//------------------------------// // Prelude // Story: Dark Hopes // by xXShadowSparklesXx //------------------------------// Hello there. My name is Shadow Sparkle, and this is my story. I guess one could say that I was one of those ponies that often got overlooked, and the reason of that was that my other siblings just seemed to be doing so much better than myself: My brother, Shining Armor, is married to a princess, and my sister, Twilight, is a star student of Princess Celestia. As for me? Well, I was still stuck in magic kindergarten, barely able to levitate anything. Even the lightest quill around here was a huge challenge for me. "Shadow?” The teacher, Mystical Book, called. "It’s your turn for the test." 'Huh? Oh, okay." I said nervously as I got up from my desk. Living with a sister that constantly suffered from many moments of anxiety, I had seen the negative effects of being nervous, but in cases like these, how was I supposed to feel calm? "Shadow, your test will be to lift anything of your favor." Mystical Book said whilst she readied her clipboard. Magic was something that I hadn’t really gotten a hold of, and the only reason why I was in magic kindergarten was that when I was beginning to practice it, Twilight kept on interrupting me, messing my levitation up by using her magic to stop me, and since she was way stronger than I was in magic, she would always triumph over me. I had gotten really angry once, grasping her with my magic and sending her flying across the room, but after that, I found that I couldn't even levitate a quill. "May I use that workbook?." I asked, pointing to a workbook that was about 30 pages thick. That was the book I had studied last night to get ready for the test. "A workbook? Alright. Levitate this workbook up in the air for 10 seconds." Mystical Book explained. "You may begin." I gulped and looked at the book. I felt petrified as the other students were staring me down and I was unable to do anything. However, I eventually gathered up my courage to do what I was asked. I felt my horn get warm and I looked up to see a purplish aura surrounding my horn. A small wave of joy swept over me as I gained confidence as I focused on the book. The book shook as it slowly lifted in the air up to my head. " 1,2,3,4,5…” I could feel my confidence waver just like my magic was as I maintained the book’s mid-air position, and as I whispered out the duration, I could already feel myself regretting the act of under-estimating the weight of the book. I grunted out, willing myself to persevere for a little more “....8, 9.” I let out a gasp of air as I felt my magic grow too weak to hold the book up, and the workbook landed on the floor with a small thud. As if I had just completed a marathon, I looked up to my teacher with a tired but hopeful smile. "Did I do it, Miss Book?" "You did good, Shadow! You almost passed." Mystical Book said as she gave a small smile. "Almost?” I asked with disappointment and confusion. “Didn’t I hit ten, Miss Book?” Oh my goodness… This couldn’t be happening! "Well... Shadow, you let go at nine, but if it’s any comfort, you improved a lot since the last time we had this exercise! I am surprised!" Mystical Book reassured, although in my heart, the disappointment at being so close to passing made her words of comfort pale in comparison. With my head hung low, I turned around and went back to my desk. Even though Ms.Book try to help me feel better I couldn’t help but feel a wave of depression. I was always getting picked on after school by the other unicorns and it was all because I didn't know how to use my magic as well as they did. When the school bell rang for dismissal, I immediately got up and ran, hoping that I could get a head start on getting back home. However, as it has always been since I joined this school, I was not given such a chance. A pair of ponies were already in front of me, cutting off my path of escape from the school. "Where do you think you’re going, blank flank?" A taller blue pony grinned menacingly as he stalked closer to me. I instinctively took a step back in fear, but I soon got a hold of myself and stood my ground, silently scolding myself for showing weakness. 'Home." I stated, trying my best to remain as stoic as a guard on duty. “I’m going home. Where else? "You know you aren't strong without your sister to protect you, you good for nothing colt." The blue stallion said with a malicious smile. Despite the stoic expression that I held, a storm of emotions was brewing within me as my mind went back to my sister. Drat! Twilight was leaving for Ponyville today! How could I have forgotten?! "Well, before you head home, how about a little game, huh?" The orange colt beside the blue one sniggered as they started to close the distance between us. This was not going to end well, that I knew, so I quickly seized the opportunity to bolt through the small opening between the orange and blue stallion before they cornered me. "Get back here, you idiot! We didn't even play yet!" The orange colt yelled after me. Not even a fool would listen to them, and that was why I put in more speed on my hooves, hoping that I would be able to outrun them. "Looks like he wants to play tag, if you ask me!" The blue stallion laughed as they started to chase after me. Being of a smaller stature, it was not hard for them to begin closing the distance, and I quickly headed towards the hiding spot that was sure to cut them off from me. Ignoring the burn in my lungs for oxygen, I sprinted past a bakery, into a restaurant, and then out through the back of it. I kept on running, too fearful to even look back to see if they were actually chasing me. As soon as I caught sight of the cave that never failed to conceal me, I took a sharp turn, entered it and hid in the deepest part of the cave. I only allowed myself to start breathing again when the sound of hooves went past the entrance of the cave, and a pair of voices cursed loudly in the distance. I took a deep breath, and knowing that I was finally safe once again, I sighed in a mix of relief and exasperation. "Fourth time failing that stupid test." With the adrenaline of the chase slowly ebbing away, my vision began blurring with tears as a lump grew in my throat. "Why am I not as good as Twilight or Shining Armor, or any unicorn for that matter, at magic? Why?" The fact that I was getting chased by older unicorns didn't bother me. What really did bother me was the fact that I couldn't really use magic. No matter what I did, I just couldn't use my magic properly. The light clack of hooves on stone from the entrance of the cave made me realize that I was no longer alone. I looked up from my resting place, expecting to see a pair of blue and orange, so imagine my surprise when my eyes laid upon an alicorn with a pitch black coat and cyan armor. Seeing that she hadn’t noticed me yet, I decided to trot up to her and start a conversation. "Hello?" My voice was almost a whisper due to the nervousness I was feeling, but at least I managed to catch the mare’s attention. "Aww, a young colt." The alicorn looked at me with disgust, but I refused to flinch under her gaze. "What are you doing here? Don’t you know who I am?” "Not really." I muttered while I studied her before looking up to the sky. Her eyes were slitted and predatorial, and if you asked me, it was better to look anywhere else, as long as you never looked into her harsh eyes. “I only know that you used to raise the moon. Also, I’m just here to look up at the night sky and look at the stars. They seem brighter than usual tonight." "Really? I never thought anyone appreciate my night sky.” Her tone softened, if only slightly, and from the corner of my eye, I saw a smirk cross her muzzle. “Well then, at least I know that some ponies won’t be too fearful if I make night eternal!” I felt my hooves go shaky as I realized how familiar this all sounded, as if I had heard those words from a storybook before, and although I was slightly frightened, curiosity won me over. "May I ask for your name, Miss?" I asked, still slightly wary of the mare whose appearance seemed to scream “DANGER”. The alicorn stood there and then said in a calm voice. "I go by a name, but you ponies only know me as a nightmare.” I could see her gaze soften even more with the hint of a tear, but I looked away lest I become a victim of her wrath. From how she acted, it was safe to say that pitying her was sure to land you in her bad books, and I didn’t want that. “What they do not know is that I am forced to be one. I know I want night to be eternal, but more than that, I wish for my sister’s forgiveness. I know I will fail and I will gladly do so to be with my sister again if she forgives me. I have been on that moon for a thousand years, and I know my wrongs already. I just want her to forgive me.” She must have realized that I was starting (although I was trying my best not to show it) to pity her, because her gaze hardened again as she turned to look at me. Although the harsh glare in her eyes were gone, the mischievous, unpredictable twinkle in her eyes did not let me fully relax in her presence. “I know you come here to hide, colt. I’ve seen you hide here before when I was on the moon. Of course, it does not matter much to me, but out of curiosity, why are you hiding?" I let out a sigh and then said, "I am getting bullied by older unicorns and I usually come here to get away from them." I did not know why, but when it came to this mare, I just felt like we understood each other’s plight. It was as if the dam to my heart collapsed, and I found myself confessing my deepest fears to her. “I’m weak." I muttered, not even meeting her gaze. "I mean, c’mon… I can't even use my magic properly!" A few moments of silence ensued, and like her, I did not really feel too comfortable about showing weakness to anypony. With a defeated sigh, I got up on to my hooves and turned towards the exit. “I’m really sorry for wasting your time, miss. I’ll just take me leave now-” “Wait.” I paused, a shiver involuntarily running up and down my spine as her cold slipper rested on my back. I turned around, and the alicorn shifted and faced me with her horn glowing with a dark blue aura. "I don't know if this will help you out but this magic is for you. I do not desire to see a foal bullied, even if I am a nightmare or not." A blue orb about a size of a golfball came out of her horn and it floated lazily onto mine. The moment it touched the tip of my horn, I shivered as I felt a large surge of power run through my horn. "I don't know the consequences of doing this when I am in this form. When I give magic I can't keep out the dark that will confuse you, but you are truly strong, even if you think or say otherwise. I daresay that my defeat awaits me, and the sun will rise once again, but my only wish is for my sister’s forgiveness. If I still remember you, I shall make a visit of course, but until we meet again, colt, farewell to you." The alicorn unfolded her wings and took off at a stunning speed, leaving me sitting there and looking up into the starry sky as I muttered a few words, although I was sure she wouldn’t have heard it from this distance. “You’re not a nightmare at all…”