The Great Saddle Arabian Union is losing the war.
That much is plain to any who care enough to observe the situation.
But all they need is a superweapon of immense power to turn the tides.
Take back control.
Crush those insignificant rebels like the scum they are.
That's why she is here, stealthily slipping through the alleys of Ponyville.
She finally catches sight of her colt, stopping in place to admire his pleasing form.
The way he cringes away from practically anything.
The way his legs tremble as he walks through town.
The way his tail tucks itself under his belly, denying her the chance to see how her work has turned out.
Her colt is perfect, as always, something his pure white color testifies to.
...delicious...
There's a problem, though: Her colt has an escort, one with a prismatic mane and cyan coat and big, strong wings.
She decides to tail them from afar,
watching,
waiting for the right time to strike from the shadows of the alleys.
There is another problem, though: A cream-coated obstacle appears before her, blocking her path through the alley.
"And just what do you think you're doing?"
She raises a dismissive hoof, speaking for the first time since she began her mission.
"What, can an equine not walk in peace around this place?"
But the pink-and-blue-maned obstacle snorts in barely-contained rage, stomping up to her much taller form.
"Oh, don't you play games with me, bucko. I see the way you're eyeing Darkest."
The obstacle plants a hoof in her chest, having to reach up quite far to do so.
"I'm gonna tell you right now, punk. Buck. Off. You don't want to test me, capiche?"
It's strange, for there's this air about the obstacle that communicates the danger it poses.
The way it holds itself, full of confidence and power.
So much of both that she's not sure she could actually win in an honest scuffle.
She's going to need an alternate route, then.
She nods and raises a placating hoof, smiling serenely all the while.
The obstacle responds by shoving her into the alley's wall with impressive strength and staring her dead in the eyes while its features wrinkle in a vicious snarl.
"Now, you're gonna stalk your way straight outta my town and not come back. I'll be watching for you, so you better not get any ideas, got it?"
She nods once more and does so, ensuring she looks properly defeated in the process.
But a pleasant smile still graces her elegant features.
It seems this will be harder than I'd originally thought...
And she is already planning her next move.
...that will only make the rewards all the sweeter.
The diarchs sat across from the noble couple, all four of them sipping a blend of fine tea.
Well, the alicorns were merely pretending to be drinking, one too filled with rage to do so and the other simply too entrenched in disbelief to even give it a thought.
Both emotions were directed towards the unicorns before them, both of whom were demonstrating a casualness that hardly befit the subject at hoof.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
Light Night nodded serenely, pursing his lips slightly before responding to Luna's request.
"I said: Yes, we had a foal. Not for very long, though."
Luna hid her anger well, but Celestia could still read her sister just as well as she could those many centuries ago.
"Might you...expand...on that?"
Light Night shrugged easily, giving a carefree glance over to his wife, who merely sipped her tea, avoiding eye contact with everypony in the room.
"We had an unintended foal and named him Darkest to represent the blight he brought to our lives, but thankfully he was gone after a year or so."
Luna's rage reached its peak and she slammed both hooves upon the table they collectively sat at, sending her mug shattering to the floor.
"And just what did you do to him!?!"
Light lifted his hooves in an attempt to forestall her ire, elegantly placing his cup on the table to better to so.
"We didn't do anything. He simply went missing. We even reported it to Captain...er...Barrier, I think his name was?"
The stallion glanced at his wife once more, who nodded in confirmation yet didn't move her head from where it was positioned facing the window, letting her better watch the work going on outside.
"Right. Yes. Well, Captain Barrier told us he conducted a search, but failed to find anything. At that point, we were quite relieved to have Darkest gone, so we simply let it go."
Light Night shrugged easily once more, levitating his cup of tea back to his lips as his face screwed up in casual consideration.
"To be fully frank, Your Highnesses, I have not thought about it in years. I barely remember the foal, myself. Things got much better once he was gone, after all."
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire rubbed a consoling hoof across her husband's shaking withers, barely holding back her own tears as she gazed around at the gathered family. They numbered six in total, all located on various sofas spread throughout the room, though not all were sitting. Shining, for one, had practically collapsed against her, abandoning any consideration for posture in favor of better expressing his sorrow.
And what sorrow it was; Cadence's empathetic senses were practically drowning in the melancholy which permeated the room, sparing not a single member of the Sparkle family. However, one pony in particular was displaying clear confusion, mixed with denial. The pink alicorn's father-in-law, Night Light, finally spoke, in the process filling the room with the first words to be heard since the solemn announcement conducted by Twilight had ended.
"I just don't understand! How could he possibly have had a child without me noticing? I visited his manor at least once a month!" But the purple alicorn shook her head in response, absently shuffling the numerous notes she held in her magic as she answered.
"The Sisters asked every clarifying question they could think of during the interview, and both Nights were all too happy to provide the answers, so we have all the information..." She briefly scanned through her various notes before settling on one, scrutinizing it closer as she wiped what Cadence was certain was a tear out of her eye. "...in Light Night's own words:"
"Well, we did our utmost to keep quiet about the whole thing. We didn't want to bother anypony with a 'problem' of such little concern, after all. We really couldn't afford to, then. Socially speaking and financially speaking."
Light Night absently refilled his cup of tea, seeming to scarcely notice both princess' open-mouthed staring.
"I casted concealing spells on Stormy for the later months of the pregnancy, and we were always ready to hide him whenever guests came over."
Luna looked even more shocked at this, but Celestia found her gaze drifting ever downwards as understanding began to come upon her.
"But why on Equus would you do that?!"
Light Night seemed to have been ready for this reaction, as he was all too prepared with a self-satisfied smirk when he rolled his head around to look at the Night Princess.
"Mostly thanks to a little law that a certain princess implemented a while ago. I'm sure your sister knows what I am talking about, don't you, grandmother?"
Celestia only heard her sister's chair's legs squeal as it was violently turned around; her head had drifted too far downwards to see much of anything, let alone Luna's doubtlessly-beyond-shocked expression.
"Tia, you're related to these ponies!?"
Silence reigned once more for a noticeable length of time after Twilight's response. Finally, though, Princess Cadence managed to fight past her debilitating melancholy to voice a concern she'd been brewing since the encounter began its miserable course.
"How has Auntie been handling all of this? She's family too, after all." Everypony in the room perked in interest at this, while Twilight cast a longing look outside an adjacent window.
"Celestia has taken this new information the hardest, I think. Luna told me that she's been feeling a lot of guilt especially." It was that statement which finally got Shining Armor to withdraw from his misery enough to make an inquiry, still leaning heavily into his wife as he did so.
"But why would she feel guilty, of all things? What could our great-grandma have to feel guilty about?" Twilight vigorously shook her head at this, lifting her hoof in a placating gesture as she responded.
"Nothing that was her fault in the slightest, to be sure. Luna was sparse on the details, but I know the basic gist."
Light Night chuckled amiably upon hearing Luna's incredulous exclamation, setting both of his forehooves onto the table to lean towards the blue alicorn, all while wearing that same smirk on his face.
"Grandmother has always loved foals. She loved them so much that she wanted to raise one, so she made one herself and did so. Then, she went a step beyond that, mandating that all foals be well-taken-care of."
The stallion tilted his head ever-so-slightly to the side, enabling him to give Celestia a side-eye that somehow embodied at once both disdain and the respect he was due to give one of her status.
"It's characteristic of nobles like us to hate foals: They're messy, thankless pigs that leech off of our fortunes and offer nothing in return, after all. It is thusly not an altogether common or popular decision to have one."
Light examined his hoof, the cup of tea he had been so diligently nursing all but forgotten, now.
"Our social and financial situations were such that we legitimately could not afford to let word of his existence get out. The law which forced us to spend so many bits on him did not exactly help in that regard, seeing as certain laws are magically enforced and all that."
Luna turned to her sister at this, one eyebrow quirked in an inquisitive expression.
"Sister, if you magically enforced a law to make foals' lives better, how was Broken able to inflict so much damage? Surely his magic is nowhere near as strong as yours."
Celestia let out a pitiful sniff, though she managed to hide it to such an extent that she was certain only her sister had any chance of detecting it. The solar princess considered laying her head on the table, but knew it was not a wise idea; she had to keep up her royal persona, after all.
"Broken specialized in removing defences and obstacles, Luna. His skills weren't constrained to the battlefield, either: Anything he saw as sufficiently hindering to his progress was something he could apply his expertise to. It's what made him such an admirable Captain."
"Celestia always did display more interest in our side of the family, Twilight especially." Cadence's mother-in-law Twilight Velvet piped up for the first time. "It's not her fault, but I can see why that would contribute to her guilt." The room's reticence finally faded as it was filled with chatter following Velvet's statement, and the Princess of Love turned to her husband, gently pushing his head to face hers.
"How are you feeling, hun?" She knew the answer to that, of course: Her empathetic abilities allowed her to read everypony in the room like a book. Still, Cadence had learned long ago that some ponies felt much better after giving voice to their feelings, a number her Shining was part of. Said stallion gave her a pensive expression, but spoke soon enough, hastily drying his remaining tears as he did.
"Sad and depressed, of course, but I'm also feeling pretty...proud?" He looked confused at this, so the mare prompted him with a neutral:
"Oh?"
To which he nodded resolutely, shifting in place to better gaze into her eyes.
"Yeah. I keep thinking back to my battle with him. He wiped the floor with my whole team, even after we'd trained for years together. So, yeah, I'm pretty proud of him." Shining pursed his lips, sniffling just a little as he finished. "To be sure, I was proud before, but now that I know he's my cousin? I just can't wait to meet with the kid again." Cadence knit her brows together as her expression morphed into one of consternation and she leaned forward slightly.
"I don't think that's a good idea, hun. Not now, at least." The stallion slumped at this as his despondency returned with a raging vengeance, causing Cadence to rest a comforting hoof once more upon his withers, pointing with the other one.
"I'm worried about Spike. He's been silent this whole time and is feeling more confused than the rest of us put together, from what I can tell." The baby dragon was simply staring at the crystal floor, his face cast in the dark shadow of his lowered brow. He was holding something in his claws, though neither pony could see what from their current angle. A heavy sigh from Shining made the pink alicorn's gaze return to his visage, which looked the gravest she had ever seen on him.
"Cady...I'm worried about all of us, but we'll make it. We Lights persevere."
She nodded, and the two embraced shortly after, each taking comfort in the other's presence as they pondered the implications of this new information.
"You've been inconsistent with your words this whole time! Why are you trying to confuse us thus?"
Luna had finally had enough of Light Night's vacillating story, but he seemed not to share that opinion, considering his response.
"I know not what you mean, princess. Would you be so magnanimous as to explain?"
The Night Princess huffed, blowing steam from her nostrils as she resisted the urge to point an accusatory hoof.
"You say having a child wasn't a problem of much import, but then you state that your life as a whole became much worse when he was around! Why contradict yourself?"
The stallion opened his muzzle to interject, but Luna clearly wasn't finished.
"And then you explain how you were forced to spend what little bits you had on your child, but that you never once told anypony of his existence! Did you not believe my sister would assist your situation, even considering how much she loves foals?"
Light pursed his lips, his gaze dropping down to his empty mug as the alicorn made her final point.
"How did your 'situation', as you call it, even become so bad in the first place?! You're a direct grandson of royalty! Every noble in Canterlot should be doing all the brown-nosing they can to you!"
Silence reigned supreme as Luna caught her breath, panting slightly from the outburst. Finally, however, the unicorn noble cast yet another glance toward his wife--who was still staring out the window, sitting unmoved and unfettered--before responding.
"Listen, your majesty. Regardless of what I tell you today, one thing remains the same: We are the victims in this scenario, and are thus not liable for punishment of any kind. Perhaps we did not do all we could to find our child, but we were hardly criminal in our conduct towards him."
Light Night smirked, boldly staring Celestia's sister straight in the eyes as he continued.
"I majored in law, so I know my rights. We did not have to come here, today. I did not need to tell you anything, especially considering the tragedy I've gone through. Luckily for you, I was generous enough to supply you with some information, despite the trauma I have doubtlessly suffered from this whole ordeal."
He could not possibly have stated this less convincingly, but in reading his visage through the mist about her eyes, Celestia speedily determined that he was, in fact, not likely the perpetrator of any misdoing. Light's emotions were a swirling mixture of many flavors, but noticeably absent from that blend was any especially incriminating feelings. Triumph, fear, anxiety, shame, or anything like them were what she was looking for, but never found.
All told, her grandson seemed every bit as calm as he would have her believe, and her rising suspicions soon faded away entirely.
Fortunelessly, Celestia never once noticed the satisfied smirk adorning Stormy Night's face.
Or the quiet chuckle emitting from her muzzle.
"Don't you find it weird?"
Cadence swiveled her head to make eye contact with her husband, cocking an inquisitive eyebrow as she did. The two were currently aimlessly wandering through the many halls of Twilight's crystal castle, both deep in thought and silent until now. The gathering had been disbanded several minutes prior in efforts to let everypony process the information.
"Find what weird, hun? The fact that my cousin can manipulate reality itself or that he spent his life being tortured for evil purposes?" Shining deflated at this, but not enough that he gave up on whatever it was he was pursuing. The pink alicorn couldn't help but detect the sense of suspicion radiating off her husband like rays from the sun. I'm not sure I like where this is going.
"It's just...well, I feel like..." The stallion faltered for a moment, but soon picked up once more, gesturing vaguely with a hoof. "You know me, Cadence. I spent years in the guard, training diligently to..." He dropped off once more, and the mare found herself wanting to lighten the mood, if even by a small amount.
"...To try and win my affections?" Shining snorted in surprise and stopped short, enabling Cadence to sneak a peck on his cheek, grinning wryly the whole while. He soon recovered, though, and offered a playful smile in response.
"Heh, I just couldn't keep my real motivation hidden, could I?" His smile dropped then, allowing his dour expression to return with a vengeance. "Something about this doesn't feel right to me. Doesn't it seem so...convenient?" Cadence's quirked eyebrow made a triumphant return, something that was happening so often recently that she worried it might become permanent.
"Convenient how?" This caused her husband to begin pacing, likely trying desperately to organize his thoughts in an understandable manner.
"It's just...Darkest being related to us...I mean, think about it." Shining looked up in time to catch his wife's excellent deadpan expression, though the corners of her mouth were attempting to drift up into another smile.
"That's all I've been doing for the past few hours, hun." The stallion rolled his eyes and huffed annoyedly, returning to his near-frantic pacing.
"It means he's now directly related to all four alicorns in Equestria. I bet you nearly any noble in all of Canterlot would kill for that kind of political weight." Cadence squinted at this, pursing her lips as her expression became increasingly dangerous.
"Just what are you implying, Shining?" He jolted upon noticing her demeanor, his own showcasing the growing turmoil taking place in his mind.
"Look, I don't know, but something about this is fishy. I stole a glance at Twilight's notes on the way out, and something my uncle said caught my attention." The mare sighed heavily, her wings fluttering in an expression of her unease.
"And just what was that, exactly?"
Minutes later and after a slew of other clarifying questions, the interview was officially over and the princesses bid farewell to their guests.
As they were departing, however, one half of a whispered conversation from her grandson caught Celestia's attention, one of her ears flicking backwards to better catch it.
"What do you mean, 'he wasn't pure white?' Are you saying they have the wrong colt?"
Stormy Night apparently had a far better grasp of an alicorn's hearing ability, as her response was inaudible, but luckily Light's speech was still loud enough to be heard.
"'You remember his coat being purple?' Dark purple? Like a dark night? I fail to see how that's relevant."
Celestia's weary head cocked to the side as she wondered if she had misheard the question.
"You are correct. That is strange."
Starlight Glimmer was correct, which was pretty strange: Ponyville was in near-prime condition after a mere day of work and the residents did not, in fact, seem all too troubled to have Darkest wandering around.
Quite the opposite, in truth.
The unicorn's anxiety found itself on a steady rise as he was continuously beset by concerned looks and worried glances. Several townsponies even approached him outright, though thankfully they retreated upon noticing his shying away in response. This was exceedingly fortunate, for if the crowd around Darkest grew any more dense, he would likely lose control of himself in the panic that would follow. I am beginning to believe this mission to not be such a good idea. Faust knows what kind of havoc Knight would wreak if he were to regain control.
Somepony's there.
Ah, there he goes with his nonsensical statements, serving only to fortify my point. Yes, Knight, somepony is there. There are quite a few ponies around, if you had not noticed. Darkest would have rolled his eyes were they not preoccupied in the act of watching those selfsame ponies around him, ensuring none came too close or tried anything undesirable. He was currently roaming the streets of Ponyville in a quest to satisfy two missions: Find one of his friends, and formally apologize to every pony he met. The hope in completing the latter directive was that the citizens of the town decided not to punish him too badly in any way and chose to do so long enough for the former goal to be finished.
Rainbow Dash had been escorting Darkest through town earlier, ensuring his safety as he examined the damage for himself. She had insisted he do so, claiming that he would not feel nearly as bad after seeing for himself just how underwhelming the effects of his rampage actually were. Her assurances had rung true, something he was still processing at the moment, but that was hardly the foremost thought present in his mind. Rainbow had left after a while, explaining that she needed to 'take care of some business' and instructing Darkest to remain in one location.
The colt had possessed every possible intent to do as she ordered, but that had been some hours ago and he was becoming quite concerned.
Somepony's there.
The continually nonsensical insistences of Knight__which had been present nearly all throughout his travels in Ponyville that day__hardly helped matters. Who is there, Knight?! Would you possibly ever find it within yourself to become helpful by even the slightest margin?
The alleys.
What do you mean, 'the alleys'? What do they have to do with anything? Movement from an exceptionally short pony caught Darkest's attention and he swiftly turned to face the filly he quickly recognized as Scootaloo. The colt edged away slightly upon sighting her, but soon stopped and instead cocked his head to the side when he further observed her actions.
Scootaloo was dressed in a peculiar-looking yellow vest, detaching herself from a filly-sized wagon, which seemed to be carrying a whole load of irregularly-shaped flat stones. Darkest grew steadily more intrigued the longer he watched her set to work, noting especially her drooping posture and resigned, miserable frown. Well, she is one of the ponies I must apologize to, and there are enough witnesses around that I should be insured against violent actions. The citizens of Ponyville seemed to be keeping quite the diligent eye on him, if their tilted heads and none-too-discreet side-eyeing was indeed any indication.
Darkest felt at once both assured and anxious in knowing he was being so thoroughly watched, but there was no time to process those emotions, for he was already trotting up to the orange filly. She seemed not to notice his approach in any capacity, indeed not paying attention to anything save her labor. The unicorn halted once he was but a few feet away while the pegasus continued to work, tiresomely lifting one stone at a time from the wagon to place it in the depression she had stopped next to.
"Er, salutations, good Scootaloo. Might I humbly enquire what it is you are accomplishing at the moment?" The filly did not so much as turn to face him, her shoulders bobbing in a heavy sigh as she responded. Darkest quirked an eyebrow at the pure defeat he detected in her tone, the incessant flame of his curiosity blazing hotter the longer this encounter continued.
"Oh...it's you." Scootaloo sighed once more before grunting quietly as she heaved yet another stone from the wagon, sending it toppling into the hole. "Hi...I guess." The colt had to strain his hearing to even register her mumbling, and stood there awkwardly as silence proceeded to dominate their surroundings. A glance around revealed the nearby townsponies stopped in place, attempting to discreetly watch the two interact. A white-coated spiky-maned unicorn (Vinyl...Scrape...I think her name was?) was even whistling casually in efforts to distract from her watch. This is...certainly not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it does work to mine advantage.
The. Alleys.
Now is most assuredly not the time, Knight! Be silent, please, as I am attempting to think productively. Darkest coughed unsurely, absently rubbing his foreleg with a hoof as his gaze dropped to the miniature crater Scootaloo was filling. That is doubtlessly your doing, Knight, so if you would kindly cease your unhelpful muttering, I would be much obliged. Fortunately, this seemed to quiet the unicorn's instincts long enough to enable him to make another inquiry, which he did with notable timidness.
"Would you like some assistance in your efforts, good madame? You seem to be struggling with...er...whatever it is that you are doing." Still, the filly refused to face him, something that served to strengthen his feeling of unease. She did shake her head, however, and her ears pinned to the back of it when she mumbled her response.
"No thanks. That's not allowed, cuz I'm doing community service." Darkest nodded at this, though he did not especially know why. Well now, it is high time this interaction is finalized, methinks. He coughed stiffly once more, the discomfort of the situation not escaping either foal's attention.
"Well, then I must offer you my most sincere apology for mine actions of yesterday. Good evening to you, Scootaloo." With that he turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks when the filly abruptly spun to face him. Her depressed demeanor seemed to have been traded completely for one of confusion. Her befuddlement was so intense that she failed entirely to notice the flattened stone she had been carrying fall from her back and into the hole.
Watch out.
For what, Knight? Falling objects? I sincerely doubt that to be the danger of highest import, presently. Darkest nervously eyed the orange filly as she took a step closer, her head cocked to the side and her face screwed up in consternation. Mayhap I did something to offend her? Should I apologize? Again?
"Why're you saying sorry?" Scootaloo asked, her tone consisting of mainly confusion with hints of indignance, though knowing this hardly helped the colt's skyrocketing unease with the situation.
He let out a nervous chuckle in response, his eyes flickering madly about in search of an answer to the nonsensical question. She asks why I am apologizing? Was she not present when I threw her friend in a hole? Thankfully, the filly seemed to read his inability to respond easily enough and chose to elaborate rather than expect an answer. "You didn't do anything wrong! My friends and I were the ones who fed you a potion!" Scootaloo gestured vividly at the wagon she had been hitched to and the vest she was wearing, her indignance becoming increasingly prevalent. "That's why I'm the one filling up the holes!"
Darkest pinned his ears and took a few steps away from her, thoroughly unnerved by her increased volume. Several adjacent townsponies looked about to intervene, which would offer a suitable distraction for the colt to get away. Mayhap I should escape into a nearby alley? Those have always served me well.
WATCH. OUT.
Suddenly, the energy which seemed to fill the young pegasus drained away, leaving her previous despondence to return with several times its past strength. Her head drooped toward the floor once more as she turned to pick up the stone she had dropped.
"I shouldn't be talking to you, but you should know that I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Just...it's not your fault, okay?" An abrupt white flash and loud bang from her direction was the final nail in the proverbial coffin, causing Darkest to speedily backpedal away from the interaction.
Idiotically, he did this without so much as a glance behind him, so it was to nopony's surprise when he impacted the side of an innocent passerby. The citizen looked none too pleased and in fact rather incensed at the collision, from what Darkest could make out through his frantic tears.
THE ALLEYS THE ALLEYS SOMEPONY'S THERE WATCH OUT PLEASE STOP.
The colt's thoughts soon became an unending downward spiral of confusion and fear and anger and countless other emotions and it was so dreadfully awful that he only wanted it to stop and it seemed like there was something affecting his mind and actually wait no there was lots of things affecting that and-
Rainbow Dash!
All kinds of colors blurred and ran together around him, but he would recognize that mane anywhere. Better yet, it was tucked into a safe, secure location: An alley just ahead.
NO! NOT THE ALLEYS!
The only reasonable thing to do was go straight back to her.
There was a problem, though: Dash was unconscious.
She did not respond when he collapsed into her side, tearfully trying to nudge her awake.
Somepony else did, however: A tall, dark blue figure who loomed overhead, a wicked grin adorning her face.
Blackness.
Incredible.
Truly astounding.
Ponyville is a whole town completely dedicated to assisting with undoing her work.
That isn't the amazing part, though.
The astonishing part is how easy it had been to make off with her colt.
Part of him__the part she had created, she was sure__had detected her.
She was worried little Knighty wouldn't come to her.
That he wouldn't come home to his maker.
His true master.
But she was wrong.
He had come
crawling
back, and now they are together again.
She'd had to use some underhoofed methods, including some long-range manipulation of his adorable mind.
It is worth it, though. All the trouble she's gone through is worth it.
The Great Saddle Arabian Union's new superweapon is slung safely over her withers, his little body giving off a pleasant warmth.
He is unconscious, of course, and kept in a little bag to boot.
One can never be too cautious, after all.
She giggles as she approaches her ride out, nearly bouncing from pure joy.
The future is looking just...
...so...
bright.
And there is good fun to be had.
But first, she needs to redo all the work she had put into her colt, all those years ago.
The Ponyvillians had made good progress, after all.
Progress that will need undoing, which will take some effort.
She grins.
She is looking forward to it.