Eclipse Of The Sun

The sound of gentle clicking woke Night from his sleep. He squinted his eyes against the light that did manage to get through his blinds, trying to find whatever was the source of what had brought him out of his rest. When he found nothing he dismissed it as such and closed his eyes again, only to hear somepony speak in a hushed voice.

"Be careful, he's dangerous."

That was enough to send Night almost flying out of his bed and to his supply chest. He opened it and fumbled around with the contents, trying to figure out what would be the most effective. No time to put on armor, and I still haven't gotten the replacement for my sword... Damn!

The Unicorn settled for an empty glass bottle, magic and his own skill in hoof-to-hoof combat. He stood up against the wall of his room, bottle in one hoof, other hoof raised and a spell being readied. He could hear two sets of hooves on his floor, slowly approaching his bedroom door. One of them inched open the door, trying to make as little sound as possible, still thinking their quarry was asleep. Night gripped the bottle tighter, waiting for the pony's head to appear in front of him

The figure, revealed to be a Unicorn wearing a very light piece of armor with a few symbols stitched into the sides peeked through, his face becoming very confused when he saw the empty bed. "Uh, Cygnus? He ain't-"

Night interrupted him by bringing the bottle down onto his skull as hard as he could, shattering the bottle and clubbing the infiltrator to the ground. The pony let out a low growl and tried to lunge up from his position, but Night used the sharp bits on the broken bottle to stab him through the side. He threw the wounded assassin into a wall and swung at the second pony - Cygnus - who was backpedaling to buy time for a spell.

A blue beam fired from his horn, which Night narrowly managed to avoid. Night fired his own spell, striking a ward the other Celestial had made just in time. The wounded Unicorn got up off the ground and tried to tackle the Lunar from behind, only to be slammed into the ground. Taking advantage of the temporary distraction, Cygnus drew a needle-like weapon from one of his pockets, and ran the end through Night's side.

The object stung quite a bit, but the more pressing matter was that soon Night began to feel nothing at all where he had been stabbed. The numb sensation spread alarmingly fast, causing him to collapse to the ground, unable to move or feel anything. He tried to cast a spell to purge poisons from his body but before he could even begin, the pony he had wounded earlier grabbed him by the horn and beat his head against the floor, almost rendering him unconscious. When they knew Night was no longer a threat, they began to speak.

"You know, you could have handled that a little better," Cygnus said, sheathing the needle he had stabbed Night with.

"Shut up, alright? You try functioning properly when some scumbag knocks you over the head with a bottle and tries to pin you to a wall with it."

"Is that any way to talk to your mentor? Either way, we've captured the self-proclaimed leader of these traitors, and now we just need to bring him to a secure location and await orders from higher up," Cygnus responded, looking around the house. "You prepare the invisibility spell, and I'll see if I can find any useful information in this dump."

The Unicorn went through various cabinets and boxes in his search, but eventually walked into Night's own room. Night could hear his chest being opened - he didn't care too much, wasn't anything truly valuable - but as soon as he heard the sound of a drawer being pulled out, he panicked. Not because of there being documents about troop movements or trade agreements, but because that was where his unused engagement ring was at. If it hadn't been for the paralysis keeping him in place, he would have ripped Cygnus limb from limb when the Unicorn walked out, spinning that very object with his magic.

"Find anything?" his apprentice asked, horn glowing from the prepared spell.

"Nah, nothing but this pretty little number."

"Looks like some sorta ring."

"Oh, it is. The pony on the floor in front of us was going to propose to somepony. Anyways, I want you to find me a claiming document for spoils of war as soon as we are back in Canterlot, this might be worth enough to compensate for the damage fines I've been dealing with recently."

" 'Damage fines'? What did you do this time?"

Cygnus rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't look at me that way, how in Equestria was I supposed to know Pegasus feathers are highly flammable?" he paused for a moment. "We're wasting time, cast that spell so we can get out of here. And knock that pony out, I don't need the poison wearing off with him still awake."

The other Unicorn looked down at Night, shrugged, and kicked him in the head.

Blackest Night clutched his head, groaning. That bastard Cygnus, I'm gonna gut him as soon as I see him - wait, where am I?

Night opened his eyes and looked around. He was surrounded on all sides by a black void with no discernible floor, ceiling or walls. He stood up, both confused and intrigued. Was this an illusion?

He became so caught up in thought that he almost didn't hear the hoofsteps behind him. Night turned around as soon as he did, unsure of what to expect. However, as soon as he did, he almost had to put a hoof under his chin to keep his jaw from hitting the floor.

"Luna..."

The princess smiled, wrapping her forelegs around the stunned Night. "Yes, it's me... After all these years of solitude I've finally managed to contact you..."

Night returned the hug tenfold, his only thoughts being to comfort the mare he hadn't even been able to look at for a decade. "I've missed you so much, Luna!" he said, tears of joy slowly beginning to well up. "And I'm so, so sorry..."

Luna looked down, confused. "Sorry for what, exactly?"

Night met her gaze. "It was my sworn duty to protect you from anypony who would wish to do you harm, and when that threat came in the form of your sister, I was unable to stop you from being banished. I failed, and you have suffered ten years of isolation as a result."

The Alicorn hugged him again, a hint of sadness in her voice "Oh, Night... you don't need to apologize. I've seen what trials you have been through, all the things you have done to keep the Lunar Guard from being dismantled and buried, and the fact that you remained loyal is more than enough. Nothing could have been done that night to prevent my banishment, so in a sense it was me who failed and forced you to live alone."

Night simply nuzzled into her fur as he thought of a response. "Then, is what I am doing right? Equestria and the Lunars are going to be at war by the end of the week, but is that what you would have me do?"

"I love my sister dearly, but I cannot take this isolation any longer. I have seen some of the two cities with my magic, but I want to be there and see it with my own eyes rather than conjure it in front of me. I want to be with you again, like it was before all this happened. Do whatever you have to in order to end the spell keeping me here, and I truly mean that."

The Unicorn was rather surprised. "Even if that means... killing your sister?"

Luna nodded slowly, laying down next to Night and closing her eyes. She nuzzled the stallion, placing a wing over him. "You know, I almost didn't think it would be possible to do this."

"What, contact me?"

"Sort of; I meant to make my own pocket dimension, and then get your subconscious into it while you were knocked out so we could talk. I know it sounds like a bit of work, but I was getting desperate," she explained, scooting closer to Night.

"Don't worry, Luna. Soon, you will no longer have to be stuck on the moon, just as you wished. I think you really will like it in the city, and we already have a tower built for you, just waiting for you to occupy it, and-"

The princess placed a hoof over Night's mouth, silencing him. "No, I won't occupy it. We will," she said, removing her hoof and pulling the now speechless Unicorn into their first kiss since the night before she had been banished. When they finally broke off from the experience, Luna continued. "My strength grows weak from sustaining this place for so long. You will have to leave soon, as much as I wish we could be alone here for eternity. The spell will end soon."

Night nodded and stood up, helping Luna to her hooves. "What happens then?"

"You will be transferred back into your body, just as you were before I brought you here," she answered. Night could see her beginning to fade away as his subconscious was pulled back into Equestria.

The Alicorn ran over to him one last time. "And... Good luck. You may need it."

"Thank you, Luna."

"Hey, he's finally waking up!"

Night jumped up from the ground, startled. He was locked in some kind of cage, while Cygnus and his apprentice - who had a multitude of bandages where Night had stabbed him - looked on a few feet away. His immediate instinct was to destroy the cage with is magic, but as soon as he tried to cast the spell a splitting pain overtook his horn.

"Magic inhibitor. You won't be casting spells unless I say so. Oh, and don't bother trying to take it off, it's magically bound to your horn," Cygnus said, smiling cruelly.

"What the buck do you want with me?" Night growled, rubbing his horn

"Me? No, you misunderstand. It's not I that wants you, it's Princess Celestia. You killed our guards on our land, and now, you must be punished. That, and, seeing as we are pretty much at war now, we have pretty much won by capturing you."

"And why, if I may ask, didn't you just kill me?"

Cygnus smiled again. "You are our bargaining chip. Celestia has wanted those mountains for a while, and we will give you back to the Lunars as long as they agree to be annexed into Equestria."

"What have the Griffons said about this? In case you've forgotten-"

"The Griffons do not want a war with Equestria, not in it's current state of power. They know full well what's going on, and they backed down as soon as war was mentioned."

Halfbeak, you cowardly fool! Night thought, wanting to give the damned buzzard a lesson or two in loyalty.

There was a brief flash of light as a scroll materialized on a table behind the ponies. The apprentice turned around and grabbed it, quickly breaking the seal. He looked surprised. "Sir, the Lunars have refused the offer, and Celestia has given us permission to execute the prisoner," he said.

Cygnus was equally shocked. "Well, who could have seen that coming? Very well, I'll let you try destruction magics - you need the practice - on him, and I'll go gather my things," he said, leaving the room.

The two ponies started at each other, waiting. The Celestial finally sighed and readied the spell, aiming it directly at Night's chest. An idea popped into his head, just as the pony looked ready to cast.

A line of fire shot out of his horn. Night dodged to the right at the last second, sending the bolt into the wall. The apprentice, instead of trying to recast, continued to use the spell, cutting through the bars of the cage and destroying the lock, and a few seconds later, damaging the hinges. Night seized the opportunity and kicked the iron gate, sending it off its hinges and into the Celestial, pinning him to the wall. Before the pony could cry for help, he landed multiple punches on his face, rendering him unconscious.

Still made some noise, but hopefully that pompous ass doesn't care about this fellow enough to check, he thought, beginning to look for an exit. There was none, save for the door Cygnus had used. He cautiously stepped towards it, waiting to see if he could hear hoofsteps on the other side. Nothing.

Night started sifting through items on the table, looking for something that might help get the ring off his horn. Most of the tools looked like torture devices, none of which were going to be of any practical use. He picked up what appeared to be a bloodied auger - likely from being used to drill holes in bones - and slowly opened the door

A bolt of fire struck the wood, sending charred fragments and embers everywhere. Night jumped back behind the frame as a second bolt collided with the wall opposite the entrance, igniting a small fire. A third bolt crashed against the frame Night was against, prompting him to jump back to avoid being burned.

"Ha! You think I'm going to fall for that one again?!" Cygnus shouted, beginning to advance. Night grabbed some of the charred wood and crushed it under his hooves, covering the floor with piles of ash. Night turned around, preparing to kick up the ash as an impromptu distraction. Cygnus sent one more fireball into the doorframe to ensure Night wasn't behind it, and then stepped through, another spell already primed.

The Lunar scraped his hooves against the floor as he kicked, the air behind him becoming full of ash. Cygnus let out a cry of pain as the searing dust landed on his face and got in his eyes, blinding him. Night lunged forward and sunk the auger into his shoulder. He immediately tried to push Night away and remove the object, but Night twisted it around, causing it to bore through the bone it was stuck in. Cygnus screamed and grabbed something off the table - likely finding it only by luck - and drove the weapon back into Night.

As it turns out, he had found one of the few sharp devices in the room, and Night stumbled back when the blade went surprisingly deep into his skin. He almost instantly noticed a difference in his breathing, and he could taste blood. Lucky bucker must have hit my lung, he thought, getting back up. Cygnus had begun to blindly fire spells around the room, igniting more and more small fires that were quickly spreading and combining. Night grabbed the auger again and tore it out, then aimed for a much weaker area on his target.

Cygnus howled when the auger was forced through his left eye, but now that he was sure of his assailants location, he just barely managed to cast a final spell at point blank range. Night fell back, the searing pain on the edge of the burn incapacitating him. There was no pain in the center, however, and that was far worse. He didn't dare to look, but he could smell the foul stench of burned skin.

Night watched as Cygnus stumbled around the last of his energy drained from the repeated spellcasting. He stopped making noises from his pain and slumped against part of the wall that hadn't been consumed by fire, and then stopped moving altogether, save for the occasional rise and fall of his chest. He made no attempt to flee when the flames began to lick at his fur, and was silent when they spread onto his body, further putting the odor of burnt fur and flesh into the air.

He drug himself out the door, despite the pain from the burn and the knife embedded in his side. Night fiddled with the inhibitor still on his horn, and found that it slid off with ease now that the pony who cast the binding spell was dead. He was about to throw the cursed object into the inferno behind him, only to see that Cygnus had used his own damn ring to render him helpless. The only thing that stopped him from going back, dragging Cygnus out and continuing to assault him was the sudden screaming of his apprentice, who had woken from his knocked out state, under a prison door and likely with fire inches away, if it hadn't already ignited him. Night made haste towards what looked like the exit.

There was a blizzard outside, which Night found out about as soon as he opened the door. Snow, huh? That means these idiots never took me out of the mountains, he thought, halfheartedly smiling. He wouldn't have much time to find his city; it was already becoming pretty hard to breathe, and there was a minuscule amount of blood leaking from his mouth. He used his magic to pull the blade from his side and made an attempt to heal the wound, but the inhibitor had weakened his magic greatly, and the wound remained. He put the ring back on.

He limped onward, trusting his instincts. The conflagration of a shack had to have been close - hopefully no more than a few miles north of the nearest watchtower. He felt his strength ebbing away as he limped, and his mind seemed to be swimming. There was some kind of voice in his head, as well. It seemed to be urging him forward, screaming when he stopped and correcting him when he turned away from his path.

The cold was beginning to numb his senses until he felt nothing more than a dull, aching pain where he had been wounded. His thoughts felt empty, his mind set only on moving forward. The bleeding from his mouth and side had essentially stopped from the cold, but he was moving noticeably slower as well. How long had he been walking? A few minutes? An hour? Several hours?

How far had he walked? Was his true survival instinct taking over and guiding him in circles? Had he even made a straight line once?

The snow covered up his hoofprints, rendering the idea of returning to the likely-collapsed shack to recover a worthless one. His vision was becoming dark around the edges, and his breathing had slowed some more until he practically had to remind himself to breathe.

Night's body suddenly gave out, unable to be pushed any further after the wounds it had suffered. He fell into the snow, and the wind carried the white powder onto his body to begin burying him until spring. The black edges around his vision had advanced until he was seeing half pure white, and half darkness. He blinked slowly, waiting. Waiting.. for what? He couldn't even think of what he was waiting on. He ignored the enraged voice in the back of his head, closing his eyes slowly as the blackness covered them.

NEINN!

Svá kaerr! Munu a þrjóta!

Vaka, Nótt!

"...and to summarize, we plan to infiltrate from the north - near their border with the Griffons - and march south into Amalthea, dealing with whatever forces are garrisoned there. Meanwhile, our ships will sail into Europa and block off their ports, and destroy the city if necessary. I suspect that this will take... no more than a week, from the second we cross their border to the moment the annexation document is signed," Rune said, rather proud of his plan.

"Good, I'm glad to see you are so confident in your abilities compared to the other generals. Go ahead and fill them in, and get your ponies ready to leave. I don't want them declaring Night a martyr until we are lowering their flag," she said, dismissing him and leaving the war room.

Rune let off a huge sigh. In reality he was nowhere near as confident as he had seemed. He had the broad sense of the plan down, but there were so many variables and minor details that could get all those he commanded killed in the first fight. He was, after all, dealing with Blackest Night, the pony who nearly took over Canterlot in a couple hours with a force that had barely been given instruction. Now, he was going to have to lay waste to a city that his followers have had ten years to build and fortify, and as soon as they realized that Equestria doesn't joke around with its enemies, things would only get harder.

The Celestial shook his head, cursing making the move to take this position. His predecessor had ditched for a reason.