Luna of the Dead: Eclipse

Chapters

1. Train of Consequences
2. Candle in the Wind
Introduction

1. Train of Consequences

Her eyes burst open, startled by the loud *clange* that sounded when the wrench hit the ground. Despite being the princess of the night, it still took a second for her eyes to adjust to the dull surroundings. Dim light soaked through the warped, bullet-hole ridden wood that made up the walls and ceiling. Soft wind could be heard blowing through the small holes and a small bird was perched in the shattered window, sweetly cheeping. Luna glanced around the room, finding Spike and Apple Bloom still huddled in the corner fast asleep. Rarity was gone of course. Of the week they had spent in the Train House, Rarity had left for most of the day everyday. She said she was looking for supplies and food, but she always came back with next to nothing. Luna offered to help her look, but she said she had to go alone, that she could move faster and more quietly alone. Luna was skeptic, but she let it go. The princess focused her attention to the source of the sound.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'll try and keep it quieter. Don't wanna attract another horde after all," the orange mare said. She gripped the wrench in her teeth and climbed back onto the train engine. How different she was now, Luna thought. She had always been so stubborn and arrogant, but she really must have reformed during her exile. Luna couldn't help but shutter when she remembered who Ember was, what she became, what she tried to DO. But she got over it; that was the past and this is now.

Four knocks were heard, and Luna moved to the train house's large, wooden doors. With a lift of the heavy lock and a swing of the creaking hinges, the doors were open. Rarity entered, her saddle bags full of canned vegetables. Spike was instantly awake and beside Rarity, eagerly awaiting the tune of her gentle voice. Luna re-closed the doors, and went to rouse Apple Bloom, who appeared to be having a good dream: the first she had in a long time.

"I was actually able to find some previsions. It seems that Mayor Mare had an entire safe house under Town Hall that nopony knew about. If only she had been able to tell us before... maybe things wouldn't have been so tough. There's still plenty to things there that I think we should get before we leave."

"Then y'all might want to go grab that, because we should be 'bout ready in a bit," said the orange unicorn. "Shouldn't take more than an hour or so. I just need to tighten the wheels, re-connect the brake line, calibrate the co..." Luna cut her off.

"Alright then. We should get going. If the train is ready in an hour, then we should be able to reach the Crystal Empire before nightfall."

Apple Bloom had risen to her hooves, dawned her saddle bags, and followed Luna, Spike, and Rarity to Town hall while Ember finished the work on the train engine.

~~~~~~~~~~

The grey sun was setting, and Ember was growing concerned. "They should have been back hours ago" she kept saying to herself. "Where are they?" Her mind grew still when she heard the gunfire coming from Ponyville. There were bright flashes radiating against the darkening sky, and she knew what happened. In the distance, she could see a filly and a baby dragon running toward her. She stood completely still, unnoticed by the pegasus flying overhead. It flew into a dive directly at Apple Bloom, but exploded into a shower of red rain and chunks of rotten flesh. Rarity quickly ran up behind Apple Bloom, relieved her shot had found its mark, and led her and Spike through the field to the train house. Ember had fallen out of her daze and was frantically loading coal into the engine. The fire blazed and the train began moving forward.

Rarity saw that the train was moving, so she started running towards the two train cars on an adjacent track. Ember got the train down to the cross-track, stopped the locomotive, and hoped out of the cab. Rarity and Apple Bloom finally made it to the cars, and began pushing them towards the engine while Spike helped Ember pull the lever that switched the tracks. A loud *clang* sounded as the cars coupled to the engine, and with a quick buck on the hitch, Ember locked them together.

Everypony clambered into the train, the orange mare started the train back up. Black smoke billowed into the sky. A dark shadow flew above the field and landed on the train. With Luna's arrival, and everypony accounted for, Ember set the controls to full-speed, leaving the once lively town of Ponyville behind them as they headed for the crystal mountains...

2. Candle in the Wind

Black clouds of smoke flew into the sky as the wheels clanged along the tracks. It was the middle of spring, but a blizzard engulfed the small train. Snow had always surrounded the Crystal Empire, but this was different. They were barely into the mountains when the unnatural storm struck. Everypony on-board was shivering, despite the winter suits Rarity had made them during their stay in the train house. She was never one to leave unprepared. Despite the blizzard, the were making good time: Luna would need to lower the moon in a few hours, and then they should arrive at the Empire not long after that. They were all excited, and every nervous. "What if the Empire as fallen?" Apple Bloom couldn't help herself from asking. "Then we'll make a new plan," said Rarity. This answer didn't exactly satisfy the filly, and she looked at the floor. Spike was starring out the train car window, watching the large snowflakes slam into the glass. Through his gazing, he caught glimpse of a shadow moving outside. 'Huh...,' he thought, 'that kinda looks like a pony. Too tall to be any normal pony though'. The shadow disappeared, and he shrugged it off as a trick of the light, or maybe he was just getting sleepy. He decided to rest for a bit.

The freezing wind whipped her ears and numbed her cheeks, but she refused to go inside. She had to keep the fire burning, and she had to be ready to hit the brakes at any second, in case there was an obstacle on the track. Ember wished she could use her magic and warm herself up, maybe make a bigger and stronger fire, but a sharp pain from her forehead reminded her that that was impossible. Ember sighed, but got over her sorrow. She was back amongst ponies again, something she thought might never happen. She was accepted and even depended upon for her skills with machinery. A happy tear filled her eye, quickly freezing in the blizzard's icy winds. She refocused her attention on the tracks, but her mind began to wander when her sight caught glimpse of something red in the corner of her eye.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn had brought an end to the harsh blizzard, and everypony was relieved, except Luna. While she was glad the snow storm was over, its absence only reveled the grey sun sulking in the sky. That sight only pounded the knowledge that her sister had turned even harder into her mind. Luna returned her focus from the sky to the little dragon in the "Over-Night" car. He had been the only one to enter the end-car, beds lining the wall, and sleep during their trip. She needed to rouse him from slumber. They would be entering the valley where the Crystal Empire stood soon, and everyone needed to be ready for anything.

The princess and the dragon entered the first-car, a standard train car where benches were in rows along the walls, and they sat down near Rarity and Apple Bloom. Everypony begun starring out the windows, waiting to catch a glimpse of the rumored safe-zone; everypony except Apple Bloom. Her attention was focused on the white unicorn, Rarity. Apple Bloom's mind was filled with what the letter in the club house contained. The words came back to her, flooding her head with the truth. The train rattled as it moved along the track, and this snapped Apple Bloom out of her trance. A pale light filled the room when they rounded the turn, and then they saw it. Through the windows, they could see the cliff side the tracks were built on, they could see the fields of the valley just beyond the cliff, and they could see the Crystal Empire.

The three ponies and the dragon had their jaws dropped when they saw the ruins. The once pure and mirror-like streets were cracked and crumbling. Many of the crystal buildings that surrounded the castle were cracking and boarded up, while others had simply collapsed. The ground was littered with debris, over-turned carts and wagons, and more corpses than they could count. Much of the landscape was scarred black, and craters and debris covered the area, signs of the bombs and hellfire that had attempted to stop the plague. The only sound to be heard was Luna whispering, "No..." when she saw the Crystal Castle. The large tower that stood as a marker for the kingdom and a transmitter of love lay shattered in the streets. Nothing in the empire resembled what it had once been. The kingdom appeared worse-off than Ponyville had been, and it was questionable if even a single pony remained. The Crystal Empire, the final hope for Equestria, sat in complete and total ruin. So it goes...

Introduction

So it goes...

When Ponyville was plagued with parasprites, we handled the situation and regained control of our lives. So it goes. When chaos overtook the land, and everything seemed hopeless, we were protected and life returned to normal. So it goes. When Canterlot, the capitol of our land, was under attack from changelings, we fought hard and defeated them. So it goes. When our new princess joined the ranks of royalty, we rejoiced. So it goes. But when a pony gets sick, we try to help them. So it goes. But then they don't get better. So it goes. Then they die, leaving us cold and alone. So it goes. The world is a darker place that doesn't feel like it will ever get better. And so it goes...

The princess had gathered the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, the six friends who had time and time again saved us from every possible horror, plague, and end that had found us. Even after the dead had risen, risen to eat the flesh of the living, we were sure we would be saved, and everything would return to normal. We were wrong. So it goes. She had summoned them, they had things to discuss. She and her younger sister had told them what they knew, what they didn't and what their plan was, or rather, was not. The Sun Princess, fighting to keep her emotions under control, told them how worried she was for her kingdom. She knew she could not save it. The Elements had already been tested and had failed, and there were no other options. All that could be done was for the towns and cities that marked the country to defend themselves from the undead hordes. To work together to keep themselves safe, to stop the plague from claiming their land, to fight for their very survival. So it goes.

Knowledge of the plague began to become public, as village after village, town after town, and city after city was attacked and eventually overrun. Hope began to fade as the population dropped below 25% of what it originally was, and the fall of Equestria seemed certain. There were those who sought-out cures, safe-havens, and lands that were untouched by death, but all in vain. The survivors were becoming scarce, and moral and sanity were falling below what they could have ever imagined. Many began killing others for survival, and some simply decided to not even try any longer. So it goes. With the country tearing itself apart, not even the sacred Princess was safe. The sun turned a dark shade of grey the day she joined the hordes, and it was no longer a symbol of life and hope. All that remains is the cold grace of Night.

Hope is gone, darkness remains, and Equestria is dead. So it goes. But one continues to fight against her certain death. The younger sister has found survivors, formulated a plan, and begun believing that she can save the damned kingdom. But she is unaware of what lurks in the darkness she brings. She is unaware of what cost the safety of Equestria might bring. She is unaware of how much she will have to lose if she wants to save anypony. It may cost her everything she ever knew and loved, and maybe even her life. So it goes...