Chapters Celestia:
It was just like any other day. I ate my breakfast, I talked to Luna about the night's events whilst I slept, let her retire to her bedroom, took a stroll in the Canterlot gardens before having tea with the teachers of my school for gifted unicorns, had lunch and began to sign some paper work in the throne room when a guard noticed something from a window, it was heading towards the castle.
I walked to the window to see what my general was talking about. I noticed a glow in the distance, it looked like a blue flame heading towards me, much like Spike's letters that he sent to me for the girls in Ponyville. Spike, however, sent them by green flame. So who other than Spike and Discord could send me a letter by flame? I backed away from the window to let the flame enter, as it landed in front of me, I caught it with my magic sending a pink aura around the scroll. I sat down on my thrown and opened the letter, as I stared at the letter in front of me I could only giggle in excitement. The letter had the words, "Did you miss me?" and was signed "Eclipse."
"Your majesty, is there something in that letter that you find pleasing?" asked my general. I instantly smiled.
"Get the old chamber ready, we have a guest arriving in a few days." He saluted me and went off to carry out his order. Then I suddenly thought of something, next week was Luna's birthday party and I still haven't gotten her anything, mostly because she doesn't want anything. Suddenly another blue flame entered the room and appeared in front of me.
"I know what you're thinking, I will return on the night of Luna's birthday. Wink."
He's always one step ahead of me. I began to laugh at the thought of Luna's reaction. It then occured to me that I should inform Cadence and the girls, as well as Discord. Next week is surely going to be interesting.
Discord:
It was three in the afternoon. I was helping my wife Fluttershy with her animal friends when a letter appeared in front of me. I grabbed it with my claw and opened it.
"What does it say dear?" I heard my wife ask with her sweet voice, I smiled and replied.
"Celestia is throwing a party for Luna next week and a VERY special guest will be arriving."
"Is it princess Cadence?"
"It says she will be there but she is not the special guest"
"Then if it's not her, then who is it? Is it somepony you know?"
"Let's just say it's a very old friend, dear. Would you go tell Screwy and Mothball that we are going on a trip to Canterlot in a few days?"
Cadence:
Shining Armour and I were having some tea in a cafe near the Crystal Palace with our daughter when a letter appeared out of nowhere. It was about to fall in my tea when Shining Armour caught it with his magic. I smiled and gave him a kiss then took the letter from him to read it. When I saw what was written on the scroll I dropped my teacup causing it to collide with the ground and smash. My mouth was now hanging open in shock. Shining Armour ran to my side with a worried expression,
"What, what is it hun?"
"Read this"
He grabbed the letter with his magic and his face mimicked mine, "What does this mean for Equestria Cadence?"
I chuckled a little bit and said with a playful tone. "I guess my uncle is stopping by Canterlot next week. What do you say dear, wanna go?"
He straightened himself and nodded his head, with the shock still remaining on his face. I giggled and pinched his rump with my magic causing him to come back to his senses. This is going to change Equestria forever.
Twilight:
I woke up this morning to see my daughter, Twinkle, sleeping between me and my husband Flash Sentry. She was cuddling Flashes left wing. I could only smile at her cuteness. I kissed her on the cheek, got out of bed and headed to the front of my crystal tree house. I was about to trot over to Sweet Apple Acres to get some apples for my family's breakfast when I noticed a group of ponies that I had never seen before, they looked lost. I walked over to the three strangers to ask what was wrong.
"Um, hello there, are you ponies OK?" There was a Pegasus with a cream coat and a green spiky mane. The second was a unicorn that had long grey hair with red through it, and a smoky grey coat. The third was an earth pony with a cloudy white coat and short blue hair with red ends. The Pegasus looked at me and then noticed I was an alicorn and bowed. I felt a little embarrassed but didn't want to be rude. I thanked him for his respect and he then spoke, but something about his voice seemed odd, like it was coming from a speaker from one of Vinyl's records. Come to think of it, his hair was styled the same why as hers.
"Sorry miss, it's just that we are new in town and don't know our way around."
"Well then, tell me where you ponies need to go."
The unicorn then spoke, "We heard there was an apple farm around here but we don't know where it is."
"Well today's your lucky day. I was just on my way over to the apple farm. I'll walk you over there, my friend runs the farm."
The earth pony then bowed.
"Thank you princess."
"Now now, there is no need for that. Just call me Twilight, what are your names?"
"Oh sorry, I'm Glaze, the unicorn is Mic and the earth pony is Tombstone. It is very nice to meet you Twilight."
"Likewise, Glaze."
I led the way to Sweet Apple Acres and turned my head to Glaze, "You know, you look like a DJ I know, goes by the name DJ-PON3."
He looked at me with an irritated face.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. We are actually rivals in the DJ underground."
"Oh, so are you three some kind of DJ group then?"
"Yep, we have our own work but most of the time we work together." Tombstone and Mic smiled proudly.
"OK then, almost there. I should warn you, my friend gets very excited when she meets new ponies." I giggled a bit, I looked back to see their confused faces.
We reached the farm to find Applejack, Big Mac and Appleblossom bucking apples off their trees. Applejack noticed us and waved.
"Howdy Twilight! Who are your friends?"
"Hey Applejack. I'm just stopping by to get some apples. Oh, let me introduce you to Glaze, Mic and Tombstone, they're new here in Ponyville."
Applejack zoomed over to them and frantically shaked their hooves.
"Howdy y'all, welcome ta Ponyville. Ma names Applejack, nice to meet you!" I couldn't help but think she was over doing it with the accent.
"Now now Applejack, don't scare them off like when Ink Rose and Doctor Wolf moved to town." Applejack then released Tombstones hoof from her grasp.
"Hehehe, sorry 'bout that. I just can't help ma 'self, I love meeting new ponies." I asked Applejack for my apples and then left the three DJ's with her and waved back to them.
"If you need any help getting around town just ask somepony if they've seen me. OK Glaze?" He nodded and returned to his conversation with Applejack.
I returned home and started getting breakfast ready when I felt something grab my leg. I turned around to see Twinkle hugging me. I lifted her with my magic and nuzzled our noses together. I walked upstairs to wake my sleepy husband up. I shook him gently then kissed him on the cheek. He groaned and stretched his legs then opened his eyes.
"Morning sleepy head." I said with a soft smile on my face. We had apple tart for breakfast and then walked into town. A few hours later we met up with the girls in the park and to my surprise Rainbow Dash and Soarin were there with their daughter, Prism, who was the spitting image of her mother. "Rainbow, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the Wonderbolts?" She laughed and hugged me while Soarin and Flash shared a bro hoof.
"Twi, don't you remember, me and Soarin quit the Wonderbolts after our mission in Afghanisteed?" I gave a sigh of relief and smiled at Prism.
"I bet you're glad to hear that huh Prism?" She smiled and hugged her mother. We were in the middle of lunch when Spike burped out a letter. He then stood up and started reading out loud.
"Dear Twilight and friends, you are all invited to Princess Luna's Birthday celebration next Tuesday, were we will not only be celebrating Luna, but also the return of my long lost friend..." Spike looked as if he was about to faint, and he did. I picked up the letter and continued reading.
"... Also the return of my long lost friend, Prince Eclipse!" I dropped the letter and everypony looked at me in confusion. Rarity spoke up, "Twilight, are you alright darling, who is this Prince?" I could only keep a worried expression on my face, I've never actually met the prince since I wasn't alive back before the thousand years of peace, but I've read a lot about him. I instantly realised why Spike had passed out, as he had read all about Prince Eclipse once, when we were living in Canterlot. It's not like his return was a bad thing, but it was definitely going to change things in Equestria.
"I've only read about him in books before but he was once the prince of all Equestria, he ruled alongside Celestia and Luna. However, after Nightmare Moon's banishment he just suddenly disappeared." They all looked at each other, looking even more confused. Fluttershy then told me that Discord got a letter just like the one I had received. I don't know what's going to happen but I somehow feel it's going to involve the elements of harmony.
I just don't know why the Prince would just suddenly return after one thousand years. I had a feeling, however, the answer would be found in Canterlot.
The true story of Eclipse
Celestia:
I was taking a walk through Canterlot, it was now Monday and Luna's Birthday celebration would begin tomorrow night at 7 o'clock. It took me awhile to get my younger sister to partake in this event, mostly due to the fact that we have not celebrated her birth ever since 'He' disappeared. After much pleading Luna had finally agreed to take part. I have still not told her about Eclipses return to Canterlot, as I want it to be a surprise. I chuckled to myself about the way he might stage his 'grand entrance' as he was always sort of random and unpredictable, much like Pinkie Pie.
Anyway, I was headed to the train station to welcome Twilight and her friends. When i arrived I found Mothball and Screwball standing at the platform. Discord and Fluttershy had arrived yesterday, I walked over to see Mothball in his disguise. I giggled and placed my hoof on his shoulder,"You do realise you don't have to hide yourself Mothball?" He slightly jumped and turned around to see me, giving a sigh of relief.
"Oh its only you princess, I am aware that you have told the Canterlot ponies of me but I would like it if I wasn't being stared at all the time."
"They will never get used to you if you hide yourself my little changeling."
He sighed and presented an irritated look on his face.
"Fine." A bright green flame surrounded him and tore away his fake body to reveal his true look. He had holes in his legs making them look like cheese, had blue web like hair, tiny fangs rested on his upper jaw, his back resembled that of a beetle, his green insect wings matched his emerald eyes. His body was a slick black and was very thin.
He sighed and looked at me with worried eyes. I placed a hoof on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "Don't you worry, I will make sure that no pony will bother you during your stay Mothball."
"Thank you, princess."
"Please, just call me Celestia."
"Ok, I will keep that in mind, Celestia." Before I could say anything else Screwball embraced him.
"I prefer this you, lover boy." She gave him a smirk and his face became flushed.
The train stopped at the station 10 minutes later, ponies flooded the station. As Mothball had expected many ponies threw him dirty looks.
"I told you they would stare."
"Relax young one, once they get used to you they won't bother you, I will personally see to that."
Mothball could only give a small smile. As the crowd cleared the families of ponyville stepped out of the train car one family at a time. The first group to exit the train was the Pies, next came the Dashes, then Rarity and Fancy Pants with their daughter, then the Sparkles and lastly the Apple family.
"I am so glad that you could all make it."
They all cheered in excitement, while Twilight could only give a worried expression towards me.
"Princess, I believe we have something of much importance to discuss?"
"That we do my faithful student, but for now get settled in, then when you are all ready meet me in the throne room."
They all went their separate way to the areas they were staying in, all of them holding a slightly worried expression. "I have to tell them everything now don't I?" A voice from the sky startled me.
"Oh come on I'm not that bad, am I?"
"Are you sure that you should be openly speaking to me like this?"
"Dont worry only you can hear me." He shouted in a dramatic voice.
I could only chuckle.
"Wow, I forgot how much I like your laugh, but come on I wasn't even trying."
"Well, I know I'm going to be laughing a lot more with you back in the castle."
"I see, oh and by the way, you may want to look for my journal before talking to them."
"Why?"
"It looks like your student and her brother are getting the wrong idea."
"I see, but will you please show yourself Eclipse?"
"In due time Celestia, just explain to them who I am and I will show myself tomorrow night."
I sighed at the thought of having to explain who Eclipse really is and that hes not the shadowy figure that books have led most ponies to believe.
"Ok, but reveal yourself when Luna is not around, I have a plan that you might like."
"Knowing you, I already like the plan."
I burst out laughing and fell on my back. An orange aura enveloped me and put me back on my four hooves.
"I've missed you Eclipse."
"I've missed you too Tia."
There was suddenly complete silence leaving me by myself. I struggled to keep my laughter in. Suddenly memories of my childhood rushed back to me. All the time I had spent playing with him when we were foals, learning spells from Star swill the Bearded, and watching him and Luna develop their relationship. My nostalgic day dream was interupted by Twilight and her friends.
"Princess, are you alright, you looked like you were in your own little world?"
"I'm just looking back to my younger days."
"If you dont mind princess, we should really get down to buisness."
"Very well, meet me in the throne room in ten minutes."
I flew off to the castle library to search for the book that Eclipse was talking about. I came across a painting of an Eclipse, with a button on the lower part of the black and orange frame. When I pressed the button The frame moved to the left and revealed a small vault. The vault wasnt locked as no one knew this even existed. I opened it up to find a dusty book with a sun, a moon and the stars on the cover. I knew that book all to well. I was starting to wonder how Twilight was going to take this, as everything she has read about Eclipse was false. Knowing her she would complain that ponies put false information into books. Nevertheless, I had to tell her.
As I was walking to meet the girls I was stopped by Cadance and Shining Armour. I motioned them to follow me and the nodded in agreement. Twilight was waiting by the door with her friends when she noticed us.
"Cadance, Shining, I'm so glad you are here."
"You kidding Twlight, we would never pass up a chance to see you."
When the formalities were out of the way, we entered the room filled with stained glass windows, all showind our past victories.
"Now lets get down to to buisness shall we?"
They all sat down on some pillows the gaurds brought in for them. I passed the book to Twilight who caught it with her magic.
"Isnt this your and Luna's journal?"
"No, it may look like ours but is in fact the journal of Prince Eclipse."
Twilight gasped as she held the book in her hooves to inspect it further.
"Princess, can you please explain what is going on?"
"Twilight before I say anything I should let you know something."
"What is it princess, is it about Prince Eclipse, is he evil?"
I placed my hoof on her back and sighed. "Twilight, everything that has been recorded about Eclipse is false."
"W-w-w-What, but all those book I read, they all said he was selfish and cruel like king Sombra."
"Those books were written by foolish ponies who feared Eclipse due to one unfortunate accident."
"What kind of accident?"
"I believe he will be the one to tell you at a later date twilight."
Twilight grumbled for a bit, most likely annoyed by being presented false information. "It feels like you are avoiding the question."
"I am going to tell you all who the Prince really is."
Cadence then walked to my side and whispered something to me.
"Tia, look outside on top of Luna's tower."
As I looked out from a nearby balcony, I noticed a dark figure watching us from the rooftop. A faint orange glow was presented, then the journal was taken from Twilight and floated in front of me. I then heard a faint voice in my head.
"Stop dragging this out longer than you should Tia, tell them already, we're on a time limit."
I then turned to find Twilight trying to grab the journal which now presented the same orange aura.
"Hey, give that back."
The book then floated towards Twilight and landed in her forelegs. "Celestia, what were you looking at?"
"See for yourselves."
All of them walked out to the balcony to see what was on top of the castle, most of them gasped, Rarity fainted, Twilight looked as if she was trying to make out some key features on the distant figure and Rainbow started to become aggressive.
"Hey, you over there, get over here."
The figure only stared in silence before spreading his wings to fly.
"Is he challenging me?"
The figure only shot up through the clouds and disappeared.
"Oh no you don't." Rainbow dash was about to take off after him when a lavender aura surrounded her. "Hey he's getting away."
"Calm down Dashie, we still have to let Celestia explain what's going on." Twilight reasoned.
I took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to explain to them the situation. I moved them all back into the throne room and finally sat down to explain Eclipse.
"You should all know that Eclipse is not evil, but is in fact very kind and caring. He has been my friend ever since I was little and we have shared many memories together. He even saved me and Luna on many occasions. Although he seemed to be very closed off at first, when I got to know him he said he felt a strong bond between us. I started to think of him as a younger brother. He became very close to Luna, so much that if anypony tried to hurt Luna in anyway he would become very protective, as if he didn't want anything to happen to her." I turned to a stained glass window that showed Discord and me meeting for the first time. "He had lost something very important to him, something he could not get back. After his tragic loss he stumbled upon Discord, he was one of the only ponies who didn't judge discord for his appearance at the time, even though Discord was still a child."
Discord then rose up from the crowd of friends with a saddened face. He then walked to my side and placed his eagle claw on my shoulder, as if he was telling me he would explain his encounter with the mysterious Prince.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. You should know Eclipse wasn't a prince at this point in time. He was just a simple alicorn who had lost his way and it just so happened that I was also lost in the world. If we hadn't met, it would have driven me to madness, due to the fact I was a child with no pony to care about me. I was walking along a field one day when I noticed a cloud just a few feet above the grass. As I walked over to investigate why this cloud was so low I saw a young black pony with an orange mane napping on the cloud. I was about to leave the area in fear of scaring him away, when he woke up and saw me. He didn't make fun of me, he didn't scream, he just asked me who I was, not what I was. After that we started traveling together in hopes of finding where we belonged in this world when one day, Eclipse heard screaming in some nearby woodland. When we rushed to see who was crying for help, we found two young alicorn mares surrounded by wolves. Without hesitation, Eclipse flew in front of the pair of fillies to face the pack of beasts. I couldn't do much since I had no experience with magic at the time, but Eclipse fought the wolves back and told me to get the girls to safety. Since I didn't know what else to do, I snuck over to the fillies and hurried them over to a small clearing."
I decided to take over for Discord as I wanted to be able to tell the group of friends more than just me meeting Eclipse.
"Those two fillies were me and Luna. It took us awhile to realize what Discord looked like due to the shock of the attack, but we realised that the young colt that had saved us told him to get us away from the threat we didn't feel threatened. We waited in silence for awhile, but we then heard the cries of the wolves retreating. Then Eclipse limped over to us, his wing was bitten and his body was scratched terribly. He smiled and collapsed. Our parents who had been searching for us found where we were. After they made sure we were healthy they then turned to Eclipse and Discord, after we explained what had happened, Eclipse was then rushed to the castle to receive treatment while Discord rested in a nearby cave. After Eclipse was conscious, he was thanked by our parents and was then offered a home in Canterlot, he accepted but only after Discord was aloud to see him. We introduced ourselves, he was shocked to find out he had rescued the two princesses of Equestria. As we grew older, we started our training in magic, flight and strength. Eclipse excelled in all of his studies and training, so much in fact that he caught the attention of Star Swirl the Bearded. One day when my mother was teaching me to raise the sun, and father teaching Luna to raise the moon and the stars, Eclipse found out that Discord had great magical abilities. He then proceeded to teach Discord how to use his gift for good." I looked back at Discord, signalling him to continue.
"Yes and he was succeding, and our training went on for years until I finally mastered my powers. I believe that once Celeatia and Luna received their cutie marks, Eclipse wanted to have a go at raising the moon. But everything did not go as planned for as soon as the sun had set, Eclipse accidentally rose the sun and the moon at the same time, causing the first ever eclipse in history and also surrounding him in a ball of light, he noticed what had happened with the sun and moon and soon fixed the problem, but when he looked back he saw the shock on the king and queens faces. I summoned a mirror to show him what they were so shocked about. When he looked at his reflection, he noticed that his mane was now a flowing orange, much like Luna's and Celestia's manes, he was also considerably taller. He also realised he had gotten his cutie mark as well, it was ,you guessed it, a solar eclipse."
I then took charge with a smile on my face as I could see all of them eager to know what happened next.
"It wasn't soon after that my father made him the rightful prince of Equestria. It was the biggest ceremony Luna and I had ever seen, it was much like Twilights coronation. But that was not the only thing important thing that happened to Eclipse. As time went on, Eclipse and Luna started to have feelings for each other. As the years went on, their relationship reached the point where Eclipse had wanted to purpose to Luna. But before they could move their relationship further, mother and father suddenly disappeared. Many other alicorns had now gone missing until only me, Luna and Eclipse were left. A new evil faced the land of Equestria, and Eclipse seemed to know what it was but did not tell us what it truly was. It then spread to Canterlot were it corrupted Discord. Eclipse then told us to follow him quickly. He led us to a small cave where we encountered the tree of harmony for the first time, Eclipse never told us how he found it but we were to busy dealing with Discord to worry about such matters. After defeating Discord, the darkness then corrupted Luna. With a heavy heart, Eclipse and I banished Luna to the moon. After that, Eclipse just suddenly vanished. I was left alone for a thousand years, then you six came along, and you know the rest."
They all looked at each other with sympathetic faces, Twilight then lifted the Journal to inspect it. She then placed it on the ground.
"I had no idea that you and Eclipse had such a history, and I'd like to find out more."
I embraced her with open hooves, and them smiled warmly.
"Anything else you want to know is in that book and you are welcome to read it."
She then glowed with excitement."Really, the prince is okay with that?"
I gave her a quick nod and she then started jumping up and down in excitement.
"You should all get your rest as you will all be up late tomorrow night for the Princes return."
They all cheered happily and headed off to bed, Twilight still hopping with the journal in her hooves. Discord then turned to me with a grin on his face.
"After all these years, he's finally coming back." He then walked off to attended to his family.
I could only give a sigh of relief as I heard Eclipse again.
"See, that wasn't so hard."
"Just make sure you enter in style Eclipse."
The room was filled with a echoed chuckle as I headed to my room. I won't lie, I felt like a little girl on Heatrhs warming eve. Tomorrow is going to be interesting.
Screwball:
We all meet up in the plaza to discus what we had just heard from my Dad and Celestia, I'll admit that I didn't expect my Dad to be so emotional about his friend returning, I did't even know that he had such a history with Celestia and Eclipse. Twilight looked a little depressed, probably due to the fact she was given false information about Eclipse her whole life. I motioned Mothball to follow me over to her.
"Twilight, are you OK? You seem a little down." Mothball asked her with a worried look. She lifted her head to look at us and sighed.
"I'm fine Mothball, I'm just annoyed, I've been feed false info on a REALLY important subject my whole life, and I believed it." She hung her head in shame and took a deep breath. "I'm just the kind of pony that cares more about these things than others, that's all."
I grabbed the book from her saddlebag and held it in front of her. "Well, you've got this thing now right, and Celestia said all you need to know is in this book." That seemed to cheer her up a bit. She took the journal with her magic and began to flip through the pages. She then widened her eyes in shock.
"Wait a minute, most of these pages are blank." Everyone was shocked, except for my father who was chuckling a bit.
"I guess I forgot to mention that Eclipse cast a little spell on that thing." Everyone looked at him with confused expressions. "You see my little ponies, this book is connected to Eclipse and his emotions. The more he trusts the pony reading the book, the more they can read. My guess is Eclipse is allowing you to read the certain parts of his journal that hold the answers to your questions or something Tia and I left out."
He then grabbed the book and started flipping through the pages and was placing bookmarks on certain pages. He then handed the book back over to my Godmother.
"There you go Twilight, I've marked all the pages that are accessible to you." Twilight looked as if she was thinking deeply for a moment. She then looked surprised for a moment then turned to my father.
"Wait a minute how are you able to read it?"
Dad slapped his forehead and tugged Twilights ears. "Were you not listening to Celestia and I back there, I've been friends with Eclipse since we were children." Twilight swatted his claw and paw away.
"I'm sorry Discord, I just assumed that, well, since you were evil when we met you that, Never mind." Dad only gave her a stern look then looked over to me and Mothball. He only smiled at us and said something we never thought we'd hear from him.
"Since I'm in a good mood tonight, I shall leave you two alone for the night." We saw my mom look like she was going to faint from hearing this and everyone else could only stare at him in question. We decided not to let him change his mind and I teleported us to our hotel room, Mothball only looked at me with a blush.
"Wait are you suggesting that we, you know?"
I giggled and gently punched his shoulder. "No no no, what I was suggesting is that since we have some quality time together without Dad hovering over us, we should make it count." I pulled him in for a kiss when he pointed to something outside the window. When I turned around expecting it to be Dad, I saw the same black figure we saw when Celestia was explaining everything. It was motioning us to follow. When he began flying away. "Should we follow him Mothy?" We looked out to see him waiting for us.
"Why not, It's not like every time we follow a strange figure that something bad happens."
I smiled and and teleported us onto a nearby rooftop and we began to fly in the figures direction. He began flying over to a nearby forest, where he landed at a stream that flowed into Canterlot's waterfall. He sat down just beside and looked up at the moon. We landed just a few feet behind him when we noticed his flowing orange mane. He was also wearing some kind of orange chest plate with matching orange boots.
"I will say, Discord has done well for himself over these past few years." He said with a chuckle. I moved forward a little to get a better look at him, his face was lit by the moonlight He resembled Luna in many ways, His eyes were orange like his mane, his cutie mark was a solar eclipse.
"You're Prince Eclipse, aren't you?" I muttered.
He looked at me with caring eyes. "Yes, I am."
"But, you're ment to be returning tomorrow night, why are you revealing yourself now?"
"Who said anything about revealing myself, I just wanted to meet my niece as soon as I could." It was when he said those words that I sat beside him and scooted closer. When I turned to face him he was giving me a warm fatherly smile.
"N-niece?"
"You are aware of my relationship with you're father, correct?"
"Yes, you two are friends from childhood right?"
He smiled and placed a hoof on my back, but it felt strange, like the feeling you get when family member touches you.
"I've spent more than three thousand years with your father, I consider him my brother, so I consider you as my niece." He noticed Mothball hiding in the trees and then smiled back at me. "Why don't you introduce me to your Fiancé?"
I giggled and went to drag Mothball out of his hiding spot. "Mothball come down from there."
He popped his head out from the leaves. "Are you sure Screwy?"
"Come on, he wants to meet you." He looked unsure but hovered down to my side. We walked over to Eclipses side where he held out his hoof to greet Mothball.
"And what is your name, young one?"
"Mothball, how come you don't think I'm evil?" I patted him on the back trying to tell him that not everypony hate changelings.
"I can sense you have a heart, and it's kind of obvious that you are not evil," He laughed, "otherwise Discord would have torn you apart by now." He patted Mothball on the head and then put his hoof to Mothballs chest. "You have something many changelings wish they could have, don't ever take it for granted."
After he said this, I saw Mothball's face smile with pride. "Thank you sir."
Eclipse gave a fatherly smile. "Please, just call me Eclipse."
I teleported between them. "How about Uncle Eclipse?"
He looked shocked but then returned to his warm smile. "Sure why not kiddo." He looked up to the moon again. "You two should be heading back in case Discord decides to check up on you." He began to flap his huge black wings. "And if he is there, just say that you went to see uncle Eclipse." And with that he shot up through the clouds, leaving behind a note saying, "See you tomorrow night kids."
We were about to warp back to the hotel when my dad teleported in front of us.
"And where have you two been?"
"I thought you said that you gave us the night to ourselves?"
"I did, but when I knocked on your door no one answered. But it just looks like you two are just enjoying the moonlight together, so I'll be on my way." Me and Mothball looked at each other in shock, how was he being so calm all of a sudden. He was about to warp back to His and mom's room when I stopped him.
"Wait Dad." He turned around with a puzzled expression. "I want to tell you what we were really doing."
"It isn't anything dirty right?"
"No, that's not it."
"Well then what?"
"We came here to see Uncle Eclipse." That caused him to put on a confused expression. He then summoned a hearing aid and stepped closer.
"I'm sorry what did you say, I've got terrible hearing?"
I sighed at his action and then looked him in he eye. " When we were in our room, Mothball noticed that shadowy figure we saw at the castle, It told us to follow and we did so. Then it brought us here and it was Uncle Eclipse."
"Uncle Eclipse?"
"I asked him if we could call him that, you know, since he considers you his brother."
It looked like he was close to tears. "He, he really said that?" We nodded. "But why did he let you see him?"
"He said he wanted to see his niece early." Mothball explained. I warped beside Mothball and looked at my Father.
"I don't know why but, when he touched me, it felt like he really was my uncle, and he was giving me the same look you gave me when I was younger, you know, a fatherly stare." It looked as if he was holding in his tears, I didn't know why he was crying, but my guess is that he's glad that we met and that Eclipse thinks of me as his niece.
"Get to bed you two." He then disappeared most likely to my mom. We sat there in silence, trying to figure out why dad acted the way he did. Mothball then decided to break the silence.
"We should get back, it's getting late."
I thought for a moment, I suddenly felt a surge of emotion and then said something I never thought I'd say. "Mothy, I think it's time we took our relationship to the next level." I could feel my face become red with embarrassment, as it seemed to just slip out. I turned to him to see his eyes wide with shock.
"W-w-w-What?"
"Mothball, I think we've put it off long enough." I could see him starting to panic.
"Screwy, is this one of your jokes?" I shook my head seeing his face become red, he was trying to think of a way out of it, but I guess he realised that it was bound to happen. At least at some point.
"Where is this coming from, it just came out of nowhere, and what would Discord think?"
"Think about it Mothball, look at all of the ponies that we are always around, they all have kids, I want kids Mothy." I could tell I was confusing him, it looked as if he was trying to think of what the consequences would be. But I guess he finally came across the thought of us starting a family.
"Screwy, are you sure you're ready for this?" I nodded, my face now glowing red. "Then let's head back to the hotel." I still don't know why I said anything about that to begin with. He grabbed my hoof and began leading me back to the hotel room. And you can kinda guess what happened next.
Eclipse:
As I watched them walk back into the hotel, I gave them their privacy. I then saw Cadance watching them enter their hotel. She smiled and retreated back to her room.
I began flying back over to the spot I met them, I then spoke aloud.
"Not bad Cadance, not bad at all."
Discord:
When I reappeared in our hotel room I sat down on the end of the bed, trying to take in what I had just been told. Very few times have I ever been close to tears, and this was one of those times. Did he really say that? Did he really think of me as his brother? I summoned a handkerchief to blow my nose, but since that would wake up Fluttershy and Zany, I just wiped my eyes and nostrils.
"I still don't understand, Eclipse wasn't ment to show himself until tomorrow. I guess he has his reasons." I thought to myself. I then heard Fluttershy yawn and turned to see her opening her eyes.
"Discord, did you go somewhere?" I sighed and sat next to her.
"You're never gonna guess who Screwy and Mothball just met a short while ago." She looked at me with worried eyes.
"Who did they meet, are they alright?"
"Oh yes there ok, it's who they met that's bothering me."
"Who?"
I turned to look her in the eyes. "They met Eclipse." She widened her eyes in shock and then placed her hooves on my paw.
"How, he isn't ment to come back until Luna's party?"
"That's what I said. Apparently Eclipse showed up outside there hotel and told them to follow him to a nearby river. When they arrived he allowed them to see him, he even called Screwball his niece, because he considers me his..."
"He considers you his what?"
"...His brother." This made Fluttershy widden her eyes, trying to think of what to say next.
"He called you his brother, aren't you happy?"
"Yes I am, believe me, I am, it's just that-I couldn't hold in my tears anymore-I've just missed him so much Fluttershy."
She immediately embraced me tightly, she then kissed my cheek trying to comfort me. I returned her embrace, and then gave her a passionate kiss. When we pulled away, the room suddenly got a little darker, then we heard a voice all to familiar to me. When I heard his voice, my heart fell, in a good way. Fluttershy looked startled.
"Well, would ya look at that, you've really changed Discord, and for the better." A dark figure appeared at the opposite end of the room, but remained covered by a shadow. "A loving wife, a beautiful daughter and a mischievous son. You should be proud of yourself." He then turned to Fluttershy. "Thank you Fluttershy, for reforming him and giving him a family to call his own." Fluttershy looked at the figure and then turned back to me. When she realised there was no danger she replied.
"You're welcome, um...Mr Eclipse." This caused Eclipse to chuckle and fade away into a black mist. We were left speechless. I could no longer contain my excitement. I jumped up into the air with a blast of confetti.
"Finally, after one thousand years, we are all going to be reunited." I lowered myself onto the floor and looked out to the moon. "Like old times." I could hear my wife giggle playfully.
"Wow Discord, I don't think I've seen you this excited in a long time." I picked her up and held her up in the air staring into her beautiful eyes.
"Of course my dear, my long lost best bud is returning and I couldn't be happier." I held her close to me and she lay her head on my chest. We were interrupted by Zany, who had probably been woken by the noise I was making.
"What's going on dad, I'm tryin to get some sleep here?" I warped him onto my shoulder, which didn't seem to phase him as I usually teleport him around the castle of chaos.
"I'll tell you what's going on Zany, tomorrow you get to meet your new uncle." This caused him to change his expression from a tired look, to a bright and surprised one.
"Really, I have an uncle, that's amazing. Yeah I love my aunts but I've never had an uncle before." He thought for a moment. "Well except for uncle spike and Big Mac but they aren't usually around and I haven't gotten to know them very well."
I brought both of them in for a tight embrace. "I can't wait for tomorrow night."
Twilight:
I was mesmerised in the pages of Eclipses journal. I couldn't believe what I was reading, even if I was limited to about 12 pages, but there was so much I didn't know about Luna and Celestial, and also Eclipse...duh. Flash was lying next to me on our bed while I was reading, taking in the small fountain of fun information. I giggled as I read one of his entries in the castle of the two sisters. "Look at this flash, it says that Eclipse was the one who built all of the secret doors and slides for Luna in the old castle, apparently Luna was very depressed after the disappearance of the King and Queen, so Eclipse tried to cheer her up by turning the castle into Luna's personal funhouse." Flash then sat up and looked at me with tired eyes.
"Well why wouldn't she be depressed? Her mother and father just up and disappeared."
I rubbed the bottom of my muzzle with my hoof in thought. "I guess your right Flash." He then smiled and placed his forelegs on the back of his neck. He sighed and then layed back with his eyes closed.
"I'm always right." I playfully nudged him with my hoof and went back to reading. A light then emerged from the back of the book. Curiosity led me to turn to the end. Like that ever ends well. The light faded and revealed more writing and a note. I picked up the note with my magic and was surprised to find it was a letter for me from Eclipse.
The note read, "Dear Twilight sparkle, you may be wondering why a new page has become accessible. While I was watching over the city of Canterlot I got bored and had a peek at your memories with Celestia. I must say that you show great promise and hold a great power inside you and I would pick no other pony to wield the element of magic. I was surprised to find you uncovered that chest at the tree of harmony, by the way congrats on that fight with Tirek. The new page you are able to access contains information on my transformation into a prince. I trust you a little more now so this is my way of showing it. See you tomorrow night. From Eclipse."
I looked to the new page to find a goldmine of precious info. I whispered a thank you to Eclipse and dove right into reading.
It was about three in the morning when I was suddenly woken up by a small surge of magic from my horn. "What the heck?" My horn then started to pull me out of bed and towards the balcony. It then stopped right before my muzzle collided with the door to the balcony.
"Ok what is it that is SO important that you had to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night?"
When I looked outside the window I saw a figure siting beside a small lake staring at the moon. "Is that who I think it is?" I didn't want to intrude but at the same time my curiosity was getting the better of me. I then saw two more figures appear behind him. I used a telescope that I had brought with me to get a better look. "Wait a second, is that, Screwball and Mothball?" I then looked towards the first figure, who seemed to place a hoof on Screwball. They seemed to be having a friendly conversation. I then noticed Mothball rush to some nearby trees and hide himself in the leaves. As the conversation came to a close the first figure flew up through the the clouds. After that I decided to go back to bed, but a few minutes later my horn dragged me out of bed again. When I looked out over the balcony I noticed the figure had returned to the side of the lake. "Curiouser and curiouser."
I decided that I would quickly fly down and get a better look at the strange stallion, I knew who it was but not what it looked like, when I was looking through my telescope the figure had covered itself in a shadow. I flew most of the way but when I got close enough I stuck to the shadows of the trees. I peeked out of a bush to get a better look. He was just sitting there, looking at the moons reflection in the water. I then turned to look at his face, but something was off, his eyes looked filled with despair. He then lifted a hoof to his bright orange chest plate and lifted out some sort of locket shaped like the a crescent moon. When he looked at it I could see tears start to form in his eyes. A single tear slid down his cheek.
"Even after 1000 years in that accursed place, I still can't get this memory out of my mind." I heard him speak to himself.
"He probably doesn't know I'm here." I thought to myself. I noticed he stood up still holding the locket in his hoof.
"First my father and sister, then Discord and then finally Luna. WHY COULDN'T I SAVE THEM?" I jumped a little as he shouted the last part. He then slowly lowered his body to the ground while keeping his eyes tightly closed. "Why couldn't I save them?" He was now giving out a slow sob when a small light appeared behind him. Two see through ponies began walking up to him. One was a red stallion Pegasus while the other was a green unicorn mare. It was strange, they looked like ghosts. The unicorn placed a hoof on Eclipses shoulder.
"There there Eclipse, everything turned out fine, Luna and Discord are no longer corrupted. As for what happened with your family, no one could have foreseen or stopped it." This seemed to calm the prince down.
"Thank you, Clover I appreciate it." I couldn't help but think that name sounded familiar. The pegasus then stepped forward.
"Yeah boss, don't be so hard on yourself, at least the darkness was destroyed with the Elements of Harmony."
"Yes Comander Hurricane, but they also banished my Marefriend to the moon and me to that stupid Reality Lobby." He then rose to look at them with tears in his eyes. "If you two hadn't managed to find a way out of the spirit realm then I would have been all alone."
The pegasus saluted Eclipse. "Why of course, how could I leave our prince without a guard?" The unicorn shock her head and giggled.
"And I couldn't leave you with just the Comander for 1000years now could I? And besides, you and I both know that we are linked with the Elements."
"Your right. There's a reason you are called Clover the Clever after all." That's when realisation hit me like a ton of bricks. He was talking to the spirits of Clover the Clever and Comander Hurricane, the weilders of the Elements of Harmony before Celestia and Luna. But how? There are no spells that let you communicate with the dead. Could it have been the Elements of Harmony? Eclipse then trotted over to the water and looked out towards the homes of Canterlot. "I think it's time to send the restless foals to sleep, don't you think?"
"It appears so. Go on Eclipse, it's been a full millennium, the children need to hear your song again." What was she talking about.
"Yes, although I want to try a different song this time."
"Why?"
"Whatever Celestia has planned for tonight I have a feeling it's going to involve me singing 'Children of the Night' once again, might as well make it special." Clover then giggled.
"Well then, we will leave you to sing Equestria to sleep once again my Prince." The ghosts then disappeared and Eclipse took in a deep breath through his nose. A spark from his horn sent a wave over Canterlot and a blue mist began to envelop the streets. Eclipse then began to sing.
"Somebody sing me to sleep,
I wanna know why, I'm having these dreams.
Take me back to the earlier days when,
I was strong and ah felt brave and,
I could stand up tall against anything,
I could take a hit from a tidal wave. " Something about that song was making me sleepy, I could also feel the emotion radiating off of Eclipse. Some sort of calming spell, I had never felt this tired in such a short amount of time before.
"Now I look at the life we're leading,
Ya gave up, and lost all meaning,
I remember the day that you ran away.
I remember it hit like a tidal wave." And with that, I was out like a light. What happened next is a mystery to me. I think I was still standing when I fell asleep, he was still continuing his lullaby.
Eclipse:
I heard a small thud come from a nearby bush after I finished my lullaby. I trotted over to the bush to find Twilight Sparkle, she must have spotted me and flew down to inspect what I was doing there. I gave a small sigh. "Yep, you definitely take after Clover." I picked her up high my magic and flew to her room. I then set her down and tucked her in before leaving. I turned to see her eyes open slightly.
"Who, are you?" She asked tiredly.
"A friend."I walked to her side and placed my horn on hers, sending her into a peaceful slumber. I then took my leave before I woke up anyone else.
When I began flying away I noticed Celestia looking ove in my direction. I flew over to see her smiling warmly. I approached her and kept my self covered in shadows.
"Are you meeting me earlier as well Eclipse?" I shook my head.
"Not tonight sunshine." I cast a sleeping spell on her and returned her to her bed. I remember back when it was my job to put the citizens of Equestria to sleep. Ah the good old days, what I wouldn't give to to travel back in time and do it all over again.
Except the whole turning my best friend to stone and banishing my lover to the moon. You get the picture. Come to think of it I met a pony who could time travel when I was exploring the Reality Lobby, the Doctor I think his name was. Anyway, soon the celebrations will start and I will make my return. But how to do it, Celestia is expecting a flashy return. A bolt of lightning? Rise from the ground or...
Oh...Idea. I chuckle to myself.
"Show time."
Luna:
I'm still trying to figure out why Celestia wants me to go to this celebration. We've not celebrated my birth since the Nightmare Moon incident, and besides. It's not worth celebrating without him here. I still remember the way he used to wake me up on the morning of my birth. He would know when I just woke up and came crashing through my bedroom door with a breakfast he prepared.
Happy hundredth and twenty sixth birthday Lulu, you still look sixteen. Eat up, I got lots planned.
Oh how I miss those days. What I miss the most is when we would sing 'Children Of The Night' together. Oh well, can't dwell on the past, that just hurts me more. Still, I would give up my immortality to see him again. Just one day with him.
I shook my head. No point thinking such things. I might as well rest up for the party tomorrow, the element of laughter and Discord are the ones planning it, so I'll need all my energy to make it through that. I walked to my balcony that overlooked Canterlot, I spotted something on a nearby cliff, a dark figure was staring at me with glowing white eyes. I rubbed my eyes and looked back, the figure was gone. I must be seeing things, I walked to my bed and rested my head on my pillow.
Tomorrow I'm going to find out why Tia wants me to attend so badly. Knowing her, she's got something planned.
The next day
Cadence:
I still can't believe I get to see uncle Eclipse again, it's been years since he found me in that forest. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Thirty six years ago
I was at school, it was just like any other day really. I got up and had my breakfast, said good morning to my mother and headed to school. It was the usual, the boys were playing hoofball and the girls were all in there groups chatting about make up and boys. There was a young colt sitting outside the group of jocks, and a filly sitting alone by a tree. I walked over to her to say hello. She was a blue pegasus with brown and yellow hair.
"Hey there KP, what's up?" She looked startled by my sudden appearance.
"Oh, hey Cadenza, I was just thinking." I sat down beside her and she looked away.
"About what?" She looked to the colt sitting alone.
"I was thinking about FireFang." She blushed and looked away. I knew what she meant, I saw FireFang quickly look at KP and quickly turn away. I smiled.
"I could go put in a good word in for you." She opened her eyes and they widened, she stared at me with disbelief.
"Y-y-you would d-do that?" I walked over to Fire and tapped his shoulder, he jumped and turned to face me. Little did I know I was being watched by a shadowy figure in the trees.
"Oh, hey there Cadenza, how's it going?" I smiled and helped him up.
"Not much, what are you doing?"
"Oh, just thinking about somepony." I nudged him in the shoulder.
"Who's the lucky mare?" I asked teasingly. He blushed and shuffled his hooves.
"KP." I pulled him closer.
"You know, KP said she likes you." His face filled with hope.
"Really?" I nodded.
"Well, what are you waiting for, go ask her out already." He gulped and nervously trotted over to her. From what I could see, he greeted her and sat in front of her, they both looked at each other nervously. He then said something causing her to wrap her hooves around him yelling 'yesyesyesyesyes'. I watched them walk away together when a flash of light came from beside me, I had gotten my cutie mark. It was a blue crystal heart. After the teacher asked me to explain how I got my mark she let me out of school early in celebration.
I took a walk in a nearby forest, I came to a clearing and sat down. I looked around and saw the clearing was a perfect heart shape, talk about coincidence. I heard a rustling in the trees.
"What's a cute little filly like you doing out here?" A voice came from the trees, a large black pony with a flowing orange mane jumped from the top of one. "Hey there." I jumped a little, he was the tallest pony I had ever seen. He had wings and a horn, which surprised me. Only princess Celestia had wings and a horn.
"Who are you?" He chuckled.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eclipse, who might you be?" I looked at him suspiciously.
"I'm Cadenza, but my family calls me Cadence." He gave a short bow.
"Pleasure to meet you Cadenza." He looked down at me. "So, what brings you to this part of the forest?"
"I was let out of school early because I got my cutie mark." He smiled.
"Well then congrats. How'd you get it?" I explained how I set up my friends and he hung on every word.
"Sounds like you got a great talent there. Your parents are going to be proud." I smiled and thanked him. He lay down under the shade of the trees.
"Eclipse, where are you from, cus you look like a prince to me." He smiled.
"That's because I am a prince." I gasped.
"Then why are you here, why are you not with Celestia?" He sighed and looked to the sky.
"Some stuff happened, I got lost for a long time, and when I found my way back here, I wasn't needed. There is something that I need to do before I return to the throne." I looked at him with confusion.
"What do you have to do?"
"I have to find someone, someone who has done very bad things to the ponies of Equestria." He turned to me and ruffled my mane. "But don't you worry about it. You should probably go back home kid, it's getting late." He started to fly away. "Oh, and don't tell anyone you saw me alright?" I nodded and he flew away into the clouds, leaving a note and a whistle behind.
If you need to talk just come here and blow this whistle, I'll be there as soon as possible. If I'm to busy, the whistle will glow green.
I flew out of the forest and went home. After that day I saw Eclipse many times and eventually we became so close hecalled me his niece. We did lots of fun things, like fishing, flying, board games and talking. He also took me camping a few times. Over the years I started to open up more to him. I eventually started calling him my uncle, when I said it for the first time he was speechless but then fell on his back laughing.
One day, after I stopped a few couples from arguing, I walked to our usual meeting spot. Eclipse had a serious look on his face. "What's wrong Eclipse?" He looked down at me.
"You're ready."
"Ready for what?" He closed his eyes and shot a ray of magic at me, when I opened my eyes I was on a floor made of stars and was surrounded by mist and stars. Eclipse appeared behind me. He showed me different points of my life, explained that he'd been teaching me the importance of love and friendship for a reason. He told me that I had created a new magic, the magic of love. A bright light came from my head and wings. When the light died down, I put a hoof to my head to shake off the dizziness. But when I touched my forehead I felt something there, I had a horn. Eclipse walked over to me and bowed.
"Behold, the princess of love." I was speechless, I was sweating all over, I had no idea what was going on. He laughed at my confusion. He told me that someone had big plans for me and that he helped speed up the process. Apparently it was my destiny to become a princess and spread my love magic around Equestria.
"I have to tell you something important Cadence."
"What is it?" He sighed and wrapped a wing around me.
"Now that you're an alicorn, Celestia will know and will seek you out. This means I can no longer visit you until my job is done." My ears fell when I heard him say this.
"What?" I said quietly.
"I can't let Celestia know I'm back in Equestria until I find the villain that I've been hunting for these past few years. It's complicated but, do you know about the events of Nightmare Moon?" I nodded. "I was there, I helped Celestia banish Nightmare Moon, and got banished by accident. I was sent to a place that connected all of the different universes and had to find a gateway back to this world. But when I got back I ran into someone from my past. He has done a lot of evil things to Equestria and to my family, and I'm not about to let him cause more destruction. Do you understand?" I thought for a moment and nodded. "Good, now I just want you to know I love you Cadence. Now don't tell anyone you saw me ok?" I nodded with tears in my eyes, he brought me in for a huge fatherly hug with tears in his eyes. "Be a good girl for Celestia Ok. Remember that your uncle loves you, and is proud of you." I buried my head into his chest and sobbed.
We pulled away and he dried my tears. He gave me a kiss on my forehead and ruffled my mane. "Take care Cadenza." He shot up through the the sky, leaving a pink rose behind. I smiled and headed home to find a carriage outside my house.
"He was right." I said to myself.
The day of the royal wedding
After Chrysalis was defeated, I was getting ready for the ceremony when I heard something tap my window. When I opened the blinds I saw a pink rose on my windowsill, a cloud of black mist entered and materialised into a shadowy figure at the corner of the room. When the mist faded I saw the face of my uncle, giving a soft smile. I was almost in tears, I was murmuring as memories of my childhood came rushing back. "Eclipse?"
"The one and only." He opened his forelegs and I rushed to his embrace, tears in my eyes. I buried my face into his chest and he wrapped his wings around me.
"Why are you here, don't you have a villain to catch?" He lifted my head to face him.
"Did you really think I wasn't going to see my niece on her wedding day?" He pulled away from my embrace and spun his hoof around. "Go on, give me a twirl." I smiled and spun around in my wedding dress, he smiled. "You look beautiful Cadence." He looked all around me. "Look how big you've grown, you're the almost as big as me." I looked at him and smiled. "Although your dress is missing something." He picked up the rose from the window and placed it in my mane. "There perfect." He looked to a clock above the door. "You should get going, don't wanna keep the lucky stallion waiting." He was about to leave when I placed a hoof on his leg.
"Wait." He looked at me with a confused look. "When will I get to see you again?" He sighed and turned to face me.
"I don't know Cadence, I was lucky enough to be able to see you today. I could be done next week or in thirty years. I just don't know." He looked away for a moment then faced me with a smile. "But I'm so proud of you Cadence, you found yourself a great husband. And you won't have to worry about the changelings coming back." He hugged me. "I love you. Look out for me when you greet the citizens of Canterlot, I'll be on the left mountain." He faded into mist and flew away, leaving a note behind saying. "Congrats on your special day."
I knew I wouldn't be seeing him for awhile. When Shining Armour and I looked out at Canterlot I saw him on the mountain covered by shadows. He waved at me and turned his attention to the other mountain, black mist was emitting from it, Eclipse shot towards it leaving me and my husband to ourselves. I haven't seen him since.
Well, tonight he's making his official return to Equestria, and I'll get to see him again and he'll get to see our daughter. I wonder how he will react.
The party
Eclipse:
I was standing on the roof of the tallest tower in the city. I was watching over the party taking place in the plaza, I will say that I was surprised that Luna even agreed to be part of the celebration, it was sure to remind her of past events. I look back on my childhood with Luna. Was I really that big of a goofball back then. I chuckle to myself.
I looked down at the party. All the ponies were having a great time.
"Well enough of that."
Celestia:
The party was amazing, I knew I could trust Discord and Pinkie with the preparations. There was a giant ice sculpture of a crescent moon, the food was to die for and there were four DJs this time, as recommended by Twilight. Although I noticed Vinyl giving the green DJ dirty looks from time to time. Luna was being wished a happy birthday by many of the Canterlot elites, and I could tell she wasn't enjoying it. I walked over to her and placed a wing around her. "Is something wrong sister?" She sighed and faced me.
"It's just not the same Tia." I nuzzled her gently.
"I know you miss him Luna, I do to. I'm sure he's out there somewhere wishing you a happy birthday. He wouldn't want you to get upset over him." She looked close to tears.
"I-I just, miss him so much!" I hugged her and thought for a moment.
"Why don't you go find Pinkie, she always knows how to cheer ponies up." She wiped a tear from her cheek and nodded. She headed over to the Pie family and I walked to where Shining, Cadance, Twilight and Discord were talking. "How is everypony doing?" Twilight turned to me and smiled.
"The party is amazing, you really outdid yourself Discord."
"I can't take all the credit, Pinkie put in just as much effort." He leaned over to me. "Tia, look up there." He pointed to a large storm cloud heading towards their location. "I think it's time." I nodded and headed over to Luna.
"Luna, you look like you could use some alone time. Why don't you go inside and wait in the throne room." She looked at me suspiciously.
"You're planning something aren't you?" I shook my head and she walked inside. Once I knew she could not see the outside I looked up to the cloud. It was right overhead.
"I don't remember the weather team scheduling a storm today." Yelled Rainbow Dash. I looked to the centre of the plaza and saw a black liquid seeping through the cracks and forming a perfect circle. Two bright lights flew upwards, one shaped like the sun, the other like the moon. They morphed together and created the shape of an eclipse. Lightning from the storm struck the liquid and the wind picked up. The liquid started to swirl and morphed into a large pony covered in shadow, it's eyes without pupils and glowing white.
The figure stared down at the mane six. Many of the Canterlot elite were shaking with fear, the mane six cowering before the creature. Discord tried to contain his laughter but failed, causing the shadows around the figure who was now laughing as well faded away, revealing my long lost friend.
"BAHAHAHAHAHA, YOU SHOULD SEE THE LOOKS ON YOUR FACES!!" Eclipse exclaimed while clutching his stomach from laughing to hard. "WAS I REALLY THAT SCARY? HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Discord ceased his laughing and walked up to him.
"BROTHER!!!" They both shouted in unison before hugging each other still laughing. The mane six and the rest of the ponies were all VERY confused. I walked over to greet my friend. I couldn't hold back my joyful tears.
"Eclipse." I said with a sob. He released Discord and faced me.
"Hey there Tia, it's been a long time."
"Yes, yes it has." We embraced each other while the rest of the ponies watched in amazement. "Where have you been all these years you klutz?" He laughed and released me.
"I'd rather not kill the mood." I nodded in understanding. We turned to the six confused mares and the stuttering background ponies.
"My little ponies, it is my great pleasure to introduce you all to my long lost friend, Prince Eclipse!!!" The ponies gasped, whispering to each other trying to make sense of what was happening. "Eclipse once ruled beside Luna and I, and he is now returning to the throne after a thousand years." The mane six recomposed themselves. Twilight was the first to speak up.
"Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle. It is a pleasure to meet you Prince Eclipse. And to finally see you in person." He raised an eyebrow at Twilight.
"What do you mean, I saw you spying on me last night. Had to bring your sleepy flank back to your hotel." This caused the other girls to giggle while Twilight blushed. "And I know who you are, I gave you my journal after all." He turned his attention to Applejack.
"Howdy there Eclipse, t'names Applejack, pleased to make yer acquaintance." He smiled and shook her hoof.
"Likewise Applejack." He turned to Rainbow Dash.
"Hey there, names Rainbow Dash, and I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria." He smirked.
"Well then, I'll have to race you sometime." She nodded and flew to her husbands side. The next pony walked closer.
"Hello there kind sir, my name is Rarity. And I must say you look dashing." He took her hoof in his and kissed it.
"I could say the same about you, m'lady." He said teasingly. She giggled and returned to her family. The next pony was Fluttershy.
"Hello again Mr Eclipse." He smiled and embraced her.
"Hello Mrs Fluttershy. I trust you slept well." She nodded and flew to Discord. Pinkie was missing. Eclipse had a blank expression on his face and rolled his eyes, he reached under his wing and pulled out Pinkie. "Gonna need to try harder than that to try to suprise me." Pinkie puffed her cheeks and he placed her on the ground. "And who might you be?" She looked back at him with a smile.
"Oh, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I like to make ponies smile."
"Is that so?" He looked at the six mares and then to me. "The elements chose wisely." I nodded and embraced him again, he wrapped his wings around me and kissed my forehead. I was letting out small tears.
"We've missed you so much Eclipse."
"I know. I know." He cooed. He dried my tears and looked over to Cadence. He looked to Shining and gave him a salute. "Captain." He returned the gesture.
"Your highness." He walked to Cadence who was close to tears.
"How's my favourite niece doing these days?" She rushed to embrace him and buried her face in his chest. He began stroking her mane. "It's ok Cadence, I'm here now. And this time I'm staying. I promise." I could only tilt my head in confusion. "I hear you've been taking care of the crystal empire, you've made me so proud Cadence. And what's this I hear about a daughter?" She looked to him and smiled, she walked towards the crowd and urged a young mare to walk closer. The mare walked cautiously towards him. "Hello there." Cadence introduced the two and they chatted for awhile until she asked a question that I had swimming in my head.
"How do you know my mother?" He looked at me nervously and turned to Cadence.
"I think your mother should tell you later, it's kind of a touchy story." He looked at me and I was giving him a look that said You have some explaining to do . He caught my drift and chuckled nervously. "Anyway, it was great to finally meet my great niece." He patted her head and hugged Cadence. "I think we should catch up later." She nodded and went back to partying. He walked to me and placed his hoof on my mouth before I had a chance to speak. "I told you I didn't want to kill the mood. I'll explain later, right now we have to talk about Luna." I knew he had his reasons for not talking about how he knew Cadence, but that's what bothers me about him. He always does things and leaves me in the dark about it until after everything had blown over. But he was right, we had to discuss the situation regarding Luna and how she would react.
"Eclipse, Twilight and Discord, please follow me." They all nodded and followed me into the castle. "Eclipse I wanted to talk to you about how you will reunite with Luna." He smirked.
"You have something planned." I whispered into his ear. "I like what your thinking. But seems kinda dramatic don't you think."
"Says the pony who just made an extremely dramatic entrance. He chuckled and continued walking.
"I assume you have my old chamber ready?" I nodded. "You actually kept it preserved?" I nodded again. "Even the fireplace?"
"Everything is as you left it." He smiled and turned to talk to Discord. I let them be, they had a lot of catching up to do.
But he is right though. My plan is rather dramatic.
Eclipse:
I have to say that I am relieved that I no longer have to hide from my friends, there is one thing that is haunting me as I walk down the castle halls. "Luna is gonna kill me." Cadence giggled, Twilight looked confused and Celestia sighed.
"Luna may be headstrong and have great will power, but when it comes to you Eclipse, she is going to kill you."
"Thanks for the confidence boost Tia." I said sarcastically.
"Happy to help." She gave me a smug smile, oh how I hate that smile.
"Why do I even talk to you?"
"Don't really have a choice Eclipse, I'm one of your only friends."
"Where's Starswirl when I need him." I muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, just remembering our old friends."
"Since when did you get so nostalgic?"
"After I saw Cadence at her wedding." This caught her attention.
"You were there?" I nodded. "Father never should have taught you that shadow mist spell."
"I say it matches my personality." She groaned.
"A bit too well it would seem." She looked at me with narrowed eyes. "You need to stop being so mysterious."
"What can I say, I'm a guy of many mysteries." I shot back with a wicked grin of my own. She growled at me like a dog. "Easy girl, easy."
"You two are fighting like a married couple." Snikered Twilight.
"Quiet you." Celestia shot back, Twilight chuckled nervously. "Besides, the relationship never would have went anywhere." I immediately knew how to use that against her.
"Really, because I distinctly remember that when I told you I was dating your sister, you showed disappointment and jealousy." Tia gagged, losing her composure, it's been awhile since I've done this, why stop now. "Come to think of it, after I told you, you sulked in your room for about a month. I had to run the kingdom while you stuffed yourself with cake." I could here Cadence and Twilight snickering in the back, I looked to Celestia who was desperately trying to think of a comeback. "I smell smoke." I mocked with a wide grin. The two mares behind me burst out laughing.
"FINE, you win." I placed my wing around her. "I hate you." She muttered under her breath.
"You love me really." She sighed in defeat.
"Damn it you're right." She looked away, she turned back smiling. "You've gotten smarter Eclipse, now I have a worthy foe." I laughed, causing her to laugh as well. "It's great to have you back Eclipse."
"So, what are my living arrangements?" She walked ahead.
"You sleep on the couch." She said with a grin.
"You're not Luna, you can't do that to me." I shot back.
"Damn it." The two mares behind me started laughing again. "I have your room ready." I raised an eyebrow.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" She nodded. "Even after all these years?" She nodded. I then realised something. "How long is this hallway?" Celestia stopped to look around, it looked as if we hadn't made any progress. "Really Discord?"
"Oh fine." The hall returned to normal. When we reached our destination, we arrived at the Canterlot Gardens. I will say I was impressed, over the years I have never visited the garden before. To see all the statues and flowers, it made if feel like my home. I turned to Celestia who was talking to Cadence about something. I noticed Twilight catching up to me.
"I'm sorry about spying on you last night Eclipse." I sighed as I remembered what I was doing last night.
"Just how much did you see?" She looked nervous, thinking she had done something terribly wrong.
"All of it." I began to feel anxious, she had seen Clover and the Commander.
"You are not to tell anyone of what you saw, understand?" She nodded her head and then slowly turned away. "You really are like her you know." She turned back to me with confusion.
"Like who?" I chuckled.
"Clover. She was just like you, always a sucker for books, always wanting to impress Starswirl, heck she was the Element of Magic for crying out loud." This caused her to brighten up a bit. "I actually think you could be a reincarnation of her, you even look the same." I could tell that she was confused, but she thought deeply for a moment and then her expression went from that of confusion to realisation. I patted her on the head and turned to Celestia. "I need to know something, is IT still in my chamber?" She nodded with a serious look. "Good, I was afraid it was left in the old castle." Twilight was about to say something but I spoke before she could. "Don't even ask, I won't answer." The backed away, feeling like she crossed the line. "How about we go see Luna, I'm sure I want to get this beating over with." Tia chuckled and began leading us to a small garden table, she summoned a tea set with her magic and told the girls to take a seat.
"I'm going to fetch Luna, Eclipse you know what to do." I nodded and shot up towards the sky. "I hate it when he does that." She began to walk away, leaving the two mares with no clue what was going on.
Celestia:
As I walked through the halls of the castle, memories came flooding back to me. I remembered that when we were young, we would always have little competitions in the hallways. It was usually a free-for-all, but some times it was Luna and I against Discord and Eclipse. As we grew older, we would have more risky challenges, like when a horde of wild changelings marched on Canterlot, we would see who could take out the most. Discord would put up a scoreboard with his magic with a clone of himself keeping score. In the end it was a tie between Luna and Eclipse. At this time, Chrysalis was not their queen, they were rouges so we didn't accidentally start a war.
When I reached the throne room Luna was looking at the stained glass windows. "Feeling better?" She jumped at the sound of my voice, she turned around and sighed in relief.
"Oh, it is just you sister. Yes I am feeling a little better, but I am still feeling a little down." I gave her a soft smile and wrapped my wing around her.
"Then allow me to cheer you up, I still have to give you a birthday present." Her ears perked up. She pulled away and stared at me confused.
"Sister, why are you doing this now? You know that I am not comfortable with social affairs yet you organise a party to celebrate what we have not for decades. What is this about?" I smile and start to fly down the hall.
"The only way to find out is if you follow me." With that I took off. I looked behind me to see Luna following me through the halls. When we reached the garden I flew beside Twilight and took my seat beside Cadence. Luna landed a bit further away and slowly walked up to us. "You know Luna, I would very much like to here you sing your lullaby, it has been awhile since I have heard your singing voice." She sighed and looked at me with irratation.
"It feels like you are rubbing salt in my wounds Tia." She responded sternly. I giggled and looked up to a nearby rooftop, Eclipse was hiding behind a spire, cloaked in his shadow.
"Come on Luna, all will become clear very soon, all you have to do is sing 'Children of the Night' once more." She sighed in defeat, most likely wanting to get it over with. A blue mist started to seep its way around us covering the ground and tree line. All the while giving us a perfect view of Luna.
"Come little children,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come little children,
The times come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows." She was about to start the next verse when a masculine voice took over.
"Follow sweet children
I'll show thee the way.
Through all the pain and the sorrows.
Weep not poor children
For life is this way
Murdering beauty a and passions." A shadow started moving in the mist surrounding Luna, the look on her face was that of shock and disbelief, never the less the two sang together.
"Hush now dear children,
It must be this way,
The weary of life and deceptions.
Rest now our children,
For soon we'll away,
Into the calm and the quiet." Humming could be heard in the mist as the shadow moved around. Eclipse stepped out of the mist and walked up to Luna slowly, he placed his hoof under her chin as she was struggling to hold back her tears. Eclipse knew she was speechless and finished the song by himself.
"Come little children,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come little children,
The time's come to play,
Here in our garden of shadows."
Shadows formed in the mist to hum the song to a close. They both stood in silence, Eclipse giving a caring smile while Luna was sitting there shocked, tears in her eyes. "Hey there my little sapphire." He whispered as he stared into her sparkling eyes. All the while I was thinking about how cheesy and cute his nickname for her was. Luna was stuttering, wanting to say something up but was unable to. She reached a hoof out to touch his chest, making sure he was real. "Yes, it's me Luna, I'm back." She looked back to his face, her stuttering becoming louder. "I know, it took me awhile to get back, I know you're mad at m..." Was all he could say before Luna grabbed him by the chest and pulled him closer.
"OH SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!!!" She pulled him in for a passionate kiss, Eclipse's eyes widened with surprise at her action. His eyes closed as he wrapped his wings around her, the tips of their horns touching. The girls smiled at the display, while I could only wonder how long the kiss was going to last for. They pulled away about a minute later and they pressed their foreheads together.
"Was that the shadows at work or are you just happy to see me?" He asked teasingly. Luna still had tears in her eyes as she stared at her partner.
"You have a lot of explaining to do mister." She placed a hoof to his chest. "I thought you were dead." Eclipse quickly cooed her back to a healthy state, much like father would have done to her. "Where were you all this time?" His face softened and he leaned into her ear and whispered something I couldn't make out. Her eyes widened and she looked at him with disbelief. "You were sent THERE?" He nodded sadly.
"I'd rather not talk about it right now Lulu, it was not a pleasant experience." She nodded in agreement and kissed him again. "Happy birthday Lulu, hope you got the perfect present this year." He laughed playfully. She giggled and pulled him closer.
"Best gift in the world." I could tell that Luna wasn't going to let him go anytime soon, so I decided to give them some much needed privacy.
"Let's leave them for now girls, I think they need some alone time." They nodded in agreement and began to walk back to the party. As I walked away I noticed Luna whisper something in Eclipses ear and caused him to blush, I knew what was going on so I quickened my pace. Now all that was left for me to do was to distract Discord long enough to give them some privacy.
Eclipse:
U-uh, no comment.
