Eclipse

by Moonshine The Brony

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 665

There is a saying that history is written by the victor. In no place is this truer than Equestria, land of dark secrets and "friendship".

"History is written by the victor."
-Winston Churchill

Equestria is a land of happiness and harmony. Friendship holds great power there and its citizens are all treated equally. The world is peaceful and has not suffered from war in quite a long time.

WRONG!
Everything you know about Equestria is wrong. Instead of happiness, there is anger and strife. Instead of the bright colorful landscapes, there is grayness. You would not recognize Equestria from what it looks like in the show. That's all it is, really. A show, propaganda to encourage the citizens to enjoy a happy life while it lasts. The only place that is truly happy is Ponyville, as well as the coffers of the ponies within the city walls. Canterlot is a black hole, the epitome of corruption. Nobles turn the other cheek to crime, slaves are beaten savagely, and even the seemingly incorruptible Princess Celestia has some ghastly skeletons in her closet.

I'm risking my life to get you the real story. The Empress wants to keep the truth covered so the penalty for treason is death. The names of the people and ponies, that's right, people, involved in the plan to get the truth out there have been changed to save their lives. This is Moonshine, signing off.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-23 10:04:42 UTC

Prologue

Date: January 18

Time of Data Transfer: 0648

Sender: "Skylark"

Subject: My Story

I opened my eyes, waking once again from the torture of sleep. I hadn't had any good dreams since I left home, to be honest. I sat up and rubbed my eyes groggily, blinking to try to adjust to the dim light that fell on my face. I stretched my arms out and grabbed a hold of the drawstring for the shades and pulled, opening the curtains and exposing the sky outside. It was gray, as it usually was. Smoke billowed in the distance and I could see some of the infamous AIR Squadron scouting the zone ahead. I looked down at my watch and blinked. 0740. They're early today. I groaned and somehow managed to drag myself out of bed and over to my desk. I searched for a pen or quill for a few seconds before finding it. I quickly scrawled a message to HQ and lit my lamp. I made sure my smoke detector was still off and, seeing that it was, burned the message. The flames burned green as I cast my spell but quickly flickered back to its usual orange-red. I closed my eyes and sighed. I don't get paid enough for this, I thought groggily. In reality, I did get paid more than enough for my services. Princess Luna had literally begged for new recruits and I was in no shape to refuse her offer. I wanted to get this job in the first place, anyway.

I opened my eyes and knelt on the floor. I bent down and fumbled with the latch under my bed. The latch clicked and I slid the briefcase out of place. I picked it up and laid it on my bed carefully. As I unlatched the briefcase's two silver latches, a muffled pop came from behind me. I turned around just in time to see the last trace of blue fade from the scroll that was now falling into my hand. I quickly removed the seal on it and unfurled it, almost eager to read the response. My hopes were dashed, however, when I saw whose hoofwriting it was. As I read the scroll, my heart dropped into my stomach and I clenched my teeth. I clenched my free hand out of both anger and of fear. My heart hammered in my chest as I finished reading the note. Time to go! I thought as I threw the note on the bed. I grabbed my suitcase and gathered my few precious belongings. I reached down to my waist and pulled the blue charm that Princess Luna had gifted to me upon Kyle's execution and shook it three times. It glowed a faint blue and grew somewhat warm. Knowing that the signal was sent, I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. As I undid the latch and went to unlock the door, I could hear voices shouting. That was fast.

I hastily latched the door and got down on all fours. I crawled quietly to the closet and moved the empty bookshelf from the trapdoor. I opened the door and climbed in, sliding the bookshelf back into place with my magic when the trapdoor was shut. The tunnel was dimly lit, but I was used to darkness. I ran down the dark, moist path to freedom. As I ran, a spare thought rattled in my head. I forgot the note.

Skylark, you've been compromised. A spy infiltrated our mainframe and found the names of a dozen agents in the field. The Empress has sent out an elite task force to hunt down our troops. I'm on the run right now; they aren't too far behind and I'm in the Everfree Forest. If I don't make it out alive, tell my children I love them and that I only wanted the best for them. They're coming. Get to Haven before it's too late.

Gemstone