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."

Author's Notes:

I've had this brewing for a while after watching season 3. This is also my first MLP fanfiction, p-please be gentle.

1. Playtime, Meetings, and Dungeons! Oh My!

"Sombra, give it back!" Luz exclaimed, leaping up in the air to catch hold of the ball his brother held aloft with his magic. "That's not fair!"

Sombra laughed, "Come on, Luz, you almost have it!" He lowered it by a fraction of an inch, Luz catching it this time. "See?" He smirked at his older brother, ruby red eyes sparkling with laughter.

Luz panted on the ground, his topaz eyes glaring daggers at Sombra. "It's really not fair." He trotted up to Sombra and pointed at his brother's horn. "You have that and I don't." He planted his rump unceremoniously on the ground and pawed at the floor.

Sombra looked away, almost embarrassed. "I...I guess. I've never seen anypony with one either..." he gazed up at their castle. Their father was away on royal business in the distant kingdom of Canterlot, so the two brothers had snuck out to play in the castle's gardens. "But I've heard that ponies with horns like mine live all over Equestria!"

"Who told you that?" Luz scratched his head, the thought of other horned ponies almost overwhelming his young mind. He set the ball on the ground, rolling it around beneath his hoof. "Was it her?" He pointed towards the garden's entrance.

"Nana Anesthesia!" he smiled wide, trotting over to the garden entrance where another pony stood. "How long have you been here?" He threw his hooves around her neck, hugging her tightly. Anesthesia gently returned the young colt's hug and took the time to study the two brothers.

They were both five years old now, their flanks still void of any cutie mark. Luz was a tad bit taller than Sombra at the shoulder give or take a few centimeters. This was always a sore spot for Sombra, who made up for it by playing pranks on his brother with his magic. The two young colts were happy, despite the fact that they never met their mother. King Lucent had remained unmarried since her death, devoting himself to his kingdom and his sons.

"Nana?" Sombra prodded her cheek softly with his hoof, snapping her back from her thoughts.

"Oh! Sorry dear, my mind wandered for a second there. I've actually been following you, as are my orders from His Highness. And I think it is about time we returned home, colts!" Luz and Sombra both groaned. "Now, now don't give me that. Gather your things and let's go."

Luz skulked towards the forgotten ball, grabbing it with his mouth and placing it into his saddlebag. "Hmph! When I'm King, I will decree that it shall be playtime all the time!" Sombra giggled from behind him, and used his magic to pluck a leaf from the trees above them to wave in front of Luz's nose. This caused the paler of the two to sneeze in an undignified manner.

"King Sneezy!" Sombra taunted, dashing behind Anesthesia and sticking his tongue out. She glared at him and he sheepishly slunk away. "Ehehehe...bye!"

"Sombraaaaaa!" Luz chased after his brother,, who was already hoofing it back to the castle. Anesthesia rolled her eyes and chuckled at their antics, following them at a much slower pace.

"You mentioned one of your sons is a unicorn, King Lucent?" Celestia peered over at the scroll she was reading, setting it upon the table.

"Ah yes, and I'm not sure what to do with him," Lucent said. "Luz is the rightful heir to my throne, but what do I do with Sombra?" He rested his head on the table, poking at an ink well. Scrolls and maps of Equestria were scattered around. The sisters were still struggling to restore peace all over Equestria, and had called forward to all the kingdoms and syndicates for a meeting. Right now they had taken a break after the griffons' ambassador had insulted the Sisters' ideals of Harmony. He continued poking the ink well, watching the ink slosh around, a few droplets sprinkling on to his hoof. He sighed again, "I don't want him to feel like he's second best..."

Luna yawned politely behind a hoof. As caretaker of the night, being awake during the day was taxing. She leaned forward, taking a healthy sip of coffee. "Perhaps you could let Us instruct him? What do you think, Sister?" She set her cup down, her gaze searching Celestia's face for any sign of disapproval.

"Y-you would teach him, Princess Luna?" Lucent's jaw dropped, dumbfounded. He had had trouble obtaining a teacher for Sombra, that being that most of his sovereign was nothing but Earth ponies and the occasional pegasus.

"But of course. You said yourself that you and your people were not used to unicorns. We would like to teach thy son how to use his magic properly."

Celestia stared at her sister for a moment, tapping her sandaled hoof thoughtfully against the table. "What a wonderful idea, Sister." She faced Lucent, smiling. "What do you say, King Lucent? Would you allow Luna to teach your son magic?"

"It...it would be an honor," he said. He took Luna's hoof in his and kissed it. She stared at him in wonder, slowly pulling away. Lucent smiled at this, mirth in his eyes. "I believe it is time I left, I do have my kingdom to look after." Standing up, he waved a hoof, calling one of his own guards forward. "Lieutenant, have the chariot readied by tomorrow." Turning back to face the celestial sisters once more, he gave them a short nod of respect, "Until next time, Your Majesties."

"Slow down, you two!" Anesthesia snapped, running as fast as she could after the troublesome twins. Chest heaving, she paused to catch her breath. Not long after the trio had returned to the castle, Luz and Sombra had decided to play 'Catch-Us-If-You-Can' with her. Anesthesia was no spring filly, so it made this so-called game extremely irritating. Planting her hooves firmly on the ground, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The chase had led her to the eastern wing of the castle, where the old dungeons were. Of course they would come here. What healthy young lad doesn't like dungeon-crawling? Especially if it's abandoned? Rolling her eyes, she walked as stealthily as she could to the dungeon's entrance, peaking in through the doorway. Her eyes could only see darkness. Straining her ears, she could just barely make out the snickering of the boys.

"Think we lost her?" that was Sombra.

"Proba- oh coooool! Sombra, there's like..." Anesthesia could hear the scraping sounds of metal on rock, "Jackpot!"

"Put it back before you hurt yourself, Luz," came Sombra's voice. The mare decided that it was time to reveal herself and fully opened the door. The two colts instantly covered their eyes to block out the light. "N-Nana?"

"Yooouuuuu...." she froze, Luz was holding a halberd, or well...half of one. Time had rotted the wood, rust encrusting the blade. "Your Highness, I implore you to drop that at once."

Luz paid her no mind, simply giving the weapon a test swing. "Why? What's it for?" His frowned and prodded the blade with his hoof. He instantly dropped it, small rivulets of blood streaming out of a small wound. "OW!" Anesthesia gasped, but before she could react, Sombra was walking slowly towards his brother.

"I told you to put it back," he snorted, blowing his mane out of his face. He swiped at the halberd, knocking it out of Luz's hooves, the weapon skittering to a stop a few feet away. Before Luz could react, Sombra had the wounded hoof in his grasp, examining it.

"Let go, Sombra!" Luz said, trying to pull away from his brother, but Sombra held strong.

"No."

"As future King, I command it!"
"No."

"Sombraaaaaa!"

"Nana? Do you mind taking a look at it?" Anesthesia blinked, staring at the dark prince whom was looking at her while holding his brother down. She instantly saw the mischievous glint in his eyes and smiled.

"O-of course, dear," she said, leaning closer to see the cut for herself. "Hmm..." She stared harder at it, causing Luz to shiver. "Hmmmm...."

Luz's voice was almost a squeak when he spoke, "N-nana?"

"I'm afraid..." she gave Sombra a secret wink, "that your hoof will have to come off, my Prince." She pretended to saw off her own hoof.

He gasped in horror and wrenched his hoof out of Sombra's grasp, "No! Not my hoof! AAAAAHHHHHH!" he screamed, running for his (hoof's) life.

Sombra snickered, watching his brother go. "That was great, Nana." He continued giggling, not paying attention to the old mare who closed in on him and caught him. "Ack!"

"And now, it's time to get you both into the baths, you ruffians!" she grinned, half puling half dragging Sombra out the door.

"Noooo!" the prince's cries echoed around the castle walls and into the night air. The mare smiled, today had been a good day indeed.

Author's Notes:

If you have any queries, feel free to do so.

Legends and Crystals

Sombra rubbed his temple in exasperation and groaned angrily, burying his face in his hooves. 3 years had passed since his father had come home from Canterlot to announce that Sombra would become Princess Luna's protege.
At first, Sombra was enthusiastic to hear this. Finally! He would be able to learn advanced magic instead of the basic spells he had figured out on his own, such as levitating things and writing without hooves. The latter he found very useful for studying.
A knock on the door startled him, and he turned to see who it was, his quill still scribbling on the parchment. "Oh, it's just you." His unexpected guest raised her eyebrows at him, closing the door behind her.
"Just me," Princess Luna repeated, moving closer to the table. "How are your studies coming along, Sombra?" She peered over his shoulder to check his work. The parchment was filled with equations and notes, some scrawled out other only half finished. "Hm?" A particular piece caught her attention.

Crystals emanate an amazing energy field. The elemental spirits will love to bathe in their energy. The energies in my room from all the high vibrating spirits and all the Crystals in my house are just way too much energy for . It is not bad energy... it is all good energy. Since Crystals are amplifiers of energy this makes them perfect for a communication device. Crystals are great to use for communicating with higher beings such as Angels and Ascended Masters. Being that Crystals are pure energy they will also attract higher vibrating spirits around you because of your energy field being and up by these beautiful living gems that Mother Earth has given us.

"Ah, crystal magic again?" Sombra nodded, and turned back to his book, scanning the text for anything useful. Luna watched him, a solemn look on her face. "Sombra, why don't you ever talk to anyone outside the castle walls?" She extended a wing to tilt his chin up, her cerulean eyes boring into his.
He refused to meet her gaze and pulled away. "I don't have time for something as boorish as socializing, Princess Luna." He walked over to the closest bookshelf in his room and lifted a heavy volume, rifling through the pages. "I'm close to figuring my destiny out." He turned to look at his flank, which contained a cutie mark depicting a trio of crystals growing out the ground with four sparks surrounding it.

Luna thought back to when his cutie mark first appeared and weakly smiled...

Luna lifted a small test tube filled with a green liquid. "Now watch carefully Sombra." She slowly tipped the tube over on a small dish and closed her eyes. Her horn lit up with magic and zapped the liquid, crystallizing it.

"Amazing..." Sombra watched with wonder, as the crystals grew more spines. He lightly touched one, it's surface was smooth, free of any flaws. Luna smiled, nudging another tube at Sombra.

"Here, now you try."

"I...how do I do it?" Sombra asked, slightly confused. Luna had not explained how she had crystallized the liquid, only done the demonstration.

She huffed, "It's part of creation magic. You visualize what you want in an object and turn it into something else. I decided that it's easier to start with liquid, rather than a solid object." She paused for a moment, to make sure he was listening. "Using your innate link to the aether in all things, you can shape it to your will. Solids are more difficult, as they already possess a form. In order to transform them, you must break the ethereal bonds that hold them together and reform them." Sombra gaped at her, and she gave him a patronizing smile. "It's no mean feat, even for an experienced magus."
He nodded and licked his lips, glaring at the test tube. He poured the liquid out as he had seen her do and concentrated on the task. His horn glowed and the result was...

"..." Nothing. He crossed his hooves and tried again. Still nothing. He sighed and rested his forehead on the table.
Luna patted his shoulder with her wing, comforting her student. "It's all right, I didn't get it on my first try either." She paused and looked at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's late for you, Sombra, consider going to bed." She exited the room where her Night Guards had been patiently waiting and disappeared from his line of sight.

'I can do this,' he thought, licking his lips in anticipation and rubbing his hooves together. Straightening out, he took a breath and tried again. He kept going for another half hour, with no results to show for it.

"Why?!" he slammed his hooves on the table, anger welling inside. The small sound of shattering glass alerted him. He lifted his head up and was startled by the large black crystal protruding from the table. "I...I did it!" he exclaimed gleefully, wiping his brow. He almost didn't feel his flank tingling. Almost. He was too tired to care and fell asleep on the table.
The next morning, Luna would come to check on him after her duty of lowering the moon to make way for her sister's sun. She found him on the floor, surrounded by black debris. At first she was startled, thinking he had accidentally hurt himself, but on closer inspection, she found him breathing and the debris was crystalline.

Careful not to wake him, she moved closer to inspect the crystals, fascinated by the progress her student had made. Her delight soon changed to concern. 'What is this I feel...?' She lifted a black crystal with her magic, examining it closely. 'It vibrates with anger and frustration, but...why?'

As far as she could remember with her time in teaching Sombra, he had never been a negative pony. She glanced at the sleeping colt, watching his chest rise and fall. Something on his flank caught her eye and she gasped. His cutie mark...

"-an't see how amethyst would even begin to compare to quartz. It's superior in every way," Sombra concluded, puffing his chest out with pride. He peeked over at Luna, and frowned. "Princess Luna?"

Luna's eyes flickered, "Oh yes. Amethyst." Tilting her head, she thoughtfully stroked her chin. "I do recall there being crystal caves under our city." She faced him, smiling. "Would you like to see them?"

Sombra gaped at his teacher in surprise. "Really? They weren't mentioned in any of my books." He nodded over to the sizable stacks of books littered around the room and dressers.

"They wouldn't be, no one really knows that they exist, save for me and my sister."

"Oh..." he was silent for a moment, thinking about it. "Say, Princess Luna. Do you ever get lonely?"

"Lonely?" Luna asked, confused at the sudden change in topic.

"Princess Celestia raises the sun and all of ponykind works and plays under it, yet sleeps during your nights..."

"I'm not lonely..." she breathed out, turning away from her student. Straightening up, she added, "I have my Sister, my guards, and you, my dear student. Why ask?"

Sombra shifted on his hooves, looking everywhere except at her. "No reason. I just miss my family...I haven't seen them for three years, aside from the occasional letter from Luz." He trotted over to the window and gazed at the night sky. "I heard that Father is now training him to be King. I...I have begun wondering what my place will be when I return..."

Luna joined him at the window, staring out at the sleeping town. A small wave a sadness began to swell inside her, his words ringing in her head. "Perhaps you would like to go see them? Would you like to go back?"

His head snapped in her direction, his eyes wide. "Really?!" He then coughed, embarrassed by his outburst. "I-I mean, would you really allow me to visit?"

Her bark of laughter resonated against the walls, "They are thy kin, are they not? Who are We to deny you that?" She was shocked when she felt Sombra embrace her, and she awkwardly hugged him back.

"When can I go?" he asked excitedly.

"In two days if you'd like." There was another whoop of joy that filled the night air, which ended in giggles from both Sombra and Luna.

Luz tapped his hoof impatiently on the desk. It had been three years since the last time he had been able to have fun. Ever since his brother left to study magic, the Prince had been undergoing kingship lessons from his father.

Today was no different. Lucent rapped on the desk to snap Luz out of his thought. "Pay attention young colt. We're covering our ancestors today." He launched right into his lecture. Luz merely groaned and planted his face on top of his hooves. Today was going to be another long day.

Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank a special anon from /mlp/ that helped me with this chapter when I was stuck. Whoever you are.