The Shadow Tales: Before the Shadow War

A Father's Vengeance A Mother's Forgiveness

Have you once heard of a Father one who looks after the foals and teaches them skills and virtues such as strength, survival, choice, and, necessity? Or maybe you have heard of a mother who holds the foal in her loving hooves and teach them the virtues of mercy, kindness, morality. Well what if I told you that the shadows had a mother and father, two who taught the shadows different things then what an average guardian would teach. The mother taught the shadows to live as she breathed life into each and every one of them, the father only taught them death as he taught them to make weapons of war and ingrained the knowledge of fighting and war into their minds. Have you heard of a gift, a present, a blessing, the shadows were given two gifts since the race first began the mother's gift the capacity to love, feel, and grow and excel into beings of their own as they gained curiosity and the want to learn. The father's gift was the capacity to hate, destroy, and crush all those in their path as they were given bodies of darkness and a cruel design. The shadows were blessed by these two gifts, but sadly most could never wield the gifts for how can you learn when you were made to destroy, and how can you mindlessly kill when you feel the ever growing thought of mercy. The shadows lived their lives within this limbo of contradiction and existence, but legends state that there are shadows who learned to co-exist between these two gifts and gain true sentience, it is said they are destined to one day shake the very foundation of the shadows, and where they stand within the world. The father and the mother were not always all powerful beings who brought life to the forgotten race, once they were simple ponies who were in love.

~~~Equestria during the Great Civil War 1000 years ago~~~

A lone pony looked up from the cliff he was standing on as he watched the night sky alone to think on his thoughts as tomorrow he had to go and face the event known as a war where good stallions enter but come out as something different, something twisted. But he wasn't alone as he heard soft hoof steps approach his position and he knew those steps anywhere as he turned to see a unicorn with a with a brown coat walk up to him. He smiled as he admired the rest of her features as he looked at her mane which was mostly a light yellow which could have looked as if they were strands of sunshine from Celestia's sun and the streaks of white on her mane also shined with a brilliant glow matching Luna's moon as he walked closer to the mare. Once they are inches away from each other they stare deeply into one another's eyes as his eyes shown conviction to his duty and the love he felt for this mare while her eyes shown worry and fear but also returned a look of love as well as their faces inched closer. They shared a tender kiss under the rays of the moonlight and after a few moments they separate as they wait for the other to talk first as silence fills the air as they stare at one another until the mare decided to break the silence.

"Dark Soul Branded, what are you doing here I assumed you would be at the tavern to give me one final dance before you----" She stops as she starts tearing up and hugs Dark

Dark held his lover close to him as he replied "Please dry your tears Purity Light I was merely out here to think and lost quick track of time I did not mean to break my promise I had to you."

Purity looked at Dark and shushed him as she said "Dark please I'm not crying because you forgot but on the fact that you're leaving to fight and this may be the last time I will ever see you my love." as she rested her head in his black coat

"I know you are saddened that I'm doing this but the war is getting serious and I fear if nopony ends this war then you will be one of this war's victims and I'd give my life to this cause if it means you will be safe my one hope and light" Dark says as he pats her on the back and whispers sweet nothings into her ears to calm her

Purity looks up as her eyes dried "How will I know if you won't just die out there when fighting?" She asked as she looks into his eyes yet again

Dark chuckled as he kneeled and pulled out a box and opened it revealing a ring as to which Purity gasped and teared up "This is how you know I won't die out there because when I end this war I will celebrate it with our marriage as we can live in a world where our children can live in peace" as he hugged her with his wings wrapped around her

Purity hugged back happily as they slowly rocked back and forth which slowly turned into them dancing with one another under the gaze of the moon for in this moment there was no war or conflict just the two ponies showing their endless love for one another

5 years later

Dark walked back to his hometown with bandages on him as he smiled greatly as today was the day he ended the war but even greater he was here to return to his love and reunite with her as he hopes to live the rest of his life with her, but as he returned to the village he heard news that somepony else was marrying Purity and it was his best friend Damien the only pony he entrusted Purity's safety to as he angrily stormed off to his long time friend's house. Dark knocked the door down splintering it to pieces as he ignored the splinters he had and walked over to his friend who was sitting calmly at a table eating soup, but before he could take a bite Dark slapped the meal away from the table as he breaks the table in half and yells "WHERE IS SHE?"

Damien smirked and said "You're going to have to be specific I know a lot of mares hell over half of this goddess forsaken land is filled with more mares then we can count" but he was quickly silenced as Dark threw him against the wall and said "WHERE IS SHE?"

Damien smiled as he said "Oh you heard the news well isn't this just an amazing day I'm getting married to such a stunning mare but do be careful she is in a bit of a bind"

Dark rushes up stairs he had no time to deal with this as he sees a tied up Purity and as he went up to her and took off the gag she screamed "DARK RUN NOW" and Dark could feel the blades enter him from the back as his vision turned to red and he hit the floor slowly bleeding out. Damien then walked off in front of Dark as he smashed his hoof against his muzzle as he laughed dragging Dark away into the deep part of the woods to waste away.

Dark struggled in the forest as he felt his life fade away and when his vision blackened he uttered out "P-Purity" before feeling the icy grips of death take hold of him. He later wakens in a dark plain and in the middle of it was a dying bipedal creature as it was slowly breathing heavily. Dark slowly walked towards it as the creature says "So another soul who has died tragically"

Dark merely shook his head as he looked for a way to return to the world of the living but after hours walked towards the being and said "Can you take me back to the world of the living?"

The creature nodded and said "Yes, I can take you back though at a cost which is to allow the darkness to consume you and your soul and become a monster warped beyond repair"

Dark didn't care about the cost as he accepted and felt it slowly ate away at him as bones cracked into place and in a few moments the creature in the chair was gone and Dark was now a bipedal shadow creature with hands as he took flight phasing past the line of death and into the living as he lands dark feathers floating around him as he pulls out a great sword ready to destroy the traitor

Damien sat in front of a crying Purity who had her head down not taking a look at her soup. Damien smiled and said "Please eat your soup dear it'll get cold just like the body of that little stallion friend Dark oh how I wished he was here to see this," but as he said that a wall bursted open as a dark figure stood by the entryway as its red eyes look at Damien with an icy glare.

Damien smirked and said "Oh great another interference well might as well take care of you" as he lunged at him but Dark in this new form merely grabbed Damien and threw him away into the forest but before he could pursue Damien and end him once and for all he saw Purity walking up to him saying "D-Darky is that you?" as she reached out to him

Dark stumbled back but Purity only came closer to him as she touches his face and says "Oh Darky I'm so glad you're alright please never put me through that ever again" as she hugs Dark tightly nuzzling into him. Dark could only hug back as he calmed his love and eventually they slowly rocked back and forth to calm their nerves as it slowly evolved into a sweet and tender dance and for the second time the two lovers shared a loving dance under the moonlight.

After the dance however feeling that Purity could be threatened he flew off with her in his arms as they lived isolated in the woods together for many years and eventually bore a son who they had named "Enigma" but there is always trouble in paradise as Damien came and with an order they burned the forest the three had been living in and Purity died. Dark was outraged by this and declared war on Equestria as he wanted to see it all burn to the ground but his son Enigma stopped his father by sealing him away and to make sure his father would not have to suffer the fate alone joined him as he split his soul which was used to create the race of shadows but when the Dark was sealed he was reunited with Purity as she was given the offer to accept a being of light into her as they recovered the soul of their child and created the shadows together. So that is the story for how the Dark Father and Brood Mother created the shadows or it could be a simple legend but this is not the end of the tale little foals we are just getting started.