Daughter of the Night

by Word Wizard

Prologue

It was a dark night in Canterlot. Rain pelted down at the windows of the houses. The soft glow of candles danced on the raindrops, splaying out on the street. Boxed magic candles lit the streets, their soft light permeated by the falling rain.

Thunder rolled in the distance and the flash of lightning filled the air. Gutters gushed like streams as the storm unfurled its water. And in the thick of it all, under a gently bobbing umbrella, Twilight Velvet and Shining Crescent walked. Their faces were that of joy and anticipation, and slight hints of fear clouded the mix.

Twilight Velvet’s coat was pure white, tinged yellow in the candlelight. Her mane was white, striped with purple streaks. And her smile was radiating. Next to her, Shining Crescent walked, happily ignoring the rainwater on his deep blue hooves.

“What do you think we should name them?” Twilight Velvet asked her husband excitedly. “I was thinking we could use our first names and then make the second part up after seeing them!”

“Twilight,” Crescent chuckled, “we don’t need to think about it just yet. Let’s focus on getting it done, first, alright?”

“Right, yes,” Twilight tried to contain her glee, restraining its outage to a small trickle. “But I’m just glad we can finally be parents!”

“Yes,” Crescent smiled, “funny how I’ve always wanted to be a father with this kind of condition. I guess that’s ponies for you: always wanting something they can’t have.”

“But we can have it!” Twilight bounced up in the air, smiling widely.

“Honey,” Crescent stopped walking, turning to his wife. “I’m not completely sure these ‘zebra’ medicines work. I mean, I’d probably trust it more if it was actually proven by modern science…”

“Oh Crescent,” Twilight Velvet chuckled a little. “Just because they aren’t ponies doesn’t mean that they’re shady. There’s a reason they passed the Equality Act, isn’t there?”

“No no.” Shining shook his head as they started walking again. “It’s just I’d rather it was properly studied.”

“Me too.” Twilight shook her head. “You don’t just get a degree in chemistry in Canterlot University for nothing. But you want to be a father as much as I want to be a mother, it can’t do any harm to at least try.”

“I suppose it can’t.” Shining thought a second. “And you’re right about wanting to be a father. I just hope we have a little boy.”

“Well,” Velvet smiled, “she says that she’s mixing up enough for three. We’ll see what they are. And I’ll love them whatever gender.” She threw a quick smooch to Crescent.

“Me too,” Shining smiled. “They’ll be great.”

---------------------

“Ah, here we are.” Shining stopped in front of a small house.

Its twisted little chimney puffed smoke deep into the rainstorm, the curling spire stretching out of sight. The crooked door sat, shaking slightly after every boom of thunder. Two windows adorned the outside, glowing with light. And a silhouette of an equine figure walked back and forth inside.

“I hope she’s nice,” Twilight said, slightly concerned. “I’ve only talked with her through letters. Zebras are nice, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know,” Shining gulped, “now that you mention it…”

“Nevermind that.” Twilight began to mount the front steps. “I want children.”

“Well,” Crescent hesitated, “I do too.”

The couple mounted the steps and stood at the front door… And knocked.

“That is the couple, I presume? Come right in, there’s plenty of room,” a rhythmic voice called from inside. Twilight and Shining exchanged a look before pushing open the door.

Inside, neolithic torches were hung in braces against the walls, lighting the the room with a dancing orange glow. Several masks were hung on the far wall, smiling, laughing, and crying at the couple. In the center of the room, surrounded by herbal ingredients of all kinds, was a zebra intently stirring a thick brew.

“Hello,” Twilight Velvet ventured, holding onto her husbands hoof.

“Do not be afraid my pony friend, I do not wish to bring your end,” the zebra stated, not turning from her work. She sprinkled in some pink powder and stood back as a plume of magical smoke erupted from the mixture.

“Well, that’s good,” Twilight Velvet said, her face still worried. Crescent stood silently, looking around the house.

Looking around, Velvet spied an ornamented sign, twisted wood letters were carved into it along with several trees. Between the ornamentation, below the owl, were the letters that spelled out a name.

“Zecora?” Crescent asked, unsure of his deciphering of the sign.

“My name is that; please take off your hat,” Zecora turned, smiling mischievously.

“Nice to meet you, miss Zecora,” Twilight Velvet stepped forward, smiling as she sidled up to the brew. The young zebra turned back to her work.

“Ready it will be, just you wait and see,” she said in a deep and rhythmic voice. The swirls of the brew reflected in the torchlight, making the yellow substance almost glow. Velvet looked at it silently, thinking about her upcoming child.

“Thanks very much, miss,” Crescent stepped up beside his wife, placing a quick smooch on her lips. “This means an awful lot to us.”

“Thank you my clientele, but whether this works, only time will tell,” Zecora walked back towards Crescent, a little knife in her mouth. Crescent recoiled, surprised by the weapon.

“What exactly are you doing with that?” he asked, quickly stepping in front of Twilight.

“A touch of father to this brew, will make this child part of you,” Zecora explained, setting the knife down. “Do not be afraid, I do not wish to take more than I need.”

Crescent looked at his wife, who nodded silently. “Alright-” he stepped forward “-how much do you need?”

“Little,” Zecora said simply, arranging a bottle under Crescent’s hoof. She made a delicate slit in his foreleg with her knife, drawing only a few drops of blood. Crescent cringed, but it was over before he could become too worried.

“That’s it?” he asked, rubbing his wound with his hoof.

“That is it,” Zecora stated, dropping the red liquid into the brew. It gurgled a little, accepting the new liquid in time. When the steam stopped, Zecora stirred it a little more, reciting confusing incantations under her breath.

“How much do I need to drink, exactly?” Velvet asked as Zecora prepared three bottles.

“Merely one bottle,” Zecora hummed a little. “Excuse my lack of rhyme, I am learning them at this time.”

“Oh that’s fine.” Velvet chuckled a little as Zecora prepared to add the last ingredient. She tipped the bottle in, creating a plume of magical smoke. A fizzing sound erupted out of the pot as the liquid concentrated.

When the smoke cleared, the pot only had a small amount of liquid in it, which Zecora promptly divided between the three bottles. It gurgled, little yellow bubbles floating out.

“It is ready to inbreathe, this child you will soon conceive,” Zecora said, presenting a bottle in front of Twilight. She anxiously looked at her husband, who was skeptically studying one of the bottles.

“You know, does this mixture keep?” Twilight asked Zecora, hovering the bottle in front of her with her magic.

“Yes,” Zecora agreed, “My seals will ensure its saftey. It will keep for years, ruin will not be hasty.”

“Alright…” Twilight looked at her husband, thinking about strange mixtures and little foals. Suddenly the door to the hut was thrown open. Twilight whirled around as a blast of magic sailed past her ear, smashing into a shelf of herbs.

“What the hell?!” Shining Crescent exclaimed, whirling around with a glowing horn. The sinister cloaked unicorn held his stance in the doorway, his horn glowing brightly, particles of magic crackling on to the floor.

Another bolt of magic flew from the unicorn’s horn, slamming into a blue sheen that had formed between the unicorn and Shining.

“Get back!” Shining shouted, bracing himself against the stewpot as he poured energy into his barrier.

The unicorn smiled sinisterly underneath his cape. He whirled a bolt of magic into the barrier, holding it against it like a spear. Shining winced, pushing back.

“What do you want!?” Crescent screamed, narrowing his barrier. The barrier contracted until it was a single bolt of energy, pushing against the other unicorn’s.

“We want a free night!” he said seriously, pushing harder against Shining’s barrier. “We want you to give up!”

The cloaked unicorn’s stream of energy was winning, tracking up to Shining’s horn. He pushed, sweat beaded off his blue eyebrows, but it was futile.

Shining Crescent hit the floor with a thud, his horn smoked slightly.

“Crescent!” Twilight screamed, running to her husband’s side. A strike of magical energy caught her right across the flank, hurling her onto the floor in a flash of light. She lay motionless, slumped against the brewing pot.

“What is it you seek?” Zecora said quietly, ducking behind her couldren after a magical bolt slammed into where she used to be. “If you tell me, I may give you a peek.”

“I don’t want peeks,” the stallion said in an almost hoarse voice. Zecora could hear hoofsteps appraoching her hiding place. She readied several bottles in her hooves. “I want miscreants like you to get the hell out of Canterlot, they should never have let you in here with that darn ‘Equality Act’!”

“Do not get hasty,” Zecora said, breathing quicker as the hoofsteps approached, “When these brews mix, you may want to run for safety.”

The unicorn charged to the other side of the goblet, his horn glowing wildly. His tan cape swished about on the floor, trying to keep up with its wearer’s movements. Zecora threw her bottles straight at him.

The unicorn noticed; he must have, for a barrier immediately formed and the bottles smashed into it, their contents spilling all over the floor. The mixtures began to run together, acidic fog spraying from the contact points.

“What-!” Zecora exclaimed. In all her young zebra years, this had never happened.

That was when the magic hit her.

She slumped onto the ground in a puddle of broken glass and burning liquids. The cloaked unicorn smiled to himself, gently levitating one of the three vials off of the tray and corking it. He then set it in his saddlebag and walked towards the door.

He looked back at what he’d left behind, grinning a little. The house was totaled, three unconscious equines dotting its floor. That was perfect, he thought. The nights will be free again!

With a flourish of his cape, he charged out of the house into the blackness of the night, his payload safely in tow.

-----

Silence befell the house. For several minutes, the only sound was that of a cricket in the corner, monotonously chirping the same three notes. A crack of thunder broke through the house once and awhile, and the rain continually pummeled the roof.

A mouse ventured out of its hole, crawling over the limp body of Zecora and inspecting every area. It sat on her head, looking at the moat of potions and broken glass that lay between him and the floor. He nibbled on a large earring before deciding that maybe the other way around the pot was just as good.

He turned around, venturing down a leg and landing softly on the floor. Quickly, he skittered on his soft paws towards a promising breadcrumb that lay right next to a blue mass.

Picking the breadcrumb up in his forepaws, he looked at the blue mass in front of him. It didn’t look like it was made out of water, or fur, or anything he’d seen. And it couldn’t be a pony, ponies never lay completely still like that, and their foreheads never smoked.

It moved.

The mouse recoiled from surprise, gathering the breadcrumb in his mouth. He scurried back to his hole, deciding that watching from a safe distance would be best. The mouse sat, nibbling on a breadcrumb as Shining Crescent regained consciousness, slowly groaning to life.

“What the-” he rubbed his horn, then noted the white coat in front of him. “Twilight!” he exclaimed, opening his eyes wide with shock. Twilight Velvet was slumped against the stew pot, motionless.

“He didn’t,” Crescent breathed, putting his ear to his wife’s chest. The heart rate was normal, she was breathing. “Thank Celestia,” he muttered, falling back on his hooves.

Getting to his hooves, Shining looked at the destruction the skirmish had left in its wake. Potion bottles were shattered about the room, various herbal liquids mixed into a godawful mess on the floor. Several smoking charred patches on the walls signified missed shots.

Shining sighed and looked at what his wife was about to drink before the attack. Two bottles of zebrian remedies remained, perfectly intact in contrast with their surroundings.

“I guess we can still have kids,” Shining muttered, beginning to pick his way carefully through the wreckage.

“Sh- Shining?” Twilight’s soft voice sounded out behind him. He turned, walking to his wife’s side.

“Are you alright, darling?” he asked, looking over Twilight’s white coat. It was pristine, no signs of a shot.

“Yeah.” Twilight got to her hooves, looking around at the destruction. “Are the potions safe?”

“Yes,” Crescent said, looking at a smoking pot in a corner. “We can still have a family.” He looked around a little more before turning to his wife. “I’m so sorry, darling. I wish we didn’t have to go through all this just to have a foal. Damn birth defects.”

“Look,” Twilight said seriously, “I don’t care if you couldn’t talk; I love you anyway.”

“Good.” The two embraced in the middle of the destruction, as a very confused Zecora got to her hooves.

“Curse that stallion, I shall never have another scallion!” Zecora shouted, waving her hoof at the door angrily.

“What do onions have to do with this exactly?” Shining asked, confused.

“Ryhmes do not have to make sense, my friend, they only have to sound right in the end,” Zecora said simply, looking over her ransacked house.

“Oh,” Twilight Velvet said, giggling a little.

~~~

The rain relentlessly poured down on Canterlot as the two walked home. It was around midnight, a new day was beginning. The street lamps shined through the rain, illuminating the road.

Both were in high spirits, for if if this worked out, their first child would be born in around six months. But Shining Crescent had one more thing he had to do before they arrived home for a well deserved rest.

The guardpony station was quiet, only a few officers were on duty at this time in the morning. The soaked couple pushed open the door and squeaked across the floor, dripping all the way. The officer at the desk looked up from his crossword, eyeing the two with slight surprise.

“What brings ya here this time a night?” he asked, intently studying the crossword on his desk with a frustrated expression. “And ya wouldn’t happen to know what a ‘Large stone farming machine’ is, would ya?”

“A tiller,” Shining rattled off immediately.

“Hey, that fits,” the guard said, writing the word in. “Now 12 across is giving me problems…”

“Sorry officer,” Twilight Velvet interrupted. “We didn’t come here to play crosswords, we have a crime to report.”

“A crime, eh?” the guard raised an eyebrow, gulping another cup of coffee. “Awful annoying, are crimes, always getting in the way of yer crossword, eh?”

“Well,” Crescent said awkwardly, “could you file a report for a tan cloaked stallion, orange face, bad temper. He attacked us at Zecora’s residence down the street.”

“Oh?” The guard trotted over to a file, pulling out a blank form with several lines on it. “We’ll look into it.” He jotted down the information Crescent had given him.

“Thank you very much,” Crescent said, turning to leave.

“Hold on!” the officer called. “What’s a word that starts with ‘Aye’ and is a vis-you-all receiver?” The couple groaned.

“Eyeball,” Crescent said annoyed, galloping out of the station with his wife.

“Thanks!” the officer called after them, “NOW WHAT’S EIGHTEEN ACROSS?”

~~~

Six months later, Twilight Velvet gave birth to a little white unicorn colt. They named him Shining Armor, using the first name of his father and a seemingly appropriate last name. Shining Armor was talented with magic, learning to perform barriers at a very young age. He joined the Royal Guard at the age of fifteen, and moved through the ranks quickly. Within a year of joining, he was almost a captain.

Two years later, a lavender filly became Shining’s younger sister. Twilight Sparkle, a very talented magician as well, moved on to become princess Celestia’s prestige. Eventually, she rose to be the element of magic, aiding in the destruction of Nightmare Moon.

But what happened to the third jar? Where did it go? And more importantly, who drank it?

Author's Note:

This is an idea that's been bouncing around in my head, and I just had to write it down. Enjoy.