Disclaimer: I do not own MLP: FiM.

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Prologue

King Lucent paced in front of the doors leading to his chambers, the screams of his wife's labor gnawing at his heart. A nurse rushed out the room, a hoof tightly clasped on a bowl full of bloody water. The screams continued inside until finally silence. Lucent tapped his hooves together impatiently, waiting for the doctor to allow him inside to see his wife. It wasn't long before the door opened, the doctor beckoning for him to come in, his face looking grim. "H-how is she?" he asked, small beads of sweat forming at the hairline of his mane.

The doctor hesitated, cobalt eyes staring hard at the ground, "I...it was a difficult...Your Majesty, I believe you should see her yourself..." He stepped aside to let the King pass.

With almost unsteady hoofsteps, Lucent rushed inside immediately. His wife, Queen Penumbra, weakly smiled at him, her black mane matted heavily against her face. "M-my King..." she rasped, struggling to reach out to him. Lucent took her hoof with his and she turned her head to the two colts resting on a single makeshift crib. "Ar-aren't they precious...? You...will take care o-of them...right?"

"What do you mean, Pen?" Lucent asked, gently nuzzling her. "We'll both take care of them. We'll-" He felt her hooves slip from his grasp and he stepped back. His wife's garnet eyes were closing, the light dying out. "Pen?" His eyes widened in horror as he realized the true meaning of her words. "Pen?!" He watched her place a hoof on his breastplate, her eyes struggling to stay open. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward, "I promise..."

"Luz and Sombra..." were the last words Queen Penumbra ever said before slipping into her eternal rest. Her husband swallowed heavily, tears falling out of his sapphire eyes. He kissed her cold cheek one last time before turning around to check on the newborn foals.

Lucent walked slowly to inspect his sons. One was bright as day, the other dark as night. The light foal, Luz, was an earth pony with fur as pale as fresh fallen snow and a mane that looked like it had been spun out of spider silk. Almost the spitting image of his father. Lucent smiled proudly, his grief momentarily forgotten. His gaze shifted to his second son, Sombra, and the smile dropped immediately. The colt was a unicorn, his horn curved in an almost unnatural way, the tip an ominous shade of blood red. His fur was as grey as the clouds outside, and his mane the color of the bleakest of nights. He turned to the doctor, who was nervously biting his lips. "What is the meaning of this?"

"The suh-second colt's...ho-horn was too much and...I did everything I could..." the doctor's voice trailed off. "I...I'm deeply sorry, Your Majesty."

Lucent shook his head, his stark white mane covering his face. "No, it's all right," lifting Luz up, he held him close. "She left me the most wondrous gift after all, an heir for my kingdom. And I will keep my promise to my Queen." His eyes narrowed and he glared down at the little Sombra, whom was happily sucking on his small hoof. Sighing, he picked him up, "Young colt, royalty does not suck on one's hooves." The foal blinked up at him and removed his hoof, gurgling sleepily.

Glancing back at his dead wife, he handed the foals to the doctor, "Take them to the nursery, I need a..." he swallowed the lump in his throat, "moment, if you please, Doctor Stitch."

Stitch warily nodded, taking the foals from the King, "Of course, Majesty." He stepped outside, were the nurse was waiting. "Nurse Anesthesia, a hoof if you will?" He motioned to the dark coated prince, which she happily took. "The King needs to be alone." The doors closed, leaving Lucent alone with Penumbra.

He knelt by her side, "Pen, I know you can't hear me anymore...you can't see me anymore...but I vow to take care of our sons, in your stead." Wiping the tears out of his eyes, he placed a kiss on her brow and lifted the sheets to cover her face. "Farewell, my love."

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Days later, a funeral was held for the deceased Queen Penumbra. The small kingdom's populace all came to ay their farewells to their beloved Queen and to comfort the King in his grief.

Lucent barely heard their words, he's eyes glazed with a faraway look as the gravediggers began to shovel the dirt on top of her coffin. His eyes watered and he brought a hoof up to his face to wipe his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and addressed his subjects, "Even with my Queen gone, she left us all with a wondrous gift!" Murmurs in the crowd were loud, and he waited for them to cease. "My loyal subjects, I present to you my sons, Luz and Sombra!" He motioned for the haggard Nurse Anesthesia to step forward, the two colts sitting side by side, their eyes staring at the crowd in wonder. Sombra giggled and his small horn glowed, a little spark of magic fizzled, showering the two colts in red sparks. Lucent stared at his son, stunned by the display. "What...?" He stepped forward, hoof reaching out to Sombra. The horn glowed again and a bigger spark burst forth, catching the King square in the chest and bringing him to his knees.

The crowd gasped, and it wasn't long before they began whispering amongst themselves.

"-you see that?"

"One of them has a horn..."

"Demon!"

"CEASE!" the King commanded, gritting his teeth. The crowd fell silent, though the occasional whisper was still heard. Shakily he got up again, and...laughed! "He's a little excited is all!" He struggled to remove his armor, a small but very visible dent on the collar, making the task at hoof very difficult. After a few moments of struggling, he gave up and simply swept a hoof through his mane. "Do not panic, dear subjects. I have heard that unicorn foals have small spurts of magic when they are still young!" He clapped his hooves together, "And now let is say our final farewell to Queen Penumbra!"

This time around, the crowd was less vocal, and they left the funeral, muttering amongst themselves about the new Prince. The child could only stare sadly at them, not knowing what had happened. His brother next to him, Luz, simply watched on, a hoof in his mouth. Lucent chuckled at this, the brothers, although very different, were very much the same. "Don't worry, Sombra," he said, stroking Sombra's small tuft of a mane. "I will find you a teacher, no matter how far I have to go."