//------------------------------//
// Harbinger 
// Story: My Little Pony: Rise of the Heartless 
// by Flarinite 
//------------------------------//

	Princess Celestia flew through the evening sky, flanked by two of her royal pegasus guards.  A flash of lightning, followed by a crack of thunder.  Rain began to fall from the sky.
“Princess, perhaps we should try again when the weather clears up,” one of the guards suggested meekly.  Celestia ignored him, her eyes staring ever forward.
“I wish you’d have at least let us prepare the chariot for you, Your Majesty,” the other guard said.
“This is too urgent,” Celestia replied shortly.  The glowing tip of her horn bathed the earth below her and the sky in front of her in a gentle white light.  “Besides, it shouldn’t be more than half an hour until we reach Whinneapolis.”
They flew in silence for another twenty five minutes before reaching the city.  Celestia and her guards landed on the street, keeping a brisk walking pace.  The few ponies who remained out at the late hour bowed before her as she passed.  She ignored them.
They arrived at a small house wedged between two shops.  One of the guards knocked on the door.  Moments later, the door swung inward; a sleep-deprived mare looked up them, her bloodshot eyes widening as she bowed.
“Y… Your Majesty,” she stammered.  “I didn’t expect you to come here in person.”
“May I come in?” Celestia asked, smiling.  The mare nodded.
“Of course, of course.  I have to apologize about the mess, I–”
“Not at all,” Celestia interrupted.  “I’m sure you have your hooves full.”  She and her guards stepped into the house.
“I’ll… just go get them,” she said, cantering up the stairs as Celestia waited in the living room.  A few minutes later, she and her husband appeared, walking carefully down the stairs, each with a unicorn foal cradled in one arm.
“May I?” Celestia asked, sitting on the floor and extending her forelegs.
“Of course,” the mare said, nodding to her husband.  They placed the foals in Celestia’s arms.  They were swaddled in blankets, sound asleep.  The colt had a light brown coat and dark brown mane.  The filly had a pale purple coat and blonde mane.
“We just got back from the hospital a few hours ago,” the mare said.  “It took forever to get them to sleep.”
Celestia’s horn glowed with a golden light, and the blankets of both foals slid down to around their ankles.  On their flanks were identical cutie marks, a blocky black silhouette of a key encircled by the elegant blue outline of a heart.  Celestia turned to her guards and nodded.
“So… what does this mean, Your Majesty?” the stallion asked.  “Why were they born with cutie marks?”
“I’m afraid… there are dark times in Equestria’s future,” Celestia said somberly.  “If you’ll allow it, I would like to take these foals to Canterlot Castle to be raised.  Of course, we’ll accommodate your whole family, and everything will be explained to you there.”
“Your Majesty, is that absolutely necessary?”
“It is,” Celestia said.  “I wouldn’t impose like this if it weren’t absolutely vital.  But I’m afraid I must insist.”
The two ponies looked at each other.  “O… of  course, Your Majesty,” the mare said.
“Excellent.”  Celestia’s horn glowed again, and the blankets wrapped themselves snuggly back around the foals.  She handed them back to their parents before standing and turning to her guards.  “Cloudsurfer, I want you to stay here with the family.”  She turned back to the parents.  “I will return to Canterlot with Sunbeam and send a group here tomorrow to transport you and your things to the castle.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“I’ll be off, then.”  Celestia exited the house, rain pelting her coat as she stepped into the night.
Sunbeam looked up at her.  “Are you sure, Your Majesty?”
“There’s no doubt about it,” she said.  “I’d hoped it would never come to this again.”  She spread her magnificent white wings and took flight, Sunbeam beside her.