The Curse Of Black Thorn

by Bluecatcinema

An Ulterior Motive

Day Light led Starlight out of the castle, and into the city of Cairoad.

"This city looks even better up close." Starlight smiled. "You're so lucky to be living here."

"Oh, I'm sure your home town is just as grand." Day Light declared.

"'Grand' might be stretching it a bit..." Starlight admitted. "Don't get me wrong, its still a great place to live. I couldn't imagine a better home."

"I wish I could go and see it." Day Light told her. "Alas, my father wishes for me to stay close to home. He says that as a Prince, my first loyalty is to the ponies of our kingdom."

"That's too bad." Starlight sympathised. "But I kinda get where he's coming from, though. It's a big responsibility, being royalty."

"Indeed it is." Day Light smiled. "One day, I shall be the ruler of this land, and I'll do everything I can to make my rule a just one."

Starlight smiled. Day Light's dedication and compassion struck a chord with her; She too, wanted to live up to the responsibility of royalty. Other than her cousins, she knew of no other pony her age who felt the same way.

As they walked through the streets, a vendor called out to Day Light.

"Good morrow, young Prince." The gray-coated, beige-maned Earth Pony smiled. "Who is your lovely companion?"

"This is Princess Starlight of Equestria." Day Light declared. "Starlight, this is Papyrus, the best date salepony in Cairoad."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Starlight grinned.

"The pleasure is all mine, your highness." Papyrus bowed, before turning to Day Light. "And how is your father, today, Prince Day Light? I trust he is... of still tempers?"

"So far, yes." Day Light nodded.

"That's a relief." Papyrus sighed. "Now, how about some dates, on the house?"

"Out of the question." Day Light pulled out a pouch full of Haygyptian currency. "I may be a Prince, but I will pay for my food like any other pony."

"As you wish, your majesty." Papyrus smiled, passing him some dates. "Have a good day!"

"Thank you." Day Light smiled, as he and Starlight walked away.

"What was all that about your dad's 'still tempers'?" Starlight asked. "He didn't seem like an angry kind of stallion to me."

"Let's just say there are two sides to my father." Day Light frowned. "He's... a different pony when he's angry. But never mind that. Let's get on with the tour. We can start at the museum, which houses antiquities from the royals who came before."

Though she was not the bookworm her mother was, Starlight wasn't averse to some educational activities. Inside the museum were all kinds of artifacts, including ceremonial headdresses, sarcophagi, and crowns from before Nightshade's time.

"Too bad my mom's not here." Starlight grinned. "She'd love all this stuff."

"I like to come here to remind myself of what it means to be royalty." Day Light revealed. "All the great rulers who came before: Trotenkhamen, Cleopeltra, Roamses... all fair and honourable rulers."

"Who knows?" Starlight smiled. "Maybe one day, your stuff will be in here too."

"I hope so." Day Light said bashfully. "Now, shall we continue?"

"After you." Starlight urged.

Meanwhile, the royal gathering was proceeding apace. The delegates were sat at a large table with their hosts, enjoying the food.

"I trust everypony is finding the food to their liking?" Red Rose inquired.

"It's all delicious." Celestia declared.

"Especially the tahini salad." Luna added.

"I've never tasted legumes so good before." Twilight smiled.

"This moussakka is something else." Dusty remarked to Blueblood. "Don't tell Sonny I said this, but I've never tasted anything like it before."

"My lips are sealed." Blueblood smirked. "Or they would be, if I could stop eating this shakshouka."

"I'm glad you're enjoying our cuisine." Nightshade declared. "And I'm sure our royal chef will be equally delighted."

"The food alone made it worth the trip." Sleight grinned.

"Though I am interested to hear what manner of diplomatic agreements you're hoping for, your majesty." Queen Chrysalis added.

"Ah, yes." Nightshade suddenly became seriously. "I'm afraid I haven't been entirely truthful with you."

"What do you mean?" Flash asked.

"Well, I didn't call you all down here just for a royal summit... though forging decent political relationships with other nations is one of my top priorities." Nightshade noted. "In all honesty, I had an ulterior motive for inviting you all here."

"Then why are we here?" Shining asked, a touch annoyed at the deception.

"The truth is, I have a... unique problem that I believe you may all be able to help me with." Nightshade declared.

"What kind of 'problem'?" Cadance inquired.

"Dear, are you sure you want to do this?" Red Rose asked Nightshade.

"I must, my darling." Nightshade said firmly. "I can stand it no more."

"No offense, but could you please get to the point?" Constell asked.

"Of course." Nightshade nodded. "My problem is of a mental nature, one that threatens to undermine my effectiveness as a ruler. For you see, I am not just Prince Nightshade. Within my mind lurks a second personality, one which calls itself 'Black Thorn'. A personality opposite to my own, one which seeks to undermine my goals, and sabotage my efforts to be a good ruler."

"A split personality?" Twilight frowned.

"Yes." Nightshade sighed. "A tactless, uncouth fellow who emerges whenever I become angry or stressed. Whenever he takes control of my body, I black out, often awakening to find he has caused much trouble..."

"I fail to see how this problem of yours has anything to do with us." Queen Chrysalis said sternly.

"She's got a point." Twilight agreed. "You might be better off seeing a psychiatrist."

"Usually, yes." Nightshade nodded. "However, this condition of mine is not just a matter of the mind. It came about due to contact with an enchanted object; the very headdress I wear, actually."

"...You're gonna have to talk us through this one." Shine frowned.

Of course." Nightshade nodded. "It all began many years ago, not long after I began courting Red Rose..."

Years ago...

The young Nightshade and Red Rose were walking through the streets of Cairode, side by side. It was their third date, and they were practically inseparable.

"What a beautiful night." Red Rose sighed.

"Not as beautiful as you, my love." Nightshade cooed.

"Oh, Nighty..." Red Rose smiled. "You don't look so bad yourself, with that new headgear of yours. I think it makes you look rather dashing."

Nightshade had recently ascended to the throne after his father had stepped down, and, as per tradition, now wore the family headpiece, which had been passed down for generations.

"Well, who am I to argue with the loveliest mare in town?" Nightshade chuckled.

As they continued down the streets, they found themselves in a dark alleyway. As they passed through it, they were accosted by two Earth Pony stallions wearing black robes.

"Well, look what we have here." One snarled. "A Unicorn and a Pegasus out on a date. Disgusting."

"I beg your pardon?" Nightshade growled.

"Ponies should stick with their own species." The second Earth Pony declared. "All this mixing between tribes upsets the natural order. You two should be ashamed of yourselves, parading your filth around like that."

"How dare you!" Red Rose yelled.

"How dare you." The first stallion spat. "Sullying your heritage like that. What would your ancestors say if they knew you were cavorting with him?"

"Now see here." Nightshade hissed. "In case you haven't noticed, I am the Prince of this nation."

"Which means you're committing a bigger travesty." The second stallion sneered. "Spitting in the face of your royal line. I happen to know your family's been all Unicorns as far back as anypony can remember. And now you've ruined it."

"We don't have to listen to this." Nightshade tried to lead Red Rose away.

Suddenly, the first stallion grabbed Rose's tail, pulling her over to him.

"Night!" She yelled, as he put her in a choke hold.

"Let her go!" Nightshade roared.

"Oh, I don't think so." The stallion sneered, pulling out a knife. "We need to set an example here."

"Yeah, an example." The second sniggered. "A sign to one and all that such interbreeding relationships won't be tolerated. A sign that even royalty isn't above our wrath."

"Say goodbye, because your travesty of a relationship is over." The first stallion smirked, raising the knife.

"No, no, no, no..." Nightshade growled. The gem on his headdress started to glow, with his horn following suit. "Leave... her... alone!"

"Sorry, your highness." The second stallion smirked. "But your little floozy needs to be taught a lesson."

"Same to mess up that pretty face of hers." The first stallion admitted, waving the knife menacingly. "But I'll get over it. Besides, this is what she gets for daring to upset the natural order..."

"Stop iiiit!!" Nightshade roared, as the glow on his head reached a crescendo. "Ahhhhh....!!"

Everything went black, as the last thing he heard were screams of agony.

Moments later, Nightshade awoke in a daze. As he looked around, he saw that Red Rose was free, and the two thugs lay in a broken heap on the ground.

"What... what happened?" He asked woozily.

"You attacked them both." Red Rose told him. "You pounced on them like a wild animal. Beat them both to a pulp before they even know what was happening."

"I did?" Nightshade frowned. Not being a particularly violent pony, he was flabbergasted. "I don't remember a thing..."

"You didn't quite sound like you either." Red Rose pointed out. "Your voice was... deeper, angrier, more guttural. You mocked those two as you beat them up. It was a little scary, to be honest."

"You were scared... of me?" Nightshade gasped, full of guilt.

"Not as much as they were." Red Rose indicated the two thugs. "They were utterly terrified."

"I... I'm sorry, Rose..." Nightshade whispered, as he looked upon the thugs' broken bodies. "As vile as they were, they didn't deserve that."

"All the same, perhaps it will teach them not to be so prejudiced in the future." Red Rose declared. "Perhaps we should call it a night. Walk me home?"

"Are you sure?" Nightshade asked. "What if... it happens again?"

"I'm sure it won't." Red Rose declared. "And besides, I know you'd never hurt me."

"Of course not." Nightshade smiled.

After walking Red Rose home, Nightshade returned to the palace. He lay in bed, the screams he heard before blacking out running though his head, followed by mocking laughter.

"What's happening to me?" He frowned.

The present...

"After that, I quickly learned that whenever I became stressed or angry, this alternate personality would take over." Nightshade remarked. "Whenever that happened, I would black out, and awake with no memory of what occurred during the other personality's control over our body. In time, it would come to call itself 'Black Thorn'."

"Catchy name." Shining frowned.

"After some research, I discovered that my ancestral headdress, symbol of those who rule these lands, possesses a powerful magic." Nightshade continued. "It was that magic that brought Black Thorn into being."

"And ponies told me wearing a top hat was bad." Sleight joked.

"Black Thorn is the opposite of me in every way." Nightshade continued. "He is an arrogant, violent troublemaker. Oh, the messes he has caused, leaving me to clean up."

"I still fail to see what this has to do with all of us." Cadance declared.

"Oh, but you will." Nightshade turned to a servant. "Bring them in."

To everypony's surprise, Echo Alchemy and a seven month pregnant Sunset Shimmer entered the room.

"Echo?" Cadance gaped. "Sunset? What are you doing here?"

"I invited them." Nightshade declared.

"Hi, Twilight." Sunset smiled. "Long time, no see."

"Hey, Sunset." Twilight grinned. "Look at you, you're positively glowing!"

"Thanks." Sunset beamed. "Only four months to go before the little one arrives."

"Aw, I bet he'll be super-cute!" Constell cooed.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation on such short notice, professor Alchemy." Nightshade smiled.

"My pleasure." Echo nodded. "but I'm afraid I don't quite understand why we're here. You weren't all that explicit in your letter. All you said was that you needed our expertise."

"Well, Echo, given how you are the only expert on dark magic, I was hoping that you would be able to help me with this spell..." He pulled out a page. "A dark magic spell."

"Dark magic?!" Blueblood gasped. "You can't be serious!"

"Blue's right." Sleight agreed. "That's some bad mojo there."

"Relax, all of you." Nightshade told them. "It's not what you think. What I'm doing is for the greater good."

"I seem to recall a certain Black Knight Paladin saying the same thing once." Flash muttered. "And look what happened to him."

"Excuse me?" Shine glared at Flash. "How about a little respect for the dead here?"

"Sorry." Flash cringed.

"Maybe we should see what kind of spell it is before we start condemning Nightshade." Shining suggested, recent events having taught him not to be so prejudiced. "Echo, if you would?"

Echo took the page, and examined the writing thoroughly.

"Well?" Sunset asked.

"This is a Gemini spell." Echo declared.

"Gemini?" Blueblood repeated.

"It's a rather advanced dark magic spell." Echo clarified. "Simply, it allows the pony to split himself into multiple copies of themselves."

"Hopefully, it will allow for Black Thorn's personality to be placed into a new body, separate from my own." Nightshade revealed.

"Whoa, that'd be some trick." Sleight gasped.

"It seems mad." Luna declared. "Yet... perfectly logical."

"Yes." Celestia nodded. "A new body for this 'Black Thorn' persona."

"It does make sense." Twilight agreed. "If a glass is too full of water, you just put some of it in another glass."

"Well, if it's that simple, why hasn't Nightshade used it yet?" Shining declared.

"Let's just say I haven't done my homework." Nightshade joked.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Prince Armor." Echo told him. "While the Gemini spell's effects are simple, using it is not. The spell requires a great amount of magical energy, and even then, the spell is not permanent. With even a moderate amount of magic, the spell would last at least fifteen minutes."

"Which is why I summoned you all here." Nightshade revealed. "It is my intention that with Echo's knowledge on the subject, and the help of his fiancee, and Princess Twilight, along with the added powers of the other Alicorns and Queen Chrysalis, the spell can be made permanent."

"Permanent?" Chrysalis gasped.

"So... there'd be two of you?" Constell gaped.

"Essentially, yes." Nightshade nodded. "Once Black Thorn and I are separated, we will be both be free to do as we please, with no further interference from the other."

"Wait, so you are asking us to engineer a spell just so you can rid yourself of this 'Black Thorn'?" Echo asked.

"Indeed." Nightshade smiled. "Certainly, it shouldn't be too difficult to do so."

"Actually, it is rather difficult." Echo corrected him. "This is an advanced spell you are asking us to alter here. It would be like trying to untangle Hearth Warming's lights just to find the bulb that makes all the other go out."

"...I don't follow." Nightshade frowned.

"What Echo is trying to say is that it would take a long time to find the component that alters the longevity of the Gemini spell." Sunset told him.

"And there's the fact that it would be extremely risky." Echo added.

"Risky how?" Red Rose asked, concerned.

"Well, each spell is like a machine." Echo stated. "It works fine as long as all the pieces are in the right place, but if you try to change something about it... well, anything could happen. It could work, yes, but if it doesn't, it could end very bad. At best, it could just give Nightshade a nose-bleed... at worst... well, it would burn Nightshade inside-out."

"That would be awful!" Cadance gasped.

"You can't take a risk like that!" Shining added.

"Do you have any other suggestions as to how I can expel this pony?" Nightshade asked.

"Well, my uncle once had a problem like this... although I doubt pushing you out a clock tower and hoping for the best is a good idea..." Dusty frowned.

"If I were you, I'd stick with having that houseguest in your head." Shine declared.

"It's better than burning from the inside out, that's for sure." Flash declared.

"Perhaps they're right, dear." Red Rose told her husband. "As much I'd like to see Black Thorn out of your mind, I fear the risk is too great."

"I know it's dangerous." Nightshade told her. "But I'm willing to take that risk. Not just for myself, but for you, for Day Light, and for the good of our kingdom."

"If that's what you really want." Red Rose sighed.

"What about what we really want?" Luna asked. "I, for one, do not wish to take part in a spell that could destroy an innocent pony."

"Yeah, there's no way I am having my wife give you her magic." Sleight glared. "The last time she lost her magic, she turned into a husk! She could had died back then!"

"I assure you, not that much power will be needed." Nightshade told him. "I only require a portion of her Changeling magic, and the magic of the Alicorns, for the spell. I promise she will not suffer any sort of drain."

"That's all well and good, but there's still the whole 'burning from the inside out' thing." Twilight declared.

"I say it's far too risky." Cadance stated.

"That may be, but I believe the reward far outweighs any risk." Nightshade retorted.

"Wait." Blueblood frowned. "If you need the magic of the Alicorns and Chrysalis, then why did you invite myself and Dusty here? We're not either of those, or married to them, for that matter."

"It's quite simple, really." Nightshade declared. "The fact is, I know full well about the second personality of Dusty's uncle, Caboose... 'O'Malley, wasn't it called?"

"Yes." Dusty nodded. "But I still don't see..."

"Your knowledge of how a stallion with a split personality operates could prove useful." Nightshade told her.

"That sounds like a bit of a stretch to me." Blueblood frowned, unconvinced.

"Nightshade, we know that you are suffering... but you have to understand..." Celestia frowned. "Black Knight almost took over Equestria with our magic, and we were all left defenseless while Black terrorized the ponies."

"Princess Celestia does have a point." Echo sighed. "Take it from a guy who's seen a couple of ponies got killed over the use of dark magic... I in good conscience wouldn't wish the same fate upon you."

"I know that dark magic can have its uses." Shining admitted. "But what you're planning to do with this spell is just too dangerous. If something goes wrong, either you, or all of us, could wind up paying the price..."

"And that's a price I prefer not to suffer." Chrysalis added.

"Sometimes life deals you a bad hoof." Sleight remarked. "But a busted flush is still better than no cards at all."

"Sleight's got a point." Flash agreed. "Maybe it'd be better if you just cut your losses, and learned to live with this 'Black Thorn' character."

"Easy for you to say." Red Rose frowned. "You're not the one who has to live with him."

"I know it's a hard decision for you all." Nightshade admitted, "Which is why I'm going to let you sleep on it. Consider your positions well, and you may come to a decision in the morning."

"I suppose that would be... acceptable." Luna shrugged. "But I doubt it would change my mind."

"I understand your concerns." Nightshade declared. "But I wish to do this for all who dwell in my kingdom. I cannot be an effective ruler if I cannot even rule myself. As you mull over your decision, please take a moment to put yourselves in my hooves."

"For now, let us enjoy the rest of our meal." Red Rose declared. "Echo, Sunset, would you care to join us?"

"We would be honoured." Echo nodded.

"I am pretty hungry." Sunset rubbed her swollen belly.

"Here, you can sit by us." Twilight offered.

"The more, the merrier." Flash agreed.

"Thanks, guys." Sunset smiled, as she and Echo sat beside them.

"We didn't really have the chance to enjoy Haygyptian cuisine the last time we were here." Echo remarked. "This should prove most enlightening, palate-wise."

The delegates ate in silence, their minds focused on this new situation.

As the sun began to set, Starlight and Day Light returned to the palace. Their tour of Cairode had involved many sights, such as the Cairode tower, and the Al-Azhoof park. Starlight had greatly enjoyed it, whilst simultaneously managing to keep her attraction to Day Light under wraps.

"I had a really great time today." She smiled.

"So did I." Day Light beamed. "Perhaps tomorrow, we could go back to the park. I know a great restaurant there."

"If the food there's anything like the dates, I'm all for it." Starlight beamed.

"Wonderful." Day Light grinned. He held up Starlight's hoof and kissed it. "Until then."

Starlight blushed madly as Day Light walked away.

'Knock it off, Star' She chastised herself. 'I already told you, you're done with romance! Besides, that could just be a friendly little custom here. It doesn't mean anything...'

Twilight and Flash emerged from the dining room.

"Hi, mom!" Starlight waved, shaking off her quasi-romantic thoughts. "Hi, dad!"

"Well, somepony's looking happy." Twilight grinned. "I take it you enjoyed your day out?"

"It was pretty fun, yeah." Starlight nodded. "What about you?"

"Oh, uh..." Flash shared a look with Twilight. Not willing to ruin Starlight's good mood, they silently agreed not to tell her about the true reason for their visit. "It was just the usual delegate stuff. Same old, same old."

"I guessed as much." Starlight shrugged.

"Come on." Twilight urged. "Time for bed. Our room's just upstairs."

The trio went to their room, briefly marvelling at the fancy silk bedcovers and ornate bedposts, before climbing into bed and falling asleep. Starlight's dreams were dominated by thoughts of a certain Unicorn Prince...

At the same time, Nightshade lay awake in the royal bedchamber, Red Rose sleeping beside him, hoping that his guests would agree to provide him with salvation at last.

Comments

[danick]

This is something related with Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde?

[Vakama95096]

5874361 Pretty much, yeah