The Darkness and the Light (Book 2 of the Alicorn Chronicles)

Chapter 3: The Prophecy

"How about this one Moondrop?" Sparkle asked, using her magic to hold up a deep purple dress.

Moondrop whined and shook his head. Sparkle sighed.

"I have nothing to wear!" Sparkle cried and plopped down on her bed.

She heard Moondrop whimper from her closet. She lifted her head and saw him pawing an old dress in the back of her closet. She walked over to it and removed it from the hanger. Holding it up, her eyes got wide. 

"Moondrop! This is perfect!" She exclaimed.

She put it on and looked in the mirror. It was a long, floor length, sky blue dress with lace that went across her chest. There was a pink heart that sat on her chest as well. She put on her shoes and curled her hair into an updo. Finally, she set her crown upon her head. She still felt weird about wearing it in public, but she knew that she had to wear it.

Sparkle heard a knock at her door.

"Come in!" She called, using her magic to shove all the discarded dresses into the closet.

Samuel entered the room. His eyes grew wide as the looked over Sparkle. She blushed and looked down at her hooves.

"Sparkle! You look amazing!" He said, walking to her. 

She blushed even more. Samuel walked to her side and touched his horn to hers. Then, they walked out, his wing holding her close.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sparkle and Samuel sat at a table inside a small cafe. They chatted casually, doing anything but talking about their mission. The truth was, they had no idea what they were here to do. Since they had arrived, everything was peaceful, nopony worried, nothing seemed out of place. They just, relaxed.

There was suddenly a shriek from the other side of the cafe. Sparkle stood, her horn glowing. Samuel did the same.

"What's going on?!" She exclaimed. 

A young unicorn pushed through the crowd. She was just a filly. She had a white coat with black flecks, and a wavey black and white mane.

"You're the Princess of the Light!" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"The what?" She asked.

Then, a mare with a black coat and white mane stepped forward and pushed the young filly back. She bowed in front of Sparkle and Samuel.

"Excuse my daughter, your Highness. She has a head full of daydreams. She though you were a character from her story book." The mare said.

"No, no. It's quite alright." Sparkle said, then she turned to the little filly.

"What is your name?" She asked.

"I'm Star Shadow!" The filly replied, eyes sparkling.

"And who did you say I was?" Sparkle asked.

"You're the Princess of the Light!" Star Shadow said.

"Do you have the book with my story?" Sparkle asked.

Star Shadow nodded. She reached into her saddle bag and pulled out the book. She then handed it to the princess.

"May I borrow it? In return, you can come see me at the Black and White Ball." Sparkle said, taking the book with her magic.

Star Shadow's eyes got wide. She nodded excitedly and smiled at Sparkle. Her mother just looked at the princess. 

"You really don't have to do that, your Highness. You can just keep the book." The mare said.

"Don't be silly. I would love if you could both attend the Ball." Sparkle said.

Finally, the mare agreed and Sparkle and Samuel said their goodbyes. On the walk home, Samuel looked at Sparkle. 

"What?" She asked.

"The Black and White Ball?" He asked.

"Yes! I feel that there is something special about that little unicorn, and I really need this book." Sparkle replied.

"Do you think it might have something to do with our mission?" He asked

Sparkle nodded, and they spent the rest of the walk in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the castle, Sparkle began reading the book. She lay on her bed, Moondrop curled up by her feet. The lamplight the only light in the room. The moon shone overhead, and the stars glittered in the nigh sky. As Sparkle began reading, she realized that it was a book of the history of Equestria. She saw Celestia and Luna's story of becoming princesses, and even the story of their brother, Cosmus. She even saw the story of Nightmare Moon! But one passage in general caught her eye. It read:

But among all the kingdoms in Equestria, there is one small and humble kingdom, unknown to most ponies. Nopony knows how it got there, just that is was. The kingdom was the only place that where the light and the dark could be together in harmony. 

It was ruled by an Alicorn king with a coat as black as night. He ruled over the ponies of the kingdom with a kind heart, despite his dark appearance. All the ponies loved him, and he was happy.

One day, a white pegasus mare got lost inside the city, and ended up in front of the large palace that was home to the king. Seeing the lost pony, the king let her stay in the castle until she could find her way. She had lost her memory, and could not remember anything about her past.

As the days passed the king grew fond of the pegasus mare. Eventually, they fell in love.

As the two ponies spent their days together, the mare began to regain her memory. When she finally remembered her home and family, she realized that she was betrothed to a dark stallion.

Heartbroken, she vowed that she would never tell the king, nor return home. Soon after, the king and the mare wed. All of the kingdom rejoiced, for they were glad to finally have a loving queen to rule beside their king.

Eventually, the queen found that her gift for helping others had become key in ruling the kingdom. She mastered her magic, and reached Alicornhood, the first pony to ever do so.

Not to long after, the queen found out that she was with child. She was overjoyed and the kingdom was happy. 

A few days before the baby was to be born, the queen was visited by the dark stallion she had been bethrothed to. He came to the kingdom to find her, but when he did he found her married and happy. He swore his revenge, and used his unicorn magic to curse the kingdom and all it's ponies.

When the baby was born, it was a beautiful pink Alicorn filly. The royal family was now complete. But little did they know, disatet was to come. 

That night, a darkness spread across the sky. As the king and queen slept, an evil stallion invaded the castle, and silently stole the baby princess. He hid her away in his home where she could not escape, frozen in time. He also took the king and queen, but their fate wasn't so kind. They were never seen again. 

Eventually, the kingdom had to find a way to survive. Ponies lived there, but nopony ruled. It was a sad time. They hoped that one day, their princess would return.

The place where she was held was only temporary. The stallion eventually forgot about the princess, and she unconciously escaped and was hidden in an unknown part of Equestria.

One day, the Princess of Light will return. She will come back with a pony dear to her heart. She will also posess the greatest power of all, the power of the Light. And with that power, she will banish the evil from their kingdom forever. 

But, alas, there will be evil. For when she returns, the evil of the Dark will as well. And only one can previel.

The Light or the Dark.

~Princess Sparkle Shimmer