A Dark Shade of the Past

Chapters

Reign of Darkness
A Glimpse Of Truth
An Unknown Pony
A Pained Mind
Shadows of Memory
What is Order?
Of Horses and Ponies
A Wish
A Home
Oh, Apples.
Learning Magic
Party!
Uncontrollable
Elements
Victory
Taken Over
Special Research
Magic and Darkness
Inner Turmoil
Summer School
Emotions
Jumping to Conclusions
Plans and Reassurances
Running of the Leaves
Another Pair
The Books Are Lies
Boulder Bogging
Oh, The Irony
Nightmare Night
Where Is Home?
A New Suit
Inner Workings
The Grand Galloping Gala
Mysteries
Green Is The Color...
Emotional War
Falling Snow
Hearth's Warming Eve
Hearth's Warring Eve
Who's To Blame?
The Eclipse
What is Friendship?
A Newfound Morning
Info Dump
For Who The Guilt Tolls

Reign of Darkness

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 2: Reign of Darkness

Rainbow Dash was the first to hit him due to the amount of speed she had. Shaded forced his large wings to cover his front as Rainbow rammed full speed into him. As fast as Rainbow had hit him ended up being how fast she got thrown back.

Twilight quickly used her magic to catch Rainbow before she hit the wall, gently putting her down, as Applejack decided to launch an offensive towards Shaded. He quickly moved out of the way, as though he had teleported, when Applejack missed her buck towards him.

Twilight then looked around for this pony, as he appeared to be nowhere on the floor of the throne room. She slowly walked forwards, her hoofsteps being heard over the eerie silence of the room.

She glanced at Fluttershy after hearing her 'eep' and followed her terrified eyesight to the top of the throne room. On one of the beams was the mysterious pony they had been fighting, his eyes just looking down towards them.

When Shaded realized that one of them had seen him, he jumped down, right in between Luna and Celestia's thrones. "Listen, ponies, I don't want to fight you or hurt you. I am only here to help control this world." Shaded said in a monotone voice.

"Control this world? Like we would ever let you do that!" Spike yelled from atop Twilight. "Spike, be quiet, get off my back and go outside. I don't want you hurt." Twilight said in a sisterly tone. Spike jumped off of Twilight and grumbled as he walked out what was left of the door.

After seeing that Spike had left, Twilight then turned to Shaded, and said, "Well it looks like its time to get serious, right girls?" The other girls then nodded, walking to be next to Twilight. "Our friendship will be sure to defeat you." they all said at once.

Shaded watched as they all started glowing, each one floating into the air as a different necklace was seemingly placed on all of them. As Twilight looked up, she wasn't wearing a necklace like the others but instead a crown. Shaded took a few steps back, saying, "The elements... it can't be..." Shaded stared at them in shock, as a light started to emerge from Twilight's eyes.

As soon as the magic had fully taken over Twilight's eyes, a beam of pure light went straight at Shaded. He wasn't fast enough to move out of the way, and one of his wings got hit by the light.

When the glow that came from the girls using the Elements of Harmony wore off, Twilight looked at the direction of Shaded.

She gasped at what she saw, and as soon as she did, the other girls looked too. Pinkie Pie's hair straightened itself, as she stared in shock at Shaded.

"What.. what did we do?" Pinkie Pie stammered.

"Don't worry girls.. the Elements of Harmony can't hurt any normal pony. They are just meant to eradicate darkness. If he is the Master of Darkness as he said, I guess it makes sense that this happened." Twilight stated.

They all looked at Shaded, he was not dead, but he was badly hurt. His entire wing and part of his backside including his Cutie Mark had disappeared, now with blood slowly flowing out of it. Shaded moved his head up, with his hood now off, and used his horn to try and heal himself. "You're an Alicorn!" Rarity gasped, surprised upon seeing this.

"So you're a being of true darkness, huh?" Rainbow started. "No wonder our powerful friendship was able to do this. I bet you don't even have any friends, you big ugly monster."

"Rainbow.. don't be so mean." Fluttershy whispered.

"I.. I do have friends.." Shaded painfully muttered.

Twilight walked right up to the pony that was bleeding out on the floor and stared at him with cold eyes. "Where are the Princesses?" She questioned, unmoving.

"I.. I don't know.." Shaded breathed, barely remaining conscious.

"Don't lie to us, we know you did something to them!" Rainbow shouted.

"But I.."

"Tell us where they are now, or I will use a spell to block your magic." Twilight stated.

"Aint that goin a bit overboard, Twilight?" Applejack questioned.

"Well look at how useless he is right now. He can't even help himself out of this. Where are these so-called friends of yours then, huh Mister Master of Darkness? Must of left you here by yourself." Rainbow sneered.

Shaded looked up at her, with his face twitching in a pained expression. "Well it makes sense to me," Rarity said. "I wouldn't want to be stuck with darkness at all."

"You don't know what you're doing…" Shaded stated, an angry look on his face.

"Oh and what are we doing monster?" Rainbow questioned.

"I.. Am not… A MONSTER!" Shaded screamed, getting back up on all fours, as the 6 friends got thrown into the walls around him.

Twilight watched as Shaded's original cloak began to get turn a shiny black, his hood now becoming a collar. Spikes started to break through his last wing, and his fur started to turn a blood red. He opened his once blue eyes, one now a glowing red, and Twilight saw as his face contorted to that of a nonchalant, murderous type of face.

"I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING!" this mutated Shaded screeched, the very sky turning to pure black, as a dark purple aura started to appear around him. As far as the aura reached out, everything around it started to fade from existence.

Shaded then started to charge his magic right to his horn, an insane look on his face, as he looked at Twilight.

Celestia rammed herself into the room, breaking down one of the doors. "Shaded! Don't do it!" Celestia yelled as she ran towards him.

Shaded looked at Celestia, his eyes starting to fade into a bluish hue again and he muttered, "C.. Cel..tia.." Then one of his eyes were overtaken by red again and he screeched, "NO EVERYONE IS OUR ENEMY HERE!" By this point Celestia had flied next to Shaded, embracing him in a hug.

"Come on now, calm down.. your friend Celestia is here, Shaded." Celestia chanted softly, holding him tightly.

The sky had started to fade back into its former sunny day, and the aura around Shaded had faded away. He looked with his blue eyes at Celestia, a small smile upon his face, and then collapsed onto the ground. Celestia stepped back, surprised at how weak he was, and then finally got a full look at him.

She nearly threw up at the sight.

There was her friend, with one wing torn like a piece of paper, and the other completely missing from his body, along with part of his backside missing where his Cutie Mark should have been, blood coming out of every wound on his body, this time quickly flowing onto the castle floor.

"Princess..?" Twilight said softly.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" the usually calm and mellow princess yelled. Celestia quickly carried the unconscious body to the castle infirmary, whispering 'please don't die' over and over again.

The mane six looked at the large pool of blood as they had just realized that the being they had just fought had been innocent, telling the complete truth, and was in fact friends with the princess, the entire time.

A Glimpse Of Truth

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 3: The A Glimpse Of Truth

Celestia ran towards the castle infirmary with one thought in her mind: no matter what he had done, he didn't deserve this. Nopony did.

Tears were forming around her eyes as she entered through the door, panting from running down the long halls of the castle. She looked at her staff, who were staring at her in shock, for they had never seen their princess so upset before.

"Please.. help him.." Celestia murmured.

Quickly her staff of nurses and doctors all dropped everything they were doing and lifted the bleeding alicorn onto a bed, and immediately went to work on him.

Celestia sat down next to the bed as the doctors continued to work, none daring to ask what happened.

Deciding to try to think about the fun past compared to this dreadful moment. She took a walk down memory lane: but kept thinking of all the worst things. Discord, going insane with power, being absorbed by darkness, and nearly taking over Equestria. Luna, overcome by jealousy, and almost being destroyed by the darkness inside her. All of this was his fault. But... they were friends.

They all were friends.

Celestia sighed.

An hour had passed without her noticing. Shaded was lying on the bed, apparently stable.

He was in a cast covering a good portion of his torso and lower half, and his face still had a sense of utter pain stretched across it. Celestia just sat there and stared at him.

She brushed her hoof across his face, and whispered, "Oh why did things have to change..."

At the feeling of her touch, Shaded awoke from his slumber. As he opened his eyes slowly, the first thing he saw was Celestia, her eyes closed with tears flowing down her face.

"Celestia..." he began. "I am very happy of your concern towards me, but you should realize who I am, and who I am not. Then again... those things could be the same." Celestia stopped and took a look at him again, this time examining his whole body instead of just his face. This was Shaded... but the Shaded Darkness she knew had no horn, and no wings.

The Shaded she knew was a simple equine.

"... You're him, arent you?" she said slowly.

"Yes, I am the essence of his power." He told her, closing his eyes.

Celestia then began to calm down, and in a more serious tone said, "Why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here. I sent you a message telling you that he was coming, and the first thing you do is contact the holders of the essence of your power. I am not pleased." the being began. "Darkness must exist within every universe, and the fact that this universe is void of it is going to cause instability within here, destroying all of 'her' work."

"His and your powers are not welcome here. He nearly destroyed everypony with his power when this all started." Celestia countered.

"Actually, this all started with you. It ended with you too. Maybe if you were a better friend, then none of this would have happened, and you six would still be inseparable." he stated.

"I am the ruler of Equestria, and I treat all my little ponies equally! They are all my friends!" She remarked angrily.

"So, you send your friends to the moon? Seal them away in stone? Take away their powers, and make them constantly move from place to place? Make them omnipresent so that they aren't able to physically be anywhere? Lets not forget what you did to my counterpart either, blasting pure light into darkness completely destroys it, wouldnt ya know? Let me tell you something: the reason why the Elements of Harmony stopped working for you was because you were the Element of Magic, the binder of Friendship, and when you ran out of friends, you were force-removed from the Elements." he replied, glaring at her.

"Now let me tell you why I'm here: I am going to recreate Shaded's form, but because of what you had your Elements do to me, I have no choice but to make him in the same form I am, with all of these horrid bruises. Since he is in all terms being reborn, he will have no memories of what happened, or even of his name. I will send him to a place where he can be happy, and simply be an output for my darkness. As long as he remains with friends, and is enjoying his life, nothing will happen." he finished.

"But... what will I do if he grows out of control again?" she slowly asked, defeated.

"Nothing. You cannot and will not interfere with my plans anymore then you already have. The only reason why I haven't wiped you from this very existence is because from all of the old memories I can feel from Shaded. He cared highly about you. Just like he did with everyone." At hearing this, Celestia flinched, a twinge of sadness appearing on her face.

The being injured in bed looked at Celestia, and sighed. "Let me tell you something. I spend every day watching over everything, everywhere, all alone, in a place where nopony is meant to exist. Let me explain this to you. I am Darkness. Not just a name, but the very thing itself. I need these little 'outputs' of my darkness in every world because without them having amazing friends and fun life's to counteract my power, my darkness would eventually leak out of that lonely place, and destroy everything, leaving everything dead." he finished.

".. I dont quite understand but.. okay. Do what you must, but don't let any of my ponies be hurt." Celestia said, looking away.

"Sigh... This is going to take awhile to heal..." the being muttered to himself, looking at the bandages. "I need to leave now so I can fully recover. I bid you adieu, Celestia. Just remember: do not interfere with my plans."

With that, the being disappeared, leaving nothing but a silent Celestia behind.

An Unknown Pony

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 5: An Unknown Pony

Months later, the mane six had forgotten about what had happened during the eclipse.

Everything was as normal as could be.

Thunderstorm clouds were rolling in, darkening the skies. A blue pegasus was flying through the skies, observing the weather. "Aw, what they hay!" Rainbow Dash screamed. "The pegasi didn't tell me about a freakin storm rolling in! I should know about this stuff! I oughta show them a thing or two!"

Lightning came down from the sky above, right next to her. "Urr… or maybe I should just go and take cover for now."

Deciding it was safer on the ground then in the air, she flew down and landed. 'Well, I guess it's a bad idea to try to go to my house, since it is in the air. Maybe I should just go to Twilight's house.' She thought to herself. 'Knowing her, shes probably going to want to make it a sleepover, and pull out that sleepover book of hers… hah, what an egghead.'

She began to walk towards Twilight's house, being careful so that she didn't get hit by any debris from the strong winds. All of a sudden, she could hear a distinct roaring coming from somewhere behind her.

Rainbow turned around and saw a streak of the black clouds crashing towards earth, right outside of the ominous Everfree Forest. When the clouds hit the ground, the very land of Ponyville began to shake.

"What the…" Rainbow Dash began. However, as soon as it started was how quickly it stopped. Rainbow took one last look at the border of the Everfree Forest, and decided she would check it out later.

She turned around and was about to continue walking to Twilight's, when she stopped in her tracks.

She looked over her shoulder back to the border, with eyes wide, and flew with all her power towards that border, a sonic rainboom appearing behind her. Nopony in the town could hear her, as she flew by in a burst of light, screaming her best friends name. "FLUTTERSHY!" Rainbow yelled, speeding faster and faster towards the cottage nestled at the corner of the dangerous forest.

Fluttershy looked outside her window, at the horrible storm in front of her. "I hope all the animals are okay…" she whispered.

Angel was on the upper floor, looking out into the storm with binoculars to make sure all the animals in the recent vicinity were either safe or in cover. Then Angel saw something that made him run down to get Fluttershy's attention. Angel ran downstairs, and coughed.

"Oh what's wrong Angel?" she said.

He pointed at the window, and spun around.

"Do you feel dizzy?"

He shook his head, and did it again.

"Do you feel like dancing?"

He gave Fluttershy an annoyed look, and pointed her head to the window, aimed up at the sky.

"Do you feel like we should take cover from that strange tornado?"

Angel then waited for her to react to the news.

"Wait… A TORNADO?!"

Angel then started to drag her away, into their inside shelter, when Fluttershy saw something in the darkness of the Everfree Forest. 'Is that… a pony?' she thought. Next thing she knew, she was watching in shock as the strange tornado hit the pony, creating a crater in the ground, and causing the area to shake violently.

Fluttershy closed her eyes in shock, and felt the vibrations go through the ground, knocking over some of the items in her house. Then she opened them, and saw the unconscious pony lying right outside her house, motionless in the middle of the crater.

Lightning violently flashed through the sky as she ran towards the door to her house, despite Angel's protests, and threw it open to go and help the pony.

Running to the crater, she looked at the pony with worried eyes, and then wedged herself between the pony and the ground, as to get it on her back.

Looking around at a fire that had been sparked, she decided it was best to hurry.

After getting it on her, she slowly paced herself back to her house, so it didn't fall off. While she was walking, she heard a voice coming from the town.

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Where are you?" she heard somepony yell. Realizing who was yelling for her, she started to yell as loudly as she could, "Rainbow! I'm over here!"

Rainbow Dash flew to where Fluttershy was, and said, "Boy am I happy you're okay. I was worried that cloud formation might've done something to you."

"No, I'm perfectly fine, but as for the pony on my back, it needs medical assistance. It's too cold and dangerous to treat it out here; I need to get it to my house." Fluttershy replied.

Rainbow nodded her head, and slipped in next to Fluttershy, helping her carry the weight of the unknown pony. They walked together towards the house, determined to help out the pony.

A Pained Mind

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 6: A Pained Mind

*The story now switches to the new pony's point of view.*

Where am I?

This place… it's so dark. So cold.

I feel… weak.

I walked through a vast plane of nothingness, hollow hoofsteps echoing every time I touched the ground.

The world around me began to shudder violently.

I couldn't help but stumble over. However, instead of falling onto the ground that I assumed was there, I didn't hit anything.

I kept falling, and falling, into nothing.

I looked down, for some reason afraid of what was at the bottom of all of this.

A sudden voice broke through the empty area.

"Do you think he will be alright?"

"I… I don't know. The weather doesn't usually hurt anypony."

"Ugh! I am so going to yell at whoever was in charge of this storm!"

"Rainbow, that's not very nice…"

"Well they got an innocent pony hurt because they didn't warn me about this storm, Fluttershy!"

The falling suddenly ceased, and I was floating on air it seemed. Then the reality around me began to distort, walls fading into place, furniture appearing all around me, and actual noise penetrating the void.

I closed my eyes, not knowing at all what to expect.

"Hey, Rainbow, I think he's waking up."

I slowly opened my eyes, only to be met with the eyes of two others staring at me. I jumped out of the bed I was in, and blindly ran away from the two strangers, scared for my life.

"Ah! Stop! You'll open your stitches!"

I ran as fast as I could away from those two, only to find myself at a dead end with them being between me and the door to this place.

"I… I don't know who you are but stay away!" I yelled, cowering in the corner.

They both looked at me with shocked eyes for a few seconds, and then the yellow mare with a pink mane carefully trotted towards me. As she got closer, I tried to push myself deeper into the wall, attempting to ignore the pain I was feeling while doing so.

"Listen, my name is Fluttershy, and this here is my friend, Rainbow Dash. We found you out in that horrid storm, hurt very badly." She reached her hoof out towards me, as I flinched and stared at the extended limb.

"I promise we won't hurt you. We are just trying to help you." she said, with a gentle smile on her face. After seeing and hearing her, I started to mull over the idea of what she said being true. I looked past her, and was able to see the storm heavily beating down upon the area. She spoke with such kindness in her voice, that I couldn't help but believe her.

"O.. okay. I'll let you take care of me." I mumbled. She then smiled even larger than before, and helped me onto my hooves again, and led me towards the bed I was in before.

After I had been laid down, and had my stitches checked, I began to ask a few questions. "So… Fluttershy, right? Could you by any chance tell me where I am?" I asked.

"Well that's easy. You're in Ponyville." she responded.

'Ponyville…? It sounds familiar.' I thought to myself. "So what's up with that freak storm outside then?" I questioned.

This time, it was the blue mare with the rainbow mane that replied to me. "Honestly I have no idea. The stupid pegasi that are supposed to warn us of potentially dangerous weather they create, didn't even bother to warn me at all!" When she finished talking, I began to think about this. 'What was I doing out in a storm, though?'

"Hey," said the blue pony. "You've been here for a while now, but we don't know your name. Could ya tell us?"

When she finished her sentence, I sat there wide eyed. "My… my name… what is my name?" I mumbled to myself.

The mares were close enough to hear me mumbling to myself, and Fluttershy said, "You don't remember your name? That's absolutely horrible! Well can you tell us what you do remember?" I thought about this for a second, not being able to search my mind the way I would like to. I began to look around, hoping that something could jog my memory a bit. I ended up looking straight at the blue pony's mane.

"Wha- Why are you staring at me?" she said, blushing slightly.

"It's your mane… I feel like I remember a rainbow mane from somewhere. What did you say your name was again?" I asked.

"Why, my name is Rainbow Dash! The fastest flier in all of Equestria!" she said proudly, puffing her chest out.

"Oh, that's great! Since Rainbow here is somewhat famous, and you seem to remember hearing about her from somewhere, so that's a start!" Fluttershy exclaimed. I still felt like there was something else about the rainbow mane that reminded me of something, but I failed to remember it, so I just nodded my head slowly.

"What else do I remember…" I questioned myself. The ponies let me ponder this for a minute.

After some time, Fluttershy finally asked me something, breaking my train of thought.

"I take it you don't remember anything?" she carefully asked.

I simply stared at her, not knowing what to think.

"I… I don't remember anything." I stated.

Both of the ponies looked at each other, then at me, then again at each other.

Rainbow Dash said, "Do you think she could help him?"

"Well I don't know Rainbow… maybe… I don't know if she knows medi-magic enough to help him." Fluttershy replied.

"Well don't you think it's worth a shot to help him get his memories back?" Rainbow shot back.

"Umm, whoever you're talking about, I would like to meet her." I interjected.

They both looked at me, and Fluttershy said, "Okay. Tomorrow we will take you to go and see our friend, Twilight Sparkle." Then Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "Yeah! She's an expert of all types of magical things. Heck, she's even the apprentice of Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of Equestria, so I'm sure she could help you regain your memories!"

All of a sudden, my head started hurting, like a stampede running across my mind.

I held my head, and began screaming, trying to yell out the pain, somehow. I could feel one of the ponies holding me in their arms.

"What's wrong?" I heard Fluttershy say, directly at my side.

"My… my head.. it hurts…" I croaked out.

She rubbed her hoof through my mane, which effectively calmed me down after a few minutes.

When I didn't feel any more pain, I looked up at Fluttershy, and weakly thanked her. She nodded her head, and said. "I think that we should all take a rest for now. Hopefully tomorrow the storm will have stopped and we can take you to the hospital, then to Twilight's house, okay?" I nodded my head, agreeing with her.

After making sure I was okay, Fluttershy went upstairs with Rainbow Dash, to set up a guest bed for her to sleep on. I looked up at the ceiling, unsure of everything that happened today. 'Who am I?' I thought to myself, as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Shadows of Memory

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 8: Shadows of Memory

I shook my head, walking out of the doors of the hospital. 'I doubt I'll forget that look Fluttershy gave me for a while…' I shivered a little. Rainbow looked at me and put her hoof around my back as if she understood what I was thinking.

Fluttershy trotted along a little bit ahead of us, obviously happy that the doctor said I was fit for doing anything now. I was happy about that too, but the way she got us to the hospital… I don't want to see that stare again.

After a few minutes of walking, Fluttershy suddenly turned around. "We're here!" she stated happily. I looked around, and saw no real building nearby.

"We're… where?" I asked.

"We're at Twilight's house." Rainbow said. "It's this tree."

I looked at the tree that was a few feet from us, and facehoofed. "Wow, how did I not recognize a door and everything attached to the tree?" I shook my head, feeling dumb.

The tree was far from a normal looking tree, which is what I originally thought it was. We were standing next to the front door, which had steps leading up to it, and bushes on both sides. There was a window on the side of the building, and a sign next to the bush on the left that had a book on it.

I didn't really know what that meant, but didn't have time to dwell on the thought as I heard Rainbow Dash knocking on the door.

From inside the building, I heard somepony yell, "OH FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE IT'S A LIBRARY!"

I flinched and took a few steps backwards from the sound of annoyance and anger that the voice held.

"Are you sure she can help me…?" I questioned.

Fluttershy vigorously nodded her head, and opened the door, her and Rainbow Dash walking inside.

I stood back outside for a few seconds, before deciding to go in myself.

Inside of the building was a huge assortment of books, the shelves were all filled up, and there were even some books scattered on the floor.

"Twilight! Where are you?" Rainbow yelled.

"I'm right here, geez." I heard from above me.

I looked up, and saw a purple mare with stripes of dark purple and light purple in her mane. She was at the top of a flight of stairs, looking down upon us.

"Who is this?" she asked, walking down the stairs.

"Well that's the reason we are here Twilight," explained Rainbow Dash.

"We found this pony out in the terrible storm last night. The poor thing lost his memories, and we came here hoping you could use some spell to help him." Fluttershy finished.

"Let me think…" said Twilight, deep in thought.

All of a sudden various books began flying off the shelves, and towards her. I was shocked and took a few steps back, not really knowing what was happening.

Twilight scanned through the titles of the books, then finally her eyes widened, and she said, "Here we go! A book about amnesia."

She began looking through the book, darting her eyes around the pages. She looked up and said, "This looks relatively simple."

"So… you can help me get back my memories?" I asked, surprised. "How?"

"Well-," Twilight began. "Keep it simple egghead." Rainbow Dash interrupted. After giving a quick glare at Rainbow, she began again. "Well, to put it simply, I'm going to cast a spell on you that should unlock all the memories trapped in your mind."

"A spell? How can you do that?" I asked.

"In Equestria, there's a race of ponies known as Unicorns that can use magic. There's also Earth Ponies, and Pegasi. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are the latter." She stated.

I felt my head pounding again, and let out a loud groan. I started swaying back and forth, losing my balance. "Fluttershy… my head…" I muttered. Fluttershy came over and positioned herself next to me, putting her wing around me to help me keep my balance.

"Twilight, this happened last night too. Do you know what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight took another glance at the book, and said, "Well it says here that people who have amnesia often hear or see things that can trigger their memories. I guess there must be something here and at your house that his past self remembers."

Rainbow butted in, saying, "Well who gives a flying hay at this point? Twilight, fix him up so he stops getting those wicked headaches!"

Twilight nodded, and her horn lit up, and a magical aura surrounded me. I was being lifted into the air, by the looks of it.

I closed my eyes, waiting for my memories to come back. I could feel a tingling sensation in my head. Maybe that was the spell working?

All of a sudden, I opened my eyes, feeling a blast of energy surge through me. I tried speaking, but couldn't say anything. The shadows in the room began to move, seeming to float from the ground, like a fire would. Twilight was in front of me, her eyes closed tight, trying to keep a hold of the spell.

Next thing I know, Twilight is being blasted backwards, and the magic around me shattered like fragile glass. I collapsed on the floor, not being able to move. Fluttershy ran up to me, and Rainbow ran up to Twilight. "What the hay just happened? Twilight? Twilight?!" Rainbow yelled.

I heard a grumble, and Twilight slowly got up. "Ugh… I wasn't expecting this." Twilight said.

With Fluttershy helping me up on my hooves, I successfully got up. "What… what happened?" I asked.

"That happened." Twilight replied, pointing at the shadows across the room. "This makes no sense. Earth Ponies aren't supposed to have magic!"

My eyes widened. "I.. I have magic?"

"Yes… you do. When I tried to use a spell on you, your magic unconsciously forced my magic away, trying to protect you." She said, rubbing her flank. "Ow…"

"I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to hurt you!" I apologized, backing away in sadness.

Twilight looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I accidentaly turned my parents into plants because of my magic. All you need is a little bit of control over it."

"So… what now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well… whoever this pony is, I can't get him back his memories. Sorry." Twilight said.

"Well we are going to need something to call you!" Rainbow said. Then she rushed towards me, and began examining me.

I stood there, feeling weird about being stared at by her. She was examining something on my flank.

"Well, I got nothing. Twilight, Fluttershy, come here and tell me what you think about his cutie mark."

"A cutie mark?" I asked.

"It's a mark ponies get on their flanks when they find what their special talent is." Twilight explained, as she walked towards me.

I turned my head around looking at my flank. "It looks like a black circle in a white circle. What does that mean?" I asked.

Twilight and Fluttershy were examining my cutie mark. "This looks so beautiful. If you look closely it's almost like there's a light on your flank that's being covered by that black circle." Fluttershy stated.

"Maybe your real cutie mark is under it, and the black circle represents your amnesia." Twilight suggested.

"I actually thought it looked like the eclipse we saw a while back." Rainbow Dash threw in.

Twilight nodded her head. "Let's see. You have a strange magic that seems to work with shadows… and your cutie mark looks like an eclipse."

"So how about…" Rainbow Dash began.

Then all at once they said,

"Eclipsal Shade!"

What is Order?

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 9: What is Order?

"Hello again, Celestia."

Celestia looked up from the book she was reading.

"You again…" she growled.

"You must have known I would be coming soon. That storm I made obviously wasn't pony-made."

Celestia sighed, and looked for the sound of the voice, ending her search at the mirror.

"Hey! You found me. Coolio."

"What is it what you want this time?" Celestia said, staring at the reflection in the mirror that wasn't hers, but another ponies.

"How about you read that letter and find out?"

Next thing Celestia knew, a scroll appeared in the air, with green fire surrounding it.

She began reading the letter, and she finished it with shocked eyes.

"You… you finally brought him back." She stated, feeling a little sick.

"Yep. Although, the ponies named him Eclipsal Shade. Funny, isn't it?"

"Shut up." Celestia snarled.

"Sigh. Celestia. As one of the protectors of light for this world, you should know not to let the darkness get to you. It's already taken your old friends; it would be horrible to see it take you too."

"Is that a threat?" Celestia asked the form in the mirror, rage in her eyes.

"Of course not. Just because I am Darkness, doesn't mean I'm evil. I'm just saying, lately… you've grown weaker. You may be the Embodiment of Order, but inside of yourself, you're not in control of anything."

"Of course I am!" Celestia snapped.

"Really? Just like how Chaotic Entropy was under control of the chaos spurring inside him? Or how about Natura Tempest, who grew a cold heart, and nearly froze everypony to death?"

"That was because of your darkness that-"

"No, it is this world's darkness. Shaded is going to have to fight it again, too. It's not his darkness, but it does affect him, just like the order of this world affects you. You know what they are, and you know that while you were able to stop everything before the fourth, it will happen again."

Celestia growled in frustration, glaring even more at the being in the mirror.

"Gaia wouldn't be proud of you, you know."

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT OUR MOTHER." Celestia yelled, bucking the mirror, shattering it to pieces. After her sudden outburst, she took a moment to recompose herself, and sighed.

"You know, she wanted you all to rule together."

"If we all ruled together… the world would be in ruins." Celestia sighed.

"Or would it be in harmony?"

"It is in harmony right now." Celestia stated.

"No, this world is in order. Everything is so planned out, that everything that will be done is predictable."

"Order is harmony." Celestia said, in an absolute way.

"Order is Accord. Let me quote what one pony has said to you before, 'If you keep this up, this world will not head to the way of harmony, as you always pursue.' In other words, when one pony's ideals become more important than anypony else's, then it becomes dangerous."

Celestia looked at the shattered remains of the mirror, taking in what was said.

"I shall leave you with that idea Celestia. You have awoken your sister and alerted the guards with your yelling. May you have a wonderful day."

With that, there was a shift in the pressure of the room, and the entity disappeared.

Of Horses and Ponies

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 10: Of Horses and Ponies

"Would you mind if I studied you? I've never known for an Earth Pony to have magical abilities." Twilight asked me, with a glint in her eyes.

"Um…" I backed away a little, not sure how to respond to her, especially since I barely even knew her.

"Aw come on, Eclipsal. You might not know Twilight here, but you trust me and Fluttershy, right?" Rainbow smirked.

I stood there for a few moments, thinking things over. Rainbow and Fluttershy took care of me when I was injured. I'm sure I can trust them… right?

I nodded my head a little, to respond to Rainbow's question.

"Okay well come over here, while I look through some books to see what I can find." Twilight said, reassuringly.

I walked over to her, and as I did the sound of my steps seemed to echo across the room, which made Twilight's ears perk up.

"Your steps seem pretty loud…" she said. She then looked at my hooves, and seemed in shock for a second.

"Wait a minute here… you can't be a pony." Twilight stated, curiously.

"Uh… what?" I said, looking down at my hooves. "Are you looking at these things encasing my hooves?" I asked.

"Yes. Those are horseshoes. This makes no sense though." Twilight responded.

"How can this not make sense?" I asked.

"Because only horses can grow horseshoes. Ponies can't. Also, because horses have been extinct for many, many decades…" Fluttershy said, staring at me in wonder.

"That… really doesn't make any sense." I stared at my hooves, not knowing what to think.

Twilight picked up my hoof, examining it. "These are real horseshoes alright. No way these are fake."

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"Well, a long time ago, when horses and ponies both existed together, horses grew horseshoes on their own. Horses have special magic inside them, just like every creature does. Not like the magic you demonstrated, but a different one, having to do with their hooves. When they were born, their magic would coat them, and encase their hooves in an irremovable meld of metals." Twilight explained.

"So then how did horses go extinct?" Rainbow asked.

"They began mating with ponies, and well… at some point, only ponies existed." Fluttershy responded.

"Then… where did I come from?" I asked no one in particular.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at me sadly, knowing that it would be even harder to find out who I am when I technically don't exist. My ears drooped down, and I decided to sit down.

"Maybe I can ask Celestia about horses." Twilight said.

"Celestia… that's the princess pony right?" I asked.

"Yes, and she has lived for thousands of years too, so she must know something about the horse race. I'm sure she would be more than willing to help." Twilight replyed, smiling.

"Spike!" Twilight yelled. "Get out of bed! I need you!"

From upstairs I could hear a loud groan and some shuffling. Pretty soon, a purple and green thing appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What is it Twilight? Its barely past noon, and you know how I like my sleep." He said.

I stared at the small being while he walked down the stairs, and for some reason, the word 'Draco' appeared inside my head.

"Who is this?" I asked Twilight.

"This is Spike, a dragon. He's also my assistant, helping me with my studies and taking care of the library." Twilight responded.

I nodded my head a little, and looked at him. He got to the bottom of the stairs, and looked around, sighing. I looked around too, and saw how much of a mess there was. If he's Twilight's assistant I guess he's going to have to clean all this up…

"Who is this?" said Spike, breaking my train of thought. I was about greet him, when Twilight interrupted me.

"This is Eclipsal Shade. He lost his memories, and I need you to take a note to the princess asking her for information." Twilight said.

Spike sighed, and took out a scroll and a quill, then looked at Twilight, signaling that he was ready to write the note.

"Ah-hem." Twilight began. "Dear Princess Celestia, my friends Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash found a wounded creature outside Fluttershy's house during the storm last night. The strange thing is, he is a horse, and has no idea as to who he is. From what I can tell, he must have lost his memories during the storm. Coupled with that, he also seems to possess Unicorn-grade magic, not like the magic that normal horses used to use. The magic was so strong that I couldn't even cast a spell on him to help him free his memories. I would like to borrow all the reference books about horses in the Canterlot archive, and also any other books that you might recommend involving horses. If you happen to have any other information about horses that could help us out, I would also appreciate that."

"…. Signed, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike finished for her.

With that, Spike blew fire on the letter, and it disintegrated.

"Why did you put the letter on fire?" I asked Spike.

"Oh, it's just that my fire is magical, and it can be used to transport messages to other ponies faster than mail can." Spike explained.

'So everything in the world has some sort of magical thing about them?' I thought to myself. 'Ugh… this is so confusing.'

"Are you even sure I'm a horse?" I asked Twilight, doubting that I was really all that different.

"Well, look at how tall you are compared to other ponies. You're even a little taller than the biggest pony around, Big Mac." Twilight said.

"Although you're not as muscular." Spike added.

Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant, and continued. "You also have horseshoes, which don't even exist anymore. If it weren't for those two facts, I would think you're a regular pony."

After she explained this to me, I looked at myself, then at Fluttershy who was still next to me. I really was taller than her!

"Well… okay I guess." I said, unsure of what to do.

Then Twilight asked a question that surprised me. "Where is Eclipsal going to be living?"

I looked at Fluttershy, who glanced at me, then started mumbling something. I was barely able to make it out, but she said, "There isn't enough room for him to stay at my house..."

I looked at Rainbow Dash next, and she looked at me and shrugged. "I live in a house on a cloud. Since you can't fly, you're gonna have to find another place."

This time I glanced at Twilight, even though I had a good idea at what her answer was.

"You can't live with me either; my library is a bit too small for you."

I felt my ears droop down, and was saddened at what I heard. "So… I'm going to be all alone?" I asked, staring hard at the ground.

Fluttershy hugged me, saying, "Of course not! You will always have us. We'll help you find a place to live, don't you worry." She smiled at me, which filled my heart with the happiness that I needed.

Me, the last of my kind, nowhere to live, in a place where nopony knows me. Things would have gone even worse if it weren't for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"Thank you Fluttershy," I smiled. "Thank you too Rainbow. You two are amazing ponies."

"You're darn right we are!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Eh-heh, I mean, thanks Eclipsal." she said after Fluttershy gave her a condescending stare.

Fluttershy let go of me and turned towards the door. "Rainbow, I have to go and take care of my animals. Can you help Eclipsal find a home?"

Rainbow turned to her and saluted, saying, "Yes, mam."

After Fluttershy left, Twilight said, "Maybe you should try Applejack's house first. I'm sure she would be more than happy to let you live there. Especially since she recently cleared out that one barn of hers."

"Sounds like the best place to start." Rainbow said. "Come on, Eclipsal, we had better start heading over there before it gets dark."

I nodded my head, and turned to Twilight. "Thank you for everything Twilight. Thanks to you, knowing what I am can bring me closer to figuring out who I am."

Twilight blushed, surprised from the sudden praise. "I-it's no problem."

"See ya, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said, flying out the door. I trotted along behind her, and said one last goodbye to Twilight before shutting the door.

A Wish

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 11: A Wish

Rainbow and I were walking through the main part of town, heading to a place she called 'Sweet Apple Acres'.

As we were walking through the town, it appeared as though many businesses were about to close for the day. Many ponies were beginning to go inside, and finish up what they were doing before retiring for the day.

I looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun itself was beginning to set.

Rainbow was telling me of all the important areas around town, as we walked through.

Unfortunately I had pretty much drowned her out, as I was mostly thinking about my situation.

'The magic that I apparently used, doesn't exist. My species itself, isn't supposed to exist. Who am I? None of this makes any sense.'

My mind was coming up with a cacophony of ideas, every idea as crazy as the one before.

At the end of the street, I saw a well, which broke me out of my train of thought.

"…and over there is a well that many ponies throw coins in to make a wish. Not that I need to wish to be a part of the Wonderbolts. Everypony already knows how awesome I am!" I heard Rainbow enthusiastically say.

"Do you happen to have any coins, Rainbow?" I asked.

"Yeah I do, why, do you want to make a wish?" Rainbow questioned, hovering by me.

"Yeah. I'm going to need all the luck I can get if I want to figure out who I am." I replyed, looking down the well. The water was extremely clear, so much so that you could see the coins gathered at the bottom of it. While I was looking in it, I could see my reflection looking back. Then I saw Rainbow's head pop in next to mine.

She smiled at me, hoofing me a golden coin of sorts. "Here you go. Hopefully your wish can come true someday, although I doubt that your wish will come slamming into you out of nowhere, or something."

I smiled back at Rainbow, taking the coin from her hooves. I gripped it in my own hoof for a little bit, and closed my eyes. 'Please, let me figure out who I am. Let me meet more awesome friends like the ones I've met today, and just… help me.'

I threw the coin into the well, and watched as it fell to the bottom. It hit the water with a small splash, and the impact rippled throughout the water, distorting me and Rainbow's faces.

I looked up at Rainbow and smiled. "Thanks for being here for me. I really do appreciate it."

She looked at me and gave me a smirk herself, patting me on the back of her head with her hoof. "Hey, what are friends for, anyway?"

We were about to head back en route to the Sweet Apple Acres when a pink blur slammed into me.

"What the heck!" I yelled, as I flew through the air, landing a few yards away. I turned around, to see Rainbow on the ground laughing, and a pink blur disappear into one of the houses down the street.

"Uh… what was that?" I asked Rainbow, who was still on the ground, rolling around as if seeing me getting hit was funny.

"Bahahahaha! Let's just say, I think you made another friend." She replied, wiping a tear from her eye.

She refused to tell me anymore when I tried to question her about it, so we just continued on the way to the acres.

Pretty soon, we were on a path with apple trees everywhere. I looked around, staring at the seemingly endless amount of apples.

"We should almost be there. I'm sure Applejack should still be awake, since she works earlier and later then anypony." Rainbow said.

"Does she own this place?" I asked Rainbow, astounded that anypony could take care of this much land.

"Well, her and her family all live here. They all work together to harvest the apples when they are ripe." Rainbow explained.

"Wow. That's… amazing." I mumbled in awe.

"Oh hey, there she is!" Rainbow pointed to an orange pony with a brown hat, carrying two buckets of apples. "HEY APPLEJACK!"

The orange pony looked towards us, and motioned for us to follow her. She began to walk towards a red building, that I presumed was a barn.

We finally caught up to her, as she had finished putting away the buckets.

"What in tarnation are ya doin out here this late, Rainbow? I figured you of all ponies would be dead asleep right now." Applejack said. Then she looked at me and added, "And who is this?"

"Well you see, I actually have a favor to ask of you." Rainbow said.

"Rainbow! How many times I gotta tell ya I don't need to be in no relationship!" Applejack sternly told her friend. Then she turned to me and said softly, "Sorry dere partner, but I just don't need a stallion in my life at the moment."

"Wait, what? NO NO NO, that's not what this is at all!" Rainbow said, facehoofing.

"Oh it ain't? Then what is it?" Applejack asked, curiously.

Rainbow explained my situation to Applejack, who sat and listened to it very carefully. When Rainbow finished explaining, Applejack took off her hat, and began to rub her eyes a little.

"Well I'll believe ya since I know ya Rainbow, though I doubt any other sane pony would." Applejack said. She then turned to me. "So you're Eclipsal huh? Mighty quiet over there if you ask me."

My eyes widened in surprise as she mentioned me. Most of the conversations about me had nothing to really do with my input, so it's strange being put on the spot like this.

"Well, I don't really know or remember anything. However, I feel like I can fully trust Rainbow and Fluttershy, along with anyone that they might trust." I said, satisfied with my answer.

"You seem pretty trustful of them, but why?" Applejack asked me.

"Well.. they took care of me, and they have helped me through this difficult time. I don't really have any choice but to trust them, and even then, I still do." I looked at Applejack, to see her searching my eyes for something.

After a moment, she immediately began to relax. "You know, ever since I was a filly, I've learned that telling the truth is a great thing. Or as most ponies say, 'Honesty is the best virtue'. I think you'll get along quite well at the Apple farm!" Applejack said, smiling at me. She raised her hoof to me, and I tapped it without thinking, and then looked back at my hoof.

'How did I know to do that?' I thought to myself, just as another wave of pain burned through my head. I tried to keep my composure, but obviously I was failing, since Rainbow looked at me with a worried face.

"Did you remember something?" Rainbow asked.

"I… I don't know." I replied, slowly.

"Whats wrong with him?" Applejack asked Rainbow.

I lay down in the middle of the barn, and recollected myself. Rainbow told Applejack about how my head hurts when I remember something, even though it doesn't come as a memory. Applejack nodded her head in understanding.

I closed my eyes, as they talked together for a while. I stopped paying attention after that, just attempting to relax.

"Well I'll see ya later Rainbow, take care of yourself." Applejack said, which made my ears perk up.

"You're leaving now?" I said, turning to Rainbow.

"Yeah, there was some storm damage after last night, and since I shirked my duties today to help you out, I'm probably going to have my work cut out for me tomorrow." Rainbow replied, smirking in my direction.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't mean to be a burden to you." I whispered. "You've taken such good care of me so far, and I-"

"Hahaha, don't worry about it." She said, flying away, before I was able to finish.

I looked up at her retreating form, when Applejack put her hoof on my back. "I doubt yer being a burden ta anypony, Eclipsal." Applejack reassuringly said.

"However yer gonna have ta earn your keep around Sweet Apple Acres!" she continued, jokingly punching my shoulder. "I'll show ya where the empty barn is, and you can make yerself at home there. Just don't sleep too late, I'ma need ya up bright and early 'morrow mornin."

"I can't wait to get to work tomorrow. It might keep my mind off of the issues at hoof too." I said, thinking about the amount of work it would take to clear out all these apples.

Applejack laughed at what I said. "Ain't no pony ever been excited bout goin out ta work here 'fore."

"Well I promise you I'll do my best to help you with your business and earn my own keep at this farm. Its really the least I can do to help, considering you're letting me live here." I smiled down at her.

She smiled back, saying, "Well then let me show ya off ta yer room then. It's over there, right behind the house." She pointed at a small black building, that looked more like a miniature house then a barn. She started walking off towards the building, motioning for me to follow her.

A Home

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 12: A Home

When I entered the farm, I was surprised at how bare it was. Minus the mound of hay in the middle of it, it was completely empty. The walls were a tan color, completely different from the black that was outside. There was a ladder that went up to a sort of second floor, however it was more like a loft, that overlooked the barn. On the loft I could see the light from a window coming through, brightening up the barn ever so slightly.

"This here's yer home fer now." Applejack said, waving her hoof throughout the area.

"Thank you, Applejack. I think I'll try and get some sleep now, since I need to be up early." I said.

"Well how about I getcha a bed or somethin? Sleepin on the floor aint to good for ya." Applejack suggested.

"No thank you. I'll be fine on my own here, you've done enough to help me out already." I smiled at Applejack.

Apparently that wasn't what she wanted to hear, because she continued looking at me with a worried look on her face.

"Ya sure bout that, sugarcube?" she asked.

I nodded my head, not wanting to impose anymore then I already had.

"Well… okay then. I'll be off. Ya take care of yerself, got it?" she said, still a little worried.

I watched her leave, and decided to go up on the loft. As I finished going up the ladder, I noticed just how far I was able to see through the window up there. I stared out in amazement at the glittering stars, brightened only further by the shining moon, which left a soft pale glow across the land. It was so peaceful, looking out into the horizon, and seeing the beauty of the landscape.

I sighed. 'I should probably be getting to bed now…' I thought to myself.

I decided if I was to go to sleep right now, the last thing I want to see is this amazing scenery. I slowly closed my eyes, letting my dreams overtake me.

:::::

Luna opened her eyes widely, looking out towards Ponyville. She could feel a familiar presence asleep there. The best pony to ask about something like this would be Celestia, no doubt.

Carefully, Luna creaked open the door to Celestia's room. "Tia? Can I ask you something?"

Celestia looked up from the book she was reading, to see her sister looking at her, seemingly worried over something. "Why of course you may, dear sister. Whatever do you need?" Celestia asked, smiling, happy that Luna would come to her to speak of issues.

"I felt something strange in Ponyville." Celestia's smile flickered. "Do you know of anything out of the ordinary happening in Ponyville?"

"There was just the storm the other day. Your probably feeling some unrest from the animals of the Everfree forest. I wouldn't worry about it too much, Luna." Celestia responded.

"Is… is there something bothering you sister?" Luna asked, quietly.

"W-why of course not Luna! I'm probably just tired… I've been up too many nights reading these books, but they entertain me so! I don't want to stop reading!" Celestia let out a small laugh, which sounded fake in itself, and left her sister with a brow raised.

"Well… okay then. I'll go back to performing my duties. Be sure to get some sleep, Tia." Luna said, exiting the room.

'Something still doesn't feel right. It's almost like Tia's been too tired lately.' Luna thought to herself. 'I'll need to figure this out later… but for now I need to continue work.' So she sighed, and flew off to the Night Court.

:::::

I began nuzzling into something soft and warm. I opened my eyes a little bit, only to see that a blanket had been draped over me. I sighed inwardly, knowing it must have been Applejack. 'Oh well. The sun's almost up, so I guess I'd better get up too.'

I walked out of the barn, feeling quite rested from the night. I decided it would be best to wait outside Applejack's house for her to teach me what it was I was supposed to do.

As soon as I walked up to the front, a red pony stepped out. He had an orange mane, and knowledgeable green eyes. He seemed as though he was analyzing me. "I reckon yer Eclipsal?" he asked me. I nodded my head lightly.

"Name's Big Macintosh. Ya can call me Big Mac or Mac, if ya want. I'm Applejack's brother." He said, reaching his hoof out for a hoofshake. I shook it, and said, "It's pleased to meet you. I was going to wait for Applejack to come out so I could learn how to help around here, but since you're up first, would you mind helping me out?"

He nodded, telling me to stay there while he got something. He walked in and out of the barn, but when he walked out, he had some brown thing around his neck.

"What's that for?" I asked, pointing at it.

"It helps me." Mac said, rather simply.

I nodded my head, not really understanding it, but accepting it nonetheless.

He motioned for me to follow him towards a tree. Mac walked up to it, and turned backwards, and kicked it, making apples fall out of the tree, and into the buckets, perfectly.

I stood amazed that he was able to knock down all of them.

Mac turned to me, and said, "All ya gotta do is aim at the base of the tree, and buck it as hard as you can."

I nodded my head, feeling like I could do this. I walked up to an apple tree, watched it. I turned around, making sure I knew exactly where to hit the tree. I slowly moved forwards, and then bucked the tree as hard as I could.

As soon as I did, I heard the noise of rattling, however I wasn't able to turn around, as I had slipped and fallen onto the ground.

"D-did I do good?" I asked, trying to get up.

I got no answer from Mac, and was finally able to turn around and see for myself.

When I realized what I was seeing, I stood there as shocked in silence as he was.

I watched as the tree I had just bucked was still flying away, now merely a speck in the distance.

Oh, Apples.

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 13: Oh, Apples

I am tired. Oh my gosh, I am so tired. Mac has been helping me out with controlling my strength for the past hour, maybe? I can't even tell what time it is, considering how much I've done.

"WHAT IN TARNATION?" I heard a voice yell from the house. I weakly lifted my head to see Applejack staring at the massive piles of dirt all around me.

I guess I also forgot to say that Mac failed in teaching me how to applebuck, and there are now… well about a dozen trees missing.

Applejack looked redder then Mac at that very moment, almost like she would explode with the slightest touch. Mac walked over to her, and began talking to her, trying to calm her down. It seemed to work, because she was definitely looking calmer then before she walked outside.

I laid my head back down for a moment, closing my eyes, and sighed. 'I really can't help, can I? Even though Applejack and Mac have been patient with me, I'm just completely useless. Actually, I'm more then useless. I practically ruined part of their farm.'

"Ya must have been trying hard to control yer strength." I heard Applejack's voice say. I opened one eye, to see Applejack looking down at me.

I sighed, breaking eye contact with her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause this much damage." I got up, dropping my head. "I don't deserve to live here with you Applejack, but I thank you for your hospitality." Then I began to walk somewhere, anywhere, where I wouldn't cause any good ponies problems.

"Now wait a darn minute!" Applejack stopped me in my hoofsteps, blocking me from exiting the gate.

"I refuse to let ya leave, ya hear? You will learn to control yer strength, you will stay here with us, and you will help us applebuck got that? Ya got nothin to worry bout sugarcube. We'll help ya out." Applejack said, trying to get me to stay.

"I… I can't do anything though!" I shouted at the ground.

"I want to help applebuck, but I can't even do that! So far, all I've done is keep Fluttershy from caring for her animals, Rainbow from taking care of the weather, Twilight from actually doing important studies, and you from farming!"

I began stomping the ground, using it to vent my frustration.

"I don't even have memories for crying out loud! I have no one to turn to, no one to live with, and you ponies come in and try to take care of me, but I can't even return my gratitude towards you all!"

"Eclipsal…" Applejack began.

"NO! I am leaving! I'm horrible at doing everything, can't you see? I honestly did try and applebuck, and look where that got me! I ruined a dozen of your apple trees! I would want nothing more but to help you knock down every apple, and even carry it to your barn for you, but I can't do anything right!"

"Ecl-,"

"Applejack, I-,"

"FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE TURN AROUND YOU OAF!" Applejack said, pointing behind me.

I turned around, to see every single tree completely empty of apples, and filled buckets being toted off to the barn by the same sort of magic I remember seeing at the library. Appendages seemed to come out of the ground, grasping every single filled bucket in the orchard and floating them to the barn, connected to the shadows of the trees.

"Is… is that… me?" I said, surprised.

"I think so." Applejack said, as astonished as I was. "Looks like you've done more good than harm, Eclipsal. This woulda taken weeks to buck all these trees, and ya simply stamp the ground and all the apples fell out of the trees into the baskets. Then ya start goin off bout how you wanted to help us by taking the buckets to the barn, and there's yer magic, doin its job."

I blankly stared from her to the now retreating shadows of my magic. All the buckets of apples were in the barn, neatly stacked, and easily manageable.

"So let me get this straight. I woke up to learn how to applebuck, and now I have an idea of how I do magic?" I questioned no one in particular. "How the hay does that work?"

"Life is a mysterious thing sometimes." Mac says, staring at me.

I simply just shook my head. "It's almost like my very existence is an anomaly."

Applejack then turned to me and jokingly said, " Hey, don't ya be usin dem fancy words like Twilight now! Honestly, I don't understand half of that fancy mathematics talk of her's anyway."

"Oh, you just reminded me of something. I think maybe I should go and see Twilight, so that I can completely control this magic thing. Since we are done here, that's fine right?" I asked Applejack.

She reached her hoof up to her chin, thinking about it. "Ah reckon ya can. Just be back later. You remember the way back ta Ponyville, right?"

After muttering a yes, I said goodbye to Mac and Applejack, and left through the gate, walking down the path to Ponyville.

Learning Magic

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 14: Learning Magic

*Canterlot Castle*

Celestia was in the royal garden's watering the plants that existed there. The sound of birds chirping and the feeling of the crisp, clean air, was enough to put Celestia into a peaceful mood. She walked up to a lone statue in the middle of the garden, about to speak to it. Then she heard a strange sound coming from above her. She looked up, and saw a small glint in the sky.

Luna was in the Canterlot library, retrieving some books about magic. After gathering a small assortment of books, Luna began to walk out of the library. Upon exiting the door, she heard a shrill scream in the distance. She recognized the voice, whispering, "Tia!" right before she ran off down the hall to the gardens.

When Luna ran through the gate that lead to the garden, she saw Celestia cowering in fear right next to the gate she entered through. Luna looked around, trying to figure out what sort of horrible thing could have scared her sister, and upon seeing nothing, decided it would be best to ask.

"Tia, what's wrong?" Luna said, keeping her eyes peeled for any danger.

"T-t-the tr-trees!" Celestia responded, now in hysterics.

"... What?" Luna said, baffled.

"THE TREES! THEY WERE ATTACKING ME! SAVE ME LUNA!"

*Eclipsal's POV*

I was quite surprised with myself when I found that I had made it to the Ponyville library without any issues. Remembering how peeved Twilight was when somepony knocked on her door, I just opened it.

Inside, Twilight was frowning at a letter, obviously displeased with what was in it.

"Uh, is this a bad time?" I said, slowly taking a step in.

"Oh! Eclipsal! It's fine, it's fine. Princess Luna just sent me a message, saying how she's having to force Celestia to rest for a while…" Twilight responded.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well apparently, Celestia has been overworking herself lately. Staying up while she has to be asleep, doing more work than needed, etcetera. Princess Luna says that today was the final straw, because Celestia was having hallucinations about trees flying through the sky trying to strike her down, or something." Twilight shook her head.

Upon hearing this, I could feel a searing red strike my face. There's no way that happened did it?

"Uh actually Twilight… I think that was me." I said, feeling a mix of shame and embarrassment.

"What?" Twilight said, staring blankly at me.

"This morning I was being taught by Mac how to applebuck, and instead of just bucking the trees, I pretty much bucked them out of the ground, and they all flew away somewhere. I guess now I know where they went…" I closed my eyes, shaking my head, waiting for Twilight to piece it all together.

"Wait…wait… you nearly hurt the princess! Oh my gosh, I need to take a letter. SPIKE! SPIKE! Where are you!" Twilight was franticly yelling and trying to find her letter-sending assistant, just to prove her teacher's sanity to Luna.

After Spike had been found and sent a letter explaining what I did to Luna, Twilight started bombarding me with questions.

"How strong are you?" she asked first.

"I honestly don't know. It didn't take a lot of effort to buck that tree, so I'm a little afraid to figure that out."

"Did anything else happen?" she asked the second I finished speaking.

"Uh.. actually that's why I'm here. I used my magic again today, except this time I sort of controlled it." At this, Twilight's ears perked up. "I just kind of felt like this huge need to help out Applejack and Mac, and was so frustrated I couldn't do the simplest things, I started stomping the ground, which knocked all the apples from all the trees in the acres. Then my magic did that for me. It conjured up some sort of limbs from the ground, almost like the hands Spike has, and started taking all of the buckets of apples to the barn. I had no control of it while it did that, it simply did that task I thought of, and then dissipated, to put it simply." I finished.

Twilight nodded her head, and put her hoof up to her chin, obviously thinking.

After a few minutes, Twilight finally decided on something.

"We need to teach you how to control your magic." She said.

"Um… Twilight. I thought my magic was different than any other horse's. Plus, you're a unicorn. How would you teach me?" I objected.

"Well I taught Spike how to use magic, and he's just a dragon. All beings have magic, and using it is basically the same. All magic exerts itself through a part of the body. For example, with Spike, it's his fire that's magical. For me, it's my horn. All you have to do is focus your willpower and thoughts to that part of the body, and it naturally happens." Twilight tried to explain.

"So how would we begin then?" I asked.

"With foal steps. Obviously you're powerful, so we should tread carefully." Twilight began. "I'm guessing you're magic comes from your hooves, correct?"

"Well… maybe. I don't know anything about magic though, so I'll leave you to figure out stuff with my magic." I said.

She nodded her head, and came up to me, sitting right next to me. Twilight took my hoof carefully in her hooves, and lifted it up to her horn, holding my hoof next to it.

Her horn began to glow, and I could feel a sort of transfer between my hoof and her horn. Before I was able to ask if this was really safe, she started speaking.

"It appears as though my assumption about your hooves was correct, Eclipsal."

"Okay so what now?" I asked.

"Concentrate on that book right there." She said, randomly pointing to a book on a table. "Then just think to yourself that you want to pick it up."

I nodded my head, and closed my eyes.

I want to lift that book.

I want to lift tha-

"You're doing it!" I heard Twilight say excitedly.

I opened my eyes, and saw a shadow grasping the book. It held it in its hands, holding it a few feet off the ground.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes…" I heard Twilight saying next to me. "This is going to be amazing studying you!" She looked up at me with her eyes glittering. She seemed a little too excited about this.

Then all of a sudden, her eyes widened. "I-I just remembered, I'm hungry! We should go to Sugarcube Corner and grab a bite to eat!"

Party!

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 15: Party!

Twilight led me outside of the library, and pointed to a colorful building across the street. As she was leading me over there she said, "Sugarcube Corner is a bakery owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Also, my friend Pinkie Pie happens to live and work there too. However the best part is, Sugarcube Corner sells the most delectable sweets in all of Equestria!"

We stopped right in front of the door to the bakery, and Twilight was gesturing me to go inside first. I stopped and looked up at the building, feeling like I had seen it before somewhere. Shrugging the feeling off, I opened the door, only to be greeted in a pitch black darkness.

"… hello? Anypony here?" I said, unsurely. Next thing I knew, all the lights turned on, leaving me temporarily blinded.

"SURPRISE!" I heard a large amount of ponies say. My eyes slowly began to adjust, and saw that there was a banner reading: Welcome To Ponyville, Eclipsal!

I turned to Twilight, asking her, "Is this a welcoming party… for me?"

"Why of course it is, silly!" I heard an energetic voice say behind me.

Looking around, I was greeted to a pair of blue eyes staring at me. A pink mare with a pinker mane was there, obviously speaking to me.

"Hi there, Eclipsal! My name is Pinkie Pie! I saw you yesterday when you were with Rainbow Dash and I was all like "WOAHHH" and had to come and meet you but I couldn't stop in time and I hit you and I was all embarrassed so I ran back into Sugarcube Corner to start making a welcoming party for you because every new pony deserves a welcoming party! It took forever to set it up too, I would have had it done in an hour but I didn't want to rush it and make it seem like the party wasn't as great as it could have been, then I made the food, the punch, and decorated, and it was all so awesome! By the way do you like chimicherries or cherrychangas? I honestly can't decide what I like better, chimicherry, cherrychanga, chimicherry, cherrychanga,"

My eyes were rolling around in my head trying to make sense of what this pony was saying.

"Uh… chimicherrychanga?" I said, unsurely.

"OH MY GOSH THAT'S MY FAVORITE TOO!" the pink mare said.

Twilight poked me on the shoulder, and whispered into my ear, "This is Pinkie Pie, she made this welcoming party for you. She can be a little excited, but she's a good pony." I nodded my head, understandingly.

"Thank you for throwing me this party Pinkie, it looks amazing!" I said, smiling.

"Well then, LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Pinkie yelled out to everypony.

Next thing I knew, she disappeared, and reappeared next to a stereo system. Pinkie then pulled out a white pony with a blue mane and glasses, and the pony began to play high-beat music.

I decided the first thing I wanted to do was try out some food, since Twilight was telling me how good Sugarcube Corner's desserts are.

Walking over to the table, I saw Spike near a bunch of colored stones, munching on them. 'Maybe it would be best if I hang around ponies I know," I thought to myself.

I took a cupcake with my magic, controlling it just like Twilight taught me, and began to walk towards Spike. I took a seat next to him, and asked, "Hey, what's up?"

He looked up at me. "Hmm? Oh hi, Eclipsal. Nothing much, just eating. Nice job with your magic by the way." He said, motioning towards the shadow that was holding my cupcake.

"Thanks. I think I'm starting to get the hang of controlling my magic." I said, right before I flung the cupcake right into my face.

"Hahahaha! Looks like you need a bit more practice!" Spike said, laughing.

We both laughed at it for a moment, then I licked off the cupcake that I could reach with my tongue. When I tasted some of it, my eyes widened, probably into saucers.

"Wow… this is so good!" I said, finishing licking off the cupcake, and then going to finish the rest that I had salvaged.

"Yeah, Pinkie makes really good desserts." Spike said.

"Mmm.. I thought that Sugarcube Corner made these." I said, licking my lips.

"Nah. Pinkie works here, but she makes her own cupcakes from scratch for welcoming parties." Spike replied.

I nodded my head, and looked out into the dance floor, seeing Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow all talking to each other on the other side of the room.

"Hey, wanna go see the girls?" I said, gesturing towards them.

"Yeah, might as well. Let's go." Spike said, getting up.

We maneuvered through the crowd of ponies, and made it to the girls.

Spike was right beside me, and said, "Hey girpwehahhh.."

I looked at him, and saw his eyes glaze over, staring at a sixth pony that I hadn't recognized before. I looked at her, a white unicorn with a fancy purple mane, and began wondering if she knew the other girls or not. My question was answered almost immediately.

"Eclispal, this is our friend Rarity." Twilight said, motioning me closer.

"Why hello, Rarity. It's a pleasure to meet you." I said, trying to be as polite as possible.

"My, what a gentlecolt!" Rarity gave a short laugh. "Not many ponys like you these days."

"That's probably because I'm a horse." I said, which made the group laugh a bit.

I looked back towards Spike to see him still frozen in place, staring at Rarity.

"Um… hello? Spike? You there?" I asked, poking him.

"Don't bother with that one. He'll wake eventually." Applejack said.

I nodded my head, trusting her words, and then got tackled by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey, Eclipsal! Wanna dance with me?" she said excitedly.

"Uh… sure I guess that would be fun." I replyed, only to see the other girls look at me shocked. Even Spike broke out of his trance to stare at me with a worried look.

'It can't be that bad… can it?' I thought to myself.

About an hour later, the party had died down and it was just us eight at Sugarcube Corner.

Dancing with Pinkie was pretty fun, although my flank hurts from her bumping into me multiple times, it was still pretty amazing.

I laid down on a nearby couch, exhausted from dancing for so long. It might have been fun, but dancing with Pinkie sure can take a lot out of you!

I closed my eyes for one second, then opened them again to see the 6 ponies and dragon sitting around me.

"Wasn't that party fun!?" Pinkie Pie asked me.

"Yeah it sure was, although it left me tired." I replied to her.

"I'm honestly surprised Pinkie here didn't go overboard and make you crash into a wall, or something." Rarity said.

"I doubt Pinkie would ever do that." I said, waving my hoof in her direction.

"Actually, the way she dances is quiet destructive, you know?" Rainbow Dash said to the group.

"And painful…" Fluttershy added.

"Well I'm fine, which is pretty good. However, my flank does hurt a little. Does anyone have something to help?" I asked.

"Ah! Here you go, Eclipsal." Rarity said, pulling out an ice pack.

"Oh, thank you Rarity. How generous of you!" I said, putting it on my flank, which gave me a sort of peaceful numb feeling.

"Well I only give my generosity to ponies that deserve it. Horses too." Rarity said, eliciting a laugh from the group.

"AGH!" I yelled, dropping the icepack and holding my head in my hooves. "My head!"

Since Rarity was the closest, she began to examine me to see if something was wrong. Then she pulled back with a shocked look on her face.

"Eclipsal! Y-you're cutie mark!" she stammered.

"What is it?" I said, pain increasing in my head.

"It's… it's glowing." said Fluttershy, staring at me.

Everypony began to grow closer to see my cutie mark, when a yell caught their attention.

"I found another one!" Pinkie Pie yelled, making everypony turn to her, holding Rarity's flank, pointing at her cutie mark.

"Wha- why what is the meaning of this?" Rarity said, staring at her cutie mark.

"I… I don't know." Twilight said. "I keep ending up with more questions then answers when it comes to Eclipsal."

Pretty soon the pain in my head subsided, but everypony was still looking worried.

"Well I reckon we all best go home now." Applejack suggested. Everypony nodded their head, agreeing with her.

"Pinkie, do you need any help cleaning up?" I asked her.

"Aw, no thanks silly. I can take care of this allllll by myself. Just be sure to go home and get some rest, okay?" she replied, smiling widely at me.

I nodded my head and walked out the door, only to hear a loud burp come from inside, that made me turn around.

A scroll had appeared out of the fire from Spike's mouth, and Twilight was reading it.

Twilight read it for a few seconds, and then looked at me strangely.

"Princess Luna wants to come to Ponyville and meet you, Eclipsal." she told me.

"Why does she want to see me? Does she know who I am?" I asked Twilight.

Twilight shrugged, looking over the note again.

"I can't say for sure. We might as well just wait for her to come here and see for ourselves. Goodnight, everypony." Twilight then retreated with Spike to her library, and the rest of us began our trek home.

Uncontrollable

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 16: Uncontrollable

The next morning, I was awake quite early. Don't ask me why, but it felt like something important was going to happen today. I walked out of my barn-house and stretched, taking in the fresh morning air.

The smell of crisp and clear nature somehow brought a smile to my face. 'I guess waking up early does have a few quirks.' I thought to myself.

I looked up towards the sun, barely beginning to rise over the horizon, and decided that since it would be a little bit until the Apple's started the work that they would need me for, I would take walk to Ponyville to pass the time.

I walked through the streets of Ponyville, watching as many of the venders were beginning to set up shop. 'I guess everypony has to get up early to make a living.'

Walking past the hard working vendors, I saw Sugarcube Corner around the bend. Remembering the amazing party last night, I also realized I never gave Pinkie a thank you for it. Better late than never though.

Walking into the store, I saw it was pretty empty, except for one pony by the register. I guess most ponies don't want sweets for breakfast.

I slowly trotted up behind the pony in front of the register, waiting for her to finish her order so I could ask for Pinkie. I saw a light blue pony with a pink swirly mane behind the register, taking the order.

"That will be 2 bits, dearie." Said the blue pony.

"Thank you for the muffins!" said the pony in front of me.

When the pony in front of me turned around, I could feel my head beginning to hurt. She was light grey, and had bubbles as her cutie mark. Her blonde mane was covering part of her face for a second, but then moved out of the way as she looked at me. Her eyes were practically gold, but unlike a normal pony's eyes, hers looked in different directions.

I continued to stare at her, my head pounding against my skull. She was looking at me too, her eyes slowly turning to look and focus at one direction: me.

As her eyes were completely focused on me, they widened in shock. I then noticed her wings attached to her body twitching.

"Darkie?" she asked me, reaching a hoof out to touch my face.

The touch felt so familiar, so relaxing, but I had no idea who the pony in front of me was. I could feel the pain in my head dissipating, like her presence was healing me.

I stared at her, feeling as though there was nothing else I could do. Tears started forming at the corners of her eyes, as she wrapped her hooves protectively around me. I could feel a tear slowly slide itself down my cheek, as my body hugged her back, me being completely unable to control my body.

At that very moment, Pinkie walked down the stairs, her face beaming with happiness, until she saw me hugging the grey mare in front of me.

"Ditzy? What are you doing hugging Eclipsal?" Pinkie asked her, looking confused.

"E..e..Eclipsal?" Ditzy asked, letting go to look at me. She studied me for a second, then closed her eyes, to wipe away her tears. "I'm… I'm sorry. You just look like someone I used to know."

Pinkie then interrupted her to say, "Well he could still be! Eclipsal here lost his memories a few days ago."

"No.. there is no way he could be the one I knew.." she replyed solemnly.

"How do you know that, Ditzy?" Pinkie pushed for an answer.

"Because… he died. He died a long time ago." She said, shaking her head.

She opened her eyes, and they were back to looking in different directions. She now looked back to being the happiest mare in the world, from before she looked at me.

"Well, I oughta go now! Mail doesn't deliver itself you know! I'll see ya later Pinkie, and you too Eclipsal!"

Then she was gone, flying out of the bakery to go do her job, from what I could tell.

"Who was that?" I asked Pinkie. "That's Ditzy, of course! She delivers mail to everypony across Equestria! She's really nice too, although a bit of a klutz at times." Pinkie said, skipping up to me.

I stared walked up to the window, and watched as Ditzy's figure grew smaller in the distance.

Obviously trying to get my mind off of what happened, Pinkie decided to ask me why I showed up at Sugarcube Corner so early this morning.

"I just wanted to thank you for the party last night." I told her, smiling. "Being welcomed to Ponyville like that really made me happy."

Pinkie looked at me with an overjoyed look in her eyes, and grabbed my hoof in hers, then looked at me straight in the eyes, and said, "You are absolutely welcome, Eclipsal! Making everypony happy is what I have always thrived for!"

Her ears perked up for a second, like she remembered something, and then she disappeared into the store, telling me to wait there for a second. She returned with a box, which was wrapped in paper, with a bow sitting on top of it.

"What is this?" I asked Pinkie.

"It's a 'Welcome to Ponyville' gift! I found it while cleaning last night, and forgot to give it to you, hehe." Pinkie said, giggling in embarrassment.

"Oh, why thank you, Pinkie." I said, carefully taking the box, and balancing it on my back.

I then heard a voice coming from the behind the counter. The blue pony who was taking orders earlier was getting Pinkie's attention. "Pinkie, I need your help!"

"Well, I gotta go and get started on work, Eclipsal. I'll see you later!" Pinkie told me, as she began bouncing off to the kitchen.

I walked out of Sugarcube Corner, deciding it was late enough to start the trek back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Walking the path to the acres again, I took in how peaceful and serene it was. I don't know how to explain it, but it gave me a sense of… safety.

I finally got to the gate that lead to the front of the yard, and saw Applejack and Big Mac up and working already. I quickly rushed back to the building I called home now, and safely tucked away the gift in the corner, then ran back outside to help the Apple's with their morning duties.

Even though I finished all the harvesting the other day, there are still other things the Apple's need help with. Feeding the animals, collecting wood, doing some land work, and planting more apple trees. It leaves me tired as heck, unfortunately.

So when Applejack told me that we had finished the work day, I was extremely relieved.

"Huff… huff… I'm so exhausted!" I said, flopping down in the grass.

"Heheh, well ya might be pretty dang strong Eclipsal, but ya aint got a whole lotta endurance on ya." Applejack said, sitting down next to my unmoving form.

"So, Applejack, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" I asked her, wondering what she did outside of work.

"Well, I'm gonna go to the fancy-shmancy spa down in Ponyville with Rarity and Fluttershy later. In fact, any minute now I oughta start getting ready ta head out." She replyed. "What about you, Eclipsal?"

I thought about it for a moment, tapping my hoof on my chin. "I honestly have no idea. I mean I guess I could go see Twilight, to see if she has figured out anything about me."

"Well then, you should walk ta Ponyville with me!" Applejack suggested, beginning to get up.

"Ugh, five more minutes please." I whined, trying to get as much relaxation as I could before I got up.

Applejack laughed, and said, "Well, if ya won't get up and come with me, then I might as well just leave ya here. I imagine the walk alone from here to Ponyville won't be TO boring."

I sighed, and slowly got up. "Fine, we might as well go." I said, mentally wishing I could have stayed on that patch of grass all day.

After I parted ways with Applejack as she headed for the spa, I made my way to Twilight's house. I opened the door to the library, and took a look inside.

'Wow, was it this dirty last time I was here?' I asked myself. There were notes and books sprawled out all over the floor, some stacked as high as me.

I saw Spike on a ladder, putting away some of the books that were on the ground.

"Hey, Spike!" I said.

He turned to me, and then gave me a smile. "Oh hey, Eclipsal! Nice to see you again."

"May I ask what happened in here?" I questioned as I walked in, shutting the door behind me.

Spike let out a sigh. "Twilight was up all last night studying something. She never cleans up her messes, so I'm stuck doing that myself."

'To think, one mare could cause this much damage…' I thought to myself.

"Well, would you like some help?" I asked Spike.

"Definitely!" he said, looking a bit relieved.

"So how do I order out these books?" I asked Spike.

"Well I have them organized by author, A-Z." he replied.

"What about the notes?" I asked again, looking at the random chicken scratch in front of me.

"Just stack them up somewhere. Twilight usually organizes those." He said, putting more books away.

'Well… here goes nothing.' I thought to myself, looking down at my hooves. They began to glow black, which made it look like shadows were coming out of them. I tapped them on the ground, and watched as the shadow flew throughout the floor of the room, and limbs erupted from it, grabbing the books and putting them in their rightful place.

"WOAH!" Spike yelled out in awe, watching as I was putting away everything with ease.

There was a bang from upstairs, and some hoofsteps. Then, Twilight appeared at the top of the stairs, mumbling.

"Spike… don't be so loud when I'm trying to sleep…" she mumbled quietly. Then as I was finishing stacking the last bits of paper, Twilight's eyes widened in recognition.

"Wow, Eclipsal! You're getting great with your magic!" she shouted, as the shadow throughout the room began to retreat back to me.

"Heheh, thanks Twilight! I owe you for it, anyway." I smiled at her. She returned my smile with a sheepish one of her own.

"So anyway, what brings you here today?" she asked, walking down the stairs.

"Actually I was wondering if you figured out anything new about me." I replied.

"Is that what you were studying last night, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Yes, to both of you." Twilight said, suddenly putting on a serious face.

"Is something the matter?" I wondered.

"Yes. You see, I looked into the thing about you and Rarity's cutie marks glowing. It came up with interesting results." She said, walking over to her notes.

"I've found out that when two ponies who were never supposed to meet, do in fact meet, that their cutie marks will show a response to both of them." Then, she let out a sigh. "This troubles me though…"

"Why?" Spike and I asked, simultaneously.

"Spike… remember whenever I was around Princess Celestia, and both of our cutie marks would shine?" Twilight asked him.

"Oh, yeah! I do remember that!" He said in realization. "Except, it's more like they would glitter, or glisten. Not really 'shine'."

Twilight nodded her head. "When I was a foal staying at the castle, she always told me that it was because we had a deep connection that made our cutie marks resonate. This book says otherwise though…"

She shook her head, as if trying to get a thought out of her mind.

"The point is, there is something wrong with this picture. I don't entirely know what it is, but we need to find all the pieces so we can figure out this puzzle."

I nodded my head in agreement. "So then, what do you suggest we do?" I asked her.

"Well, first thing we should do is check out where you first appeared. Right by Fluttershy's house, at the edge of Everfree forest."

Elements

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 17: Elements

"Are you sure this is a smart thing to do, Twilight?" I asked her unsurely as we walked by the creek at Fluttershy's house.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Twilight said ecstaticly.

"… and why are you so excited?" I said, giving her a sideways glance.

She blushed and then proceeded to say, "I just can't wait to figure out who you are and where you're from! I mean you're so mysterious, I end up with more questions than answers with you! I've always been excited by logic puzzles, and you're case is acting a lot like one." I could see the edge of Everfree forest right over the hill.

"I'm a puzzle?" I said, shaking my head in amusement. "Sometimes it feels like you just want to learn everything."

"Well as Princess Celestia's student, it is my duty to learn everything I can about magic, and friendship. You are my friend obviously, but I also need to learn more about you so I can figure out the workings behind your magic." she said, while examining the horizon of trees.

"Ah, here it is!" I said, pointing a few yards to the right of us.

We walked over to the crater in the ground, the hole expanding a few feet deep and being about 5 feet in diameter. Twilight then began examining it with some sort of tools she had, carefully sliding down into the center of the hole.

I laid down at the edge of the crater, watching Twilight go about her work. 'Best not to interrupt the smart one in her process.' I thought to myself.

I looked up at the sun, which was glowing as bright as usual. It felt different though… almost like-

"Do you remember anything about that night, Eclipsal?" Twilight asked as she began taking samples of dirt, interrupting my train of thought.

"Huh? Oh that night. I don't really remember much other than waking up in Fluttershy's house, and freaking out." I replied.

"Hmm." Twilight looked over some notes she was taking, before stopping and looking out towards the border of Everfree. She shook her head, and walked back up to me.

As she slowly trotted her way up and next to me, she had her ears perked up like she had some sort of idea.

"Say, Eclipsal. Where did Fluttershy say you walked out of the forest at?" she questioned, waiting for an answer.

I looked throughout the border, and my gaze set upon an area with a bunch of broken roots and twigs. "I believe it was from over there." I said, pointing at the spot.

"That's what I was afraid of." Twilight mumbled to herself. "Follow me. I think I might know where you came from…"

I cocked my head to the side, wondering what Twilight was thinking. As she began heading towards the opening in the forest, I decided to follow her.

We were already deep into the forest when I decided to talk again. "Why are we here, Twilight?" I asked.

All of a sudden, we were in a huge opening, and I could feel magic heavily in the air. It felt almost like the fog was the magic, heavily sticking to the earth. There was a broken bridge in front of us, but apparently that didn't matter as Twilight made a bridge for us to walk on with her own magic.

As we walked across, the fog began to clear just enough for me to see an enormous building.

"This… this is the castle that used to be the home of Princesses Celestia and Luna. It also used to be the holding place of the six Elements of Harmony." Twilight said, eyeing the area carefully.

I felt my head beginning to throb again, but I held out the pain. "What are the Elements of Harmony?" I asked her unsurely, as she walked into the castle, with me following behind.

"They are the most powerful weapons in our world. Each of them represents a different aspect of friendship. Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and finally Magic, the spark that connects them all." Twilight said as we reached a room that had a throne at the end of it.

I staggered forwards, trying to endure the pain my head was causing me, until I collapsed right in the middle of the floor.

…

Darkness.

I could feel it.

I heard the sound of a gasp.

There was a flash of light. No, not light. A spark.

"You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!"

The Elements of Harmony.

What are they?

…

Who are they?

Loyalty.

Rainbow Dash did her best to stop by whenever she wasn't working or training. How LOYAL to stick by a friend like that. Especially when they need all the help they can get.

Honesty.

Applejack told me that the best policy is to always be HONEST. She always took what I told her at face value, and fully trusted me, because she was my friend.

Kindness.

Fluttershy treated me when I was sick, and even though I acted out and tried to refuse treatment, she continued to be KIND to me until I opened up. She probably saved my life because of that too.

Generosity.

Rarity took care of me at Pinkie's party, when I got hurt. She GENEROUSLY gave me her ice pack,a nd made sure that I was feeling okay.

Laughter.

Pinkie Pie was really good at making me feel happy All it took was a few words from her, and I would be feeling from down in the dumps, to LAUGHING with her.

The pony that was with me now… what was she?

"The spark didn't work!"

"But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are my friends. You see, Night Mare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic."

Magic.

Twilight taught me how to wield my MAGIC, and how to use it for basic things. Even when issues happened, she didn't get mad, but instead helped me more.

There was another spark.

These ponies were my friends. I care as much about them as they do about me.

"NOOOO!"

There was a flash of light, and a giant rainbow filled my vision.

Behind the rainbow was a purplish cloud of smoke, slowly turning white.

"I am no longer a part of that princess… Victory is mine. Darkness shall rule…"

The world faded to pure white.

A strike of thunder sounded.

"DARKNESS SHALL REMAIN VICTORIOUS!"

Victory

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 18: Victory

"Sigh..."

"What's wrong?" A blue pony walked up to a grey… horse?

"The darkness inside of me. It's getting stronger, and I have no means of releasing it."

"Well, why not?" she asked.

"We operate Gaia too well. There aren't ever any enemies I can release my darkness upon in a battle to sustain myself. Instead it keeps piling on inside of me… It's getting a bit out of hoof."

""Hmm. You know how Unicorns and Alicorns are constantly building up magic? That's just like you, except its darkness. Whenever we create too much, we give an extreme burst of magic to help even out the levels inside of us. I know you can't do that, but other times what we do is spread them to each other, or even non-magic using ponies to give them a boost. I imagine it should be the same." She stopped for a second, letting it sink in. "If you're worried you might go haywire, why not give me some of your darkness?" she said, her light blue mane flowing in the wind.

"Give you some of my darkness? I can't do that! You and I both know that darkness is not a good thing. I can't be going around giving it to my best friends, just to help myself!"

"Listen, -. I'm your friend. Friends help each other out with their problems, and help share a burden. Now as for the darkness. While it is evil, you are not. You are the most generous being I know. If you have so much darkness inside of you, and you are still normal, then I believe I am quite strong enough to handle a little bit of it. Now please, I would rather have you live to see another year then see you lose control."

They grey one nodded his head slightly. "While you may be right, I still don't know about this."

"Trust me. Everything will be fine." She said, a smile on her face.

"Well… if you say so. I hope your sister won't be mad at me for this."

"Hahahaha! If she is, then she will have to take it up with ~~~~~. ~~~~~ told us to always work together, because that's how harmony will be retained throughout the world!"

The grey one smiled at this. "Heh. That's true. Well, okay. Here goes."

He slammed his hoofs to the ground, and there was a flash.

The grey one had more color in him now, he was a darkish white compared to his once pure grey form.

"Ah, that feels a lot more better… How do you feel? Anything strange?"

"I feel fine," she giggled.

…

There was a table, six entities around them.

There were the two from before.

One was a pony with pink hair and a white body.

One was a dragon with a brown body and grey wings.

One was some sort of pony-insect hybrid, with yellow eyes and a shiny black body.

One was a stallion of some sort, he glowed a light teal color and had a resemblance to a cloud.

The grey horse stood up and spoke.

"Depending on the circumstances in the world, my darkness grows. The worse off the world is, the stronger the darkness is. The best way to imagine it is something like this. Every day, my darkness grows by .01%, however the worse off the world is, the more that percent can increase until the world starts getting better again, in which case it will lower. Either way however, the darkness will keep rising until I can barely contain it."

"So why are you telling us this?" The one with a pink mane and white body said.

"Because, I wanted to ask you all, if I begin to get overloaded, could I give you a part of my darkness? Because of the fact that you all are guardians of light, I can give you certain amounts of it and it will just decrease in value. However because I'm a guardian of darkness all it does is grow for me."

"Bahahaha!" The draco laughed. "Just because you happen to be a guardian of darkness doesn't mean you aren't a guardian of light aswell. You are in The Element of Harmony, am I right?"

They grey horse let out a chuckle. "Indeed."

The white pony stood up. "Is this why you called an emergency meeting?" She asked, smiling. "Don't you realize we are your friends? We must all carry the burden of together, as to help each other."

"Thank you, so much. I really appreciate everything you all have done for me."

"Hey now, you've done a lot of things for us too! You're the most amazingly awesome horse I know!" the insect-pony said.

"Well, I do believe it is time for a meeting with ~~~~~, again." said the cloud-like stallion.

"Ah yes, mother. She hasn't been looking very good lately has she?" the white pony said.

…

I slowly opened my eyes. I could feel an intense burning sensation on my neck.

My eyes widened as I saw a purple pony thrown across the room. "TWILIGHT!"

"Agh.. Eclipsal, run…" she muttered before going unconscious.

I ran up to her and grabbed her slinging her across my back. Looking around, I noticed that there was a white smoke hanging from the top of the room.

"We need to get out of here…" I said to myself.

I began running for the stairs, but could feel the fog growing stronger as I ran.

'What the heck is all of this?' I thought to myself, as I zoomed down the stairs.

Thunder was flashing in the small confines of the room, and lightning appeared to be falling from the fog set ceiling. I ran for the door, trying to escape as fast as I could, when I heard galloping from behind me.

Assuming it must be the assailant that attacked Twilight, I ran even faster putting everything I could into my hoofs. Magic was forming around them and I could feel the air fly by me as I ran through the forest.

I slowed down after having ran for a few minutes. "Did I lose whatever that was?"

"Not likely."

All of a sudden, I got hit in the gut, throwing me out into a bed of blue flowers at my side. When I fell to the ground in agony, I could barely breathe with the pollen from the plants going into my lungs.

I coughed heavily, getting up as quick as I could to fight off whoever this was, and protect Twilight.

"Pitiful pony." Said a voice from my right.

I looked to see a white mare staring at the limp form of Twilight on the ground.

"Not so strong without your friends, now are you?" she said.

I ran towards the white mare, and attempted to knock her away from Twilight. She sidestepped my attack, and took a few steps back.

"My, my. What a surprise. You've teamed up with those… things. Even after what they did to you." She said, sneering all the while.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about, but you will leave Twilight alone. I won't let you hurt my friends!" I yelled at her, feeling a strange rage in my voice.

She began giggling, and then started maliciously laughing while pointing at me. "You really don't know who you are do you? Why you're here, what your job is, you really don't know."

I tilted my head at her, now curious as to what she was saying. "What do you mean?"

"Heh. I'll let you figure that part out yourself. I still need you for the future."

I heard a groaning sound from behind me, and turned around in time to see Twilight get up.

She looked at me, and then at the white mare that was up the hill from us. "Do you know who this is, Eclipsal?"

I shook my head, then asked, "Do you know who she is?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea who this is. However…." She took another look at me.

"What?"

"She's a horse, like you." Twilight said, her eyes crossed in the direction of the white horse.

"Heheheh. You definitely seem more observant than when I last met you, Twilight." The horse said.

"What? I don't know you!" she said, glaring at her.

"Let me help you remember then. Summer Sun celebration, the being you hit with your demented blast of light." The horse stared at Twilight, waiting for her to comprehend. "How about I give you another hint, just in case you are still as dumb as I remember you. My name is Nightmare. Victorious Nightmare. Also known as one half of the being that makes up Nightmare Moon. But feel free to call me Victory."

"What? That's… that's not possible! We got rid of you when we used the Elements on you!" Twilight yelled at Victory.

"Bahaha! You really think the Elements did that? You silly little foal, all they did was free me from that stupid princess's body. I admit, they did make me go into recovery in that castle for a few years, but thanks to your friend here," Victory gestured at me, "I now have enough power to take over the world, if I want to."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Twilight said, as I got ready to attack right beside her. "Now I'm going to send you back to where you belong!" Twilight then appeared to have a very concentrated face on.

The white horse slowly began heading towards us.

"Twilight, whatever you're doing, you should do it fast!" I whispered to her.

"I…" she mumbled.

"What?"

"I… can't use my magic." She muttered in despair.

"Poison joke tends to do that to you, idiot." Victory sneered.

"What? Oh.. oh no." Twilight looked around in the flowers we were standing in.

"Enough with wasting time." Victory began. "It's time I do what I need to do."

I heard a crack of thunder go through the sky, and then I felt myself being hit by a never ending current of lightning.

Taken Over

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 19: Taken Over

*Twilight's POV*

I saw lightning about to hit Eclipsal, but I couldn't react in time to save him. I could do nothing but watch and listen as he screamed in agony from the forced volts entering his body.

'Nononono… What do I do?'

His eyes glowed brightly as he floated higher into the air, the smell of something burnt lingering in the air. I could barely stand the smell of it.

'I have to save him.'

I turned to face Victory, only to notice she was gone.

"Looking for me, Twilight Sparkle?" I heard a demented voice say from behind me.

Turning around I saw her, Victory, fusing with Eclipsal. His body appeared to be disintegrating as her body took over the space that no longer existed.

I looked in despair as my friend was being torn apart right in front of me. Just before he disappeared completely, I saw him open his eyes, and I heard his voice.

He looked straight at me, and said with his last bit of power, "Twilight. Run. I'll do my best to hold her off."

"You think you can overpower me, you insolent fool?!" I heard Victory yell. I didn't turn to look, but I knew Eclipsal was doing his best to keep her at bay.

I ran as fast as I could through the Everfree. 'I have to get to Ponyville to warn the others!'

My body was failing me the more I ran, however. The poison joke must have thought that it this was funny. 'Stupid plant…'

I galloped by as trees zoomed by me, a few even tripping me and messing up my steps. I finally cut through an opening, to see that Ponyville was on the horizon. This only raised my ambition to get there.

'My friends may be the only thing that can save him.'

*Luna's POV*

I rode in the Royal carriage, awaiting my meeting with Twilight Sparkle, and her friend… Eclipsal Shade, was it?

The captain of the Night Guard sat in front of her, listening to the sounds of the air shifting around them.

"We..I wonder why ou-my sister does not like the idea of me going to Ponyville to meet this new citizen." I said, trying to start a conversation with Tarnished Sword.

The captain gave me an odd look, then replyed. "Are you having trouble with your speech again? It sounds like you're stuck in the 'royal we' mode again."

Luna blushed slightly at this, feeling embarrassed, until the captain continued speaking.

"I don't know why Princess Celestia wouldn't want you in Ponyville. It's a nice enough place. She did seem pretty adamant about you not going there, for whatever reason."

I heard loud bang sound in the distance, that brought shivers up my spine. It sounded just like-

"You sure we shouldn't turn around, Princess Luna? You look like you're going to be sick." Tarnished said, looking at me with her concerned eyes.

"We'l… I'll be fine." I said, shaking my head. 'You can't think of those times every time you hear lightning, Luna.'

"Ah, we are coming upon Ponyville now, Princess." Tarnished said, looking out the carriage.

"Please, Tarnished, just call me Luna. We are close enough for you to call me by my name." I said, giggling.

Tarnished gave a half-smile back. "My job is to protect you, and to maintain your status of royalty." Then Tarnished punched me lightly in the shoulder. "So we can grab a cider when I'm not on the job, got it?" she then giggled.

I let out a laugh too, nopony makes me laugh quite like Tarnished does.

"Hm? Isn't that Twilight Sparkle?"

I took a step out of the carriage, to in fact see Twilight galloping towards us, fur on end, bruises slightly visible all over her body, and her horn sprinkled with random blue dots.

"Twilight Sparkle! What has happened?" I said, teleporting her in front of me.

"It's… Elements! Nightmare! Eclipsal! She has Eclipsal! We have to save him and get the Elements!" Twilight said incoherently.

Tarnished and I gave each other a look. "Twilight. Slow down, and say what is wrong, clearly."

"It's Victory! Victorious Nightmare! Nightmare Moon! She's back, she's here, and she has my friend Eclipsal! I couldn't save him! My magic…" Twilight sobbed to herself, mumbling more words incoherently.

I took a step back, my eyes widening. Victory. This can't be possible!

"Captain." I said.

Shocked that I used her rank instead of her name, it was obvious Tarnished knew this was important.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Arm yourself. We are going to go save somepony."

*Oh hai we are back to Eclipsal's POV*

I forced myself to stay conscious, and stay in control. I could feel my very skin being burned off as volt after volt launched itself through the non-Victory part of my body.

"You think holding me back will save you?" Victory laughed. "Nopony can save you. Thanks to the Poison Joke, I will soon have full control of your body, and can tap into your magic to replenish myself."

"And how do you know I won't stop you?" I asked, scowling.

"Doesn't my name make it obvious? I am Victory. I always win."

"Twilight defeated you before. I saw it. She can beat you again."

"Wahahah! You think she beat me! No, she merely beat that useless princess you are friends with."

"I'm not friends with a princess!" I muttered to myself.

"Oh right. You don't remember. How about I tell you what happened then? You created me. You created all of the.."

A strike of magic hit us from the back, sending us flying out of the lightning.

"Argh… No!" Victory yelled, looking at our attacker.

I saw a dark blue mare with a moon-shaped icon on her chestplate, and a flowing mane that was as dark as the night, but sparkled in various places. Her eyes stared at us in utter horror, and anger.

"We-I won't let u-you harm this citizen of ou-my country!" the mare yelled, her horn charging up for another attack.

"Having a tough time with the words there, Luna? I figured you of all ponies would remember: You and I aren't a 'we' anymore. As soon as I take over this idiot, I will have more than enough power to take you on." Victory sneered at Luna, attempting to get up, with me holding back.

"You bucking idiot! Just let me take you over all ready!" Victory yelled at me.

"Like I would ever let you take over my body just to hurt my friends!" I yelled back, forcing her to stay down where we started instead of advancing forward.

"You, Eclipsal! Are you alright?" Luna asked.

"Other than being attacked by a mare, this is a walk in the park for me." I said.

Luna nodded. "If you are fine enough to make jokes, then you are fine enough to hold her back."

"There isn't anything that can hold me back!" Victory screeched.

"Then why haven't you moved yet?" Luna sneered at her.

"… Well that doesn't matter anyway. This idiot here is infected with Poison Joke. There is no way he will last long enough for you to get a cure for it anyway. As long as he is affected by it, I will still maintain dominance." Victory gave a snicker.

"Oh, so the Joke is giving you the power to take him over? Well then, want to hear the punchline?" Luna asked.

Next thing I knew, I was slammed in the face with a glass vile filled with some strange liquid, knocking me unconscious.

Special Research

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 21: Special Research

I walked into the library just to be greeted by what felt like a million ponies hugging me. "Hey girls. Nice to *gasp* see you too. Could you let go of me now? It's a bit tough to breathe."

Princess Luna and Twilight began telling everypony what happened, with Luna explaining about the history of Nightmare Moon and Victory, and Twilight explaining about the reason for going into the castle.

I was vaguely listening up until Twilight pulled me into the conversation.

"Eclipsal, what happened to you back in the castle anyway? You just collapsed out of nowhere." Twilight looked at me curiously.

"Uh, well.. the magic in that place, I could feel it. It felt like it was weighing me down, and I guess it just made me black out after awhile." I said, unsurely. It wasn't really a lie, but it also wasn't the truth.

"Yeah, I felt the heavy magic too, but it didn't disturb me the way it did to you." Twilight said, tapping her hoof on her chin.

"Well you ARE the Element of Magic, Twilight. I mean, it makes sense it didn't bother you. You were probably too strong for it." Rainbow Dash replied, shrugging.

"Eclipsal has strong magic too, though…" Twilight began.

"But he ain't no Element of Magic, Twilight." Applejack said. "Don't start overthinkin' everything, sugarcube."

Twilight giggled a little. "I suppose you're right."

At that, they finished retelling the events that transpired.

"So girls, we have to maintain a lookout for Victory, since we have no idea where she could be." Twilight summarized.

Pinkie jumped up and yelled, "Well there is NO way we'll let that meanie get away! Especially not after what she did to Eclipsal and Twilight!"

Applejack nodded her head. "Mah thoughts exactly, Pinkie."

"What are we going to do if we find her..?" Fluttershy questioned.

"You use the Elements on her, as long as she isn't a part of somepony else." The princess stated.

"So we have to wear our Elements all the time now?" Rainbow asked. "They may be light, but wearing mine always gives me a few issues with flying."

"Well, the very least we can do is hold onto them, Rainbow." Rarity replied. "We must be ready at every second to do battle, or somepony else could get hurt."

All the girls agreed at this. I turned to look at the princess, but saw that Tarnished was whispering something in her ear.

The next second Luna turned around and began speaking. "I'm sorry, but I must go. I came for a simple chat with you, but now it seems that I must return to the castle to begin my night duties."

'It's already night time?' I turned towards the window. 'Wow, its sunset…'

Luna said her goodbyes and left with her Captain at her side. We waved and watched the chariot flew farther and farther away.

"Hey Twilight?" I sat looked towards her. "Could I stay at the library tonight?"

"Wh-w-w-WHAT?!" The girls yelled in unison, blushing deep shades of red.

"Did I say something weird?" I asked, looking around.

"Why, Eclipsal! It is absolutely uncouth for a stallion to stay over at a mare's house during the night! And to ask so blatantly! Why I never!" Rarity ranted.

"Ah-ah-ah, Rarity. Ya gotta remember, Eclipsal has no memories. He doesn't have any idea about that type of stuff." Applejack stated, albeit still looking flustered. "Is there something wrong with the barn, or anything, Eclipsal?"

"Not really, I just want to stay over here for the night." I replied. Again, all the girls looked shocked. "Okay, seriously! What's wrong with staying with Twilight for a night? Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Well, Eclipsal, why do you want to stay over here, at the egghead's library, anyway?" Rainbow asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"I just want to do some research on Nightmare Moon and Victory, ancient stuff like that. We have to know what we are fighting, and the best place for research is the library." I answered worriedly. 'What is wrong with all these mares?'

I saw them all breathe a sigh of relief. "So… can I stay, or not?" I asked, looking around.

"Sure, you can stay. I'll even do some research with you, so we can make some notes to tell the girls tomorrow." Twilight said, smiling.

"Thanks, Twilight. I'll be back tomorrow to help out with the farm, Applejack. Okay?" I said, turning to her.

"That's fine, Eclipsal. Just don't go crazy with studying, like Twilight here does. Remember to take breaks and all that stuff." Applejack said.

"Well, I think I am ready for my beauty sleep. Twilight, could you be a dear and bring us the elements, so we can go home?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"Sure, just give me a second." Twilight said, walking inside.

As we waited for Twilight, some of the girls began to converse. I watched the sky, staring at the bright moon rising, floating in the vast sea of glittering stars.

"The night looks beautiful, doesn't it?" I asked everypony.

They glanced at me, and then back at the sky.

"Yeah, it does." Fluttershy said, moving to sit next to me.

"Luna always does amazing stuff with the sky!" Pinkie said, looking up at it.

I heard the door open behind me, and Twilight stepped out, a box floating with her.

She placed it on the ground, and Rainbow got to the box first, pulling her own out. "What the hay? Why is mine glowing?" She asked, curiously looking at it as the light slowly faded.

'It has her cutie mark on it? How weird.'

Next, Rarity went to grab hers, and let out a loud, "Oh my."

In her magical grip was a necklace similar to what Rainbow pulled out, except it had Rarity's cutie mark on it, and was glowing intensely.

"What the hay is goin on Twi?" Applejack asked.

"I- I don't know! The rest of them are perfectly normal!" Twilight said worriedly.

The element started flashing even brighter, making us all take a few steps back, when all of a sudden the light completely stopped.

We all stared at it, as Rarity still had her magical grip on it.

"I don't even…." Twilight mumbled.

Then, Rarity's cutie mark started glowing again, along with mine.

Rarity let out a sigh. "I'm just going to go to bed, before this day gets any weirder."

With that, everypony took their respective element and left.

"What is going on around here lately? I haven't been able to make heads or tails of any of it!" Twilight growled, slamming the door behind me.

"Well, that's why we are here to figure it out. I mean, this is a library, so maybe it has information about the elements, and other ancient stuff." I said, trying to reassure her.

She sighed, then replied with, "Yeah. Maybe. I've looked through this entire library and can't even find the original book that held information about the elements."

I took a quick look around, walking to one of the bookshelves, as Twilight continued her rant.

"I mean, it CAN'T have gone that far! It's a book for crying out loud, but if it is in this library, I have no idea where it could.."

"Twilight? Is this the book?" I said, holding up a book titled, 'Elements of Harmony'.

"This is it! Where did you find it?!" She asked me.

"It was under 'E'." When I finished saying that, Twilight fell over.

She began mumbling, "You have got to be kidding me…"

Magic and Darkness

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 22: Magic and Darkness

"Here's something to drink, Eclipsal."

Twilight levitated a mug of something warm in my general direction, and I used my own magic to pick it up.

I stared into the cup holding this strange light brown liquid, feeling the heat of it radiate from the mug.

"Twilight, what is this?" I said curiously.

"You don't know what hot chocolate is?!" She stared back at me, astounded. I returned her stare with a deadpan look, which immediately caused her to blush. "Oh right.. amnesia… heheh. Sorry."

"So… this is hot chocolate?" I asked, looking into it, seeing some white things floating at the top of the liquid.

"Yeah, I even put in marshmallows. We're going to need the energy if we are going to stay up researching." She explained, grabbing her own mug of hot chocolate from the kitchen.

I took a tentative sip of my drink.

I couldn't help but feel a smile come onto my face from how sweet and nice it tasted. "Mmm. I think I like hot chocolate."

Twilight sat down next to me giggling. "Yeah, I figured you would. Everyone loves hot chocolate."

I took another sip of it, letting the warmth of it fill me up. "So, let's get started?" I asked Twilight. She nodded, and flipped open the book, looking at its content.

"So, what do we know about the Elements?" I asked.

"Well, for one, they stabilize beings, reverting them to a harmonic state." Twilight said, her eyes zooming across the pages.

"Um… could you dumb that down a bit?" I asked.

"The Elements of Harmony do what they think is best to keep the world at harmony." Twilight replied.

"…How do they know what's best..?" I thought aloud.

"They were created along with our planet. At least that's what the myth says. Basically the one who created everything used the Elements to forge the world. It's even said that the elements used to be one object, but for some unknown reason that changed, and they split into six." Twilight continued reading some parts of the book.

"Does the book have anything on this creator, or the original Element?" I said, looking at the book as well.

"… There doesn't appear to be anything on them." Twilight looked a bit confused at this.

"Well then how do you all fit in with this?" I asked. "I mean, you all just found 5 of the Elements in a castle, and then there was that spark, and you had all six, but how did they get there in the first place… and why did they choose you?"

"To be honest, I always figured it was just the Magic of Friendship that linked them to us. We aren't friends because we are the Elements, we are the Elements because we are friends." She smiled, and then froze, and took a look at me.

"Wait a second… I don't remember telling you the whole story of what happened that night at the castle. How did you know that?" She looked at me curiously.

"Uhh… well.. I may have sort of gotten a few of my memories back, and might have seen a few of Victory's memories." I said, rubbing my hoof on my neck.

"Why didn't you tell the Princess of this?!" Twilight yelled, causing me to flinch.

"Well… Princess Luna originally thought that I was the cause of what was happening in Ponyville. I mean, if I were to tell her something that made me seem kind of weird, I just… I just don't want to be forced to leave you all." I explained, albeit awkwardly.

"Oh, I doubt the Princess would do anything to you." Twilight said, waving her hoof.

"Please, can we just not tell her though?" I said, giving a look of worry at Twilight.

"Well… maybe. But first, Tell me what you remember." Twilight said.

I told her about me seeing a blue pony, who talked about darkness and magic, and seeing Victory escape from the Elements.

She wasn't surprised about Victory escaping, obviously. She did perk up to me mentioning darkness though.

"Darkness… darkness… darkness…" Twilight muttered, flipping through the various pages of the book.

"What are you looking for, Twi.." She silenced me by putting a hoof to my mouth.

"Darkness is the part of our hearts that feeds on our very being, our fear, our worries, it grows from them. Darkness however, hasn't been seen in Equestria for many centuries. It is said it died when it's embodiment, Shaded Darkness died." She flipped through more pages. "Shaded Darkness: Embodiment of Darkness, Master of Death, Element of…" Twilight froze, before continuing reading. "El… Element of Generousity… Shaded died during a fight with an unknown entity, who was later destroyed by the wielders of the Elements."

Twilight just stared at the book, while I started talking.

"Yeah… Princess Luna told me something about the darkness in her heart. She said it manifested inside of her and became a separate entity. She also said something about darkness and magic being very similar."

"That wasn't Shaded Darkness." Twilight suddenly said. "Alicorns are beings who have completely mastered a certain magic, and their body changes as recognition of that. That doesn't work for darkness though; ponies aren't meant to hold darkness, but magic. Darkness would destroy the pony mastered it. Unless if that was darkness itself?" She questioned, putting her hooves against the sides of her head.

"Twilight, what are you talking about?" I stared at her muttering, uncomfortably.

"A few months ago, we met this pony, he said he was Shaded Darkness, the Master of Darkness. He couldn't have been him though: Shaded Darkness is dead. Also, Shaded Darkness is the Master of Death, not the Master of Darkness! NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE!" Twilight yelled in a fit of rage.

"Well, maybe it would make sense if we talked to the other old wielders of the Elements, if this pony is still around, wouldn't it make sense for the others to be?" I asked.

Twilight froze again. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna never single hoofedly wielded the Elements. There were others… but where are they?" Twilight again started flipping through the pages of the book in front of us.

"Um, Twilight, what is going on…" I asked, staring at her perplexed face.

"Celestial Accord: Embodiment of Order, Master of the Sun, Element of… MAGIC?!" I took a few steps away from Twilight, not having any idea what was going on, or what to do.

"Um, Twilight…"

"Lunar Dream: Embodiment of Imagination, Master of the Moon, Element of Loyalty."

"What about the other wielders?" I asked after Twilight stopped speaking for a minute.

"This book has an enchantment on it. Unless you know what you are looking for, you won't find it." Twilight muttered. "I know what the Elements of Harmony are, and I know two- actually now I know three, of the original Elements, so it showed up for me."

"Huh. So… a bit for your thoughts?"

"There's something strange going on here, Eclipsal. I have no idea what it is, but if it also involves the Princesses… I think we might need to do some undercover work, or something. We should also fill in everypony else about what we found tomorrow." She said, glaring at the book.

"Everything's been really chaotic lately, huh?" I asked her.

She nodded her head. "Everytime I try to answer one question, I end up with five more."

"Well, don't worry, Twilight. The girls and I will always be here to help you out." I said, giving her a smile.

"Yeah, I know, I know." Twilight smiled.

"Oh! I just remembered! I have to start organizing the library again!" Twilight got up in a panic, and books started to fly around.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked, narrowly avoiding some of the books.

"School is starting back up, soon." Twilight replied.

Inner Turmoil

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 23: Inner Turmoil

Twilight zoomed around the library, shuffling books and organizing shelves.

"Twilight, why is this 'school' so important, and what does it have to do with your library?" I asked, dodging yet another stray book.

She spoke without turning to look at me, saying, "School Is a place ponies go to while they are young so they can learn the necessities of the world."

She picked up half of the books that were spread across the counter, nearly hitting me with them as they traveled to their destination. "All of them come to the library during the school year to work on projects, and to borrow books for learning."

She shot up all of a sudden, taking a piece of paper and a quill and writing down something.

"After I organize the library, I need to restock the shelves, claim back the books, get more ink, make food for the Running of the Leaves next week…" Twilight began listing off thing after thing writing it all down on the paper.

"Oh my! There's so much to do, so little time! Have to stay busy, busy, busy." Twilight then flew up the stairs, just to disappear into her room.

"… okay." I muttered to myself, a bit shocked from what Twilight was doing. 'Couldn't this all wait until morning, or something? Why is she doing it all now?'

*Twilight's POV*

'WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON?!' I yelled inside my head.

'There's no way the princesses would keep a secret this big from me, there's no way! I'm Celestia's personal student! I'm Luna's best friend!' the confidence in my mind told me.

So then why did they never tell you of the true history of the Elements?

"Heheh… there's no way… maybe… maybe the book is wrong! Yeah, that has to be it!" I muttered to myself, curling onto the floor. "Yeah… the princesses have complete trust in me! They told me themselves! They also told me they wielded the Elements before, to take down Nightmare Moon, and Discord!"

Why did they never tell you there were other bearers?

Why did they not tell you that they were bearers themselves?

"They… they said they wielded them. They never told me what Elements they were. Maybe that was because I never asked…" I tried to reassure myself.

Or maybe you're not as smart as you used to be, Twilight.

Maybe you never picked up on the subtle hints.

Or maybe the Princesses never told you because you aren't really their friend.

"No…" I muttered into myself, grasping my head.

You're nothing but a tool.

You are the Element of Magic. Nothing else.

Tears were slowly creeping down my eyes.

What can you do, Twilight? You're the student of Celestia, yet you cannot help someone who has lost their memories?

"No… I tried my best… I-I did… I've stuck by Eclipsal. I've helped him."

Just like when you abandoned him to die, at the hooves of Victory?

And to think... you were the one who led him there.

"No… I'm…"

You're what?

Who are you?

I'll tell you who you are.

"You are useless, Twilight."

It shocked me more that I was the one who said that, instead of it being in my head.

"I'm… I'm not useless! I'll show you! I'll show everypony!" I said, jumping to my hooves, and rushing to my bedroom door. 'I'll show them all! I'll help out everypony and do everything I can!'

*Eclipsal's POV*

I sat in the middle of the room, not really having any idea what to do. 'I guess I could go to bed. I have an early day tomorrow.' I thought to myself.

'Better tell Twilight first though.'

I walked up the stairs to her room, and heard her talking to herself from inside. I was about to knock, when Twilight opened the door herself, and zoomed past me, and down the stairs, flying out the front door without even closing it.

"Okay. Sure. Why not?" I said to nopony in general. "Tonight's been weird enough already."

*The Next Morning*

I slowly walked down the stairs, yawning all the while. I guess I did stay up with Twilight pretty late last night.

When I got to the bottom of the flight of stairs, I saw Spike making breakfast.

"Hey, Spike." I said, sitting down at the table.

Spike jumped, nearly dropping the pan he was making eggs on. "Woah! I didn't know you were here, Eclipsal!"

I blinked. "Yeah, I was stayed the night to study about the Elements and stuff with Twilight. She started acting all weird though, and left. I still don't even know what happened."

Spike turned and looked at me. "You're saying she was acting weird?"

"Yeah, like she all of a sudden had to get everything done. Then, she just left. Have you seen her this morning?" I asked.

Spike seemed to be in heavy thought, and looked back at me. "… I'm guessing she never came back last night." He finished with a sigh. "Twilight tends to have these moments where she freaks out over the smallest thing, and starts focusing on everything else to get her mind off of it. Or even making things worse, just to solve the problem. What did you two find out last night?"

"Hmm…" I thought back to last night. "Well, Celestia was apparently the Element of Magic, and Luna was the Element of Loyalty, and there was something about this pony named Shaded Darkness that Twilight never really explained to me."

Spike let out another sigh, holding his face in his claws. "Yep… that'll do it. The princesses said they wielded the Elements before, but Twilight always thought that they did it alone. At least, that's what it says in all of the history books."

"What about Shaded Darkness?" I asked Spike. He thought for a moment, before replying.

"I think I remember him. We met him at the eclipse a few months back. However, he ended up getting badly hurt after he got hit with the Elements." Spike thought for another few moments, before adding, "The weird thing is though, the Elements shouldn't be able to hurt anypony."

"So then what do we do about Twilight?" I asked Spike.

"Well, you can go tell the others, and I'll message the Princess, I guess. Just in case things go crazy, like last time." Spike replied, throwing two plates on the table. "We'll do it after breakfast though. Can't work on an empty stomach, am I right?"

Summer School

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 24: Summer School

I already searched Ponyville looking for a certain violet Unicorn. Apparently everypony was busy getting ready to celebrate something called 'The Running of the Leaves'.

'Now that I think about it, didn't Twilight say something about that before?'

It was a good thing I told Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy what happened. I doubt I would be much help, since I obviously have no idea what I'm doing. 'They probably already found her, I bet.'

I was somewhere between Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville, when I saw a massive rainbow streak fly across the sky. I soon realized it was Rainbow Dash herself, flying off somewhere.

"HEY, RAINBOW!" I yelled up at her. She wasn't able to hear me though, and kept flying to her destination.

'I guess I better go inform her of Twilight too. Rainbow would be able to find her quicker, she can fly after all.'

So, I took off in a run, following the straight rainbow that painted the sky.

It took me about 5 minutes until I realized that I completely lost track of Rainbow.

I was now in some forest that was covered in orange leaves, with a few tables set up at odd places.

I slowed my run down to a trot, and mindlessly walked through the forest, looking up at the colorful leaves.

I walked for a couple of minutes down a path, and saw some sort of big balloon in the distance.

I reached the balloon, only to find none other than Rainbow and Pinkie, messing with the huge balloon, surrounded by ponies setting up decorations, and a huge banner that said 'Running of the Leaves'.

I could hear Pinkie talking to Rainbow as I went up to them. "So yeah, Dashie this really really really important that you come and help me find Twilight! We haven't been able to find her yet, and Eclipsal said that she was acting all weird and is overworking herself! If we don't find her soon, who knows what could happen! I mean, remember when she.."

Rainbow put a hoof up to Pinkie's mouth and sighed. "Pinkie, I think Twilight should be fine. Probably has to take a break from everything that's been happening lately. I mean, she isn't the same mare we used to know, she's learned to deal better with stress."

I interrupted her and said, "Well, she's been missing since last night. Since Pinkie is here, I'm guess you haven't found her yet?" Pinkie let out a sigh. "Hey, Eclipsal. And no, we haven't."

"Missing since last night?" Rainbow asked, her face donning a slight worried look. "Well… why is she acting like this, then?"

"The way Spike put it is that this is exactly like the time that Twilight put some enchantment on a doll, or something. He thinks she's worried over some stuff with the princess's we found out last night." I said.

"The time she put an enchantment on a doll…?" Rainbow thought for a second, before her eyes widened in fear. "Do you mean Smarty Pants?"

"Yeah, I think so." I replied.

Rainbow groaned, holding her head in her hooves. "Oh Celestia, this is bad."

"Yeah! Which is why we need to FIND HER!" Pinkie yelled.

"Yeah, but of all the times… someone needs to be here to fix up the preparations for the Running of the Leaves. With all the destruction that happened during the storm though, most of the materials are going to rebuilding houses. Ugh, what am I gonna do?!" Rainbow landed on the ground, trying to think.

"… Pinkie, do you think you could take over my job here, while I go with Eclipsal to find Twilight?" Rainbow suddenly asked.

"Sure thing, boss!" Pinkie said, raising a hoof up to her forehead, with a bunch of decorations around her.

'Wait, where did those come from?'

I wasn't able to finish that thought, as Rainbow had already gone airborne, and yelled down at me. "Eclipsal, try to stay under me. I'll take the sky, you take the ground."

I nodded my head, and began to run again to keep close to Rainbow.

We eventually made it into Ponyville again, when Rainbow flew down next to me. "I didn't see anything even remotely purple on the way here. You said you checked all throughout Ponyville, right?"

"Yeah, I did, wasn't able to spot her anywhere. But you probably know the town better than me, so you might have a better chance at finding her." I said, looking at all the ponies moving around the town.

"Is there anything else you might remember from last night that could help us locate her?" Rainbow asked, her eyes moving across the ponies in town as well.

I thought for a second. "She said stuff about the school."

"Then we should go there and ask Cheerilee! She might have seen Twilight earlier!" Rainbow said, floating back into the air. "It's this way, come on!"

We ended up at the entrance of the school, and walked into a room, to find a tired looking magenta pony, who was watching some fillies playing outside through a window.

"Hey Cheerilee." Rainbow said, flying up to her.

"Oh hey, Rainbow Dash. It's nice to see you. Are you here to see Scootaloo during recess again?" Cheerilee asked, yawning afterwards.

"No, actually I wanted to ask you if you've seen Twilight today?" Rainbow asked, as I watched the fillies playing around outside. I could see a grey one with blue glasses and a pink one with a crown of some sort, messing with a three of the other fillies, one of which I recognized to be Applebloom, from one of the many breakfasts at the Apple Family's house.

"Yeah, I saw her earlier this morning in fact. She woke me up early to deliver some lesson books, and I wasn't able to sleep again after that." Cheerilee responded. I could see tears coming down the face of Applebloom. The white filly next to her hugging her, and trying to calm her down. I couldn't take it anymore, and ran outside.

"Blank flank, blank flank! You'll never be able to get your cutie marks! You're just that pathetic!" chanted the pink filly. I could hear an echo inside of my head, giving me a headache. 'You're pathetic, you're pathetic!'

"You be quiet, Diamond Tiara! We'll get our cutie marks one day!" said the orange filly, valiantly standing between Applebloom and this Diamond Tiara character. The echoing in my head got louder, and now I could hear my heart beating. 'I know I'll be able to change shape one day! I'll show you all!'

"I don't think it counts if you get your cutie marks the day you stop living." the grey filly said.

I could hear my mind and body saying the same thing.

"HEY! What gives you the right to make fun of her? Just because you accomplished something before she did DOESN'T give you the right to rub it in her face. She's just like you and any other being out there, so how about you treat her like one, and stop being so arrogant?!" I shouted, walking up to the group.

"Um… sorry sir. It won't happen again. Heheheh." The two fillies said at the same time. They quickly ran off, to hide from me, most likely.

I was breathing heavily now, struggling to stay upright.

"Thanks for standing up for us, mister!" said the orange one. "You're really awesome for doing that! In fact you must be the most awesome earth pony I know!"

Applebloom ran up to me, and gave me a hug. "Thank you, Eclipsal. Ya helped out with mah family's farm, and now this. Thank you."

The white one looked up at me curiously, obviously taking note of my name. "Eclipsal? Are you okay?"

I shook my head, trying to get the pounding in my head to go away. I was failing. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just.. just let me get inside." I began walking towards the door to that led back into the room. I nearly toppled over , if it weren't for the girls rushing to my side, attempting to keep me up.

The girls helped me get back into the classroom before I finally collapsed, my vision filling itself up with emptiness.

Emotions

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 25: Emotions

It was dark again.

"It's always so dark in the badlands…" I could hear a voice say, relatively close to me.

I turned to see none other than a horse who vaguely resembled me, walking right past me, heading to a cave that was farther ahead.

'Another memory… I think.' I watched as my look-a-like entered the cave. 'Well, if this is my memory, I should probably stick close to him.'

I slowly entered the ominous cave, which was filled with some glowing green substance. It looked as though every crack that was a part of a rock in the cave, was filled with this substance.

As I walked deeper in, I looked around, only to realize that not only had I lost track of the other me, but it was too dark to see anything.

That's when I heard venomous voices speaking.

"You're pathetic, you're pathetic!"

I ran in the direction of the voices, to see a black insect-equine with yellow eyes hugging herself, while surrounded by a bunch of other creatures of the same type.

Tears rolled down her eyes, as she tried to confront the bullies around her. "I'm not pathetic! Just because I can't change yet, doesn't mean I'm pathetic! I'll be better than you all one day!"

One of the other creatures walked up to her, getting into her face. "Oh, yeah? Well then, why does your name have the word pathetic in it? Huh?"

Another one from in the crowd yelled, "Yeah? What do you have to say about that, EmPATHETIC Mirror? What kind of name is that anyway?"

"The name of a loser." Added someone else in the crowd. "Besides, she's the only one in the hive that's our age who still can't perform a flawless change."

The others continued to mock her, as Mirror tried to hide herself by curling up more. At this point, I ran up to the guy that was still near her. He turned to see me running at him full speed, he didn't even have time to wipe the smirk off of his own face before I had bucked him clear across the room.

I shook off the weird feeling of deja-vu, as some of the other creatures began to walk up to me. "Whadya think yer doin here, horse?" said someone from my right. "This here is changeling lands."

"I'm here to see a friend, Mirror. The same friend you jerks just made cry." When I said this, I realized I was reliving the memory from my old point of view.

"Ah, is that so? Well it looks like we'll have to teach you a lesson."

I was beginning to get surrounded by these changelings. I could still hear Mirror yell, "No! Don't get yourself hurt because of me!"

I turned to give her a look, and then a smile. "If you honestly think I'm going to get hurt, then you obviously haven't hung out enough with me."

I turned to the group which was now closer than before, and closed my eyes.

I then opened them, everything tinted in a shade of red. I could see the glow of my eyes reflecting off of the changeling's smooth skin.

I could feel myself releasing my magic, and then the world faded to darkness again.

I faded back into being staring out into the distance, atop some huge tower. From what I could tell, I was on a balcony. I could hear a noise coming from behind me.

I turned to see none other than Mirror, the changeling I had stood up for, standing next to the bed, looking at me strangely. She blushed for a second, and then looked away before she began speaking. "Listen, you really didn't have to do what you did… I would hate to see you injured just because of me."

I walked up to her, and put my hoof on her shoulder. "Listen. I care about you, okay? I'll always be here to protect you, no matter what."

She reached her own hooves around me as to give me a hug, but leaned in too much, causing us to fall to the floor.

"Ah, are you okay?!" Mirror said, looking down at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, heheh. It's a good thing I'm strong enough to deal with someone as ditzy as you." I said, giving her a small smile.

She looked down at me for what felt like minutes, making me feel uncomfortable.

"Um.. Mirror…?" I questioned, as she began leaning more into me.

What she did next caught me extremely off guard.

Her lips met mine, which at first left me shocked, but I slowly closed my eyes and began to kiss back.

After what felt like minutes, Mirror stopped, and opened her eyes, looking into mine.

I could feel my own face growing a deep red, as she realized what she did.

She scrambled off of me, muttering "O-o-oh! I'm sorry! It's just you saved me earlier- t-the I wasn't thinking! It's just- I-I think… I think I like you."

I stared at her, and chuckled at how she was so flustered. I pulled her back down onto me, kissing her fully. I could feel her tense at first, but slowly relax into it.

I stopped, and looked her in the eyes, nuzzling her a bit. "I think I like you too."

She smiled down at me, and our lips met once again, the feeling of warmth surrounding me.

All of a sudden, there was a slight shift in atmosphere, and I felt cold. Not an empty cold though, but that the very floor itself was cold. I opened my eyes, to see that I was no longer staring into golden ones, but into magenta.

I stopped, and backed away, hitting the wall that was a few feet behind me.

"Eh-eh-eh WHAT?!" Rainbow yelled, her face a deep red, shocked from what just happened.

Realizing that I was no longer in my memories, I started stuttering, trying to explain why that just happened. "Nonononono! I can explain! I was reliving one of my.."

However, I was unable to, as I was hit in the face with a cyan hoof, knocking me out again on the spot.

Jumping to Conclusions

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 26: Jumping to Conclusion

"I am so so so sooo sorry, okay? I just sort of reacted, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Rainbow said, as we walked down the streets of Ponyville, once again.

I looked at one of the nearby windows, to see my own face reflected back at me, my cheek with a red imprint of a hoof on it, despite my coat being a dark grey.

"Listen, let's just go find Twilight, okay?" I flinched a little at the pain I received from talking. "Where did Cheerilee say she went off to?"

"Cheerilee said that she was going to Rarity's to get more decorations, or something." Rainbow said, before looking shamefully at me, then around the area. I followed her gaze, and saw her looking at the many ponies rebuilding their homes. Even the Town Hall was had its roof missing.

"Uh… bit for your thoughts, Rainbow?" I asked, looking back at her.

"I don't know it's just…" Rainbow concentrated for a second. "I feel like I'm letting everypony down."

"What do you mean?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

"I mean… It was my job to decorate and make sure everything was functioning for the Running of the Leaves. I promised I would help these people with rebuilding their houses. I even said I would help you get back your memories! Now look at where I am. Nothing's done… some loyal friend I am." Rainbow muttered.

I was a little shocked at what I heard. 'I knew she was busy, but to help out with all of this stuff?' I shook my head, and patted her on the shoulder.

"Listen, Rainbow. I personally think it's better to be loyal to your friends, then to your friend's houses. As long as these ponies have eachother, those things shouldn't matter, right? I mean, the houses are all livable in, it's just that the outside is a bit beaten up. Besides, you're helping out one of your best friends right now. Twilight needs us, if I'm not mistaken. As for the decorations, Pinkie's got that all under control, I'm sure. As for me, in case if you don't remember, I got some memories back... I think." I quietly said the last part, still feeling like I was missing something.

"Yeah, and I ended up hitting you in the face, even though I knew you were having a memory episode." Rainbow replied, solemnly.

"I already said its fine. Besides, it's partially my fault as well, for not realizing when the memory was over…" I muttered, rubbing my hoof on my neck.

"I guess so. What was the memory about anyway, lover-stallion?" Rainbow asked with a smirk.

I was happy that I made her feel a bit more better, but I wasn't entirely sure I should be sharing that story.

"Eheheh… let's just talk about it AFTER we get to Rarity's." I said, looking away.

"Speaking of Rarity's… its right there." Rainbow said, pointing at a building a few meters from us.

We walked up to the door, where Rainbow knocked 3 times, waiting for a response. After a few seconds, we heard Rarity yell, "Just a minute!" from somewhere inside.

"Do you think there is any chance Rarity doesn't like me?" I suddenly asked Rainbow.

She looked a little shocked at first, then grew another smirk. "So you're crushing on Rarity, eh~?"

"Nonono. I was just thinking about how annoyed she is, every time I'm near her and our Cutie Marks start going off." I said with a sigh.

"Hmm… well I don't think Rarity would hate you for that. It's probably just a little annoying. Besides, I think it looks pretty cool to see them shine like that!" Rainbow said, as she started staring at my flank.

"It's going off again, isn't it?"

"Yep!"

I let out a sigh, just as the door opened, Rarity giving us both a smile. "Why come in, come in! I wasn't expecting so much company today!"

"Wait, so much company?" Rainbow asked, her eyes widening.

"Who else has been here?" I asked, looking behind Rarity, to see a purple blur zoom right past us.

"Ah! There she goes!" Rainbow screamed, blasting off from where she stood, taking to the air.

"Right behind ya!" I yelled, running directly underneath her.

"She's about to head to the left! Head her off!" Rainbow ordered.

I ran off to the side, running through an alley, as I heard a boom go off behind me.

As I exited the end of the alley, I slid to a stop, just in time to see Twilight turn the corner as well, headed right for me.

"I gotcha!" I heard a yell come from the skies. I looked up to see a rainbow trail closing in on us, fast. "Eclipsal! Block her exits!"

"No problem!" I said, slamming my hooves to the ground. My black colored magic soon came out of the ground, making a wall around us, blocking all of Twilight's possible exits.

Twilight looked around, trying to find somewhere to escape, just as Rainbow swooped down, and grabbed her. "Eclipsal! Now!"

I hit the ground again with my hooves, causing a dark bubble to arise from the ground, successfully catching Twilight, as Rainbow dropped her in.

Rainbow then swooped in beside me, giving me a highhoof. "Nice job, Eclipsal! Whoever said that black doesn't work well with rainbows was an idiot."

I let out a small laugh. "Heh. We do make quite a badflank team."

"Anyway.. Twilight. What are you doing? Disappearing out of nowhere, running away from your friends, what happened?" Rainbow asked, looking at Twilight intently.

Twilight fidgeted around at our stares, before finally giving in.

"The princesses… they… they hid stuff about the Elements from me." Twilight muttered, looking down. "Even though I've known Celestia for years.. she hid this from me."

"Well, maybe there was a reason for it!" Rainbow said. "I don't really know what you guys found out ABOUT the Elements, but have you tried asking Celestia about it?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Rainbow Dash. That's a horrible idea! Besides…"

"I… YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I SAW!" Twilight suddenly yelled. Holding her hooves to her head.

The sudden outburst scared me, making my magic release her. She fell to the ground, a few tears going down her eyes.

"She… Celestia.. she was the Element of Magic! Celestia and her sister were both different Elements! I've read all of the history books; they all say that the sisters were the ONLY weilders of the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight yelled, a small puddle forming under her. "There were other weilders! The book of the Elements said so!"

"I still don't see what's wrong with this…" I said, looking down at Twilight.

Rainbow gave me a quick glare, before also agreeing with me. "Yeah, Twilight. I don't get why this is a big deal, still…"

"When I was a foal, I always wondered. 'Why did the Princess choose me?' 'What makes me special?'… Then we rescued Luna. I had the idea that maybe, just maybe… Celestia was using me to replace her sister. Back then, I quickly disregarded the thought. Celestia sent me to Ponyville to make friends, not to get her sister back, and to get me out of the castle. But… she was the Element of Magic. Why couldn't she save her sister, herself? It's simple: for whatever reason… she couldn't. So, she made a new bearer. Hoofcrafted right from the start…. me." Twilight finished, looking back up at us.

Rainbow and I stared in shock at what she said, looking from eachother back to her.

"Twilight.. I really don't think the Princess would do that." Rainbow said, trying to reach a hoof out to her.

Twilight swatted it away, and stood up, taking a few steps back. "She is the co-ruler of Equestria! We have no idea how long she has lived, or even how much wisdom came with that! How do you know we aren't tools in some big plan?"

"Because, Twilight! Nopony can control who you become friends with! We are the Elements BECAUSE we are friends! Not the other way around." Rainbow said, walking up to Twilight.

"Now come on, let's go home. If you really believe that the Princess is up to something… well, we can ask her ourselves." Rainbow said.

Twilight sighed. "I… I guess you're right. Still though… why did she choose me? I haven't been able to solve anything. I can't help Eclipsal with his memories, I can't even find out information without getting more questions!"

This time, I talked. "Twilight, I've been getting my memories back slowly. Besides, you've helped me a lot. You taught me how to use my magic, and control it. You even taught me the amazingness of hot chocolate!" I finished with a grin, causing Twilight to giggle a little.

"Well… okay. I'll go with you two. Think we should tell the other girls?" Twilight asked, worriedly.

"I'll go tell them we found you. As for this entire thing; I vote we wait to talk about it until AFTER the Running of the Leaves, to actually do anything." I said, giving another smile.

"Ah, the old calm before the storm technique, eh?" Rainbow said, rubbing a hoof on her chin.

"I am sorry for putting you all through this… especially you Eclipsal. You were just trying to help, and I went all crazy on you." Twilight said, looking off into the distance.

"It's fine. Besides… what are friends for?"

Plans and Reassurances

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 27: Plans and Reassurances

"Lulu, you've been overworking yourself. You need a break."

Luna stared at Celestia, not knowing what to think. Sure, she had been working a lot to try and find the horse named Victory, albeit to no success. Also, due to Luna's power being at its highest since she had returned, she had been taking on more and more duties to be as active as her sister.

"I don't need a break, Tia. Besides, I must prove myself to our ponies, to show that I can in fact take care of the Equestria, if it is ever needed, and I must also right the mistake that I made so long ago, that not even the Elements were able to fix." Luna said, looking off at the setting sun.

Celestia sighed, looking down at her sister. "Lulu, I really think you need a break. I was thinking you could go to Ponyville for the Running of the Leaves this year to replace me, and stay until Nightmare Night." Luna was about to interject, when Celestia interrupted her. "Please, sister, just do this, for me? I only want you to be safe. I can continue the search for Victory while you're gone, and I promise I will inform you if anything were to happen."

Luna stared at Celestia for a few moments, before finally making her own decision.

"Okay, Tia. I'll go on vacation to Ponyville."

The sun was now gone from the horizon, the moon appearing on the opposite side of the sky.

Celestia gazed over the streets of Canterlot, knowing one thing; Her plan was going perfectly.

"At least, that's what you think." I said from behind her.

She jumped, and wheeled around, only to see my eyes looking at her from the shadows of the room.

"Why are you here, again?!" She snarled, looking at me.

"Because, I have a plan of my own, and you're trying to ruin it." I said, blankly.

"H-how did you know about that?" Celestia said, taking a few steps back, a frightened expression upon her face.

I gave her a snide smirk, and answered her. "I'm omnipresent, remember? Anywhere darkness exists, so do I. Which is funny, because I've been showing up around you quite a lot lately…"

"I have no darkness inside of me, you impudent foal." Celestia snarled.

"Everyone has darkness inside of them, Celestia. Just like how everyone has chaos and order inside of them. It creates a natural harmony." I said, watching her reaction.

"Heh, right. Darkness and Chaos are a part of harmony. That's a lie if I've ever heard one." She muttered, staring blankly at a photograph in her room. I turned to it to see a picture of the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony, all happily enjoying a party of some kind.

"Thinking about Twilight?" I asked. "Are you worried about her?"

"Of course I am. She's my friend, and my student, and I care for her deeply. Now she's with a monster, thanks to you." Celestia said, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Ah. I often wonder what makes a monster; the power, or the person. Actually, in this case, I should say pony. Anyway, I wouldn't be worrying about Eclipsal at the moment. Your student knows, Celestia."

I could hear Celestia stop breathing for a few moments, staring blankly into nothing. She then whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. "W-what does she know..?"

"She knows who you were. Not who you are." I then let out a small laugh. "Being omnipresent definitely helps with getting information."

Celestia shut her eyes tightly, before glaring at me.

She then took a few steps towards the shadows of the room that concealed me, before a smirk danced on her face, and her horn began to glow.

"You exist where darkness does, correct? Well then, let's get rid of the shadows."

I popped up back in my own hub, a slight pain on my side. "Damnit, Celestia…"

I looked around the googolplex of screens circling around me, zooming in on a certain one. I saw Twilight was now writing a letter, Rainbow Dash, Eclipsal, and Spike sitting around her. The girls knew about the situation now; and they were determined to find out what exactly the princess could be hiding.

"Everything is going as planned." I smiled.

Twilight gave the letter to Spike, who then released his magical fire onto it, sending it to the Princess.

"I dunno about this, Twilight." Spike said. "I trust you and all, but maybe the princess didn't tell you this because there was a reason to it."

"Which is why we are going to Canterlot, after the Running of the Leaves!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, as she floated through the air. "IF there is a reason, she can tell us the reason."

"I'm as confused and worried about this as you are, but we do need some answers." Twilight shakily said.

Twilight looked extremely tired, like even the slightest nudge would make her pass out.

"Maybe you should go to bed now, Twilight. It's been a pretty exhausting day for you." I suggested, and watched as she slightly nodded her head.

"Yeah… I should. I'll see everypony tomorrow. Good night." Twilight muttered, before walking up stairs.

"I'm gonna go and make sure she gets to her bed okay." Spike said, before following her up the stairs. "I'll see you all later!"

"Well then, Eclipsal. It's about time we head home ourselves." Rainbow said, floating beside me.

We walked out the door of the library, and started our trek throughout the empty streets of Ponyville.

Rainbow decided to walk me to Sweet Apple Acres, before she headed home herself. It was quiet for a while, before Rainbow spoke.

"So… what was your memory about?" She asked, leaving an awkward tension through the air.

"Uh.. i-it was.. um.." I began stammering, flustered by the question, and remembering the answer.

"I… I was going to see an apparently good friend of mine. She was something called a changeling.."

"A changeling?!" Rainbow yelled, looking utterly baffled. "But, the changelings tried to take over Canterlot a few years ago!"

"Woah, really?" I asked, shocked at this statement.

"Yeah, Twilight's brother and a princess who was also her foalsitter, were getting married. The thing is, the changeling queen pretended to be the princess, taking her form and everything!" Rainbow explained.

"Oh, so changelings CAN transform… So did you use the Elements to defeat them?" I asked.

"Actually… no. Twilight's brother and the princess combined their magic together, using love of all things, and defeated Chrysalis, the changeling queen." Rainbow finished.

"So… are all changelings bad…?" I warily asked, concerned about what I had done in my past.

"I don't really know. Never met one, in a personal sort of way. But if you're friends with one, and you know they're good, then I won't question it. Anyway, continue with your memory." Rainbow said, giving me a small smile.

"Well, my friend was being bullied by a bunch of other changelings, because she was bad at transforming. I pretty much fought off all of the bullies, and then my memory cut to me being in a castle of some sort…" I drifted off, remembering it.

"And?" Rainbow asked, expectantly.

I began speaking again. "… I think she became my marefriend after that. Because we kissed, and then the memory ended, where I woke up…"

"Kissing me." Rainbow finished for me, giving a small laugh. "Seriously though, sorry about the whole hoof to the face thing. It was kind of just reflex."

"It's fine. Besides, the swelling is pretty much gone now." I said, pointing at my cheek.

"So… do you think she's out looking for you, somewhere?" Rainbow asked, looking up to the night sky.

"To be honest, I hope she is. The idea of having someone who actually knows who I was is something that would be helpful right now. But, if what you said is true, I'm most likely not going to see her, since the changelings fought you all, and she's a changeling. I don't think she would be allowed anywhere around ponies…" I remorsefully said.

"Hey, don't give up so quickly. Besides, you still have us. We'll be here to help you out!" Rainbow said, pumping a hoof into the air.

"Heh. Yeah I know you all will, you've been pretty amazing so far." I said, giving her a big smile.

'I know I'll get my memories back; it's only a matter of time, now.'

Running of the Leaves

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 28: Running of the Leaves

I was up early today; after all, it was apparently a special day. The Running of the Leaves would be happening in a few hours.

I sat outside, enjoying the small breeze that was present in the early morning, when Applejack invited me inside to have breakfast with her family.

I walked inside and saw a huge meal in front of me, consisting of what looked like pancakes, hay bacon strips, applesauce, and some warm apple pie.

"Do you usually eat this much every morning?" I asked, my mouth drooling a little from the aroma of the food.

"Well, yeah we do. Gotta get the strength to do what we need to every morning. It's the life of a farmer after all." Applejack said with a smile.

I happily sat down, and looked around the table. Applejack had already dug in, and had eaten half of the pie, while Granny Smith was enjoying her applesauce. There was no sign of Big Mac or Applebloom, though.

"Hey, where are Applebloom and Big Mac?" I asked, taking a bite of one of the hay bacon strips on my plate.

"I think Big Mac is tryin ta wake up Applebloom." Applejack explained, before turning around towards the stairway and yelling, "HEY BIG MAC! YOU WAKE UP APPLEBLOOM, YET?"

At that very moment, Big Mac turned the corner and walked down the stairs, Applebloom on his back. He let out a simple, "Nope." Then gently put Applebloom on the ground next to her seat, while he got into his own.

"I swear, we oughta change that filly's name to Rock, if she's gonna sleep like one." Granny Smith huffed.

We all let out a small laugh at that, before continuing on with our breakfasts.

"Ya know, Eclipsal." Applejack suddenly began speaking, and I looked up at her curiously. "Ya downright scared my sister the other day, when you collapsed at her school."

"Ah, sorry about that." I said, rubbing a hoof on the back of my head. "I can't really control it, it just sort of happens when I get some of my memories back."

"I understand. But what's gonna happen when you collapse and there ain't nobody there to take care of ya?" Applejack said, a worried look on her face.

"Well, I think it only lasts for a half an hour, or so. I don't think anything that bad could happen that quickly." I replied.

Applejack shook her head, and was about to say something else, when we heard mumbling coming from the floor, and saw Applebloom stand up.

"Mmm. G'mornin." Applebloom mumbled, a small yawn escaping her mouth.

"It's about time ya woke up, sleepyhead." Applejack said, ruffling her sister's head. She then looked at me, mouthing 'We'll continue our conversation later.' to which I just gave a small nod.

"So are you all gonna go to the Running of the Leaves, today?" I asked.

"Eeyup." Big Mac answered.

"Yeah, just as soon as I water a few of the apple trees, then me an' Applebloom will be on our way there." Applejack replied.

"Yeah I can't wait to go! You'll be coming too, won'tcha, Granny?" Applebloom asked.

"You're darn tootin, I will! I may not be able to run like I used to, but I can still go and cheer on my little girls, as they run." Granny Smith said, a prideful smile taking place on her face.

"Will you be runnin, Eclipsal?" Applebloom asked me.

"Eh.. well I don't know, to be honest. I've been so busy lately I haven't thought about it that much." I answered.

"But ya gotta go and run with us!" Applebloom pouted, her eyes getting really big, like she would cry if I wasn't there.

"Fine, fine… I'll go and run with you all." I smiled.

"YAY! Then you can hang out with me and my other friends as well! We're gonna see if running is our special talent today." Applebloom said.

I was about to ask what she meant, when Applejack gave me one of those looks that told me to just smile and nod, which I did.

It was almost noon when I decided to head down to Ponyville to see if any of the girls were up.

I walked down the path that headed there, enjoying the quiet walk, when I heard a soft sound in the distance. As I got closer though, the sound got louder, and I was able to identify it.

Snoring.

I looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, when by chance, I took a look up. I saw a slightly darker colored cloud in the sky, with a rainbow colored tail hanging off of it.

A devious thought crossed my mind, as I gave a small smirk. I hit both of my hooves to the ground, and watched as my magic slowly went around me in a circle, the edges of said circle now raising from the earth.

I was on a platform of pure magic, raising myself upwards, until I reached the cloud Rainbow was sleeping on.

I had my magic begin to encircle the cloud, rising higher like a pillar. I laughed silently at the idea of Rainbow waking up to see walls of magic slowly rising upwards. From her perspective, it would probably look like the cloud was going into a hole of some sort, and she was stuck on it.

I then lifted up my hoof, and went to poke the cloud, my hoof going right through it, and poking Rainbow Dash's back instead.

I heard mumbling, and then I heard Rainbow say, "What the hay am I being woken up for..?"

Then there was a small pause, in which I imagined that she looked up. "WHAT THE HAY?!"

The cloud disappeared from above me, as I heard Rainbow take off. She was flying straight upwards, with a white cone beginning to appear around her.

'What is she…?' I thought to myself, before a loud explosion was heard in the air.

My eyes widened as a huge rainbow circle appeared where the cyan pony was a second ago, shattering my magic around it.

I then saw cracks beginning to form around my magic from the top of the cylinder I created, quickly heading downwards.

"Oh, horseapples." I managed to say, before the entirety of my magic shattered like glass, leaving me with no platform to stand on, a mile or so in the air.

I looked down, seeing my magic falling and fading all around me. When I recognized, that I quickly tried to use my magic again, only to realize…

"I can't use my magic without being in contact with the ground?!" I said, now falling back towards the ground.

I closed my eyes, fearing that this was going to hurt, a whole lot.

When I felt myself land, I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was perfectly fine…

…but the ground around me was not.

There were now four huge holes in the ground from where each of my hooves hit it, and there was also black electricity coming from my hooves, which I could only assume was magic.

I let out a breath of relief, as I saw Rainbow land beside me.

"Okay, I gotta admit, that was a pretty cool prank. I'm going to have to take off a few points for the landing though, even though it was pretty awesome." Rainbow said, giving me a smirk. "By the way, here's a word of advice: horses aren't meant to be in the air."

"Ha. Ha. Oh, ha. Can you help me get my hooves out of the ground, now?" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a second." Rainbow said, grabbing a cloud from nearby.

"What's that going to do?" I asked, in confusion.

"I've told you I'm on the Weather Patrol, right?" Rainbow explained. "Well that's because us pegasi have the power to move clouds, shape them, and even break them." She then moved the cloud right above me, and gave it a tap, which made the cloud drop a downpour of water on me.

"We can also make it rain, too. Oh, and we can make lightning. Pretty cool, huh?" She finished.

I removed my hooves from the newly created mud, and walked outside of the cloud's perimeter. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. Especially since now I'm all wet." I said, shaking my limbs, trying to get the water off of them.

"Oh! I can fix that too." Rainbow said, as she began to fly around me in circles, a vortex slowly forming around me.

All of a sudden, she stopped, letting the wind die down.

"Tornadoes too, huh?" I asked.

She gave a prideful nod, before looking at her handiwork.

"Well, at least I'm dry now." I said, looking at the my body.

"You don't have an afro though." Rainbow dissapointingly said.

"Why would I have an afro…?" I asked.

"Well, when I first met Twilight, I did the same thing to her. She had this huge crazy afro when I finished the tornado, though!" She said, laughing. I began to try and imagine Twilight with an afro… the idea of it made me laugh a little, too.

"So, you heading to the Running of the Leaves?" Rainbow asked me.

"Yeah, I was actually going to see if any of you girls were up and willing to head there now. Applejack said she would be there later because she had to water some of the trees, but I was feeling a bit impatient, so, yeah."

"Well then, let's go! I'll tell you a bit about it, too. Seeing as you're new and all." Rainbow said.

"You know about the history of the Running of the Leaves?" I asked. "I thought only Twilight would know that type of stuff."

"Eh… well I don't know the history behind it, just what we do during it." Rainbow explained. "Anyway, during the Running of the Leaves, you race down a preplanned path in Whitetail woods, and both the beating of hooves on the ground help take down all the leaves in preparation for winter. Then afterwards we have a huge picnic, to relax."

"Huh. That's pretty interesting. I'm going to be racing, too. I promised Applebloom that I would at least. What about you? Are you going to be racing?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Well, duh! Of course I'm going to be racing. I'm THE Rainbow Dash! Fastest pony in ALL of Equestria!" She said, doing a few backflips.

"Hahaha, I guess you're right. I wonder if anypony else we know will be racing." I said.

"Well, Fluttershy usually is helping gather food for her animals to prepare for winter. Twilight might be running, I mean she has a few times in the past. Rarity usually sits back and watches, Pinkie has always been the announcer for the race, but Applejack should be racing, though." Rainbow explained, as we entered Whitetail woods.

"Yeah she said she would be." I muttered, marveling at the amount of decorations that had been added since the other day.

"This place looks amazing!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Don'tcha think so, Eclipsal?"

"Yeah… I know Pinkie is fast with decorations but this is just awesome…" I said, walking up to one of the tables.

"Thanks, Eclipsal! Nice to know somepony likes my decorating skills!" somepony said from right beside me, making me fall over in shock.

I looked to see Pinkie, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, now happily helping me back onto my hooves.

"W-where did you come from?" I asked, still feeling a bit startled.

"Well when a mommy and a daddy love eachother veeeeery much.." Pinkie began, before Rainbow threw her hoof onto Pinkie's mouth.

"I, uh… I don't think he meant it in that way, Pinkie." Rainbow said, slightly blushing.

Before further conversation could be had, I heard a loud voice echo throughout the area.

"Mares and Gentlecolts, the race is about to begin!"

I looked up to see Spike sitting in the hot air balloon, yelling out greetings and such.

"I thought you said that Pinkie announced this?" I asked, looking to Rainbow. "Wait, where did Pinkie go?"

Rainbow shook her head, and began dragging me to a different table. "First off, Pinkie announces with Spike sometimes, second off, who cares, we need to get ready to race! Follow me, so we can get you registered."

I looked to the sign on my flank, labeled with an 8, as I stood at the starting line. I decided I would give it all I had, because I didn't really want to lose.

When the horn sounded, I ran as fast as I could, passing most of the ponies that were running, even Rainbow Dash.

After a few minutes, I began to slow down, because there was nopony else around me, which struck me as odd. I knew I was on the right path, which was why I was confused as to where everypony was.

I eased myself down to a brisk jog, hoping that I would see some other pony behind me later.

Pretty soon, I was granted that wish, as I heard two ponies yelling at eachother behind me.

I turned to see a blue and orange streak of color approaching me, fast.

I began to run again, trying to gain back my momentum, right as the two streaks were on my tail.

As I reached the pace they were at, I was able to tell who the ponies were, and decided to happily greet Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Hey there, you two! Why did you take so long to catch up?" I asked from in front of them.

Applejack turned to me and yelled back, "Well we thought we oughta try Twilight's method of relaxing at the beginning and saving our energy until the end…"

"…but we got a little bit impatient!" Rainbow finished for her.

"Well, at least I know that I haven't lost track of where I am, or something. Nopony was anywhere near me, until you two showed up, and I was beginning to think that I was lost!" I said to the two of them.

"Well, Eclipsal, I'll tell you one thing. You may not be lost, but you're still going to lose!" Rainbow yelled, running off in another burst of speed, passing by me a few inches.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" I retorted, putting more power into running, now tied with Rainbow.

I vaguely heard Pinkie yelling from above us, "And it looks like Rainbow and Eclipsal are neck in neck, folks! With Applejack now being a meter or so behind them, who is going to win?"

I looked straight ahead, to see the finish line right over the hill. I was now running with all my power now, gaining a few inches ahead of Rainbow.

I heard Rainbow gasp behind me, and I could even feel her aura of competitiveness as we ran.

I heard Applejack yell from a bit of a way behind us, "No, Dash! Don't use yer wings!"

I turned to see Rainbow, ignoring everything around her, and running as fast as she possibly could. So fast, that her wings were starting to flare up, and she was starting to fly.

As she started inching past me, I started pushing my own limits, everything now turning into a blur around me.

I heard a soft 'Oh no' coming from beside me, and then a loud crack, which sent me flying into the air, and another crack, making everything fade to black.

*Twilight's POV*

"I'm starting to think it's a good idea I didn't partake in today's race." I said to Rarity, who was sitting beside me.

"Oh, I do know what you mean, dearie." Rarity nodded her head. "With Rainbow and Applejack and Sweetie Belle and her friends being in this race, it would be way too competitive for most ponies."

"Yeah. Remember that one time that Rainbow and Applejack agreed on a no-wings race, and then Rainbow went.."

There was a loud crack, and a rainbow blur went flying past the finish line, making a few of the decorations go airborne.

"… flying by, anyway..?" I finished, watching as a horizontal Sonic Rainboom cut through the trees of the forest, knocking down all the leaves, followed by a voice that I recognized as Applejack, yelling, "I need some help over here!"

I turned to see Eclipsal on top of Applejack's back, unconscious. I quickly rushed over to her, and questioned, "What the hay just happened, Applejack?"

"I think Rainbow got a bit too competitive… Eclipsal ended up taking the brunt of a Sonic Rainboom, right to his side, which made him crash over there." Applejack said, motioning her head over to the row of trees that were now in half.

"Here, let me help you carry him!" I said, attempting to use my magic to levitate him, but failing.

"Ugh! I can't get my magic to work!" I yelled, trying once more to hold him up.

A hoof placed on my back made me stop, and I looked up to see Princess Luna standing over me, with a worried smile on her face.

"Don't you fret yourself, Twilight Sparkle. I'll carry Eclipsal to the hospital, myself."

After we had successfully gotten to Ponyville Hospital, and dropped off Eclipsal, I decided that it would be best if we all met up at the library.

"Rainbow Dash, what were you thinking?" Applejack yelled, getting face to face with Rainbow.

"Listen, I didn't mean it! I just got way too competitive, and ended up going a little bit overboard." She sniffled, backing away slightly. "I didn't mean for Eclipsal to get hurt."

"That sounds like it would make a great Friendship Report." Spike said, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

I sighed. "Yeah, and I'm sure Princess Celestia would love to hear about it. But for right now, speaking of Princesses…" I turned to Luna.

"So, Princess Luna, what brings you here to Ponyville? Princess Celestia usually is the one who visits during the Running of the Leaves." I asked.

"Well, Twilight, my sister decided that I needed a vacation from my duties. To be honest, I have been overworking myself quite a lot lately. Especially in the search of Victory… who we still haven't found." Luna explained.

"Ah… I see.." I muttered, now thinking back to the conversation Eclipsal and I had at the library a few nights ago. "Hey… Princess.. do you happen to remember how Victory manifested?"

Luna put on a look of concentration, before sighing in defeat. "That, I do not know, Twilight." She then looked towards the open window, the shadows of night beginning to fall upon the land. "To be honest, I don't remember a lot of what happened before my imprisonment. I remember a few of my happiest moments, and all the time I spent with Tia. However, a lot of that is still a bit hazy."

"Oh… I see." I said, sighing at the idea that we weren't going to be getting any answers from Luna.

"Why ask that anyway? Do we have an idea of where that scary meanie pants, Victory, is?" Fluttershy asked, looking between us.

"Not on our end." I explained, taking a look at Rainbow sulking at the table.

"Well, we've heard of her being active around Everfree forest and Canterlot… but we still haven't been able to catch her." Luna sadly stated.

"Looks like we aren't going to be having a picnic today…" Pinkie muttered, while staring out the window.

"Come on, everypony! Cheer up! I'm sure Eclipsal will be fine. Besides, he's been through worse before." Spike said, standing in the middle of the room.

"Spike…" I began, shaking my head.

"You know what? Princess Luna, I'm assuming you have nowhere to stay, right?" Spike said, looking at Luna.

"That is correct, Spike." She replied, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Well then, how about you stay over here with us, in the library?" Spike questioned, before turning to everypony. "In fact, how about you all stay over, and we have a sleepover?"

Pinkie jumped up beside Spike, picking him up. "Oooh a sleepover?! That sounds like fun!"

"It would be a great way to relax after a day like this." Rarity added. "Besides, it is a shame we weren't able to make it to the picnic. This would be an excellent replacement."

"Yeah! That's the spirit, everypony!" Spike said, pumping his fist in the air.

I let out a soft giggle. Spike sure was a great assistant, and an even better friend. He still surprised me, sometimes.

"Okay then, everypony. I'll go grab some sleeping bags." I said, walking up the stairs.

'Now I just need to figure out when to tell the girls about the Princesses… especially since one of them will be staying with us for awhile.'

Another Pair

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 29: Another Pair

"Tell me how Equestria was made, again!" A small dark blue unicorn said, happily lying next to a red maned, white colored alicorn.

"Ah. Why of course, my little pony. Equestria itself has long existed, through many different eras, and different names. I do not know what transpired the beginning and end of most of these eras, but I do know of this one." The mare's blue eyes looked across the horizon, her hoof pointing and moving with it.

"When I came to this land used to be filled to the brink with emptiness. Nothing existed. It was a place born with no creativity, no imagination, no anything. To most, that is all it was. Nothing. To me… it was a canvas, waiting for me to begin drawing. It was a beckoning to create an amazing world. So I did. I built this world from the ground up, mountains, fields, oceans, and even a few cities crafted by my hoof. Not to say that there weren't others that helped me; but they can't interact with this world the way I can."

"Oh! Who were these other creatures? Could I meet them one day?" the dark blue unicorn excitingly asked.

"No my dear, unfortunately you cannot. They exist on an entirely different plane than you."

"Aw… well tell me how I came here!" the small pony said in an happy voice.

"We teleported to your favorite spot, you silly unicorn." The mare said, rubbing her hoof through the unicorn's mane.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" The unicorn said, giggling.

"Haha, very well then. You and your sister came from the fabric of my mind, a perfect yin and yang to help each other in this world. The others come in sets, as well. To put it simply, the two of you came from me, the two non-equines came from my husband, and the final two came from a merge of the imagination from many people." The alicorn said, looking at the now setting sun.

"But, who are people, mama?" the dark blue pony asked.

"That is a story for a different time, little one. Now we must get back to the castle; it's almost time for you to decorate the sky."

*Present time, Victory's POV*

"I am surprised to see you, my creation." A black figure spoke, green eyes flickering in the eerie darkness.

"Of course you are." I replied. "After all, I should be dead."

"Yes, you and your kin." The figure muttered, shifting its eyes to the right.

"Well, here is the news. We're alive. We just need to release them once again." I said, a sneer growing on my face.

"Why is there a 'we' in this?" the being asked, befuddled. "Last time I was a part of your plans, my kind almost died out."

"And it appears they are, again." I said, looking around at the thin creatures standing guard around their ruler.

"Guards, leave the room." The figure commanded, the guards immediately agreeing to her orders.

As soon as they were out of sight, the figure began asking questions. "What are you doing here, how are you here, and why do you need me?"

"Your plan failed in the past. A simple takeover turned into destruction of the world, in a way nobody could have predicted, ending the life of my binder, and HIS generator. The thing is, he's back, which gave me a physical body for the time being. Soon, the others will awaken too. I need you to use your Elements to unleash the monster." I explained.

"Awaken the monster? Ohohoho. Like I would ever do that; especially since that would definitely cause the death of my kind." The figure said, shaking it's head.

"But, we have a plan that we worked on while in captivity. We knew HE wouldn't allow darkness to be nonexistent in this world for very long, and would recreate his generator. Which he did. Now, let's say we unleash the monster from the generator. We would do no harm to you or you're kind." I said, my eyes narrowing slightly.

"We would destroy the Elements of Harmony, and make sure their bearers, past and present, are unfit to wield them again. We will drown this world in darkness, and let you command it, as we kill off all other races."

The being's eyes widened in interest. "That is a very… strange plan. However, our kind would have nothing to feed off of, if you destroy the other beings."

"It's a good thing your sister is still alive, then." I said. "That should be enough to feed your kind, infinitely so."

"My sister is alive?" Anger flashed in the eyes of the being. "I thought she was killed by that damned Celestia, decades ago!"

"Well, maybe you should review your sources better. Besides, if word got around that the legendary princess who saved the hive wasn't you… well, I wouldn't want to be in your hooves." I added with a smirk, knowing I had won this conversation.

The being hesitated for a moment, eyes closed in deep thought, before she opened them, a spark of green fire flashing within them.

"Let us work together, then."

I gave the being a sinister smile, power slightly surging into me. Winning always felt good; even if it was just a conversation.

*Eclipsal's POV*

My eyes slowly opened, to find myself once again in the hospital, a beeping heartbeat monitor sitting beside me.

I attempted to get up, to find an obstacle in my way. I looked down to see a cyan pony sitting on a chair, her head resting on the bed I laid in.

Her eyes slowly began to flutter open, and when she saw me she gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh my gosh, Eclipsal! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen, I was just blinded by wanting to win, and I swear it won't happen again!" Rainbow sobbed, crying into my chest.

"Hey, I'm fine, I'm fine. I forgive you, Rainbow." I said, knowing that whatever she had done to get me here she must have done by mistake. Rainbow would never do anything to hurt a friend.

A voice appeared from the doorway. "Ah, if only I learned the lesson of winning not being everything before…"

"Ah! Princess Luna!" Rainbow and I exclaimed at the same time, her quickly getting off of me, and rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"Sorry to barge in out of nowhere, but I was told by Twilight to check on how you were, and to see if you were awake yet." Luna explained.

"Well… how long was I out?" I asked.

"T..three days, 4 hours, 2 minutes, and 52.9 seconds…" Rainbow said, earning a confused look from me. "I-I tend to keep track of my mistakes, okay?!"

I shook my head, just ignoring it for now. I was about to talk again, when I noticed how dry my mouth felt.

"Feeling thirsty?" Luna asked, levitating a bottle of water towards me, as she went to sit down.

As it neared me, I grabbed it with my hooves, placing it on the bed in front of me.

I then hit my hooves against the bed, my magic now growing out to grab the bottle of water, so it was easier for me to drink.

I slowly drank the water, feeling my body begin to get rehydrated again. I heard Luna mutter, "What a strange form of magic… it feels so familiar, yet so different."

I peeked open an eye to look at her quizzically, and saw something move out of the corner of my eye.

Her cutie mark was changing.

It was switching through the moon cycles, like a rotating sphere with one half white, the other black.

This made me spit out my water, as I threw up the blanket, to look at my cutie mark.

"Erm.. Eclipsal, you okay?" Rainbow hesitantly asked me, as I looked down at my completely normal cutie mark.

My eyes widened as I came to a sudden realization, looking at Rainbow's cutie mark.

It was switching between hail, rain, and snow, the lightning bolt quickly flashing multiple times.

The Books Are Lies

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 30: The Books Are Lies

"Eclipsal, what is with you? Demanding to be released, and rushing me back to Twilight's, what the hay is going on?!" Rainbow yelled, halting herself in midair as I tried to pull her towards the library.

"Come on, just trust me! I need to get to Twilight's and tell her what I found out!" I said, inching forwards, as Rainbow tried to pull back.

"Not.. until… you .." Rainbow then got out of my grip, and flew above me. "TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON."

"I.. I don't know! It has to do with that cutie mark resonation thing Twilight told us about before!" I said, trying to motion her to follow me.

She gave in, and slowly flew above me. "So what's the deal? You and Rarity have been having this issue for a while."

"It wasn't Rarity and I that had the problem this time…" I muttered, looking up at her.

"What?" Rainbow asked, flying in a bit closer.

"It was you and the Princess, Rainbow. Your cutie marks were freaking out back at the hospital."

I looked up to Rainbow, who had a shocked expression on her face. "But.. didn't Twilight say that it only happens to two ponies never meant to meet eachother?"

"Yeah, I think so. She also said that it happened to her and Celestia. So now we have 3 weird pairs of cutie marks we need to figure out." I said right as we reached the library.

"Come on, let's see if Twilight can help with this." I finished, opening the door.

We entered to see Twilight, with a flurry of books surrounding her.

She quickly looked up from what she was doing. "Hello, Eclipsal. Nice to see your back. Is Luna with you?"

I shook my head. "Not at the moment, she said she wanted to go buy some food from Sugarcube Corner before coming back. She left before us though, so I imagine she'll be back soon."

"Okay, okay… I've been holding back on researching while she's been here, just so we don't seem suspicious." Twilight explained, levitating 3 more books around her.

"Well, we may have something else for you." I said, pointing at the pony flying above me. "Rainbow Dash here has a Cutie Mark resonance with the Princess."

Twilight looked up from her book, her eyes widening. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I saw it myself. When she was near Luna at the hospital, Luna's Cutie Mark started switching between the phases of the moon, while Rainbow's Cutie Mark began to switch through different types of weather." I explained.

"So.. a switches between the lunar cycle and forms of precipitation. Interesting.." Twilight said, another book floating up to her and opening itself.

"So do you think it means that Princess Luna and I weren't meant to meet?" Rainbow asked, hovering above the ground.

"Actually… I've thought about this. If the princesses were hiding something from me, they would most likely be hiding it from everypony else. Correct?" Twilight said.

"Yeah that makes sense." Rainbow said, as I nodded my head.

"Well then, why would the answers be in some books in a public library?" Twilight asked, staring at us over her book.

"I… have no idea?" I said, partially confused.

"Exactly!" Twilight exclaimed, standing up.

"This has led me to assume that a good portion of these history books could be edited, or that information has been removed from them." Twilight explained, trotting in a circle. "Which means the only way we would be able to find out the real history of Equestria would be to check the Royal Archives."

"Yeah that's an awesome idea, Twilight! We'll ask Celestia if she knows anything, and if she doesn't we can sneak into the Archives and find the truth ourselves! We'll be the Spies of Harmony!" Rainbow announces, waving he hooves around, until she saw the look on our faces. "Or.. something like that." She finished, with a slight blush.

"I don't know about this, Twilight." I said, tapping my hoof on my chin. "That's a big theory if you ask me."

"Well, we all need to know what's happening! For all we know, this could be the key to finding your memories, Eclipsal! Or we could at least find out if there is some horse tribe or something, somewhere in the world that is missing you! Do you really want to pass on an opportunity like this?!" Twilight said, looking at me.

I thought about it for a second, before finally giving my answer. "Okay then, I'll go along with this plan." I muttered.

"Don't you worry, Eclipsal! We'll find out about all of this weird stuff happening." Twilight happily said, grabbing another book.

"By the way, Twilight.. why are you reading these books if you think they might be lying?" Rainbow asked, now hovering over Twilight.

"Well, it's so that I can compare the history I find in these books to the ones I find in the archives. If I can tell from which era things are most falsified in, I can narrow down what actually happened, hopefully." Twilight explained.

"Well, what if.." I began, when I heard the door open behind us.

There stood Luna, with a box of cupcakes, happily eating one as she looked at us. "Hello, everypony. Would you like one of these delicious pastries? I believed Pinkie Pie called them cupcakes, and they are just splendid."

I gave a quick look to Twilight, and she gave me a look back, saying that we would finish our conversation later.

"Yeah, well thanks for the offer, Luna, but I think it's about time I headed back to the Sweet Apple Acres." I said, giving my goodbyes to everypony before leaving.

I arrived at the acres half an hour later, and surprisingly the first pony I saw was Granny Smith, sleeping outside of the main house.

I looked out over the horizon of apple trees, imagining that the rest of the Apple Family must be doing some field work of some sort.

I however, was tired after today, and decided to get back to my room in the barn. I walked in to find that there was now a bed, and a my number on the wall from the Running of the Leaves. I laughed at how the number was sideways, the original eight now looking more like a looped line than anything else.

I sat down on my new bed, giving a sigh. This bed is really comfortable…

Boulder Bogging

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 31: Boulder Bogging

I opened my eyes, the sun brightly shining through the window in the barn.

"That was a good nap…" I blankly said to myself, stretching.

I took a look out the window and looked at the sunrise.

'Wait.. the sunrise?'

I immediately facehoofed, realizing I had just slept through the afternoon, night, and part of the next morning.

'Well, I imagine that the Apple's should be starting up with work soon, so I guess I'll check to see if they need anything.'

I walked out of the barn, glancing around for the ponies I lived with, when I noticed that there was a note hanging on my door.

Hey there, Eclipsal. Saw you sleeping like a log in the barn, so thought I'd let you get a good nap for a bit. We won't be needing your help with the farm today. Applebloom got in trouble at school, so she's on duty for harvestin, and stuff. Enjoy the rest of your day!

"Applebloom got in trouble?" I blankly stated, remembering the two fillies that were causing her and her friends trouble before. "Hope it didn't have anything to do with those jerks…"

I cast a glance around the land, thinking maybe something would tell me what I should do today.

I got my answer when I saw a yellow pegasus flying around above the acres.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" I called out. She turned to me, and started floating down to me.

"Oh, hello, Eclipsal." She said with a warm smile. "Do you happen to know where Applejack is?"

"She left me a note saying she wouldn't be working here. Apparently Applebloom got in trouble, and her punishment is to take care of things around here." I explained, before feeling a bit curious. "Why do you need her?"

"Well there are these huge rocks, blocking the river that most of my animals drink out of. I was going to get Applejack to deal with them, because I'm too weak to.. but she's really strong." She said, explaining the situation. "Well, I guess I'll go see if maybe Twilight can help me…"

"Wait!" I said, before she was able to fly off. "Can I help? I'm kinda strong, and I never got to properly repay you for helping me after the storm.."

Her face brightened, as another smile enlightened her face. "Sure thing, Eclipsal! I would love to have your help."

"Froggy Bottom Bog?" I asked, curiously poking some green goo around my hooves, the sound of ribbiting echoing around the area..

"Yes, this is where a lot of the clean water comes from, surprisingly. The algae and moss clean the water, and a ways past the where the river begins, there are some rocks that remove the algae from the water, making it perfect for drinking." Fluttershy explained, wearily looking through the area.

"So this stuff is algae..? It looks like it's just grass that covers everything." I said, now following her gaze. "Is there something you're looking for?"

"Not really something… oh, nevermind. I'm sure he's not here today."

I gave her a curious glance, and shook my head, ignoring it. "So where is this pile of rocks?"

"Oh, they're over here." She replied, fluttering over a small hill.

I got to the top of it, and saw the rocks, completely blocking the waterway that led further into the forest. The water on the other side of the blockage was backed up, making the swamp look as if it was slowly growing.

"So, do you think you can move these rocks?" Fluttershy asked, landing beside me.

I looked at the rocks. While they were sorta big, I figured I could move them.

"Yeah, I think so. Might as well try, at least.." I replied, rubbing mo hooves together before hitting the ground.

My magic slowly encircled the cluster of rocks, and I began trying to life them up, to no success. Realizing I wouldn't be able to move them in one go, I decided to take them off one at a time.

I picked up the one at the top, slowly lifting it into the air. It was a bit of a strain from how heavy it was, but I could handle it. "Fluttershy, where should I put the rocks?"

"Place them on the outer sides of the swamp. Be sure to not hit any little critters though!" She replied.

"Don't hit the frogs; got it." I nodded as I placed the rock a few feet away from us.

This process continued until there were about 6 or so rocks left, none of them really being a big deal except for this huge one in the middle of the stream.

I picked that one up, my hooves sinking a little bit into the ground, as I floated it over to the other rocks. I closed my eyes trying to stay concentrated. The deeper my hooves got into the ground, the less power I felt I had over my magic, and this rock was feeling heavier by the second.

I peeked open one eye, and saw my magic shorting out around the rock, eventually just giving out and dropping it onto the other rocks, making them role into the water.

I let out a sigh, and lifted my hooves out of the mud, shaking them off, as Fluttershy walked up to me.

"Are you okay? That looked like it strained you a bit…" She said, worrying eyes scanning my form.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need contact with something solid to use my magic, and mud isn't exactly solid, you know?" I got the rest of the mud off my hooves, and moved to somewhere more solid, then looked towards the blockage.

Apparently moving the largest rock let the water flow into the empty canal, moving the rest of the rocks out of the way, as the sound of flowing water filled the area.

It was peaceful for a moment as the only sound was the water flowing from the swamp into the river.

That's when I realized the problem; that's all I heard.

I quickly turned to Fluttershy. "Hey, did I hurt any of the animals when I dropped that rock?"

Her eyes widened, as she shook her head. "No you didn't, I was watching when the rock dropped. The frogs were still croaking after you dropped it though…"

'So if I didn't scare them off, what did?' I thought to myself.

I saw a shadow in the swamp. I thought I was just seeing things for a second, but the shadow was getting bigger.

A dragon-like head grew out of the water, as I took a step back. Fluttershy froze, slowly turning her head around.

Four more heads grew out of the water, each slithering about and glaring down at us.

I was frozen in fear as well, the ground shaking as the monster took step after step towards us. It let out a prideful roar, and then all of the heads went for it's prey;

Fluttershy.

I yelled out her name, stomping my hooves on the ground as my magic shot out to her, creating a sphere of protection around her. The heads of the monster crashed into the sphere, which I had expand to force them back into the water. They fell backwards, roaring from rage and possibly pain, as I ran up to the frightened yellow pegasus.

"Fluttershy, we have to go, now!" I said, trying to pull her out of her daze.

She shook her head, and began speaking back to me. "I-I've been through this area before. We have to go this way!" Fluttershy said, running through the muck towards a few hills.

I followed her, as I heard the ground begin to shake again, and chanced a look behind us. The monster was up once more, catching up to us, quicker than I would have liked. I looked back to Fluttershy, who was running towards one hill as fast as she could.

"Fluttershy! Go ahead and fly there, I'm fast enough to keep up!" I yelled at her.

"I-I c-c-can't! My w-wings get stuck to me when I'm s-scared! I can't fly right now!" She yelled back, her voice shaking.

"Well whatever the hay that thing is, is catching up to us. We have to get there faster, and you have to take the lead because I don't know where we're going!" I explained, now running alongside her.

"I-I know, but I can't go any faster!" She replied, her pace quickening slightly.

We got to the top of the hill, and I saw that we were heading to a small cliff that had a ledge on the other side.

"Get ready to jump!" Fluttershy said, as we approached it.

"We're going to jump over THAT?" I asked, feeling doubtful we could make it.

She looked up at me and said, "Don't worry, it's just a hop, skip and aaHHHHH!" A huge boulder fell right between the two of us, as we narrowly avoided it.

"This thing throws stuff now?!" I questioned, turning to see all of the heads having either trees, boulders, or old trunks in their mouth, systematically throwing them at us.

I tried hitting the ground with my front hooves while running to block the random stuff being thrown at us, but I couldn't access my magic for whatever reason. I looked down to see that my hooves were covered in muck, blocking my capabilities to do magic.

We got to the cliff, and Fluttershy jumped, reaching the other side easily. I jumped too, following her to the other side. The hydra stopped when he got to the cliff though, and continued throwing things at us.

I followed Fluttershy around a corner, when another rock landed in front of us, blocking the way around.

I saw Fluttershy jump behind me, yelling at me to watch out. I turned to the monster, to see a tree heading for me. Fluttershy jumped between me and the tree, it hitting her in the side with a thud.

I scrambled towards her falling body, as both her and the trunk were heading down the cliff.

"FLUTTERSHY, NO!" I yelled, as I jumped after her. My legs came in contact with the cliff, forcing me into a slide down the cliff, shattering the dried muck around my hooves.

A dark aura wrapped around me, as a line of my magic shot towards Fluttershy, connecting me with her. I jumped off of the side after her, my hooves extended to reach out to her.

When I came in contact with her, I closed my eyes, wrapping my hooves around her to protect her from the imminent crash we were about to have.

A final roar echoed through the canyon, the monster realizing it wouldn't get it's meal.

Oh, The Irony

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 33: Oh, The Irony

"It's good that Fluttershy and I both will be fine by the time Nightmare Night rolls around. The problem is that I have no idea when that is, Twilight." I said, getting off of the guest bed. It had been three days since we had arrived back in Ponyville, and Fluttershy and I were finally able to get up and walk around, almost being fully healed.

Rainbow was still mad at me though. Fluttershy heard what Rainbow did, and scolded her for it, and tried to explain the reasoning of what happened, but Rainbow would have none of it.

Twilight had kept her promise, not telling Fluttershy or anypony about the other injuries I endured, and keeping me away from the hospital.

As for why I was locked in library, and refused to see anyone? I told Twilight to tell them the partial truth of it. I was healing from Rainbow Dash. Twilight also told them that I was sulking about from the conflict with a friend… which was also true. The fact that Rainbow was mad at me, troubled me a lot. I even had a few nightmares involving not being able to save Fluttershy, and then Rainbow using me as a punching bag as payback….

Anyway…

"Nightmare Night is something that used to be celebrated similar to the Summer Sun celebration." Twilight said.

"I don't know what that is, either." I stated, a bored look on my face.

"As I was saying," Twilight began again. "Nightmare Night used to be called the Fullmoon Fall Festivity. The Summer Sun Celebration and the Fullmoon Fall Festivity are events in which Princess Celestia or Princess Luna will use their powers to bring up either the sun or moon, respectively."

"That actually sounds kind of cool." I said, imagining the sun and moon glowing as they rose over the horizon.

"Originally the Summer Sun Celebration was like a huge party, where all the ponies would go to have fun and meet the princess. It's still the same way, except it's not a huge party anymore, but more like a parade. It also marks the beginning of summer. While on the other hoof, the Fullmoon Fall Festivity was an event where ponies would go to play games of all sorts. Now though, we dress up in costumes to be characters of all types, and go out to other houses, where they give us a lot of candy. We also still play games of all sorts, which hasn't changed from the original celebration. It is made to mark the end of fall." Twilight continued, finishing up her lecture.

"Candy? Like that sweet stuff that Pinkie usually gives me?" I asked, my ears perking up.

"Yep! Just the sort." She said with a smile.

"I am so in for this! That sounds awesome!" I excitedly said, feeling better than I had in days.

"Well you do need to dress up for it. Any ideas what you're going to dress up as?" Twilight asked me.

"Uh… I don't know a lot about costumes. Or even about some of anything that I could dress up as…" I muttered.

"Well if why don't you come down stairs and look at some books with me?" Twilight said. "You haven't been out of this room for days, and really, my library is still too small for you, Princess Luna, Spike, and I to live here at the same time."

"Yeah.. sorry about this, Twilight." I said, rubbing my hoof on the back of my neck.

"It's fine, especially since you've been helping out with the library while you've been here. It's just really small." Twilight said, shaking her head.

"Well… if I've healed up enough to be able to go out, I might as well…" I muttered.

"Okay, then. So come on let's go downstairs and see what books we can find." Twilight said, as she grabbed my hoof dragging me out of the guest room.

As soon as we reached the main room, she began to levitate a bunch of books from the shelves, placing them on the table in the middle of the room.

She began going on a tirade of ideas. "Here are some of my favorite characters in some series I've read. You should try reading some, and see if any of them interest you.."

The front door to the library opened, a loud voice echoing through. "Hey, Twi. I'm here for the new Daring Do book…" A certain cyan pony had walked in, saw me, and began glaring.

"On second thought, whatever. I'll just buy it from somewhere." Rainbow said, closing the door to the library.

I was hit with a wave of melancholy, what happened before I got to the library now going through my mind again. "Maybe I should just go back to the guest room.. and just stay there.." I said, turning around about to make my way back up the stairs.

"Oh no you don't!" Twilight said, teleporting in front of the stairs. "I will not have you mope around like this! Here, just… just read this book!" She finished, levitating a random book in my direction.

Then Twilight began walking to the front door. "I need to go and give Rainbow this Daring Do book, though. Just… don't go upstairs. Try to have fun with reading. Enjoy yourself."

With that, she was gone.

I looked down at the book I was now holding. 'This looks really familiar…'

"This… is this the book on the Elements of Harmony..?" I asked myself. "I guess Twilight was too focused on Rainbow to realize she gave me this…"

I opened up the contents of the book, looking at some of the images.

The first page was a picture of what appeared to be the world, completely sketched, but lacking any color. I flipped the page again, and saw that the six elements in what appeared to be there stone form, with some sort of object in the middle of them all, arrows pointing from the object to the elements. I briefly wondered if Twilight had seen this before, when I remembered that she wasn't only a wielder of an Element of Harmony, but she also extensively researched them and their powers.

I turned the page again, turning seeing the elements in a different form, now appearing as symbols. I briefly gazed over the one that should have been the Element of Generosity, the symbol appearing to be that of a sideways 8, like the one in my room. I shook my head, and turned the page. The next page had them as crystals. The next, in their current state of being jewelry.

"How many forms do those things have..?" I asked no one in particular, deciding not to dwell on it, and to just open the book again to a random page.

I now stared at the horse formerly known as Shaded Darkness, master of darkness throughout Equestria.

His body was pitch black, his eyes glowing a bright blue, with red encircling the outer part of the blue. His horseshoes looked to be encompassed in metal of some sort, larger and more sturdier than my horseshoes. 'In a way he kind of looks like me, except with more… authority? Power? I don't know..'

Then it clicked in my head. "Twilight said that a lot of these books could be fake, so does that mean this is fiction too? If so, I could pretend to be this 'Shaded Darkness' for Nightmare Night! I could be…" I struck a dramatic pose. "… the master of darkness!"

I sat back down, thinking about how my outfit could go, when I began to wonder something. "What the heck is darkness anyway? Is it like.. shadows? Or is it something evil? It can't be night, because that's Luna…"

"You called?" Princess Luna said from above me.

"AHHH!" I yelled, dropping the book. I steadied my breathing. "Geez, Princess! You scared me…"

"Oh, I apologise, Eclipsal. The powers of the night allow me to sneak about without being heard, I did not mean to frighten you." Luna said.

"It's… it's fine." I replied, getting up.

She then picked up the book using magic. "What art thou reading?" She questioned, opening the book.

Her face froze as she looked at the picture of Shaded Darkness. "I.. this book.. it is the Book of the Elements, yes?"

I nodded my head slowly.

"I guess Tia would give this to her student, as they are the new wielders… but.." She focused her eyes on the picture, as if she was trying to concentrate to the best of her abilities.

"I.. I need to go back to the castle for now." Luna said. "Tell Twilight I thank her for her hospitality, but I must go and speak with my sister about urgent business."

I nodded my head again, and watched as she teleported away.

"… I feel like all the ponies around me are slowly going crazy." I said to myself. "Or maybe I just don't have the full picture."

Twilight chose this moment to appear back at the library, walking through the front door.

"Hey, Twilight. Princess Luna had to go; said she had some urgent business to talk about with her sister." I explained, as she nodded in understanding.

She sighed and closed the door. "Anyway.. have you found anything interesting?"

"Actually first I kinda have a question about the history books." I said. "You know how you said that a lot of the history could have been rewritten by the princesses?"

"Yeah, it's a hypothesis. Not one hundred percent sure about it, though." Twilight stated.

"Well, do you think that also applies to this book?" I asked, levitating the book I had to her.

"Huh? Why did you get this?!" Twilight asked me, looking shocked.

"Because you were so flustered that you gave me this book to find something to dress as, instead of a normal one."

Twilight face-hoofed. "Next thing you know, I'll be misplacing my element, somehow."

Then she continued speaking. "I can almost fully assure you that there is no way this book has been edited. It was enchanted by something before the Elements were even created, maybe even before the princesses were born. Whoever did make it though, had to have some of the most magical power in history."

"So… let's say I wanted to dress up as that horse, Shaded Darkness. Would that be disrespectful considering who he was, or would that be fine?" I asked her.

Twilight blinked, a confused look on her face. "Well, considering I didn't even know who he was, I doubt many other ponies would. Also, I dressed as Starswirl the Bearded one year, and he was one of the most highly qualified unicorns in history. So there won't be any disrespect taken."

"Perfect. This is going to be cool." I said, a smile painted on my face.

"Why do you even want to be this horse anyway?" Twilight asked me.

"Well… I'm a horse. The only kind that we know of in the world. He's a horse. The only one that I know of. So it just makes sense, doesn't it?" I explained.

"Well.. I guess so." She said, a skeptical look on her face.

I took the book again, and pointed to Shaded's hooves. "Do you happen to know what type of metal this is, or how I could possibly get something to look like that?"

*Twilight's POV*

'Why the hay does he even want to do dress as this stallion, anyway? I guess it doesn't really matter; he looks pretty excited about it. It's nice to finally see him being happy considering how he's been the past few days..'

I looked at the picture of Shaded Darkness, looking at the metal around his hooves. It looked almost like platinum, except with a silver sheen. She couldn't tell from what metal it came from, but she imagined that the only pony she knew that would have any idea about precious metal and gems would be…

"Rarity might know." I replied, looking back up at him. "She works with metals and gems all the time, for her jewelry and dresses. So she would be able to tell what this is, I think. It does look like it might be a part of the armor the princess's wear, too. Might even be a mixture of both horseshoes and armor. But yeah, go ask Rarity."

"Okay, I'll go see if she knows about this." Eclipsal ran out of the house with an excited look on his face.

I looked at the door he left open when he bolted out of it, and couldn't help but smile. 'This is exactly what he's needed.'

I then frowned again. 'I still need to find out a way to talk Rainbow into forgiving Eclipsal. There really is no reason for her to be mad at him…'

"But first thing's first." I muttered.

I yelled up to the top of the stairs, hoping my assistant was willing to get up. "Spike! I need you to write a letter!"

*Eclipsal's POV*

I knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique, hoping Rarity would answer soon. My cutie mark was beginning to glow, and there was no way for me to really cover it.

I heard a slight yell from inside, and assumed that it was Rarity realizing who was at the door. There was a scurrying noise, and the door opened.

"Come on, quickly get inside." Rarity said, ushering me in her home.

She closed the door behind me, and then turned to me. "I haven't seen you out in awhile, Eclipsal. Is there something that you need?"

I gave her a smile. "Actually, yes. I want to participate in Nightmare Night dressed as this stallion." I levitated the book up to her, and she grasped it with her magic.

"Ah… I see." She examined it for a few moments, as a smile came across her face. "Yes.. I do believe I can do this. It shall be perfect; you will be the talk of the town with how well I'm going to make these horseshoes!"

"Yes! Thank you, Rarity. I appreciate it. How much do you think this will cost me?" I asked her.

"Why, nothing at all, dear." She said, waving her hoof in the air.

"N-nothing?" I asked. "Rarity, I insist.."

"Tut, tut, tut. I will have none of this." Rarity stated. "I do free work for friends, and if that isn't a good enough excuse for you, then take this as a 'thank you' from me to you, for helping Fluttershy."

"But.. I wasn't able to prevent her from getting hurt. I don't really deserve your thanks…" I sighed.

"You jumped off of a cliff to save Fluttershy; you deserve my thanks. There is no way you could have prevented anything that happened, especially since you had no idea that nasty Hydra would be there. Now listen to me when I say this; Rainbow was extremely mad because she had been friends with Fluttershy for years. You must forgive yourself, and forgive her, because she has quite the temper, and an extreme loyalty to her closest friends." Rarity stated.

Her horn began to glow again, as she summoned a kettle and a teacup, pouring a cup of tea. She handed it to me, and said, "Now here. Drink up, and turn that frown upside down. This house does not tolerate unhappiness."

I grasped the cup with my magic, taking a small sip of the tea. I looked back up at Rarity with a smile. "Thank you, Rarity."

"Speak nothing of it." She said, once more waving her hoof in the air. "Now let's see if we can figure out your hoof size…"

Nightmare Night

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 34: Nightmare Night

"Sister."

Celestia looked up from the work she was doing at her desk, to see Luna descending onto her balcony.

"Hello there, Lulu." Celestia warmly greeted her sister. "I didn't expect you back so soon. Is your vacation over already?"

Luna let out a sigh, and began speaking. "No… no it is not. I came here to question you. Tia, I must ask you; who is Shaded Darkness?"

Celestia froze, her normally calm mask faltering for a moment. After a few seconds, Celestia finally said, "Why do you ask, sister?"

Luna walked into Celestia's room, taking a spot on her bed.

"I… I remember him. Sort of. I don't remember what he looked like, but I saw a picture of him in that book of Elements your student has."

Celestia mentally cursed herself for thinking that this day wouldn't happen if she gave the book to her student. Of course Twilight would find out about the past, but this… this is something she tried to hide for centuries.

"Shaded.. he.. he was a friend. And a wielder of one of the Elements before we both took over half of the six. How much do you remember?" Celestia asked Luna, not wanting to reveal any more than she had to.

"I do not know, sister. When I got hit with the elements before, I forgot a lot of my past. I do remember some of our friends, along with Discord. Yet I do not remember moments in history that I know I was there for. I also don't remember what happened as I was Nightmare Moon, but I would rather not remember that…"

"It was a dark time for us both, sister. But I had to do what was needed to protect Equestria." Celestia replied.

"Yes… I know, Tia. Yet, I feel as though I have forgotten many important things, however. Things that need to be remembered." Luna said, staring out towards her night sky.

"Well, the memories shall return to you in due time." Celestia replied, as she felt a twinge of guilt at her lie.

"I need my memories though, sister! I barely even remember our mother!" Luna yelled back, her eyes beginning to well up with tears.

Celestia trotted up to Luna and sat next to her on the bed, and embraced her. "Shh, now Lulu. Everything is fine."

"Everything is NOT fine, Tia! I should be able to remember the one who actually raised us! I should be able to remember my friends! I should be able to remember who the other wielders of the Elements were, even though the Elements were are to blame!" Luna hysterically cried, pressing her head into her sister's shoulder.

"Lulu.. I wish I knew the Elements would have locked you away. I wish I knew they would take you from me for a thousand years. I wish I knew that they would mess with your memories, and make you grow weaker than me. I really do. But what happened couldn't be changed, and I apologize for that." Celestia responded, letting her sister cry for as long as she needed to.

"You do know that your subjects need you to celebrate your holiday, correct?" Celestia said after a few moments.

Luna gave a small nod, and replied. "I'll leave when I'm feeling a little better. An hour or two won't affect them much…"

Celestia nodded her head, and continued speaking. "Again, I apologize for locking you away all those years ago. It was the only way I could stop you."

Luna nodded her head in understanding, as the room grew quiet.

Darkness itself was watching over this moment, shaking his head.

"Celestia… you cannot hide the truth forever."

"Oh my Celestia… LOOK AT ALL THESE CUPCAKES!" I yelled as I entered Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie wanted us to meet there before we went to begin hunting for candy. After all, today was Nightmare Night.

I erratically sped over to the spiraling tower of cupcakes, staring in awe at the mere size of the pile.

"Woah… this must be a hundred cupcakes, or something!" I muttered to myself.

I heard a sound coming from inside of the pile, when Pinkie Pie jump out of it dressed as what appeared to be a dragon.

She swallowed one cupcake whole, and turned to me with a smile. "Aaaand now there's a hundred!"

"Pinkie, did you make all of these?" I asked, still gawking at how many cupcakes there were.

"Of course, silly! I made them for all of my friends!" Pinkie replied with an even bigger smile.

My eyes widened as I turned to her, a feeling of excitement gaining in my body. "Does… does that mean I can have some?"

Pinkie tapped her hoof onto her chin, as if she was deep in thought. "Hmm…." She glanced over at me, and continued to make 'hmm' noises.

"Pleeeease, Pinkie!" I pleaded, dropping to the ground as if I were bowing to her. "Pleeeease! Your cupcakes are the best!"

"Why of course you can have some!" She said as I finished speaking. "I did say that I made these for my friends; and I'm pretty sure you're my friend, Eclipsal!"

She then hopped off, as I hungrily took 3 cupcakes with me to eat as I followed her.

"So when do you think the others will get here?" I asked Pinkie.

"I dunno. They should be here soon though!" Pinkie replied, pulling a huge bag out of nowhere. "It's too bad Fluttershy can't join us though. She hasn't showed up the other times too, but then again this is only year we decided to meet up."

"Yeah, but she kind of does have a reason for it. I checked in with her before I came over, and she's still healing from the Hydra attack." I solemnly said as I took another bite out of the cupcake I was magically holding.

"She'll be fine soon though! She's a tough cookie, she is." Pinkie said, as she opened the bag, and began tapping her hoof against the floor in an impatient way. "As for those other ponies, where the hay are they? Time is candy, and the longer we wait, the less candy is left!"

The others came in at that moment, each dressed up in a different outfit.

Pinkie Pie gave a greeting to the festivity. "Hello, everypony! Ready to go get lots and LOTS of candy?!"

Twilight was surprisingly the first to start speaking from excitement. "I am SO ready for this! I'm even wearing my Clover the Clever outfit from our Hearth's Warming Eve play, so I'm going to get so much candy!" She wore what looked to be a brown fabric robe with more brown fabric made into a hood, all tied together with a yellow rope.

"Twi, ya definitely did good! Simple is always good ta me! But Twi, I don't think many ponies would think of Clover the Clever off the top of their head." Applejack said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, just like how they didn't know Starswirl the Bearded!" Spike said, eliciting a laugh from the rest of the group. I looked at his costume, and couldn't help but chuckle at what he was dressed as.

Spike continued on with his tirade. "I, however should be easily recognized by many ponies! For I am…" Spike gave a dramatic pause, and lowered his voice a few levels. "… a pony."

He was wearing some sort of pony suit, his eyes popping out of the eye sockets of them. If it weren't for all the fabric lines, he might just pass off as an actual pony.

"And I, Rarity, the most fabulous fashion designer in Equestria, am dressed as the most fabulous singer in Equestria; Sapphire Shores!" Rarity exclaimed, striking a pose. She had her usual mane done up so that it was more curly, and was now wearing a small white tophat along with a white jumpsuit covered in a variety of sparkling gems, a golden band going around her waist, which only added to the brightness of her outfit.

"Most fabulous for most fabulous, huh? Makes sense." I stated, looking over to Applejack.

"Well… I didn't get all done up like all you other ponies did. I'm only dressed as Granny Smith, cause I figured it would be mighty nice." Applejack stated. She wore a bonnet on her head, and her mane was tied into braids, the same treatment going to her tail.

"Don't you worry, Applejack! Granny Smith was and is still one of the most beautiful and amazing ponies in Ponyville. She also deserves some recognition for helping found the town, because without her we wouldn't even be here right now." Rarity said with a warm smile, which Applejack embarrassingly returned.

"Heh.. well, that's true… anyway, Rainbow, whatcha dressed as?" Applejack asked, looking above us.

Rainbow was sitting on a cloud that she brought into the building, and swooped down before us. "I am dressed as Spitfire, the most amazing flier in the Wonderbolts! Because as the fastest flier in Equestria, it just makes sense."

"Fastest flier, most skilled flier. Also makes sense." I stated, when the others agreed to me, and Rainbow flew down to me at eye level.

"Listen, you. I'm only here because I want to hang out with my friends." She then turned to everypony else. "I'll be outside."

She flew out the door, and Rarity walked up to me. "Listen dear, don't worry about Rainbow. She may still be mad at you, but we can still have a fun night, right?"

"I guess so." I muttered. "I thought this entire thing would have blown over by now… how long is she going to stay mad for..?"

Rarity let out a sigh, and changed subjects. "I see your outfit has come out quite nicely. You never told us who you were, though."

"Oh, you see, I'm Sha.." I was about to continue speaking, when I saw a look from Twilight telling me to stop. In the next few seconds I remembered how we agreed we wouldn't tell everypony else about it until after the Running of the Leaves, which became extended to today, due to one of the Princesses staying here. "Uh… I'm just this horse from history Twilight helped me find."

"Really?" Pinkie said, with a shocked expression. "I thought you were Starswirl the Bearded!"

Everypony began laughing, including me, as Twilight facehoofed.

"Well, I guess I might look like some sort of powerful wizard. For all I know, I could be." I looked down at my hooves, a clear yet silver metal covering my hooves and spiraling around my legs in a powerful way. Rarity even made me a cloak to add to my outfit, which trailed behind me as I moved, the pitch black fabric that seemed to always be flowing. At the front of it was a medal pentagon armor of sorts that kept my cloak attached to me, a black sphere centered in it that faded into the white tips of the pentagon.

"By the way, Pinkie." I said, looking towards her. "What are you supposed to be dressed as? It looks like a dragon, but I'm not sure.."

"Oh, this is Crackle the dragon!" she replied. "Rarity, Rainbow, and Twilight wore this a long time ago, and Rarity edited it and gave it back to me so it could fit one pony, instead of three!"

"Uh.. huh." I said, looking at the eyes on the so-called dragon's head, which were blankly staring at the different sides of the room. It's green body had some gems on it, and was extremely wrinkled. And right in it's mouth with paper-like teeth, was the ever energetic Pinkie Pie.

Rarity made a small cough, looking quite sheepish. "How about we go get some candy, now?"

Pinkie, Spike, and I yelled, "YAY, CANDY!" At the same time, as we flew out the door, ready to get our harvest.

Luna solemnly flew out of Canterlot, returning to Ponyville. While with her sister, she asked about the situation with Victory, and the most they could find out was that she was in the badlands recently, and then they lost her again. But that wasn't important right now. Many ponies were in Ponyville awaiting for her arrival, which brought a grateful smile to her face.

Over the Everfree forest now, she felt a strange power pulsating from below, very similar to what she felt during the eclipse many months ago. She looked down to see the ruins of the castle she used to live in, which she unfortunately didn't remember getting destroyed, but knew it was.

She let out a sigh and continued flying, when something caught her eye.

Enclosing the ruins was a massive barely visible transparent field, which Luna recognized extremely.

She flew directly into the zone, completely sure she knew what was happening. "This is dream magic! I.. I'm the only one who should be able to use this!"

Luna then felt a sharp pain in her head, her mind going back to her being Nightmare Moon. She used Nightmare zones to mentally wreck ponies so that they would fight alongside her army in the rebellion against her sister. Which meant the only other being able to use this type of magic would be…

"Victorious Nightmare. I have finally found you." Luna said, anger in her voice, as she saw the magic expanding all the way from her ruins to the end of Ponyville itself.

We had gone door to door, seeing all of the amazing costumes, and even meeting a few other ponies I didn't know much about.

I went back to Pinkie, so we could deposit more candy in the carts that were borrowed from Applejack. She was chatting up with the pony I had met awhile ago, named Ditzy.

"Hey there, Ditzy do." I welcomed her. She was wearing a red and white scarf with glasses and a red and white striped beanie.

"Uh… hey, Eclipsal…" She said, staring blankly at my costume. "Who are you dressed as..?"

"I'm dressed as a horse named Shaded Darkness. I figured it fit well, considering I'm a horse too." I explained with a smile.

"I… you shouldn't know about him. It's not possi…" All of a sudden, she looked out towards the Everfree, and began flying off, yelling, "Sorry, I have to go. Be careful. I mean it."

"So much candy…" I muttered, sitting down next to the three carts filled with mountains of candy.

All of us had already eaten a good portion of the candy, and we had barely made a dent in the amount of candy left. Everypony else had called it quits except for Spike and Pinkie. I was reaching my limit, though.

"Is it me, or has the candy been slowly growing?" I asked, noticing that even though we ate a lot of the candy, none of it was disappearing. "Did we even have this much candy before?"

"Candy can't grow, Eclipsal." Twilight groaned next to me.

"I think I might need a good few apples afterwards to even out all these sweets…" Applejack muttered.

"I'm still fine, but I'm probably going to have to exercise to work out all of the candy." Rainbow said, lazily floating on her cloud.

All of a sudden, lightning began flashing from the sky, even though it was clear. Clouds began to roll in out of nowhere, and the moon began to glow red.

"My, my. This is looking to be a dramatic entrance." Rarity said, staring at the sky in wonder.

"Is Luna finally going to show up? She's pretty late." Spike stated, looking up to the sky.

"You wish." an echoing voice billowed around us.

Thunder flashed, and lightning struck right in front of us, a white mare glaring down at us, with a smear plastered on her face.

I was the first to react, jumping forward about to pound my hooves to the ground, when I got hit with lightning, and opened my eyes again, to see that I was hanging above this massive pool of energy.

I looked up to see the candy now coming alive, linking itself together as chains, binding up the others. Rainbow was able to escape though, since she was on her cloud.

"Rainbow! You have to stop her! That's Victory, the one who hunted Twilight and I!" I yelled at her, as Victroy looked from me to Rainbow, the same sneer on her face.

"I would think twice about that, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty." Victory stated.

Rainbow flew above her, and asked, "You trapped my friends, and you expect me not to stop you?!" She then rocketed towards Victory, her usual rainbow streak flowing behind her.

An image appeared in front of Victory, that made Rainbow halt, wind blowing around from her sudden stop.

"This is why you won't attack me." Victory smirked. "You see Eclipsal over there? Well, just like how you can tell from this picture, Fluttershy is in the same trap as him, all the way across town. Now you've had your treats; so how about a trick?"

"What game are you playing, Victory?" Rainbow yelled, her hooves trembling at her sides.

"You can only save one of them. Fluttershy, or Eclipsal. If you don't save one, the other dies in that spiraling mass of electricity. Oh, this time Fluttershy really won't be able to fly!" Victory said with a deranged laugh. "The best part is; no matter who you choose, I win. I am always victorious."

"Rainbow! If you get me, I can use my magic to save Fluttershy. I can see her right over the horizon of the town." I yelled.

Rainbow turned and saw that Fluttershy was indeed hanging up like me, with a bright light below her.

She looked between the two of us. I was closer, and Fluttershy was farther away. "Rainbow, hurry! Before Victory changes the rules!"

"I'm going to save Fluttershy." Rainbow said after a few moments.

"What?! But Rainbow, I can save her!" I yelled out, now trying to struggle.

Rainbow stopped, and turned to me, before yanking her head away.

"You weren't able to before."

With that she flew off, a sonic rainboom exploding from her, wind blowing past everything except Victory herself.

"Well then, Eclipsal, was it? It was nice knowing you."

I began squirming as much as I could, attempting to get out of where I was stuck. I heard a soft click go off above my head, as I fell downward into a pool of light.

I closed my eyes, expecting pain to hit me at any moment. I opened them again to see Luna, placing me down beside my friends.

"Break them out of those candy chains. I'll deal with Victory myself." She said, turning to the white mare.

I began using my magic to untie and try and break the many chains of candy surrounding my friends, as Luna fought Victory.

"So you have finally decided to arrive, Luna." Victory stated, a small smile on her face.

"Yes. I came to save my little ponies. I refuse to let you do any harm to them." Luna said, a glare on her face.

"Oh, you and that rainbow-maned one. Both Elements of Loyalty, both quick to anger, both with dreams big enough to crush the effects of the Nightmare zone, and both loyal to those they care about the most. But what happens if the one you care about the most, is the problem?" Victory said, casting a look off to the side.

"Well no matter." Victory continued. "I'll turn off my power… for now. I shall see you again, my counterpart."

With a smirk, lightning struck in the place of Victory, leaving ashes in her place. What looked to be magic dropped from the sky, replacing the clouds with the clear sky again, the moon back to white.

The candy chains around the others shattered, freeing them.

Twilight jumped up and hugged me. "You're okay! I thought for sure you were done for."

"Nice vote of confidence, Twi." I said with a smirk.

"I can't believe Rainbow left ya like that!" Applejack muttered, an angry look on her face.

At that moment, Rainbow flew in, an unconscious Fluttershy in her arms. "Ah… sorry about that, Eclipsal… I guess we're even now though, right?"

I glared at Rainbow so hard that it made her flinch. "We're even?!" WE'RE EVEN?! Yes, it was my fault Fluttershy fell off the cliff, but I jumped after her, and saved her! You left me to die! That isn't even, AT ALL!" I yelled, rage building inside me.

I felt a scaly limb touching my body, and looked to see Spike standing next to me.

"Calm down." He said.

"Calm DOWN? AFTER WHAT SHE NEARLY DID TO ME?!" I yelled back, anger now feeling as if it was leaking out of me.

Spike brought up my hoof, and pointed at the metal on it. I looked, and saw staring back at me a monster. That's the best I could describe it. The reflection barely even resembled me, red eyes glowing intensely, my mane now pulsating magic of some sort, and my body having a black aura around it.

I looked up from my reflection, with shock on my face. I turned to see the rest of the ponies in town who saw what had happened, but were backed away from me; obviously scared of my appearance.

"I'm done." I stated, magic surrounding my body. In an instance, I was gone, teleported home, where I wanted to be.

Twilight walked up to where Eclipsal once was, a sad look on her face. "Maybe we should go and make sure he's okay."

"Yeah. I want to go and apologize to him.." Rainbow stated, before she was interrupted by Applejack.

"No. I think you've done enough. He's been worrying about losing your friendship for more than a week now, and you didn't so much as care! Now you're the one in his situation; except multiple times worse, yet you expect for him to forgive you!?" Applejack yelled at her, making Rainbow flinch back.

Rarity walked between the two. "That is enough, you two. I believe we have a slightly more pressing matter to deal with."

"Yeah, like where did all my candy go?" Pinkie said, looking at the now empty carts of candy.

Luna turned around, and sighed. "I don't know if you know this; but I control both the moon and am in charge of the willpower that you get from your dreams. With those powers, I have a multitude of dream spells, and this was one of the ones that I used as Nightmare Moon. It's called Nightmare zone. I used it before to manipulate and mentally break ponies so they would fight on my side. But that is not it's only use. It has the power to make a certain portion of the world fall under a dream like state; where I can control everything that happens. Or in the case of tonight, Victory can control everything that happens, too."

"So, everything we went through was a dream?" Rainbow asked. "See? Eclipsal wouldn't have died anyway!"

"Actually, even though it was a dream, the effects of it were all too real. Eclipsal could have in fact died. My power of dreams aren't what you think of them." Luna stated in a serious tone, as Rainbow once again shrunk back.

"Maybe we should go and check on Eclipsal, then…" Rarity said. "Not only has he been through a near death experience, but he turned into that.. whatever that was."

"It looked like a magical overload." Twilight stated. "It happens when you exert an emotion too much while using magic.. it usually has catastrophic effects."

"With enough power to give birth to a dragon, which is near impossible." Spike added. "But anyway, I think we should give him his time. He's had a bit of a rough night, and I'm sure you all remember how I was when I went greed-form, right?"

They all nodded, as Luna took to the sky. "I need to make sure the rest of Ponyville is safe before I report back to my sister. Goodbye, for now."

"Was that enough chaos?" Victory asked.

"I imagine so. I wouldn't have thought you could create so much in such a short span of time. Summoning a Hydra, taking over Ponyville, and even coaxing Twilight into thinking she was useless? Your kin are devious masterminds."

"I would prefer to say that our minds are as dark as our powers; we make perfection out of the mistakes of our owners."

The sound of cracking echoed across the world, unnoticed to most, but heard to Victory and the being she was with. Then there was an avalanche of magic unseen to the world for awhile.

"Looks like he's finally here."

Where Is Home?

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 35: Where Is Home?

"I WANT VICTORY FOUND NOW." Luna bellowed to those of the Night and Day guard.

"SHE HAS HURT OUR CITIZENS, AND HAS ESCAPED OUT NOTICE FOR TOO LONG. WE MUST FIND HER."

"The Night Guard has searched throughout the Badlands, and old Draco Valley. We have not found her." Tarnished Sword in front of the ponies she commanded.

"The Day Guard has searched throughout the cities, and the Everfree Ruins. We have not found her." Shining Armor replied, next to Tarnished, the ponies he commanded behind him aswell.

"What of the ponies sent to Cloudsdale to deliver warning? And the ones sent to the gates of Tartarus?" Luna asked.

"We have not heard from either, princess." The two commanders replied at once.

"This is bad. Are they still well?" Luna asked, looking towards a group of unicorns surrounding a glass table.

The unicorns looked into the glass table, as it began glowing, showing a visual of the ponies traveling the mountainous areas. One of the unicorns dressed in a robe replied, "They are fine, Princess. They have not yet arrived at their destination."

"Have we figured out why it is that we can not pinpoint Victory?" Luna asked the unicorn.

"There are Changelings averting the signal." said a voice coming from the entrance.

In walked Princess Celestia, a grim look on her face.

"What do you mean, sister?" Luna asked, worry on her face.

"I don't know if Chrysalis has regained power or not, but there are multiple changelings spread across all of Equestria, messing with our tracking magic. It also doesn't help that our council hasn't mastered tracking beings of darkness, to no fault of them." Celestia explained.

"But… multiple Changelings? Are we sure they are under HER control? If the other hives are attacking us…" Luna began.

"I doubt they would. The other Princesses of the hives know the olden rules. The only reason that those changelings follow Chrysalis, is because they believe her to be the deity of their past." Celestia said, now sitting in the throne next to Luna's.

"Let's hope you are right, sister. We can't afford to lose Equestria again…"

"You gotta be kidding, right?" Applejack asked Twilight, voicing the opinions of the other mares in the room.

"I'm serious. There is something the princesses haven't been telling us. Something that has to do with the Elements. It might even be something that could affect history as we know it." Twilight explained, looking to the faces of the baffled ponies.

"She's serious about this, guys; trust me, I know. She didn't want to tell anyone until after the Running of the Leaves as to not ruin the entire thing for us, but she had to delay it because of Luna staying over at her house though." Rainbow stated above the other four ponies.

"But still… for the Princesses to be hiding something from us? It's unfathomable!" Rarity responded.

"Pfft, yeah! I mean, didn't we save the world like a bazillion times?" Pinkie asked the others.

"Girls, listen. I think this might have something to do with Eclipsal, and I think this has to do with Victory too. I haven't figured out what the big picture is, but I do know that the only one who has the answers is Princess Celestia and maybe even Luna. The problem is, Luna doesn't remember a lot about her past since she got hit with the Elements a second time." Twilight further explained, hoping that her friends would help her out.

Rainbow began speaking enthusiastically too, in contrast to her nonchalant feelings earlier. "Yeah, come on! Let's do this for Eclipsal!"

Applejack gave Rainbow a slight glare. "Rainbow, while Eclipsal would probably be nice enough to forgive you for helpin out with this, don't think we'll be so quick to forgive you."

Rainbow sighed, while Twilight continued. "So anyway, we made a plan. We're going to go to the Grand Galloping Gala again this year, not to accomplish our goals this time, or to just have fun; we're going to get information."

"But can't we have fun WHILE getting information?" Pinkie interrupted.

"Well, I guess so." Twilight stated. "The point is, we are going to ask the princess about what she knows, and if we don't think the answer is clear enough, or if it feels like she's still hiding something, we're going to go to break into the Royal Archives."

"Ooh! Ooh! Like that time we went because of Future Twilight coming to the past to stop you from worrying about the future, which ultimately made you go back in time to tell yourself to not worry about the future, which ultimately.." Pinkie interrupted again, as Rarity put a hoof over her mouth.

"Yes, Pinkie, we get the point. But Twilight, what if this is just like the time incident, where all you are doing is worrying about what isn't said?"

Twilight thought for a moment, and finally declared, "Then I'll trust what the princesses say. I mean, what else is there that we can do, if there isn't any proof?"

Twilight then realized that one of them was being quiet; or at least more quiet than usual.

"Fluttershy? What do you think of this?"

Fluttershy looked up, her face filling with red as her friends glanced at her.

"I.. I don't know! I mean, I think we should trust the princesses, but we haven't done anything wrong to make them not trust us, except for maybe this right now…" She ended up getting out before her voice started to lower into nothing.

The others nodded their head in understanding at her thoughts.

"Shouldn't Eclipsal know this is happening too?" Applejack asked.

"Well dear, we still don't know where he is." Rarity stated.

"After the battle with Victory, I used my magic to track him, just to make sure he's safe. I know that he's in Ponyville, but I can't pinpoint exactly where. He's probably in the orchard, or somewhere he feels safe, where he can think for awhile." Twilight stated.

"Shouldn't we be a bit more worried about him right now, though? I mean, that was some overload he had…" Applejack shivered slightly, remembering the expression on his face.

"He should be fine, I think. He's strong enough to get through this, he probably just needs some time alone. We should honestly be happy that the overload didn't turn into a flare though. Who knows what would have happened then." Twilight shook her head.

"Anyway, I've been through an actual flare before, and I'm sure you all remember when Spike went through a greed growth. Trust me when I say that it's better if we just leave him to himself for now; he probably needs time to think."

*Eclipsal's POV*

'I like how peaceful it is here. It gives me time to think.' I thought to myself, letting out a sigh.

I've heard Twilight say that home is where the heart is. I often wonder where mine would be, then. Maybe it's off in some distant land; maybe it's right next door.

But for now, my heart is here.

I think.

Fluttershy's cottage is the first place I remember clearly, so I guess it makes sense that this is where I feel safest at. I'm happy she let me stay here again. But I know at some point, I'm going to need to leave. If it weren't for the fact that it was winter and most of the animals were in hibernation, then there just wouldn't be enough room for me.

I let out another sigh, opening my eyes.

The room was dimly lighted, a candle on the table being the only source of light at the moment. I was on the couch, waiting for Fluttershy to get back from Twilight's. It looked like the sun was beginning to set outside though, so she should be back soon.

As if on cue, the front door opened. I turned my head to see Fluttershy walk in with a small bag of groceries in her mouth. She walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Hey, Fluttershy. How did things go with the others?" I asked her.

She placed the groceries down on the table, taking out a carrot and tossing it to her bunny, Angel, who was waiting for it. Fluttershy watched Angel run off before she began talking. "It went okay. Although, everypony is worried about you…"

"Did you tell them I was here?" I asked, tensing up a little.

"No, I didn't. Don't worry, I kept my promise, but it's still kinda hard to keep… I can't stand lying to my friends.." Fluttershy said, her voice trailing off.

"Well, did they ask if you knew where I was?" I asked her, to which she shook her head. "Well then, you aren't lying to them. It's more like… withholding information! Like Spike always says."

"It doesn't make me feel any better, though…" she said, brushing her hoof against the floor.

I looked at her and sighed once more. "Sorry for putting you in this situation, Fluttershy. It's just I don't know where else I could go. Rainbow is going to be helping out the Apple's with making cider this year, and I would rather not be at Twilight's or Pinkie's where everypony would bug me. I just need a safe, quiet, peaceful place to be for awhile, so I can think things over. Sorry for putting you in this situation, though. I really wish I didn't have to…"

"No, Eclipsal. It's fine. It often gets lonely around here without most of my animal friends around. So I'm glad to have you here. I just wish I could tell our friends that I knew you were all right." Fluttershy explained.

"Well then how about this. Tomorrow I'll go to Twilight's and tell her that I'm fine, so that she can tell the others. Would that make you feel better?" I asked her.

She gave a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, that would make me feel better."

Then her eyes widened, as she reached for the bag she brought in. "Oh! I almost forgot. I got something for us to share."

She pulled out two fresh daisy sandwiches, which I assumed she got with the carrot she gave Angel.

I placed my hoof to the ground, my magic extending to the sandwich, and then bringing it back to me. I sat upright, and Fluttershy came and sat next to the couch next to me.

I took a bite of my sandwich, a crisp refreshing taste making me enjoy the sandwich even more.

I looked to my left, and saw Fluttershy slightly shaking.

Feeling concerned, I asked, "Hey, are you feeling cold?"

She gave a small nod.

"Want me to get a fire going?" I asked her.

"No, you don't have to get up. I'll just do it when I'm done eating." She stated.

"Oh, nonsense. I have magic, remember?" I said, placing a hoof on the ground, and using my magic to grab some timber and tear it apart before putting it in the fire place, and setting fire to it.

The fire set a new yellow glow within the cottage, making it feel even more peaceful than before, if possible.

"There. Does that feel better?" I asked taking a look at her.

She gave me a smile and a slight nod, before going back to her sandwich.

A few minutes later, we had finished our sandwiches so we continued to stay up with some small talk.

"So did anything interesting happen at Twilight's?" I asked her.

"Well… she told us about how she's doubting the princess. About the plans to talk to her about it at the end of this month." Fluttershy stated.

"Yeah. I'm guessing she showed you the book, too?"

"Mhm. It was weird though; some of the pages were kinda foggy for me."

"Well it's enchanted in some weird way. I'm pretty sure Twilight could explain why, but by the time she finished explaining, the Grand Galloping Gala would have already happened." I laughed.

Fluttershy chucked too, and then added, "Yeah, that sounds like something she would do."

The laughter died down, and Fluttershy began looking at me, and then darting her eyes away again.

"Uh, is there something you want to ask me, Fluttershy?" I asked, feeling a bit confused by her behavior.

"Well.. um… no, I'm fine. I.. I think I'm just going to go to bed. Goodnight."

And with that, she rushed into her bedroom, before I was even able to let another word out.

I stayed up a little while longer, laying back down, but blankly staring at the ceiling.

I wonder if anyone misses me. Maybe someone out there has been looking for me all this time. Then again, it has been a few months now. Maybe they've given up on searching for me.

Maybe the reason I'm like this is because they didn't want me. Maybe I was a huge pain in my past. Maybe nopony wanted to hang around me. After what has transpired the last few weeks, I can kind of understand why. The easiest way to get rid of me would be to get rid of my memories, right?

Home is where the heart is.

But where is mine?

A New Suit

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 36: A New Suit

The morning was crisp; more so than it has been as of late. Fluttershy explained that it's because of winter coming right around the corner.

The pegasi slowly move clouds over Equestria, and the world becomes covered in something called snow.

I'm actually kinda curious as to how it would look. She told me it was like a blanket of white covering the world, but how would that be?

I thought of all of this while walking the path towards Ponyville, to accomplish my promise to Fluttershy; tell Twilight I'm fine, and then leave. No staying longer, no dealing with anything else, just in and out, and then I can go back to the cottage.

As I walked, I became more vigilant of the things around me, and more nervous of what would happen when I met with Twilight. Would she lecture me? Call the others? Maybe I'm worrying too much…

I got to the door of the library with no issues, surprisingly. I raised my hoof to knock on the door, when I froze for a moment, remembering Twilight's annoyance of ponies that knock on the door to a public library, so I decided I would just walk in.

The library was surprisingly dark, especially for this time in the day.

"Hello?" I asked the shadows of the room, wondering if anypony was here. I heard a muffled response from above, and turned just in time to see Spike at the top of the stairs looking rather sleepy.

"Hey, Spike." I said, as his eyes grew wide.

"Eclipsal! Dude, where have you been? Everypony has been so worried about you!" He said, now hurrying down the stairs to greet me.

"Erm… well, I've just been clearing my head. But I decided I would come to make sure you all knew I was fine, so I'll be on my way now…" I turned to leave, when he grabbed at one of my hind hooves.

"If I told Twilight, I don't think she'd believe me. I've been having these really weird dreams lately, so we should at least go check with somepony else." Spike said, walking out the door of the library.

"Well, where is Twilight? I could just tell her myself." I stated.

"Twilight's in the Everfree Forest at Zecora's hut. She said she'd probably be there all day, so she closed the library and left me in charge for the day!" He exclaimed, puffing out his chest.

"Ah, so the number one assistant was sleeping away the day, huh?" I said with a small laugh, to which Spike just rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, who are we going to tell that I'm here?" I asked him.

"Rarity, of course!" He happily said, his voice now getting the slightest bit higher.

Now I rolled my eyes. Everypony knew Spike had a huge crush on Rarity, so it's obvious he would lead me there. Hopefully it all works out well between those two, but I don't really know that much about Rarity except that she's nice and generous. Other than that, I have know problems with her, so going to see her would be fine with me.

Spike knocked on the door of Carousel Boutique, the shop that Rarity lived and worked at.

The door opened to reveal somepony I wasn't expecting. It was one of the fillies that was with Applebloom when she was being bullied.

"Hey there, Sweetie Belle." Spike greeted her.

"Oh hello, Spike!" She replied with a smile, opening the door and letting us inside.

As we walked in, Spike whispered to me. "This is Sweetie Belle. She's Rarity's younger sister."

She closed the door behind us, and stared at me briefly. "You're the pony that stopped Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon from bullying us, right?"

I nodded my head. "Yup, that's me. Eclipsal Shade. Thing is though; I'm a horse."

"Oh, really? Wow! That explains why you're so big! You might even be bigger than Big Macintosh! But Miss Cheerilee said that horses don't exist anymore…" She then poked my side, before continuing. "Yeah, you're not a ghost! So how are you still here then?"

"I don't really know. That's why your sister and her friends are trying to help me out. I lost my memories before I met them, and they are all helping me to get them back." I said giving her a smile.

"That must suck, not being able to remember anything.. Anyway, I need to go out and start crusading with my friends! Rarity should be in her sewing room. See you later, Mister Eclipsal!" She said, giving a wave before bouncing out the door.

"So, you know where Rarity's sewing room is?" I asked Spike.

"Yep! When I'm usually taking breaks from working at the library, I come here to help Rarity. If she doesn't need any help, I usually go help Pinkie Pie with baking!" He explained as he motioned for me to follow him.

We got to a double door, and Spike opened one of them, peaking inside. From inside, I could hear Rarity.

"Oh, why hello there, Spikey Wikey!" She greeted him, which made me giggle a bit.

"Spikey Wikey? Really?" I whispered to him.

"Hush, you." Spike said, as we walked into the room.

Rarity was turned back to her work, running some sort of cloth under a machine.

"So are you here to help me with designing again, Spikey Wikey? Because Twilight told me you aren't allowed to work until she finds what is responsible for those dreaded nightmares of yours. Feel free to have a seat and relax if you want to, though. Make yourself feel at home." She stated, waving a hoof in the direction of a set of couches on the other side of the room.

"Actually, I'm here with a guest." Spike stated, to which Rarity turned around, her eyes growing slightly wide as she saw me beside Spike.

"Eclipsal! Dear, pardon my rudeness, I just did not see you as you came in." Rarity exclaimed as she put aside some fabric, and leaving the rest of it in the machine she was just using.

"You don't have to stop your work because of me; Spike just suggested that we come here so that somepony besides him knew I was okay, so you all wouldn't worry about me." I explained, to which Spike nodded his head.

"But it is just simply rude to ignore a guest when they have taken the time to come and visit you." Rarity stated, now walking over to a different table, and rifling around it. "Besides, I have something for you."

"Really?" I asked, my ears perking up.

"Why, yes. Twilight has decided that this year we will be going to the Grand Galloping Gala this year. So I've decided to make you a suit. Just let me find it…" She went through a few more items before she finally uttered, "Ah-hah!"

She pulled out what looked to be a black jacket, with some sort of teal gems placed where the buttons and cufflink should be. The ends of the jacket and the sleeves themselves were long, which made sense considering how tall I was.

She brought them to me with her magic. "Here. Try these on." She said, pointing to what I assumed was a dressing room.

I walked out of the room, feeling a bit awkward. "Isn't there supposed to be a bow or tie or something to go with this?"

"Ah, Eclipsal, here let me fix you up." She said, as she used her magic to unbutton the first button on the collar of my dress shirt, and then buttoned up the entirety of the jacket that was over the dress shirt.

"There you go!" She said, backing away and motioning me towards a mirror.

"Wow, okay, I look really awesome. I wasn't expecting that." I said, looking at myself in the mirror. The gems on the suit shined a bright dark color,

"Hah, you gotta have more faith in Rarity, Eclipsal." Spike said, looking at the outfit. "Those gems definitely look cool though. Where did you get them, Rarity?"

"The people in the Crystal Empire were nice enough to give me some gems after that entire fiasco a few months ago." Rarity explained, looking me up and down, obviously admiring her work.

"What's the Crystal Empire?" I asked them.

"It was this place that had disappeared for a thousand years because of this evil king guy. Thanks to me though, we were able to save the day!" Spike said, puffing out his chest.

Rarity snickered and said, "Yes, if it wasn't for our dear little Spikey Wikey here, I fear that Equestria might have fallen into darkness."

"Kinda weird how everything that's happened in the history of Equestria happened a thousand years ago, though." I said, thinking back to something Twilight said about Nightmare Moon.

"Huh. I guess so." Spike said. "Never really thought about it like that."

"Anyway," Rarity began, bringing our attention back to her. "Twilight had me keep the tickets this year since she would be busy. So here you go Eclipsal."

Rarity levitated a golden ticket to me, which I grabbed with my own magic.

"Thanks, Rarity. Do you think you could keep the suit for now? I wouldn't want it to get messed up before the Gala." I explained.

"Why of course, Eclipsal. Just come back and get it before we go." She said. "Oh; and I'll be sure to tell everypony you're just fine."

We said our goodbyes to Rarity, walking out of the building.

The sun looked as though it was beginning to set now.

"Wow, time went by rather fast, huh?" I said, looking up at the sky.

Spike let out a yawn. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You feeling tired?" I asked him.

"Yeah.. I didn't get much sleep last night."

I looked him over again, now paying more attention to his details. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked like his pose wasn't as prideful as usual.

"Here." I said, picking him up with my magic and dropping him on my back. "Let's get you back to the library, okay?"

"Ah.. thanks, Eclipsal." Spike replied.

I had to let out a small laugh at how he fell asleep before we even got back to the library.

I went inside, and carried Spike off to his bed on the upper floor. Twilight still wasn't back, so I decided to leave before she did, to avoid her questioning where I've been. Thankfully, Rarity didn't. But Twilight? She probably wouldn't let me leave without answers.

I walked out the door to the library.

Ponyville was on fire.

Inner Workings

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 37: Inner Workings

"What the hay?" I muttered, looking around the area.

Everything was on fire.

Sugarcube Corner was burning. The Library behind me was burning.

Yet, nopony was outside or running around in panic.

The only sound I could even hear was the crackling of fire around me. Nothing else.

I walked back inside the library to see if Spike was still there. I walked up the stairs of the library, and saw that Spike's bed was empty.

"What is going on?" I asked myself.

Then there was a flash of light from downstairs.

I ran down to see a.. what the heck IS that?

It was some sort of dragon with what looked to be all sorts of different variations of limbs on it. I don't even know how to explain half of the things on this thing.

"What… what are you?" I asked it, staring up at it.

It turned to me with a smirk, and began speaking. "Currently, chaos incarnate. Not that it matters though; the real me is still in stone."

"What does that mean?" I asked it.

"It means you'll find out soon enough." It turned it's head to the lines of books on the shelf, and pulled one out.

It flipped through the pages of the book, and then began laughing. "What the heck is this crap? Some sort of cheap knock off?"

I looked at the title of the book it was reading, and nearly jumped in shock.

"Hey! Put down the book of the Elements! It's important!" I yelled at it.

It gave me a brief glance. "Eh, whatever. You want a faux book, not my fault." He then tossed it to me, and I grabbed it with my magic, setting it down on a nearby table.

I looked back up at it. "So are you going to tell me who you are?"

"You seriously don't know?" It said, letting out a laugh. "Well, maybe I'd be more noticeable like this."

The being burst into fire, making me step back.

The fire died down, to show a… horse… standing where the being once stood.

The horse stood at about the same height as me, if a bit bigger. He had bright orange eyes, a red coat, and a blazing red mane, looking as if it was on fire itself.

He looked at me smugly. "Remember who I am, yet?"

I just stared at him blankly in response.

"You really don't huh? Wow, Victory was right about you. You really don't remember anything! Wow, out of everything that could happened!" He let out a laugh, which unnerved me.

"You know Victory? Who are you?" I said, now getting into a fighting stance. If he knew Victory, he couldn't be good.

"Ah, really? You're getting all ready to fight, aintcha? Hah, well, you wouldn't win anyway. The names Warring Love. Never cared much for the last bit of my name, but it's how I was born, so I gotta take some pride in it. Just call me War, though." He said, giving another smirk.

"And why are you here then?" I asked him.

"To give you a message." He said, before running up to me, and pinning me against the wall. I tried to struggle to get out, but it was no use.

"Here's the message. Tell that stupid Element of Magic that death is coming to her. Nothing can prepare her for the type of chaos she is about to be shown." He stated. "And one last thing, and this is a personal message to you. You aren't going to remember this until I want you to. Victory sent me into your dream so that I could tell you that. Also; tell Discord I said hi. And that maybe he needs some love in his life. OH WAIT! I WAS THE ONE THAT NEARLY KILLED HER! HAHAHA!"

He punched me in the gut, and backed up a few feet. I was on the floor, coughing, trying to regain some air into my lungs.

"So.. I'm dreaming..?" I said aloud.

"Heh. Maybe, maybe not. Let's test it out, shall we?" He said, before he hit the ground with his foot, causing flames to erupt under me. I could feel myself catching fire as I began to scream from pain.

"Hey! What's the problem? After all, it's just a dream, right?"

"Just a dream…"

"Eclipsal, wake up! It's just a dream, please wake up!"

My eyes opened quickly, to see a worried yellow pony standing above me.

"Are you okay, Eclipsal?" Fluttershy asked me, hovering over me.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine. What happened?" I looked at her, hoping for answers.

"You were having a nightmare, I think. I was starting to get worried, especially when you started screaming like at the end of it…" she stated, giving a shudder.

"Ugh… I don't even remember any of it, though." I muttered, holding my head, which now had a dull pain in it.

"Think you'll be okay?" She asked me.

"Yeah.. I've been worse." I replied. "What time is it anyway?"

"It's the middle of the night. You seemed kind of out of it when you got home from Twilight's, and then you started screaming after we went to bed and I came down to check on you." Fluttershy stated.

"Oh... well, I should be fine now. Thanks for checking on me, Fluttershy. I appreciate it. You can go back to bed now." I told her, motioning for her to go back up to her room.

"Are you sure, Eclipsal? You don't need anything?" she asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just go to bed, Fluttershy." I said.

She started walking up the stairs, but stopped and turned around.

"Are you sure you don't need some water, or maybe a snack?" she asked.

"Fluttershy, I'm fine. Go to bed."

She started back up the stairs again, and stopped at the top of them.

"You sure you don't.."

"Fluttershy, go to bed."

I heard the clip-clopping of her hooves on the floor above me, as they stopped again.

"Fluttershy. Bed. Now."

I heard her voice come from above me. "Goodnight, Eclipsal."

I let out a sigh, nuzzling back into the couch.

"Are you sure-"

"GOODNIGHT, FLUTTERSHY."

*Canterlot Castle, Celestia's room*

This is bad. This is really bad.

The Grand Galloping Gala is tomorrow night, and that destructive horse is coming.

"I couldn't just refuse to give Twilight an extra ticket for him; that would make her suspicious. I need her on my side. I need all of the Elements on my side if I have to protect everypony again."

Celestia paced around her room, worrying over the moment that she had been dreading; coming face to face with Eclipsal.

"It's a good thing he isn't at full power yet. I fear what would befall the kingdom if he were to go rogue again."

She looked out her balcony window, towards the Everfree Forest.

"We can't have a repeat of what happened last time. It's a good thing Luna doesn't have her memories, or I would have a huge mess to explain. It's also good that Mirror hasn't been around. I haven't seen her in decades; and knowing her, she's given up on getting revenge. But, if she ever found out that HE was back.."

Celestia shuddered at what that would mean for her.

"Those other four, though… I'm concerned about them. If they come together, and get a hold of him, everything is over."

Celestia sighed, flopping on her bed as she stared at the ceiling.

"I need to stop him. Darkness would never let me take him out of existence again; but if I have to… I will."

*Ponyville, Eclipsal's POV*

I walked down the street to the Carousel Boutique, golden Galloping Gala ticket being held by my magic as I walked.

I decided I would arrive a bit earlier to get dressed for the Gala, and make sure I looked proper enough. After all, it would be something that I could actually enjoy for once. I think I've had enough time to think, anyway.

I went to knock on the door to Rarity's home, when she opened it before I even touched the door.

"Oh, hello there, Eclipsal. Came to get dressed early, correct?" Rarity asked me.

I nodded my head, and Rarity motioned me to come inside.

"Your suit is on the table over there." She stated, pointing towards a table with a dress next to it.

"I'm guessing that's your dress next to my suit?" I asked, to which she nodded.

"Okay, well time to change." I said, magically grabbing my suit.

I walked out of the dressing room, still feeling as weird as I did the first time I wore it.

"Why don't I have a tie? And why does this top button have to be unbuttoned?" I asked Rarity, as I stared at the reflection of myself in the mirror.

"Don't you see? This makes you come off as fancy, but dangerous. Stunning, yet dark. And it gives a flare of mystery to you, as well." Rarity explained.

"I guess that kind of makes sense." I said, still staring at my reflection. "Something still seems off, though."

Rarity gasped. "Oh why didn't I think of it before? We must simply fix your mane!"

"My mane?" I said, looking at it. Sure, it was messy and spiky as usual, but that's just how it was.

"Come and sit over here, Eclipsal." Rarity said, motioning me to a chair in the middle of the room.

I sat down, and she began to comb through my mane, occasionally spraying it with something.

"Um.. what are you doing, anyway?" I asked her.

"Just fixing up your mane a bit. The way it is, it looks messy and possibly dirty, and we can't have any of that, dear." She stated. "And… there! Done."

Rarity brought back the mirror and placed it in front of me, letting me look at her work.

"Looks amazing." I said with a smirk, looking at my now controlled mess, the spikes now having a sort of shine to them, and not being as wild as before.

"Very stunning, indeed." Rarity added.

"Are you going to be getting dressed as well?" I asked her.

"No, not quite yet. The girls and I like to get ready together, so I'll be waiting for them." Rarity explained.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in, the door is unlocked!" Rarity said to whoever was outside.

In walked Twilight and Spike, Spike being the only one dressed up, wearing a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt and a red bow tie.

"Oh, Spikey Wikey, you wore the suit I made you all the way over here?" Rarity asked.

"Don't worry Rarity! I made sure it didn't get dirty or anything!" Spike said, twirling around to prove his point.

"I can see that." Rarity said with a laugh. "Anyway, why don't you two boys spend some time in the living room, while Twilight and I talk for a bit."

Spike and I walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch.

"Hey, sorry for falling asleep on you last night." Spike sheepishly said.

"It's fine; you were tired. Besides I bet you've fallen asleep on Twilight quite a few times too." I replied.

"Yeah, I have. They should call me the pony.." He looked at me. "Er.. the equine napper!"

"Hah. Sounds like some sort of criminal, though." I stated.

"Meh. So anyway, where have you been? Even Twilight is curious as to that; she's been worried about you for awhile now." He told me.

"I've just been a secluded area, thinking about everything." I said, looking out the living room window. I could see the other 5 ponies we were waiting for outside, heading in this direction.

Spike began talking. "You know… you're not a monster."

"I could be, though. Did you see that power coming off of me?" I asked, shuddering remembering the experience.

"Yeah, I did. But that's thing. You could be a monster, but you won't be." Spike stated. "On my birthday about a year ago, I went through a greed growth."

"What's a greed growth?" I asked him.

"It's when a dragon begins to grow abnormally fast from gathering what they believe to be treasures." Spike told me. "Everything that everypony got me, I treasured. They are my friends, after all. But then I got greedy. I couldn't stop. I wanted more, and more. That's the thing about greed growth; it makes you want everything… to the point that you would hurt anypony just to get what you want… it turns you into a monster." Spike muttered.

"But Spike, you aren't a monster. You're the most helpful, understanding, and smartest beings I know." I told him.

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to tell you." Spike said. "Because I have all of these friends I cared about, I was ultimately able to reverse what happened. And because you have friends, you left so you wouldn't hurt anypony. It's not the power that makes you a monster; it's what you do with it. You are not a monster."

"I… I honestly never thought about it like that before." I told him.

"Most ponies don't. In terms of the damage done, I think Twilight has had it worse though." He said, blankly staring at a wall.

"When she was a filly, she went through a flare. That flare was what brought me into existence. But it also turned Twilight's parents into plants, something she still has nightmares about to this day." He stated. "The only pony who was able to fix what she had done was Princess Celestia herself. And I think that's something Twilight realized over the years. She has all of this power, and she had to learn to control it. That's why she was so antisocial before we came to Ponyville. She just didn't want anypony to get hurt."

"That's… that's a lot for one pony to go through." I muttered.

"Yeah. That's why no matter what, I'll always be by her side. I'm her number one assistant, and the pony who cares the most about her. I'm going to make sure she can live a happy life." Spike said with a smile.

"Just don't forget that you have a life of your own, Mister Spikey Wikey." I said with a smirk, nudging him in the side.

"Oh, ha ha." Spike fake laughed, with a smile on his own face.

We idly chatted for awhile, when the living room door opened. In the doorway were the girls, ready to go to the Gala.

Twilight was wearing a blue dress, adorned with stars. Applejack was wearing her hat, her mane braided under it, and she was wearing what looked to be a brown saddle attached to her green dress, but it still looked nice. Rarity was wearing a royal red dress, with stripes of gold reflecting across the fabric. Rainbow was wearing a rainbow dress, with gold accessories on her. Pinkie was wearing a pink dress with layers, the first being blue and white stripes at the front of it, the second layer being a white band with candy like items placed on it, and the last layer being a dark pink that extended to the ground. Lastly, Fluttershy was wearing a green dress with a blue stripe on it, and a blue butterfly clip in her mane.

"Well, aren't we a classy crew tonight." I stated, looking at everypony.

"Before we go though, I need to talk to everypony." Twilight said, walking in front of the group, and then turning to them.

"Here's the plan. After I mass teleport us all to the Gala, I'll find Princess Celestia. I'll talk to her, while Rarity and Pinkie walk around the party, making it seem as though we are all here just enjoying ourselves. Fluttershy, you'll talk to the animals; see if you can find out anything from them. Rainbow, you'll be in the air checking security around the Archives. Applejack, you'll be on the ground, looking for my brother. Distract him, because if things go bad with the princess, I'll need to sneak away from everypony. Eclipsal and Spike, you'll be doing whatever until I find you, if we need to get in the archives. Everypony understand?" Twilight asked.

We all nodded our heads in understanding.

"Then here we go!"

A bright flash of light enveloped the room.

The Grand Galloping Gala

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 38: The Grand Galloping Gala

Celestia was happy that Luna had decided to take her place this year for greeting guests. It's good that everypony is becoming a lot more accepting of the princess of the night; it made Celestia's job much more easier. Earlier that day, she had advised her guards to keep a strict watch on one of the guests that would be coming. A certain black horse, who she was wanted to be rid of.

"Having Eclipsal so close to the castle is bad.. if he were to find out who he really was… he could destroy everything I've worked so hard for!" Celestia muttered, staring out her balcony. She looked down just in time to see a familiar purple light flash on the grounds of the castle.

"It appears as though my faithful student has finally arrived…"

*Eclipsal's POV*

I blinked my eyes a few times to get used to the change in lighting, and finally looked around. We were at Canterlot Castle, which was adorned in banners and streamers to celebrate the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Wow…" I muttered, looking at the display of amazing fireworks going off in the sky. "This place looks so cool…"

"Yeah, it is." Spike stated, pointing to a tower on the other side of the castle. "See that tower over there? That's where Twilight and I used to live, before we moved to Ponyville."

"So I guess you two were royalty or something like that?" I asked, when Twilight let out a slight snort.

"We aren't really royalty… well, I guess now we technically are because of my brother… anyway, enough with the pleasantries. It's time to get down to business. I'm going to find Celestia. Everypony else stick with the plan; got it?" Twilight said.

We all nodded our heads, before going our separate ways.

I walked up the stairs to the entrance of the castle, with Spike by my side. When we got to the top, I was surprised to see Princess Luna there.

"Hello, Luna!" I smiled, waving at her.

"Oh, why hello there, Eclipsal! I didn't know you would be going to the Gala this year, or I would have sent a carriage for you and the others." She stated, smiling down at me. "Hello to you too, Spike. You are looking quite dapper this night."

"Heh, thanks Luna." Spike said, with a blush. "So Celestia has you out doing the welcoming this year?"

"Actually, I decided to do this myself, the ponies have become much more accepting of who I used to be thanks to you and the bearers. I must thank you for that. By the way, where are the others?" Luna asked.

"Well I think Fluttershy went to see the animals in the garden… but I have no idea where everypony else went." I said. 'I raise suspicion, and it would be obvious for Fluttershy to be in the garden. I can't mess this up.' I thought to myself. 'It would ruin Twilight's plan..'

*Speaking of Twilight, let's see what she's up to!*

"Princess Celestia… Princess Celestia… hmm… where is she?" Twilight said to herself.

She had entered the castle through a different entrance upon seeing that Celestia wasn't at the main entrance, just to avoid the huge crowd. The tough thing about looking for the Princess is that she could literally be anywhere; she could be in the middle of a crowd of rich ponies who are trying to get on her good side, or she could be in a secluded corner to avoid those exact same ponies.

Twilight walked around swiftly, looking everywhere she could, until she ended up in the courtyard, where there were a few food vendors attempting to sell their confections. Twilight knew that Celestia loved sweets, but also knew that she didn't like eating them around other ponies.

'Surprise, surprise.' Twilight thought to herself. 'She isn't here, either.'

Twilight let out a sigh, and looked up to see the finale of the fireworks.

She watched the blasts of light for a few moments, when she saw a flash of rainbow out of the corner of her eye.

"There she is." Twilight stated, as she saw Celestia enter back into her room through her balcony.

*Eclipsal's POV*

A white stallion ran up to Luna, standing between me and her.

"Luna, stand away from this pony! The entire guard has been asked to politely escort him to the dungeons, by your sister herself." He stated, before noticing Spike. "Spike! Get over here, it's dangerous!"

"This guy?" Spike said, poking my cheek. "Dangerous? Maybe to bad guys, but that's about it."

"Shining Armor, what is with this atrocious manor of which you are treating one of my friends?" Luna asked, a stern look sitting on her face.

"Your sister told us to watch out for a pony that looks EXACTLY like this one! Black body, blue eyes, even the mane that is styled the same way his is." He stated, looking between us.

"One problem there." I said, raising a hoof, so my horseshoes were in plain sight. "I'm a horse. See? Not a pony."

"That can't possibly be true..! Horses went extinct a long time ago!" Shining muttered.

"It's true what he says, Shining." Luna replied.

"But, how could one be here? Now? This shouldn't be possible!" He exclaimed, looking more confused.

"He's with your sister's group." Luna stated, as if that would explain everything.

Apparently it did. Shining relaxed, an sighed. "Sorry about that, buddy. I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard."

"And also Twilight's older brother. And technically the new prince of the Crystal Kingdom." Spike added.

"Yeah... those things too.." Shining said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"My name is Eclipsal. Eclipsal Shade." I greeted him with a smile, and a hoofshake to which he accepted.

"Now that everypony knows who everypony is, how about you treat Eclipsal to a tour of the castle? With all of the other guards looking for somepony who looks just like him, I feel as though he'd be safer with you. Plus, we don't want to raise another scene like your sister did..." Luna said, flinching at thoughts of the past.

"Good points, Princess. I'll do that, as an apology. If you see Tarnished can you tell her she's in charge for the night?" Shining asked her.

She gave a nod, and we said our goodbyes, while Shining brought us into the other parts of the castle.

"Where to start... where to start..." Shining muttered.

"How about Twilight's tower?" Spike asked.

"Oh yeah. I always forget Twily has her own tower." Shining replied. "It's just kinda weird for me. I've grown up always protecting her, and being her guardian just like a brother should be. But now, she's a guardian; not only for me, but for all of Equestria."

"Yeah, she sure has changed since before we moved to Ponyville." Spike smiled.

We continued walking through the halls, when a flash of color caught my attention behind a set of doors.

"Hey, what's in here?" I asked, which made the other two stop and turn to me.

"Oh, this is the stained glass hallway, isn't it?" Spike asked, to which Shining gave a nod.

"Can I see it?" I questioned, which Shining gave another nod.

We walked in and the first thing that caught my eyes were the image of 6 differently colored crystals surrounding what appeared to be a book on the window, with lines coming from the crystals and making one large rod-like object.

The next window had six spheres, black, white, dark blue, light blue, yellow, and grey, once again surrounding a red figure.

"Princess Celestia won't tell us of what happened during these times... she didn't really want them here, either. Apparently Princess Luna was very insistant on keeping them here, though." Shining explained.

I looked to the next few windows, examining them.

It started with the six spheres, then the red figure between them disappeared. The others looked kind of sad.

Then it started with the black one. It looked like it was broken and taken by some monster. An array of rainbows emitted from the other five, destroying the monster.

I watched from window to window, as the spheres were taken down by the rainbow one by one, until there were two left, the yellow one and the white one. Then the hallway ended.

"Yeah, this entire area is really filled with mystery. A few of us guards have tried to make sense of it, but the windows were done long ago by an unknown artist." Shining explained. "I think you'll recognize the other parts better."

The other side had was extremely more detailed to other windows. The first window showed three ponies who had gathered together on a hill, driving away a group of light blue ponies.

The second showed two ponies descending from the skies, one white with a pink mane and the sun floating by her, and one blue with a teal mane and the moon hovering next to her.

The next one showed a dragon like creature mixed with various animal parts, controlling the ponies of the one beside it showed the ponies from before hitting the creature with light, turning it to stone.

This one showed what looked like the white pony fighting off a black form, with green eyes. On one side was the sun, glowing brightly, while on the other was filled with green fire.

The one beyond that had a picture of some strange looking pony, with a deformed helmet on it's head. Black colored magic flowed from him, and surrounded the are below him, with the ones touched by his magic turning pitch black. The same two ponies from before fought against him, locking him in some sort of crevice.

The next showed a shining city of blue, with a chained heart above it, the black magic from before seeming to grasp the city itself.

The next one showed the two ponies who saved the world many times, fighting against eachother. The blue one looking as if it had turned evil, or been tainted by something bad. A blast of light from the other locked her away.

"And here we are." Shining said, pointing at the next window.

There were six crystals in the middle of the frame, with six spheres drawn out from them, respectively, with a pony in each of them.

My smile grew as I noticed who they were. "These are the girls, aren't they?"

"Yup!" Spike exclaimed. "You know, when Twilight first came to Ponyville to host the Summer Sun Celebration, the Princess told her to make friends. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't convinced Twilight to make friends with the five ponies we met, she wouldn't have let them go with her to fight Nightmare Moon."

I looked to the next window, to see them fighting off Nightmare Moon.

"Oh, really?" I asked. "You make it sound like she didn't like making friends."

"She didn't." Shining said. "She thought they were just hindrances to learning. She felt like there was just no reason to them. I think Spike and I were her only friends."

"Well, it's a good thing she found out about how good friendship can be. I have no idea where I would be without you all as my friends.." I muttered, continuing on to the next window.

This one showed the girls defeating the dragon that the other two ponies defeated before, using the elements.

"I helped out with this one, too." Spike proudly stated.

"Oh really?" Shining asked. "I didn't hear the full story of what happened with Discord before, only the fact that Twily and her friends defeated him."

"Well, Discord used his chaos magic stuff to turn everypony into the opposite of what their elements were! Well, except for Twilight… but then there was this huge fight outside of the library, and even she became just like the others… without the magic of friendship. She decided she didn't need friends anymore. But then, the princess started to send me a bunch of the old friendship letters Twilight wrote before, which game me a stomach ache for half a week…" Spike rubbed his belly, with a distasteful look on his face. "But anyway, Twilight read them all, and became back to her normal self again! Then she used the memories from those letters, and used magic so that the others could remember them too. Then of course, they defeated Discord."

"Sounds like you really are a hero, huh?" I smirked to Spike, rubbing the top of his head with my hoof.

"Yeah, but Shining is one too!" Spike said, pointing to the next window.

On it was what I guessed was Shining, and some alicorn that were twisted in the shape of a heart. A black form with green eyes was at the bottom of the window, being blasted by the pink light of the heart.

"This is from the Changeling invasion last year." Shining explained. "That was the day I was getting married. The queen had taken the form of my bride… and I should have listened to Twily when she realized something was wrong." Shining let out a sigh. "But I didn't, and because of that Canterlot almost fell. It's a good thing she found my real bride, however.. if it weren't for her, Cadance and I wouldn't have been able to use our love to blast away the changelings."

"Huh. Why didn't you believe Twilight when she told you something was wrong? I would have, because she's usually right.. albeit, a bit overreacting." I said.

"Well, because she was overreacting, I didn't believe that it was true, and that this was one of her random worry attacks or something." Shining muttered sadly.

"Yeah. We all believed that she was worrying over nothing, but in the end it was something. A big something." Spike sighed, before pointing to the next one. "This one is a good one; it's the one that I'm in!"

"The Crystal Kingdom incident you were talking about at Rarity's?" I asked, examining the window. It showed Spike with a light blue heart above him, which I recognized to be the one that was chained down in an earlier window.

"Yup, that exact same one." Spike said. "This is the last one though; there is a new one being made, but it's not done yet."

"How did you know about that?" Shining asked Spike.

"Well, I am Twilight's assistant, so I do catch wind of these things." He stated proudly.

"So, now are we headed to Twilight's tower?" I asked, to which they both nodded their heads.

*In Celestia's room*

There was a knocking at the door.

'Who would bother me now, of all times?' Celestia wondered, as she yelled, "The door is unlocked, feel free to come in."

In entered Twilight Sparkle, with a serious look on her face. "Princess Celestia.. I need to talk to you about something important."

"My faithful student, you may feel free to ask me anything." Celestia said, before levitating a kettle of tea off the table, and offering some to Twilight who politely declined. They both sat down at the table in the room, Celestia sitting next to the wall, with Twilight on the right side of the table from her.

"So what would you like to talk about, Twilight Sparkle?" Celestia asked, taking a sip of her tea.

Twilight lifted her head up, and maintained eye contact. "Who is Shaded Darkness, and what is darkness to begin with?"

Celestia froze, her face going completely blank for a moment, as she forgot to continue holding onto her tea, which fell to the floor.

The room was silent for a minute, as Celestia put herself back together.

"Twilight…" She began. "How do you know of that… that… monster?"

"I found information regarding him." She stated. "And the powers he held.. along with a few of the other original bearers."

Celestia froze once more, taking a few breathes.

"Twilight. Sparkle. Listen to the words I am about to say." She began.

"Shaded Darkness is a MONSTER. ANYTHING THAT USES DARKNESS IS A MONSTER. REMEMBER KING SOMBRA? HE WAS SHADED'S APPRENTICE." Celestia yelled at Twilight, who had gotten up and begun to walk away.

"DAKNESS IS EVIL, TWILIGHT. You must not let it deceive you!" Celestia said. "Darkness is evil…"

Twilight quickly said goodbye to Celestia, and walked out, leaving her to her own workings.

"I guess I will have to go to the Royal Archives after all.." Twilight muttered.

*Eclipsal's POV*

We finally made it back to the party, after having seen Twilight's tower.

"I'm still a bit shocked at how empty it was." I told Spike. "I mean, Twilight LOVES books!"

"Yeah, but the books wouldn't be in use anymore. That's why Twilight moved them all to the basement of the library." Spike explained.

"I had no idea there was even that much room up there…" Shining said, shaking his head.

"She's your sister, dude." Spike and I said at the same time.

"And speaking of Twilight, there she is!" Spike added, as we looked to see Twilight galloping towards us.

"Come on yo-" She began, before noticing Shining.

"Erm, hi BBBFF. I wanted to show my friends the rest of the castle. I heard Applejack was looking for you though; she apparently has a few ideas for some romantic dinners you could make for Cadance." Twilight stated.

"Ah, that is a good idea. Hearth's warming eve is coming up soon. I think I'll go and try to find her." Shining said before turning away. "Have a nice night you three!"

After he was far enough away, Twilight turned back to us. "We need to get to the archives now, while we still have a chance."

"Okay, just lead us there and we'll see what we can do!" I said.

We ran back through the castle, sneaking through various hallways.

"So, what did you find out from the Princess?" Spike asked Twilight.

"I… I don't know to be honest. She freaked out, and started repeating that darkness is evil or something like that." Twilight said, before sighing. "If it's something really bad about the princess's past, I feel like I shouldn't be doing this.. but another part of me thinks that whatever is in the archives has the answers to the connection between Victory, Nightmare Moon, Discord, Shaded Darkness, and everything else we've dealt with up until now."

"Well, just follow what your heart says." I told Twilight, to which she nodded her head.

"By the way.. why did you have Spike and I join you in getting to the archives?" I asked her.

"Spike is my number one assistant, and he knows how to get through books quickly. Your magic is extremely fluid and strong, meaning if we get into a jam you can get us out of it." Twilight explained, before turning and running up a flight of stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a circular hallway. "Okay, it's right there." Twilight stated, pointing to a gigantic double door.

She walked up to it, and put her horn in one of the holes on the door, igniting it. Then the door slowly started to open.

"Okay. Spike, I want you to go through the magic section; find anything you can on darkness. Eclipsal, look for anything on the past, before the princesses were royalty to begin with. Give the books to me, and I'll review them." Twilight said.

"Yes, mam!" Spike and I exclaimed before getting to business.

Mysteries

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 39: Mysteries

Celestia held her head in her hooves.

"What is wrong with me?" she muttered, grimacing in pain.

A dark figure formed in the shadows behind her. "You're becoming what you've done."

She spun around, her eyes narrowing at her recent guest.

"Darkness." She snarled. "What brings you here?"

"You do. As always. Your plotting had not gone without me noticing it. Though you may be able to force me out, you should know that at full power I am almost equal in power to that of your mother." Darkness stated, his eyes glowing from the shadows.

Celestia angrily stared at him. "I told you not to speak of my mother."

"Why?" Darkness asked, circling the white mare. "I operate all dimensions, but you know who created this one. Why not give her any credit? She did a fine job raising you six… too bad you all fell."

Celestia sighed. "In more ways than one."

Darkness eyed the solemn Celestia, curiously.

"Your student." Darkness said. "She interests me."

Celestia got into an attacking state. "I won't let you hurt her."

"I never plan on it. Neither does Eclipsal, as they have named him. I can assure you that much." Darkness said, now sitting down in front of Celestia.

"I do not trust you." Celestia stated.

"You shouldn't. But you should believe me." Darkness replied.

"Why would I? Your little accomplices have put my student and her friends in danger." Celestia said, deciding to sit down as well.

"They are not my accomplices." Darkness sighed. "They are this world's darkness. Shaded Darkness… or should I say, Eclipsal… is my darkness."

"This world does not have darkness. It has harmony." Celestia replied.

"No. No it doesn't, and that is what you aren't understanding. Darkness is a part of harmony."

"I refuse to believe that. You're lying."

"And if I wasn't? Then what have you done to your friends?"

"You're lying."

"You're becoming what you've done."

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"Oh really? Now am I, De-"

"SHUT UP!" Celestia yelled, impaling the shadow.

"YOU'RE LYING!" She continued, blasting light into the darkness.

"ORDER IS HARMONY!" Celestia finished, her room filling with a bright light.

The light died down to a shimmer, to show a collapsed princess, tears rolling down her eyes.

"Order is harmony…" she muttered.

The ponies outside cheered, the bright flash of fireworks signaling the end of the Gala.

*Eclipsal's POV*

Twilight looked up at the skylight, seeing the bright flashes of fireworks going off outside of them.

"Come on you two, we need to hurry before the guards head over here." Twilight yelled to us.

I could hear Spike on the opposite side of the archive, yelling back. "Why do we need to even sneak in here anyway? You're Celestia's personal student. We're allowed here!"

I head Twilight groan, before she yelled back. "Because, the Princess can't know that I'm here!"

At this point, we had been looking through at least eighteen shelves of books, with absolutely nothing found.

"Hey, Twilight? Are you sure there is actually something about the past in here?" I shouted at her.

"There just HAS to be! These are the archives, it must be here." She replied.

A few more minutes later, we heard a loud click from the door. I immediately stopped my magic, returning all the books I had placed.

The doors opened, with Princess Luna walking in.

Twilight snuck over to my side, and I saw Spike begin to climb the shelves of the archive, to begin making it to where we are.

"What are we gonna do, Twilight? Sneaking by guards is one thing; but this is Princess Luna." I asked her, attempting to be as quiet as possible.

"I don't know. I wasn't expecting this." Twilight whispered. "We have to be careful, though. She's great with sneaking around, so she might already know we are."

Spike got to the shelves above us, and I used my magic to grab him since mine didn't glow like Twilight's did.

"Thanks, Eclipsal." Spike said, as I gently set him on my back.

"No problem." I smiled, before turning to Twilight to see if she had any ideas on what to do.

Twilight was looking very intensely at Princess Luna, who was standing in the middle of the Archives, looking around.

"Cometh out, I know you are here." The Princess calmly stated, continuing to turn in a circle.

"Crap." Twilight muttered. "She does know we're here.."

"How do we get out, then?" Spike asked.

The Princesses's voice got slightly louder. "I do not sense any malevolent intent from you, whoever you may be, though your magic… it is interesting. I ask that you release your illusion, and nothing will happen to you."

"Illusion?" I asked Twilight, who shook her head.

"I'm not doing anything…" She whispered.

There was a thud, as a book fell right in front of us, and I looked up to see the Princess turn towards us.

A grey blur flew past us, and zoomed out of the archives, with the Princess right on it's tail.

"What was that?" Spike asked Twilight.

I looked back to her, and saw that she was reading the book that was dropped, and smiling at it.

"I don't know who or what that was… but it got us the book we needed." Twilight said.

"Then let's get out of here, shall we?" I said, which gained nods from the rest.

*Castle Entrance*

"That sounds great!" Shining exclaimed, standing next to Applejack. "Cadance has really missed your cooking since the wedding, and with the recipe you just gave me this year's Hearth's Warming Eve is gonna be amazing!"

"Heh. Yer welcome, Shining." Applejack said with a laugh. "I'll talk ta Granny bout gettin some more apples sent out to the Crystal Empire, just for ya."

"You have no idea how much I appreciate this, Applejack. Thanks. Now I gotta go check in with Celesta; she's been up in her room all day. Tell Twily I said sorry I couldn't say goodbye, alright?"

Applejack nodded her head, saying her goodbyes to the captain of the royal guard.

"Is it safe to come out, yet?" I asked, slightly raising my head from the bushes Twilight, Spike, and I were in.

"Yea, come on out, y'all." Applejack said, prompting us to walk out of the bushes.

"That was close." Twilight said. "Shining can tell whenever I'm up to something, so thanks for the heads up, Eclipsal."

"No problem! Let's meet back up with the others, now." I suggested, as we walked outside, where everypony was taking their leave.

I saw a bright flash of colors out of the corner of my eye, and turned to see Rainbow flying towards us.

"Twilight! What happened!? This grey blur blasted out of the archives, and Luna took some of the Night Guard to find her!" Rainbow asked, now hovering above us.

"I'm not quite sure, but whoever it was helped us get the book we needed." Twilight explained.

I looked around to see Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie slowly approaching us.

Fluuershy was the first to speak. "Twilight I'm sorry that I didn't warn you about that grey pony!"

"What are you talking about Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, a curious look on her face.

"I was talking to the animals in the garden, and apparently they knew about a pony breaking into the Archives! For awhile I thought it was you… until they described the intruder as a grey pony…" Fluttershy explained, running her hoof around in a circle on the ground.

Twilight looked away, deep in thought. "Whoever broke in with us must know something about this. Come on girls, I think it's time we went home. I have a few things I need to research…" She said, looking towards the book she held.

"So no Pony Joes?" Spike asked, looking slightly disheartened.

A few of the ponies in the group smiled, rolling their eyes.

"Come on girls, we might as well go and have some fun tonight, right?" I told them. "Besides, who knows when we'll have another time to have a break?"

"Yeah, yeah! Let's listen to Eclipsal!" Spike exclaimed, running up to my side.

"I'll admit, my hooves do hurt a bit. I can go for a bit of relaxing food with friends." Rarity added, walking to us.

"Oh, I like the coffee they have there!" Fluttershy said, followed by Pinkie Pie who was ready to get away from the boring ponies of the Gala.

"Yeah, let's listen to Eclipsal! Come on Twilight, you can't be all serious all the time." Rainbow said, throwing a hoof around me. I brushed her hoof back off of me, still mad at her for what she had done before.

She kept rolling with her debate however. "Besides, we all went along with your plan to come here, so why not?"

Twilight stared at us for a moment before smiling and shaking her head. "Fine, fine. We can go."

We let out a small cheer, as Twilight trotted towards us and led us to our next destination.

Meanwhile, a white alicorn stared out of her balcony window, towards the home of the Elements. Ponyville. The hotspot for all things bad that could and would happen.

A brief flash of anger betrayed her usually serene face, as she did something she never thought she would have to do.

She reached up towards her crown, before freezing. His dual persona is still trapped in the stone, right?

She pulled a crystal out of her crown, and tapped her glowing horn with it. "Drastic times call for drastic measures… or more like draconequus measures."

The horn glowed a bright red, before dimming down to a shimmer.

"Discord. I need your assistance."

*Everfree Forest*

A grey blur slowed to a halt, between two trees. The pony turned its head towards the ruins that lay beyond the valley. It let out a sigh, knowing the Night Guard was still close by.

If it were lucky, it could make back to Ponyville in the next few hours.

But it wasn't.

It had lost so much since it's young age, and the fact that he still existed led it to an immense joy.

If there was one thing it learned on it's adventures though, it was that there was always something worth fighting for. That time was something to be valued, and had to be protected. That history always repeated itself until one such being would put a stop to the cycle.

It's eyes flew open, with a green fire sizzling within them before being glazed over in gold.

It would stop her this time.

It would save everypony.

Green Is The Color...

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 40: Green Is The Color

Twilight levitated the book up to her, examining it. It was now the day after they had gotten back from the Gala, and Twilight held off on the research until everypony had a day to relax. Looking over her shoulder to make sure Spike was still asleep.

Confirming that he was, Twilight took a deep breath and further looked over the details of the book.

It was pitch black, with gold writing on the front. The words E. M. D. D. were plastered on it.

"Maybe some sort of government organization? But there were dates from the pre-diarchy inside… maybe it's a log of historical issues?" Twilight mused to herself. "Well, I guess there is only one way to find out…"

She flipped open the book, looking inside.

10/10/10

I've been told to keep a journal of everything that happens throughout my day… even 'she' says she used to keep one, though she called it a diary. I guess I can call this a diary too.

Today I met with a lot of other… things. I'd learned about them in school, but I've never seen them before. They were interesting to say the least.

One was this dragon, he seemed pretty nice though, and his jokes were pretty funny too. He definitely wasn't like what I had read about dragons before. Oh! He was also able to use this cool magic! I've never seen anything like it before. He was conjuring things out of nowhere.

There was this small group of equine-like creatures too. Four to be exact.

From what I understand, two of them were pony sisters, the blue and white ones. The blue one was very loud, and talked strangely. She floated around on her wings for most of the time. But her voice was really loud. I could tell that she didn't mean to, but it sounded like she thought she was supposed to speak that way; loud and fancy. Her sister was the same way, except that her voice was much gentler, and just loud enough to be heard over us talking. She seemed rather nice, though.

There was also a black stallion there too. He looked a lot larger than the other ponies. He didn't really speak that much during the entire meeting.

Lastly there was something.. I don't know exactly what. But it was transparent, and blue. It also glowed a bit too, as if it was made of magic or something. But it was definitely equine-ish. Looked like it was part cloud too, if you ask me.

We were brought together by this strange pony, who we knew was one of the creators of the world. She had a horn and wings, and her magic was much more powerful then anything I've seen before. She had a cream colored coat with a red mane. And the aura she produced around her… wow. She was definitely a creator.

But anyway, I'm getting off track. The entire reason we met was what really blew my mind.

Apparently, the creator was handed this world, and remade it into a different image using a book as her canvas and the thing she used to write the world's story, the Element of Harmony; something that holds the very foundation of this world, that she wanted us to find out on our own.

But, why us? That's what I was wondering the entire time. Then she told us something like a prophecy. In the beginning, two from the creators would exist. Two from the concepts would exist. And finally, two from the fans would exist. All of different species to bring harmony to the world, six to make one. Then one to make six. These would be the Guardians of Harmony, and protect and control the world to make sure it stays safe.

And we were those Guardians.

Twilight closed the book, letting out a sigh.

"Okay, so this is the book I needed. Or rather, the diary I needed... A creator of the world, huh? I know many ponies deem the princesses as goddesses… but to actually create the world?" Twilight pondered the idea for a moment. "Guardians of the Elements… hmm…"

Twilight heard a knock at the front door.

"It's a public library! You can come in!"

Twilight heard the door open lightly, and turned to see her friend Fluttershy there.

"Oh hey, what's up Fluttershy?" Twilight asked with a smile.

"Oh, I just came to see if there were any good hearth's warming eve recipe books." Fluttershy stated, floating up to some of the shelves.

"Why do you need those?" Twilight questioned. "You don't usually like cooking anything big for yourself."

"Well, I'm not this time. My animal friends will be all asleep soon, and I have a guest coming over." Fluttershy explained, still gazing over the books.

"Oh really? I figured Eclipsal would have been going back to Applejack's since cider season is over." Twilight said.

"Oh, he did. He decided that it was time to at least try to get over what happened with Rainbow. He still isn't happy about it, but he doesn't want to be afraid of going to where he lives just because somepony is there." Fluttershy replied, pulling a book out and smiling at it.

"Well good for him. That Rainbow though… I know she cares about you a lot because of how close you two were, but to do what she did to Eclipsal? I mean I can sort of understand the thing with picking between you and Eclipsal... that's a tough choice." Twilight paused for a moment, thinking of whether she would be able to choose between Spike or her friends, before shaking the thought out of her head. "But with what happened at the bog? Loyalty has got to be a really tricky thing, but there are some lines you don't cross. And that line is ruining a friendship by blaming somepony for something that was completely out of hoof."

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying." Fluttershy said, floating down to the table by Twilight. "Rainbow has always been really stubborn and refuses to believe she's wrong whenever a disagreement occurs. She's always really loyal too… but the thing about loyalty is that you can't be equally loyal to everypony. There will always be somepony who is more important to you when it comes down to the most vital moments."

"Yeah…" Twilight muttered, thinking once again about the Elements. Her friends were meant to embody the elements. But what about the Guardians she heard about? What was special about them?

"Well I think it's about time I go. I need to see if there are any fresh foods still out from the harvests." Fluttershy said, turning to leave.

"Ah, wait." Twilight said, making Fluttershy stop from leaving. "You said you're going to have a guest with you, right? Who's coming to visit you?"

"Oh, just Discord. He said he wanted to come and visit for the holidays." Fluttershy replied with a smile. "I can probably introduce him to Eclipsal, too."

"Y-you're letting Discord come here? Again? How long will he be here for?" Twilight muttered, worry crossing her face.

"Oh, Twilight. You need to stop worrying. He's changed. He really has. He'll be here until sometime in February I think. Oh and he wants to talk to you about something when he gets here." Fluttershy said.

"Really? Did he say what he wanted to talk about?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, he hasn't. It's apparently really important to him though. And um sorry Twilight, but I kind of really do have to go now."

Twilight let out a sigh. "Okay. See you later, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy left, leaving a puzzled Twilight behind.

"There's no way I'll be able to ask Discord about any of this. He's made of riddles, not answers." Twilight sighed again, before turning to the diary.

"I guess it's back to the books."

*Eclipsal's POV*

I lay down on the ground of the barn I was given as my room, just staring at the ceiling.

I'm just bored, I guess.

Nothing to do, really.

"Oh, why hello there Eclipsal!"

I look up to see Rarity standing at the doorway looking down at me.

"Hi there, Rarity. What are you doing out here? I know you wouldn't get your hooves dirty without a reason." I stated.

"Ah yes, you are quite right. I was actually hoping I could get Applejack to help me with retrieving some gems that just came in from the Crystal Empire, down at the train station." Rarity replied.

"Applejack is down at the other end of the orchard, trying to move some water away from that area. Something about the water freezing the roots and messing with the plant." I told her, waving one of my hoofs in the air.

"Well do you think you would be able to help me, Eclipsal?" Rarity asked, giving me a pleading set of eyes.

I stretched and got up, shifting the laziness out of my bones. "Yeah, sure thing. I probably need the exercise anyway. I ate way too much at that donut place in Canterlot."

"Well, I did warn you on how addicting they could be." Rarity said, attempting not to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. So which way is the train station?" I asked, walking up to the barn door.

Rarity smiled, motioning for me to follow her. "Just stick with me and we'll be there in no time."

*Spike's POV*

Spike had just woke up, and started cleaning the kitchen. He looked outside and saw two of his friends outside.

He stared out the window at Eclipsal and Rarity walking side by side, laughing while heading to the Carousel Boutique. He could barely hear part of their conversation.

"… just been really tired lately…" Eclipsal said, his voice muffled from outside.

"…that feeling…" Rarity replied to him.

"…the Victory incident…" Eclipsal continued.

At that point, they had passed by the library and had continued on there way, when Spike noticed what Eclipsal was carrying.

A cart full of gems.

Spike's face burned slightly from jealousy. Wasn't it his job to help Rarity with things like that?

Then again, he wouldn't have been strong enough to carry that heavily filled cart… but still.

"Why am I getting so angry over this?" Spike muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Spike turned as he heard a yell from upstairs.

"Spike! I need your help!" Twilight yelled from her room, most likely.

He sighed, and started heading her way. Besides, Eclipsal is a good guy, and so he wouldn't try and take her from him, would he?

Too bad he is. You're losing your special somepony to Eclipsal, who isn't even a pony!

Emotional War

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 41: Emotional War

A flash appeared in the throne room, the guards stood up, all readying for a fight.

"At ease." Celestia said from atop her throne, awaiting for the inevitable.

She closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. "Come on out, Discord."

Celestia felt wiggling from under her crown, and out of it flew a miniature Discord, expanding into his usual size.

"Why hello there, Tia. How've you been?" Discord asked, floating upside down in circles around the room.

There were many grumbles from the guards. "Why is he addressing her highness with such casualness?" "What a swine." "Maybe he should be put back in stone."

"I've been… well." Celestia hesitantly replied, letting out a sigh. "Guards, I must ask you to leave the room for a moment."

Shining raised a hoof up to protest, when Celestia interrupted him. "Go on, I can handle myself."

The guards left, leaving Discord and Celestia in the same room.

"Thank you for arriving, Discord." Celestia said to him.

"Hah, like I had the choice. I'm surprised you still have my summoning gem though. I gave that to you like… how long ago was it? Two thousand years ago maybe?" Discord thought, before shaking his head.

"So anyway, why did you call me here, dear Tia?" Discord asked. "I've been trying to reunite the draconic kingdom like you asked; using my powers for good and whatever."

"I have another mission for you. I need you to go to Ponyville and watch over the bearers of the elements." Celestia stated.

"Ah, well that's no problem then. I was going to go there anyway to spend Hearths Warming Eve with Fluttershy. She said she had a new friend she wanted to introduce me to, anyway." Discord replied.

Discord noted Celestia's eye twitching in irritation.

"Hey… you okay?" Discord asked. "We are well…"

"Discord, I don't want to get into this right now." Celestia stated. "Despite our past, I am order and you are chaos. It would never work."

"Celestia, I've changed.." Discord began.

"No." Celestia bluntly replied. "It wouldn't work. It'd be better if we just stayed.. acquaintances."

Discord let out a sigh, looking towards a window. "I guess I'll be going then. I still have a few things I need to do before heading to Ponyville."

A flash leapt across the room, and he was gone.

Celestia looked toward the ceiling, a tear rolling down her cheek. She then buried her head into her hooves.

"What is wrong with me lately?" She asked herself. "I love him, and yet… why does this…?"

*Ponyville Library*

10/21/10

I don't really know if I'm supposed to talk about personal things, but I'm going to anyway. If there's something I've learned about writing in this diary, it's that it is a great stress reliever, I guess.

Anyway, the group I met last week I became great friends with right off the bat. I guess the creator was right; we were meant to work as a team. Or maybe our friendship is just special? I have no idea.

Ugh, I'm getting off track again.

Anyway… most of my life I've been bullied by the others of my kind. My sister was meant to be the queen of the hive because she was born first, so everyling always looked down on me. Made fun of me. Called me pathetic because I didn't know how to use illusion magic very well.

I was always more of a flier than a magic user… but yeah. Besides, I didn't like changing into other ponies. The most I could do is summon up my flutterpony. Even my sister makes fun of me, and puts herself on this high pedestal compared to everyling else.

Yesterday I let it get to me. The others started making fun of me. They surrounded me, chanting out how pathetic I was.

Shaded was coming that day, though. He saw them making fun of me, and fought them off… I think I might actually like him. I doubt he'd like me though… but I didn't have time to write yesterday because of that and because of where we were going.

The creator announced us as guardians today to the entire world. That's what happened this morning. Then we all went back to our own homes, after I promised Shaded I wouldn't let the others get to me.

Right when I walked into the hive though, everyling acted differently towards me. All of a sudden I was more important than my sister, and I could see her being forgotten.

Our parent's even decided that becoming a guardian was important enough to merit me becoming a queen. But I know what the changelings thought of me before. I still remember all the years of pain that they've brought to me.

But still, not all of them are bad. Some are good, and they deserve a leader who will teach them to be good and care for others. Even my sister doesn't deserve the way some changelings are treating her now. They need a leader that gives everyling the opportunity to find their true love and become flutterponies. I already have an idea for this, too.

So that's what I'll do. With my new friends by my side, I feel like I could do anything!

"Well, friendship is magic. That's what I've come to learn." Twilight stated, after finishing reading another one of the diary logs. "Still though… whoever this was didn't mention many names. She's definitely a changeling though, considering the language she used."

Twilight thought back to what she had said. "I wonder what she decided to do in the end? Maybe her plan would be further explained in another log."

Before flipping the page, Twilight thought of something else. "As far as I can tell, the guardians lived much longer than anypony… so is it possible that whoever this changeling could be alive? I just hope it's not Chrysalis…" Twilight shook her head. "It can't be, the initials aren't the same as the book."

"Hey, Twilight." Said a voice from behind her. She turned to see that it was her number one assistant, Spike.

"What's up, Spike?" Twilight asked, smiling at him.

"Well, I've just been wondering… haven't Rarity and Eclipsal been hanging out a lot lately?" Spike asked, looking a bit curious. "I saw them yesterday and Eclipsal was carrying gems for Rarity…"

Twilight couldn't help but giggle.

See, Spike? Even your caretaker laughs at your feelings.

"Are you feeling a bit jealous, Spike?" Twilight asked. "Well, I wouldn't worry. I doubt Eclipsal would steal Rarity away from you. Besides he's friends with all of us, equally."

Oh, and now he's trying to steal all of them from you, Spike.

You need to fight back.

Spike held his head, as the voice echoed through his mind.

"Yeah, you're right Twilight. I'm going to go rest now." Spike said, walking to his bed.

Twilight stared after him for a moment, before turning back to the book.

Spike fell down on his bed, groaning as the voice echoed back twice as loud as before.

You need to go to war, for those that you love.

*Eclipsal's POV*

I walked through the streets of a snowy Ponyville, ready to meet up with Rarity. She made me promise that I'd come to the Boutique today and help her out as a model for suits.

I however decided I would go early to have fun in the snow.

Everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

I walked through the streets, slowly making my way to Sugarcube corner, the base for blue team.

Scanning all the alleys and roads on the way there, I spotted nothing.

As I was merely a few steps from the door, I heard the shuffling of hooves.

"You may have watched the streets, but you didn't watch the roofs!" I heard from above me.

I looked up to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, each holding two snowballs, and with a pile behind them.

I turned, and began running away as fast as I could, snowballs flying all around me.

"Pinkie!" I yelled to the town around me. "Red team has infiltrated, I repeat, red team has infiltrated!"

I was launched in the air, as an object flew out of the ground. I landed in a snow drift a bit further away.

Getting up and shaking the snow from my body, I looked and smiled after seeing what had done that to me.

There was Pinkie Pie, in all of her glory, with three cannons aimed at the roof in front of her.

"Eclipsal!" She yelled at me, holding a trigger in her hoof.

"Yes, mam!" I said, saluting her.

"Let's get this party STARTED!" Pinkie yelled, slamming her hoof on the trigger's button, launching cannons filled with snow at the roof.

"Girls, look ou-" I heard one of them yell, before the crusaders got covered in snow.

Pinkie and I laughed, as the snow pile fell onto the ground, three dizzy heads poking out of it.

"This isn't over!" Applebloom yelled.

"Yeah we'll escape and get word to Rainbow Dash and the red team!" Scootaloo shouted in defiance.

"Oh really." I said, walking up to them. "It looks like you've been captured and trapped, if I didn't know any better."

"Prisoners of war?" Pinkie asked me with a smirk.

"Prisoners of war." I stated with a smile.

A few minutes later, we were inside of Sugarcube Corner, warming up and eating sweets.

"So, where's the base at, huh?" Pinkie asked, shining a lamp light at them.

"Oh that's easy, it's just at…" Sweetie began, before getting interrupted by Scootaloo.

"Are you serious?" Scootaloo said, shoveling a cookie into her mouth. "Just because they are giving us really good sweets doesn't mean we can rat out Rainbow Dash!"

"It's the rules of the game, Scoots." Applebloom stated, shaking a piece of cupcake at her. "We gotta be fair, specially since we captured Pip. Also, Fluttershy is the leader of the red team; not Rainbow."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…." Scootaloo grumbled, putting her head on the table.

"Anyway, the red team is based above the library." Sweetie told us.

I nodded my head in understanding. "So that's how you got on the roof."

"Nothing but a hop, skip, and a jump!" Pinkie exclaimed.

I turned to Pinkie. "So, do you know still have that one air balloon thing from the Running of the Leaves?"

"No, but I have something else." Pinkie stated, jumping from her seat.

She began to shake, then turned to me before heading down into her basement. "You use your magic to get up there, I'll catch you in a bit."

I nodded my head, running outside.

Looking above the library, I could vaguely see the outline of a cloud that was different from the others.

A smirk adorned my face, as I muttered, "Gotcha."

Using my magic, I picked raised myself into the sky, until I was above the clouds.

My jaw nearly dropped as I saw a massive castle in front of me, armed to the brim with cannons and snowballs.

As I neared the base, a dozen ponies jumped out from behind the cannons.

"Everypony; TAKE FIRE!" was yelled throughout the air fortress.

I dropped myself from the clouds, followed by a hailstorm of snowballs.

Falling Snow

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 42: Falling Snow

*The library*

1/1/11

We started training today. The creator explained that we are to be trained to our peaks; forms that are meant to be our maximum amount of power, and that we must figure out how to get to those forms by ourselves…

I already know what the changeling and pony versions are. When a changeling is able to exhibit love and falls in love with another, then they become flutterponies. I've never really learned what flutterponies can do, however.

I know what I have to do to change… but I'm way too embarrassed to. I mean, I want to go up to Shaded and be like "Hey! I like you! Let's go out!" but… I just can't.

Sigh.

Then there are the ponies. I don't know entirely how, but they are able to turn into alicorns, just like the creator is. I wonder what the pony sisters would be like?

Then there are the other three. I have no idea what they would turn to, but the creator did say that Atax would have to train alongside a pony. Celestia pretty much begged him to work with her, even though he didn't even need to be convinced.

I'm pretty sure those two like eachother. While most species are okay with interspecies relationships like changlings dating ponies or things like that, it's because we're partially equine in nature. However, dragons and ponies? I'm fine with it, but I don't know if everypony else would be.

I'll always be there to support them, though.

Anyway, it seems as though we've all been paired up to find out how to reach our peaks.

Shaded and I, Celestia and Atax, and Luna and Natura.

Shaded helped me develop a plan for the hive today. We call it the 'old ways', because falling in love is the oldest tradition in the world. The entire plan is that whenever a changling happens across a pony or other equine in danger that they can't help, they can make a pact with that pony to go back to their loved ones and basically be them. Chrysalis suggested that we should instead force-take love from the ponies, because they are born with an abundance of it.

That is not right. We as a world must work together, not fight. Chrysalis doesn't understand this though, and a lot of what she does is competitions.

Chrysalis has been ignoring me lately, and has been especially hateful towards me when she sees me. I've tried to be as nice as I can, though… what is wrong with her lately?

I guess I'll have to figure that out one day.

"So.. Atax Entropy, the dragon. I'm guessing his peak was well… Discord. A draconequus. It makes sense. Entropy is chaos in science, which is equivalent to discord, which is absolute chaos." Twilight rubbed her hoof over her chin, before casting a look at her assistant.

Because it was winter, he was sleeping a lot lately. Twilight couldn't help but smile at her best friend. She got up and walked over to his bed, covering him with another blanket to keep him warm.

"A dragon can turn into a draconequus, huh?" Twilight said to herself, looking at Spike. "And you need a pony and a dragon to train together to reach it's peak…"

Twilight's eyes closed, as she thought to what any of this could mean. 'It seems like more and more of my life had something special planned for it, but what is it?' she thought to herself.

Twilight let out a sigh as her balcony door flew open, a burst of rainbow entering the room.

"Twilight! I need your help!" Rainbow said, grabbing her.

"Agh, Rainbow! What's going on?" Twilight asked in annoyance.

"The weather is out of control! We were having a snowball fight and all of a sudden the weather just got crazy!" Rainbow pointed to the window, where all you could see was white. "There's a massive blizzard outside, and Fluttershy left to check on her animals. The other pegasi are trying to fix the weather but we can't even touch the clouds right now, and while we were having the snowball fight Eclipsal got drowned in some of the snow and I can't find him!" Rainbow shouted, shaking Twilight.

Twilight pushed Rainbow away, falling back onto the ground. "Rainbow! You need to calm down. Let me just look in my books to see if anything like this has happened before. There should be a spell to fix this."

Twlight lifted her horn in the air to levitate a book to her.

"Um… what are you doing?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm bringing over a book." Twilight replied.

"But isn't your horn supposed to glow when you do magic?" Rainbow said, looking confused.

Twilight's eyes widened, and she lifted her horn again, and again.

"I can't use magic!" Twilight yelled, grabbing at her horn.

"What?!" Rainbow shouted in disbelief. "How are we supposed to fix this then?!"

Spike stood up from his bed, finally waking up from the noise. "Ugh, what's going on?"

"Spike!" Twilight said, running up to him. "Quick, are you able to use your green fire?"

Spike groggily got up, stretching his limbs, before bellowing out orange fire. His eyes widened, as he took a step back. "What the hay?"

"Oh no." Twilight muttered. "This is worse than I thought. It seems like…"

"No one is able to use their magic?"

Everypony turned to the new voice, and jumped when they saw the familiar draconequus they had come to know.

"Discord!" Rainbow yelled flying up to him, pointing an accusing hoof at him. "What are you up to this time, taking our magic away from us?!"

"Rainbow, get back down here. As much as I hate to say it, he's not here for anything bad." Twilight stated, curiously looking at Discord. "So, you know what's actually going on, right?"

Discord sighed, pushing away Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, unfortunately I do. Windigos." Discord told them, putting a claw up to his chin. "Haven't seen those in awhile…"

Discord shook his head, and began smirking. "So, let me guess. You ponies aren't having such a good friendship at the moment, huh? I wonder who it could be this time. Whoever it was owes me one for making me have to fly over here instead of teleport!"

Twilight gave a slight glare at Rainbow, before sighing. "Do you know how to fix this?"

"I… no. I don't. I was in stone when the Windigo incident happened. You know, before pegasi started to use magic to control the weather, the Windigos were in charge of manipulating it?" Discord said.

"Oh really?" Twilight said, astonished. "I thought that was just a legend."

"What legend?" Rainbow asked. "I thought pegasi always controlled the weather."

"Nope." Discord stated. "You see, there used to be an entire race of sea-ponies. Every winter, they would borrow the magic of the entire world to change the weather and set up the world for it's next year by turning into Windigos and manipulating the weather."

"Which is why they are so easily affected by emotions." Twilight explained. "Emotions are what power magic, so if the areas that they borrowed magic from were filled with negative emotions, they would go out of control and freeze their area with blizzards."

"Ugh! This is a great history lesson and all, but HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SAVE PONYVILLE?" Rainbow yelled at the two.

"Rainbow, calm down. We are not going to save Ponyville by freaking out." Twilight stated.

"But still, Eclipsal is out there in the snow and we don't know where!" Rainbow replied.

*Eclipsal's POV*

The balcony door of the library show open as Pinkie crashed through it on her flying machine. I was on the back of it, feeling nauseous.

I jumped off of it and landed on the floor, sighing in relief. "Oh thank Celestia I'm back on the ground again."

Pinkie landed her machine and began giggling. "Well, I did say I'd catch you later!"

"I didn't know that meant as I was following through a wall of snowballs and a blizzard!" I said back to her, lying on my back.

"Well that's one problem solved." I heard Twilight say.

I turned my head to see Twilight, Rainbow and some sort of other creature there.

"Uh… hi." I said, looking at the creature that was staring at me.

"Hi." He muttered, taking in a deep breath. "I take it you are Eclipsal?"

"Yep." I stated. "What's your name?"

"The name is Discord." He stated.

"Twilight, I thought Discord was trapped in stone, and evil?" I said, getting up onto my hooves.

"He's good now. Kinda. Point is he's on our side." Twilight explained to me.

"Oooh, Discord!" Pinkie yelled, jumping into his arms. "Do you have any chocolate rain? Do ya? Do ya?"

Discord laughed, petting Pinkie massive curls. "No I don't, magic isn't working at the moment. When it does though, I'll summon as much as you want."

"Huh? What's wrong with your magic?" I asked.

"Right now we think that all the magic in Ponyville is gone." Twilight stated.

I tapped my hoof on the ground, and black limbs extended from my hoof, just like whenever I use my magic.

"Well, mine still works." I stated, picking up a pencil with it to test it out.

Discord stared at me in shock, shaking his head. "I-I… Twilight… we need to talk later."

Then he looked out the window. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to go to Cloudsdale. Check the clouds under the weather factory. Tell me if you find anything or any… one there."

"And why should I listen to you?" Rainbow yelled, glaring at him.

"Because if you don't, the world might be in danger instead of just Ponyville." Discord stated, his usual goofy facing appearing serious.

Discord then turned to look at Rainbow. "Listen, I don't care whether you go to Cloudsdale or not, but right now I'm going to check on Fluttershy."

"I think I'm going to make sure Rarity is okay. I was supposed to visit her anyway." I stated.

"I'll go with you, Eclipsal!" Spike said, before Twilight stopped him.

"You shouldn't be outside. If you were a normal dragon then you would be fine with a blizzard because your internal heat sack would be fully matured. But you're just a baby, so you'll be staying here." Twilight told him, which made Spike grumble in annoyance before heading back upstairs.

Discord looked at Spike retreating back up the stairs and gave a light chuckle. "Ah, young love. Well, it's time to go."

Discord opened the door, a wall of snow appearing before him. He let out a sigh. "Let's hope I'm not too rusty."

He inhaled air, his chest expanding as smoke came out of his nostrils. He then blew on the pile of snow, a blueish black fire bursting from his mouth, eradicating the snow blocking the door.

"Twilight." Discord began, looking back. "Come to Fluttershy's on Hearths Warming Eve. We really need to talk."

"Uh… okay." Twilight responded, as Discord flew away.

"… I guess I'll go to Cloudsdale then. I can ask for help clearing out the snow." Rainbow stated.

"And after I check on Rarity, I'll go back to Applejack's and tell her about what's happening." I said.

"And when this is all over, I'm drinking tons of chocolate!" Pinkie said, licking her lips.

So we all went our separate ways.

Hearth's Warming Eve

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 43: Hearth's Warming Eve

"So, we're finally all together." Victory said, standing in front of a massive vertical crevice that glowed a bright white, a smirk dancing over her lips.

"Technically, I guess…" a pitch black horse stated, his roaring voice blowing the leaves off of trees nearby as his body vibrated as if it weren't a solid object. "How long do we have to wait for War?"

"Well since you started the deep freeze, it shouldn't take very long. You know how impatient War can be." Victory replied, sitting down on the heated ground.

"And what of this… ruler, that you have gotten so keen with?" the black horse asked. "I do not think using her would be wise."

"Oh, pipe down." Victory said, rolling her eyes. "If it weren't for her, we'd be stuck inside that idiot still. And besides, she wants power. So she'll be getting power."

The black horse raised an eyebrow, before continuing with his questions. "So you mean to tell me that we plan on using her as the seal?"

"Yes. Yes I do." Victory smirked. "We know where the host is, and we know where HIS spirit is, along with HIS powers. All we need is to seal them together, and we'll be ready…"

The black horse sighed. "I don't think this will work…"

"Always the optimistic one, aren't you?" Victory sarcastically stated. "Anyway, as soon as War is done I need you to head back to Ponyville and finish ruining the host. You've already cooled down enough of Tartarus anyway, so we don't need your help over here at the moment."

"…alright." The black horse said, leaning against the stone wall. "Do you really think we can break the runes here? I mean you do know who made these, right?"

"And you do know who we are, right?" Victory asked with a sneer. "We can destroy anything."

*Fluttershy's Cottage*

"So, why am I here, Discord?" Twilight pensively asked, as Fluttershy poured her some tea. "I want to know everything you know."

"My, my, dear Twilight. Have some patience. It's almost as if you believe I'll trick you." Discord replied, taking a sip of his own drink. "This is some marvelous tea, 'Shy. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Fluttershy quietly said, before sitting down.

"So, now can you tell me why I'm here?" Twilight asked.

"Friendship." Discord stated. "That's why you're here."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, as Discord let out a sigh.

"Fluttershy, tell me about how you found Eclipsal." Discord asked, to which Fluttershy fully obliged.

"There was this weird storm that rushed through the town, even Rainbow didn't know about it. There was this huge tornado that appeared right by the edge of the forest. I remember seeing what I thought was a pony in the darkness, when the tornado hit." Fluttershy shivered slightly. "Lightning was flashing through the skies, and I think a small fire happened too. It was just so cold that I had to go and help him out. There were so many trees that died from it, that I had to replant them the next day."

Discord's ear twitched, as she continued with her story. Fluttershy looked out the window where she had originally seen Eclipsal. "Anyway, I ran out to go and grab him. There was this massive crater where he was, with him unconscious in the middle of it. Rainbow appeared a few seconds after that and helped me get him inside."

"And then when he woke up, he had no memories of who he was. We ended up giving him the name Eclipsal because of his cutie mark which looked like the eclipse the Princesses' made before summer." Fluttershy explained.

Discord processed this for a few moments. "The princesses made an eclipse, huh… just like his cutie mark…."

"What is it, Discord?" Twilight asked.

"I'm… I'm not sure yet." Discord stated, casting his gaze to the ceiling. "Celestia… what in Tartarus's name are you thinking?"

"So there IS something wrong with her?!" Twilight exclaimed, slamming her hoof on the table. "I need to know what you know, Discord."

"Twilight, calm down…" Fluttershy said, putting her hooves on Twilight's.

"No, Fluttershy. Twilight is right. Something is wrong." Discord stated, his stare becoming strained as he thought. "I just hope I'm wrong about what we did…"

*Eclipsal's POV*

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be with you on Hearth's Warming Eve, Rarity?" I asked, as I sat down at the table of her home. She had invited me to come and visit today, as well. "From what I understand your supposed to spend time with your family and loved ones, today."

"Well, yes, that is usually the case. However, Sweetie went to visit our parent's, right before the blizzard happened a few days ago." Rarity explained. "So I've been stuck here all alone with Opalescence, and I figured that we could just have our own fun today!" Rarity finished with a smile.

"Sounds fine to me." I stated. "But I don't really know what else ponies do today."

"Hmmm…" Rarity put a hoof to her chin for a moment. "Well… let's not worry about that right now. Pinkie is working Sugarcube Corner today, and has a deal on special treats. Would you like to escort me there?" She asked.

"Sure thing. Pinkie always makes great sweets, so I don't doubt that it'll be amazing…" I muttered, licking my lips.

"Well then, let's go." Rarity stated, opening the door to reveal that a pile of snow had already blocked the exit.

"Hmph. This snow is really getting on my nerves." Rarity exclaimed, letting out a dramatic sigh. "I can't even use a spell to get rid of it since magic has disappeared!"

I looked at the snow, and tapped my hoof on the ground to see if my magic still worked. Smirking, I came up with an idea. "Rarity, how do you feel about a one horse open sleigh?"

*Five minutes later*

"I never thought I'd have a stallion carrying me in a sleigh!" Rarity exclaimed, raising her hoof in the air. "Especially not one made of magic!"

"And I definitely didn't think this would be so much fun!" I yelled back to her.

I had made a sleigh out of my magic, creating a plough right in front of me so that as I galloped, the snow would be pushed to the side. Rarity sat in the back, a scarf around her neck that trailed behind her as I swiftly moved through the streets.

I cut through the snow like butter, making an easy three minute trip to Sugarcube Corner. When I saw that we were just about at the confectionary store, I slowed down my pace, stopping at where the door would be.

I tapped my hoof on the ground once more, making a wall that split through the snow, making a walkway up to the door. I removed the plow and the sleigh, leaving a floor for Rarity to step on. Then I extended the floor all the way up to the door, and opened up the entrance.

"Ladies first, dear Rarity." I said in a jokingly royal way.

Rarity couldn't help but laugh as she walked up and into the store, me following after her.

*Fluttershy's cabin*

"Twilight, how much do you know about the beginning of recorded history?" Discord asked, glancing at her.

"Well, not much to be honest. In terms of history, I mostly studied magic." Twilight explained. "All I know is that you ruled over the land, then Celestia and Luna appeared, and put you in stone. King Sombra took control of the Crystal Empire, and the princesses stopped him, but he laid a curse on the empire, so it disappeared with him. Not long after that, Luna became Nightmare Moon, and got placed in the moon. Then the three pony tribes became united, after the Windigos nearly froze the land. That's about as much as I can think of off the top of my head, that is actual history and not a legend."

"Good." Discord said, taking another swig of tea. "You know the basics."

Discord placed down his tea, and snapped his fingers at it. He faceclawed, remembering the issue. "No magic, right…"

"To be honest, I came here to talk to you for advice. I just wish that there weren't more dire circumstances at play." Discord sighed.

"Well I'll be glad to help you, whenever you need it." Fluttershy said, patting his back.

Discord looked to her with a smile. "Yes, I know 'Shy. But Twilight would know more about her than anypony else."

"Her? You mean…" Twilight began, before Discord raised his claw.

"More dire situation, remember?" Discord stated. "Now, I'm not a hundred percent sure what is going on, but I have an idea."

"Yes, we know. Windigos." Twilight replied.

"There's more to it than that." Discord explained. "You see, throughout the past there have been four beings who tried to destroy this world."

"Four beings?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. Four horses, to be honest." Discord said.

"The first was a white mare with a lightning cutie mark, named Victorious Nightmare. No matter who she fought against, she could always win as long as magic was out of play. She'd strike them down quickly, just like lightning would. She's the most vile of the group, along with the smartest. She devises plans to take over where, what, or whoever she wants, and succeeds. She definitely lives up to her name, as fighting her is a nightmare in itself."

Victory raised her head, perking up her ears at the sound of hoofsteps coming towards them, a snide smile growing on her face.

"The second was a red stallion with a fire cutie mark, named Warring Love. He could get into the minds of ponies, figuring out their deepest secrets. He's the most violent of the group, and the strongest. Just like his cutie mark, he makes the passion and fear within anyone go ablaze, burning to their very being. Those manipulated by him are in terrible danger; enough that it could destroy them. Not their body, but their soul. He's the most violent of the group, and the strongest. He barely goes into battle though, preferring his soldiers to instead do his work."

War's visual appeared from the shadows, smirking. "The first job is done. I'll be commencing the next one soon. Then I'll be back there."

"The third was a pitch black stallion with a snowflake cutie mark, his soul matching both of them; cold and dark. His name being Famine Syndrome, and he was heartless, but very calculating. He usually found all the issues with plans that they would make, and point them out. He's also the most magic based of the four, absorbing magic from everywhere, causing a shortage of it throughout the world. Then he uses his unearthly voice to trigger his magic; getting those around him extremely sick, to the point of dying. Just so he can have the magic of their life force as well. All of the work he does, he does in the shadows; barely do you ever see him. When you do, he barely appears to exist."

"That means you are up next, Famine." Victory said, to which Famine gave a slight nod, walking into the darkness from which War had appeared from.

"Famine's power… That sounds a lot like the problem we have." Twilight stated.

"In a way, it is. But let me finish, then we'll talk about him a bit more." Discord told her.

"The final one is the most terrifying of them all. If one were to touch him, they would be dead. He is the reason Tartarus exists. Celestia sealed that gate to lock him in there a thousand years ago, and Luna and I have added to that seal as well. His purpose is to kill every living thing. Now why not lock the other three in Tartarus with him? Because, he amplifies their power. He makes them stronger and gives them heightened abilities from the very essence of this world's darkness. He is the monster that foals and adults alike are afraid of, encased in pale skin with bones. He has no mane, no eyes, no cutie mark, no emotions, and no heart. But most of all, he has no name. So we gave him one. We call him… Death."

An eerie silence took over the room.

"I…. I thought that Death was a legend…." Twilight muttered. Fluttershy was shaking on her side of the table.

Discord shook his head. "I wish he was."

"How… why have I never heard of these horses before they began to appear?" Twilight asked him.

"Because, they never existed in reality before." Discord explained. "Originally all four lived inside one horse; Shaded Darkness. He was the master of darkness throughout this entire dimension; that's right, I said dimension."

"So, Shaded was a… a.. bad horse?" Fluttershy asked, still shivering.

"No. No he wasn't. You see, he was in charge of ALL darkness in this dimension. And to put it basically, there are two types of darkness; his own darkness, which consists of his own fears, doubts, and everything else that revolves around him; which included his other power; death."

"So he was Death?" Twilight asked, aghast.

"No and yes. Just in the way that Luna is Nightmare Moon, he is Death. Or half of Death, to say the least. Except Shaded is one of the good horses. He'd use death for good, sending others to the afterlife when their time had come, at the end of every month. So that the departed would have a chance to say goodbye. When their time had come, he would cast them away…" Discord stated. "…with an eclipse."

At this, Fluttershy stopped shaking, and realized something. "So you're telling me that all this time…"

"Unfortunately, yes. For a thousand years, spirits have been unable to rest. Unable to say goodbye and actually be given peace." Discord stated, resting his head in his claws.

"That's…. horrible…" Fluttershy muttered.

"But Celestia and Luna created one." Twilight whispered, in disbelief. "Wait, what happened to Shaded anyway?"

"I'm getting to that." Discord said. "The other darkness that Shaded had was the entire world's. Now I never thought much of it before he…"

Discord rubbed a claw across his head.

"Just imagine it. The ENTIRE world's darkness being absorbed into your being every. Single. Day. Imagine how much that would mess with your thoughts. How much it would mess with your emotions." Discord voice began to shake. "I never realized that…"

"And that's where the other three horses came from, right?" Twilight asked. "The world's darkness?"

Discord regained himself a bit. "Yeah. That's where they came from. Victory over War, bringing Famine to the opposing country. That's pretty much what happened. The governments of the world were so corrupt with power, that it made Shaded's life so hard. Until he met us."

"So now do we know what happened to him?" Twilight asked.

"He died." Discord sullenly said. "Slain by a monster we have never seen before. That was when everything went bad…"

"Remember when I said that the horses were never in reality before?" Discord asked, getting nods from the other two. "When Shaded died, they were no longer his darkness and the world's darkness… they became entities. They took us over. Manipulated our minds! We couldn't think! We turned against those we loved, we did… I did… horrible things…" Discord's voice faded, as his downcast eyes settled on the floor.

"Victory came from Luna." Twilight said. "That was what made her into Nightmare Moon originally. War and Famine though…"

"Let me tell you something, Twilight. Something important." Discord said. "Seeing the light once imprisons you in your power. Seeing it again releases your darkness."

Twilight's eyes lit up with realization. "So you're telling me that when Celestia used the Elements on Luna the first time, it locked her in the moon, and when we used it again, it released Victory! That makes complete sense!"

"Twilight…" Fluttershy said, getting her attention. Twilight looked up at Fluttershy, who was petting Discord's back.

Twilight sat in shock, realizing that she never once took note of Discord's growing sadness as they talked. There he sat, his head buried in his arms, his back making strange convulsions that Twilight could only know of as crying.

"Shh… it's okay." Fluttershy hushed, continuing to pet his back.

"No… it's not…" Discord muttered, his voice shaking as he started to blabber.

"I loved her… and War… that MONSTER…." Discord yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"It took you, didn't it?" Twilight asked.

"I didn't even realize it had until it was too late." Discord muttered. "A thousand years in stone. A thousand years, and then that extra time. He was gone, already. And I didn't even know, until I met my newest friend." Discord said, looking to Fluttershy, who game him a confident smile. "Then I looked back at my past, and realized what had happened. I knew. I knew that War had manipulated me into fighting Celestia. Only Celestia. He turned my love for her into hatred… jealousy… I…"

He gave one large hiccup, excusing himself from the table. Twilight watched as he walked upstairs to Fluttershy's bathroom.

"I… wow." Twilight muttered.

"I told you how much of a softie he is, Twilight. You should be more careful what you say when he comes back out." Fluttershy told her. Twilight nodded her head, still awestruck.

Discord walked back down the stairs, his face still red, but looking better.

He took a seat, and began talking. "And this leads me to the final issue I need to talk to you about."

Discord rubbed his claw down his mane, before speaking. "I've had my suspicions from watching Celestia over the time I've been freed. Something is wrong. I could be wrong, but… I think I know. You see… your friend, Eclipsal. I think I know who he is."

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at him in shock, before unanimously saying, "You know who he is?!"

Discord let out a sigh. "I think. I think I know. I've seen his power, and the way he looks… he isn't just any horse. He's…"

Discord stopped moving, his body completely frozen. A moment later, he leapt up, grabbing at his heart, yelling from the pain. "Agh! T..trouble…. your friend is in trouble!"

Discord flew out of the cottage, followed by the two mares. Twilight looked up to him, then back at the town that he was now staring at. "Eclipsal's in trouble?"

"No… your dragon is." Discord replied.

Twilight's eyes widened in terror, as she galloped as fast as she could back to her home to help her very first friend, the dragon she gave birth to, her number one assistant.

"…Spike, please be okay."

Hearth's Warring Eve

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 44: Hearth's Warring Eve

"So, what stuff does Pinkie have today?" I asked Rarity, who seemed to be looking around for our pink friend.

All of a sudden, she popped out from behind the food, eating a cupcake. As she munched on it, she looked at us, and asked. "Ehh… what's up, horse?"

Rarity rushed up to her, then turned to me. "Eclipsal, you go take a seat. I'll be back with something in a second."

I walked up to a table next to the window, looking around. Even though there was supposed to be some deals here, nopony else was here eating anything. Rarity, Pinkie and I were the only ones there.

As Rarity got the food, I heard her tell Pinkie, "Thanks again for this. I think this one is the one."

She must've gotten her favorite food, or something. I looked out the window, and saw the lights of the library on through the falling snow. I smiled, thinking of the fun Twilight and Spike are probably having right now.

Thinking back to yesterday, I remembered that Twilight was going to go and see Discord and Fluttershy today. Does that mean Spike's alone at the library? Poor guy. Maybe I should ask Rarity if we can visit him after we finish eating.

On cue, Pinkie walked up to the table, placing down a gigantic milkshake, with Rarity sitting down on the other side.

"Woah." I muttered, looking at it. It was at least the size of four of my hooves. I have no idea how Pinkie was even able to carry it here… it looked heavy.

"How are we supposed to eat this?" I asked, looking at the monstrousity topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, strawberries, and other fruits I didn't even know the name of. "I don't even think I could eat half of it…"

"That's the point, silly!" Pinkie exclaimed, tapping me on the nose. "You're supposed to share it!" She then threw two straws in the air which landed in the milkshake, one facing me, and the other Rarity.

"ENJOY!" Pinkie yelled, before disappearing.

Rarity had already begun to sip the sweet solid-liquid combination, as I stared at it. "This thing is huge."

Rarity removed herself from her straw and began speaking. "Yes, it quite is. Usually I wouldn't fill myself up with something as fattening as this, but it is a special day, and this is delicious, so I'll let it pass. Go ahead, you dig in too!"

I smiled up at her, and began drinking the milkshake aswell.

*Ponyville Library*

Spike awoke from his nap, yawning and stretching. He shivered at how cold the library was. Getting up, but keeping his trusty blanket on him, he stood up.

"Hey Twilight, do you think you could turn up the heat?" He shouted to wherever his caretaker was.

His eyes widened, as he realized what day it was. "IT'S HEARTH'S WARMING EVE!" He yelled, jetting down stairs.

As he got to the bottom floor, he stood in shock as none of the decorations were placed, and no presents were to be seen. "Hey, Twilight! You aren't fooling me! I know you got me something!"

Spike looked around the library, before seeing a lonely note on the table. He walked up to it, making sure his blanket was secure around his shoulders, and grabbed the note.

Dear Spike,

I'll be heading to Fluttershy's for the morning. Be back before night.

-Twilight

Spike read the letter, before sighing. "I guess she forgot what day it is…"

He looked towards the fireplace, to see that it was in fact going. Deciding that he had better stay warm, he walked over to it, sitting down next to the source of heat.

Bringing his knees up to his chest, he looked into the fire, the silence of the library toying with him. "I think this is my the first time I've woken up alone on a holiday without Twilight." Spike muttered.

She left you all alone, on a day meant for being with loved ones.

Spike gazed into the fire, before looking down at the note. He sighed, tossing it in with a flick.

Does she even love you?

"Of course she does." Spike told the voice in his head. "She always has. She's a bit of an egghead, and a forgetful nutcase, but she's my best friend."

Then why are you alone?

"Because she forgot." Spike laughed a bit. "She forgets a lot of things. That's why she usually has a checklist. Then when things get too out of control for a checklist, she scraps it for a few weeks until everything is settled. Hay, even one time she forgot her own birthday!"

The voice disappeared after that, apparently giving up on messing with Spike for now.

Spike sat for a few minutes, enjoying the peace of the fire. He then breathed out a small plume of fire, to see if it had changed back to green yet. It hadn't.

Growing tired of sitting in one place, Spike got up to check on the gifts he saved. Walking up to a bookcase, he removed two books, then pulled out two gifts; one for Twilight, and one for Rarity.

He looked at Twilight's gift, smiling. "I'm sure she'll love this." Spike muttered to himself. Turning to Rarity's gift, he let out a sigh.

"Stupid storm… if it wasn't for it, I would've been able to give this to her." He grumbled.

He walked over to the window, looking over the town that he had lived in for years now.

"Maybe I can just give this to Rarity after the snow clears up. Yeah." Spike smiled, looking out at the parade of lights that decorated the homes of the ponies he lived alongside.

A flash of light out of the corner of his eyes made him look at the source of it. A pony was walking out of Sugarcube Corner.

There was Rarity. Sweet, beautiful, Rarity.

Spike couldn't help but sigh, as his heart fluttered a bit. "Maybe one day I can finally tell her how I feel…"

As Spike humored his thoughts, he noticed another figure walking out of the shop with her.

It was Eclipsal.

*Eclipsal's POV*

I walked out of Sugarcube Corner, joining Rarity outside. "I gotta admit Rarity, that was pretty fun."

"It was, wasn't it?" Rarity smiled. "We should do this again some time."

"Yeah, we should." I smiled back at her.

I heard Rarity give a small gasp, and looked to see that she was staring above us. Following her sight, I saw a red berry-type thing hanging above us, with a few leafs attached to it.

I tilted my head at the strange plant. "What is that?"

"It's called a mistletoe." Rarity stated, continuing to stare at it. "It's a major part of Hearth's Warming Eve tradition."

"Oh?" I looked at it more curiously now. "What is it used for, then?"

Rarity looked down at me, and I looked back at her. Her eyes widened, and she looked away. I noticed her cheeks begin to shine like a ruby.

Rarity began speaking in a whisper. "Well, you see…"

I wasn't able to hear her, so I moved a bit closer to her.

Her face brightened even more, as she continued. "Ponies place mistletoes all around during this time of year. If you find yourself under a mistletoe with somepony…

…you have to kiss them."

I jumped back slightly in shock, as I felt my own face begin to heat up.

Rarity glanced at me, looking as if she was hurt. "Do… do you not want to kiss me?"

"No, no, it's not that… I just wasn't expecting for that to be what a mistletoe was for." I told her, rubbing my hoof on the back of my neck.

"So… how about we kiss then?" Rarity asked me, moving closer to me.

"O-okay." I nervously replied.

She closed her eyes, slightly puckering her lips.

I slowly leaned in, even though something felt wrong about this entire situation.

Spike liked Rarity.

But I didn't like Rarity. Not the way that he did.

I closed my eyes, the distance between out lips growing smaller and smaller.

I don't want to turn down Rarity, because this IS a tradition… but I also don't want to do this.

I could feel Rarity's breath, along with her aura. We were mere centimeters away.

This isn't fair to Spike at all.

An explosion occurred, and I could feel debree fall around Rarity and I.

We pulled away from eachother in shock, looking to the source of the blast.

I looked at the library, but couldn't believe my eyes.

"Oh Celestia, no…" I heard Rarity mutter.

A roar echoed throughout the area.

"T-there's no way." I whispered. "There's no way that's…"

*The Library*

Spike.

"No. No. No. Nope." Spike defiantly stated, watching the scene before him. "There is no way that Eclipsal would do this. He knows that I like Rarity."

Maybe he just doesn't care about your feelings? I mean look at Rarity; you've made it obvious you like her, and what has she to reciprocate your emotions?

"She… Rarity…"

She has done nothing. She's led you on, and has never told you how she's felt. She's used you for her own needs, and has never given you anything in return.

"But she gave me that ruby…"

Oh? The one she gave you for your BIRTHDAY? When you are SUPPOSED to get gifts?

Spike began holding his head in his hands, as his entire body began shaking.

"Shut up… I know she cares… I know they all care about me…"

And how many times have they invited you somewhere? Barely any. How many times have you been left in the library while everypony went and had fun?

Spike bared his fangs, the pulsing in his head hurting more and more.

"Shut… up…"

Let's face it, Spike. Nopony would ever love you. Don't believe me? Look outside.

Spike peeked open one eye, looking out the window.

Rarity and Eclipsal were slowly moving towards eachother.

"No…" Spike muttered, shocked that his friend would do this. "No…"

You must fight for those you care for, Spike.

"NO!" Spike yelled. "I WON'T LISTEN TO YOU!"

If you don't do this, you're only proving me right. Nopony could ever love a dragon. What a ridiculous notion.

Spike looked one last time at the doors of Sugarcube Corner, his sight boiling over into red as their lips grew even closer.

You must defeat Eclipsal. You must stop this from happening. You must cause war to retrieve your love. And that one horse is the one thing getting in your way. Do whatever you can to stop him. Besides…

A deep growl flowed out of Spike's mouth as his body began to mold itself into something else.

…all's fair in love and war.

The voice let out a harsh laugh, as it watched Spike grow larger and larger, shattering the library to pieces.

"The first job is done."

*Eclipsal's POV*

"Rarity! You have to get out of here, and tell the others!" I yelled to her.

"Eclipsal, I've dealt with this before. I know how to fix this." She exclaimed, walking up to the massive dragon.

I cursed under my breath, having a feeling this wouldn't work.

"Spike!" Rarity yelled up to him, catching his attention. "Spike! It's me, Rarity. You need to calm down!"

Spike glanced down at Rarity, recognizing her. His green eyes flashed red in an instant, and I watched in horror as he breathed in.

"RARITY!" I shouted, jumping between them and summoning a shield up with my magic.

A jet of flames flew from Spike's mouth, encompassing the entire area with his blaze.

As the fire beat down on my shield, I could feel the heat inside of it increasing rapidly. Thankfully he stopped after a few moments.

Breathing heavily, I looked over to Rarity, taking note of the circle around us that was once snow was now burnt ashes. "Rarity, will you listen to me now, and get everypony?"

Rarity nodded her head, backing away slowly before running back into Sugarcube Corner.

I looked up to see Spike, glaring down at me.

Standing on my hindhooves, I prepared for a fight.

"I don't know what did this to you, Spike… but I've got to find away to protect everypony." I muttered to myself, watching as black sparks encompassed my body.

I let my magic flow freely through me.

*Road to Ponyville*

Applejack looked to the town she had lived in all of her life, watching as flashes of light shined through the blizzard.

"What the hay is goin on down there…?" She wondered aloud, as Big Mac continued attempting to fix a fence behind them.

Finally fed up with wondering, she decided to take action. "Big Mac, I'ma goin down there to see what's happenin. Take care of the farm, alright?"

Big Mac nodded his head, watching as his little sister galloped down the road to their hometown.

Applejack got to the crossroads before seeing two of her friends running towards her, with Discord flying higher above them, melting the snow as they walked. "Girls? Discord? What the hay is going on?"

Twilight and Discord continued without stopping, while Fluttershy stopped momentarily.

"Spike's in trouble, and we need to get down there! Discord is melting the snow in front of us so we can get there quickly." Fluttershy explained. "Now let's go!"

Applejack nodded her head, and began following the trail Discord had made for them.

Meanwhile, Twilight could only think about the safety of her assistant. She never liked the idea of him being in danger, which was why he wasn't on a lot of their journeys.

But now, somepony or something has put him in danger, and she would not let him get hurt. No, not her Spike.

Fire stopped appearing in front of her, which made her look up to Discord in confusion. "Why did you stop?"

He stared down, then back towards the town. "All the snow here on out is already gone…"

Twilight looked on in disbelief, and found out what the source of the lost snow was.

There stood her dragon, in something akin to his greed-growth form, except… horrifying.

Spikes rolled down his back, with three of them protruding on each of his sides. The scales on him were shining with how sleek they were, making it seem like thousands of spades encased his body. His eyes were glowing a fierce red, and fangs were showing even with his mouth closed. His razor sharp claws swung around in the air as if he was trying to escape something, then Twilight realized there was a set of black chains binding him to where he was.

Spike's tail lifted off of the ground, at the edge of it a sphere with multiple points coming out of it, and made a massive swing which whipped up a large gust of wind.

Twilight lifted up her hoof and saw a black shape fly past her.

*Eclipsal's POV*

I tumbled down the street, feeling every part of my body hurt as I rolled through.

After I finally stopped, I began to get back up, taking note of my left back leg which was feeling swollen.

I looked up at the rampaging dragon, as he continued wrecking the library.

"Ugh, my magic must have gotten disconnected…" I muttered, taking in a deep breath. "Gotta make sure he doesn't hurt anypony…"

"Eclipsal?"

I glanced to where I heard the voice, and saw Twilight with a concerned look on her face, with the other ponies around her, minus Rainbow and Rarity. "Eclipsal, what's going on?! What happened to Spike?"

"I don't know." I told her. "Everything was normal, and then the library's roof exploded with giant Spike coming out of it! And where's Rarity?"

"Rarity went to get some of the gems back at her place!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Maybe she plans on making Spike happy with a crystal cupcake! Oh, but I wonder why Spike is so big and scary like last time? Maybe it's because he saw Eclipsal and Rarity under the mistletoe and got all jealous and.." Twilight put her hoof over Pinkie's mouth, ceasing her from talking.

"You kissed Rarity?!" Twilight shouted, disbelief on her face.

"No, no, no!" I muttered, trying to put my words correctly. "We were under a mistletoe and that's a tradition right? So I didn't want to hurt Rarity's feelings so I was going to do it but it felt wrong because Spike likes Rarity and I know that but still I didn't.." This time, Twilight put a hoof to my mouth.

"I understand what you're trying to say, and I think I know what happened. Spike must have seen what was happening, and gotten enraged by it." Twilight explained to us. "You see, dragons have many forms of which they can unnaturally grow as…"

"…known as the seven deadly sins." Discord stated, finishing Twilight's sentence. "The singular forms of them being wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony."

Twilight glanced at Discord, before continuing. "Yes, and most of you have seen his greed form, from back when he tried to take everything and claim it as his own. Dragons who completely succumb to a sin, which are most dragons, end up being the ones with hordes. Gluttony takes anything that is magical and consumes it, envy steals things that other's treasure because it has nothing special, lust steals a town's most attractive females, pride fights a town's best warriors and keeps the loser's armor or bodies, and sloth sticks to the area where it went through the growth which slowly kills out the plant and animal life around it."

"You forgot one last thing, Twilight." Discord stated. "The reason why it's called the deadly sins. Once a dragon changes, it literally breaks it's soul until something important to it pieces the soul back together. Which is why wrath is the most difficult to return back to normal. Because it's a blind anger; it won't recognize any material important to it. More importantly, the longer their soul remains broken the less likely they'll be able to return back to normal…"

Twilight's eyes widened in fear. "I didn't know that happened…"

"All the more reason to keep him from hurting anypony." I stated, turning to the gigantic dragon. "I'll keep him distracted; you all come up with something… anything… to return him to normal."

I galloped towards the wreckage of the library, hearing somepony yell at me, but it was too late for me to do anything, since I was noticed by Spike already.

*The others*

The ponies watched as Eclipsal ran off to contain Spike.

Discord grimaced, looking towards the retreating black stallion. "Wait!"

Eclipsal didn't turn back, and continued to distract Spike just as he promised.

"Ugh…" Discord groaned. "This is bad…"

"What do you know that we don't, Discord?" Applejack asked him.

"Spike isn't a sin right now, he's mixed with multiple sins." Discord explained.

"How is that even possible?!" Twilight yelled in frustration.

"Normally, this shouldn't be possible. Dragons just don't work like in this way. War did this. I could feel him connecting with something else… but it was when it was too late that I realized who it was. He probably used his darkness to breach Spike's own mind."

"Woah, woah, hold up pardner. Who's this War fella?" Applejack asked.

"You know Victory, right? The one who takes over ponies because of how much control you all have?" Discord asked, getting a nod from her. "Imagine another version of her, except a male who manipulates dragons because of the amount of destruction they create."

"Makes sense ta me." Applejack stated. "Question is, how do we stop Spike?"

"Find something incredibly important to him." Discord replied, looking on the scene.

"The only thing I can think of would be Rarity… especially since we aren't allowed to give him big gifts anymore…" Fluttershy said.

"Pffft, you don't think Rarity already tried that?" Pinkie told them. "She went up to Spike and was all like, 'This isn't you, you know who you are!' but then he was like nope and Eclipsal jumped between them and threw up a shield right as these flames slammed down on them!"

"Okay, that means Rarity is out…" Applejack muttered to herself.

Twilight had been deep in thought, trying to figure out what could fix all of this.

"He needs to be reminded of who he was… something important to him…"

Twilight's eyes widened as she came to a realization. "The memory spell!" She whispered, a smile dancing on her face.

She got up, and began running towards her assistant. "I know the perfect spell for this!"

*Eclipsal's POV*

I got flung once more away from Spike, hitting a light pole. Getting up, I was sure that I had at least fractured something.

"Well, let's try this again!" I yelled, slamming my hooves on the ground. My magic extended from it, becoming chains which once again surrounded Spike. This time, he shattered the magic without any resistance.

I gasped for breath, exhausted from trying to hold back my friend. "I… I don't know if I can do this."

"Don't worry, Eclipsal. I'll take over from here."

I turned my head to see Twilight run past me, straight at Spike.

"Twilight, what are you going to do?" I yelled to her, as she stopped running and faced the dragon.

"I'm going to use the same spell I've used before to make him remember who he is!" Twilight replied back to me.

My eyes widened in terror as I figured out the one flaw in Twilight's plan. "TWILIGHT, GET OUT OF THERE! YOU STILL CAN'T USE MAGIC!"

This registered with her immediately, washing away the confidence in her face with one of pure fright.

Twilight was frozen with fear, as Spike had recognized the next target of his rampage.

He slowly stalked towards her, his slit eyes glowing a harsher red then before.

I jumped from my position, despite my body beginning to give up on me.

Running right next to Spike, I pushed against the ground as hard as I could, jumping onto Spike's back.

I slammed my hooves down into him, letting my magic coat his entire body.

"I won't let you hurt Twilight!" I groaned.

Nausea and dizziness from overexertion was starting to set in.

With my magic all around him, I pulled him backwards.

He was still moving forward.

Twilight stood in front of him, paralyzed.

Spike let out a bellowing roar, his arm moving behind him.

I was horrified as I saw his arm then fling itself toward Twilight, claw outstretched.

"Twilight, move! I can't hold him back!" I shouted to her.

I could tell that my yelling wasn't enough to snap her out of it.

* . . . *

'Spike…'

'Why would you let this happen to you?'

'Why wouldn't you talk to me about it?'

'I've always been here for you, haven't I?'

'And no matter where I am, you know I still care about you.'

I stared at his face, enraged red eyes meeting mine.

'Where are you, Spike?'

'This isn't you.'

Spike reached his arm back, then shot it forward.

"Spike, please come back home." Twilight whispered aloud.

Spike's claw stopped a inches away from it's target, as his eyes began to flash green and red.

"Please…" Twilight muttered, nuzzling her head against her best friend's claw.

The red in the dragon's red eyes flashed once more.

Twilight saw her reflection in them, and saw the tears rolling down her face.

The red eyes immediately flickered to green.

Spike's body began to shrink, until it was back to what it used to be.

He quickly ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her.

She wrapped her own hooves around him in return.

"Shh… it's all okay now. You're fine, you're fine." Twilight whispered to him, as he openly sobbed into her.

"I… I wrecked our home… I hurt Eclipsal… I tried to burn Rarity… I-I n-nearly hurt y-you…" Spike muttered, his tears soaking Twilight's coat.

"It's fine. We'll fix it. Together, like always." Twilight smiled, pulling him in closer.

The others walked up to him, joining on a group hug.

Applejack looked up, to see Eclipsal still a few feet away. "Hey, getcher flank over here, Eclipsal!"

Pinkie broke away from the hug, and hopped over to Eclipsal. "Come on, silly! It's time to join our friends."

"Get… away…" Eclipsal growled, underneath his breath.

"Are you… okay?" Pinkie asked, gingerly touching his side.

His head shot up, causing Pinkie to step back in shock.

What his eyes showed caused her to scream.

One of his eyes was the same color. The same serene blue that he had always known it to be.

But the other eye was blood red, and not just the iris.

The entire eye was red, and Pinkie looked into it.

Pinkie began walking backwards in fear. "No… no… I-I just wanted to make everypony happy…"

Tears started streaming down her face. "Granny Pie don't… p-please don't leave me here…"

Rarity walked around the corner, and dropped her basket as soon as she saw the scene.

Dark shades of Eclipsal's magic were rushing around him, Pinkie was curled up a few feet from her, and the others were standing in shock.

Rarity ran up to Pinkie, trying to snap her out of it. "Pinkie? Pinkie?"

Pinkie's eyes were filled with green, and red circles encompassed her pupils.

"G-giggle at th-the ghostly… guffaw at the g-grossly…" Pinkie chanted, bringing herself closer together.

Discord flew up to Eclipsal, grabbing his hooves. "Eclipsal, listen to me. Give me some of your magic."

Two red eyes stared up at Discord. "It's… dangerous… get away…"

Discord glared at Eclipsal in disapproval. Then Discord let out a sigh, turning back around. "Twilight, be a dear and come over here."

Twilight curiously pulled away from the group, walking up to Discord and Eclipsal.

Discord looked intently at her for a few moments before speaking. "Twilight, what have you learned about dealing with a friend with a heavy burden?"

Twilight glanced between the two, before reciting a letter she had remembered sending before. She closed her eyes, and began talking. "Dear Princess Celestia, my friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she's always there to help anypony. The only trouble is, when she needs help she finds it hard to accept it. So while friendship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it's also about accepting what our friends have to offer. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Perfect example, Twilight." Discord said, turning back to Eclipsal. "Now, you. You're in pain. You are being burdened by darkness, and the only way you can be helped is by trusting what I'm saying. You have to give me some of your magic, before you lose control."

Eclipsal stared at Discord, before turning his gaze to Twilight.

"If you don't trust him, then trust me, Eclipsal." Twilight smiled.

Eclipsal let out a painful sigh. "I'll… I'll give it to Twilight. I trust her."

Discord flinched, before letting out his own sigh. "…Fine."

Discord then grabbed Eclipsal's hooves, and put them around Twilight. "Now you two… hug."

The two began to ascend into the sky, shrouded in a set of black clouds, sparks appearing from within them. As suddenly as they were there, the clouds disappeared.

The two fell apart from eachother, hitting the ground simultaneously.

Twilight's horn sparked a dark purple, with pitch black smoke replacing her usual aura.

Eclipsal's own magic was now normal again.

*Eclipsal's POV*

I slowly got back up, despite my pained body.

"I definitely feel a bit better." I said, smiling. "Thanks, you two."

"What are friends for?" Twilight replied.

I turned my head to where Pinkie and Rarity were. Pinkie's eyes were no longer glowing, but her mane was completely deflated, and her back was shifting up and down from her continuing to quietly sob.

"Pinkie… I'm sorry that happened…" I said, walking up to her.

She took her head out of her hooves to look at me. I watched as her eyes shrunk down in fear.

"MONSTER!" She yelled, throwing Rarity off of her, and rushing into Sugarcube Corner.

I froze, watching her go.

"Well… looks like I've lost another friend." I whispered to myself.

"You still have us, Eclipsal." Twilight said, walking to me.

"Yeah, that's true I guess…" I sullenly replied, turning to everypony.

Discord hovered in the air, looking down at all of us. "I'm sure Pinkie will be okay after a good night's rest. There's no way to keep that girl down."

"But still…" Discord looked at Spike. "You all fought darkness without any magic whatsoever, and won…"

"That's not true." Spike told him. "The only reason I stopped was because I knew out of any pony in the entire world, I knew there was one I could never hurt. The magic of friendship saved me, simply because of how deep the lines run between Twilight and I."

Twilight smiled at her assistant, as Discord stared in awe.

"Friendship is magic…" Discord said to himself. "Maybe Tia was finally right about something."

"Either way, I think that's enough excitement for tonight." Twilight told everypony. "We should all go back home and spend time with our families."

"I agree with Twi'. I'm figurin you'll all need a rest from today. Come on, Eclipsal, let's head back to the barn." Applejack said.

I began walking to her, when I remembered something. "Ah, give me one second." I turned back around, and headed to Rarity's basket.

Within it held a red heart-shaped gem, with a golden collar attached to it.

I walked up to Rarity, and put the basket down at her hooves.

"Before I go, I just wanted to tell you something." I said, which made Rarity brighten up a bit.

"It wouldn't work out." I explained, to which Rarity became sullen again. "I really did enjoy the time I had with you tonight; as a friend. But maybe you should reevaluate who you like, and find your special someone who adores you as much as you would like."

I nudged the basket a bit more closer to her. "The one you're looking for might be closer than you think." With that, I turned around and headed to Applejack.

Passing by Spike, I patted him on the back. "She's all yours, buddy." I whispered to him.

I said my goodbyes to everypony, and Applejack and I headed back home.

*An hour later in the library*

Spike was asleep, since it had been a long day. Twilight talked to him about what happened, and he instantly forgave Eclipsal.

Spike also told her of the voice that was in his head, causing him to change in the first place. Twilight could easily tell it was War, just as Discord had stated before.

Now, Twilight stood in the main room of the library. She intently stared at a book sitting at the table.

Focusing everything she had into her horn, she began to levitate the book into the air. Smoke rose from it as she moved it towards her.

She stopped the magic, flinching from the pain of it.

"This is definitely what I thought it was." Twilight muttered, feeling her horn. "Dark magic."

Twilight stared out her window. "It should be enough to fix the weather, though."

Then she let out a sigh.

"From what I know, there should be only a handful of beings able to use it. But only one horse." Twilight said to herself. "Is it even possible that Eclipsal is really…?"

Laughter has been silenced.

Who's To Blame?

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

The Eclipse

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 1: The Eclipse

Twilight walked back towards the library with a smile on her face, just returning from Canterlot after visiting her parents, with ten new books in tow behind her.

‘I can’t wait to get home and have Spike organize these for me to read later!’ she thought to herself happily.

The streets of Ponyville were quite peaceful, foals were playing, shops were open, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for being one of those destined to keep it this way. So far, Twilight and her friends had succeeded in saving the town from the likes of Nightmare Moon and Discord, despite being against all odds.

With the Elements of Harmony on their side, there was no way they could lose against any type of evil. As long as their friendship was strong, nothing could ever happen. Twilight smiled to herself again, with these thoughts in mind as she finally made it to her library, her home.

As soon as Twilight entered her house, she was practically ambushed by Spike. “Twilight, Twilight! The Princess sent you a letter! You just have to read it!” he said in haste.

“Fine, Ill read it while you put up my books. Be sure to organize them in the section ‘To read later’.” she stated. Spike shuffled off with her bag of books, mumbling to himself, as Twilight opened the scroll that was labeled to her and Spike. It read:

Dear Twilight and Spike, my faithful student and her assistant,

I would like to have you and your friends to come and witness Equestria’s first eclipse since Luna has been freed from the Nightmare in her. It will be taking place at 3 o'clock this Saturday, in Canterlot. We had an annual eclipse every 10 years; until I had to seal away Luna, you see, it requires two alicorns to activate it, just as how the Elements of Harmony only work when you and your friends are together. I know Luna would appreciate it if you, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy came and stayed to watch our eclipse. Even though Luna has been quite content with life as it is, I am sure it would over joy her to see somepony there she knows.

Your mentor,

Princess Celestia

After Twilight finished the last line of the letter, she giggled in joy, “Wow, this sounds like an amazing thing to go and do with everypony! Spike, be sure to mail them each a letter about it, while I go and prepare for the first ever eclipse I have ever seen in my life!” she squee’d to herself after that, trotting off to her room to get her belongings organized.

Fluttershy was watering her garden, making sure to get the plants perfect for when it was time to harvest them for the animals. Carefully setting down the watering pot, she looked at the sky, noticing it had gotten darker.

The sun was still out, and right in the middle of the sky, yet it still felt dark to her. ‘Maybe I should bring in the animals soon....’ she thought to herself.

She looked towards the sky some more, trying to discern any reason towards the random darkness, when all of a sudden there was a loud popping noise that came from right behind her. “Eep!” she screamed, flying into a nearby bush, only to see a floating letter from where she once was.

After regaining her composure, she trotted over to where the letter was, grabbing it in her mouth and reading it. ‘An invitation to see an eclipse?’ she thought to herself. She thought back, trying to remember what an eclipse was. Then she remembered hearing about them as a filly.

She always thought it was a mare’s tale... but then again Nightmare Moon was thought to be a mare’s tale too. She remembered the stories her parents always read to her, describing it as the most beautiful thing anypony could ever see.

She focused back in on the note, amazed and wondrous at how this eclipse would look like. There was one thing she knew for sure though; she is definitely going.

-----------The day of the eclipse-----------

Twilight and her friends were already in Canterlot, ready for one of the most monumental day in Equestria, the return of the eclipse.

Everypony was at the Canterlot Viewing Platform, watching the sky, as the Moon and the Sun were readying to intertwine.

“This is going to be 200% cool!” Rainbow Dash shouted with glee. Applejack nodded her head, agreeing with Rainbow.

“Why, I do believe this will be the most beautiful sky the kingdom has ever seen, knowing the princesses’ handiwork.” Rarity chanted.

Pinkie Pie was jumping everywhere blowing her noisemaker, and throwing confetti everywhere, yelling, and singing, doing her own thing. Lastly, Fluttershy was just watching in awe.

Twilight was watching as the sky started to change. With Spike on top of her back, they watched with their 5 friends, as the blue sky started to fade into a deep purple, the bright sun and dark moon mixed to make a shining blackness.

It was so dark that it was bright, and the ponies’ eyes were drawn to it, yet it was so dark, nopony could see the ground around them, only the amazing sky. With a mixture of the night sky’s speckled stars, and the day time’s pure white clouds, it created one masterful moment, in which everything went silent for a whole minute, everypony being entranced by this astonishing sight.

In the last few seconds of the eclipse, something flew in front of the eclipse itself, a bright blue streak of color bursting through the darkness, and a few more seconds later, crashing into the royal castle’s grounds.

Twilight blinked as it hit, confusion crossing her face. “Is this part of the eclipse?”

Spike burped, a letter shooting out of his mouth. Twilight grabbed it and read out loud: “‘Dear Twilight Sparkle, darkness has come to Equestria, and I need you to-’... It doesn't say anything else..” Twilight finished, whispering the last part.

“We need to get to the castle now!” Applejack yelled. Then the seven friends nodded in agreement, and ran down the road towards the castle, worried that something terrible must of happened.

They entered the castle’s throne room, to see all the guards knocked out, and the pillars thrown and destroyed across the room. Right in the middle of the thrones of Luna and Celestia, stood one lone pony.

It’s black hair spiked randomly in multiple directions, it’s eyes a deep blue, and its fur being a deep dark grey. It’s black wings with white tips erupted from a dark blue cloak that it had been wearing, with its hood over most of its head, and the cloak’s sleeves going down it’s front hooves. It’s tail flicked behind it, as jet black and spiky as it’s hair.

“Who are you and what have you done with the princesses?!” yelled Rainbow Dash. The pony stared back with a blank look, and said, “The princesses?”

“So you’re a stallion, aintcha? Tell us who you are, and where the princesses are or else you will be in trouble.” Applejack threatened.

“My name is....” The pony grew quiet for a second. “My name is Shaded Darkness. Master of all Darkness in Equestria. Also you have no reason to threaten me, I have done nothing with these ‘princesses’ you claim to know.” he finished.

“Well obviously you’re a liar! Let’s teach him a lesson girls!” Rainbow screamed charging at him. Shaded got into a defensive position as the rest of the ponies ran towards him.

What is Friendship?

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 4: What is Friendship?

The ponies sat in the middle of the throne room, pondering over what happened. "Did you see what that guy looked like?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Well I got a look at him, but it was pretty dark in there. I only remember his weird eyes, and the fact that he was an Alicorn." Twilight answered.

"Ah don't know bout cha ponies, but I'm about fixin to go apologize to Celestia mahself." Applejack stated.

"She sounded so angry…" Fluttershy whispered.

"You heard the Princess before though! The Elements of Harmony aren't able to harm anypony!" Pinkie Pie added.

"That is true… but still, his entire wing was gone, and he looked like he was in a lot of pain." Twilight muttered.

"Maybe we should just ask Celestia of this when she is done making sure he is okay." Rarity stated.

On cue, the Princess herself walked out, with an emotionless look on her face. Twilight was about to say something, but Celestia interrupted her. "He is fine girls, he will pull through, though I doubt he will be coming back anytime soon. All of you can go back to Ponyville, or stay here at the castle, but right now I need time to myself."

Then Celestia walked through another door, everypony watching her leave.

"Well, now what?" Rainbow asked. They all looked at eachother, not knowing what to do.

"Maybe we should all git on back to Ponyville and leave Celestia with herself." Applejack said. They all silently agreed, and began their trek back to Ponyville, while Twilight had a lingering thought.

'If that pony was an Alicorn like Luna and Celestia, why haven't I heard of him before…?'

Celestia stood in the glass history hall, looking from window to window. She finally stopped, looking up at the ceiling. She sighed to herself, and began to think. 'There isn't much I can do to stop this… I shouldn't tell Luna about what happened either, or else things could fly into chaos, just like last time.'

Remembering that the throne room was still partially destroyed, she headed down there, hoping nopony would interrupt her. She trotted her way into the room, looking at the massive hole in the wall. She sighed once again, and with a flash of her magic, everything in the room was restored.

She looked about the room once more, and remembered the past. The six of them, always playing together here, before it was even a castle. All of them accepting each other's weaknesses and strengths at their full value, and being the best of friends, despite how different they were. She then walked right in between the thrones that sat there, and pressed her hoof on the middle of the picture that expanded across the floor.

The ground began to open up, leading to a stairway that spiraled downwards. She simply opened her wings, and floated down.

Landing gracefully at the end of the stairs, she looked around the area. It was covered in cobwebs, and was extremely dark. However, she was still able to make out everything in the room, just by memory.

The friendship they had was one that was destroyed. Celestia widened her eyes as she heard voices from her past taunting her mind.

"You've taught me something invaluable, Celestia. Friendship is powerless. There is no point to it, other than pain and suffering. The only way to fill up that void of despair is with laughter."

"Celestia… why? I thought we were family. I trusted you! I was loyal to you!"

"Celestia, I have met you with nothing but kindness, so listen. If you keep this up, this world will not head to the way of harmony, as you always pursue."

"I know what you're trying to do, hiding the truth from the public! He was my best friend.. no. He was my love, and you did this to him!"

"You know me… I'm nothing but nice and generous to all of you… please…don't destroy me.. I don't want to die."

That last voice rang in her head, and has been haunting her to this very day.

"I don't want to die."

She thought back on how foolish she was. She assumed since the Elements were powered by their friendship, that they would never hurt one of them, just vanquish the negativeness from them.

She silently weeped to herself and, not knowing what else to do, headed back to her room. After closing the floor, she began her descent up the stairs. When she arrived in the hallway, she heard her sister's voice. "Celestia! Are you okay? I heard there was a strange explosion from the castle, but I haven't seen anything strange."

Celestia, without turning to her sister, said, "It was just a fireworks mishap. It has all been dealt with already. Now I will be retiring to my room for the night. See you in the morning." Then quickly walked to her room, shutting the door behind her, leaving a confused Luna outside.

Celestia then fell onto her bed, and collapsed into a pile of tears. Her regrets for a thousand years echoed throughout her mind. After she had cried her eyes out, she had one last thought after she fell asleep.

Friendship really is nothing.

A Newfound Morning

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 7: A Newfound Morning

I woke up the next morning to the sound of birds chirping. I slowly opened my eyes, remembering everything that had happened yesterday. Sitting up on the bed I was in, I looked around, wondering if Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash was up. My question was soon answered by the sight of Fluttershy in her kitchen making breakfast for us.

"Good morning, Fluttershy." I said, smiling.

She jumped a little, then turned around to face me and replyed softly, "Good morning to you too." She smiled nervously, as if she was embarrassed by me watching her cook. So instead, I began testing out my limbs to see if I could move them without pain.

I moved my hoof towards the blanket that was draped over me, and threw it off. 'I don't remember falling asleep with a blanket on me…' I thought to myself.

I tested my legs and back a little by moving around on the bed. Deciding that I must be good enough to move around, I figured I might as well get up. Rolling myself out of bed, I stood up on my hooves.

'Seems fine so far.' I walked around the room a little bit, testing out my body some more. Aside from the occasional dull pain from my side, there wasn't any big issue.

Noticing a mirror, I walked up to it and took a good look at myself. I had a black mane, that spiked down one side of my face over one of my eyes, which were blue. My body was a dark grey, except for a white lightning shape that was across my neck. I reached my hoof up to it, and touched it, feeling a sense of power coming from it. When I felt this, I looked at my hoof, and saw that it was different from Fluttershy's hooves. My hooves had something hard around them, almost encasing it. I was able to feel and use the grips on my hoof, so it didn't hinder me in any way, but it left me curious as to what was covering my hoof.

As I kept staring at my hoof, I heard a gasp from behind me, and turned to see Fluttershy staring at me. She rushed over to me, and started to examine my body, checking my bandages across my torso and my flank.

After seeing everything was okay, she began scolding me. "Why are you up and moving! I told you that you need your rest last night!"

"I'm sorry. Its just I feel so much better now. I wanted to get up and move a little." I explained.

She sighed, and said, "Fine, I'll let it go for now, but don't over-exert yourself." She stared at me waiting for a response, with a concerned look in her eyes.

I nodded my head slowly, curious of why she was worrying so much about a complete stranger. All of a sudden, I could smell an overwhelmingly amazing aroma. I sniffed the air, and heard my stomach let out a loud moan, obviously complaining that it was empty.

Fluttershy picked up on this, and giggled, saying, "Well looks like your pretty hungry. Let me go and finish up breakfast. Could you go and get Rainbow? She's to the room on your left when you go up the stairs." I agreed, and hurriedly went up to the room.

I knocked on the door, and said, "Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy told me to come and wake you up!" I heard a mumbling sound from the other side of the doorway, and then it opened in front of me.

Rainbow Dash walked out of the door, and stumbled down the stairs, walking like she was still asleep. I followed close behind her, prepared to catch her if she fell.

As soon as she saw the food Fluttershy made, I swear she teleported to the table. I hadn't even gotten to the final step, before Rainbow Dash was stuffing her mouth full with whatever Fluttershy made.

"Hurry before it gets cold," Fluttershy told me, motioning for me to sit down.

I sat down and looked at the food. "It's just hash browns with warm apple sauce." Fluttershy said, but this time smiling. I took a hesitant bite of the food, and automatically started throwing it all into my mouth like an insane pony.

"Ish sho gwuud…" I heard Rainbow Dash mutter with her mouth full. I completely agreed with Rainbow, and pretty soon both of our plates were empty.

"Oh my..." Fluttershy whispered. "I don't think anypony has eaten my food so quickly before."

"That's because your homemade food is AMAZING Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Whenever I eat your food I always feel ready for anything!" she added with a smirk.

"Yeah I feel like I could do any and everything right now, and still have energy left over!" I said smiling.

Fluttershy blushed from the compliments, beginning to mumble something to us. "Well… lets head out to Twilight's shall we?"

I got up from the chair I was sitting in and nodded my head. "Yeah, let's go. If this Twilight Sparkle can help me get back my memories, then I want to get there as soon as possible."

"Heh, I bet I can beat you to Twilight's house!" Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Oh yeah? Well then lets go!" I yelled, both me and Rainbow Dash raced through the door, and ran to Ponyville.

In the distance, I was able to hear Fluttershy shouting, "I TOLD YOU TO TAKE IT EASY! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL FIRST!"

Info Dump

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 20: Info Dump

I slowly opened my eyes, hearing the sound of voices echoing around me.

"Is he going to be okay, Princess?"

"He should be fine in due time, and please, call me Luna."

"Miss Sparkle, it is best that you go and get yourself checked out too. You took some damage from the fight, just like your friend."

"Yeah… except I was the one that made him go there, and got him hurt in the first place."

A door slammed.

I blinked a few times, looking at my surroundings. White ceiling, grey walls... what the heck?

I tried shifting my limbs, but wasn't able to move them an inch. Looking down at them, I saw that I was restrained to the bed I was on.

"What the heck is this?" I said, trying to force the braces off of my body.

"So Eclipsal, you are finally awake." said the pony that had taken on Victory.

"Yeah. I guess I am awake. Luna right?" I asked her. She nodded her head, so I continued. "Where is Twilight, and why am I being restrained like this?"

"Oh! Twilight is getting checked out by the other doctors. The restraints… that was just a precaution. Tarnished, could you remove the restrainers, please?" Luna asked, turning to a pony I hadn't noticed sitting near the door.

"Yes, Princess."

The pony walked up to me, a fabric-like chest plate somehow shining from the sun out the open window. She undid every one of the restraints, and looked up at me with a curious expression on her face.

"You aren't a pony, are you?" she asked.

"Nope, I'm a horse. Don't see how I am though, since they are supposed to be extinct." I said. "Also, thanks for undoing these, I felt the need to stretch a little."

"Well it should be fine for you to move a little. I healed you up with my magic. All the pain you received from that… horrid creature, should be almost completely healed. I still suggest that you be careful with your movements though." Luna advised me.

I nodded my head, and adjusted myself into the bed I was on, getting comfortable. "So, who are you two anyway? I only know your names."

"I am Luna, Princess and Co-Ruler of Equestria. This is…"

"Tarnished. Nice to meet you, sir." Tarnished said without breaking eye contact.

Luna seemed to giggle at this, but then continued speaking. "She is the captain of the Night Guard, my own royal army, you could say."

"Huh." I said, not really knowing what to say. 'Why were they here in the first place? What would they need from me?'

'…. Oh right. Twilight said Princess Luna would be coming to visit me.'

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, Princess?" I said.

"Not at all, Eclipsal. And please, call me Luna." She replied.

"So… why did you come here?" I asked.

"Well… I felt a weird disturbance coming from Ponyville, I'm sure my sister saw it as well, but she didn't say anything. So I came here myself after speaking with Twilight and learning you were new to the town. I thought there might have been a connection between you and this… but it turns out, it wasn't you, it was just… that monster." Luna spat out the last part.

"Yeah. Who is Victory anyway? She seemed to know a bit about you." I felt a strange pain on my neck, and started rubbing my hoof on it.

"Victory… she is a part of me, and not a part of me.." Luna began.

"Princess, are you sure you want to tell him?" Tarnished asked, looking at me strangely.

"Yes, it is important for him to know, especially since Victory just went after him." Luna continued. "Victory is the power that made me turn into Nightmare Moon before. My increasing jealousy of my sister a thousand years ago led me to wanting to control the throne, by myself. I wanted to finally be the one that was respected, to be the one that was cared for by many… I wanted to finally win. I wanted to win the hearts of our ponies, I wanted to win the fame that my sister had always had. That was how Victory manifested herself, from the darkness in my heart. She took me wanting to be adored by my ponies, to me wanting to take over the world with an iron hoof."

"Wow… that sounds horrible." I muttered to myself. "How were the two of you stopped though?"

"My sister… she used the Elements of Harmony on me, locking me into the moon for a thousand years." She said solemnly.

"Could… could that have happened to me?" I gulped.

Luna looked at me with a gentle smile. "No, I would not have let that happened to you." She sighed. "Victory takes infuses itself with others by burying herself deep into the darkest pits of their hearts, and then tapping into their magic. At least that's what I currently think. Darkness and magic are very similar indeed…" She stopped for a moment, as if she remembered something. "It's hard to believe after all these years, she wasn't destroyed by the Elements, but simply separated from me."

"Is.. is she still a part of me?" I asked Luna, looking at my hooves.

"No, she escaped after Tarnished slammed a jar of Poison Joke cure into her face." Luna replied.

"No wonder that was the last thing I remember! That was my face too you know…" I started rubbing where the impact was. "Anyway, what is that Poison Joke crap anyway?"

Tarnished looked up and explained. "It is a plant with blue flower petals that has certain magical qualities to it. It makes it so that you are basically the opposite of what you believe is yourself. Those talented in magic lose their horns, those that like to talk lose their tongue… the possibilities are endless. With you however, it seemed to have opened up the magic inside of you, unleashing it while at the same time making your body weak."

Luna looked at her with a confused face, to which Tarnished shrugged and replied, "You learn things in training."

"So, every time I get into Poison Joke, my magic will get stronger?" I said to myself, lifting up my hooves. "But my body… hmm…"

I then thought about everything that happened. Victory was acting like she had known me before, but from where? What were those visions I had? One of them was from Nightmare Moon's defeat… but what was the other…?

It's probably best I talk to Twilight soon. Luna may be a princess, but I trust Twilight more. If it comes to the matter, I'll tell Luna about it too.

The door flew open, and I looked up in time to see a certain purple pony walking in.

"Eclipsal! You're okay!" Twilight practically yelled, running up to me and smothering me in a hug.

"I am so so so SO sorry, Eclipsal. I should have waited to see if the others would come with us." She said, crying a little.

I felt a little flabbergasted to say the least. She was crying over me getting a little hurt?

"Twilight, its fine. There is no way you could have known that she would be waiting for us when we entered. We made it out perfectly fine, so don't cry. Okay?" I said, looking her in the eyes, wiping her tears away gently with my hoof.

"Okay. I'm just happy you're safe." She sniffled a few times, and then calmed down a little. "When I ran back to Ponyville and told Luna what happened, she said I should go get the others. They are down at the library right now, and I'm sure they would like to see us."

For Who The Guilt Tolls

A Dark Shade of the Past

by InfinityBreach

Chapter 32: For Who The Guilt Tolls

My eyes flew open, a dark gray sky greeting me. My entire body hurt, making various popping sounds as I attempted to get up.

I felt resistance in my movement to get up, when I saw an unconscious Fluttershy on top of me, slowly breathing.

I let out a sigh, falling back to the ground. "At least we're okay." I said, reassuring myself. "At least we're okay.."

I decided my next step of action would be to try and wake up the yellow pony that was holding me down.

I poked her face softly, whispering "Hey. Fluttershy. You gotta wake up."

After a few more pokes, she began to stir. "Eclipsal…? Is that you..?"

"Yeah. It's me." I said, as she began to get her bearings.

She looked up, seeing the cliff looming above us. "Did we fall?"

"Yeah.. yeah we did. You took a tree for me, and then you started to fall. I caught you right before we fell, and here we are." I explained.

This made her look down at me quickly, registering that she was still on top of me, and she scrambled off of me, a furious red tint on her face. A second after, she let out a squeak of what sounded like pain, looking to her left side.

I looked too, seeing that her wing was partially red, hanging limply from her back. Her back leg and front leg looked bruised as well, looking slightly bigger than they should be.

"Oh no.. Fluttershy, are you okay?" I said, getting up while ignoring the pain that was screaming through my body.

"Ah… I think my wing is broken. My back leg is sprained, and my front leg…" She tapped her leg against a rock, recoiling quickly. "Front leg is broken too.." She muttered in a strained voice.

"I am so sorry, Fluttershy. If only I was able to use my magic to fight that stupid monster…" I guiltily said, feeling angry with myself. 'How the hay could I let this happen to Fluttershy, of all ponies? She helped me without even being told to, and here I am not even able to protect her…' My train of thought broke as she began speaking again.

"How long were we out for?" Fluttershy asked me, glancing towards the top of the cliff.

"I… I don't really know." I responded back.

"It looks dark out... we might have to set up camp. It's a bad idea to travel this area in the middle of the night." She said, looking up at the sky.

"More monsters are out here..?" I asked her, looking out towards the darkened trees surrounding us.

"Yeah, though I imagine they won't bother us. They usually don't bother me at least, because most animals know who I am." She explained, before attempting to stand up.

"Woah, don't you think you need to stay off of your legs?" I asked her, as she made a small 'eep' and laid herself back down.

"Well somepony needs to go get some sticks to start a fire.." She muttered.

"Well that will be me who does that then. You're hurt, and now it's my time to take care of you, instead of the other way around." I sternly said, hoping she would listen to me.

She let out a sigh, and replied back to me with a small smile. "Okay then. This time, I'll be in your care."

'And this time, I won't let you get hurt.' I thought to myself.

I had collected a lot of dead trees, and some logs to keep our fire burning. It hurt to break the wood into pieces, but I didn't want Fluttershy to worry about me, so I hid it to the best of my abilities.

"This should be enough fuel to keep us going for the night, and part of tomorrow morning." Fluttershy said, observing the fire.

"That's good. Then we can make it back to Ponyville tomorrow. It only took about an hour to get here, right?" I asked her, chucking another piece of wood into the fire.

"Yeah, but now I can't use my wings or my legs. I have no way of travelling to Ponyville in my condition." She said, laying her head down, and releasing another sigh.

After a moment of thought, I came up with an idea. "Maybe… maybe I could take you there on my back? Would that work?"

Fluttershy's eyes widened in surprise, her face glowing a slight red. "Oh my.. I-I Eclipsal, you've already done enough to help me feel comfortable. It would be better if I just stayed here while you went and got help."

"There is no way I'm going to leave you here Fluttershy!" I said, which made her jump in surprise. "I refuse to leave you behind. You're my friend, and I don't leave friends behind. Especially since this entire thing is my fault."

"Eclipsal, it's not your fault. You did your best.."

"But it wasn't good enough. You still got hurt in the end. If I had just let you go with Applejack or Twilight, then they would have been able to actually protect you."

"Eclipsal…" Fluttershy sadly muttered.

"I am just so useless.. I can't even help you, the pony who helped me when I most needed it." I said, lowering my body and head to the ground, as I spent the next few minutes staring into the fire. Fluttershy broke the silence.

"Listen to me, Eclipsal." Fluttershy said, her eyes staring into mine. "We fought a Hydra. One of the fiercest monsters in Equestria. You weren't able to use your magic, and even then I'm assuming you did everything you could to try and save me from falling. I took that tree because you were my friend and I didn't want you hurt, just like how you caught me because I am yours."

She broke eye contact with me, looking now back into the fire. I looked back at it too.

"I… I guess your right. I still feel guilty about it though, like I could have done or changed something to prevent this from happening…"

"You shouldn't dwell on the past like this. It's always good to know where you came from and what made you who you are, and even to learn from your past mistakes; but you shouldn't dwell on things that can't be changed." Fluttershy replied to me.

It was quiet for another minute, until Fluttershy spoke again. "I used to be bullied a lot in flight school. I was a bad flier, and people would call me Klutzershy, and chant 'Fluttershy can hardly fly'. Then I met Rainbow Dash. She stood up for me, one of the very few ponies to ever do so. They made fun of her too, and eventually she challenged them to a race, to stop the bullying once and for all. When I waved the flag to start the race, they zoomed past me so quickly that I fell off the cloud I was on."

"Were you okay?"

"Yeah. A flock of butterflies caught me, and while I was down on the ground I realized my connection with animals. I was able to understand them, and communicate with them, in ways that most weren't able to. That's how I got my cutie mark. Afterwards, I learned that Rainbow had won the race, and also got her cutie mark."

"But… why are you telling me this?"

"Because, a year or so ago, we were tasked with taking the water from a local lake all the way up to Cloudsdale, so they could produce clouds. Rainbow was in charge of the entire thing, and because Soarin of the Wonderbolts was going to be there, she wanted to break the world record of fastest wing power used to make a tornado."

Fluttershy turned her head downwards, a sad look crossing her face.

"Rainbow needed me to be able to help break the record, but because of what happened at flying school, I was too afraid to. She tried to convince me. To give me courage. And she did. I finally went to practice to see how fast I could fly. My wing power was less than average though…"

"What was your wing power?" I asked curiously.

"It was .5, and the average is 7 or 8 for most ponies. When I saw my power, and the some ponies laughing at me again for being a bad flier, I lost my will to join. Then my animal friends helped me, training me to get faster. I came back to the training area, fully prepared to be faster than before. Yet, for all that work I did, I only got to a 2.3 power."

"That seems like it's a huge improvement though, especially in such a short time." I added, which made Fluttershy give a small smile.

"Yeah, that's what Twilight told me too. Anyway, the next day it was time to bring the water up to Cloudsdale. A lot of ponies got the feather flu though, and weren't able to show up. They weren't able to break the record anymore, but Cloudsdale still needed the water, so they tried to make a tornado. They were just below 800, the bare minimum wing power needed to make a tornado. They weren't able to maintain it, and broke apart, everypony getting slightly hurt. Rainbow was somehow able to convince everypony to go again, even though they would end up worse off if they crashed again. They were just below 800 again. Twilight gave me courage, telling me that I would be able to stabilize the tornado if I were to fly in."

"Did you fly in, though? Even though some ponies made fun of you?"

"Yeah, I did. I refused to let my past mess with me when everypony needed me. So I took off, and flew into the tornado to help. All I remember is that I kept going faster and faster, until Rainbow herself has to stop me from flying, because we already finished transferring the water up to Cloudsdale. Then everypony was so proud of me.. they started cheering my name. It was definitely one of my most memorable days, and one I won't forget. Especially with the lesson I learned from it."

"What did you learn?" I asked, now fully entranced with her story.

"Exactly what I told you. Don't let your past get in the way with the present. Don't let it taunt you and ruin things for you. Don't let it taunt you for years, like I let it do to me." She said, finishing her story.

"…thanks for that. I actually feel a bit better. I'm still taking you back to Ponyville on my back though. I won't leave you behind." I said, giving my definite answer.

Fluttershy gave me a soft smile, her face glowing the light of the fire. "In that case, I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, if you're going to do that, we better go to sleep now, so you have the power to get us home tomorrow."

I nodded my head in agreement. In no time at all, I began to hear Fluttershy softly snoring in her spot. I was up for a little while longer, enjoying the relaxing moment. I closed my eyes, slowly fading to sleep, when I heard a small whimper from around me.

I opened my eyes again, lifting my head up in search of the noise. I looked to Fluttershy, who appeared to be whimpering and shivering, obviously cold, even with us being in such close proximity to the fire.

I got up and lay down next to her on her good side, hoping that would help her stay warm. After I did that, she quieted down again, and leaned more into me, nuzzling her head into my body. I smiled, happy that she wasn't cold anymore, and sleep quickly overtook me as well.

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping, and looked around, seeing the fire from last night had gone out while we were sleeping. 'I guess it's a good thing I moved over next to Fluttershy, or she would have froze.' I thought to myself.

Speaking of Fluttershy, it was now morning, and time for us to start heading out to Ponyville. I got up, quicker than I should have, as I felt a rush of pain flow through my body.

"Ugh… why does everything hurt so much..?" I growled, testing a few of my limbs. "I know the fall from the cliff was going to hurt, but the pain should have been gone by now.."

"Mmm… Eclipsal?" I heard Fluttershy mutter, obviously waking up from sleeping.

I decided to ignore the pain to the best that I could, and responded to her. "Hey. G'mornin, Fluttershy. Ready to start the trek down to Ponyville?"

She gave a slight nod, before asking me, "How am I supposed to get on your back though?"

I gave a smirk, and answered her with one word:

"Magic."

Fluttershy was holding herself still on my back as we walked through the forest. Every once and awhile, she would point me down a different part of the path, knowing the layout of the area better than I ever could.

"Okay, that should be the last turn. There should only be a straight path back home, now." Fluttershy confidently said.

It was quiet for awhile as I walked, Fluttershy often looking around the area. In truth, my entire body still hurt. It felt like it was on fire, while being numb, while just aching and hurting in general. I didn't tell that to Fluttershy though; I wanted to get her back to Ponyville as quick as possible so that she could get herself fixed. Then I would worry about myself.

A few minutes later, we came upon a small ledge, only 3 feet steep, and I jumped down it. I let out a gasp as I hit the ground, my knees tempting to buckle themselves under me. I groaned, forcing my legs to stay upright.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked me, a worried look displayed on her face.

"Yeah.. yeah I'm fine. Just wasn't ready for that small drop, I guess." I lied to her, hoping she didn't pick up on the pain I was in.

I continued down the path, feeling Fluttershy looking around us, probably looking for some landmarks that would show that we were closer to home.

I came across a hill in what looked like a huge opening, and walked over it.

Seeing what was on the other side of it made me smile in triumph, as Fluttershy let out a happy gasp. Ponyville was now right at the bottom of the hill, looking like the most welcoming place in existence.

"We did it, Fluttershy!" I yelled in excitement, heading down the hill.

"Good job, Eclipsal. And.. thanks for not leaving me behind." She said with a smile.

"Any thing for you, Fluttershy. Now it's time to get you to the hospital." I replied, entering the town.

Many ponies saw us, looking very worried, and even made room for us as we approached the Ponyville Medical. It wasn't long before a bunch of ponies were just worriedly staring at us, everypony stopping their normal business.

We got into the door of Ponyville Medical, and told the doctors what happened. They had me follow them into one of their rooms, and had me use my magic to gently lift Fluttershy off of my back, and onto the bed in front of us.

"You still okay?" I asked her, making sure I hadn't hurt her while placing her on the bed.

"Yeah I'm fine." She replied, giving me a smile.

The door opened, as one of the nurses came in. "Hello there, Fluttershy."

"Hello, Nurse Redheart." Fluttershy welcomed with a smile.

Nurse Redheart closed the door behind her, then enveloped Fluttershy in her magic, closing her eyes. She then opened them again, and began speaking.

"Fluttershy, it appears as though you have your left front leg and left wing broken, your back left leg is sprained. Your ribs are extremely bruised, and some are even fractured." Nurse Redheart said, finishing her diagnosis.

"Ah, I knew about my legs and wing before, I didn't know about my ribs though. Thank you for helping Nurse Redheart." Fluttershy said.

"Well, I'll begin putting your body in a magic cast, so that your ribs will be fine. You have got to tell me what happened to you, though.. I haven't seen something this bad since the Discord attack a few years ago." Nurse Redheart said, pulling out rolls of bandages, while magic encased Fluttershy.

The door flew open, a livid Rainbow Dash appearing from it. "Fluttershy, are you okay?! What happened?!" Rainbow asked, rushing to her bedside.

"Uh.. maybe it would be better to explain it once everypony got here.." Fluttershy suggested.

"Well I flew here as soon as we heard that Eclipsal brought you back into town, hurt. The others should show up here soon, though." Rainbow explained, wearily looking at the nurse wrap up Fluttershy's back leg.

A minute passed in an awkward silence, when Rainbow broke it. "Fluttershy… I'm glad you're okay. We were up looking for you most of last night… I'm just… I'm glad you're fine."

"I'm a lot more tougher than I look Rainbow. You of all ponies should know that." Fluttershy said with a soft giggle.

At this moment, the other ponies we were waiting for stampeded into the room, questions flying out of their mouth quicker than I could keep up with.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?

"Did sompony hurt ya?" Who's flank do I gotta kick?"

"Oh dear, Fluttershy, what happened?"

"Yay! We found Fluttershy! You're not that good at hide and seek though."

I interrupted them all. "Uh… everypony. Calm down, so Fluttershy can speak."

Fluttershy thanked me, and then told them all what happened. From her looking for them but finding me, taking me down to the bog, moving the rocks, getting attacked by a Hydra, me not being able to use my magic, then us escaping from the Hydra, her getting hit trying to protect me, and me jumping off the cliff to help her. She left out the conversation we had last night, but did tell of me carrying her back. Our friends were quiet and listened to the whole thing, asking for explanations to some parts, but ultimately paying full attention.

Nurse Redheart was actually the first to speak. "Sounds like you had another crazy adventure. Good thing that none of your injuries are permanent, though."

I looked to the other ponies, Rainbow looking flustered, while the others just shocked that we went through all of that.

"I'll be fine, everypony. Don't worry about me. I would like to be alone now though, so I can get some rest." Fluttershy explained, letting everypony leave.

We walked outside of the hospital, and I let out a sigh. Now it was time for me to get some rest. I tried to say goodbye to the others, when Rainbow flew up to me, fire burning in her eyes.

"You." She snarled, angrily grabbing me.

"You should have protected her better!" Rainbow yelled, pushing me to the ground.

"You should have known that you wouldn't be strong enough to protect her against a BUCKING Hydra! You SHOULD have gotten one of us! You aren't the fastest pony in Equestria. You aren't the most magically inclined pony in Equestria. You aren't even skilled in fighting like Applejack is!" Rainbow said, jabbing her hoof in my face.

"Rainbow, dear, let him go. He did what he could." Rarity said, approaching us.

"Don't. You. Dare." Rainbow said, casting a glare that made Rarity stop and begin backtracking.

"If it weren't for you," Rainbow snarled, looking down at me. "Fluttershy wouldn't be in the hospital now, unable to take care of her animals!"

"You should have been the one to take a hit for her, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!" Rainbow continued yelling.

Rainbow got off of me and turned around, preparing to walk off. Then she stopped. "You don't even look like you have a bruise on you, and Fluttershy is sitting in there with two messed up legs, her wing broken, and her ribs all messed up…" She shook her head.

"This is all your fault. I never want to see you again."

I got up from where I was, staring in shock at the once friendly Rainbow, now angrier than I had ever seen her before.

Then she cast a gaze over her shoulder, and said, "One last thing…"

Her hind legs flew upwards, sending me sliding across the ground, until I hit the walls of a building. I heard the other ponies gasp, as Rainbow flew up to me.

"Buck you." She said, now flying away from the scene.

Twilight was the first to run up to me. "Are… are you okay?"

I tried to speak, but I ended up coughing instead.

She told the others that she would take care of me, and began walking me back to her house.

The entire time, I couldn't stop coughing. It felt like there was something bubbling up inside my body, which just wouldn't go down.

We got into the library, and Twilight brought out a first aid kit. She tried to look through the bruising on my chest, but my dark fur got in the way of seeing anything. She than said, "Here, let me go get something. By the way… I'm sorry about Rainbow. She tends to be pretty hot headed, but she should be fine soon."

I continued coughing up a fit, before I finally felt something coming out of my mouth. I looked down to see some red substance all over the hoof that I was using to cover my mouth.

"Hey, Twilight… what is this?" I asked her, watching her turn around and drop everything that she was levitating.

"Oh my Celestia.. Eclipsal, do you feel lightheaded?" Twilight asked me, grabbing the things she had before.

"Not really, I think." I replied, now feeling a bit worried. "Is something wrong?"

Twilight's horn began to glow, as her magic surrounded my body. She began to focus as much as she could, before letting out a gasp.

"Do you have any idea how much your body is broken right now!? How could we have been so stupid to think that you would be fine after catching Fluttershy off a cliff… And I think Rainbow might have punctured something inside of you, and you're internally bleeding…" Twilight muttered. "We have to get you back to the hospital, now."

"No! I can't go back to the hospital! I don't want Fluttershy to see me like this, and start to feel guilty for me carrying her here!" I said, backing up.

"But.." Twilight began.

"No buts. I'm not going. You have to promise me you won't take me to the hospital." Remembering something Pinkie had said, I changed my previous statement. "You have to Pinkie Promise that you won't take me, AND you won't tell anyone about this."

Twilight sat there, trying to say something, but just ended up shaking her head. "But… Rainbow Dash… Fine. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick up a cupcake in my eye." Twilight sighed.

"Okay, thank you." I said, sighing in relief.

"You have to let me help heal you though." Twilight said, ushering me towards the guest room.

"Fine, I can accept that." I said.

A few minutes passed as I relaxed on the bed in the guest room. Twilight came back in with multiple bandages, intent on fixing my limbs before trying to heal my bones.

As she rapped one of my hooves, she began talking to me. "Why do you not want anyone to know about you being hurt?"

I sighed. "I don't want Fluttershy to feel guilty about me caring for her while we were at the bottom of the cliff… and what Rainbow said. She was right.. I shouldn't have thought that I would be an acceptable replacement for a freaking Element of Harmony. Any of you would have helped Fluttershy better than I did…"

Twilight sadly looked down at me. "Eclipsal, you took care of her though. You did the best you could."

I stared out the window silently.

'But it wasn't good enough.'

Loyalty has been questioned.