1: A New Day In Ponyville
It was a nice, bright and sunny day in Ponyville. The sky was absolutely clear; in which the bright sun would often blind and overtake the beautiful, charming sights one could take in. More than plenty of small birds had taken this into account, and had taken flight, with no aimed direction at all. The pleasant, mixed scents of roses in the air only added to the sheer beauty of the current day, and all the colts and fillies were outside, playing their little games and enjoying every bit of the stimulation that the outside world had to offer them.
The faint sound of a train suddenly reverberated through the little town's atmosphere, a sign that Pinkie Pie took deep to her heart.
A new pony arriving in Ponyville that day. Very soon, in fact.
“OOOOOHHHH!!” She squealed, for the entire populace to hear. “I'm so excited!! So when's the train getting here?! WHEN'S THE TRAIN GETTING HERE??!” The mare screamed and reciprocated no response; not immediately, anyway.
"Now calm down, sugarcube,” Applejack spoke with her calm, soothing voice, along with the accent that made that voice as distinctive as ever. “We don't wanna scare our guest off or anythin'. T'wouldn't be the first time.”
Pinkie was never good at controlling her excitement, though. Everypony who knew her, heard of her name, or even imagined the very concept of hyperactivity, the whole nation knew who to turn to.
The Element of Laughter.
“I know, but this waiting is literally KILLING ME!!” She screamed those last two words.
“Do you even know what the word 'literally' means, Pinkie?” Applejack joked, giggling cutely.
The train in the distance was as far away from the town as it's echoes signified. Inside, 3 figures awaited in a dimly lit cart, a unicorn, a baby drake , and a bat pony guard stood in silence. The unicorn showed no interest in the sounds of the train, and only looked at the baby drake next to him.
"Cynder, are you ready?"
"Y-yes, Daddy, but I'm still a little scared,” the child responded.
"It's alright...it'll be okay. Mom told us this is one of the friendliest little towns in all of Equestria, and you know she would never lie to us.” The unicorn shared a small smile with the drake, reassuring her and calming her worried face.
"O-Okay, if you say so."
"My lord," The bat pony mare spoke. "We'll be arriving in Ponyville shortly."
The unicorn nodded. "Excellent."
The train came to a stop after about ten more minutes from which its bellows were heard reverberating along the mountains. A group of six beautiful mares were waiting for the doors to open, after it had come to a full stop in front of them.
"Oh, I simply cannot wait to meet this new pony,” Rarity said with dreamy eyes and giggled. " I do hope he's a looker."
"Pft, don't get your hopes up," Rainbow dash replied, cocking a bit of an attitude with the way she did. "It's probably just some travel ponies coming to ask us a mountain of questions."
"Now Rainbow, you can't jump to conclusions so soon," Twilight said with a smile,"For all we know, some noble could be coming here for a meeting with us or something."
"Ugh, I hope it doesn't come to that."
After a few more moments of silence, the doors opened, whence, 2 figures made their first steps out of it’s door, approaching the overcast light from the sun.
The first to be revealed by the light was a stallion with a red fur coat, bearing many black markings all over his body, almost tribal in appearance. His black mane was spiked and combed back, showing off the blue streak that perfectly matched his tail, and his eyes were a deep emerald green.
The only thing about him that came off as strange was his curved horn, and how it slightly reminded them about...
No, he can't be related to him. He can't be. The group thought to themselves, easily starting to panic as they looked at the newcomer. The next thing they noticed was his cutie mark, which resembled a weird, circle-like pattern with strange, almost ancient looking symbols.
My, my. What an interesting cutie mark. Rarity thought to herself.
The second figure was a bat pony mare wearing what looked like standard Celestial Guard armor, but it more of a reddish gray color. Her fur was a grayish blue color, and her eyes were a piercing yellow. She was wielding a spear that seemed to be made from the same material as her armor, giving it a red sheen.
"Hello, my name is Solar Eclipse." His voice was deep, but not menacing, almost, gentle. He spoke once more, "And this is my retainer, Silent Night."
As he finished, a little baby drake came out of the saddlebag he wore. She looked similar to Spike in size, but she had turquoise scales covering her body, with purple spines running down her back and belly, and a pair of orange, draconian, eyes. In a soft voice voice that rivaled Fluttershy's, she greeted the six mares.
"Um..Hello. M-My name's Cynder."
Pinkie gasped and screamed, "OH MY GOSH YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!" She was about to give him a bear hug until she was stopped by Silent Night's spear, stopping right at her neck.
"Take one more step and I'll end your life!" Night spoke in a fierce tone, keeping her blade just before the tip reached the mare’s skin.
"Silent Night, let her go. This is simply how she greets new ponies in town." Eclipse said in a calm tone. Silent stood there for a second, before slowly withdrawing her blade.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just get so excited when I meet new ponies." Pinkie said, slightly deflating her mane and tail.
"Please, don't apologize. I understand that some ponies are more open to showing affection towards newcomers, but Cynder gets scared easily, and Silent Night here didn't want her being startled. Plus, she saw your attempt at a warm greeting as a threat, and acted accordingly."
Poor Cynder was shivering inside of Eclipse's saddlebag. "It's OK sweetie," Eclipse said in a soft, soothing tone, "Nopony's going to hurt you, I promise." Slowly but surely, Cynder decided to pop out of the saddlebag once more. Now it was time for Twilight to introduce herself.
"Now that we got that out of the way, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are-"
"The fabled Elements of Harmony," Eclipse interrupted, "Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash." He finished, leaving the girls to stare in shock.
"How do you know our names?" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
"Princess Luna has told me many things about you girls, that's one of the reasons why I'm here." Eclipse stated.
"Oh! Wait, are you Luna's newest student?" Twilight asked.
"Yes I am," Eclipse said with a nod, "and I have business to attend to." Eclipse said as he got his saddlebag ready. He was about to leave when-
"Wait! Before you go, can I ask you one more question?" Twilight said, almost in a slight panic.
Eclipse stopped and said, "Very well. What is it?"
"What's that circle thing on your cutie mark?" Twilight wasn't sure if she could have asked that better, but there was no turning back now.
Eclipse looked confused for a second, but soon realized what she was talking about, "This is an Ancient Arcane Circle," he stated in a slightly mystic tone, "These were used in the ancient times, long before Celestia split Luna's soul in two, and banishing her evil half: Nightmare Moon, onto the surface of the moon Letting her keep Luna by her side without the dark corruption interfering with their business."
"Wow. I’ve heard stories of old unicorns who had the powers of the Ancient Arcane Arts." Twilight said in awe of the story being told before her.
Eclipse continued, ”Few Unicorns were blessed with the magical prowess and knowledge required to even wield such powerful magic. The only ones known to wield it, were Princess Luna herself, the 7 Arcane Masters, along with the Royal Court Wizards." He continued, "It has been over 1000 years since the use of Ancient Arcane magic has been required, so now it has become a lost art. However, Luna believed I was capable of wielding such power, and right she was. My special talent is ancient magic, I've studied many forms of magic over the years, and I know how to use each of them effectively."
"You mentioned something about the 7 Arcane Masters. Who were they exactly?"
"They were the ones who invented Arcane magic. Starswirl the Bearded was one of the 7, however, the other 6 are unknown to me. The 7 Arcane Masters were specialists of each of the 6 Arcane schools: Destruction, Restoration, Illusion, Conjuration, Alteration, and Transmutation."
"If there were 6 schools of Arcane magic, then why are there 7 Arcane Masters?"
"That, my friend is simple, Starswirl the Bearded, the 7th Arcane Master, and the creator of Ancient Arcane magic, was a master of all 6 schools."
Twilight gasped, “Starswirl the Bearded created Ancient Arcane magic?!” She squealed in excitement.I knew Starswirl the Bearded was powerful, but I never imagined him being THAT powerful.
"Now, if there are no more questions, I must meet Mayor Mare to see if there's a house for sale. I bid you all a farewell for now." Eclipse bowed to the girls, told Cynder to hop onto his back, and he went off into the town.
As he was walking through the main street of Ponyville, he made his way to Town Hall to go get himself a house. "Daddy, are you sure that ponies here will be so nice?" Cynder asks her father in a scared, soft voice.
"Don't worry Cynder, you know I wouldn't let anything hurt you. Besides, you can't really blame Pinkie Pie, she was just excited to meet somepony new, that's all." Eclipse said to his daughter in an almost motherly tone, despite being a stallion.
yawn, "OK daddy." Cynder said as she laid her head down on her father's mane and fell asleep.
"Sweet dreams, Cynder."
"Miss Mare, Mr. Eclipse is here to see you." The receptionist told Mayor Mare as she walked into her office.
"Bring him in."
As the receptionist left, Solar Eclipse stepped into the mayor's office. "Good morning, Mayor Mare. I assume you know why I'm here." Eclipse said.
"Yes I do," Mayor Mare stated, "You're here to purchase a house, and please, call me Ms. Mare."
"As you wish. Is there any house available?"
"You're in luck Mr. Eclipse, we have one house for sale. If you wish to purchase it, I would be willing to sell it to you for about 1700 bits."
"Excellent, that would be perfect, and please, just call me Eclipse."
"I just need you to sign this paperwork, and we can begin getting everything in order."
"Thank you. Cynder, would you mind getting me my quill?"
It took Cynder a little while, but she was able to find it and give it to her father. "Here you go, daddy."
"Thank you." Once Eclipse finished signing the papers, he handed them to the mayor.
Then she hands Eclipse a key, "Here is the key to you new home. Just follow the road south of the Town Hall, go through the market district, and turn left just past Carousel Boutique, then keep going down the road until you see a small river. Your home will be there."
"Thank you Ms. Mare. Farewell."
With that, Eclipse was off to go to his new home. As he walked, he began thinking to himself, I wonder if there's anything I need to pick up on the way home. I'll worry about it later, first I need to get Cynder settled in.
As the path came to stop, he got a good view of the exterior of his new home. It was a simple design: only one floor, bright yellow paint, with a beautiful backfield view, and to top it all off, there was even a small river running right through the backyard. This place will be perfect. Eclipse takes the key, and opened the door to a nice, but simple living room with a door leading to the kitchen to the right, and a hallway leading to 2 bedrooms, and a bathroom. Simply perfect. Now to just get some food, and everything will be all set for today.
As Eclipse set his saddlebags next to the door, he turned to the young drake. "Cynder, I'm going to the market to get us some food. Is there anything you want me to get?"
Cynder thought for a second, "Um, can you get some blackberries please?"
"Of course. Now just stay here until I get back, OK?"
"Sure thing daddy." Cynder said with a bow.
Then Night spoke up, “Don’t worry, my lord. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Eclipse nodded, “Just make sure she’s safe.” And with that, Eclipse shut the door and went off to the market.
Oh, I can't wait to see his face once he see's the surprise I have waiting for him! Pinkie Pie practically screamed in her head while she walked down to Eclipse's house. How she knew Eclipse lived here, we may never know. Once she got to the end of the path, she knocked on the door to see if anypony was home. She was surprised when she was greeted by a little drake and not the pony she was looking for.
"Um, hello. Can I help you ma'am?" Cynder said in her usual quiet tone.
"Oh, hello Cynder. Is Eclipse home?"
"Sorry, he just left."
"Oh that's alright," Pinkie smiled, "Would you mind helping me set up a surprise party for him?"
Cynder gasped softly, then started to smile too, "Oh no, I don't mind. What do you need me to do?"
It took a little longer than he expected, but he finally got everything he needed.
Alright, it appears I have everything I need. I got some fruit, vegetables, a couple drinks, and blackberries for Cynder, I think I got everything I need to make some pastries too. Despite his best efforts, he found himself worrying about Cynder on his way home. I just hope Cynder's doing alright. She can get a little eccentric when she’s left alone for too long. *sighs* Serves me right for doing all those experiments with Luna while she was just a hatchling. Before too long, he made his way home, but.....something felt off to him about it. He tried to shake it off, I’m sure it’s just my overactive imagination. he thought as he opened the door, only to immediately regret his accusation.
"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Author's Note
Here we go, first new chapter for the remake. Sorry it took so long getting this thing updated, writer’s block and work are an absolute pain to deal with. Anyway, I’m back in business. Hope you guys enjoy it, and please leave a comment below. If anyone wants to draw a new coverart for this story, I’d greatly appreciate it, but I’d understand if it couldn’t be done. See you guys next time.
