It was the end of another long day. The throne room had became colder as night approached, with only the dimming light of a sunset pouring faintly through the stained glass windows. The red carpet, with the joint symbol of moon and sun, had seen another day of ponies speaking concerns to their government.

Indeed, the day's court had came to an end. And soon, the co-rulers of the newly reunified nation could retire to their beds after a long day of listening to peasants and nobles alike. Princess Celestia sunk back into her golden throne, her sister doing the same into her deep blue one. Although the ruler of the night, Princess Luna, sunk into hers more. Although out of exasperation, rather than exhaustion in her sister's case.

Princess Celestia's warm smile grows, despite the tiredness in her eyes. With a satisfied sigh, she turns to one of the many royal guard's lining the side walls of the chamber, one at the far end of the room beside the door. Noticing her magenta eyes trailing onto him, the guard turns as a sign that she has his attention.

"That's all the time we have for court today, may you close the doors?" She asks in a motherly tone, the guard bowing in respect before closing in on the thick gold-bordered doorway.

"None of our citizens asked of us..." Laments Luna, eyes looking down as she sighs. Her sister's tone alerts Celestia, and her eyes leave the door to her companion ruler.

"They'll come tomorrow, don't you worry." She says with a kind smile, although Luna's disgruntled expression does not lessen. She mumbles under her breath to no one in particular.

"I'm sorry-" A gruff voice echoes, making the rulers look up and towards the source of the voice: the doorway. "-court has ended for today." The guard informs to some unseen traveller.

"I'm afraid that will not do." States a new voice, one slightly higher in pitch than the guard. But with a tint of silkiness, like a vendor trying to con someone out of a few bits. "I have other important business to take care of, and will not be able to come back for a very long time. I have to come today, don't you see?" Ends the voice, dripping with patronising venom.

"Another stubborn noble?" Wonders Celestia to herself. She sighs, her sister chuckling to herself. She sees that it'd be better to just have them talk about their petty issue so they don't have anything extra to complain about tomorrow. That'll work.

"Let them in, please. It sounds urgent." Says Celestia as she reverts to her carefully made motherly aesthetic. Although she did care for her citizens like her own children, the attitudes of some nobles were a source of constant headaches.

But this was no insufferable noble coming in to complain about the peasants not bowing low enough. Walking back into the throne room, the guard was followed by a cloaked figure. Stood much taller than the guard himself, the sister's can only watch nervously as such a figure crosses the room with an eerie grace.

The other guard's share the same nervousness that had befallen their rulers, eyes narrowing at the figure with their hooves holding their spear shafts more firmly, letting the tips droop slightly as if ready to lunge when needed. It was too thin to be a Minotaur, which were much more bulky. One of Discord's minions coming to take revenge on their master's jailers?

Nopony in the room could really tell how many legs the thing had. The dark cloak hangs all the way to the red carpet below it, obscuring their entire body from view. What is off-putting to the rulers however, is how smoothly the figure moves. Despite the lengthy attire, the being never trips or stumbles over it in movement. It almost seemed to slide across the carpet.

The hood of the cloak hangs low, much lower than what was practical. Yet each step was exceptionally calculated, like it was floating over the carpet itself. But how could it see where to go?

Despite the lack of vision the hood would offer, the being stops right between the two thrones, where their citizens were told to stand when addressing their rulers. However, favouritism for the solar ruler made it so the ponies would typically stand before Celestia's throne directly, rather than centrally as intended. This heightened the lunar ruler's isolation from her subjects, but this being seemed willing to address them both. Luna sits up further in her throne. Had a subject finally came to treat her equally to her sister?

Surprising both, the figure even bends forwards. Revealing their waistline in their bow, the ponies can now see the bipedal nature of this creature. This creature was obviously intelligent, but their physical differences to any known creature made them almost alien. Nervously, the two rulers look at each other before turning back to their visitor.

"Did you have something to inform us of?" Asks Celestia, shaking off her nerves to speak with a smile.

Luna, not wanting to make this being that had shown respect for her to want to leave, motions with her hooves and a frown to tell the guards to be at ease. They look at her nervously, bringing their spears to be straight up instead of pointing at the visitor. The tensed muscles of the gold-armoured stallions don't relax so easily, and the guards remain constantly alert.

Straightening the spine, the figure returns to its fully vertical stance. Their gaze seems to shift lazily from Celestia and to Luna, before finally going back to Celestia after scanning over the pair. The slowness of their movement does not help to dispel the growing tension within the hall.

"What I have seen has compelled me to stand before you." Finally speaks the figure, their voice a raspy male's voice. The guards look uneasily at the figure, Celestia trying to see inside the hood of their cloak. "I have came to deliver a warning of the path you take." Finishes the figure, arms crossing over their cloaked chest.

Luna forcefully stands from her blue-toned throne, looking down at the dark figure before them. Horn glowing in preparation for an attack, she stares down at the figure with pale blue eyes.

"Do you dare threaten this kingdom?!" She roars, glaring daggers at him with a piercing glare.

Silently, the figure brings their hands up in surrender, trying to calm the enraged ruler after hearing their outburst. The cloth of the cloak rustles slightly as it bends, their head turning beneath it to look at the seething lunar princess.

"Even if you do not heed the warnings I give you, I will not be the one to bring about the punishment you WILL receive for not doing so." States the figure sternly.

"Fine, give your warning and leave our sight." Snarls Luna lowly, sitting back down in her throne.

Silently, he nods before paled hands grip the front of his cloak. The guards tense up at the unexpected movement, thinking the warning would be spoken and he would just leave. Undoing the silver buttons, the figure parts the fabric and reaches a hand inside.

Celestia looks down at this figure, growing more uneasy as no light seemed to penetrate inside the cloak. Indeed, the almost-artificially darkness fully obscured their legs from view. It was like their body was entirely the cloak itself, but with hands appearing from the sleeves. At least those looked to be made from flesh and bone.

The hand finally reemerges, clasping around a stony tablet, outlined by a silver border. Casually, with little care for what he holds, he gives the tablet an underarm throw to Celestia. Effortlessly, Celestia grips the horn in the same golden aura as what surrounds her marble-white horn.

With it close to her eyes, she gives the tablet a close inspection. With obsidian inlaid into the very stone, images appear in the torchlight of the hall. Tilting the tablet with her magic, she lets the light from the flames and windows to illuminate the carving better.

A bipedal being of similar proportions to who stands before her. But here the figure is depicted without the mysterious grace that the one before her shows. The one on the tablet has fire at their back, as they lean over menacingly, axe in hand, over both the Equestrian rulers. But behind them stand six other young mares, with an alicorn and stallion standing with them. Their was no grace in the figure's appearance.

Their face contorted into what seems like a battle-cry, heaving the axe ready to...

Celestia shakes her head from such thoughts. Replacing her calm and collected expression, she levitates the tablet into Luna's blue magical aura. Floating the tablet to her face, she laughs in anger and bemusement. Her eyes scowl with a smile on her face, looking past the tablet and at the figure at the base of their joint thrones.

"Thou believed such a horrendous attempt to scare us would succeed?" She asks venomously, sarcasm almost dripping from her lips.

The figure reseals the silver buttons on the front of their cloak as she speaks, before lazily turning their eyes on the lunar ruler.

"Did I say my goal was to scare you?" Growls the figure, their own sarcasm almost being spat out. "Like I said before, this is a visual warning. Something harder to forget then just words." He finishes, crossing his robes arms over his chest.

Luna's aura levitates the tablet back to her sister, who in turn grabs the tablet. As her eyes gaze down at the carvings, she doesn't notice her sister stand up from her throne once more.

"Court is over!" Shouts Luna, looking at the guards before turning her eyes on the figure. "Guards, escort this creature from the castle grounds immediately." She finishes with a sinister glare, scowling as the figure turns to her from beneath the hood.

With golden plates glowing amber under torchlight, a guard moves with spear pointed at the figure as they threaten him into moving back in the direction of the hall's doorway. With their order to leave going unheeded, the guard angrily tries to lance this disobedient wretch.

Suddenly, a sound like a muffled whisper rings out before a clanking of wood echoes throughout the chamber. Looking down at their now lighter spear, the guard stumbles back as they see the end of their splintered shaft singed somewhat, the steel tip of the spear rolling across the tiled floor.

Gasping, the guard looks up from the shattered spear and back at the figure responsible. Stood calmly, the figure's right fist clenches around the long handle of a blade. Their pale fingers obscure some of the handle, but the faded grey leather and silver pommel remain visible. Lifting the blade up, the figure points the tip towards the guard's throat in a threat.

Stumbling away from the blade, the guard is given a close view of the deep groove running down the middle of the sword and the mixing pattern of different greys that form along it. The princesses and other guards come to their senses, the other guards rushing to point their spears to the figure with intimidation as their goal.

"Stop!" Shouts Celestia, finally finding her voice. "Do not remove him just yet." She finishes with a stern look that scans from the guards to her sister. The figure does not even tremble with the ring of spears pointed at their (presumed) throat area.

"There is a great magical essence within this object." She comments mindlessly, Luna looking at her sister with confusion, tilting her head at her.

"There is a storm coming for your people." The figure grumbles deeply. Luna's eyes snap from her sister to the surrounded figure. "I came of my own will, to deliver this warning." They state plainly.

"Tell us when this 'storm' is to come!" Demands Luna whilst perched atop her throne. An exasperated sigh emanates from the darkness cast by the hood.

"You must realise that the future is not set in stone?" Questions the figure to Luna, their hood lifting slightly to show their eyes. Luna shivers at the piercing white dots in the darkness.

Their glow seems to burn into her mind, as she struggles to find the words to give another snarky retort. Their "face" is but inky darkness, with only two glowing white dots shining from the black. Luna grows more uncomfortable as her mind compares their face to a night sky, devoid of all but two stars lighting the sky.

"What events follow today will not just determine your fate, but the fate of many others." Finishes the figure in a whisper, their eye contact with the lunar ruler never ceasing.

With her sister remaining silent, Celestia speaks up with her own question.

"These events..." She starts, the figure's sight leaving Luna's eyes to turn on the solar princess'. "...how do we know which to look out for?" She finishes. The figure sighs once more, but with an air of annoyance that offends the royals.

"If you truly deserve to rule this land, you will know how to respond to the coming events. If both of your hearts stay true, and you heed my words, you have nothing to fear. The tablet will remain just a bit of history." They state, eyes scanning between the alicorns.

As the princesses process their words, the figure gives a chuckle. Not a pleasant one, but one filled with an almost dark glee. Looking up at Celestia, revealing the white orbs beneath their hood, a menacing aura almost froths from the darkness.

"I won't lie to you, but I have no faith that you will avoid your doom." The royals scowl at the figure's disdain-ridden words. "Your ponies... they are foolish and weak." He states hood turning to his sides as he mockingly lifts his hands to gesture at the spears pointed at him, the princesses noticing the shafts trembling with their owners' fury.

"How dare you speak of my subjects in such a way!" Roars Celestia, startling all but the figure. Even Luna, prone to outbursts, was taken aback by her typically reserved sister's rage. The dark figure's posture does not falter.

"But am I wrong?" He asks, arms crossing over his chest once more. Celestia is taken aback by his words, rage never dying but confusion settling over her features. He must be, her ponies are loyal and all the races came together in harmony.

His eyes leave the fuming Celestia and turn on Luna, who is startled to see him staring at her once her eyes turned from her sister. Looking into her eyes, he continues. "Perhaps what proves my words, is that they don't appreciate what they have." He says in almost a whisper, but Luna's ear twitches at the words as her eyes turn away from the figure.

How could he have know?

The figure finally turns from the uncomfortable princess and to Celestia. Clapping his hands together, he startles Luna into looking at him and Celestia into jumping in her seat. He rubs his palms together as if finished with a difficult task, letting his arms hang limply from his shoulders.

"That's all the time I can spare, I'm afraid." He speaks with a sigh, but Luna looks away from him as a little white orb seems to float near the ceiling. Curious, she watches as more seem to float from the walls and towards the figure.

"Sister!" She shouts, startling Celestia into looking at the floating orbs in alarm. The guards notice, and back away from the cloaked bring as more orbs seem to float around him. As the final one sinks into the fabric of his cloak, a great flash of white blinds everyone in the room momentarily. Rubbing their eyes, they find the being gone and only faint wisps of white flowing from where he stood before fading away.

Jumping to action, Luna recognises the use of a teleportation spell. Even though traces of magic were left at the sight of the teleport, unlike anything unicorns leave behind, the magic is familiar enough. A being bringing a threat, and using powerful magic?

"Search for him!" She shouts, guards looking over at her hastily. "He couldn't have gotten far!" She finishes, the guards nodding with their helmets clanking as they take off through the hall's main doorway and out into the castle grounds.

Luna looks away from the retreating guards at the same time as her sister, and both rulers look at each other with poorly masked unease.

Author's Note

This chapter took far to long to release, I'm sorry. Usually, I hate prophecy in stories as a plot device. But I felt like this one didn't really impact the story that much. The prophecy is not used to spoil events and such, but just to give a sort of explanation (of minor details).

Thanks for reading (I hope the story isn't too bad so far)!