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

Chapter 1: Painting

"There! Finally finished!" Princess Sparkle Shimmer said as she lowers her paint brush with her magic and stepped away.

She had moved into the medium sized palace about a moon ago, only a week after she had become a princess. She had trained under the wings of Celestia and Luna, being born an Alicorn and becoming their loyal student. Always polite, obedient, and respectable, and never making bad decisions. That is, until they realized she was much more independent than they thought.

The two princesses sent her on her final quest (to being the darkest thing in Equestria to light) thinking that she would without-a-doubt destroy it. Well, they were wrong. Turns out the darkest thing in Equestria was an dark, immortal Alicorn stallion named Samuel the Slasher.

He had a dark past, full of heartbreak and hatred that led him on the path to darkness. But once Sparkle entered his life, there was no going back. After many close encounters, near-death experiences, and gut wrenching evils, they fell in love.

Celestia and Luna finally accepted Samuel once he saved Sparkle from marrying the changeling prince. When which Samuel finally confessed his love for her. Now, they were on a new mission.

Sparkle turned to Samuel and smiled.

"What do you think?" She asked.

His nose crinkled as he evaluated her work.

"Well, it is very.....pink." He said.

It was true. Sparkle was painting her room the exact same color as the heart in her cutie mark. Her light pink coat was splattered with paint, her multi-shade pink mane and tail had golden streaks and was pulled back into a messy bun, and a paint covered white smock covered her cutie mark which was a pink heart with sparkles around it. Her tiara and necklace laid on her dresser. She blinked her crystal blue eyes at him.

Samuel stood next to her. He was taller than her, making her feel small, which she loved. His black coat shone in the late evening sunlight and his black mane and tail had blue streaks. He had glowing red eyes, and his cutie Mark was two intertwined daggers. He tilted his head to the side to get a look from a different angle.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Sparkle exclaimed and began working again.

Her room was rather large, considering she was the princess of this kingdom. It didn't contain much furniture. Only a bed, bookcase, dresser, a few shelves, and a small bed for her wolf pup: Moondrop. The wall she was painting was the far wall of the room where no furniture sat. It was also the first thing you saw when you walked in.

"There!" Sparkle exclaimed, stepping back.

Now, in the center of the wall was a large black heart. Inside the heart was a pink silk ribbon being wrapped around the dagger, but the dagger didn't harm the ribbon at all. It was a beautiful painting.

Samuel nodded.

"Much better."

Sparkle laughed. She set down her brush and went to clean up. In no time they had the room completely clean. Just in time to stand on her balcony and watch the sun go down.

As the sky was painted with shades of reds and oranges, Sparkle turned to Samuel.

"How can a great evil be in a place as beautiful as this? The Kingdom of Darkness and Light is gorgeous!" Sparkle said.

Samuel turned to her and touched his horn to hers. A small spark erupted between them.

"Everything is full of more than just what it appears to be." He said, turning back to the sunset as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Everything is filled with darkness and light."

~Princess Sparkle Shimmer