The Light that Shines Within
The soft click of hooves upon marbled floors echoed through the halls, the only sound that disturbed the still air. Motes of dust hovered in pale light, lending a feel of suspended animation to an environment that had known no motion for a long time. None, until a newcomer passed through at that very moment.
She was as pale as the light that shone from a distant moon, fur as white as the snow that adorned the outside landscape. She, as most ponies of the realm, tended to shun clothing, but she nonetheless wore a simple, deep blue cloak, lined in such a way to imply that it was worn for warmth. Her head was crested by a pink, flowing mane, an almost laughable contrast to her fur tones, sharing this color with her tail. Yet this contrast did nothing to break the stark expression upon her face. Grim. Determined.
This was a pony that knew hardship.
Making her way toward an immense set of doors, she began to mull the very things that had brought her to this moment, this place. She had imagined it for so long, rehearsed her lines so many times, even imagined how it would go. Yet, as her every step drew her closer, the specter of doubt rose upon her thoughts. Was she truly prepared for this? Was this truly the right call to be made?
Does he deserve it?
That thought echoed the loudest, given her plan, her course of action in all of this. Such thoughts even drew her mind to the events that had brought her here. Scowling, she used this to propel her onward, defying the doubt that struggled to gain a hold in her heart.
He called himself 'Shadow' now, though he seemed as but a shadow of who he was. A once proud king, the ruler of Unicornia, and once ally to the pegasi and earth ponies. Now, he was a tyrant. A self-declared emperor who had stolen the warmth of life from the world, forcing the sun from the sky to keep his cursed darkness.
His fall from grace had been swift, the change so sudden it was easily missed until it was complete. He dismissed the court, and forced out those that didn't obey. His power had grown tenfold or more, and he easily overwhelmed even the cadre of royal mages who tried to stop his tyranny. None had been able to oppose him, and his new 'reign' had brought about a winter harsher than they had ever known. Too harsh, in fact.
A tear trickled down her cheek as she remembered. Remembered the faces, the voices, the tears of those who had suffered and lost...suffered and died. They were freezing, dying out there, and she had been powerless to save them. A tragedy that tore at her heart, when all she could do, the only solace she could provide was to bury the dead. Not just the adults, either. Colts, fillies...even foals. None were being spared by his merciless winter, and it still grew worse by the day. By the hour. The count was in the thousands now, and it wasn't stopping. But he had to be.
He has to be stopped.
That absolution freed her of the thoughts that held her back, the doubt that clung to her, and she shed it as she might shed her cloak. Pausing before the immense doors to the throne room, she took a deep breath, steeling her composure before she lit her horn and shoved them open. Each door struck it's respective wall with a thunderous boom amid the utter silence that had lingered, though the lone figure that sat upon the throne that dominated the chamber seemed surprisingly unfazed by her sudden entrance.
Pausing but a moment, she began a slow, steady stride toward the throne, her face an unreadable mask. The blackened pony upon the throne, however, seemed almost amused by her arrival, a smirk coming across his features. "Temper temper, little pony," he replied, an almost rasping sound accompanying his harsh tone. "I thought I told you, told all of you, to stay out. I don't care for your pathetic whining."
Grimacing at his callous response, which only served to steel her response as she stopped a few steps shy of the throne's ascent. Glaring up at the figure that sat upon it, she pondered what it is that had become of their once-great king. Where once snow-white fur had adorned his form, it was now completely black, and refracted light in such a way as to seem crystaline as opposed to fur. His eyes glowed softly, a pale red that stood out in the darkness that permeated the kingdom, and his voice had become something else...multi-layered and gravelly.
Clearing her throat, she stood as straight as she could, casting a baleful gaze upon him. "I have not come to whine, Lord Platinum," she began, speaking the name as if it brought with it an awful taste. "I have come to give you one last chance, to turn from this madness before I am forced to make you turn."
Her words brought a harsh, deep laugh from the blackened figure, who made to rise from his throne. No longer seated, it was clear that he was very large, easily almost twice her own size. Implication of mass and muscle appeared upon his now crystaline form, oddly highlighted in the silvery beams of light that passed through the palace windows. Grinning wryly, he looked down on her in a pitying manner, as one might pity a child who doesn't understand. "You think to displace me, do you? To bring an end to my darkness? My shadow?"
"They're dying out there for it," she replied curtly, stomping a forehoof, the sound echoing endlessly against the otherwise silent chamber. "Your subjects, your ponies. Those who once trusted, once loved you, are dying for sake of a darkness the world doesn't need!" Her words built in volume as she continued, ending at near shouting as she finished. The hurt and anger she felt were now written upon her face, which only seemed to elicit a mocking grin from the fallen king.
"And what of it? They are MY subjects, extensions of MY will. If they die for what I choose to do, then they die by my will. There is nothing more of it to discuss. They are but peasants anyway; what do they matter to me?"
"They matter to ME!" she all but screamed in reply, the response now drawing a snarl from the king as his horn lit with the same reddish glow his eyes now bore. Almost as quickly, her own came to light in anticipation, bearing a pink aura of it's own.
"Impetuous child," he stated flatly before a sharp beam of red light lanced out from the tip of his horn. She had been prepared for this, but was unsure if she could stop it, given his own power. Pouring all of her not inconsiderable will into her own magic, she shielded herself against the attack, the dome she formed casting aside the beam in four separate directions, each striking walls with force enough to explode, dislodging stone and tapestries alike in the process. A sharp gasp escaped her, as realization dawned upon her. He was powerful, to be sure, but now...?
For his part, he snarled down at her, perhaps more annoyed at the damage to his pristine throne room than for her insolence. All in due time, or so he thought, glaring hatefully down at her. "An impressive, if short lived show, I'll admit, but you stand no chance here, little pony." He pointed his horn at her once more, as though readying for another attack. "I warned you to stay out of MY palace, and if you will not do so of your own volition, I will do so for you...permanently."
Those words rung through her like a lightning bolt, a jolt to her very soul. Before now, no pony had ever killed another. Not directly, not with force of their own application. Thousands had died to a winter he had brought, yet he had never actually killed a pony himself. But now...now he threatened to do just that to her. Had there been any hope that even a glimmer of their once great king still remained, it died within her in that moment.
"No," she spoke with a finality that gave even the shadowy tyrant pause. "You will not." Her horn then lit again, but the glow shifted from a simple pink to a soft yellow. Soft, but bright. For a moment, confusion graced his features, but it quickly shifted to fear as the one thing he sought to stop suddenly came to be.
The first ray of daylight shone through the palace.
Stepping back as though the light itself were acid, he snarled fiercly, glaring once more at this impetuous child that now threatened what he had worked to bring about. "How?! How are you doing that?!" He demanded, a bit of panic evident in his tone. "No pony but me, NO pony has that kind of power! No pony alone can raise the sun!"
"I can," she replied in a cold tone, bringing more light to the throne room as she brought the sun, that blessed warmth and light, further up the horizon. Shadow was forced to retreat back to his throne, stepping back from the light with determination. Even though he avoided it, it's mere presence seemed a detriment to him. A soft hissing began to permeate the room, and visible cracks began to appear in his hide, ruining his once-perfect complection. Fear clearly began to grip at him, and it showed on his face.
"Stop! I command you! I am your king! Your EMPEROR!!"
The sun halted it's assent as she continued to stare at him with perhaps the most impassive look she could muster. "You're no king of mine," she replied, her tone low and threatening. "My king was kind and loving, caring and selfless. You have brought nothing but suffering and death to my little ponies, and I can stand aside no longer and watch, for their suffering is now mine to bear."
Shadow's breathing had quickened to a panicked state, looking like a trapped animal with no way out as he 'hid' in the one spot not yet flooded by the rising light. Standing as tall as she could, his assailant looked as regal as she could manage, her horn gaining a far more powerful glow. Yet, before the sun crested the horizon entirely, she gazed up at the fallen king, even as tears began to roll down her cheeks. When she spoke her final words, it was barely above a whisper.
"I love you daddy..."
Though it was no longer within him to shed tears, Shadow, the once Lord Platinum, looked down upon her, his expression softening despite the pain the light clearly brought to him. His tone, when he spoke, remained gravelly, but softer nonetheless. "I know sweetheart...I know..."
Throwing her head back, Princess Platinum finally brought the sun to it's full rise, casting beautiful, unfiltered light across the entire throne room. In that instant, Shadow began to scream, a nerve-wracking, reverberating sound that only built in volume as cracks began to spider-web across his form. It was enough to force her to wince, and just when she thought she could bear it no longer, he literally exploded, his body reduced to a fine dust that was cast about the throne room in the blast, gently falling through the air as gravity took hold. Wherever it came to touch her fur, Platinum felt only a gentle warmth, and for a moment, she believed that maybe he had still been in there, somewhere.
"Goodbye..."
No sooner had she uttered that word than another echoed across the room, coming from a much younger pony, a filly, to be sure. "NO!" she cried, the dark-furred figure barreling down the hall in the chaotic manner only a youth could muster. She made a beeline straight for Platinum, tears streaming down her cheeks, but anger written upon her face. When she closed the gap between them, she began to beat, almost harmlessly, upon Platinum's chest with her forelegs weeping uncontrollably as she shouted at the larger figure, confusion apparent on Platinum's face.
"Why?! Why'd you take him away?! Why'd you do it, sister?" Her weeping began to overwhelm her as she broke down, her assault pausing as she pressed her face into her older sister's fur, her tears almost immediately soaking her fur. "Jus' like mama..." she croaked out between sobs and stuttering breaths, prompting realization upon her sister's face. "Didn't get to say goodbye...didn't...didn't get to..."
She continued to weep, her energy spent as Platinum slowly wrapped her forelegs around her younger sister, drawing her up to her chest as she sat back on her haunches, placing her cheek against her head. "Oh, my poor, sweet Luna..." she murmured softly, her own tone cracking at tears she struggled to control. "I'm so sorry...so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Didn't mean to..."
For a time, the both of them wept for their losses, even as the ponies of the kingdom outside cheered for the light that had finally returned, not yet knowing that it was but one pony that brought about their salvation. Unaware, in fact, of the heartbreak they now endured, for like many of their subjects, they now only had eachother. That was a thought that would come to dominate Platinum's mind in the coming years. At least we have eachother.
I can but hope it will always be enough...
Author's Note
A bit of an idea that struck my mind that I wanted to put out.
