Banishing her own husband from Equestria caused to Celestia a great heartbreak. However, she knew that she had to be strong, not only for her, but also for all the ones that depended on her.

The kingdom became very shocked with the revealing that their king had succumbed into the power of dark magic. Fortunately for Celestia, most of the inhabitants of Equestria stayed at her side and supported her. But there were the ones who opposed to such decision, like those who, like Sombra, had suffered at the Saddle Arabia’s hooves.

Celestia did her best to ensure stability to Equestria. She search through the kingdom for any of her husband’s loyalists to make sure they were not a threat, but all of them run away after getting to know about Sombra’s exile. The alicorn queen also made sure that Saddle Arabia would not take advantage of this moment of great weakness, being able to convince its leaders to make a non-aggression pact between the two nations. She bent over backwards to not bow before the sadness that was haunting her and only that allowed to conquer the admiration from everypony.

One day, Celestia, using her hooded cloak, went to the capital, going through a path she already did before. She arrived at the soothsayers tent, the one that predicted Sombra’s corruption and, when she the queen was about to get in, she heard the old soothsayer saying:

“Welcome, Your Highness. Please, come in and stay at will.”

Celestia came in and found the soothsayer sitting behind her desk, where she already had her bowl prepared.

“I came here because…”

“Because you wanted to know the rest of the prophecy that I told you.”

The queen beckoned with the head and then said:

“You warned me about my husband, but I didn’t listen. But maybe, if I did…”

“Don’t martyrize yourself, Your Highness” the soothsayer said. “Love can blind anypony. Beyond that, I believe that nothing could be done to stop it. Maybe it could postpone, but nothing more than that. However, the end is not yet set in stone and everything will depend on one only decision of yours… one that will be possibly your greatest sacrifice.”

Hearing the soothsayer saying that cased a great concern to Celestia, but, getting all the energy she still had, she said:

“I’m ready. You can continue with the prophecy.”

The soothsayer nodded and then ignited the ingredients in her bowl, making the tent be surrounded by smoke. She first told what she had already said before about the warning about Sombra and the upcoming war. It was then that she start to recite the last part:

“But look… in the middle of all that darkness, there is a light…”

A light made itself be noted in the smoke. It was a beautiful light, full of love and capable of illuminating the darkness that was surrounding it.

“That light will be the source of all hope in Equestria and the only thing capable of stopping the darkness that is approaching.” The soothsayer contined.

“And where can I find this light?” Celestia asked.

Suddenly, the smoke returned to the bowl, disappearing then. The soothsayer, after this, answered:

“You cannot find this light because you already found it. The light that will be the ruin of the dark king was sired by him and there’s nothing he can do to destroy it, as is something that the king won’t want to get rid of.”

Those words were revealing to Celestia, as she knew to what the soothsayer was talking about… or rather who. And, intuitively, embraced her womb, where her unborn foal was.

Some months passed and the great day awaited by many arrived: the birth of Queen Celestia’s foal. Her waters had broken and, at the an evening, she was ready for the delivery, with her reliable lady-in-waiting, Petal Shy, helping her as midwife. The queen was full of contractions, but, even so, she was holding the best she could, breathing deeply.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, your foal is coming!” Petal Shy exclaimed. “Come on, again… One… two… three… Push!”

Celestia did it, while she released a painful scream. While that, her horn released sparks of magic and the barrier she had created when she exiled Sombra flicked for a few moments.

“Just one more effort, my queen!” Petal Shy said. “I can see the head already… Come on! One… two… three… Push!”

With one more effort, Celestia pushed with all the strength she had , while unleashing her greatest scream. The relief came to her when she finally heard the cry of a baby foal.

“Congratulations, Your Highness” Petal Shy said, holding the newborn foal. “It’s a beautiful filly.”

A smiled appeared on Celestia’s face, while she leaned back, completely exhausted from the delivery.

At the border of Equestria, barrier flicked even more and an immense darkness, so dense that looked like it could be touched, approached, tackling the barrier and breaking it, like who breaks a single dry twig, and then invaded the land, making dark clouds starting to cover the sky.

At Celestia’s chambers, she was holding her foal, while Petal Shy observed, with tears of joy. The newborn filly had a pale, light grayish mulberry coat, a moderate sapphire blue mane with moderate violet and brilliant rose streaks and moderate violet eyes. Looking to her beautiful daughter, Celestia couldn’t help but smile.

“Hello, my dear…” Celestia said, always smiling and with a tear on her eyes. “Mommy waited too much long to meet you.”

“Do you know how you’re going to name her?” Petal Shy asked.

“Yes…” Celestia replied, while drying her eyes. “I thought a lot about it and I think that the best name for her is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle…” Petal Shy said. “Yes, it’s a good name.”

Celestia caressed her daughter once again, before starting to hear screams of terror out there.

“But what’s happening?” Celestia asked.

Petal Shy advanced to the balcony and became astonished with what she saw.

“Your Highness… the darkness is coming!” she exclaimed.

“What?!”

“I know, but I can’t explain more than this” Petal Shy answered.

Celestia thought quickly about what could be happening and only found one explanation. Twilight started to cry and Celestia said, while trying to calm her down:

“It can only be Sombra.”

That answer left Petal Shy nervous and she said:

“But I thought you exiled him.”

“My magic weakened because of the delivery” Celestia explained. “Sombra knows what happens when unicorn and alicorn mares when they deliver a child. He took advantage of that moment to get in.”

“So what do we do?” Petal Shy asked. “You are not in condition to face him. And if he arrives to the castle, we don’t know what he can do.”

Celestia thought about she could do and then remembered what the soothsayer told her about having to take a decision that would be her greatest sacrifice.

“Petal Shy, I need you to do me a great favor.”

“I do anything for you, Your Highness” she replied.

“Take Twilight and take her away from Equestria” Celestia said. “Take care of her and make her become a good, generous and compassionate mare. Be the mother I would want to be.”

“Your Highness…” Petal Shy replied, without being able to find the right words to say. “I can’t… I would never be able to separate a mother from her child…”

“It’s me who is asking, Petal Shy” Celestia said. “I can’t run away before Sombra arrives, but Twilight can. You can take her through the secret tunnels under the castle. My daughter will be the light that will save this kingdom from Sombra’s darkness, but, for that, it is necessary that he doesn’t get her and turn her as evil as him. Please, Petal Shy, take her away from Equestria. If it is the fate’s wish, it won’t be late for we to reunite.”

Despite the size of Celestia’s request, Petal Shy ended up being moved by her queen’s words and replied:

“I’ll do it, Your Highness. I’ll raise the young princess as if she was my daughter.”

Celestia answered with a smile and said:

“Thank you…”

She then turned to her newborn daughter and told her:

“Twilight, my adorable baby, it breaks my heart that you will grow up and I won’t see it, but it must be done for your safety.”

She gave a kiss on her baby’s forehead who had closed her eyes on a peaceful sleep. Celestia delivered her to Petal Shy and told her then:

“Go, please. Hurry!”

And, taking flight, Petal Shy got out of the room with the baby princess.

Saying goodbye in that way to her newborn daughter caused Celestia a great heartbreak and tears crossed her face. However, she knew she had to remain strong for the inevitable meeting that was about to happen.

It didn’t take long for the balcony to be hit by a dark wave that had its doors wide opened. A shadow came in and assumed the form of a pony, revealing Sombra. That Sombra didn’t have anything like the one Celestia used to know and love. His mane was completely black and more fluid, like it was living darkness, fangs appeared on his upper jaw, an armor and a red-blood cape covered his body and his horn was now curvy and red.

“Sombra?” Celestia asked, not wanting to believe on what she was seeing. “Is that you?”

And he looked at her with red eyes that emitted a very dark aura. An evil smile appeared on his face and, after charging his horn with magic, he managed to immobilize Celestia.

“What’s the matter, Celestia, don’t you recognize your own husband?” Sombra asked. “Although we shouldn’t consider ourselves like that anymore, after what you did to me.”

“What I did I did to protect all the ponies from your madness and thirst for revenge” Celestia replied.

“I don’t doubt of your motives, Celestia” Sombra said. “I know that you act following principles of nobility and things like that. But that doesn’t change the fact that you betrayed me in the worse possible way. And betrayers, to me, don’t deserve nothing more than despite. Beyond that, I have other much more important things to do like getting to know my dear foal.”

And he headed to the crib that was there, hoping to find his child, but, when he found it empty, rage took over him for a moment and he roared:

“WHERE’S MY FOAL?!”

Celestia smiled and replied:

“You’ll never find her.”

“Her…” Sombra said. “So I have a daughter.”

“And that’s everything you’ll get from me” Celestia answered. “I casted a protection spell on my mind and my heart, so you won’t be able to know where our daughter is.”

There was a pause and then Sombra said.

“You know what? I take back what I said earlier about banishing me being the worse betray of them all. This is.”

“Did you really think I would let our daughter fell on your hooves so you could fill her with evil?” Celestia asked. “No, I would never allow it.”

“And for that, you will pay” Sombra threatened. “You shall suffer a lot. First, I will recover part of my kingdom and then I will let you marinate in your own grief until I finally recover my daughter and turn her exactly like me, just for her to end what’s left of you. This is a promise.”

And, having said that, he disappeared, leaving Celestia, now freed from his magic, once again delivered to her own sorrows and sadness. She then stood up and headed to the balcony, looking up to the sky, hoping that her beloved daughter was okay and never met her father.

At the next day, the news about Sombra’s return left many ponies nervous, what led to some of them to board on boats and zeppelins to get out of Equestria. Between those ponies was Petal Shy, her husband Curly Cloud, their baby daughter Fluttershy and Twilight. Curly Cloud was a pegasi stallion with pale, light grayish malachite green coat with three clouds as Cutie Mark, light amaranhish gray mane and gayish turquoise eyes. Fluttershy was a little baby pegasus with a pale, grayish light gold coat, a pale, light grayish pink mane and moderate cyan eyes.

Curly Cloud, having a big heart, accepted helping Petal Shy raising Twilight and then they decided to left Equestria. Boarding a zeppelin, it took flight and started to move away, with the couple seeing the one that has been their home starting to get away of their sight…

Author's Note

I hope you had enjoyed the first three chapters, because I can guarantee you the next ones will be more entertaining.