Solaris, a beaming gold and white patched alicorn stallion with flowing white cloud-like mane, galloped through the castle to the infirmary, where his lovely wife awaited him. His blue eyes sparkled with hope, but also with fear.
This day would decide their fate. Would Milky Way's and his new foal be a colt or a filly? If the foal was a filly, they had a chance of staying in the palace and a chance of settling the kingdom. If and only if the filly was of the sun alignment. No one believed the curse would allow them to have the right kind of foal. They all knew the foal would be a colt or a moon alignment.
But, things seemed different this time.
All others had had a sun daughter first. Solaris's daughter, young Princess Nebula, had gotten her Cutie Mark helping her mother lift the moon. So he had hopes.
On the other hoof, if they didn't surely the ponies would revolt. And at such a delicate time, they couldn't afford the violent switch of power. Equestria couldn't handle it. Despite his reputation as a "dunce king", he still could tell what was best for his country and his ponies.
Milky Way stared at her newborn daughter worriedly. She was smaller than any other foal she'd ever seen, with black fur. The little filly's mane was still clumpy but had distinguishable bands of yellow and orange, like rays of the sun. And the huge eyes were blue. Maybe there was hope for the royal family and their new, tiny daughter.
When Solaris entered her room, the filly twitched her wings, so she looked at her husband and shushed him hurriedly.
"She's asleep! Be quiet!"
"She?" Solaris whispered excitedly, tiptoeing dramatically over. "We have another daughter?"
"Yes," Milky Way sighed with relief. "Her name is Eclipse. And she may be the hope we need."
"Eclipse..." He beamed, almost literally. "I love her. I love you." He gave them both happy kisses and a lopsided smile.
She laughed. "I love you too. Could you get Nebula for me? I'd like her to see her little sister."
"Yes! Yes of course!" He nodded, bowed and trotted out.
Once sure her husband was gone, she called to the supposedly empty room, "Come out, Snitch. He's gone."
A tan colored pegasus mare with a mane of deep blue appeared from seemingly nowhere. She wore a scarf around her neck with red and white stripes. Her Cutie Mark, notably, was a light blue mask with a magnifying glass over one eye. She was, by the unnoticeable steps and cut mane and tail, a spy. The Queen's personal spy who kept an eye on the nation while she couldn't.
"Yes, my Queen," Snitch started. "Everything appears as normal...but apparently there has been more revolts. More ponies are injured, I'm afraid to say. But no alicorns have been born as of yet. Besides the princesses, of course." She nodded at Eclipse.
"Things are just getting worse and worse the longer the royal family is unstable." The Queen sighed, carefully standing up. She looked back at the sleeping foal. "I hope she's the Princess we need. It would finally settle everything down. And I have you to help right?"
Snitch smiled. "Of course, my Queen. It's all to keep you all safe. If you stay on the throne, then no one has to worry as much, right?"
Milky Way nodded, turning back to look at her foal when the filly started crying. "It's so strange to entrust so much on a foal so small."
A few days later, the foal was tottering about next to her mother. The indigo mare held her head high those days, her mane and tail flowing more. When she took off her symbols of royalty off, though, the black-to-light purple sheet was tied up, which she had never done before. In fact, the assurances of lowering revolts in the small towns and cities had her cheerful heart hoping.
The stallion father's own mane had turned to fluff even without his symbols of power. He looked like a walking cumulonimbus cloud. His pelt shone like his smile.
Nebula, on the other hoof, grew sour and drew away from her family and baby sister. The darling first princess had a startling resemblance to her mother, with the same mostly back wings and ombre horn tipped in black.
Through the first days of her sister's life, she stayed locked up in her room. Which was why no pony noticed that her blue pelt and tricolor mane had darkened.
A/N: starting off with a bit of a short chapter, but don't worry! This is just the beginning...
I have no idea how long this fic will be and there is no schedule, so let's see what happens!