In the Night

by AppleOfThineEye

Rating: teen
Tags: Shining Armor, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Night Light, Drama
Length: 1113

One candle illuminates this thin parchment paper. Its purpose is already clear to the stallion looking down at it. His job? Not as clear as one may think.

In a dark room somewhere in the city of Canterlot, where only the streetlights of the city glow and where the lights of the castle shimmer at an hour this late, a stallion by the name of Night Light is bent over a desk. He's writing again, and Shining Armor - his son - wants to know why. What dark secret is his father trying so hard to hide? Or is it less complicated; is it a simple habit and nothing more? Surely his father is willing to answer... isn't he?

Takes place before the events of the show.

This story has been made into an audiobook!

Published 2017-01-21 17:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-01-21 17:20:01 UTC

Words Without Meaning

My eyes wandered to the window of my small study. All I could see was illumination from Canterlot Castle and the outline of the window itself cast just barely by the light of a small candle. My blue coat stayed dark in the night light. Ironic in hindsight, seeing as how that's my name: Night Light. I grabbed my quill from the ink well, making sure none of black liquid is dripping from the tip, and levitated it over my paper. There was a lot to write down.

"In the night, eyes shut. In the night, mouths do not speak. In the night, we can not truly feel the world around our bodies. But I can. I can do more than that, too. You see, I am not like others. I have been in this world before, and I will be here again, so I leave my teachings to the one that will carry on my work. Keep these things in secret, for they are for your eyes only! Do not allow any other pony, griffon, yak, dragon, breezie, parasprite, or anything else to know of these things; the ending would be catastrophic to all that Equestria knows. Now let us begin with the first lesson from your new teacher known only as Bright Light. Follow all of the following to ensure you live a life with little regret and much self-worth. Resist letting friends and family into your inner most heart, for-"

There was a knock on the study door, or perhaps it was lightning striking down from somewhere far away. Regardless, it captured my attention; however, I did not get up to answer it. "Please go back to bed," I instead said to the closed door. It opened anyway, illuminated by bright magenta magic.

Shining Armor, my son, walked in. He was only twelve at the time. "Dad? You should really be asleep."

"Go back to your room, son," I replied, not looking up from the parchment I had written on.

He quietly came closer to the opposite side of the desk. "What are you writing, dad?" he asked in his young colt voice.

"That's none of your concern. Please, go back to bed as I asked."

"Can I at least get a peek..?"

He began to lean over the desk. "No!" I shouted, using one hoof to push his head back. "It's private, and it's only for me!" I looked up at him. I could feel the rage welling up in my eyes.

"I'm sorry, dad... I- I didn't know you were so worried about it. Are you okay?"

"Me?! I'm fine!" I was beyond losing my patience; I had no intention of stopping, but my son was making things very difficult for me. "Now go to your room like I told you."

"But dad-"

"Listen to me. This is possibly the most important thing ever, and you're stopping me from doing it! Now go back to bed like a good colt." I bent down over the paper once more to write. Nothing more came through my mind to put down. I pounded the desk angrily and looked back up at the white unicorn standing across from me. "See?! Now I lost my train of thought! Why can't you just listen for once?!" I picked him up with my own magic and practically threw him out onto the other side of the door. "NOW GO TO YOUR DAMN ROOM!" I yelled loudly at him as I slammed the door shut with a quick spell. I heard it collide with his face, but at the moment I had no concern for him. As far as I was concerned, he got what was coming to him.

I could hear sniffing and light sobbing coming from the door as I locked it from my side. My hooves went straight to my forehead so that I would be able to call the voice back. "I..." my son's voice said between two sniffs, "I hate you, dad." And then I could hear him walking away to his room.

I sat there a few minutes while completely ignoring what he said, but then it hit me like the force of a train. It hurt to hear those words echo throughout my mind. "I hate you." I put my quill back into the ink well and left no intention of grabbing it again as I sat there. Even if it was just something he said in the heat of the moment, it felt like he was being honest. My own flesh and blood hated me, and it was because I was so stupid to think that whatever quote unquote "perfect life" would be anything worth giving up family. I arose from my chair and unlocked the door. Before leaving, I grabbed the paper I'd written on. I would need it soon.

The wooden floorboards of that old house creaked as I stepped through the wide hallway lined with pictures of my wife, my little girl Twilight, my son Shining, and me. The latter made me feel bad to look at simply due to my most previous actions. What I'd done was a mistake.

Upon reaching my son's room, I first knocked weakly. "Who is it?" he asked.

"I want to talk to you, Shining," I said, opening his door with my magic. He was sitting on the side of his twin-size bed holding a tissue up to his muzzle. Had I hit him that hard?

"What do you want to talk about?"

I didn't answer; I only shook my head and made my way over to him.  I sat next to him, my hind legs hanging off the bed's side. He scooted to the opposite corner, getting as far away from me as he could. At that moment, I let out a sigh and spoke. "I'm sorry, son. I didn't mean to be as aggressive as I was, and I certainly didn't mean to hit you." I took out the paper and sighed again. Then, I levitated it with my magic... and I tore it in two.

Shining Armor looked surprised. "Dad, you seemed like you needed to write that!"

"Well I don't. It was trying to tell me how to live a good life, but it also told me I'd have to give up what love I had for you, Twilight, and your mother. That's no way to live." I scooted closer to him and wrapped one leg around him while using the other to rub his mane back. "I've got all the perfection right here under my roof."

"I'm sorry too, dad... I love you."

"I love you too, son."

The End.