//------------------------------// // Portents // Story: ShadowSide Tales // by B-Navigator //------------------------------// "Twilight, I don't see why you couldn't just have me send a letter," said the small dragon as he walked along the corridor. "I told you Spike, the situation's too important." The purple unicorn paused and looked out one of the plain windows spaced besides the stained glass ones. Far in the distance a huge black pillar topped with an equally black bowl rose from the land below. From the flames of constantly shifting colors in the bowl rose three great rainbows, each wrapped in a great spiral of black clouds as it arced across the sky. "The Twilight Lament Festival is also the date when all six lamps fully extinguish at the same time, and if I've read the signs right..." "That whole thing about Nightmare Moon, or Midnight Black, or Final Eclipse, or whatever those old stories called it?" "I like Sunbane myself. And I'm sure it's more than just an old story." Twilight responded curtly. "But …" Spike's stopped talking as they reached the doorway, looking at the two intimidating looking pegasus guards. "Hey, how's it going Iron Wing?" he called to one of the guards. Iron Wing allowed himself to grin slightly toward the dragon, and allowed it to remain as he shifted his gaze toward Twilight. "By order of The Princess, all visitors must blindly take two items from the bin and enter the room wearing them." Twilight nodded as she walked to the bin Iron Wing had pointed out and ignited her horn to first feel it's contents, then levitate four socks from the darkness. "That's a new one," she commented as she put an orange and a pink one on her front hooves, levitating the remaining yellow and blue socks to Spike. "Twilight Sparkle and Assistant," The bearded earth pony to one side of the doorway declared as Twilight entered the audience chamber. "Twilight!" Princess Luna called happily as she turned toward the entryway. She paused a moment, then ignited her horn while glancing toward a table on the other side of the room, causing a cascade of clicks as a dozen abacus's were briefly put to use. "So, what's so important my favorite student couldn't send me a letter?" Twilight took a deep breath. "She thinks Shadow Sunbane's planning to crash the Lament." Spike declared quickly. "Spike!" Twilight briefly directed a glair toward the baby dragon, then looked back toward the princess, her expression shifting from annoyance to worry. "Princess, I've been reading the signs, I've been pouring over all the old histories, and when I correlate accounts by Starswirl, Poplar, and Frostbite, everything points to the return of the entity who banished the sun when all six lamps extinguish for rejuvenation simultaneously. And the Twilight Lament Festival is when that will happen." Luna looked toward her student for a moment. "I see." She turned from Twilight and walked back to the wall she had been standing beside when Twilight had entered. Covering a large portion of it were dozens of sheets of papers messily covered with bright paint. "Would you take a moment to look at these?" She asked. Twilight sighed, but stepped beside her mentor. She paused, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breathes. 'Prophecy requires an uncluttered mind, clear everything and feel the patterns that stretch forward as well as backward.' Opening her eyes she looked at the mass of drawings. "Apples, Clouds, Ribbons, Birds, Cotton Candy and … a rainbow." Twilight sighed. "No clue if it means anything though." "Everything potentially has meaning, my young student." Luna responded simply. "I asked all the kindergarten teachers in Canterlot and the surrounding cities to have their students hoofpaint how they imagined The Sun had looked and send me the paintings." She looked toward the large array on the wall. "Do you think I should keep it for a few days? I rather like it." "Princess …" Twilight started, pausing as she tried to figure out what to say next. "Twilight, You've learned so much in your time studying here, but you may have been too focused on what you can pick up from books." "But…" "So, I'm charging you to personally take charge of preparations of this years Twilight Lament. And while your at it," Luna turned to look Twilight in the eye, "You also need to make some friends." The Princess cocked her head, glancing toward one of the windows. "Actually consider making friends your number one priority." "But..." Luna turned her head back toward the collection of hoof paintings, thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, I think I will leave this up for at least a week." Nodding to herself she trotted over to the table with the abacus's. "But...." The door to Twilight's room opened and Spike walked in, followed by Twilight. "Ok, it's a short trip so just pack the necessities, right?" Spike asked. "Do what you have to do spike." Twilight commented as she walked to the closet by the wardrobe. "I've got some thinking to do." She commented as she opened the door and looked into the completely white interior. Spike scratched his head as he looked at the closet. "Um, didn't Princess Luna say the whole no distraction closet was a crutch..." "The fate of Equestria may be at stake, self-discovery and all that can wait!" Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she stepped into the closet. "The Light shines within to illuminate the cutie mark. Where light shines, so there is Shadow," Twilight intoned as her cutie mark went monochrome as her body began shifting and reforming, with patches of black crystal forming at a dozen points on her coat, and spreading across her body. Spike shut the closet door and sighed. "I'd better get the calipers just in case," he commented as he walked away from the closet.