Dark Star watches his wife, White Rose, move around in the kitchen. Her red mane and tail stand out against her white coat. She was putting together a lunch for the two of them. Her blue eyes lock onto him and she smiles. He smiles back and then glances outside. The sun was out and the flower basket White Rose hung up was in full bloom. A group of foals were playing at the park across from their house.
"Can you help me, dear?" Rose's light voice reaches Dark Star's ears and he glances back at his wife. She was trying to reach the picnic basket on top of the fridge but her hooves could barely not reach. Dark Star jumps up and walks over to her. He plants a quick kiss on her cheek before grabbing the basket off of the fridge.
"What will you do with out me?" He says sadly and looks her in the eye. Her blue eyes turn sad and she hugs him.
"Everything will be ok, Star. I will get a stool. Plus, who knows! You might get over this, its happened before." Star holds his wife close and sighs. "Your illness can be cured."
"Rose, the doctor gave me a year left. We don't even have kids to help you when you need it." His voice quivers some. Rose shakes a little, barely holding in the tears.
"My sister is having children, they will visit a lot. I will be ok! I will! Now, lets get out minds off of this and onto some delicious food that I made for us!" White Star walks over to the basket and starts packing the food into it.
"I love you, White Rose." Dark Star kisses his wife again and helps pack the food in the basket. "I will do anything for you."
The night was a cold, cloudless one. Dark Star makes his was towards the lake just outside of the Empire. There was a small dock leading out into the lake and he shivers as he makes his way to the end it. A gust of wind blows and chills him to the core. Dark Star pushes his white mane out of his eyes and squints them as he looks out towards the center of the lake. The sound of bells reaches his ears. He looks of the side of the dock and sees a small row boat with a bell at the front. Looking around, he jumps into the boat making it rock and a drop of water lands on his harm, making his dark grey coat even darker. He shakes it off and sits in the center.
A dark purple cloud surrounds the boat as it lurches into motion. Within seconds the boat reaches a little island and comes to a stop at another dock. Dark Star jumps out of the boat and looks back over towards the direction he came from. The main land was no where to be seen.
"Hello." Dark Star jumps and looks towards the sound. A black and purple unicorn is standing right in front of him on the dock. "Did I startle you?" The unicorn asks, a wide smile stretches across his face and he cocks his head to the side just a bit. Dark Star takes a step back and clears his throat.
"Urm, hello. My name is Dark Star, I can here to talk to-"
"No no no stop. I already know why you came here!" The unicorn cuts him off. "You have come to see the Dark Prince! That is me." The unicorn takes a bow and stays bent over. Dark Star fidgets and looks behind the unicorn at the dark forest behind him.
"Uh, yes. I have come to see Prince Royal. I have something to ask him." The unicorn stands up and smiles at Dark Star again.
"Follow me." Prince turns and starts to walk into the forest behind him. Star looks around him as he follows and watches as the trees around him seem to be growing at a fast pace. There were purple glowing spots left in Prince's hoof steps.
"And here we are!" Prince turns around to face Star and smiles again. "Welcome to my humble abode!" Dark Star looks around at the trees around him and scuffs his hoof in the dirt.
"Um, there is not house here, just trees." Princes smile fades as he looks around.
"Oh yeah I forgot." His horn glows and all around them the trees start moving, forming walls, leaving spots for windows. Stars jaw drops as he watches Prince form a castle out of the trees around him. "There we are! Welcome to my humble abode! Now lets make our way to my throne room!" Prince spins on his hooves and walks towards the huge double doors the trees had made on the other side of the room. Dark Star follows slowly, still taking in the surroundings. As they reach the doors they open with a flick of Prince's hoof revealing a huge room with a huge throne on the other end. Prince trots up to the throne and takes a seat, his golden eyes watching Dark Star closely.
"So, Dark Star, tell me what it is you came here for?" Star shuffles under the stare of Prince, his eyes looking as if they could see into his very soul.
"I came here to ask your help. I am-" Prince starts laughing hysterically. "Urm.. What is so funny?" Dark Star feels a tinge of anger and impatience with Prince. Prince wipes the tears from his eyes as he regains control over himself. He stands up and walks over to Star, no expression on his face. He starts to walk circles around Dark Star, eyeing him up and down.
"Am I making you mad?" Star stiffens and feels his heart start to race. Prince stops in front of him, his face just inches from Stars. Dark Star swallows and tries to steady his shaking legs. Prince smiles again and drops to the floor laughing. Star takes a deep breath and steps back a step away from Prince.
"I already know why you are, is what is so funny!" Prince stands back up and sits on his throne again. "You want a son, but you are terminal so you can not have one. You did not come here to ask me if I can heal you though." He smiles his wide smile again and cocks his head to the side, "You came to ask for the man power to make a son for your wife."
"Yes, that is true. How did you know-"
"Aha no questions. You wont like the answers!" Prince wiggles his hoof at Star. "Carry on."
"Uh, well anyways, I did come here to ask for the, uh, for a son. I want to be able to have a son with my wife before I die." Dark star lifts his head higher. "I want to have our name passed on." His voice quivers slightly. The wide smile returns to Princes face.
"Well, you do know that in order to construct a life, I will need one in return." An uneasy feeling washes over Star. "It would have to be signed over." His horn glows and a scroll appears in front of him. Prince lets if fall to the floor and it unravels before Star. Small writing covered the scroll from top to bottom, leaving a small space for him to sign it at the bottom.
"Let me just look this over real quick." He says as he lifts the scroll up with his hoof. Prince jumps down from his throne and snatches the scroll out of Star's hoof.
"This is a life contract. Pretty much,signing it you are saying that you are ok with giving your life for his. You are already a dead stallion, so nothing changes. Oh, and it says some stuff about how I am not liable for anything that happens as a result of the dark magic that I will be using to make this son of yours happen." He drops the contract back onto the floor with a pen and slides his arm around Dark Stars shoulders. "Just give it a quick sign, and you can be on your way!" Dark Star sighs and leans down, picking the pen up in his mouth and signing the paper.
"Ok, so what now?" He asks as Prince's horn glows and the scroll disappears. Prince's whole composure seams to have changed. Even his eyes had gotten darker. He climes back onto his throne and smirks at Dark Star.
"Now?" A quiet, dark chuckle escapes his lips. "You are a father. Your son will be born out of dark magic, but sadly, you will never meet him." The room around them started to move and tree branches slide and grab Dark Stars hooves, holding him in place. A dark purple mist fills the room and Princes eyes glow.
"For you die here."
A Crystal Beauty
The sun warms my body as I trot back towards my mothers house. Groceries were stuffed into my saddle bag and I smile at the crystal ponies I pass as I trot. They smile back and I get a hello here and there by ponies I know. I stop as I reach my moms house and take a deep breath. The warm summer air smells great as it fills my lungs.
"Mom! I'm back with some groceries!" I say as I open the door and walk in. There was soft music playing in the background. The windows were all open letting in fresh air as I make my way into the kitchen and start taking the groceries out and putting them away.
"Sombra?" A light cheerful voice sounds out from the other room. I look over and smile at my mother, White Rose, as she trots up to me and gives me a hug. I kiss her on the cheek and she glances at the groceries on the table. "Let me help you put this away."
"No mom I got it. It almost all taken care of already anyways." I reach into the bag and pull out a small black box. "I got you something as well." My moms eyes light up and she smiles at me as she takes the box in her hooves.
"Oh Sombra, you shouldn't have!" I smile at her as she open the box and gasps. "Its so pretty!" She exclaims. I chuckle and lift the crystal necklace out of the box and slip it around her neck. The sun hits the necklace, causing a rainbow on her white coat.
"It was so nice of you to think of me." She says and hugs me. I hug her back tightly. A warm breeze makes its way threw the small house making the white curtains wave slightly. I look at the wooden rocking chair that used to be my favorite seat in the entire house when I was younger. Next to the chair was a wooden table that matched the chair. My mom lets go of me and walks over to the couch and takes a seat.
"Thank you so much Sombra for all the help you give me." My mom says as she sits down. I smile at her and continue to put away the groceries. I watch her fiddle with the necklace and look out the window towards the park where I used to play all the time out of the corner of my eye. She had a sad look on her face. I put a box of cereal in the cabinet and walk over to my mom. She looks up at me and smiles.
"I am meeting up with Amber Leaf, so I have to get going." A bright smile flashed on her face and her eyes shine. My mom has always loved Amber Leaf.
"Alright, you two have fun. Will you be back around later tonight?" She asks. I smile at her and nod my head.
"Yes, I will come around dinner time. Can Amber come as well?" Rose's delight was apparent on her face.
"Yes!" She coughs. "As long as she wants to, that is." I chuckle quietly to myself and starts to walk towards the door.
"Ok, we will both see you around dinner time." I say my goodbye's and head out. I trot down the crystal road and start to feel giddy. My heart starts to race as I reach the park. My feet take me down the path towards the park bench that started it all. As I trot down the bend I allow my mind to take me back to when I first met Amber, back when I was just a colt.
I was chasing a black bird down the path in the park. My mom was working and my foal sitter was never a good one. I lost sight of the black bird but kept down the path. Turning a corner I see an old park bench sitting under the shade of a willow tree. On the other side of the path was a small stream. Sitting on the bench was the black bird. I run over towards the bench and jump onto it as the bird flies away again.
"Hey!" I hear a voice come from under the willow branches. I jump down from the bench and looks under the branches. A little filly with a purple mane and tail and light blue fur laid there glaring at me. I chuckle as her blue eyes glare at me.
"You scared the bird away, you jerk!" She snaps at me and makes her way out of the willows. I back up and give her room to get out.
"Hi! My name is Sombra." I say cheerfully and hold out a hoof to her. She glares at my hoof and then gives it a quick shake.
"I'm Amber Leaf." She turns and starts to walk back down the path. I trot to catch up with her.
"Are you here alone?" I ask as I reach her.
"Yes." She glances at me. "Are you hear alone?" I nod my head at her and smile.
"Want to be friends?" I ask her and jump up and down as I walked. She giggles at me and smiles.
"Yeah, lets be friends."
I pick up the pace and turn the corner to where the park bench is. I beautiful mare was sitting on it and looking out towards the stream. Her coat shone like sapphires and her purple mane was stunning. She glances up at me when as I approach her. A bright smile comes across her face and she jumps up and gives me a big hug. I kiss her on the check and she blushes.
"I am sorry I kept you waiting, it took me longer to get the things my mom needed from the store." I let go of Amber and reach into my saddle bag pulling out a box. "I got you something." I say and hand her the box. Her eyes light up and she looks at me sweetly.
"Thank you Sombra!" She opens the box and gasps. She lifts up the set of gold and blue headbands and stares wide eyes at them. "They are so beautiful! Thank you thank you!" She throws her hooves around me and hugs me tightly.
"So you like them?" I ask her as she left go of me to look at them again.
"Like them? I love them!" She looks at me, the joy radiating on her face. "Thank you!" I take the headbands from her and place them on her mane. They look stunning on her mane.
"I want to see!" She pleads me. I smile at her and use my magic to make a smooth round crystal slate appear. It made a reflection as Amber looked at it. her mouth opened and she gasps again. "Its so beautiful!" She exclaims.
" Well that would be fitting." I say and she turns to look at me. "Because you are also very beautiful." Amber blushes and gives me a quick kiss. We both sit down on the bench and she leans against me. I place a hoof around her and pull her closer.
"I was thinking about the first time we met each other." I say absentmindedly and Amber looks up at me. "You called me a jerk." She scrunches her noes at me and chuckles.
"You scared the black bird away!" She laughs and nuzzles me. "I was watching it eat a worm." I rub her arm with my hoof and look back out at the stream.
"I had chased that bird all the way there." I say and smile. "If it was not for that bird, we would not have met."
"Well thank you, little black bird." She snuggles closer to me and I rest my head on hers. The sun was starting to go down behind up and the glow bugs were coming out. We sit there together in silence watching the bugs flying around the water.
"I am going to my moms for dinner tonight, would you like to come with me?" I ask Amber as we start to get up to leave.
"Sure! That sound like a lot of fun." She smiles at me and we start to walk down the path back towards my moms house. "Your mom is the sweetest."
"Yeah she really is." I say and look up at the sky. The sunset was making the sky glow orange. Amber's and my shoulders bump into each others as we make our way back. We pause as we walk past the play ground next to the house and Amber sighs.
"I want to have foals." She says and glances up at me.
"I do to." I say and smile at her. She blushes and continues to walk. We reach the house and I tap on the door twice before entering.
"Mom! Were here!" I call into the house as the sent of dinner hits my noes. It had a distinctive smell of carrots and celery. "Hmm that smells amazing mom!" I call out again and walk into the kitchen. Me mom was pouring some carrot soup into three bowl and she smiled as we walked in.
"Why hello you two! Amber! Its so good to see you again!" She sets down the pot and gives her a hug. "And those head bands, are they new? They are stunning." She turns and gives me a quick hug. "Will you please help me with the bowls?" She turns and picks up one of the bowls.
"I got them mom." I say and chuckle. My horn glows red and I use my magic to lift the three bowls up and set them down at the table in the other room. Both my mom and Amber follow me to the table and sit down as I return to the kitchen to grab us all spoons.
"My head bands are new, I actually got them today! Sombra gave them to me." I hear Amber's voice from the other room.
"Yes, that is something my son would do." A pause. "Oh! Look at the necklace he got me today!" I pick up the spoons and walk back into the other room. Amber was looking at the crystals around my mothers neck.
"Oh those are so gorgeous!" She exclaims. I smile at them both and take my seat, handing out the spoons. "Thank you for dinner, Rose." Amber says.
"Anytime, darling!" My mom says as we start to eat. The food was amazing, like always, and we all eat it fast. The sun had gone down all the way by now I got up to shut all the windows for my mom as her and Amber talked. I made my way around the small house, but paused after I shut the window near the rocking chair. There was a little wooden box sitting on the table next to the chair and a picture frame next to it. I picked up the frame and look at the picture. It was a picture of my dad. I had the same dark grey coat as he did and red eyes. His mane was white, but mine is black. I glance back at my mom still talking intently with Amber and at her red mane and tail. I set the picture back down and continue shutting the windows.
I did not have the same mane and tail color as either of my parents, not even close. Plus, I was a unicorn. Both my parents were crystal ponies. I sigh and shut the last window. I am not the first pony who was born with a different colored mane and tail then their parents, but I am the first unicorn to be born from two crystal ponies.
