my body for quivering in weakness. “Just one more try?”

“I-" Taking the chance to exploit her hesitance, I gave her a teary-eyed frown which was fortunately quick to cause her to change her mind. "Alright, fine. One more try, Shadow, but please do not strain yourself too much.” I grinned in gratitude, a smug smirk of confidence slowly replacing my joy as my shield thickened itself. “Are you ready?” I nodded with confidence as I watched her horn glow again, but I found myself shocked as she hurled my bottle at me instead. A projectile that travelled slower than a magic bolt was still capable of shattering my shield and bopping me on the muzzle, and I found myself stupefied as I slumped to the ground in defeat. Without anything to distract me, it was only right then that I took notice of my aching body.

“You do not have to push yourself so hard, Shadow.” Luna tsked playfully as she levitated me onto her back. I was too tired to protest, opting to remain on my mentor’s back as we went back into the castle. Some mild embarrassment was probably better than taxing my sore muscles anyway. “I have full confidence in you that you’d get that spell in no time, dear student, but pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion will not make matters any better.”

The next few moments were filled with silence, except for the clopping of her horseshoes against the marbled floor of the castle. The constant clack of hoof against marble was enough to make my heavy eyelids have a chance to make themselves known if it wasn't for an extra pair of wings beating that caught my attention. Looking up from Luna's back, I caught sight of a familiar guard landing in front of the two of us and saluting.

"Good evening, your highness, and to you too, Shadow." Swift Slash gave a small bow as he spoke. "I really hate to interrupt you at this time, Princess, but there seems to be a small disturbance south-east from here. It's just a small shift of magic, actually, but just to be on the safe side, I'm here to seek your permission to send out a patrol."

"Isn't that Ponyville?" I asked Swift as I consulted my memory. Geography really wasn't my forte, and I wasn't trying to show off or anything like that, but when you had to walk past a map every single day, you were bound to have caught on to some of the locations nearby Canterlot. It would have been a shame if I actually couldn't remember the locations adjacent to the city I lived in.

"Its on the edge of Everfree Forest, Shadow. Nearby Ponyville, but far enough from the town to force you to keep your guard up." At that, Luna paused, allowing me to catch a twinkle in her eyes as she shifted her gaze to me. "Hmm... This sounds like a good opportunity for both a test and visit, does it not?"

My heart felt like it stopped as I digested her words slowly, at a loss on how to even respond. Nevertheless, I managed to stutter out a coherent sentence. "Go to Ponyville a-and see Twilight?"

"Indeed, my dear student. It does not take a fool to see that you miss your sister dearly, but you must not forget that reuniting with your sister is only a privilege you get while you tackle this problem." Luna chirped, stopping outside my room in the castle. "I have full confidence that you will be able to pull your own weight, Shadow, so you can go tonight if Swift Slash has a carriage ready for you."

"Princess I do have a carriage ready with two night guards, but are you sure you want to send your student to Ponyville?"

"Why yes, of course! He hasn't had quality time with his sister for quite a while and this would be a perfect opportunity for him to practice his attacking spells." Luna said as-a-matter-of-factly to Swift Slash, whose look of worry grew more obvious. "Go pack whatever you deem necessary, Shadow. The general and I will be waiting here for you."

I entered my room and immediately began my task of packing, but I couldn't help but eavesdrop on the two of them. "Princess, I understand you want Shadow to visit Princess Twilight, but it really is against my better judgement that we let him just go with such light guarding! What if something is only suppressing its magic to make it look minor? My duty is to keep you and your subjects safe, Princess, but it is also hard to maintain a low profile if we were to have more than a platoon of guards in town." General Swift Slash muttered, failing to keep his voice from being heard by me.

"That is exactly the point, captain. No guards are necessary for this operation, for he will only unlock his true potential if he faces a problem as such." I felt fear clutch at my heart as soon as I heard Luna's words. That was almost equal to sending me to my death if the situation was actually more grave than it appeared to be.

"Shadow..." A familiar voice softly sung my name, causing me to barely suppress a surprised yelp as I looked around for any other living soul besides the princess, the captain and I. "Don't you know that it's rude to be eavesdropping on the conversations of others?" It took a few seconds of confusion before I mentally slapped a hoof on my face, and I headed back to packing my bags.

"Oh, its just you." I thought to myself (thought to her? I don't think the pony language took this part of communication into account). "Mind giving me a heads-up before you scare me like that next time?"

"That does sound reasonable." Nightmare giggled. "That is, if you could stop yourself from even committing a sin for the rest of your life." I rolled my eyes, thinking of just how tiring it was going to be with a voice stuck in my head for the rest of my life. "Maybe I should keep this up since you do not even know how to keep your comments to yourself."

"Oh come on!" I protested in my mind, nearly raising my own hooves to gesture. "I can't possibly not think at all!"

***

In about an hour, I was done packing my bags, and both the captain and Luna had escorted me to a Pegasus-drawn carriage. With wishes for a safe trip and a letter given to me from Princess Luna, the pair of guards took off into the sky, pulling the chariot off the ground with them. I had to admit, though: I was probably going to miss Canterlot for a while, and that included the magic lessons that I had there. At Ponyville, it was going to be a new experience, and I probably was not going to have the time to do any studying with all the chaos that seemed to happen it the town almost every other week.

Of course, I gave my impression of Ponyville the benefit of the doubt. Spike loved exaggerating things, after all, so maybe I just had to experience it first-hoof.

The trip to Ponyville was a short twenty minutes, but it seemed to last longer as I took my time to admire the beauty of the towns against the sunset. Las Pegasus was the last town that the three of us passed by before we reached Ponyville, which was a few more speedy minutes away. However, I found myself puzzled as the swift pair of guards overshot the town, continuing to go straight as if the guard's had fallen asleep whilst their wings did the work.

"Umm... I think we overshot our destination, guys." I offered with the boldness of a newborn lamb. Their stoic glares when I first saw them was enough to make me think twice about chatting with them as they flew, and even as I stuck to my task of reaching my destination, I couldn't shake the fear that I'd offend them in any way. Fortunately for me, no such thing happened, and I was given a reply. "Should we turn around?"

"We are going to land on the outskirts so we don't attract too much attention from the ponies who are trying to sleep." The Pegasus on the left answered, nodding to his partner as they turned and began their descent towards a small clearing that was in the middle of an orchard. At the rate that they shot down towards the ground, I expected a trench to be left in our wake, leaving me quite pleasantly surprised when all I heard was the silent squeak of the chariot's well-oiled wheels. Glad that I had finally reached my destination, I quickly grabbed my small suitcase (whatever I was bringing. I didn't have to pack for much, anyway) and alighted, giving a nod of thanks to the pair of guards. "Follow this path and you should find yourself in Ponyville in just a few minutes. We wish you good luck, Shadow."

I watched the pair as they lifted off and began their journey back to Canterlot, leaving me staring up at the never ending sky filled with Luna's stars that were arranged in a dazzling manner. Out of habit, I settled for sitting under a tree and staring up into the sky, identifying the constellations that accompanied the singular luminous orb that was the moon. I was content right then to just sit there for the rest of the night, but like all good things, my stargazing was brought to an end as my ears picked up the crunching of grass heading towards me. I stood up to face my new company, but the only thing I could make out was the silhouette of a pony.

“Who’s out there?!” I flinched at the hostility of the mare’s southern-accented voice, but I kept my place, waiting for the moonlight to illuminate this pony. It didn’t take long before she came into the clearing, and I was unsurprisingly greeted by a scowl from the stetson-wearing mare. Whatever the reason, she obviously did not like me being here. "Now what the hay do you think you’re doin’ on mah property? If you’re here to steal mah apples, Ah’m only giving you one chance to git!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa wait! I’m not here to steal anything!” I protested, realizing only a moment later that I had backpedaled from her for fear of violence. So much for first impressions... I thought to myself as I felt the start of regretting my participation in this task. “I’m just here to visit my sister Twilight Sparkle! Nothing that concerns being a criminal, I promise.”

"Now that can't be right..." The mare muttered to herself as she looked me over. I swore that I would have withered under her gaze if looks could kill. "Twilight only has one brother, and that's Shining Armor. You tellin' me that she has another sibling that she didn't let us know about again?"

"Um... Yeah?" I offered, making a mental note to give Twilight a piece of my mind later on. Didn't she even let her friends know about her family? What kind of pony wouldn't do such a thing? "I mean c'mon: she didn't even introduce you to Shining before she received his wedding invitation."

"Alrighty then. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but don't you even think of even hurting a single feather on her wings, are we clear? We don't have to buck you to Tartarus, now do we?" Despite the dim lighting, I didn't need to see her clearly to know that she was way too strong for me to escape. Well, it wasn't like I was going to hurt Twilight anyway. Barely suppr seeing a gulp, I nodded, silently following the mare as she brought me out of the orchard and into the deserted streets of Ponyville. "So, Shadow Sparkle. Why are you even visiting at such a late time? Couldn't you wait till morning?"

"I'm... Not exactly an early riser..." I muttered to her. The truth would've been easier to tell, but Twilight did warn me about how crazy this town could get sometimes, so maybe being a plain ol' civilian was for the best. Looking ahead, I could still see that a certain treehouse still had its lights on, and I whistled in awe as the sound of bustling activity within the library reached my ears. "Geez... And I here I was, thinking that libraries were supposed to be quiet."

Getting closer to the treehouse, I could hear Twilight's frantic muttering as books levitated back into their respective places. Unfazed by the chaos that ran rampant in the house, the Orange mare knocked at the door which was answered almost instantly by the alicorn that was my sister.

Her mane and tail were unkempt, and I spotted a few feathers sticking out from her wings at awkward angles. Just the sight of her flustered state was enough for me to guess that she had entered a panic attack just now. "Oh! Hey there, Applejack! And nice to see you again, Shadow!" Twilight chirped, levitating a brush over to comb her mane into some form of order before turning to me. "You didn't give too much trouble to Applejack, did you?"

"He was alright, sugarcube. Just thought he was a wee bit suspicious for loitering about at night. Guess he is your brother then." I trotted over to Twilight's side, giving a nod of thanks to Applejack for bringing me to the library. Sure her company was quite hostile along the way, and we didn't really talk much on amicable terms, but hey: destination is what counts, right? "Well, I guess I can rest easy then. Good night, y'all. This mare's got to get up at the break of dawn, and these hooves ain't gonna rest themselves."

After we had said our goodbyes to Applejack, a few minutes later had seen me standing at the entrance of the guest bedroom with Twilight levitating my suitcase in behind me. Flashing her a grateful smile as we proceeded to unpack my things, I decided to kick up a conversation.

"So... I've only heard stories from you, and no offense to Applejack, but does Ponyville get so crazy that somepony can't even roam on a farm at night without being accused of stealing?" I asked innocently, eliciting a giggle from Twilight.

"Ponyville gets quite crazy, alright." Twilight said as she levitated the rest of the items out, stowing the suitcase underneath the bed. "But Applejack just doesn't like it when ponies try to steal from her. Nothing to do about how this town seems to have something unique happening every other week, though."

It had been such a long time since I had last seen my sister, so it was no wonder that I found myself staying up with her as we exchanged stories and laughter throughout the night.