The Two Students

Chapters

Chapter 2: Care and A Promise
Chapter 3 : Attempt and Hope
Chapter 4 : Fades and Leaves
Chapter 1 : Meetings and Accidents

Chapter 2: Care and A Promise

Chapter 2 : Care and A Promise

Lucis is laid down on his bed, the doctor already on the way. Lucis's room is rather bare, just a bed, a dresser, mirror, and a chest. The windows let in a blue light, turning the white walls a soft blue color.

A knock comes to the door which is quickly answered by Luna. The doctor walks in, a unicorn with a light brown coat. He levitates his doctor's bag off of his back, as well as his coat, and places the coat on the dresser with the bag heavily on top of that.

“What happened?” The Doctor says, walking over to Lucis's side. He begins standard procedure, checking heart rate and etc. Luna moves to the opposite side of the bed a worried look on her face.

“We were practicing and Lucis lost control of the light and he hurt his eyes. And.....it only happened because I told him to” Umbra blurts out from her spot next to Luna. The Doctor looks up to her and then back down to Lucis as he finishes the initial checks. Gasping when he notices the wings on his back, but quickly regains his composure.

“His eyes? Ah ok so let's have a look” The Doctor says, looking to Lucis's face. “ Can you open your eyes for me?” Lucis does as he is told. His eyelids open to reveal his pupil-less foggy white eyes.

“Oh gosh, I've...I've never seen anything like this, the pupils are.....just...gone.” The Doctor gasps. “Can you see anything? Anything at all, even a trace of light?”

“No I can't see anything, there is nothing but darkness” Lucis says on the edge of tears again.
Umbra looks away from her brother as Luna turns her saddened gaze in her direction.

“I will, with your's and the Princess's consent of course, try everything I can to reclaim your lost sight.” The Doctor promised, still pretty puzzled. “I have heard of many ways to cure blindness, most of which are spells, potions, or herbs.”

“Thou hast our consent, Dr. Kitt, Lucis what sayest thou?” The Princess says hurriedly, obviously wishing his treatment to begin immediately. Lucis's eyes move about the room, seemingly past or through every object in the simple space.

“Whenever your ready...” He says sadly, depression settling across his young face.

“Well sadly, that won't be today. I need time to gather the necessary items for all of these procedures” Dr. Kitt says solemnly.

“Then we begin as soon as you can get these things right?” Umbra asks quickly. The Doctor looks taken aback by the sudden sound.

“Why...of course, why would we waste time doing nothing? Fear not, I will do all I can.” Dr. Kitt reassures.

“We will have you aided by some of the servants in thy quest for these items” Luna says.

“That is very appreciated, your Highness. ” Dr. Kitt says gathering his things, “Have them meet me at my home tomorrow morning, and we shall be off. Good night everypony.” He exits the room in a tired manner, with a slight stumble.

“Alright, Thou hast had much happen today, 'tis time for bed.” Luna says to the two young Alicorns. Umbra just looks at her, with her eyes wide and mouth in a pout. “To thy room Umbra. There is nothing more we can do this night.”

“Yes ma'am” She says defeated, looking back to Lucis who already lay asleep. A cloud moved n front of the moon, blanketing the room in darkness. By the time the light returned The Princess and the student had left, leaving the other student sleeping peacefully.

The next morn met Lucis with only warmth, no light. As he moved about his bed he felt something, a lump near the foot of the bed. He begins feeling about, trying to find out what had gotten onto his bed. As he does this he hears a sleepy mumble come from nearby, just as he feels a wing. Not too long after this he hears a giggle as he accidentally tickles the winged form at the end of his bed. The sleepy giggles turn into laughter as Umbra wakes up.

“Stop it, I'm trying to sleep!” Umbra giggles. Lucis continues his assault as he begins wondering why she slept at the end of his bed.

“Why are you here? That can't have been very comfy.” Lucis groggily says, still kind of asleep.

Finally waking up, Umbra looks into her brother's white eyes and says “Because I couldn't sleep. So I made you something! It's nothing too fancy, but I think you'll like it!”

“That doesn't exactly answer my question” Lucis says flatly, ears deceiving his voice by perking up at the sound of a gift.

“Because.....I just......couldn't leave you alone.” Umbra says blushing, slightly glad he couldn't see that fact. “Do you want your present or not?”

“Ok, gift me!” he says excitedly, hooves extended in anticipation.

“Don't worry, I'll put it on for you” She tells him, he lowers his hooves. “Luckily, you can just wear this 'till your eyes are fixed because I'm not exactly the best at sewing....but it still looks pretty good!” she assures him as she ties a blind fold around his head covering his eyes. It is a very simple blue blindfold with a red heart sewn in the middle. The heart rests right in the middle of his face.

“A blindfold! Like the blind samurai-pony in my comic books! Thank you soo much! Oh....my comic books.....I guess I can't read those any more, huh?” He says dejectedly in a full mood swing.

“Don't you worry, I'll read you whatever you want me to 'till you can see again.” Umbra says, pulling a grin from the Alicorn.

“Thanks sis.” he says trying to throw his hooves around her. He instead bumps her face in an attempt to hug her.

“Ow, a little to the left brother” She says, rubbing her snout. An apologetic look crosses Lucis's face.

“Oh my bad.” He apologies as he successfully hugged her. The warmth from her body makes Lucis feel a hundred times better. They separate at the sound of the door being opened. Princess Luna walks in with a warm smile on her face after seeing the hugging pair. Umbra and Lucis blush brightly.

“Art the two of you ready for breakfast?” Luna inquires. Lucis looks down with a frown on his face, realizing that his treatment will not begin immediately. “And the blind fold, 'tis very pretty”

“Pretty? It's supposed to look cool....” Lucis says feeling the blindfold and noticing the shape of the heart for the first time. “Hey! Well, I still love it.” Lucis attempts to get out of bed and walk to the door, only to bump into a wall.

“Here, let me help you.” says Umbra rushing to his side. “Just slightly lean against me and I'll lead you”

“Ok, lead the way” He responds a little down trodden. 'I'm going to have to be led around by her from now on? Oh man.... I hope I get my sight back soon. I like to be able to go and see things on my own' Lucis thinks.

“Don't worry, you'll have your sight back in no time!” Umbra says, masking her sorrow. ' It's my fault, so I have to help until he gets better!' She thinks. She leads him to the door where Luna is standing with a sad look on her face.

“Indeed, fear not Lucis. We shalt do all we can to heal thou.” She says, her cheery voice not matching her face. The three leave the room and head for the dining hall. With more than a few trip-ups and stops due to Lucis not being used to being led about. When they arrive at the dining hall Lucis can tell there is somepony else there. Umbra sees Princess Celestia and her student, who is visiting from Ponyville, eating lunch. The dining hall is a big, grand open space with a long table for banquets. The gargantuan windows let in a lot of light causing the plates and just about any other reflective thing in the vicinity to shine.

'Heh, it's funny, because of Princess Luna's need to have us not stay up all night, we sleep half the night and day away making our eating habit seem weird compared to others. But she wants us to be able to easily re-adjust to daylight hours and this is how she thought to solve it. I wish the Princess would go to sleep when we did and not get half the sleep she needs, we have gone a few days already where we wake up to find her sleeping all day.' Umbra thinks

“Good afternoon Luna” Princess Celestia greets. “and good afternoon Umbra and Lu... Sister, is there a specific reason your student wears a blindfold?”

“Well, technically no. But there hath been an incident...” Luna begins, waves of nervousness wash over her. 'Oh our sister will think we are a failure and take our students away for their own good' Luna frets.

“Oh my, what happened? Wait....Princess Luna has students?” Twilight questions, a look of puzzlement on her face.

“Oh yes, silly me that was one of the reasons I wanted you to visit, but a formal introduction can be made later.” Celestia says. “ And what did happen?”

“Early last night, as we went to raise the moon, Lucis and Umbra decided to try some unsupervised magic.” Luna explains. “And thus Lucis created a special ball of light, one that hath caused a blindness.”

“A ball of light? In what way was it special?” Twilight asks as Luna motions for Umbra to lead Lucis to the table. “I can use my magic to make a ball of light. Was it different than that?” Twilight watches as the two small students slowly make their way to the table with the Princess of the night. She gasps when she notices the wings. “They're Alicorns?!”

“Indeed they are, Twilight Sparkle. The ball of light in question was indeed different than that which thy can conjure. The one that blinded Lucis was made of the pure Essence of light. When a unicorn casts a light spell, they are simply bringing forth an illusionary ball of energy that mimics the nature of light. However, Lucis has the ability to tap the source of all light and channel its power and energy. Since he attempted to draw from this source without aid, he couldn't properly control the flow causing the light to strengthen until he was injured. ” Luna explains.

“I see. So Lucis is blind?” Celestia asks sternly, raising an eyebrow.

“Ummm, yes sister” Luna nervously says, “But, rest assured. We already have Dr. Kitt on it, and with luck, will have Lucis better in no time.” She cracks a nervous smile, attempting to reassure her sister she is capable of these students.

“So how long have you had students Princess?” Twilight asks as the three of them sit down. She makes observations about the students. The blinded one, Lucis, is about a head shorter than her. 'He looks kinda cute with that blindfold on' Twilight thinks. 'His bright hair seems to radiate light, his expression was that of a defeated child. She suspected he had been going from happy to sad a good bit in the past day. Young ponies usually have slight mood swings, after losing his sight that might have kicked into hyper-drive. The other, Umbra, was a pretty little mare. She has a nice white coat, transfixing yellow eyes, and slightly messy mane. No doubt she hasn't brushed today. She must be going through a lot, with her brother losing her sight and all. Little filly’s can blame themselves for an awful lot. She might think this is her fault.'

“We have had students for about a month and a half.” Luna answers.

“Luna, perhaps we should talk away from the students?” Celestia orders more than asks. Luna looks to her sister nervously, then to her students. A uneasy smile crosses her face.

“Of course, sister. What is it we must talk about? ” Luna asks as she stands. Celestia just looks at her as she begins walking away. Luna follows quickly.

“You three get better acquainted.” Celestia says back to the students. The three look at each other, or rather Umbra and Twilight look at each other. Lucis just looks down where he assumes his plate is.

“Soo...how old are you two?” Twilight says, deciding to begin the Q&A .

“We are both around two and a half months old. At least that's what the Princesses think.” Umbra answers as the servants bring in their breakfast. Twilight's eyes noticeably widen at that answer. 'TWO AND A HALF MONTHS? They're bigger than the CMC! How do Alicorns even grow?' Twilight thinks.

“Wow, you two are pretty big for that age.” Twilight observes. “You must have learned a lot in the time you have been Princess Luna's students. So you can control light, right?” referring to Lucis as he picked at his food. 'I'm going to have to ask Princess Celestia about Alicorn growth rate' making a mental note.

“Yah, I guess. Too bad it's all dark now.” Lucis says, gloomily looking in the general direction of he voice.

“Don't worry you'll get better, I know it!” Umbra quickly attempts to cheer up her brother. 'Yup she definitely blames herself' Twilight thinks.

“May I see your eyes Lucis?” Twilight asks as she stands up from her empty plate. Lucis sits for a moment; he then attempts to use magic to levitate his fork to impale his breakfast.

“Yah, I guess you can” He says gloomily, as his fork stabs into the maple colored table. “Crap...”

Princess Luna was very uneasy and downright nervous would be better. Her sister did not exactly look happy with this turn of events. 'Oh, we've seen our students for the last time, we know it. We should have said goodbye' Luna thinks. They enter an empty room down the hall, a good sized room. It appeared as though it is being used as a storeroom at the moment. Boxes, crates and tarped objects lay about, a good layer of dust on them. ' The servants really should clean this room.' Luna unconsciously thinks.

Princess Celestia turns around once the door closed and gave her sister a stern look. “So, please allow me to get this straight; your student, an Alicorn of light, is blind?!” She exclaims Luna shies away from her sister, despite the fact she does not seem truly mad yet.

“W-Well yes, but as we said, Dr. Kitt is already on the case!” Luna answers nervously. “And it happened as we went to move the moon!”

“*sigh* Well, other than his sight, is he ok?” Celestia continues with a sightly softer tone and volume this time.

“Of course he is!” Luna retorts, quickly calming her nerves.

“And Umbra is unharmed?” Celestia asks, calming her voice a bit more. “She seems troubled. I can imagine this is not an easy experience for either of them.”

“She is unharmed Sister.” Luna assures. “And she believes Lucis's blindness, is her fault.”

“I see. Luna, have you figured out why I wanted you to teach these two?” Celestia asks her voice back to its normal volume.

“Well....'tis because thou already hath a student?” Luna guesses, still unsure of what grand lesson her sister wants her to teach them and herself.

“I thought you wouldn’t figure it out this quickly.” Celestia says. “But, that's alright. I know it will come to you eventually.” Celestia looks reassuringly to her sister as she walks past her, leaving Luna alone in the dusty room. ' We hope it does sister, we hope it does' Luna thinks worriedly.

“Oh dear.” Twilight says as she looks at a pair of sad pupil-less eyes. 'This is not normal' was Twilight's first thought. Her second was, 'No ordinary magic will fix this, if any kind could that is.' She looked into these eyes and she could swear they were faintly glowing.

“So you're Princess Celestia's student?” Lucis starts in a melancholy voice that quickly gains hope. “Do you think I'll be able to see again? Could you fix my eyes?”

“Oh yah! Do you think you could? You must know a lot about magic and stuff!” Umbra says quickly regaining her upbeat attitude as a ray of hope appears.

“Well...yes..and perhaps...” Twilight says as she looks at the two young Alicorns, their hopeful faces quickly change back to their gloomy state. ”I mean, of course I'll help. I'll have to do a good bit of research first, and then...” Twilight corrects as their faces regain some hope. 'Ohh, what am I getting myself into? I have no clue about what to do; I don't even know if I have time for that, Princess Celestia told me at lunch we had some important things to do today.' Twilight thinks. 'But this poor colt may never see again if I don't help....'

“You promise?” Umbra asks, putting Twilight in a difficult spot. .

“I..I promise, I will do all I can to help.” Twilight answers, unsure of what she might have gotten herself into. Yet, she feels she needs to help him if she really can.

“Twilight, have you three gotten to know each other well?” Celestia asks upon her prompt return. Twilight turns to her mentor as Lucis pulls the blindfold down over his eyes.

“As well as three ponies can in five minutes.” Twilight replies.

“Good, you'll have more time to talk later. We have some pressing matters to attend to.” Celestia informs. Twilight stands and they leave the grand room, passing Princess Luna as she enters the room. The look on the Night Princess's face was sullen and serious.

“Good day, Miss Sparkle.” Luna says as she passes, The bright light in the room not matching her mood. Umbra turns to her, letting off a weak smile. “Come you two, Lessons mustn’t be delayed”

“Princess Celestia, can I talk to you?“ Twilight asks nervously, ”About Princess Luna's student, Lucis?” Princess Celestia looks over the ancient book she had been reading.

“Of course, Twilight. What about him?” Celestia says, putting the old book aside. The library wing they were in was not one they visited often as healing magic could be very tricky sometimes, even when technically performed to perfection. Many major injuries have been caused due to a unicorn's attempts to heal a small wound as many unicorns just can't get it to work right.

“Well Princess, it's about his...condition” Twilight says. “It's strange. There isn't a single case like it in any of these book, much less a way to fix it.”

“I am aware of that Twilight.” Celestia says calmly. “I believe Lucis may never see again sadly”

“But there must be something we can do Princess” Twilight insists. “He's so young, I can't imagine a life without sight. Especially since he still has so much to see.”

“As a Princess, I cannot stand to see my subjects so pained, much less this young colt. So, Twilight, you and I shall do all we can to help him. That is why we are in this section of the library, as well as why I called you here. I heard rumors of this incident this morning among the castle staff.” Celestia says, sighing. “So let us not dilly dally, if a cure is to be found, it would be best if it was found fast.”

Twilight looks to her mentor, the pony who knows everything. The kind and loving Princess was not able to hide what she really thought. Twilight knew then and there. 'Princess Celestia isn't going to be able to cure this young colt, and put a swift end to his life of blindness. So I must try all I can to help him.' She thinks determinedly 'I MUST help Lucis.'

Chapter 3 : Attempt and Hope

`Chapter 3: Attempt and Hope

“'One needs not the use of the eye to truly see, for I see your defeat is near, Kuni Kage.' The Blind Samurai-pony says to the evil Ninja pony. ' You over-estimate yourself dear Shoti. You really think you could beat ME?' The evil unicorn says as they begin an epic battle! Shoti draws his katana lightning quick, holding the handle in his teeth. The Ninja leaps at him using his magic to pull two kunai from his saddle bags. The two clash and...” Umbra acts for her brother, reading him his favorite comic.

She stops as Princess Luna walks in the room; they were taking a break from today's lessons because Luna says their skills have progressed so much in the past five days. Lucis had improved much faster despite his condition. it was actually Umbra herself was shocked by how fast he could do, yet it seemed scary in a way.

'He can concentrate the light into a spot light, illuminate the room and his body, even absorb the ambiance out of a room into his body! He hasn't really learned much else other than magic that involves light. I can use a good many regular spells, unlike Lucis at the moment.' She thinks proudly. 'I have learned so much these past few days; I have learned to negate light and can counter part of what my brother can do.'

“Princess Luna!” Umbra calls as she stands to helps Lucis up.”Has Dr. Kitt said anything yet?”

Luna looks through the dark window into her night sky, following the moon as it nears its peak. “We have heard he hath found all he needs. He shalt return shortly, and with luck Lucis may be cured.” She says with dissipating hope.

“Is something wrong?” Lucis asks, his mood slightly dampened by his teacher's lack of faith.

“Of course not, well...We are just unsure if thy treatment will go well.” Luna says with a voice laced in care, the care of a mother worried she may hurt her child more than help it. “We don't want you to get hurt, nor do We wish to give you false hope.”

Umbra looks to her surrogate mother. Something she feels to be true since she had never known her parents, let alone any other that cared for them as much as Luna. 'Aunt Celly is nice and she loves us, but nowhere near the to extent Luna has grown to love us.' Umbra thinks, 'To think only a month or so ago I was a little tiny filly without a care in the world. Now here I am, with a loving mother and brother, and my blunders are hurting them both....'

“Don't worry Tea... Mommy. I'll get better you'll see. If Doctor Kitt can't help me, than I'm sure Twilight can!” Lucis says, he thoughts going to her promise. 'She'll be able to help me. I'm sure of it! She's so nice...if only I could put a face to that caring voice... Well, with her help I will be able to! There is no way that neither of them will not be able to help' Lucis thinks, his head full of unyielding confidence.

Luna looks to her student, no her son, she corrects. She has grown so close to these two over the past month and it's quite frankly astounding. she looks at her student with love and hope. 'Maybe he will be able to see again. Maybe this is what our sister wants us to learn, love, care, and tenderness.' Luna thinks bubbly.

“Alright, well time to practice for a little more this night” Luna says gently. 'Wait, did he say Twilight will help?' Luna thinks puzzled.

“Uggghhhh” Twilight groans, closing yet another book. She had found nothing all day, and the night was proving just as fruitless. The library was desolate, and dimly lit. The mountain of books next to her was all she had to show for days and a few nights of research. 'There is absolutely no material relating to his symptoms, nothing even close.' Twilight thinks exasperated. She looks down at the table, only a few books left, an empty note pad, multiple quills and ink wells. Sighing, she looks out the window to the clear sky; its stars painted upon a magnificent canvas of blues and blacks. The moon is just nearing its peak, she feels the need to go to bed soon.

“Working hard as ever it seems, Twilight.” Celestia says, breaking into Twilight's thoughts. Celestia walks up to her with her usual grace, despite looking rather tired. “Have you found anything useful?”

“Princess Celestia, I...I can't. You caught me just as I was about to give up and go to bed. It's just not in any of these books that I've read so far.” Twilight sighs, “His symptoms are so strange, there is nothing even close to it. I just don't know what to do... There must be some way to help him”

“Perhaps that way is to present no illusions of regaining his sight.” Celestia says softly, with sadness in her voice. “To lead him along thinking he can regain his sight, while we know there is no way, is just cruel.”

Twilight looks at the princess with shock, how can she give up so easily? 'How can Princess Celestia, the wisest pony around, give up like this? There must be a way to help him...I just don't know where to find it' Twilight thinks. 'But... she may be right. Maybe he won't be able to reclaim his sight, and adjusting to this new lifestyle would be best...'

“I know you wish to help him, I know I do, but there really may be nothing we can do.” Princess Celestia says. She looks to her student, hoping to reach some sort of conclusion to this. “You need to rest my student, you've been at this for the past five days.”

“Well, I have had adequate sleep for my schedule... but you may be right. Bare minimum doesn’t cut it in the long run” Twilight admits. She stands, and the Princess and her student walk through the gloom and go their separate ways to reach the peaceful embrace of sleep.

Umbra awoke with a lightness she hadn't had in awhile.'Today Dr. Kitt will make Lucis all better and everything will be ok.' She thought in a happy yawn. The sun was high in the sky, showering her room in a warm light. Her bed was quickly made with magic, as she walked over to her dresser to fix her mane.

“Today is going to be a good day” she says joyfully.

Lucis awoke feeling amazing. 'Today is the day. I know there is no way all of these plans can fail.' Lucis though happily. 'Soon this veil will be lifted and light will return to my life.' He jumps out of bed and turns to the door, opens it with magic, and trots happily only to meet the wall.

“Ow...” Lucis grumbles as he backs away, moves to the left a few feet, and walks out the door. 'So glad I won't have to deal with THAT any more...' He thinks happily.

Twilight looked down at yet another book. She never thought that a book would be this sickening to her, how many had she gone through already? She looked at the growing pile of useless books. 'Too many' She thinks. 'How can NONE of these books have anything useful?'

Her day had started crummy and these books were not helping. The looming thought of telling a young colt she couldn't help him was horrible. 'But that may be the only way...just like the Princess said.' Twilight thinks sadly. 'How can I do this? How can I tell him the colors of the world are lost forever?'

Breakfast, or lunch to most ponies, had much lighter feel today. 'Dr. Kitt should be arriving any time now' Umbra thinks excitedly. She almost seems more exited than Lucis. She looks to her brother, who is still wearing the blindfold she had made for him, to see a small grin on his face.

After looking around the study, for what felt like an eternity, the bookshelves, books,scattered chairs, and desks did not get any more interesting. But none of those things mattered when a knock came from the other side of the door. Excitedly, Lucis gets up to go to the door, only to knock over a chair. As Lucis picks himself up off of the the fallen chair, Umbra giggles and canters over to the door. When she opens it, she finds her teacher and the doctor waiting on the other side.

“Oh good! Now all of this can be sorted out!” Umbra squeals with glee, jumping up and down. The doctor looks at her with an unamused frown. Umbra stops her jumping and backs away, back to her spot by Lucis. Luna and the doctor enter the room, the doctor leading. Luna stops by a bookshelf and leans against it. The doctor walks up to Lucis slowly.

“Raise your blindfold please” Dr. Kitt instructs. Lucis does as told eager to have his sight back “Hmm they've gotten brighter, well if you will follow me we will see what we can do.”

“Ugghhhhh” Umbra groans as she wanders about the enormous castle. It had been eight hours since Dr. Kitt and her brother had gone to try to heal his eyes. The anticipation, and hope to right her wrong, were killing her. She looks at the stained glass window she had stopped in front of, the moon behind it caused it to cast a faint color barrage everywhere around her. It's depiction showed six ponies defeating a wicked looking black Alicorn with blue armor.

“I wonder who that is? I've never heard anything about this, maybe we'll learn about it sometime.” Umbra thinks aloud, not looking too closely at the window as she continued her wandering.

“AGHHH” Lucis yells as he feels magic start pulling on his eyes again. 'Is he TRYING to pull my eyes out? How is this going to help me? THIS SPELL HURTS!!' Are the only thoughts that repeated in Lucis's mind. The last several tests had helped none, no herbal remedies had either, there appeared to be no medical way to even try, and all the spells hurt. 'This sucks' Lucis thinks, 'but one of these HAS to work.' The pain in his eyes slowly fades.

“Is that any better?” Dr. Kitt asks, “Can you see anything at all? Any light?” Luna looks down at her student with concern and hope 'Hath this one worked?' she thinks hopefully.

Lucis opens his eyes, and sees...nothing. A fog of shadow that he now feels may haunt him forever. “No” he says flatly. 'Wait, there is still hope! Dr. Kitt probably has more tests! And there is still Twilight to count on!' He thinks, regaining some hope.

“I have one final spell I could try,” Dr. Kitt says gravely, “ But I fear it may not work, it may damage your eyes even more.” Dr. Kitt shifts on his hooves, awaiting an answer form somepony. Lucis's head shifts in his direction from his position on the operating table.

“Do it” He sighs.

Luna left the room, she couldn't stand to see her surrogate son hurt and disappointed, only to regain hope and be disappointed yet again. 'There must be something We can do' She thinks as she begins wandering down the hall, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. She wandered the dim, yet elegant halls for a few minuets. Stopping at a window, a familiar window. A stained glass window that depicted Nightmare Moon's.....no her defeat. She had kept her past self a secret from her children, for she did not wish for them to fear her.

'Not telling them is the best option,' Luna thinks, looking out the window as the moon slipped past the top of the window causing the colorful light to shorten upon the floor. 'If they knew our past, We would only frighten them.' She thinks. 'And then they would learn nothing, and would hate us.'

'Now is that really the truth?' a cool voice says in the back of her mind.

Umbra found herself outside of the room where Dr. Kitt was helping her brother. The wooden door was painted many beautiful colors, flowing together in an indescribable beauty, like many things in the castle. 'And soon my brother will see them all again.' Umbra thought happily, 'My wrong will be corrected and all will be well.' Umbra turns as she hears hoofsteps behind her.

“Princess! I thought you were in there with them?” Umbra quizzically asks.

“Indeed we were, but we felt a walk was necessary.” Luna answers quietly, shifting on her hooves.

“Is everything going good? Is he going to be able to see?” Umbra inquires, leaning towards her mother.

“Dr. Kitt is performing one more attempt, but alas, We are unaware of the progress due to Our walk.” Luna says. As if on queue, Dr. Kitt opens the colorful doors with a somber look on his face.

“I tried all I can with my current resources,” Dr. Kitt sighs, Lucis walking out with his blindfold on behind him. “There is nothing else I can do really. I'm sorry...I...” The doctor looks down trying to find the right words.

“It's alright,” Lucis says quietly, bumping into Umbra who gives him a hug. “I still have Twilight, she can help me. I know she can.” Luna looks at her son with sadness in her eyes.

'He can have so much faith in a pony he only met once, and still have compete trust that she can help him' Luna thinks amazed.

'What else is there to do? When the light is taken hope is all that remains, until that fades as well, that is.' The cool voice says in the back of her mind. 'You hoped that some would appreciate your night, and gave up. Much like he will do when he learns Her precious student can't help him'

'Begone foul spirit, We are a Nightmare no longer,' Luna thinks. 'We love and are loved, we have no use of thoughts of back then.'

'I am not here to turn you,' The Nightmare hisses. 'I too feel as you do, and have no wish to go back to being hated. I merely warn of the inevitable.' Umbra looks to her teacher to see what the next step will be. Lucis leans against her, his face blank.

“To bed you two” Luna orders, “We shall see Twilight in the morn.” The two turn slowly and head off to their rooms, Luna turns to the Doctor. “Thou may take leave as well. Thou shall be called if your services are required. Thank you, truly, thank you.”

'Thou wish not to turn me?' Luna ponders.

'Nay, we are loved by our subjects and our children.' The Nightmare answers, 'I speak only to warn you of what may happen. Beware, he may follow in our hoofsteps' Luna begins walking torwards the balcony, where she may watch her moon more easily.

'Thank you, but we believe we can handle this.' Luna thinks smugly, as she approaches the main hall along the way.

'If thou do not wish to heed my warning then so be it. I shall not speak on the matter again.' The Nightmare retorts. 'I shall speak again only once. I pray that is to congratulate you on avoiding this looming disaster, not to deliver an “I had informed you this would happen” remark'

'We shall see Nightmare, but when that day comes 'tis thou whom shall be wrong' Luna thinks smugly, having bested the Nightmare, halting her advances yet again.

Lucis looks about the room, or he moves his head in the motions at least. He desperately walks out of his dark room, avoiding the wall this time. 'I must find Twilight and end this. She can help I just know it. There is NO way I can end up being blind for the rest of my life, it can be cured. It has to be.' Lucis thinks frantically as he moves down the hall towards Celestia's guest rooms.

“Hehe, well it must be dark enough to where I couldn't see where I was going anyway” Lucis says jokingly. Lucis stops dead as he hears a noise from his left.

“Uh...Master Lucis? What are you doing up?” A Nightguard Pony asks as he looks at the sneaking student. The guard looks around to see if anypony else was with him. “Why are you traveling alone? Are you no longer blind?”

“Nay, I am as blind as I was when I awoke this morning.” Lucis says sadly, “But I am off to get it taken care of now!” The guard pony looks down at the alicorn, who only comes up to his chest.

'Forgot how fast these two have grown' The guard thinks amazed. “Taken care of?” he asks in puzzlement, “I thought Dr. Kitt tried earlier?”

“Indeed he did. But, nothing he tried worked... But that's okay because I still have a back up!” Lucis says “I still have Twilight to fix my eyes!”

“So you've talked to Twilight, huh? Well bothering her now will do ya no good kid.” The guard explains as he looks around in the dark. “She went to sleep not too long ago, it would be best if ya waited till tomorrow to talk to her.”

“Well.....alright.” Lucis says as he turns around. “I'll talk to her tomorrow.”

“Good night young one, I wish you luck!” The guard says after him. The guard turns and chuckles as he continues on his route. “Kids, never do like to give up do they?”

“One needs not the use of the eyes to truly see, for life's beauty is presented in many ways. Love is life's purest beauty, and can only be seen with the heart.”

-Shoti, the blind Samurai Pony.

Chapter 4 : Fades and Leaves

Chapter 4: Fades and Leaves

Lucis awoke to find the usual nothingness that overlays the world. Sighing, he got up and quickly brushed his mane and tail, nothing fancy, just to clean himself up a little. Lucis turns about and moves exactly 5 paces ahead, turns to the door opens it with magic, and walks out.

“Not hitting that wall this time,” Lucis chuckles as he trots to his sister's room.

“Lucis,” a familiar voice calls out, belonging to a pony with a lot of hope resting on her shoulders, Twilight walks up next to Lucis making sure he wasn't going to accidentally turn the wrong way or keep moving. “Look, I need to talk to you. And probably your sister... We may as well involve Princess Luna as well.”

“Oh, ok,” Lucis says unsure if this is going to be bad. He shifts on his hooves unsure of what to make of the situation. Twilight looks about, trying to figure out what to say next. The hall seemed bigger with the awkward silence adding to its feel.

“Well, I'll be in the Library. Come there once you get your sister and the Princess, okay?” Twilight says cutting the strange air like a plow through dirt. Lucis looks in her direction and nods as he continues on his way to Umbra’s room.

“This is going to be harder than I thought.” Twilight sighs, turning around and heading for the Library, the halls only seeming longer with each step. The looming task of crushing a hope pressing closer and closer.

Umbra lay on her bed not wanting to move. 'I have a bad feeling about today... I feel like this is the beginning of... of something I can't understand just yet' She thinks restlessly, 'And I get the feeling in the end... it's my fault.'

A knock comes to her door along with a muffled, “Can I come in?” Umbra looks at the door while dreading time's passing. She looks to her window, the sun high in the crystal clear blue sky. 'It's a beautiful day for... whatever will happen' Umbra bitterly thinks.

“Yeah, come on in,” Umbra says as she gets out of bed and canters sleepily to her simple dresser and mirror. She begins brushing her horribly messy mane and tail as her door opens. Lucis walks in carefully, as if he is measuring exactly how far he can move about without hitting things.

'Silly Lucis, but I will admit. It is a good idea.' Umbra thinks as she giggles a little. She looks back at her mane in the mirror to see she had brushed it to the wrong side. 'Oh for the love of...'

“Hey Umbra, guess what?” Lucis asks a little nervously. “Twilight said that she needs to talk to me. Well you, Mo... Princess Luna, and me.”

“Oh really? Do you think she found a cure? A way to fix your eyes?” Umbra asks as she corrects her mane.

Lucis turns his head in her direction looking very confused, “I hope so, but...”

“But what?” Umbra asks as she finishes brushing her tail. She turns and walks up to her brother, whom immediately looks a lot less worried. Lucis pulls up his blindfold to allow his faintly glowing eyes a chance to be in the light that is unseeable to him. His eyes look over his sister's face, as though trying to see.

“I think she is going to tell me that she can't help me.” Lucis says downheartedly, his face putting on a quick smile. His foggy eyes wander about the room for a moment as though trying to make out it's shape and depth. Lucis's face lightened, for a moment, into a small smile. Umbra walks away to get her hair bow from her dresser and Lucis's face falls a little as he puts his blindfold back on.

“Is something amiss Lucis?” Umbra asks as she notes her brother's change in facial expression. The light in the room seems to fluctuate as Lucis scrambles for an answer.

“Nothing... well nothing I'm sure of.” Lucis answers quietly as he turns around. “Come sister, we must get Princess Luna.”

“Twilight Sparkle requests Us as well?” Princess Luna asks quizzically, glancing around her grand room. “Well, if We are needed then We shall attend.” Princess Luna turns back towards her students and motions for Umbra to lead the way. Lucis and Luna follow behind her. They leave Luna’s elegant room for the Library in hopes of good news.

The castle has been busy lately with concerts and meetings. The palace guests were shocked by the two new alicorn for their arrival had not been announced, nor reported, in any paper. The Royal Sisters had decided not to announce the presence of two new alicorn just yet so they could continue with their training quitely. They did not have time to worry about the press wanting to know everything about the two, thus the decision was made to keep the two hidden as much as possible from the outside world. All of the guests who had seen them promised not to tell anypony, but the Princesses knew that the silence would not last very long. Ponies talk and rumors spread after all.

Concerts and meetings were still lingering on due to unfinished business and the captivating spell of a melody. The trio pass doors that open seemingly into other worlds, worlds where there is less uncertainty and unease. A different scene plays out behind each door, through some are ponies having important meetings about the ongoings in Equestria, through another is a grayish pony playing a beautiful and haunting melody on a cello for a small entranced audience, others contain a calming silence and a feeling of emptiness, and most remain closed giving a feeling of uncertainty of what lay beyond.

'We fear the worst about this news' Luna thinks sadly, 'We hope Lucis will take this... life altering news well. If he does not...' Luna looks to her students, thinking of the uncertainty in their future. 'What will become of them? We did not even ponder this question before this happened. What is their place in this world? What will the public think of them? Will they be accepted? Or shall they be shunned as We were?'

Lucis turns his head in his teacher's direction, as though trying to see her. He holds the position for a moment and then turns his head back forward. The action unnerves Luna. 'It is as though he saw Our uncertain expression.' She thinks, looking at both of her students. Lucis follows closely behind Umbra, not bumping anything nor tripping on any object. 'Strange... he was bumping into every little thing earlier. Perhaps he has just walked these halls a good deal?'

The three approached the library door at a slow pace. Each step seeming to get heavier and more difficult, as all three of them feared the worst. The big door loomed over them as they arrived to it, it's purple color seemed to grow radiant and bid them to turn away from fate. Umbra pushed open the harmless yet menacing door to reveal the real cause of the tension, behind the door in the library sat Twilight and Princess Celestia at a small table in the center near a giant hourglass. The sand in the glass moved slowly as it counted down to an unknown time.

“Come Sister, bring your students,” Celestia beckons them over, motioning for them to come to the small table. “There is important business to attend to.”

Princess Luna gulps as she motions for her students to move forward. Lucis slowly begins moving sensing that he has to get this over with and feeling that there may be hope for his eyes to be repaired. Umbra stares for a moment and then begins to follow her brother. Luna quickly follows suit.

As Luna reaches the table Twilight begins to speak to Lucis in a very quiet and soft voice, “Lucis... I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do.” Tears begin to form on the edges of Twilight's eyes. ”I have searched this entire library and have found nothing even close to what has happened to you. Th-the best thing may just to be to ad-adjust to life wi-without the use of y-your eyes.” Tears falling down Twilight's cheeks.

Lucis stood there, looking as though he was torn between crying and trying to put on a small smile to try to make himself seem strong. His blindfold soon grew wet as his tears broke free of their cage and flowed down his face. Lucis pulled off his blindfold to reveal his glowing eyes, only for a moment as he soon collapsed on the ground in a crying mess with his blindfold in his hooves.

Umbra moves to comfort her brother, putting a hoof on his shoulder. Twilight begins to think as she begins to cry harder. 'I have just ended a young colt's hope to regain his sight, how can I ever feel like this was the right choice when he looks so hurt?'

Lucis flies to his favorite spot in the castle, the highest tower's roof. From here he feels like he could see the whole world, if he could see that is. He has flown to the roof so many times he has memorized the path, and luckily, avoided hitting anything on the way up for the past few times. Lucis feels as though this is the only spot he can be happy when he is not with his sister.

Lucis touches down on the roof, and slowly sits as the sunset casts it's last rays of warmth on his black coat. Lucis thinks as the cool nighttime breeze begins, 'these past five years haven't been so bad, have they? Sure I can't see, but I've learned so much and grown so close to my mother and sister. I don't think I would have made it this far if it hadn't been for Umbra. Without her... well I'm not sure what I'd do. It's funny when they say I've grown up so fast and become a “dashing young man,” but then again apparently I am a little taller than the average pony now... not that I can easily tell...' Lucis pulled off his blindfold, attempting as he does often when his sister is around, to see.

“Nope, nothing... Not sure why I still try when I'm up here anymore.” Lucis pulled the worn blindfold close to him, the stitches keeping the heart on are starting to come loose again. “I'm going to have to get Umbra to fix this again... and maybe I should wash it too...”
Lucis's glowing eyes turn skyward, hoping to see some of the beauty in the the sky long gone. The sky and the lights of life had left him three years ago, yet Lucis felt as though he still had a light in his life. Ironically it is a Mare of Darkness.

Umbra looked at the stained glass window. This was the one window she knows nothing about, the one depicting a black mare being defeated by six ponies. 'Strange...This is the only thing we haven't learned about. It seems so familiar...' Umbra thinks as she looks at the window. 'I have seen at least one of these ponies before... I know it...'

Umbra stares at the window, eventually seeing through it to the night sky beyond. Through the window she can see the purple black velvet of the night sky dotted with points of light. Other parts of the castle as well as the rest of Canterlot. She looks around at the castle and notices something off, a shape on the tallest of the towers. All of a sudden two points of lights like eyes looked directly down at her from the dark shape.

“Lucis?” Umbra wonders aloud, “What in Equestria are you doing up there?” Umbra gets up from her haunches and begins to walk towards a nearby balcony. The two pin-pricks of light follow her as she moves, until she moves past the windows. Upon arriving at the open balcony, Umbra spreads her white wings and takes flight. On beating wings she flies to the roof she saw the dark form on. Touching down on the cold roof she sees Lucis looking at her. 'That is really weird... it's as though he can see me' Umbra thinks uncomfortably.

“Oh, hey Umbra.” Lucis says quietly, looking back to the stars.

“Hey Lucis. Umm..What are you doing up here?” Umbra asks. 'How did he know it was me? This doesn't make sense.' “Lucis... How did you know it was me?”

“For your first question, I like it up here. I feel like I could see everything in Equestria if I could see.” Lucis says, sending a pang of guilt through Umbra. “For your second, well... how could I not know when my own sister approaches? ”

“I... you're right, I suppose.” Umbra says, still a little uneasy. 'I guess, he could hear me. I mean his hearing must be better than mine due to his lack of sight, right? But that still doesn't explain some things..' Umbra thinks as she sits down next to Lucis. She looks around, looking far into the distance, seeing vast shadowy mountain ranges illuminated faintly by the moon. Looking away from the mountains, she can see the town of Ponyville, with small specks of light from windows of homes. '

'Lucis is right, it does seem like you can see everything up here... and I'm the reason he can't enjoy this place like I can...' Umbra thinks sadly.

“Lucis?” Umbra asks quietly, the wind blowing softly. ”I'm sorry...” Lucis turns to her, his glowing eyes moving about her face. He squints a little then looks down.

“Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about, in fact without you... I would be a mess” Lucis says quietly.

“I'm sorry because it's my fault.” Umbra cokes, tears beginning to stream down her face. “If it wasn't for me you'd still be able to see. You'd be happy, and... and” Umbra breaks down, her body heaving with every sob.

“Umbra, without you I would be miserable, in fact a life without you is one I never want to live. I've never blamed you for what happened to me, because I don't see it as your fault.”

“B-but it is,” Umbra cries, reaching over and hugging Lucis tightly.“It's all my fault and you should never forgive me! How can you forgive me? What I caused is horrible! You can never see anything, you can't see the beauty of the world. If you could you would never forgive me...” Umbra continues to cry softly into Lucis's shoulder. Lucis extends his wings and wraps them around his crying sister. He holds her close, for once he is the one comforting the other.

Lucis turns his head to the moon, then back to his sister. “Umbra, you are my only light in this world.”

Umbra cuddles up to the warm blanket, feeling it's soft warmth. Her eyes open slightly at first then bolt open. She sits up right looking around at her room. It all looked normal, nothing was out of place. Except for one thing, a black alicorn sprawled out snoring on the floor.

'Lucis' Umbra thinks warmly, trying to remember what happened before she fell asleep. '”You are my only light in this world.” …Lucis, the roof... Wait how did I get...' Umbra looks down at Lucis.

“Lucis, how did you carry me here all by yourself? How did you not bump into anything?” Umbra says quietly. Lucis snores and rolls over onto his side, his blindfold half on and his white mane a mess. “Well, I'm not getting an answer from you right now...”

Umbra moves from her bed to her dresser, she looks herself in the face for a few moments. Her face is tear stained and tired looking, her black and yellow mane is an utter mess, and her yellow eyes look as though they can't take it anymore.

'I love my brother... but I can't stand to see him like this anymore... He is never really happy, and it IS all my fault. I know he blames me, deep down I know he does. And I can't take it anymore..every day I am reminded just by seeing him that I ruined him... If I stay I'll only be reminded of what I caused, and if I stay he will only be reminded of who caused his prison. Maybe my brother can live a happier life without the reason he is blind...' Umbra looks back to her peacefully sleeping brother, " I'm sorry Lucis..."

Umbra opens her door and closes it quietly, she moves as fast and quietly as possible. 'I'm sorry mother, I love you. But I cannot stay any longer. I'll miss you Auntie, and Mother, and... Lucis.' Umbra arrives at the balcony, spreading her wings without missing a beat and takes flight to parts unknown to her.

Lucis awoke with jump. He had had the worst dream, a dream of life without his sister. Lucis shuddered at the thought, glad it would never happen. He feels around, realizing he is on the floor. 'Great... now what floor am I on? Kitchen floor, my room's floor, buck I could be anywhere...' Lucis thinks as he tries to remember the last thing he did.
'Oh yah, I just brought Umbra to her room... so it goes to reason that I am on her floor' Lucis thinks feeling around for something to help him make sense of where he is. His hoof bumps an object, he feels and and determines it is a bedpost. 'Yup..a bedroom.' Lucis thinks as he stands up.'So I assume I'm in Umbra's' room. Lucis pulls off his blindfold and turns his head to the bed, everything stayed as it was in a blank void.

“Umbra? You here?” Lucis asks quietly. Hearing no sound, Lucis feels the bed trying to find his sister. After finding nothing Lucis decides she must have left the room already, and heads out to find her.

“Perhaps she went to get breakfast already? She is usually there when I get there.” Lucis says to himself quietly.

“Oh, sorry sir.” Lucis hears a guard say as he steps out of his way. Lucis turns his head in the direction of the sound.

“Oh, no it was my bad. I should have been more to the right and not in the middle of the hall.” Lucis replied. Moving more to his right and bumping into the wall. “Oh... well. Just don't worry about it.”

“Yes sir, would you like some help?” The guard asks him. Lucis looks away from the voice.

“No... I can do it myself.” Lucis said for what felt to be about the millionth time in his life. 'I'm sick of having to say that...' Lucis though bitterly. 'I have to find Umbra, I have to find my light.'

Lucis began walking to the dining hall, thinking along the way. 'I still haven't figured it out after all these years, when she is around I can..' His thought interrupted by a voice.

“Lucis, doth thou know the whereabouts of thy sister?” Luna asks as she walks up next to him.

“I was just heading to the dining hall to check if she was there.” Lucis replies.

“Well... perhaps she will return.” Luna says, looking at her son. 'If Umbra hath left, she must have a reason, and she may return soon' Luna thinks looking at Lucis's messy mane. 'And if she does not return soon, then...perhaps if she believes it is for the best, it will be ok.'

“What do you mean 'Return'? ” Lucis asks. Turning his head towards his mother as the continued toward the dining hall.

“Well... you see Lucis” Luna begins uneasily, “It appears as though Umbra has left; multiple guards claim to have seen her flying away from the castle in the morn.” Luna adjusts her wings as she awaits Lucis's reaction.

Lucis looked shocked, “What do you mean 'she left'?!” Lucis asks desperately.

“She has left of her own accord, and may not return.” Luna replies, “But We believe she may return soon.”

“Bu... We have to find her!” Lucis blurts, stopping in his tracks.

Luna stops with him and looks at the poor colt. 'Umbra is all Lucis has ever had, but she is her own mare. She should be allowed the freedom she desires.' Luna thinks sadly. “Lucis, it is her decision. She is her own mare, and such a thing can only be decided by her. Despite what thou, nor We, think.”

'She's left me... my light... and my mother won't do anything about it,' Lucis thought grimly. 'Then it's up to me to bring my sister home!'

Chapter 1 : Meetings and Accidents

The Two Students
Author: RainbowSnow

With thanks to my new editor: Aridifolia

Chapter 1 : Meetings and Accidents

Princess Luna walks along the Canterlot streets heading for the castle. She doesn't normally walk about in the day, but Princess Celestia has sent her to get a student. Actually two students. She asked her sister why she must go get two students, and Celestia just said,

"You will find them to be very interesting, trust me. That and you are the prefect one to teach them; you will do a much better job than I."

Luna will have to teach them about many things like magic, history, and many other important things for they are only in magic kindergarten.

She has heard rumors of interesting students at the magic kindergarten, with much promise, for they are different in some way. These ponies, sadly, also have no family. They were found not too far from Canterlot in the Everfree Forest. Just sitting there quietly as the train went by. Luckily somepony saw them and stopped the train to retrieve both of them.

Princess Luna thinks of this as she trots up the steps to the magic school. She opens the bright purple doors and enters the colorful hall. A unicorn teacher notices her entrance and bows.

"No, no, as thou were. Art thy to lead us to the students?" Luna asks politely looking about the entrance hall at the pictures of history and great magic users.

"Yes, right this way please," the pink unicorn says, her short yellow hair bouncing about. Princess Luna follows thinking of what may happen.

“One is in here," she says nervously.

They arrive at a room, a small room with black walls and the windows shut. A small, white coated filly sits in the middle of the room. The filly turns and looks at Luna, her yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. It is hard to make out anything other than her eyes and coat color in the darkness.

"Is it supposed to be this dark in here?" Luna asks, a little nervous and confused.

"No, she used magic to make it dark in there. We can't figure out how," The unicorn says, " it's impressive, but unnerving."

Luna uses magic to make some light to get a better look in the room. The filly looks through her black and yellow streaked mane at Luna studying her. Luna can make out the small horn and......wings?!?! 'The students art Alicorns?!? Why would our sister want us to teach an Alicorn, let alone two?!' Luna thinks, 'Wait more Alicorns! Well....this is interesting, the growth rate of an Alicorn is much different than that of a normal pony. They must be very young, to still be this small.' The light Luna created slowly dims as it seems to get sucked into the shadows.

" We see. We may be mare of the night, but thy art a mare of darkness." Luna says quietly, "Where is the other?"

"This way," the unicorn says closing the door. They walk to the next door and as it opens, light pours out. In the middle of the room sits a small colt, an Alicorn.'A M....Male Alicorn?!? Today is full of surprises... isn't it?' Luna thinks.' and thou little one art a colt of light it seems.' The small Alicorn has a black coat, a radiant white mane, and gray eyes.

"We will require a way to Transport these two, doth thou have anything we may use?" Luna asks, still pondering why she was chosen for this.

"Of course we have a small cart, but we don't have anypony to pull it..." the unicorn replies.

"'Tis alright, we shall pull it" Luna says.

"Well...alright" the unicorn says, and goes off to prepare the cart. Luna looks to the small colt sitting in the room, he looks up at her, an interested look in his eye. He gets up and walks over to her looking up at her face as he bumps into her leg. The colt fall backwards onto his backside, still looking up at her. Just staring and wondering. Luna giggles.

"Perhaps this shall not be that bad. Doth thou have a name young one? Can thou speak" she says still giggling a little.

"Luc...is" the small colt babbles among with other things.

"Did we hear thou say.... Lucis?” Luna asks the small colt. He just nods, a little fascinated by her flowing mane.

"Then, Lucis thou shalt be. Come let us get thine.....sister?" Luna ventures, the colt gets up nods a little and waits for her to move. She begins walking down the hall, looking back to see if Lucis is following and indeed he is. They arrive at the room and open the door the shadows flow outward only to be met by Lucis' light. The room lightens to its normal state as the filly sees her brother.

"And doth thou have a name?" Luna asks. The filly looks at her then at her brother, and back to her.

“Umb...ra" she says through the baby babbles.

“We see, Lucis and Umbra, fitting names for thy two indeed. We shall be taking care of thou two from here on out, ok?" Luna says. The unicorn arrives with the cart Luna uses her magic to harness herself in and place the two foals in the cart.

"Thank you, shall we be off?" she asks the foals, as they gleefully prepare for the ride. "`We shall take that as a yes." The three Alicorns set off for the castle, where they will be staying and learning.

A month later....

“Come on! You can do it, I know you can." Umbra says, "I can control my shadows already, so I know you can do it. Just try really hard!"

"Well.....alright" Lucis says. The two are in the training room in the Eastern wing of the castle while Luna is off raising the moon. They are trying to practice so they can impress her. The two Alicorn were the size of 5 year old ponies now.

Lucis concentrates as hard as he can, mustering every bit of strength he can manage. Just as he opens his eyes he begins to see a ball of light.

"Hey look! I did it!" Lucis exclaims, proud of his accomplishment. As he says this the orb starts getting brighter
and brighter.

"Good job! It's amazing! Now can you dim it? It hurts." Umbra says closing her eyes.

"I...I don't know how!" Lucis says, eyes widening on fear. "Agghhh! I burns!" He closes his eyes and turns away, only to find it floats in front of him wherever he looks.

"Aggghhhhh it burns! Even with my eyes closed!" Lucis screams as it gets brighter.

"Maybe I can help!" Umbra says as she tries to use her powers blindly. As she attempts to cover the light with darkness, it grows brighter and brighter.

"It hurts soo much," Lucis sobs, "It won't go away! Make it stop!"

"I can't!" Umbra says looking away still trying to put it out, "Wait, I think I got it!" The light flickers and fades as Lucis collapses to the ground crying. He lay there covering his eyes as tears fall around his hooves and down his face.

"Are you ok?" Umbra asks quietly.

"It...hurts...so...much!" Lucis cries. Umbra moves closer and sits next to him. The room seems eerily dark.

"Can you open your eyes?" Umbra asks tenderly.

"I...I can try...." Lucis sobs. As he removes his hooves from his eyes and opens them, Umbra begins to cry.

"I'm sorry.....I'm so sorry. I made you do it. Its my fault your hurt..." she sobs. As she looks into a set of white foggy eyes with no pupils.

“I....I can't see!" Lucis sobs, “I can't see! I can't see! I think I'm...blind!"

"No.....I.." Umbra says as she cries as hard as she can, her body shaking with every sob.

"What in Equestria is...oh dear" Luna says as she enters the room, seeing Lucis's eyes."What happened? Can thou see us?"

"I'm...b..blind" Lucis manages,"What will I do now? What can a blind pony do? Nothing! Blind....blind....."

"I told him to practice without your supervision....and he did. He..lost control of the light and burned his eyes!" Umbra confesses, looking from her brother to her teacher, her....mother. She looks away, anywhere but towards her, and finally from the shadowy bookshelves to the floor.

"Help us, we must get him to his room." Luna orders, deciding now is not the time for scolding. She uses her magic to help Lucis to his feet and supports him as he feebly walks.

Umbra just follows her crying brother, looking at the floor. I shouldn't have egged him on its my fault; now he will never see his wondrous light again. And it's all my fault. I have thrown him into my element, an eternal darkness. Umbra broods looking out the window at the crescent moon in the sky. Even the black of night is filled with beauty, the sky is filled with blues and purples. How could I have robbed him of such beauty?

Luna looks back at her students, seeing the despair that has befallen them. We should have been watching them. We could have prevented this! Luna thinks. Why sister, why did you pick Us for this? What can We teach them you cannot? How shall we deal with this issue?