Brothers

by Pennington Inkwell

Rating: everyone
Tags: Discord, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sad, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 44573

Celestia discovers that not all draconequui are bad, and gains a new perspective on Discord.

While journeying out into the Royal Labyrinth, Celestia happens upon a rather sorry-looking draconequus by the name of Eclipse Tumult. While he's skittish at first, she eventually earns his trust. With his help, Princess Celestia hears Discord and Eclipse's story from a new perspective: one leading back to times long before she even existed...

Eclipse was Discord's "Brother", in a manner of speaking. The two had grown up together, moved from place to place together, and been shunned and hated together. Eclipse never left his brother, however... Not until he no longer had one.

May become romantic later on, but we'll see. If so, I'll add that tag.

Published 2012-06-13 15:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-06-25 17:45:19 UTC

Questions

To say that Princess Celestia was shocked would be the understatement of the century. To say she was confused would be the understatement of the millennium! From her perch on top of the labyrinth wall, she dropped to the ground, slowing her fall only a bit with her wings. When she hit the earth, though, she allowed her knees to give way and dropped to the ground. She could hardly process what she had seen, and was still trying to take it all in. She stared down at her hooves, the familiar sight helping her to focus enough to repaint the mental image of what she had witnessed.

Alright, if this isn't a nightmare, then... I just saw another draconequus. Discord was the only one any pony ever knew of, so this must either be a new threat, or one of his stupid tricks. For a moment, she looked up at Discord's vitrified form, as if it would give some answer, but it remained as it was: a horrified visage writhing in the throes of defeat. No smug grin, no hooting laughter... She turned her focus back to her own memory. But, what kind of threat would he be? He was mourning, that much was obvious. Perhaps he would want revenge for Discord's defeat? She shook her head again. To have known Discord before he was defeated would mean that he's been waiting more than a thousand years. He would have struck far sooner if her wanted revenge, maybe even worked with Nightmare Moon...

But if he cares enough about Discord to come and mourn him, why hasn't he appeared until now? There were never any signs of new chaos... A thought struck her like a ton of bricks. The Princess looked around, taking in every detail of the clearing. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she rose to her feet and made a quick jog around the entire clearing, inspecting every inch of shrubbery, every blade of grass, but nothing was wrong. There isn't even a single drop of chocolate milk or a wisp of cotton candy! If he's a draconequus, where's the chaos? She shook her head and took off into the sky. This doesn't make any sense! A draconequus who cares about Discord didn't try to help him, and hasn't left so much as a smudge of chaos!

If the Princess was acting in a way out of the ordinary, none of the palace servants would bring it up with her, out of respect. After her "day off", however, she had become extremely antisocial, spending all of her time in the Canterlot Library. She would only come out for her most essential royal duties, and nopony, not even her guards, was allowed to enter. Some rumored that she was taking from the example of her faithful student, trying to better understand her. Others said that she had cracked under the pressures of leadership after 1,000 years and was making preparations to leave.

After two days of isolation and rumors, Princess Luna could take it no longer, and resolved to find what had bothered her normally tranquil sister so much. She put her other appointments on hold and rescheduled her meetings, then left for the library. As she drew near to the doors, two white-coated soldiers in the customary gold armor of the royal day guard bowed and moved aside. Luna smiled, happy at the fact that she would not have to force her way into the library.

"Your highness, I mean no disrespect..." One guard stuttered as she passed by. "Princess Celestia has requested that there be no visitors to her during this time, and that we are to repel all intruders..."

The first guard's tentative words gave his companion the extra courage to speak. "We will, of course, defer to you, but we felt that we should first warn you of your sisters wishes..."

"And our orders, which we swore never to disobey when we were inducted as guards..."

Luna was a tad bit taken aback, at first, but soon realized what was truly happening. "My sister is indeed wise, and has chosen her guardians well. I thank you for your warning, and you may rest assured that there shall be no repercussions for your deference. Your oath of obedience shall still be held fulfilled..." Both guards seemed to relax at the fact that they would not be punished for disobeying their orders, and Luna passed through with no more interruptions.

All was silent in the library when Luna first entered. Most of the hallways were darkened, and all of the curtains were pulled down. This was no problem, of course, Luna's eyes could spot a black cat under a new moon at 150 yards. She felt it odd, though, that her sister would do such a thing. Her hoofsteps echoed in the empty halls as she walked forward, giving the entire library a feel of total abandonment. As the unnatural silence permeated her body, her ears grew in sensitivity, and she began to make out a familiar voice from far off.

"No, I don't want to know about Discord. Tell me about the other one!" The voice was faint, but Luna quickly pinpointed the direction that it was coming from and hurried to a trot.

"I know what a draconequus looks like, I want to know an identity, give me a name!"

Draconequus? What is Tia doing? Who is she talking to? Luna wondered, more than a little concerned, now. Her trot sped to a full-out sprint and she soon found the room where her sister had taken up residence. From the light creeping out under the door, she could see that it was the one well-lit room in the library. Luna burst through the door, ready for anything.

Anything, except the sight of her sister, haggard and messy, sitting in the middle of a sea of open books, yelling at a volume on the history of Africa, homeland of the zebras.

"Is that all of the information you can give me? You're not helping!" She levitated the book and threw it into the corner, where it landed on top of a pile of open volumes.

"Celestia, what are you doing?" Luna asked, feeling a bit relieved at the fact that there was no one else in the room, pony or draconequus. She was, however, more than incredulous at the fact that her sister, in complete opposition or her normal, levelheaded nature, was freaking out over something having to do with Discord to the point of interrogating inanimate objects.

Celestia turned around, her surprise at an intruder clear. "Me? What am I doing?" She nervously chuckled, pulling a curtain over the pile of books in the corner. "Nothing! Nothing... I just felt like... Catching up on my reading list! It's grown quite long as of late, and I really felt that a to-do list shouldn't grow unchecked!" Her eyes were bloodshot, her mane had ceased its normal flow, and it was obvious that she hadn't been sleeping much. She smiled unconvincingly.

"Celestia, you have rarely lied to me throughout our entire lives. You are very bad at it." Luna was blunt with her words as she picked up one of the books lying on the floor. "Besides, I doubt that 'A Historie Of Chaotic Magiks' by Starswirl the Bearded is on your typical reading list..." She picked her way through the books, trying not to tread on any volumes, and sat down next to her older sister, spreading a wing over her protectively.

"Now, will you please tell me what's really got you so worked up, Tia?"

Caged

"Another draconequus?" Luna asked, completely flabbergasted. "How is this possible? I thought that Discord was the only one!"

Celestia nodded. "Every word is true, Luna. I thought that, if he knew Discord, but we never saw him in Equestria until now, he must have known him before he came here. Discord obviously had to come from somewhere, and he's not the type of guy to go unnoticed, even if he's just passing through. That led me here..." She waved a hoof to emphasize the sea of open books on the floor around her. "The foreign history section..."

Luna nodded. "I understand your thinking, but aren't you distracting yourself from what you really should be doing?"

"I don't understand..." Celestia eyed her sister questioningly. While they both almost always wanted the same things, they often had very different ways of achieving them.

"Whoever this is, he's a threat to Equestria! We've seen what one draconequus can do, who could imagine if he freed Discord? From what you've said, he is obviously Discord's friend, and will most likely try to free him!" Luna rose to her hooves, ready for action. "We have to organize a team to find and capture him!"

Celestia sat up on her haunches, shaking her head. "I told you, he wasn't doing anything! He was just there to mourn. That's like saying that all of the times I wept for you, I was siding with..." Celestia trailed off at a glare from her sister. "Anyway, I'm just saying that you're jumping to conclusions. I don't think that he's here to cause any sort of harm. Here, read this..." She levitated a book in front of Luna's face. Luna picked it up herself and began to read. "It's a record written by Starswirl the Bearded of a clash he saw while travelling abroad between Discord and a rather angry dragon.

Never in all of my years and many travels have I seen anything like this creature I have dubbed a "draconequus." This creature has announced himself to be named "Discord," and he seems to easily live up to his name, using a type of magic as unique as his body, which looks as though it is sewn together from multiple species. I could hardly believe my eyes when, in a neighboring country, he faced down a fully grown dragon with the same air of confidence as a cat staring down a mouse. First, with a snapping sound from his eagle claws, he created a storm of clouds of some kind of spun sugar. These hovered around the dragon's head, nearly asphyxiating it... As Luna read, the battle continued in typical Discord style: exploding bubbles, floods of chocolate milk, and even a prison made from a house of cards!

"Tia, this is all about Discord! If anything, it illustrates how dangerous it is to have a draconequus roaming in Equestria!" Luna stomped her hoof.

"You always have been a bit impatient, Luna... Did you make it to the ending?" Celesita asked without looking up from the volume she was reading.

Luna rolled her eyes and skipped to the bottom of the page.

As Discord raised the axe to strike the final blow, however, a cry rang out through the valley, calling for Discord to stop. I turned to look just in time to see a second draconequus, a bit smaller, come out from his hiding place behind a large boulder, where he must have been taking shelter throughout the battle. The two communed for a few moments, but I couldn't hear them because of my distance from the fray. The smaller place his lion paw on Discord's shoulder, obviously urging him that the battle was over. With a nod from Discord, the two vanished in a flash of light and a wisp of smoke.

Luna shook her head. "I don't get it, Tia. Are you saying that this draconequus you found is the peacekeeper?"

Celestia nodded, closing her book and gently placing it in the corner. "That's my theory. There were even a few records that give a possible name: Eclipse. They knew each other really well, and every account that mentions him is the same. He is always seen with Discord, seems to keep him in check, and never causes any kind of trouble of his own..."

Luna stomped her hoof in anger again. "Then where was he when Discord invaded Equestria? He certainly didn't keep Discord in check THEN, did he? We were left to his twisted chaos to try and fend for ourselves..."

Celestia shook her head in bewilderment. "Luna, I can't answer those questions. I'm afraid this "Eclipse" is the only one who knows..."

The labyrinth was a much scarier place at night. While Celestia wasn't technically "in" the labyrinth, but above it, it was still scary to look at it and imagine what it would be like to be lost inside. Walls moved faster and more often now, giving the entire labyrinth below an appearance of some great behemoth moving in the night. She didn't even know if the second draconequus would come back so soon, but she tuned out her doubts and listened for the voice she had heard singing a few days ago as she glided towards Discord's resting place.

I am not a fan of puppeteers

but I've a nagging fear

someone else is pulling at the strings...

There it is! Celestia smiled and flew towards the voice, keeping high in the sky and looking downwards. He had the same voice, filled with the same feelings of regret and mourning. This was definitely the draconequus she had seen before.

Something terrible is going down

through the entire town,

wreaking anarchy and all it brings!

When Celestia was sure that she was directly above Discord's resting place, she took a deep breath and prepared to cast the spell that she and Luna had created. Her horn began to glow, which was the most dangerous part. if he were to look up now, it would all be over. He would see her and bolt again. The glow grew brighter and brighter as Celestia summoned the necessary energy.

I can't sit idly!

No I can't move at all...

There was a huge explosion of yellow light that flew downwards, faster than the eye could see. When it was about to reach the ground, the light spread out into a large dome, settling around the clearing and down into the ground, actually forming an orb around the intruder.

"Yes! We did it, Luna!" Celestia shouted as the shield began pulsating with light. "Not only did we replicate Shining Armor's spell, but we adapted it to a draconequus!"

She floated down to the ground, eager to see her work. What she saw inside, though, was horrific.

It was like a tornado of chaos. Cotton candy clouds spun with chocolate milk and rainbow lightning like they were all in a blender. Soap bubbles were being thrown up against the walls and exploding with a concussive blast that made her ears ring in pain. Playing cards were being shot like knives at the wall and staying in place, somehow managing to make tiny scratches on the wall that would soon heal again with more energy pouring over it. All of this was punctuated by the constant thudding of his body flinging against the wall as he tried to teleport himself out.

Oh, no... "Stop it!" she cried, trying to be heard above the noise. "I just want to talk to you! Stop fighting it!" She placed a hoof on her face. Obviously, he couldn't hear her with all of the chaos inside of his prison. I guess it's time for me to do my Luna impression... She thought as she cleared her throat.

"BE STILL! STOP FIGHTING! I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU, THAT IS ALL!" She shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice. It had been many years since she had been forced to speak at that volume, however, and it sent her into a fit of violent coughing. By the time she had recovered and stood up straight again, all of the noise had stopped within the dome, and all she could see inside was the normal clearing, statue and all, and what appeared to be a very angry draconequus with his arms folded across his chest and his blue eyes staring at her with utter loathing.

Well, it's time to test my theory about him being the peaceful one... Celestia swallowed loudly, trying to quell the wave of fear that had suddenly come over her. Without another moment of waiting, she walked forward and into the dome.

Face to Fear

When Celestia stepped into the force field, she saw an immediate change in the being before her. His scowl faltered, and he took a step back, obviously not expecting her to travel through with such ease. Now that she could take a better look at him, she began to see several differences. For one thing, some of Eclipse's body parts were colored differently, with more blues and mottled greens. Another thing was the fact that he was built like a walking stick, skinny and frail, but what muscle he had looked well-toned. His night-blue mane dropped about to his shoulders and looked messy and a little wild. He altogether looked as though he hadn't been living very well, wherever he had been.

Snap! Her wings and horn disappeared. She hadn't even seen him snap his fingers, but he had stolen her wings and horn before she could say a word. Trying to demonstrate her peaceful intentions, she shrugged it off, trying not to display how disconcerting it was to suddenly be an earth pony. "I don't need a horn or wings to talk to you. That really IS all that I want to do..."

"Don't take a single step closer..." He growled. Celestia was shocked at how different his voice sounded now than when he was singing. Gone was the mournful tenor she had heard just moments before, replaced by... something very angry. "You also don't need to be any closer to speak. I can hear you just fine..."

Celestia nodded, happy that he was remaining civil. "Well, I have a few questions I would like to ask you, if you don't mind."

Her captive motioned to the glowing yellow walls around them. "Do I have a choice?"

Celestia tried to ignore the sarcasm. "Well, first of all, I'd like to know what you're doing here."

"Talking to you."

"No, I mean why are you in Equestria?"

"Because I'm not anywhere else..."

Celestia groaned. Not only was he being uncooperative, but he was rude! "What is your purpose for being in Equestia?"

"I'm a creature without purpose, your highness. I simply wish to survive, which means not getting trapped like THIS. Though I doubt that I'll have my wish for much longer."

Celestia was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I saw what happened to the last guy..." He grumbled, jerking his thumb towards Discord. "I know what comes next."

"How could you think that?" Celestia was taken aback. "We wouldn't hurt you just for being a draconequus! That's why I'm here, to see if you are a friend or foe!"

"Of course! That's why you threw me into a prison! Give me a break." He rolled his eyes again, .

"You're still not LISTENING!" Celestia shouted, stomping her hoof in frustration. When her hoof came down, he was gone, leaving only another puff of smoke. Celestia looked around, a bit confused. He couldn't have gotten out, could he? After a few seconds, though, she spotted him, trying to hide behind Discord's statue and peeking over the shoulder. He's hiding... from me? He's scared of me? Celestia stopped to think. That would explain his behavior... He was trying to make me leave. The fight or flight reflex... Finally understanding what had happened, she smiled at him.

"I think I understand. You're trying to hide how scared you are, right? I swear on the sun itself, I have not come to do you harm. I think that we're getting off on the wrong hoof. My name is Princess Celestia. I think that I might have read about you... Is your name 'Eclipse?'"

He nodded from his hiding place behind the statue, still gripping it tightly. "You... read about me?" His voice had risen now. He had stopped growling, and he revealed that his speaking voice was on a higher register than his growling.

Celestia's smile widened. "Yes, I did! I read that you used to travel with Discord, but you never did any fighting like he did..." She nodded at the statue. "I'm guessing that you know him pretty well... And I'm very sorry for the fact that he's imprisoned like this. I assure you, if there had been another way..."

Eclipse slipped off of Discord's back, stepping out from behind the statue. "I... I can understand."

Celestia could hardly believe her ears. "Wait, what?"

"I understand." Eclipse looked down at the ground, then back up at Discord. "By the time we had reached Equestria, Discord was beyond most kinds of help... I can understand why you would do this." When he looked back at Celestia, there were tears brimming up in his eyes.

"Just, please don't do the same thing to me! I've tried to stay quiet and out of pony affairs! I don't really even LIKE ponies, that's why I've left them alone for so long! I'm a little scared of them, to be honest! Just, please, don't hurt me!" With those words, he moved back behind Discord's statue, turning his back to Celestia and sitting on the edge of the pedestal to hide his crying.

Celestia was taken aback. First of all, he understood the fact that his friend needed to be locked in stone for the rest of the forseeable future? He just... understood? Secondly, he was afraid of ponies? Afraid. Of ponies. Some ponies weren't very nice, but to fear a whole race seemed very blunt to his opinion.

And he was begging for his life. His pleas cut through Celestia like an icy knife. Is that really how I look to him? Like I've come to kill him? Trap him in stone? She looked up at the golden shield with new eyes: the eyes of someone who considered themselves as good as dead if they were to ever be trapped. It looked like a death warrant.

"Eclipse, I'm not going to hurt you, I made that promise to you already..." When she received no response, Celestia bit her lower lip in frustration. She was going to have to do something to make him trust her. "Can you make ME a promise? Promise me that if I let this shield down, you won't run. You'll stay and talk. Can you promise me that?"

From behind the statue, Eclipse turned around to look at her, a tiny glimmer of hope in his eye. "I can't assure you I'll stay for long, but I'll try..." He seemed sincere, so Celestia took a leap of faith... and let the light of Eclipse's prison fade.

The First Questions

As the shield fell, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Eclipse could hardly believe what was happening. The creature in the universe that he feared the most was letting him go after having him completely trapped. She seemed like she might actually be telling the truth: that all she wanted to do was talk. Well, I made a promise... I have to try to keep it, scared stiff or not...

Celestia was pleasantly surprised at the fact that Eclipse was still there, standing in the moonlight. "So, can you tell me more about why you're here if you don't like ponies? Or, even better, why you don't like ponies?"

Eclipse shuddered a little. "Well, to be honest, it's because of you and your sister... I really did see what happened to D-"

"Celestia! I saw the shield fall! What happened?" Luna's voice rang out through the night as she teleported into the clearing, appearing beside her sister in a flash of light. When she appeared, the draconequus disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"No! Wait, Eclipse!" Celestia groaned as she realized that he wasn't coming back. On the ground in front of her, instead, there was a wrapped gift, curious, she reached out to open it. When she touched it, her wings and horn immediately returned. She smiled at the restoration of her body. He didn't leave without giving them back. "Nothing was wrong, Luna. I was trying to get him to trust me, so I got rid of his prison. I'm pretty sure you just scared him away."

"I scared him?" Luna asked, once again flabbergasted. "What does he have to fear from us?"

"I think..." Celestia whispered, "he watched us defeat Discord, and assumes that the same thing is going to happen to him." She thought back to the day that she and Luna had defeated Discord. One moment, Discord was on top of the world. The next, he was a prisoner. He never expected the Elements of Harmony to have real power, so he didn't stand a chance... She tried to place herself in Eclipse's position, watching his best friend be utterly defeated, then hiding out of fear of suffering the same fate. "I suppose, from the perspective he has, watching Discord be turned to stone was pretty horrific..."

Luna nodded in agreement. "I didn't enjoy it. Discord's transformation to stone was hardly pleasant for us, and we were the ones who wanted him gone! If he's been living in fear of that for all these years... he must not be able to trust any pony."

"And to him, we're the worst. We were the ones who actually did it. We came out of nowhere and overthrew Discord in a day. To him, we must be the most dangerous ponies of all: his executioners if he were ever to be caught." Celestia shook her head. "When he stopped trying to hide his fear, he started begging for me not to hurt him. Do I look like I want to hurt anyone, pony or not?" She turned to face Luna.

"I couldn't tell you, Tia. I'm just as terrifying as you, remember?"

After that night, Celestia began spending her afternoons in the labyrinth, trying to find Eclipse. Most of the time, he wasn't there, but she would sometimes catch a snippet of song or a glimpse of a scaly tail. She would chase after him, but just as she was about to find him, she was always greeted with another wisp of smoke, instead.

It had been almost two weeks before she got an oppourtunity to talk to Eclipse again. As she was rounding the corner to enter the clearing, her wings and horn disappeared again, and Eclipse was relaxing in the shade of a corner on the opposite side of the clearing. Celestia brought her hoof to her head as a wave of dizziness swept over her for a moment.

"Do you really have to do that? I promised you that I wasn't going to hurt you, and I'm still going to keep that promise." Celestia walked out into the clearing, searching Eclipse's body language for any signs of when she came too close.

"I do apologize, but that may become my typical greeting, your highness. If we must meet, I would prefer that you come unarmed." Eclipse lazily opened one eye, looking rather laid-back for a change.

"You aren't unarmed." Celestia replied. To her surprise, in the very moment after the words had left her lips, Eclipse's arms disappeared! First, he fell backwards, then began rolling around a bit helplessly.

"I would really appreciate it if you watch what you say around me, Princess... Figures of speech and puns tend to take on new meanings to a being of chaos..." He closed his eyes to focus, and his arms reappeared.

"Can't you just choose not to DO that?" Celestia asked, her curiousity a little piqued.

"Not quite... I never mastered my powers entirely in the way that Discord did..." Eclipse admitted as he sat up again. "So I can't just 'turn off' my powers in the same way that I can take your horn and wings." He motioned to the seat next to him. "So, I'm guessing you have more questions for me?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow and walked over, sitting right next to him. "Yes. For one, why are you suddenly so relaxed? I thought that you were scared out of your wits of my sister and I."

"I am..." When she looked more closely, Celestia could see that he was as stiff as a board and extremely tense.

"Then why invite me to sit next so close to you?"

"You said that you wanted to prove that your intentions were pure. I can easily teleport away, so I'm giving you this oppourtunity to prove me wrong." Eclipse was growing more nervous as time passed, but he seemed to be keeping it well in check, thankfully. A small cotton candy cloud made tracks across the top of the clearing, but aside from that, there didn't seem to be any other signs of chaos, either. "Prove to me, Princess Celestia, that you're not here to hurt or harm me. Prove you're not who I've set you up to be all of these years, and talk."

Celestia did her best to hide her surprise at his change of heart. "Alright, then... I'll talk. Umm..." His strange behavoir had totally derailed her train of thought. "Oh! So, any time that your name was mentioned in the stories I read, they said that your name was Eclipse. Is that correct?"

"For the most part. I am Eclipse Tumult, your majesty. Discord never used my last name, so I'm not surprised that it was never mentioned. He turned to her and shrugged. "Just 'Eclipse' is fine."

"That makes sense..." Celestia was happy that her research had paid off. "Okay, here's one that's been puzzling me. Where have you been all of this time? Discord came here years ago, but we've never heard of you until now."

The question made a Eclipse smile a little. It wasn't Discord's smug smile, but more sincere and honestly happy. "I've been around just as long as Discord has, so that means I've been doing my job right. I hide out in the Everfree forest. No one notices a little extra chaos in Everfree." He shrugged. "The only pony who may have seen me would be Zecora, and if she has, she doesn't mention it..."

"You mean, you've been in the Everfree forest ALL this time?" Celesta raised an eyebrow of cynicism. "And we didn't notice over ALL these years?"

Now, Eclipse's smile was a bit smug. "My trips to visit Discord are my only careless moments. Even then, I try to keep a low profile when I come here to visit. Thank you for telling me that my system works! I was always worried that you just didn't want to come in after me..." He let out a little bit of his tension with nervous laughter. "It's not always pleasant there, but it's a living." He couldn't help cracking up at his pun, releasing even more of his tension.

Celestia laughed with him, just a little. "So, you DO have a sense of humor! That's good to know."

"Oh, yes. If I couldn't laugh at myself, I'd cry!" he smiled and calmed back down. "Everfree is my haven. Nopony comes out there, except for the occasional adventurer, so I can be left alone."

"Why do you want to be left alone so much? Don't you get... well, loney?" Celestia remembered how she sometimes felt isolated in the castle, surrounded by only ponies who treated her with the utmost respect, rather than as a friend. That's why she adored her student, Twilight Sparkle. She was the one pony who made an effort to be a friend, rather than a subject. "I mean, I would be lonely after this long by myself!"

Eclipse's smile dropped from his face, and he became a bit more somber. "I try not to think about who I'm missing that much..." He held out a hand, and a parasprite flew out from behind the wall they were leaning against. It landed gently on his hand, and he pulled it closer to his body, where it curled up in the crook of his arm and murred happily before flying away. "But just because I lost some people doesn't mean I'm alone." He turned back to Celestia with a gentle smile. "Do you understand?"

"I... I think I do." Celestia had been shocked to suddenly see a parasprite, and even more surprised to see the rather intimate moment between Eclipse and the insect. It reminded her of the countless stuffed animals that she had seen Luna keep in her room, but Eclipse had a living creature, instead!

"Is there anything else I can help you with, your highness?" Eclipse rose to his feet, lifting himself with his wings. "Or would you like me to answer anything more?"

Celestia stood up as well. "Well, yes! If anything, I have more questions now! And I'm sure that Luna has some questions of her own-"

"Well, Princess Luna will have to come and find me herself." Eclipse replied, not waiting for Celestia to finish. "I'm starting to feel a bit more trusting towards you, your majesty, but I have neither met, nor seen your sister, and I'll only see one of you at a time..." He gave he white pony a tired and weary look. "Please don't be offended, but as long as there is only one of you here, I can be absolutely sure that I'm not going to be the next lawn ornament..."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. If I send out Luna to come and find you, alone, will you stay here to answer her questions?"

Eclipse nodded, settling back down to his resting place in the shade. "I will. Make sure that she knows about my protocol of disarming... I wouldn't want to take her by surprise." He pulled another wrapped box out from behind his back and threw it at Celestia, reinstating her horn and wings.

Celestia nodded in agreement and took off into the air, eager to bring back her findings to Luna. He seems harmless enough, but he's as stubborn a negotiator as some diplomats I've met with...

Luna's Turn

Luna was a bit surprised at what her sister was saying. "So... he wants to talk to me?"

Celestia thought about how to rephrase the truth. "No... I thought that you would want to talk to him, Luna. I know that you have questions, so he's going to answer them. I set up this opportunity for you."

Luna nodded. "I think I understand, now. And you're saying that he... will take my horn and wings?" Luna reached up and rubbed her horn and rustled her wings, obviously a bit unnerved. "I don't know if I like that condition..."

"It's a bit unsettling, true, but only for a second. You'll get used to it quickly. It's nothing to be afraid of." Celestia smiled, trying to reassure her sister. "Come on, Luna! This is a chance you're not going to get again! Isn't it worth it to try and gain the trust of a draconequus? Maybe the last draconequus? Think of what we could learn!"

"You're right, as usual, Tia..." Luna muttered grudgingly. "But if this goes wrong, I blame you..."

"As long as you remember that you're the dangerous one from his perpsective, you'll be fine." Celestia gave her sister a friendly pat on the back.

"Hello? Eclipse Tumult?" Luna hesitantly floated down into the labyrinth's center. It was strange for her to have an audience with someone else, usually ponies were trying to get opportunities to meet HER, not the other way around. "I have come to speak with you..."

"Princess Luna! How good of you to come! Princess Celestia told me that you were going to come to speak with me. I am assuming that you're going to assure me that you're only here to talk?" Eclipse took a few slow steps, emerging from a doorway on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Please, just call me "Luna." The whole "royal treatment" thing is a bit overrated, if you ask me. Indeed, I came to speak with you and hopefully befriend you..." The first thing that Luna noticed was his lack of confidence. He didn't ooze ego like Discord did. His words were formal, but the only thing edgy about him was that fact that he was obviously a nervous wreck. Well, that makes two of us... He could do anything and I wouldn't be able to stop him, horn or not...

"If I may be so bold, your highness, I have been trying to treat you and your sister with only the utmost respect... That way, I can show that my intentions are not in the least defiant of you. I assume that she also told you about my policy of disarmament?" He raised his hand, prepared to snap his fingers.

Luna bowed her head, trying to brace herself. "Indeed she has. Feel free to do so, Eclipse Tumult..."

"Please, Luna. Just 'Eclipse' will be fine..." He snapped his fingers and her horn and wings vanished. He watched her stagger to the side before shaking her now hornless head. "Are you alright?"

"Only a little dizzy, Eclipse:" She muttered, standing tall once again, ready to get down to business. "So, I have many questions for you."

"I have many answers, let's see if they match." Eclipse sat down on the pedestal of Discord's statue. "Will you join me?" he motioned to the seat next to him. He was obviously more relaxed, now that Luna no longer had her horn. That makes sense, it was my one weapon...

"I prefer not to come that close to Discord. Even in stone, bad memories remain. I don't really trust him, imprisoned or not." Luna walked farther into the clearing, settling down halfway between Discord's statue and the wall, a fair distance from either.

"Fair enough." Eclipse shrugged and stood up, walking to a point where their distance was halved. "Despite what I can only imagine to be horror at the thought of being beaten again, by brother still took the time to strike a dramatic pose. Typical Dizzy..." Eclipse gave a meloncholy smile and looked back at the statue.

Luna didn't even try to hide her shock. Her jaw completely dropped, hanging loose in the breeze for a few seconds. "Dizzy? Your brother?"

Eclipse took her shock in stride, looking back and shrugging at the flabbergasted alicorn. "We can only assume. The two of us have always been together. I've never known a time without Discord... At least, not until we reached Equestria, I didn't."

"What happened? If you two were brothers, what could have split you apart?" Luna felt a bit of familiarity with the question. She had asked herself the same thing many times about her bond with Celestia. Maybe we have more in common than I first thought...

"I'd really like to stay off that for now..." Eclipse's meloncholy smile faded to a grimace, and his eagle claw patted his chest in the place where his heart was. For a few seconds, he seemed lost in reflection. "It's a long story, and you would have to understand more about our past together. Not to mention, I'm sure it's a story Celestia would want to hear as well." All at once, his entire demeanor changed. His drooping shoulders perked up again, he sat up straight, and a slightly forced smile was plastered onto his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two apricot-sized fruits, one blue and one green. He popped one into his mouth and began happily chewing. "Parasprite fruits!" he explained after swallowing. "I'd offer you one, but it would probably make you VERY sick... They're more a food for creatures of chaos."

Luna nodded, trying to be polite. So, he tries not to remember his hard times, either. It was hard to do so, Luna knew from the experience of trying to forget her own banishment on the moon. I'll remember to stay off of that topic until HE wants to talk about it. "You need a different type of food?"

"Oh, yes. Equestria is a land of order and harmony, no place for a draconequus unless it has some MAJOR revisions. That's why Discord was trying so hard to change it: to make it livable." A thought seemed to strike him for a moment, but he waved it away. "Most foods here can give me what I need, but it's like living on a diet of tofu: bland and not truly satisfying." He stopped for another moment of thought. "You know, I don't think I'm as scared of you as I am of your sister..." He popped the second fruit into his mouth.

Luna was about to ask him something else, but his comment caught her off guard. "I'm flattered, Eclipse, but what makes you say that? You seem to have more of a dispostion for speaking with Celestia than myself..."

"You never came out to the labyrinth." He pointed out the answer as if it was obvious. "As for why? Well, to be honest, I always loved looking at the moon at night. It's a calming thing for me, you see. Not only for its mysterious white luminesence or its chaotically ever-changing form, but because for a thousand years, I could look up and know that I wasn't the only one who was alone in the universe..." He smiled at Luna, this time genuinely, and stared her straight in the eyes. As Luna looked deeper, there was something very mysterious about his eyes, something ancient and painful, like a memory of a nightmare.

"Whether you meant to or not, your banishment gave a little bit of company to the outlaws and the misfits, Luna. No matter how lonely we were, we could look up at the sky and know that we weren't the only ones who felt that way. Nightmare Moon was not just another simple villain, but a crusader for loneliness. Things went wrong, other priorities got caught up in the fray, and, well, we both know what happens when good intentions get mixed up with anger." He pointed over his shoulder at Discord. "But the point is, you helped people, pony and otherwise, in a way you never could have accomplished down here on Earth..." Luna hadn't even noticed, but he had been leaning farther and farther forward. "You were a friend to everyone who didn't have one, embodied in the moon and watching over us every night."

"That's why I'm not as scared of you, Luna. I feel like you're already my friend." He finally broke his hypnotic gaze, sitting up again. Somehow, the distance between them had vanished in his speech, though neither had moved, and they were face-to-face. With a snap of his fingers, he returned her wings and horn. "You look as if you have a lot on your mind, and I'm sure you do, so I'll cut this session short. Tell Celestia that I'll be waiting here tomorrow." He reached behind his back, pulled out a small lollipop, and placed it on the ground in front of her before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

When Luna returned to the castle, Celestia could see that she was in a bit of a daze. "Luna? Are you alright? What did you ask him?"

"Well, I..." Luna tried to recall what they had talked about, but she couldn't take her mind off of Eclipse's words. You were a friend to everyone who didn't have one... "Well, we talked about..." Nightmare Moon was not just another simple villain, but a crusader for loneliness! "I asked him about..." The point is, you helped people, pony and otherwise...

"Mostly, we talked about me..." She unwrapped the lollipop and stuck it in her mouth. The flavor was peculiar, tangy and sweet, with a slight hint of smoke and an unidentifiable taste that lingered afterward. Curious, she looked at the wrapper. Parasprite Pop: safe for members of any species, with all the chaotic goodness you know and love! She smiled and continued walking.

"Tia, I'm going to be in my room for a little while. Can I talk to you later?"

Accusations

"Luna?" First thing in the morning, Celestia went to visit her sister. She had never returned to report her findings, so Celestia had assumed that she had gone to bed pondering whatever Eclipse had told her. She said that they talked more about her than about Eclipse... How does that make any sense? Then again, Discord didn't enjoy making sense, either... "Luna, are you in there?" Celestia knocked on the door.

"Yes, I'm here..." Luna's voice was muffled, and it was obvious that she was yelling from across the room.

Probably still in bed, she does enjoy sleeping late... "Luna, are you ready to tell me about what you learned from Eclipse?"

"Not really, Tia... I think that I'm going to stay here. He really got me thinking, and I want to make sure that I have everything sorted out in my mind. You were right: he does have a very novel perspective. You go on ahead, he'll probably fill you in on what bits of his past I heard..."

Celestia did a double take. Everything sorted out? What could he have told her that would shake things up so badly? Luna always keeps things neat and orderly, most of all her mind... "Luna, can I come in?"

"No! I just need time, okay? Please, just let me be for a while!" Luna's voice was starting to sound a bit edgy, like it did after Celestia walked in on one of Luna's video game sessions. Aside from those moments, Luna almost always kept calm when her older sister walked in unexpectedly.

And now, when I actually stop to ask for permission, she gets angry? Celestia shook her head. "Whatever he told you seems to have shaken you up pretty badly, Luna... I'll go." She turned to the guard outside of Luna's door. "Send somepony to inform me the moment she comes out again, alright?" She whispered. The guard nodded and gave a quick salute.

Celestia's fears only grew throughout the day. She checked back with her sister several more times, getting the same response each time. "I need time!" "Just let me be!" Luna hasn't acted like this since right before she... Oh, no. Celestia's paranoid fears only grew more and more solid with each passing hour that she spent pacing in her own room, waiting for Luna's emergence.

Finally, the time arrived that Celestia was supposed to meet with Eclipse. Luna was still locked away in her room, and Celestia knew exactly what her first question would be.

"What did you tell Luna?" Celestia didn't wait to ask her first question, walking confidently into the clearing. To her surprise, there was no one there. She wandered around the clearing for a short while before settling down at the base of Discord's statue to wait.

He must have said something that truly bothered Luna... She didn't come out for the rest of the night, nor this morning. Celestia determined to get to the bottom of what Eclipse had done or said to hurt Luna so badly. If he hurt her, I don't care WHO he is, he's not going to get away with it!

"Celestia!" Eclipse appeared in the entrance to the clearing, waving to her. "I wasn't expecting you to be waiting for me!"

Celestia jumped to her hooves and began marching towards him, trying to restrain her anger. "After whatever happened last night, Luna has locked herself in her room and won't come out! I want to know what happened right now, or else!" The sudden loss of her horn and wings didn't even faze the solar princess as she continued advancing towards him. "What did you do to Luna?"

"I- I didn't do anything!" Eclipse stammered as he stepped back. "We talked, that's all!" As Celestia drew near, he teleported away to the other side of the clearing, forcing her to walk the diameter again before she could reach him.

"What did you tell her?" Celestia sped to a trot, trying to catch him. "What did you say that could have hurt her?"

"N-n-nothing, your highness! I thought that I was complimenting her, to be honest!" Eclipse teleported up into the sky, where he suspended himself with his wings. "I told her nothing but the truth! I complimented her on how beautiful the moon is, told her about how much it meant to me that the moon was always there at night for everyone to see-" He was cut off as a stone whizzed past his head with dizzying speed. "Hey! I'm being honest, here, believe it or not!" He shouted, more than a bit indignant that the great and powerful ruler of Equestria had stooped to throwing stones. "If Luna was affected by what I said in some way other than what I meant to say, I'll take it back! But unless she's SO unaccustomed to receiving compliments that a few kind words affected her that badly, then that's not MY FAULT!" With those final words of anger, he vanished in a puff of smoke again.

Celestia was just as shocked and indignant. "Are you accusing ME of letting my sister go unappreciated? Never in all my years have I heard such a thing! Ever since her return, I have been working to help her return to the ponies that love her! I would never do anything that would make her feel under appreciated, you... you... dumb draconequus!" Celestia continued her tirade, even after Eclipse left. She looked around, but saw no sign of any kind of box with her wings and horn inside. She sank to her knees again. "I would never do that... Luna's my sister, I just don't want to lose her again..." Now that it began to sink in that Eclipse was probably going to be gone for a long time, Celestia began to see that she may have overreacted. I was so worked up, I didn't think about what I was doing. I lashed out blindly at who I thought was the cause...

"Celestia!" Luna's voice rang through the air as she landed next to her sister. "Where's Eclipse? What happened to your horn and-" She was cut off by Celestia's embrace as she practically tackled her sister in a hug.

"Luna! I'm sorry! Whatever I did to make you feel unappreciated, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Celestia gripped her younger sister tightly, relieved to see her again.

"Unappreciated?" Luna was more confused than ever. "Tia, I don't feel unappreciated at all, you make sure of that every day!"

Celestia wiped a tear away from her eyes. "Then, why were you mad?"

Luna rolled her eyes as things seemed to fall into place. "Celestia, I didn't lock myself in my room because I was mad! That's a silly thing to assume. I locked myself in there because I wanted to spend all day working on a new spell! After he told me about how much the moon and the fact that I was watching from it meant to him, it inspired me to create this!" She closed her eyes to focus. Rather than her normal dark blue shimmer, Luna's horn began to radiate a misty white fog. The fog floated out into the air in front of her and began to roll itself into a sphere. More mist formed and joined the rest, and the shape of her creation began to solidify. To Celestia's surprise, within a few seconds, Luna had created a minuscule replica of the moon, complete with the craters that had adorned it during her imprisonment. Luna was a little out of breath by the time it was over, and the moon began its orbital track around her head.

"Luna.. It's beautiful!" Celestia was completely taken aback by the beauty her sister had created. "This is what you were doing all day? But, why wouldn't you let me in?"

"Because it was a surprise, and I wanted to do it myself!" Luna stood tall and proud. "The best part is, it's also a way of contacting me at any time! Whether it's an emergency, or he just wants to talk. Eclipse can call on me with this! Now, Tia... Would you please tell me where Eclipse is, and why you don't have you wings and horn?" Luna reached up and tapped her sister's head where her horn used to be.

"Luna, I fear that I may have made a dreadful mistake... When I thought that something or someone had hurt your feelings, I decided that it must have been Eclipse. He was the last one you had talked to, after all. I got so worked up, that by the time I came out to meet Eclipse, I had worked myself into a fury and blamed him for your behavior. We had an argument, I even threw rocks when he retreated to the sky, and he finally left in a huff! Luna, I think that I may have driven him away, and he took my wings and horn with him!"

Luna's jaw dropped for the second time in as many days. "You WHAT? Tia, I understand that you're a bit protective of me, but this is ridiculous! We have to find him and get your wings and horn back!"

As if on cue, a gift box dropped out of the sky and landed at their hooves, this time bearing a large tag. You're going to need these. -Eclipse Tumult. Celestia sighed and opened the box, restoring her to her normal self. "You're right, Luna. We have to find him. I have to make things right and apologize." Celestia flew up to the spot where she had last seen Eclipse hovering before he vanished. "Now, if he teleported, then there must be some residual energy from the wormhole that we could use. Aha!" She pointed to something that only she could see, waving for Luna to fly up next to her. "We just have to feed it a little energy, and it'll take us to wherever Eclipse wound up!" She lowered her head, her horn beginning to glow. A small shaft of light leaped forward and struck an invisible barrier. Luna lowered her horn to help, but Celestia waved it away.

"Save your strength, sis. The sun is setting, and you'll have to raise the real moon soon..." With a final burst of effort, there was a sound of breaking glass, and a multi-colored portal opened in front of them. The two sisters looked at each other, nodded, and flew inside.

Whispers in the Dark

The first thing that stuck Celestia was how dark it was when they emerged from the portal. Before her eyes began to adjust, she couldn't see anything. We must be in the Everfree Forest, that's the only place where tree cover is this thick. By the time her eyes had adjusted, Luna had left her side and was exploring their surroundings.

"Celestia, if he is here, Eclipse must be invisible. I don't see him anywhere, and my night vision is flawless." Luna walked back to her sister. "I'm going to raise the moon, now. It will be easier to find him by its light..." With a nod from her sister, Luna flew up through the trees to begin her nightly ritual, leaving Celestia alone on the ground.

With nothing to do but wait, Celestia decided to examine her surroundings a bit more, letting a warm glow emanate from her horn. The camp was rudimentary by her standards, with most objects carved from wood or made up of things that Eclipse seemed to be able to conjure up himself. At the very center was a campfire pit, surrounded by large stones to prevent the fire from spreading. Moving outward, There were chairs made from many small branches woven together, almost like wicker, but not made from willow branches. When she inspected one, the branches used to make it were still a little pliable, giving it a softer feel than it looked like it ought to have. Further outward, she found several dishes piled on a stump, along with a few pots and pans for cooking. This looks like pony craftsmanship. He must have had to steal them... She shrugged it off. He DID say that all he was trying to do was survive, I suppose he couldn't just walk into town and buy them. Then she saw his home: a small, dome-like fort made of playing cards. She could see no support for them, but they managed to stay in place on their own. She ducked through the small doorway to see inside. The light from her horn lit the room with ease, and the first thing that she noticed was that the cards all had the same picture on the inside: a draconequus dressed as a court jester, riding a unicycle, with the word JOKER printed at the bottom. The picture was chilling, to say the least, and the sheer number of pictures quickly convinced her to keep her eyes off of the walls. On the ground, there was an extra-long sleeping bag (to fit the serpentine body of a draconequus), an alarm clock, and... several parasprites, all dozing. Celestia smiled as she saw that the creatures would sleep next to Eclipse, keeping him company. Just because I'm lonely, doesn't mean I'm alone... That's what he meant. The parasprites. Making sure to not wake them up, Celestia backed out of the playing-card igloo.

"Do you know what it's like, Celestia? Of course not. You're the kind, all-knowing, beloved leader of Equestria. Do you know what it's like to have four words chase you throughout your entire life?" Eclipse's voice wound its way out of the dome, prompting Celestia to look back inside.

"Eclipse? Are you here?" Behind her, a fire sprang to life in the fire pit. When Celestia spun around again, Eclipse's face could be seen as a mirage in the flames.

"We don't want you... Those four words, Celestia, have chased me throughout my life. We don't want you."

"Eclipse, I'm sorry for what I did. I jumped to conclusions in a massive way. Luna's fine, in fact, she was working on a project that you inspired her to create!" Luna bowed her head. "I followed you here to apologize for my atrocious behavior."

"It drove Discord mad. Well, madder than he already was, and pummeled me to a pulp." Eclipse didn't seem to hear her. Without warning, the fire snuffed itself out, leaving Celestia in the dark again.

"Eclipse, please come out and talk to me..."

"I am talking. This time, YOU'RE the one who's not listening." This time, the voice seemed to come from right above Celestia's head. She ducked down out of surprise and looked upward, but didn't see him. "I've encountered a protective older sibling LONG before I met you, Celestia." The voice whispered in her right ear, making her flinch and look again, but there was nothing. "My big brother always kept me safe from the danger of those who hated us..." He left ear this time. Celestia didn't even bother to look. She was in his home, playing by his rules.

"He did all of the fighting for me. Won every time, too. Losing meant death for us, after all." The voice was right behind her head now, and the felt an unwelcome pressure on her back, as if Eclipse was reclining on her like some kind of chair. Chills ran down her body to her hooves as she could feel his spine through his skin running along her own. "And when he found out that I had been hurt while he was gone, he would go and wreak havoc on whoever had done it. Then, we would leave the country again. Together." Celestia was beyond uncomfortable with this bony creature laying along her spine, using her wings as armrests, but was more afraid of what would come next if she moved or tried to buck him off. All at once, he was gone. Celestia closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief, ruffling her wings and wriggling her body a little to shake off the lingering feeling of the jabbing from his vertebrae. When she opened them again, Eclipse was standing directly in front of her, arms folded and unblinking eyes staring straight into hers.

"Believe it or not, Celestia, I see an awful lot of Discord in you..." Eclipse didn't sound accusative, his tone had softened and his voice had dropped to a whisper. "Not the egotistical blowhard you hated, but the protective older brother I knew... and loved." Eclipse's arms dropped to his sides, and Celestia could see tears glimmering in the moonlight. "Because of that, I can understand your reaction to Luna's condition. Because the same thing was done for me countless times, I can see your reason. I forgive you."

Celestia's eyes began to mist up a bit, as well. "Thank you, Eclipse." She felt as though a huge weight (Other than a draconequus) had been lifted off of her back. She couldn't think of the last time she had needed to apologize for anything other than courtesy. "Thank you for understanding." Once again, Eclipse had managed to show her a perspective so completely different, it had completely altered the way Celestia saw things. I'm... like Discord used to be?

"Yes, thank you, Eclipse." This time, Luna's unannounced arrival didn't frighten Eclipse. "I fear that my behavior may have left me just as much to blame as my sister... If would could find it in your heart to forgive-" She was cut off as Eclipse gave her a look that showed that the deed was already done.

"Eclipse, you told me that what happened to Discord was a long story. One that you wanted to tell me when Celestia was here, too. Was that it?"

Eclipse's eyes rolled upward, as if looking for the answer to Luna's question in the trees above. "Well, I suppose you could say so. An extremely watered-down version, but yes..."

"Well, we're both here, do you think that you could tell us the full version now?" Luna sounded like a little filly asking for a bedtime story.

Eclipse couldn't help but laugh. Luna's request seemed so innocent, but it was so monumental to ask. "Luna, not yet. It will take a long time, and it's late..." He snapped his fingers and a fire sprung to life in the fire pit. "And I was just about to have dinner. I can start tomorrow." He walked over to the campfire and sat in one of his woven chairs. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another parasprite fruit, impaling it on a stick and roasting it over the fire.

It was at that moment that Celestia had an idea. "Eclipse, I would be honored if you would come and join us for dinner at the castle. I don't think that we've had dinner, either." She looked over at Luna, who nodded.

"Nope!" Eclipse's reply was quick and without hesitation. "I am sorry, your highness, but I would rather not visit the castle, with its gazillion pony servants living inside and guards galore..." He inspected the fruit for a moment, then thrust it into a hotter part of the fire.

Luna walked over to another one of his chairs and sat next to him. "There wouldn't have to be any guards or servants. We could place the dining hall off-limits, say that we're discussing classified matters over dinner. No pony would ever know you're there."

"I appreciate the offer, really, Luna... But I'd rather stay here, far away from every pony I haven't had the privilege of meeting. You go ahead, go back and do your royal... princess... things." He inspected the fruit again, nodded to himself, and popped it into his mouth like a marshmallow. "OOH! OOH! Hot! Hot!" He grabbed a glass of chocolate milk that hadn't been there a few seconds ago and downed it in one gulp. Luna tried to see where it had come from, but it was hopeless. "Ah, sweet relief."

Seeing that there was one more chair, Celestia had an idea. She sat down in the third chair and picked up a roasting stick of her own. "Well, maybe Luna and I could eat here, with you!" She quickly spotted a nearby apple tree in the firelight, speared an apple, and began roasting it. She gave her sister a mischievous smile, prompting Luna to do the same. Eclipse's surprise was obvious.

"No, no no.This is my home! No ponies allowed, no girls allowed, and no girl ponies allowed!" He snapped his fingers and the fire snuffed out. "Just go back home, and you can see me tomorrow in the labyrinth." He was obviously getting agitated.

"But how are you going to cook yourself dinner without a fire?" Luna asked, trying to hold back a fit of giggles as she took a bite out of her warm apple.

"Simply enough..." Eclipse snapped his fingers and the fire leaped back to life, prompting both ponies to continue roasting their apples. "No, I didn't mean you could-"

"How long has it been since we went camping together, Luna?" Celestia asked with a huge grin, interrupting Eclipse's protests.

"Oh, it's been years, Tia! I took a good look around the sky while I was raising the moon, tonight looks perfect!" Luna  was sporting an identical grin as the fire vanished once again.

"Fine, you can go camping, just not-"

"And Eclipse has such a nice campsite! We should camp right here!" Celestia was beginning to lose control of her laughter as she saw Eclipse getting more and more aggravated.

"I know what you're doing, and it's not going to-"

"Oh, and Eclipse could tell us campfire stories! Would you, Eclipse? Please?"

"Yes!" Celestia clapped her hooves. "Tell us one about Discord! I've read lots of them in the library, but you were there!"

"Or ghost stories! I love ghost stories!" Luna chimed in. "I bet you have some great ones from other countries!"

"Enough!" Eclipse finally snapped. His shoulders sagged as he acknowledged his defeat. "Fine. If I go with you to eat at the castle, would you please leave my home?"

"Yes!" Both sisters burst out laughing as they answered in sync.

Well, it's nice to see that they get along really well. They certainly seem to have learned the art of double-teaming. Eclipse grudgingly admitted to himself. Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?

Be Our Guest

Eclipse was not happy. He had considered running before the Celestia came back to bring him to dinner, but Luna was sitting across from him, keeping a close eye. Celestia had been able to follow him after he teleported, so it wouldn't be any use to try and get away, so he resigned himself to roasting more Parasprite fruits over the fire.

"You really have nothing to worry about, Eclipse. Celestia and I are not going to let anything bad happen." Luna smiled at him reassuringly.

"Worried? Ha! Who said I was worried! What is there to be worried about?" Eclipse's sarcasm fell like a rock as his fruit obviously began to overcook. "I'm only going into what I've considered to be deep enemy territory for the past thousand years... To eat dinner with the two ponies I thought were going to kill me for the past thousand years... In a castle filled with other ponies who are deathly terrified of my near-twin and would probably attack HIM on sight, and therefore have no qualms about hurting ME..." The fruit he was cooking burst into flames and fell off of the stick, which was shaking badly in his grip. He looked up at Luna with a twisted grin. "What's to be afraid of, right? Piece of cake!" A plate with a slice of chocolate cake appeared in his lap, which he began to hastily and nervously eat.

"Eclipse, you're overreacting..." Luna moved her seat closer to his. "First of all, Celestia and I are your friends! That's why we're asking you to come have dinner with us! Secondly, Celestia are going to seal the room ourselves, there's no chance you'll be spotted. Not to mention, if you were, they would probably just hide from you. Discord terrified them." She gave him a friendly pat on the back. "You can trust me when I say, it's going to be fine. It's just dinner, what could go wrong?"

"I hate that question." Eclipse rolled his eyes as Celestia reappeared in a flash of light.

"Everything's set! No pony is coming through those doors, and the meal is ready!" She cheerfully reported as she walked  over to the pair. "It's just waiting for us to come and eat!

All in all, Luna was happy with how things had been going. After Eclipse had inspected the doors, the spell holding them shut, and the spell that had blacked out all of the windows, he had finally settled down into a chair.

"I have to admit, the food does look good..." Eclipse smiled as he looked out over the huge table that had been set. "But isn't it a bit much? I mean, it's just the three of us, and I'm not really that hungry..."

"Well, Luna and I thought that it would be best for us to pick out a lot of foods, that way you could have a lot of choices!" Celestia smiled and picked up a large salad bowl. "Not to mention, Luna had me so worried, I didn't eat all day!" She spooned out a large helping, added a bit of vinaigrette dressing, and began to eat.

"And I was working on a little surprise for you while I was locked away in my room..." Luna winked at Eclipse. "I got so absorbed in my work, I forgot to eat, as well!" In stark contrast to her sister, Luna filled her plate with sugary pastries and a plethora of apple fritters.

Eclipse, not wanting to be rude, picked out a few sweets and fruits and, after some inspection, began taking paltry bites. He soon discovered that he had a liking for nectarines and peaches, and devoured several helpings of cobbler.

"You know, you two hardly look as if you've aged a day in a thousand years!" Eclipse pointed to each Princess with his fork. "What's your secret?"

Celestia laughed. "Just the nature of being an alicorn, I guess. We don't grow beyond maturity, and we don't die of natural causes..." She looked over at Luna, who nodded in agreement. "If you're as old as Discord, I would say you have the same secret!"

Eclipse shrugged. "I never really saw it as strange. Discord and I never had any others like us to gauge our age against, so we decided not to, heh, 'look a gift horse in the mouth.'" Eclipse snickered. "Sorry, that expression just strikes me as funny when I'm talking with ponies."

Celestia looked at him with a blank expression. "You know, that's not funny."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would offend you..." Eclipse looked down at his lap, a bit embarrassed.

"That's not funny. That's PUNny!" Celestia laughed,  "Oh, cheer up, Eclipse! I was just pretending! You're so gullible!" She tossed another dried apricot from her salad to him, as she had been for the whole meal.

"Yeah, well, at least I didn't fall of the old, "caterpillar in the salad bowl" trick!" Both Eclipse and Luna burst out laughing as Celestia's grin dropped from her face. She began to hastily inspect every leaf in her salad, turning them each over individually and setting the ones that she had checked in a separate pile.

"It's not here... It's not here! Did I eat it?" Celestia's expression changed from one of anxiety to disgust as she tried to look at her own tongue.

"Celestia, you're so gullible!" Eclipse laughed even louder as Celestia pulled her tongue back inside of her mouth, giving him an acknowledging nod from one joker to another.

After that, a barrier seemed to fall from all three of them after that. The food was exceptional, as always, and he was even laughing and joking with them about how old the three of them were getting.

"Yeah, and that was when I told the village elder that I was 300 years old... and he passed right out!" Eclipse and Celestia burst out laughing, and Luna knew that, at least for now, life was good. It was good to see her sister laughing without abandon. She usually did her best to stay aloof and professional around the castle servants, but she was really relaxed here.

Maybe we should have private dinners more often... Everyone seems to be having a great time! Luna levitated a large platter up into the air. "Well, I think that it's well past time for dessert!" She sliced up several pieces. Eclipse eyed it warily, just as he had every other food, then took a large bite. "It's my favorite dish, straight from Sweet Apple Acres! Zap Apple Pie!"

Eclipse let out a loud retching noise and grabbed his throat, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "What?" He managed to rasp as he began violently coughing. His tail began to wave back and forth spasmodically. "Zap Apples?" All of the color drained from his body and he fell to the ground.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Luna jumped out of her seat and ran to Eclipse, who was doubled over with coughing.

"Eclipse? What happening?" Celestia was instantly next to them, choosing to teleport, instead. "Are you choking?" She stomped a hoof down on his stomach, and a large piece of zap apple came flying out of Eclipse's mouth and stuck to the wall, covered in a tar-like substance. She looked at Luna, completely confounded.

"Are you allergic to zap apples?" Luna asked out of desperation, looking for some kind of answer from the writhing draconequus. Between fits of coughing, Eclipse managed to pull out another parasprite fruit. He pointed at Luna, then at the fruit before collapsing into another fit. His body began to shake, and it was all he could do in the next lull of his reaction to point at the pie, and himself.

In that moment, Luna understood. I'd offer you one, but it would probably make you VERY sick. They're more food for creatures of chaos... "He can't eat zap apples! They're a food for creatures of order, not chaos!"

"What does that mean? What are we supposed to do?" Even Celestia was panicking at this point, and Eclipse's coughing was growing weaker.

"I- I don't know!" Luna watched as Eclipse placed the parasprite fruit in his mouth and began to weakly chew. "He needs foods with chaos! Somehow... He needs chaos!"

"Chaos? We can make chaos!" Celestia lifted all of the plates and food into the air and threw them at the ceiling. She looked back to Eclipse as pieces of china and bits of food rained down. Eclipse was looking grayer and grayer, and Luna was shaking her head.

"I don't think that's how it works, Tia..."

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Celestia bent down, placing her ear on his chest. "His heart sounds alright..."

Luna continued shaking her head. "Celestia, I think that what we need is a doctor. Like it or not, Eclipse is going to be making some new friends tonight..."

Bedside Stories

When Eclipse awoke, the first thing that he noticed was the moon up above. Everything else was dark, but the glowing white orb caught his attention. His eyes stayed transfixed, but his mind began to wander. Where am I? The last thing I remember, I was having dinner with Celestia and Luna... Then dessert... Zap apples! Eclipse finally looked around the room, trying to see where he had wound up after he had passed out. In fact, I could have died... He moved to get out of the bed, but was stopped by a sharp pain in his arm. Looking down, he could see an IV stuck into his arm. Terrified, he reached over to pull it out.

"I wouldn't do that." Celestia's voice was low, and her tone was commanding. "That's there for a reason." She stood up and walked to his bedside, looking rather solemn. "Eclipse, you're in the medical wing of the castle. I'm sorry, but Luna and I weren't sure what to do, so we called for help. The doctors weren't sure how to treat a draconequus, but they didn't make it here by only fixing things that you can find in a medical textbook."

"You mean, you exposed me?"

"All of the doctors have been sworn to secrecy. You don't have anything to worry about." Celestia pulled her chair up next to his bed and sat down, staring at him at eye-level. "Now, I'd like to know what happened back there."

Eclipse sighed. "I suppose you deserve that much, your highness. Everything in the universe has a balance of chaos and order. Some things are more ordered than others, which are more chaotic in nature. Normally, this doesn't affect much. There are few creatures who are sensitive to this balance, and I'm one of them. Then, just like the Ph balance in a swimming pool, there are extremes that effect everyone. Zap apples are one of those extremes, refusing to even grow without perfect order. Considering how extremely zap apples lie along the chaos-order spectrum, coupled with my sensitivity..."

"You're lucky not to be dead." The idea of just how bad of a turn things could have taken began to sink in. "I'm so sorry, Eclipse. I had no idea-"

"Well, duh!" Eclipse shifted around in bed, trying to get comfortable. "Of course you didn't. You wouldn't try to poison me, would you, Princess?" He gave her a sarcastic glance. "I'm not stupid, your majesty. Luna had only a rudimentary understanding of the concept, and there was no way she could have known, either." He let out a long sigh. "I got too relaxed. Didn't pay enough attention to what I was eating." He raised his arm without the IV to gently smack his own temple. "So many years of paranoia for nothing."

Celestia shook her head, pulling his arm back down again. "Don't you even think about blaming yourself! We were the ones who served it to you, and you said that we couldn't have known how dangerous it was for you! It was an accident on everyone's part."

There was a dazzling flash of light as the door to the infirmary flew open, revealing Luna in eye-stabbing daylight. "Eclipse! You're okay!" She ran in, slamming the door shut behind her and gave her bedridden friend a tight hug.

"Luna! Luna!" Eclipse tried to push her off, but his arms were pinned to his sides. "Leggo! Please!"

"Luna, you're hurting him!" Celestia tried to hide her pleasure at the scene, having been resisting her own urge to hug him. Luna quickly let go, apologizing for hurting him. Eclipse waved away her apologies about dinner, saying that it was already resolved. "Eclipse, you're probably going to be here for the next few days. We kept it dark for you," She pointed up to the false moon, gently poking it out of place, "but Luna couldn't resist leaving her present." As Luna stepped back, she stood tall and proud of her hoofiwork.

"What you said made me want to make a moon that you can always take with you!" She reached up and poked it, laughing as it bobbed up and down like a balloon. "And, I have one, too! We can use them as a way to communicate!"

"That's... wonderful! I couldn't even tell the difference, Luna! Not until you opened the door and revealed that it was daytime, anyway..."

Luna looked around, noting how dark the room was. Indeed, her creation was the only thing giving light to the room.

"Eclipse, how are you feeling?" Luna's question was obviously a prerequisite to another.

"I'm feeling alive, Luna! And any day you're not in a coffin is a good day." He chuckled. "But I'm not exactly ready for some tackle hoofball..."

"Well, your mouth and head certainly seem to be working!" Luna winked. "Sooooo, could you tell us that story now?"

"Luna! Is that all that you can think about?" Celestia scolded her sister. "He just had a near-death experience a couple days ago!"

"Well, if I've been unconscious for two days, I ought to be well-rested enough, your highness."

Something finally struck Celestia that she hadn't realized until now. "Wait, why do you call Luna by her first name, but always address me with formality?"

"Respect, Princess. You never asked or gave me permission to call you anything in particular, so I have been treating you with the respectful titles a Princess deserves. Your sister requested that I call her 'Luna', so I do."

"Well, you can call me whatever you like, Eclipse. There's no need for such formality between friends. Is there anything in particular that you would like us to call you?"

"Yes, do you have any nicknames?" Luna asked as she pulled up a seat of her own.

"Eclipse is just fine, Celestia." He smiled as he turned back to Luna. "Discord had a nickname for me, but I would prefer to simply go by my real name. It would be like me calling Celestia 'Tia.' It's just a name Luna's supposed to use, right?" Celestia nodded.

"So, you two want to hear my story? The story of how Discord and I got to the point where he was locked in stone, and I was hiding away in the Everfree forest?" Both alicorns nodded.

"Yes, please!" Luna smiled and leaned forward, listening intently.

"If you're up to it..." Celestia couldn't hide the hypocrisy of her statement: she wanted to hear it just as much as Luna did.

"Alright, then. I'll tell you... tomorrow." As the word "tomorrow" dropped like a ton of bricks, Nurse Redheart walked in.

"I'm afraid visiting hours are over, your highnesses." She pulled the curtain around Eclipse's bed. "Any type of 'story' will have to wait for tomorrow."

"But Nurse Redheart, we've waited so long already!" Luna whined, trying to pull back the curtains.

"No 'but's about it! Royalty or not, he needs rest without any visitors." The pushy nurse moved the chairs back to their places... with the princesses still sitting in them. Grudgingly, the two agreed to leave.

"Bye, Eclispe!" Luna chimed as she walked out the door. She seemed surprisingly cheerful as she walked out the door.

"Goodbye, Eclipse." Celestia was less-than-thrilled. "I suppose we'll see you tomorrow."

Eclipse quietly settled down into the pillows of his hospital bed, trying to relax, but he couldn't sleep. I'm not tired, I'm BORED! I finally wake up and they have to leave!

"Psst! Eclipse!" He looked around, trying to find Luna. "Up here, in the moon!" He looked up and saw a faded image of Luna and Celestia in a sky-blue painted room, like an image in a crystal ball. "I told you they could work as a way of communication!"

"Luna, you're brilliant!" Eclipse whispered, snatching the moon out of the air and inspecting it before letting float back into orbit. "So, the story. It begins many years ago, before either of you were born, in a place very far from Equestria..."

Explusion

"The earliest memory I have is of Discord and I playing together in the front yard... Mom and Dad were happy to see us having a good time..." Eclipse cringed a little. "They took us in, not knowing what they were in for, but that describes the Kirins as a whole, I suppos-"

"Wait! You knew the Kirins?" Celestia asked, leaning in towards the crystal-ball like moon on their end. Her face filled the orb, peering out at Eclipse to find some sign of deception. "You mean, THE Kirins? The mystical race that went extinct in a week?"

Eclipse nodded. "That was my first home. They were rather chaotic creatures, themselves. Not as potent as Discord and myself, of course. In the beginning, we were raised being told that we were their patrons, giving the land its vital chaos energy for them to feed off of..." He chuckled a little, shaking his head. "Of course, that was when we were just small children... As we began to mature, we started to generate more and more energy."

"So, what happened then?" Luna asked, pushing her sister back away from the communicator so that she could see. "If they thrived on chaos, wouldn't more energy be good for them?"

Eclipse raised a wary eyebrow at Luna. "Tell you what, I saw that you enjoy cannolis at dinner, Luna. Try stuffing thirty into your mouth at once. That would be the equivalent of what was happening to the Kirins. They couldn't handle it." He cleared his throat. "So, they took us and imprisoned us while they debated what to do... But Discord could see how things were going to work out, despite the fact that he was just a kid. They would eliminate the problem at its source: us."

"That's horrible!" Luna cried out as she recoiled in shock.

"Surely they must have tried to find another way!" Celestia's expression was one of horrified disgust.

"Did you?" Eclipse's voice fell flat, making the point even less subtle than it already was. "When your realm was in danger of being torn apart into utter chaos, did you 'find another way?'"

"That was different, Discord was a tyrant, and torturing ponies for his entertainment. You were just children!" Celestia's reply was ready, but she was clearly shaken.

Eclipse nodded. "I fell into despair, and did a lot of crying. Discord chose a different path: to fight for his life. That where our story truly begins, ladies. Fighting for our right to live, stolen from our friends and family by the cruel hand fate dealt us..."

It was in the dark, in the middle of the night, actually, that we made our escape. Discord was gripping my hand tightly as we ran through the trees, with only the moon to light our way. Discord seemed to be able to see things a lot more clearly than I could, because he didn't stumble once. I spat once again, trying to rinse the taste of black licorice from my mouth. We had eaten the bars to our prison with a little help from Discord's newly discovered abilities.

"Dizzy, where are we going?" I asked as I tripped for what must have been the thousandth time. "They're just going to catch us again! We can't go home, we can't hide out in the woods. They'll be able to tell if we're anywhere in the entire country!" Discord stopped unexpectedly, throwing out his arm to stop me. In front of us, a large herd of ballet bunnies with extra-long legs came barreling through, trampling anything in their way.

"Then we can't stay IN the country, Eclipse." Discord was more solemn than usual. "They say that we're the cause of all of this, so they won't stop until we're gone... Or dead." He turned back to look at me, his red eyes glowing in the semi-darkness. He gave me one of his overconfident smiles, the ones that always popped up before he carried out one of his crazy plans. "So, let's get gone. If they want us to go, even our friends and family, then we'll be all we need. We'll stand together, you and me against the world."

"Dizzy..." Tears began welling up in my eyes as a throbbing ache grew in my chest. "I want to go home..."

He grabbed me, pressing my head into his shoulder to let the tears soak into his fur instead of my face. "Clips, I'm sorry... We just lost our home. We'll find a new one, I promise." He grabbed my hand again, leading me forward. "And until that day comes, we'll be our own home. Our own family. I know that all I need is my little brother..." He didn't turn back around again, and when I looked closely, I could see why. Tears were falling from his face, and he didn't want me to see.

"You there, stop!" An angry-sounding voice cried from behind us, and Discord ran faster, pulling me along behind. "By order of the governor, STOP!"

"The governor can go take a bath in the sewer! And so can you!" Discord shouted as we kept running. "I don't give a- AUGH!" We both fell back as the soldier teleported himself in front of us, something that we hadn't learned to do yet.

"You're going to regret saying that..." The kirin growled as he lowered his spear. He looked very intimidating, with a dragon's head, snake's body, eagle claws and wings, and a tapered, whiplike tail.

"YOU... are going to regret chasing us." I looked at Discord, wondering if my brother had gone completely mad. Instead, he raised his own eagle claw up into the air... and snapped his fingers.

A loud whistling sound filled the air. Not enough to to be deafening or incapacitating, though. The soldier only laughed at us. "You- you're joking, right, Discord? A whistle? That's what's going to make me regret chasing you?" Mockingly, he pursed his lips and pretended that he couldn't whistle, spitting everywhere.

"A whistle is going to? Well, yes and no... It's not the sound. It's what's making it." Discord gave another one of his signature grins as a giant toy whistle fell out of the sky, knocking the guard unconscious and pinning him to the ground. Discord jumped to his feet, helping me up. "See, Clips? Told you I'd take care of you. Now, let's go before more come. The whistle was pretty loud..."

That was how things went for the next couple weeks progressed: running from everyone. A few of our dearest friends were still willing to help us get away: giving us food and a safe place to sleep every so often. I could count those friends on one hand. Discord was always leading me by the hand: he was strong enough for both of us, and I often cried myself to sleep on his shoulder. It was tough for him, I could see that, but he refused to show it. All he ever let me see on purpose was that smile... That stupid, crazy, completely nutty smile of someone who refuses to cry, but instead laughs at the ones he once knew.

Finally, we reached the nation's border. There, along with a huge fence, was half of the army, our parents, and the president.

"Discord, Eclipse!" Our parents ran to meet us, but Discord pulled me back and snapped his fingers, summoning a giant set of ivory chess pieces to block them.

"Discord! It's Mom and Dad!" I cried, trying to fight my way past him, but he had always been bigger and stronger than me.

"You mean the same Mom and Dad that turned us over because of a simple piece of paper? The same Mom and Dad who let us go to prison when we had done nothing wrong? Face it, Eclipse... They didn't care."

"Dizzy, honey, of course we care! We didn't have a choice!" Our mother cried as she tried to get past a bishop who seemed VERY intent on her not passing.

"They would have thrown us in jail, too! We had to-"

"STOP IT!" Discord snapped his fingers again, and the king and queen began moving towards our parents. "If you loved us, why did you hand us over! You ALWAYS had a choice! You taught me to stand tall and be proud of being different!" Discord's voice was starting to crack, and tears were falling freely from his eyes. "And now we're being hunted because we're different!" The chess pieces were bearing down, and burst into flames. The surprise shocked them both so much, both of our parents fell to the ground. "You said that being different was GOOD! You LIED to me!" Both kirins cornered, the pieces began to tip, falling like giant tree trunks towards our parents. "I'll never forgive you!" Both pieces turned a dark black and the flames snuffed out.

"Discord, NO!" For the first time, I snapped my own fingers. Two pterosaurs swooped in and grabbed out parents by their shoulders, pulling them out of the way in the nick of time. I grabbed Discord's shoulder and spun him around to face me. "No matter what, they're still our parents! And no matter WHAT," I stared him dead in the eyes, making sure my next three words sunk in as deep as they could. "We. Don't. Kill. Understand?"

"You can stay!" The president's voice echoed over the silence that had followed.

"What?" Both of us stared at him, completely incredulous. I looked over at our parents, whom the pterosaurs had placed on the top of the sentry post of the border fence. They both nodded vigorously.

"We did a lot of work to realize this: but you each amplify the other's energy! You're like 'nitro' and 'glycerin'! As long as you're together, the two of you release ten times as much energy! But if there is only one of you, the balance is perfect! We can keep one of you here, at home, with your family and friends. The other..."

Discord's eyes narrowed in anger. "The other will be forced to leave. Banishment! To keep your land from dying..."

"I am afraid that is the case to save OUR land, Discord... We will leave it to the two of you to decide who will stay and who will leave. You will have to say your goodbyes here."

Discord looked at me. "Do you want me to go? I have nothing to stay for... except you, Clips."

"But... You promised not to leave me! How can they split us up like this? There has to be another way!" I shouted, turning back to the president, who was sitting high and mighty in his watch tower. "There has to be another way! One where we can both stay!"

"That may be true, but by the time we found it... All the Kirins here would die from an overdose of chaos. We're giving you this chance to leave peacefully so that no one has to die!"

I turned back to Discord, looking up at the one who had kept me safe for so long, who had cared for me when he had been a fugitive himself, and had been my comfort for what felt like an eternity, even if it had been only a couple weeks. "Dizzy, don't go..."

"Eclipse, I promised you that we would stay together..." He whispered. "But there's only one way to do that... Neither of us stay. Why do you think they brought all of those soldiers? They knew that we wouldn't want to split up. It's your choice. You can stay, I won't force you to come with me, but no matter what happens, I'm leaving with or without you."

I couldn't believe the choice that he was presenting me with. Stay and have a home and my parents, or run away with my brother and best friend. I closed my eyes, weighing the options heavily.

Mom! Dad! Don't let them take us! HELP!

I'm so sorry, honey, but you have to go with them for a little while! We'll come and get you soon! Those words had shattered my trust in my mother as she turned away, unable to watch us being stolen away.

Without a word, I began walking forward, climbing to the top of the knight piece. Discord followed, and we both stared up to the president. "Sir, we've made our decision!" I turned to look over at Discord, praying to whatever deities existed that I was making the right choice. "And we're ready to say our goodbyes!"

With a silent nod of agreement, Discord gave me one of his insane grins, but it was MY crazy idea, this time. We both turned to the watch tower, waving vigorously to our once-parents. "Goodbye!"

Everyone's jaws dropped in horror as they realized what was happening, but Discord was unfazed. "Knight A4 moves to THE HECK OUTTA HERE!" The chess piece leaped up into the air, flying over the fence and out of the country, climbing its way up into the clouds.

Eclipse shook his head. "Neither of us realized that chaos was the lifeblood of that land. They needed one of us to stay, or the land would die even more quickly than if the two of us had stayed and choked it to death... The kirins, as you said, died within two weeks."

Celestia and Luna had hardly spoken a word after he had started to truly tell his story, except and occasional glance and whisper to one another.

"What happened after that?" Was Luna's first question. "How did Discord turn evil?"

"Luna, he tried to kill his own parents!" Celestia replied. "What makes you think that he wasn't already evil?"

"Celestia, you assume too much. Discord had just had his world thrown upside down, been betrayed my the two people that he loved as much as me, and was now face-to-face with seemingly insurmountable odds. The fact that he snapped for just a few minutes isn't a far-fetched concept to anypony..." Eclipse yawned loudly. "As for your question, Luna, I'll have to answer it later. I'm feeling really drained right now, and that bossy nurse is right, I need some sleep." He pulled up the covers and closed his eyes.

"Will you tell us more tomorrow?"

"Later. That's all I can promise... I might want to hear a story from the two of you, for a change." He lazily opened one eye and winked. "Goodnight, Luna. Goodnight, Celestia."

"Goodnight, Eclipse..." Celestia smiled, happy to see him resting. It was a sign that the worst was behind him, and that he was on the road to recovery.

"Get well soon, Eclipse!" Luna shouted before ending the connection. Back in her room, she looked up at her older sister and gave her a quick hug. "They were so close, what could have happened?"

"I don't know, Luna. Eclipse told me that by the time they had reached Equestria, Discord was 'beyond most kinds of help.' Maybe it was like what happened to us..." She gripped her sister tightly, holding the hug.

"Well, I wish that Discord could be helped. Eclipse misses him, I could see it..."

"So could I, Luna. I think that what he needs most right now are good friends like us. We need to make sure we're there for him." Celestia was surprised, but she was actually starting to feel... pity for Discord. She had always seen him for what he was when he came to rule Equestria: a sadistic, overpowered tyrant with a huge ego. Now... She was gaining new perspective that shook her views of everything.

Exposed

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My dear and faithful student, I often receive letters from you and your friends regarding the lessons you've learned about the magic of friendship, and is always warms my heart to read them. Recently, though, the question has arisen in my mind: if I were to learn my own lesson regarding friendship, to whom would I write a letter? I decided that I would write to you.

I recently made a new friend, who will remain anonymous at his own wishes. At first, he seemed very threatening, but eventually proved himself to only be afraid, himself. I found those with whom he chose to keep his company questionable at first, and two of us started off our friendship very suspicious of one another. A poor start, I know.

Due to... certain qualities, I was intrigued enough to find him again. As we talked, I realized that where he had been and what he had done gave him a very unique perspective, one that put a new angle on almost everything I see regarding the "questionable company" he has chosen to keep. I'm seeing many things in a fresh light, one that doesn't just include the singular rays of the sun, and I'm finding some factors I had never questioned as greater variables in a larger equation. This new view has helped me to improve my overall decision-making skills to be fairer and better balanced, along with Luna's.

I suppose the moral of this story is to always try to view things from different perspectives. Before making judgment, try to understand both sides of the story, and never factor out who or what might be affected by your actions.

Sincerely, your ever-learning mentor,

Princess Celestia.

Celestia smiled at her work and sent it on its way. Her task finished, she walked over to Luna's room, pushing open the doors without hesitation and walking over to her sister. "Are you ready to go see Eclipse? Visiting hours at the medical wing are about to start!"

Luna was working quickly with a scroll and quill, jotting down a letter of her own. "Yep! I'm just finishing off a letter to Pennington! I thought that MY protege ought to know what I've learned, too!" She scribbled down her parting remarks, sealed the letter, and sent it away in a puff of smoke. "Okay, I'm ready to go!" She rushed ahead of her sister, then stood at the door, tapping her hoof impatiently. Celestia laughed and trotted over, trying to appease her sister's rushed tempo.

When they found themselves outside of the medical ward, however, their ears did not allow them to visualize Eclipse as being peacefully lying in bed, trying to recover...

"What is that? I'm not going to eat THAT! Are you kidding me?" Celestia cringed at the sound of Eclipse's manic shouting. "HEY! If you try putting anything in my IV, I'll rip it right out of my arm, no matter WHAT you do! Oh, yeah? Say that to my face!" Luna rushed in through the doors just in time to see Nurse Redheart grumpily stomping out of the room, her hat knocked backwards and her snout high in the air. Eclipse was standing up in his bed, trying to get as far away from his doctor as the length of the IV would let him. The doctor was holding a large, purple pill on a tray in his mouth, and a medicated IV bag in the hoof that he wasn't using to prevent himself from falling on his face.

"Mr. Tumult, you're going to have to trust me when I say this will HELP you! I am a trained professional in medicine, and I know exactly what I'm doing!" He tossed the tray and pill onto Eclipse's bed and hung up the new IV bag. When he tried to hook it up to the tube leading to Eclipse's arm, however, Eclipse grabbed his end of the IV, threatening to pull it out and leaving the two at a standstill.

"Trust you? Doc, I don't even know you! Are you a 'trained professional' in draconequus anatomy? I wanna see your degre- ULP!" Eclipse sat down when the pill levitated into his mouth and straight to the back of his throat. He hacked and coughed for a few seconds before spotting Luna and Celestia. "L- Luna, did you do that? What are you trying to do, kill me again? You don't even know what that was!" In his distraction, the doctor managed to hook up the new IV bag and slip out of the room.

"I may not know what it was, but Doctor Hooves knows exactly what he's doing, so I trust him with my own medical needs and know he'll treat you well." Luna tucked in the sheets around him and gently patted the top of his head as if he was a little colt needing comforting.

"His cutie mark doesn't even have anything to do with medicine..." Eclipse grumbled, folding his arms stubbornly across his chest. "It's an hourglass..."

"Well, we would appreciate it if you would stop terrorizing the staff, Eclipse. They're here for you, and considering the fight you just put up, they're doing a good job!" Celestia chastened. She couldn't help but laugh a little inside, though. The sight of Eclipse doing all of this had made it easy for her to picture Discord doing the same thing.

"I'll try..." Eclipse muttered, looking just a little ashamed of himself. "But they need to explain things to me, or I'm not going to want to cooperate!"

"I'll see what we can do about that." Luna smiled. "Maybe if we brought in an expert on taking care of sick animals... She's very good at calming down injured creatures, whether they're ponies, birds, or even bears..."

Eclipse vigorously shook his head. "No! No more new ponies! It's bad enough that these ponies have to know about me..." He eyed his new IV bag evilly. "I swear, it makes my skin crawl, having to entrust my well-being to somepony else. I've taken care of myself for the past 1300 years!"

"And I think that it's time..." Celestia pulled up a chair and sat down. "You had a little help! You're skinny as a flagpole, your mane looks like it hasn't been trimmed in several years, you seem to struggle terribly with paranoia, you live off of a steady diet of whatever you can conjure up or find in the forest, and you have spent the past 1300 years mourning the one who had taken care of you up to that point!" She gave him a soft-but-firm stare. "If Luna and I are going to be your friends, let us help you!"

Eclipse tried to sit up, but found himself quickly pushed back down again by Celestia's magic. "I don't care about my mane, I am NOT anorexic, Discord just had a bulkier build than me, paranoia has kept me ALIVE in the Everfree forest, and I- oof! -spent the past 1300 years mourning my brother!" He continued struggling, but was no match for Celestia. "Look, if I need help, you two will be the first ones who come to mind, okay? But I don't!"

"AND you need help admitting that you need help." Luna smiled and held back Celestia's grip, allowing Eclipse to sit up again. "Eclipse, you're too prideful. Celestia and I are just offering a friendly hoof to help you."

Eclipse rolled his eyes. "The doctors did their job, I'm not dead. I'll be fine from here, I know exactly what I need! Look, I'm as fit as a fiddle!" He snapped his fingers, and a half-formed violin fell into his lap. He stared at the semi-liquid structure oozing into his lap. "Oookay... So, I might still have a few bugs to work out of my system..." The fiddle soup began to bubble and quickly evaporated away. "It's no reflection of my physical condition!"

"Sure, just like how you eat a zap apple every morning before you get out of bed..." Celestia's sarcasm fell a bit flat, but she didn't get many opportunities to practice. "Look, you seem to be recovering in leaps and bounds. I'm sure that the doctor will we willing to let you out of the hospital by tomorrow!"

"Um, excuse me, your highness!" Nurse Redheart ran back into the room. "Princess Celestia, you have a visitor! I tried to stop her, but she unfortunately knows how to teleport, so I couldn't!" Behind her, Celestia could see Twilight Sparkle bouncing up and down in front of the door.

It took less than a second for her to pull the curtain around Eclipse's bed. "Twilight, how good to see you! What are you doing here?"

Twilight smiled and confidently trotted into the room. "Well, I received your letter this morning, and after reading it, I wanted to meet your anonymous friend! So, I jumped onto the express train to Canterlot! When I heard that he was in the hospital, I was shocked, and came as fast as I could! What happened?" She tried to go and peek behind the curtain, but found herself picked up and lifted backwards by her mentor's magic.

"Oh, Twilight! I do wish you had sent me a letter instead of dropping in unexpectedly like this!" Celestia sighed. "I'm afraid that he's in no condition so see anypony... Luna and I had invited him to dinner, but he failed to mention a severe allergy of his... When he took a bite of zap apple pie, well, it wasn't pretty..." It's not lying, I'm just being vague... "He's been trying to rest and recover for the past few days, and it's going well, but he's still not ready for visitors.

Meanwhile, inside the curtain, Luna had her hoof jammed into Eclipse's mouth to keep him quiet. Unfortunately, his nerves were still beginning to get the better of him. A single, minuscule cloud of cotton candy materialized in the air, slowly but steadily dripping chocolate milk. Luna grabbed a nearby glass to catch it and prevent it from falling onto the floor. This won't last long... Hurry up and get rid of her, Tia...

"Well, if he's not ready for visitors, then why are you here?" Twilight didn't want to be suspicious of her mentor, but it wasn't like Celestia to contradict something that she had already said.

"Well, I just feel really guilty about what happened, so I've been staying here to watch over proceedings." Celestia was getting rather nervous, herself, making sure that the curtain was pulled tightly against the wall. "You really should go, Twilight, they were just about to give him another round of treatments..."

"I could stay and watch! I'd love to learn a bit more about the treatment of allergic reactions, just in case of an emergency!" She pulled a quill and scroll out of her saddlebag to take notes.

The glass was almost filled, and Luna was trying to stop the rain with her magic, but it only made it fall faster. She raised the glass to her lips and downed most of it, but not before a few drops slipped past her and fell to the floor.

"Twilight, I would really appreciate it if you would go, I doubt that he would like anypony to be wat-"

"Is that chocolate milk?" Twilight pointed to a small stream flowing out from underneath the curtain. "Where did that come from?"

"Oh, he must have spilled the drink on his lunch tray!" Celestia grabbed the edge of the curtain and pulled it down, soaking up the mess. "He's so weak, he can barely hold a glass to his lips!" As Luna needed to empty the glass again, another stream, thicker this time, came flowing out.

"He has two drinks?" Twilight eyed her mentor warily. "Princess, is there something you're not telling me?"

"No! No, there's nothing else you need to know! I thought that he would spill his first one, he has almost every time!" She laughed nervously and tried to soak up the mess with the curtain again. "So I gave him a self-refilling glass! It's a new spell that I found in the archives! Would you like to come see it?" She stood up and began walking towards the exit, expecting Twilight to follow. Instead, she was horrified to she her student pull aside the curtain.

"To be honest, I'd like to see HIM! You made him sound like a very interesting... p-p-pony..." Twilight had braced herself for the sight of a bedridden, weak pony, perhaps even broken out in hives and hooked up to machines to help him do what his body might not be able to.

Instead, she saw Princess Luna hovering upside down, trying to catch a torrent of chocolate milk in her mouth, a cotton candy cloud so loaded down with rain, it had turned as deep a lavender as her coat... and a draconequus sitting in a hospital bed, looking as absolutely terrified as she did, with Luna's front left hoof stuck in his mouth.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle..." Luna said as she pulled herself out from under the hopeless rainfall. "Fancy meeting you here..."

Invitation

Twilight was a very observant pony. She had to be. The very first thing that came to mind when she saw the craziness behind the hospital curtain: That's not Discord. His coloration was different, the goat leg had been replaced with a large rabbit-like one, and his over sized fang was on the other side. The second thing that came to mind: What is Luna DOING?

The third thing that came to mind was a very large, red plastic whistle. Literally, it came to her mind, hitting her in the head and immediately knocking her unconscious.

"Eclipse Tumult!" Celestia lifted the rapidly evaporating toy off of her star pupil, inspecting her for injuries. "How dare you do that!"

Eclipse spat out Luna's hoof, which had been keeping him quiet up until now. "I panicked... She's one of the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony, right?" He was looking at Twilight like a pony might look at a sleeping bear: harmless for the moment, but still dangerous.

"Yes, but she's also smart! Smart enough not to simply lash out at somepony she doesn't trust!" Celestia glared at Eclipse, feeling very protective of her student. "She's curious because she's my student! She's always looking to learn, and she could learn a lot from you! Apparently, you could stand to learn a few lessons from her, as well!" Eclipse looked down, obviously ashamed. Celestia levitated her pupil into the cot next to his.

"I- I'm sorry..." Eclipse mumbled.

"It's not ME that you should apologize to..." Celestia took a deep breath, turned around, and walked away, leaving the hospital.

Luna looked up to Eclipse, wiping a few final drops of chocolate milk off of her face. "I'll go talk to her... Twilight is like a daughter to Celestia... Try to be a bit more cooperative with the doctor, okay?" With that parting request, Luna ran after her sister.

Eclipse winced as Luna left, too. He almost called out after her to ask if she could move Twilight to a different cot, or at least pull back the curtain, but he stopped himself, choosing not to push his luck with the one princess who wasn't mad at him.

"Well, you've made a fine mess of things 'Clipsey..." He muttered to himself as he settled down into his bed. "Just had to lose it... In fact, why am I even still here? I should just go..." Totally contradicting himself, he buried his head in his pillows. "Oh, why did she have to find me out in the labyrinth? Why couldn't she have just left well enough alone? In fact, why did I keep coming back? This whole mess could have been avoided if I had just run back to Everfree while I could..."

Come on, 'Clips! It'll be just you and me again! They could never stop us together! The kirins couldn't split us up, why are you doing this? Eclipse slammed his hands against his ears, despite the fact that he knew that the voice was a memory, and only in his own head.

Eclipse, please, help me out, here! We're the ultimate team! Little bro, we can rule this place! Make it OUR home together, just like I promised! Let's turn these ponies on their heads! They can't fight chaos!

"Stop it! Stop it!" Eclipse snapped his fingers, trying to send the memory far away. "That's not the path I chose to take!"

"Mister Tumult, good news!" Doctor Whooves trotted in carrying a clipboard, which he put in Eclipse's lap. "Your treatments have been going quite well! In fact, so well, you can be released tomorrow morning! I think you'll agree, that's good news for everypony! Just sign these release forms, and you can be gone by 8 O'clock tomorrow morning! Oh no..." He glanced over at Twilight. "What's wrong with her?"

"Oh, she'll be fine. Just unconscious for a few minutes..." Eclipse sighed, happy for the distraction of signing the release forms. He handed them back to the doctor. Both of them seemed tired, and both were happy that he would be leaving soon. "She might wake up with a headache and a lump on her noggin, but nothing more..."

"Good."

"Oh, and Doctor!" Eclipse gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, trying to remember Luna and Celestia's request. "I'd like to apologize for my behavior..."

"Acute paranoia. I'm not only a doctor of medicine..." The chestnut pony gave him a smile, something that Eclipse had yet to see out of the overly stressed practitioner. "To be honest, I have expected that you would call for a lawyer before signing anything!" He laughed and trotted out of the room.

"Ugh... What happened?" Twilight groaned, keeping her eyes screwed shut. "Why does my head hurt so much?"

"Ummmm..." Eclipse stretched as far as the IV tube would let him, barely brushing his fingers against the edge of the curtain. "I'm afraid that's my fault..." In what seemed like a moment of victory, the curtain seemed to be within his grasp, but slipped through his fingers. When he looked back at Twilight, her eyes were wide open, with the same horrified expression as she had given after seeing him a few minutes ago.

"AUGH! Stay back!" Twilight's horn flashed to life, teleporting her a few beds away.

"I will if you will!" Eclipse snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. "Darn it! You've got to be kidding me! I wanna teleport, too!"

"Why don't you? Who are you? What are you doing here?" Twilight wasn't sure which question to ask first. In her wildest dreams and nightmares, this was not a vision that had ever graced her imagination: an incapacitated draconequus in a hospital bed, in the castle!

"I'm sick..." Eclipse motioned to the cot he was laying on, then the IV. "My name is Eclipse Tumult and as for what I'm doing here: I'm just trying to get out!"

"Why? So you can go wreak some kind of havoc? Not on my watch! The Elements of-"

"No! I just want to go home! Back to the Everfree Forest..." Eclipse moved as if he was going to snap his fingers again, but lost hope halfway through it and let his hand fall into his lap. "That's all! I just want to go back to a quiet life, alone!"

Twilight was completely dumbfounded. "You mean... you're not here to cause some kind of chaos?"

Eclipse's eyes rolled, landing on the lavender pony. "Do I LOOK like Discord to you? Wait! Don't answer that... No, I don't want to cause trouble. I don't want to wind up in stone like him..." He let out a long sigh, subconsciously fingering at the area around his IV.

"Wait, are you the 'new friend' that Celestia was writing to me about? The one keeping 'questionable company' and offering new perspectives to her?"

"I suppose so, though 'friend' might not be the right word at the moment..."

"Why not?" Twilight couldn't help but be fascinated. This is the first time that I've gotten to take a good long look at a draconequus... Discord never stayed still for very long.

"Well, after I knocked you unconscious out of fear, she became very angry with me..." He looked over at Twilight rather sheepishly. "Again, sorry about that..."

"Out of fear? You're scared of ME?" This draconequus just didn't stop saying things that completely floored Twilight Sparkle. "You're a big, powerful draconequus! Spirit of Chaos! Why would you be scared of one little pony?" She hopped off of the bed, ignoring the throbbing in her head, and took a few tentative steps towards him. Sure enough, he tensed and leaned away.

"You ought to understand that, Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic!" On the table next to his bed, the glass began filling with chocolate milk again. He picked it up and began drinking, but the level didn't decrease.

Twilight stopped walking towards him, a little shocked at his inferred accusation. "Are you saying that I would- Never! You're not causing any trouble, why would the Elements of Harmony come after you?"

Eclipse pulled the glass away from his mouth. "Because my brother gives draconequui a bad name."

"Your brother?" Twilight sat down on the floor, her jaw dropping. "You're Discord's brother?"

"Younger brother, to be precise..."

"And you're not..." Twilight tried to figure out how to phrase her question without offending him.

"Evil? Terrifying? Turning the world upside down?" Eclipse rolled his eyes. "I know. Like I said, Discord gave our species a bad name. Of course, then again, as far as I've seen in all my years, there are only two members of our species, so there isn't much of a name to blemish..."

"So, you're the last draconequus?" Twilight didn't mean to say anything hurtful, but when Eclipse's shoulders slumped down, she knew that she had stuck a bad nerve.

"Well, Discord could still be counted, considering that he's not really dead, just stuck... But yeah, I've never seen another one of us... We could be the last..." His words slowed down and his voice dropped to a whisper. Obviously, he didn't want to hear himself say it. Twilight crept closer, eventually reaching his bedside. She tried to think of something to say.

"Well, I'm sure that there are others out there? Where could you two have come from, right?" She tried to smile reassuringly.

"We were the patron spirits of the Kirin race... When we left and they died, there was no chance at the creation of any others."

Twilight shook her head. Kirins? I've never heard of them... I have research to do! "Well..."

Eclipse smiled forlornly, staring into empty space. "Don't worry, Twilight Sparkle. I'm quite used to the idea of being alone." When he turned back to her, his expression was oppressively serious. "Speaking of which... You must tell no pony of what you learned here. I don't exist, understood?" He took another long drought from his never-emptying glass of chocolate milk.

"Why would you want that? You could try to give your race a GOOD name if you would come out into public-"

"No!" His reply was so hasty, he nearly choked on his drink. "There is no way! I just want to go home and be alone! What on earth would give you that idea?"

"Simple!" Twilight jumped onto the other bed so that she could look him in the eye. "I just met you, and you've proven to me that you don't want to cause or receive any trouble! I just know that most ponies would be just as easily won over! My friends and I could give our own testimonials about you!"

"Please don't." Eclipse began nervously fidgeting. This pony won't stop!

"What better endorsement could you have than the support of the princesses and the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight's brain had finally kicked into high gear. If there was one thing that she had learned from Pinkie Pie, it was enthusiasm.

"Twilight, I don't want the spotlight-"

"I know just what we could do! Run a newspaper article! I know just the reporter for the job: Gabby Gums! Don't worry, she's just these three little fillies working together under the same name-"

"Twilight!"

"It would be perfect! Everypony would flock to the newspaper stands for a new Gabby Gums article, it's been ages! You could come live in Ponyville! It's a small town, and a great place to make new friends!"

"Twilight Sparkle! Do I need to knock you unconscious again? I said 'no'!" Eclipse finally resorted to yelling in order to be heard over Twilight's rambling. Eclipse's outburst caught Twilight off-guard, and he knew why: when he was yelling, he sounded like Discord.

"I... I was just trying to help."

"Thank you for that, but I don't need to come out into public." Eclipse smiled, trying to make the disappointed unicorn feel better. "I'm not worried about how I look in the eyes of the public because I stay as far away from them as possible. Once I'm better, which ought to be tomorrow, I'm going straight back to the Everfree forest, where I've been living since the first time Discord was defeated. I don't need a newspaper article, I don't need any kind of endorsement. I just need things to go back to the way that they were."

"You mean, you're not going to stay here?" Celestia's voice echoed through the room. Both pony and draconequus turned around, surprised at her silent entry. "Luna and I were going to surprise you, but we want to get you out of that forest and into a place you can call your own."

Eclipse shook his head. "I'm honored by the offer, your highness, but I have my own home. It may not be to standards that you feel fit me, but it has been my home for a very long time..."

It was now Twilight's turn to roll her eyes. "Are you kidding me? An invitation from BOTH princess to stay in the castle, and you're going to turn it down? Eclipse, if you live in the Everfree forest, you have to deal with timber wolves, ursas, and all kinds of strange... umm..." When Eclipse raised an eyebrow at her, Twilight remembered that he was, in fact, "strange", too. "Anyway, say 'yes!' This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"At least until we hear the rest of your story? You can see what it's like, and make your choice then." Celestia hated to risk him not staying, but she couldn't force him to stay, either.

"Your highness, my story will sound just as good when we meet in the labyrinth during the day. What I do at night is nothing to concern yourself about." Eclipse folded his arms, trying to show that the matter was settled.

"He's right, Celestia!" Luna called out as she walked into the hospital wing. "What happens at night is MY concern!"

Eclipse's hand went straight to his forehead, making a loud slapping noise. "No! What I do and where I live is MY concern! You two are not going to team up against me again! Wasn't what happened at dinner evidence enough? I don't belong in your world!"

"I used to think that Celestia was steering me in the wrong direction when she sent me to Ponyville, but it was a decision that changed my whole life for the better! If you don't belong with your friends, where do you belong?" Twilight sat down, happy to support her mentor.

"I belong alone!"

"But even you and Discord were together as children! Why are you so convinced that you were meant to be alone?" Celestia's question hung in the air as Eclipse failed to respond. As silence fell, Eclipse's eyes filled with tears, and Celestia became unsure of whether she should have thought more before speaking.

Eclipse picked up the edge of his bed sheets and pulled them up to his shoulders, then rolled onto his side, planting his face in his pillow so that he could avoid making eye contact with anypony. "Tomorrow, I'm going home."

Silence fell again, like a feather that had been blown up into the air for just a moment, then returned again.

Twilight was the first to leave. She said her goodbyes, promised more letters, and offered Eclipse her help if he ever changed his mind about improving the reputation of draconequui. After that, she caught another express train back to Ponyville.

Luna was next, claiming that she had left her chatroom open and that she was getting hungry, she gave Eclipse a gentle pat on the back and encouraged him to get well soon.

Celestia was the last to leave. As the sun moved along its familiar arc, she didn't say a word. After about an hour of silence, her melodic voice broke the tension.

"Eclipse, can you fly? I can see that you have wings."

Surprisingly, Eclipse was still awake, not having moved a muscle. "They were never strong enough to hold me, Celestia. I've tried and tried, but I can't." His voice was low and slightly muffled by his pillow.

"Well, then, would you go for a walk with me before you leave?"

"Where?"

"The labyrinth. I'd like it if I could just spend a little time with you for both of us to relax before you leave..."

"No tricks? No traps? Just walking?" The question hardly had any of his usual suspicion behind it, and seemed like more of a formality.

"Of course. Nothing but two friends."

"...Fine."

Tears and Laughter

The next morning, Celestia and Luna were waiting when Eclipse came out of the hospital. The moment he walked through the doors, Luna nearly crushed him in another hug. After being gently reminded of the fact that he was still sore by her sister, Luna let go.

"Sorry, Eclipse." Despite her mistake, Luna didn't stop smiling. "It's great that you're finally better!"

"For the most part. The doctor says I still need to lay off of using my chaos powers, since most of them are going straight to repairing the damage..." He shrugged. "I feel fine, but somepony told me to cooperate more, so I will." He rolled his eyes and smiled at the two sisters. "So, I want to get some fresh air. Celestia, I believe you invited me for a walk in the labyrinth?"

"Yes, I did. We can go after breakfast." Celestia smiled, happy that Eclipse seemed to be better emotionally, as well. She turned around and motioned for Eclipse and Luna to follow. Eclipse sighed and followed them on their way the dining hall without complaint. Whenever a servant or some kind of worker came anywhere near the trio, though, he would do his best to hide, sometimes jumping into a nearby closet, other times holding a pose and looking like stone. Celestia thought that the time he spent posing as a statue was particularly ironic, but chose to hold her tongue. When they arrived, the table was once again set, and everything had been inspected for even the slightest hint of Zap Apples.

"Are there any other foods that we should know that you have bad reactions to, Eclipse?" Luna asked as she sat down and began munching on a cinnamon roll.

"Not that I know of..." Eclipse picked up a cinnamon roll, as well, plucking it apart. "Zap apples are really the worst..."

"What are you planning on doing in the labyrinth?" Luna turned to her sister, eager for answers.

"Hopefully, just have some quiet time. Life has gotten very... chaotic as of late." Celestia winked at Eclipse. "I think that some quiet time on a walk through the labyrinth and a little fresh air will be just what Eclipse needs to top off his stay at the hospital."

"Can I come?"

"Sorry, Luna, but I wanted to talk to Eclipse about a few things in private... A few lingering questions." She turned to her stack of pancakes, drizzling a large amount of syrup on top.

"Fine... But no going on with the story without me!" Luna ordered as she finished off her first cinnamon roll and picked up another.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Luna." Eclipse muttered as he helped himself to a pancake. For the most part, he only ate what he was already familiar with or what the Princesses were eating. He didn't eat much. At least, not as much as the Princesses. His stomach still hurt, and he didn't want to push it. He finished eating first, followed by Celestia, who rose from her chair when she was finished.

"Luna, we're going to head out now, do you mind watching things while we're gone?"

"Watch what? The muffins?" Luna laughed. "I've got things covered, Tia."

With a nod, Celestia's horn began to glow, and she and Eclipse disappeared. When they reappeared, they were inside the entrance to the labyrinth and Eclipse was gripping his head.

"Ugh... Next time, give me a warning, Celestia. I wasn't expecting that..." When he looked back up, Celestia was already disappearing across the first corner. "Hey, wait for me!" He ran to catch up with her, and they were soon walking abreast again. "So, you have some questions for me?"

"Well, yes..." Celestia seemed distracted, switching back and forth between staring at the ground and up at the sun. "But I also have a few things I just wanted to talk to you about." She swung to the right without warning, taking a new path.

"Those are the questions, right?" Eclipse matched her pace.

"Not all of them. Like one thing I've noticed is that you and Luna seem to get along really well..." Celestia didn't look at Eclipse, she just kept looking back at the ground, then back at the sky.

"Well, we just both understand each other a bit better, both being younger siblings and all. It's not much more than that." Eclipse chuckled a little nervously. "I'm not used to venturing out in the light of day, either. Maybe there's some kind of symbolism there, but I like to think that I get along with you, too, Celestia."

"Yes... Yes, we get along. You're right, though. You definitely share more with Luna than with me." She took another random turn, this time nearly bumping into Eclipse. "Eclipse, I see a lot of similarities between the relationship you had with Discord and the relationship that I have with Luna. When Luna and I overcame Discord for the first time, we thought that nothing could ever separate us, just like how it seems that not even your own parents could split you can Discord apart. For 300 years, we were right..."

Eclipse began to see the path that Celestia was taking. "And then came Nightmare Moon. Luna became lonely, and she blamed the ponies who slept through the night for it... Her anger got mixed in with her loneliness, and she became a threat to Equestria and the ponies you had sworn to protect." He placed a hand on Celestia's shoulder.

"I don't know what happened between you and Discord that could have split you apart so easily... But you had to go through the same thing... Losing the one closest to you, seemingly forever." Celestia's eyes had finally settled on the ground, now, and tears were beginning to fall. "Discord was locked away in stone. Unable to talk, to touch, to comfort..."

"And Luna was imprisoned in the moon. So very, very far away..." Eclipse wasn't sure why Celestia had suddenly brought this up, but he didn't stop her. Each one was recounting the other's painful tale.

"In the end, Luna came back to me." Celestia sniffled softly and tried to stand up straight again, her eyes red and wet. "I thought that it was a miracle that the Elements of Harmony had freed her from Nightmare Moon... But Discord doesn't look like he's coming back. I'm afraid to even imagine what that must be like for you..."

"That's why I go to visit his statue." Eclipse whispered, resting his arm around Celestia's shoulders. "Sometimes, I talk to him. I don't know if he can hear me, but I try to help him understand that he can live if he lives in peace, rather than conquest." He shook his head. "I doubt that even if he did hear me, he would listen. Other times... I sing. I sing about how lonely I am, I sing about what I miss and what Discord became. That's how I live with myself after abandoning him..."

Celestia didn't even try to ask Eclipse about his choice of words. "I could hardly live with myself for the past thousand years... Every night, I was forced to think of Luna when I raised the moon. It tore me apart inside..."

"Both times, it wasn't our fault, but our greater responsibility to go against them..." They both sat down, taking positions against opposite walls and either staring at each other, or into their own laps..

"You fought Discord?" Celestia asked quietly.

"Well, more like refused to help him... It was only a fight of words." Eclipse let out a long sigh.

"Those are still battles, and sometimes the most brutal..."

"Yes, well... I can't say much, it's part of the story..." Eclipse chuckled. "Unless you want to go get Luna..."

Celestia shook her head. "This started as me just wanting to point out the fact that we're two different endings to the same story..."

"You're right... You were the happy ending, and mine was the sad one..." Eclipse spoke as if he was taking things in stride now, but he was blinking back his tears and struggling to keep his voice from cracking.

"Right. I just don't think that the sad ending for you and Discord..." Celestia did her best to pull herself together as she made the point that she had been trying to lead up to. "should be your sad ending, Eclipse. Deep down, I think that the reason that Luna and I are trying so hard to help you... is because we want you to have a part of the happy ending..." She pulled together a smile. "So finish your story with us, Eclipse, and maybe think about leaving what happened to end 'you and Discord' in the past, and move on to finding a happy ending for yourself..."

Eclipse was a bit surprised. He had never thought that what he was doing: living in the Everfree forest, avoiding almost all outside contact, was simply extended mourning for his brother. He had convinced himself that it was simply his life, and that he was going to live it as long as he could. His mind spun around like a puppy chasing its own tail as he tried to see what else he had been doing that could be interpreted as still mourning Discord...

"Eclipse." Celestia's voice pulled him back into glaring focus. "What is it that YOU want?" The question was genuine, and once again blindsided the draconequus. Celestia gave him time to ponder, not entirely expecting an answer. "Just think about that for a while, friend..."

"I... I want my brother back!" He choked as silent tears began to stream down his face. "I want my family! I want a home! Okay? You can't give me those things, Celestia!" His voice choked up as the dam of emotion finally broke, and he laid his head in his arms.

Celestia walked across the path, sitting down next to Eclipse and spreading one of her wings over his shoulders. "Maybe I can't give you back the Discord you once knew, maybe I can't bring back your parents or your brother, but Luna and I can give you a home. You just have to accept that ponies will be a part of it. No more hiding..." She was a bit surprised when Eclipse leaned up against her, but it made sense. Nopony ever wants to cry alone...

After a few minutes, Eclipse's crying stopped. He apologized for losing control of himself, and Celestia waved it away.

"We came out here to be where no one would see us cry, there's no shame in doing so!" She helped lift him to his feet again. "That's the main reason I wanted to talk to you out here, Eclipse, to put my offer of a place to call 'home' in its true light. To show you that Luna and I will always be ready to accept you... Like family."

Eclipse couldn't help but smile. "Thank you... Celestia. But be careful, I might just take you up on that offer!"

The threat just made Celestia laugh. "I'll be counting on it! You know, there are a few other, less emotional, questions that have been bothering me..."

"Go ahead, fire away." Eclipse was shocked to see a gun appear in front of his face, cocked and loaded. "NONONONO!" He snapped his fingers, and it disappeared. "Looks like my powers are coming back. Better watch my tongue..." On cue, his tongue floated out of his mouth and hovered in front of his eyes. He grabbed it, stuffed it back into his mouth. "Well, at least the cat didn't have it... I hate the taste of hairballs!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "For one thing, what is up with you and figures of speech? I never saw Discord have a problem with them..."

Eclipse nodded. "Discord and I complimented each other well, but that doesn't mean we're exactly the same. Over time, we saw the differences, and came up with a theory. Discord was the embodiment of sheer chaos, and his powers affected everything around him... I'm more so the personification of the expression, 'organized chaos.' My powers and their behavior are influenced by what are around them, like figures of speech."

"So, if you were looking sad, and I asked you, 'Why the long face?'" Celestia couldn't help but laugh as Eclipse's jaw fell all the way to the ground. He reached down and lifted it back up again, putting it back in place.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Eclipse chuckled. "As long as you don't say, 'What's eating you?'" This time, the fulfillment wasn't as comical, with a manticore jumping out of the bushes and flying straight towards Eclipse. Calmly, he snapped his fingers and it disappeared. "That's one of my less-than-favorite ones, but easily disposed of. It's a piece of cake!" A plate of chocolate cake appeared in his hand, and he began to eat, offering her an extra fork. To his surprise, not only did she take the fork, but most of the cake! "Got a bit of a sweet tooth, Celestia?"

Celestia took a moment to chew and swallow before answering. "Luna says I have a whole mouth full of them..." She laughed sheepishly.

Eclipse grinned. "Maybe you should have been the one trying to drink up all of the chocolate milk, and Luna should have tried to distract Twilight!"

"Ha! Well, that reminds me, what was up with that? Why did you make that cloud when you were trying to hide?" Celestia couldn't help but laugh as she pictured the scene from the previous day with her and her sister swapped.

"Well, if I get scared, I tend to start losing control of my powers... It's kind of like how some ponies might wet their pants when they get too scared..." He laughed. "Except I do it a lot more often!"

Celestia laughed even more. It felt good to laugh after the two of them had been so serious. In fact, there have been a few things that we've been doing lately since Eclipse came here that have been a lot better... Like private dinners, Luna and I spending more time together (albeit in the hospital), and taking time off...

"So, are we heading back to the castle?" Eclipse asked. "Or do you have any other questions?"

Celestia shook her head. "Your explanation about the whole 'organized chaos' thing covered a lot of it... And the rest ought to be covered in the rest of your story."

"Then, will we go back? You can show me where you want me to stay for the next few days..." He smiled and winked. "And maybe a bit longer..."

"Well, okay..." She smiled and her horn began to glow. "We're going to telepo-" She was cut off as they both vanished again.

Opening up?

After we left our homeland, things only became harder. I knew that I was taking a big risk to choose my brother over a home and parents, but I never regretted the decision. Even when our flying knight landed in the heart of a massive den of wraiths, Discord refused to drop his ridiculous grin. Their shadowy forms swirled around beneath us, and a few of them began extending shadowy tendrils over the shining ivory. Discord snapped his fingers again, and the chess piece suddenly changed, feeling waxy and not as cool to the touch.

"It's white chocolate! Go ahead, eat!" Discord cried as he took a large bite. After taking a moment to try and understand what kind of change had occurred, the wraiths began showing their pearly teeth and ripping off chunks of chocolate. I couldn't help but become a but nervous as I watched large chunks of our chess piece disappear.

"Um, Dizzy, what's going to stop them from eating us?"

"Simple, Eclipse! What makes you think that they're going to want to eat us Everyone loves chocolate!" He indicated the giant treat with a wave of his hand. "They're going to thank us for this!"

A single wraith, climbing higher than the rest, jumped up like a trained fish and snapped off Discord's extended hand.

"AUUUUGHHH!" I screamed in fear and began to look around for other attackers from below.

"AUUUUGHHH!" Discord screamed, looking at the stump where his hand used to be, then shrugged and pulled out the rest of his fake arm, tossing it over the side. "Okay, so maybe they won't. So maybe they're more like piranhas made out of shadow and able to live on land. We can just leave!" He pulled a toy life raft out of his pocket, and it immediately began to grow. Finally, it became life size, sprouting a pair of wings. "All aboard?"

Without hesitation, I leaped into the boat. Discord stepped in, and the wings began to flap, trying to lift off. Just as we were getting up into the air, a wraith jumped up from the top of the giant candy and took a huge bite from our raft!

"Dizzy? DIZZY?" I began to panic, and I had no idea what to do, and we were falling into a veritable pit of fangs. "DISCORD!"

Without warning, we landed in something soft. Something sticky. Something... Pink. I opened my eyes, and found that Discord and I had landed in a cloud... of cotton candy.

"I didn't do this..." Discord muttered, inspecting our new ride. When he turned back, his grin was bigger than ever. "Clips! You did it! You saved us!"

"We're not outta the woods yet..." I pointed down at the wraiths, who were leaping up to try and get at us. Out of nowhere, one leaped up towards us, sending a thrill of panic through my chest. in perfect sync, a rainbow-colored lightning bolt lashed out, sending the wraith spiraling back to earth.

"Way to go!" Discord gave me a hardy pat on the back. "Clips, I've never seen you do stuff like this!"

I could only nod in agreement, because neither had I. Somehow, I had figured out how to defend myself and my brother, and the road ahead seemed a bit less scary.

"You mean, the moment you left home, you wound up in the middle of a wraith nest?" Luna shook her head. "Either you're lying, or you have the worst luck I've ever seen!" She looked up at her sister, who nodded her agreement.

"I've never been well acquainted with good luck." Eclipse smiled. "At least not until now, but every word happened!" He looked around at the room that Celestia and Luna had prepared for him, and couldn't help but be impressed. They had placed Luna's gift moon in the corner of the room, decorated it in an array of dark mottled greens and blues. His bed was soft and very plush, the perfect size for a draconequus to stretch out and relax. The walls were painted in a forest mural, with parasprites dotting the treetops, and a large skylight with an awning that could come down to form a roof. Best of all, it was in the same hallway as Celestia and Luna's rooms, so anyone wanting to come and see him would have to pass them.

"I still can't believe that you two put this together while I was in the hospital!"

"Well, it's surprising what can happen if you put your mind and enough bits to it..." Celestia laughed.

"You two didn't have to spend money for me... I would just want a quiet place to sleep! All of this..." He laughed and fell back on the bed, sinking in. "This is more than I could have asked for..."

"Of course! That's why we didn't wait for you to ask for it!" Luna laughed and jumped onto the bed, bouncing next to him. "Is that all that you're going to tell us today? That's hardly anything!"

"Luna, it's the beginning and ending of the story that are most important, and that hold most of the answers that you can Celestia want. If I told too much of the middle part at once, if would begin to seem terribly repetitive to the two of you!"

"No way! If it's all near-escapes and close calls like that, how could it get boring?" Luna gave one final jump, coming close enough to Eclipse to bounce him back up into a sitting position.

"They're not. That was the end of the beginning. The wraiths lived just outside of Kirin Country, that's why there needed to be a fence around the border. After that, we made our way into other countries dominated by sentient beings... That's where things fell into a pattern."

Celestia thought for a moment, trying to ignore Luna's childishness. "You told me that four words had been haunting you your whole life... back at your camp."

"'We don't want you.' Yes. That's it." Eclipse rolled his eyes. "No one wanted us in their lands, probably because as we grew stronger, just being in a country would turn it into the chaos capital of the world... So, just like with the kirins, we were driven out time and time again. Sometimes, Discord would stand and fight."

"Wait, we read about that!" Luna picked up a book and began flipping through it. "There's an account here of Discord fighting a large dragon! It's rather exciting to read, and it mentions you, too! It says that you stopped Discord from striking the killing blow..."

"I remember that..." Eclipse thought. "That was getting close to the time we reached Equestria... We had been kicked out of at least a dozen countries by then... Discord had taken to doing all of the fighting, and letting me stay behind..." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I should have seen it coming. Discord was always protecting me... Always fighting."

"See what coming?" Both sisters leaned in.

"His descent... He started to think of fighting as the first choice. He decided that to be welcome, we had to rule..." He shook his head. "It was with this mentality that we arrived in Equestria."

"Is that where you two... split up?" Luna knew that this was skipping to the end of the story, but if Eclipse was right, there was nothing more than Discord fighting over and over again, becoming more and more violent.

"Yes... It is. But, that's a story for later."

"How much later? Tomorrow?" Celestia asked, taking a bit of Luna's enthusiasm. This was the part of the story that she had been waiting for, where the two of them split up.

"Maybe." Eclipse laid back down on the bed. "I'm not sure... I'm trying to leave my past behind, like you said, but still remember it for the two of you..." He closed his eyes. "I'm going back and forth... Past and present. Discord's voice is still playing over and over again in my memories... In my brain. Then what you told me plays over again, Celestia. About leaving what happened with Discord behind and trying to make myself happy."

"Eclipse, if you don't want to tell us until your mind has settled, we won't make you..."

"I would like to take a little time..." He muttered, keeping his eyes closed. "Maybe after I... get used to being here, around ponies..."

"Right. How do you want to do that?" Luna asked. "We could make an announcement to the servants here at the castle... Tell them that you're NOT Discord, for one thing..."

"Or, we could go for the more personal approach, and only introduce the ones that need to know you until you feel better about the rest of the staff being informed..." Once again, the difference in tactic between the two sisters was obvious.

"Celestia, I really appreciate the thought, but I think that it might be best if we did this Luna's way and dove right in... It's going to be like getting into a cold river to swim."

"If you say so, Eclipse... We'll make the announcement tomorrow. It would be best if you came..." Celestia placed a hoof on his shoulder. "We'll be right there with you..."

Eclipse nodded. "I'll try. Diving in headfirst isn't my normal way of doing things..." He glanced over at Luna.

"Don't worry, Eclipse. We'll be there to make sure you don't get in over your head!"

Eclipse shook his head. "Somehow, I'm getting stage fright already!"

"Everypony, I know that it's very strange for me to call you all out of your duties to speak to you, but this is very important, and requires your complete attention!" Celestia stood tall in front of the assembled workers and servants.

"We both would like you to meet someone new. Someone who will seem a bit strange at first. Let me tell you, he doesn't like being in the spotlight, but we all agreed that this would be the best way for you all to get used to him being around the castle." Luna continued her sister's announcement in their usual style of working together, as of late.

"Now, I'm sure that you're all familiar with Discord, correct?" Celestia's question was greeted by large amounts of booing, stomping, and even a few hisses.

"Quiet, quiet! Discord is a creature known as a draconequus, correct?" Luna shouted, making sure that she was heard. The booing was replaced by murmurs of curiosity, though the tension still hung in the air. "Well, it is our honor to present..."

"The last member of the draconequus race, and our HONORED GUEST, Eclipse Tumult!" Celestia motioned to the podium between them, where first a pair of mismatched horns, then a pair of blue eyes rose up. All was silent as he stood to his full height, rising above the podium. "Eclipse is our guest, and as such must be treated with respect. We do not wish for you to associate him with Discord, but to treat him as if you didn't even know Discord existed, understood?"

There was a general mumble of consent from all of the gathered ponies. "Can he talk?" One pony shouted.

Celestia and Luna both looked over at Eclipse, who was being very fidgety, tapping the pulpit nervously. He snapped to attention. "Oh, what? I- um... Yes, I talk..."

"So, you're the last draconequus? Are you the one we've heard was in the hospital?" Another pony shouted.

"Well, yes... I've been rather sick as of late, and your princesses used the facilities here to help me..."

"OUR princesses? Don't you consider them royalty, draconequus? Or do your loyalties lie elsewhere?" one pony heckled from the crowd.

"Yes! They're royal! Of course my allegiance lies with them, they're my friends!" Eclipse was beginning to pale and shake under the pressure of a hundred pairs of eyes. I wasn't expecting the royal guards to come... Especially not in uniform... A single cotton candy cloud appeared above his head, showing that he was losing her nerve again.

Both Celestia and Luna knew that it was time to go. Eclipse had done his best, but was cracking under the pressure. Celestia grabbed the cotton candy cloud before it could start to rain. "Thank you, Eclipse! How did you know that I wanted some cotton candy! It's been ages since I treated myself to some!" She took a large bite.

"Everypony, we would like you to treat Eclipse with the same love and respect that you give to us, and make him feel welcome here in Canterlot Castle!" Luna shouted as Celestia escorted Eclipse off of the stage. "After seeing Discord's imprisonment, he hid himself away and refused to do anything that would draw attention to himself or cause ponies trouble! We are trying to convince him that ponies are not prejudiced against his race because of one deviant Discord! Prove us right!" With those words, Luna joined her sister and Eclipse, and the crowd dispersed.

"Good job, Eclipse. Was that so bad?" Celestia asked, giving the colorless friend a pat on the back.

"Indeed, you displayed greater courage than I expected, going out there like that..." Luna smiled. "I half expected you to run away!"

Eclipse's pallor only grew as they kept walking. "I... never... felt so exposed... in my life..." Eclipse finally managed to choke out as he reached out for his door. When he pulled it open, parasprites, real ones, not painted, were buzzing about everywhere. Without even the slightest indication that he had noticed this, he walked inside and shut the door behind him.

"You know, Tia... Eclipse is a far cry from the state he was in when we first met him..."

"So are we, Luna..."

Boredom and Invaders

"Mail!" A loud, unfamiliar voice called out through the morning air, jarring Eclipse into the waking world. He looked around for the source, a bit startled.

"Hello? Who's there?" He didn't see anyone, and half expected a pony to jump out of the trees in his mural.

"Up here!" The voice called from the skylight. Eclipse looked up, and saw a wall-eyed blueish gray pegasus leaning in through the open window. "You're Eclipse Tumult, right? The draconequus?"

"Well, yes, I am... Are you alright?" He couldn't help but be a bit confused as the pegasus's state as she flew down to the ground. "Your eyes seem a bit..."

"I know! It's nothing, trust me. You have mail!" She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a wad of letters tied with twine. She handed them to Eclipse, who cautiously took them from her.

"This... is all for me?"

"Yes! I'll admit, it was a little hard to find you! When I asked around, Princess Luna told me you were here, in the royalty wing! That's not all, either!" She jumped up into the air, flying up through towards the skylight. Without warning, she veered to the left, striking the ceiling beside the skylight.. "Ouch! Whoops!" When she came back again, she was holding a large basket. She dropped down, landing on his bed. "OOF!" As the basket bounced with her, its contents flew through the air. "Oh no! My muffins!" The strange pegasus immediately began trying to gather them up, dropping to the floor and scrambling to pick them all up.

Eclipse immediately began helping her gather them, trying to ignore his growing confusion. "Muffins?"

"Yeah, I baked you some 'welcome' muffins! Since you're coming out of hiding!" She smiled as they picked up the last of the muffins and placed them back into the basket.

Eclipse was shocked. She doesn't even know me... "Thank you! Thank you, Miss... Umm..."

"Derpy! Derpy Hooves!" She smiled. "And you're welcome! I'd love to stay and talk, but I have lots more deliveries to make!" She flew back up towards the skylight. "Goodbye! Have a nice day!"

Eclipse laughed as the pegasus disappeared from sight. "That was a pleasant surprise! I seem to be getting more and more pleasant surprises lately..." He picked up a muffin and took a large bite, turning to his wad of letters. "Mmm! Blueberry!" He opened the first letter, unfolding the paper carefully, and not knowing what to expect.

Dear Mr. Tumult,

My name is Thunder Shine, and I'm a young colt and the son of Thunder Runner, a palace guard. When my Dad came home yesterday, he told us that the last of Discord's race was staying at the castle! I was scared at first, but Dad says that you looked more scared than than scary. So, I decided that I should write you a letter to let you know, you don't have to be scared of my Dad! He's really nice, and wouldn't hurt you unless you were doing something bad!

The princesses say you're good, so you must be! And if you're good, you shouldn't be scared of my Dad!

Maybe, the next time that the princesses let the families come to visit again, I could meet you, too?

Sincerely,

Thunder Shine.

Eclipse read the note a couple more times, then opened another.

Eclipse Tumult,

I write to you on the behalf of our palace guard when I say that you have nothing for fear from us. Your fright was evident yesterday, but I can understand feeling in such a way in front of such a large crowd. Rest assured, with the approval of Princess Celestia and Luna, the royal guard will not harm you, but instead be at your service.

Oh, and one more thing. There is one Princess that you have yet to meet. My dearest wife, Princess Cadence, expressed a desire to come and meet you after my recounting of yesterday's assembly. I warned her that it seemed as if you were about to meet many new ponies in the next few days, and that she should hold off on her visit until you were ready, but she's very strong-willed and may choose to visit at the time of her choice.

I hope that your adjustment to palace life progresses smoothly, and that you will see the other guards and I as allies and friends.

Sincerely,

Shining Armor.

Another princess? I thought that Luna and Celestia were the only ones. Eclipse folded the letter, hoping that this "Princess Cadence" would listen to her husband's warning. He's probably right... There are going to be a lot of ponies who want to meet me. They could be waiting outside the door, for all I know! The thought made him shiver a little, and he quickly opened the next letter. Surprisingly, the address on the front said that it was from Twilight Sparkle!

Hello again, Eclipse!

Princess Celestia wrote to me last night to tell me about your introduction to the palace staff yesterday, and I'm overjoyed that you took my advice about stepping out into the public eye! When you feel like visiting Ponyville, you can feel free to come to my friends and I for a place to stay and a few well-placed introductions!

I know what it's like to be new and not used to making friends, I kept to my studies for the majority of my childhood and set aside the seemingly childish notion of making friends. Trust me when I say, I have never been happier to be wrong! Celestia threw me into a new place, where I would be forced to meet many ponies at once, and I met the ponies who are now my very best friends here. It was because of our friendship that we have overcome all of our obstacles here, and even saved Equestria!

I just want to offer you my complete support, morally and physically! I can still get you in touch with the three fillies who once worked writing a column for the paper if you would like to get your name out into public knowledge without having to introduce yourself to everypony on the street. Not to mention, it would be a good preventative measure for being mistaken for Discord.

Anyway, I'm glad that you're feeling better, and I'm proud that the paranoid draconequus who thought knocking witnesses unconscious was the only answer is now trying to overcome that fear!

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight's definitely being very supportive, but I don't think I'm ready to be in the newspaper quite yet... Eclipse thought. He picked up the slowly shrinking stack of letters and another delicious muffin.

By the time he had finished, the basket of muffins was depleted. He stood up and stretched, letting the last letter fall on top of the pile that had accumulated on his bed. Aside from Twilight's letter, all of them were from friends and family of the ponies who worked in the castle, or the ponies themselves. Each one was different, but they all welcomed him and/or asked to meet him. To be honest, Eclipse was feeling very much less afraid to walk out of his bedroom doors now. These ponies really are nice, I guess.

When he walked out his doors, there was nopony there waiting. He looked around, but there was no sign of Celestia or Luna, either. I guess that this means I have some time to myself... Eclipse looked around for the Princesses one more time, but still saw nothing.

"Both of them are in a meeting about a possible retaliation from the changelings..." A nearby guard informed him. "They won't be out for another couple hours..."

"Oh. Thank you..." Eclipse was caught a little off-guard by the... guard. Looking at the golden-armored pony, he had a sudden idea. "Umm, excuse me? Do you know if Shining Armor is here today?"

"Well, yes... Why do you ask?"

"Well, I got a letter from him, and I'd like to meet him in person." Eclipse smiled. "Do you know if he's available for a visitor?"

"I'm afraid that he's in the meeting too, sir."

"Oh..." Eclipse rolled his eyes, a bit disappointed. "So... Maybe I can ask you! What is there to do for fun around here?"

It looked as though it was the pony's turn to be caught off-guard. "Well, um... I don't really know. I just work here, I don't spend much time in the castle, aside from that."

"Surely Luna and Celestia get bored, sometimes!" Eclipse groaned. "There has to be SOMEthing to do..."

"Well, sir... I know that Princess Luna spends her spare time playing video games. I'm not sure about Princess Celestia..." The guard shrugged. "I'm sorry. There are lots of rooms here that I've never seen into, though. There no telling what's around here."

"Thanks for the advice..." As the guard walked away, Eclipse began to wander, still thinking about the letters that he had received. "Maybe another pony who wrote me a letter is around here..." He shook his head. "Probably doesn't matter... I don't know what they look like."

It was a strange feeling, to wander without a definite destination. Most days, in the Everfree forest, Eclipse would go out to look for food or try to find things that he could use to make his camps better. Now that he no longer needed to search for either of those things, he was unsure of what to do with his time. He didn't feel like sticking out his neck to meet anyone new, and after chatting with a few more guards on patrol, he began to realize that they were all like the first one: they didn't know much about how to spend free time, they only worked in the castle. He swung by the kitchen and picked up a couple peaches, but all of the ponies in there were too busy to talk, preparing meals for themselves and the other staff.

Eclipse finally became bored to the point of opening random doors. Most were simply closets or living quarters for the ponies who had to stay in the castle at all times, but he did have a few interesting finds. These included a personal spa, a pool, a hall in which to PLAY Pool, a cider-making machine, a rather intimidating-looking piece of equipment that seemed to be part of the castle's electrical mainframe, and countless janitorial closets.

Then, he found it. The mother lode.

"Eclipse? Where did you go?" Celestia had wanted to run out of the conference room, but she chose not to do so. Eclipse's room was empty, with a large pile of letters and an empty basket that she recognized as one of Derpy's muffin baskets.

"He's not here?" Luna asked, following her sister. "I thought that after yesterday, he might just stay in here until we came to get him..."

"Apparently not..." Celestia picked up a few of the letters and smiled. "He's getting fan mail..."

Luna laughed. "That's great! Maybe it gave him the courage to go out on his own! Tia, I'm sure you'll find him, he doesn't exactly blend in well..."

Celestia eyed her sister warily. "I'll find him?"

Luna smiled and turned tail. "If you want to. I'm headed to go unwind, that meeting was tense!" Luna took off to go and visit her private sanctum. It was a room where Celestia could never enter without permission, Luna had taken care of that with a spell designed specifically for her older sister. Not that she ever wants to go in there, except to bug me about spending too much time... She trotted down the hall, happy at the fun that she knew was to come. She finally reached her private room in the eastern wing, pulled open the door, and found Eclipse.

"Oh, come ON! Who's the troll using mods?" Eclipse shouted into the headset as he furiously mashed buttons on the video game controller. He was curled in Luna's favorite gaming chair, engaged in a furious game of Super Smash Ponies Brawl. "Seriously? A bomb? Somebody throw it back at him! Oh! OH! Smash ball is MINE! YES!" He jumped out of the chair and raised his arms in victory as his character's most powerful attack rolled across the screen, knocking out all of the other players. "Yeah! You all just got pwned by the master of chaos!" The scene was all lit by the screen of Luna's huge television screen, which she had bought for the sole purpose of gaming.

"Eclipse! What are you doing here?" Luna shouted, running in and pausing the game. "This is my private room! My gaming center! Mine! What makes you think that you can just walk in here and-"

"I beat all of your high scores..." Eclipse gave the princess of the night a smug grin, finally looking away from the large screen.

Luna was dumbfounded, completely forgetting her previous anger at the trespasser. "What?"

"Well, I beat the high scores on all of the games that I had time to play, anyway..." He began counting off all of the games. "Megapony, Street Fighter, Space invaders, Queendom Hearts-"

"Wait!" Luna held up a hoof, stopping him. "You beat my high score... On Space Invaders?"

"Yeah, by about 2000 points!" Eclipse laughed, giving her an even bigger grin. "Problem, Luna?"

"Oh, it is ON!" Luna didn't even wait for Eclipse to reply, swapping out the game in the console with her favorite disk. Despite not needing one, Luna put on another headset and jumped behind Eclipse, landing in her gaming chair. "You're going down, Tumult... I never leave a challenge undefeated!" She couldn't help but smile.

"Luna, I beg to differ! It's a game about hiding and keeping your enemies far away, both things that I have excelled at for a long time..." Eclipse walked away and came back with a midnight-blue bean bag chair. "This is MY game..."

Celestia had been looking for Eclipse the entire day as she went about her normal duties. She would keep an eye out for him while she was signing official documents, wonder where he could be when she was reviewing old policies that were about to expire and needed renewing, and even ask her guards if they had seen him as she went about the castle. When she found herself alone at dinner, however, it was the final straw. Luna had better not STILL be in that stupid video game cave of hers... The solar princess thought to herself as she stormed down the hall towards Luna's sanctum. When she opened the door, she could hardly believe her eyes.

"HA! Beat my 35th wave, Luna!"

"That's nothing! Just wait until you're on level 40, like me! I'm going to kick your butt so hard, Eclipse!"

"Oh, we're competing? I thought this was just the warm-up! I guess I should start taking it seriously!"

There were her sister and Eclipse, sitting in a dark room, with an empty pizza box sitting between them and countless empty cans of soda, playing a split-screen game of space invaders and trash-talking one another... through their headsets.

"Yes! Got the mothership for 1000 points! Who's the man?" Eclipse bragged as the shot off another round of pixels across the screen, destroying a line of oncoming aliens.

"1000 points? I just got it for 1500!" Luna bragged in return as she shattered columns of invaders before they could reach the edge of the screen and move down.

"It's time to EAT!" Celestia shouted, trying to get their attention.

"It's okay, Tia. We already had lunch delivered!" She pointed at the pizza box without looking back at her sister.

"Sorry we didn't tell you, but we're both trying to get the high score!" Eclipse leaned to the left and right, perfectly in sync with his tank on the screen. "We're in the zone, so we couldn't leave, or we'd lose our focus!"

"It's time for DINNER!" Celestia shouted again. "Are you two seriously THAT involved in your stupid game? You don't have any idea what time it is?"

*PAUSE* The word flashed across the screen, and both games froze.

Luna stood up, stretching and levitating off her headset. "It's dinnertime already? Eclipse, I think that she has a point. We can resume our face-off later, we should get out of here and get some relatively fresh air..."

Eclipse rose to his feet, arching his back with several loud pops. "Yes, you do make a good point... And a good rival, Luna! It's been a pleasure playing against you..." He stood up straight, rising to his full height before coming back down to a bit of a slouch. "I think that I'm going to be seeing invaders and motherships in my sleep for a week..."

"Oh, just wait until you try playing it for 24 hours straight! You'll be seeing them when you're awake, too!" Luna laughed and walked out the door. "So, what's for dinner, Tia?"

Eclipse soon exited, too, shutting the door behind him. "Anything's good for me, as long as it's edible... Unlike that anchovy, mushroom, and garlic pizza! Seriously, Luna! Your 'brain food' smells like a timber wolf and tastes like an ursa's ear!"

"I like it..." Luna muttered. "I just have stranger tastes than you, Eclipse."

"Now THAT... Is saying something." Eclipse laughed as he gave Celestia a pat on the back. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Celestia... We really did lose track of time."

"That's alright... as long as you beat Luna and teach her a lesson." Celestia winked. "Just don't make me come looking for you two again." With Celestia giving in to laughter, the three of them joked and laughed all of the way to the dining hall.

The Queen of Hearts

Eclipse, we let you have today to relax, but you need to get out there, not hide in the castle all day! Celestia's words echoed in Eclipse's mind as he stood behind the door, listening to the murmurs outside. So, I made arrangements for you. A meet-and-greet party, of sorts... Eclipse groaned inwardly for what must have been the thousandth time. "This can't end well... I tried to tell her, but this just can't end well." He took a deep breath and gripped the handle to the door. Luna and I have to attend a follow-up meeting to the one from this morning, so you'll be on your own... Luna had joined her sister, once again double-teaming him so that he couldn't squirm away. And you'll have to look your best! That means mane trimmed, showered, brushed, claws neatly clipped, and a suit. A wonderful seamstress named "Rarity" is coming from Ponyville to take your measurements and create a suit for you.

Without taking any more time to talk himself out of it, Eclipse opened the door and stepped into the Canterlot Ballroom. Everything became silent for a moment as all of the ponies in the room turned to look at him. Most of them seemed to be the Canterlot elite, with flamboyant dresses and suits. Eclipse froze, feeling a lot like he had when he was up on stage during his introduction. For a few awkward seconds, everything was silent. Then, all of the ponies returned to their conversations, except for the ones closest to him, who began to introduce themselves and shake his hand.

"I say, you do look and awful lot like that dreadful 'Discord' fellow! I suppose that it's a good thing that you're not him, ay?" One stallion noted with a pretentious-sounding laugh.

"Oh, yes!" The mare next to him agreed as Eclipse shook her hoof. "I must say, though, the resemblance is quite uncanny! Are all draconequui so similar, are are you two somehow related?"

"Well... Discord was my brother..." Eclipse muttered, preparing himself for the worst possible reaction.

"Really? Darling, that's simply scandalous! I had heard rumors of such, but I dared not believe them!" She laughed. "So you're the brother of Discord, and the last of your race? I have a feeling that you'll be simply smashing at this year's Galloping Gala! You are planning on attending, correct?"

"Oh, and you MUST come to the art gallery! I have a feeling that you're chaotic viewpoint would be precisely what our abstract theme would need at our art show!" Another pony pleaded.

"Well, I'm honored, but I'm really not very much into the arts, or parties..." Eclipse mumbled.

"Oh, and you must come to the Wonderbolts Derby sometime!" A pegasus in a blue uniform insisted, flying up to eye-level. "I'm sure that the team would love to meet you! And with your powers, you can probably conjure up some great new obstacles for us to train with!"

"Well, maybe... If cotton candy is an obstacle..." Eclipse was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed as invitations began to flood in. The attention of everypony was starting to finally shift to him, now that he had opened his mouth. "I- I'm sorry, but I don't really have many plans on leaving the castle much..."

This was met with a loud chorus of whines, and even more invitations. The crowd began pressing towards him as every pony tried to speak to him at once, and Eclipse began to retreat backward, one step at a time. Nearby, a cotton candy cloud began raining into the punch bowl.

"Come to my art show!"

"We MUST have lunch sometime!"

"Oh, I'd love for you to come and visit our fashion show!"

"And don't forget our garden party next Thursday!"

Eclipse was really beginning to freak out now, and the tiled floor below became beautiful shades of pink and magenta, then changed to soap.

"Everypony, Please! You're scaring him!" A voice called out above the rest, and everything became silent as they all turned around at the apparently familiar voice. All together, the ponies bowed down and made way, and Eclipse saw the pony who had managed to calm things down in just a few seconds trying to skate on the soapy floor.

It only took a moment for Eclipse to see that this pony was an alicorn. She was a bright pink, but the tips of her wings darkened to a beautiful violet. Her mane was a beautiful mix of cream, pink and violet, and her flowing dress was accented with gold trim. Behind her, a large, white colt in a red suit coat and wearing a violet coat-of-arms across his chest fumbled behind her, trying to keep his balance.

When she finally reached him, she dropped into as close to a curtsy as possible on the soapy floor. "Eclipse! It's truly a pleasure!"

Eclipse shook his head and snapped his fingers, changing the floor back to normal. "Please, don't bow to me! Princess Cadence, I presume?" He gave a deep bow. "You're the royalty here!"

"Yes, but the honor is ours!" Shining Armor smiled and joined his wife, giving a bow of his own. "To meet the last draconequus..."

"Please, you don't have to consider that any kind of reason to give me special treatment..." Eclipse tried to chuckle to hide the sting. "It's not exactly a privilege..."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Cadence started to apologize, but Eclipse shook his head and waved it off.

"Of course not! I can understand why most ponies think that, it's because I'm a rare find..." He tried to think of an example that wouldn't sound pretentious or self-centered. "Like a fossil."

"It's because you're one-of-a kind! Like an original painting!" Cadence smiled. By now, all of the other ponies had gone back to their own business. "I must admit, when Shining Armor told me that there was a draconequus staying at the castle, I could hardly believe him! Then, Aunt Celestia wrote to me and told me a bit about you, and I became convinced!" She laughed and shook his claw.

Eclipse thought for a moment. "Wait... If you're Celestia's niece, does that make you Luna's daughter?"

"Well, it's funny that you should ask that. You see..."

Eclipse, Cadence, and Shining Armor stayed together for the majority of the night, calmly chatting between introductions. Cadence insisted that ponies keep their attention off of her and on Eclipse, but still had to shake a lot of hooves, herself.

"You're a lucky guy, Shining Armor." Eclipse whispered with a smile while Cadence was occupied. "You found a great mare."

"Thanks, Eclipse." The comment didn't surprise the captain of the guard, he had received compliments like it very often. "Do you plan on looking for anyone special?"

"Nah, I'm the last draconequus, remember? No ladies of my species to be found..." He laughed a little. "I think I'm just going to figure out what I enjoy doing around here, and keep on doing it until I get sick of it."

"You mean, you're not going to even try?" Shining Armor looked up at him with more than a bit of surprise. "Would they have to be another draconequus? I mean... There are examples throughout history of inter-species-"

"No, I just like being alone..." Eclipse cut him short. "Keeps things simple. Besides, the life of an eternal bachelor? That's something to look forward to! Nothing but fun, twenty-four-seven!!"

"Being in love isn't that bad, either..." Shining Armor smiled, seeing what Eclipse was doing: giving himself excuses not to try. "But you can do whatever makes you happy, I guess."

"What did I miss?" Cadence asked as she walked back again, looking no worse for the wear after receiving so much attention.

"Nothing!" Eclipse rolled his eyes backwards, trying to avoid making eye contact. He had seen that Cadence's cutie mark had SOMETHING to do with love, and if she was anything like her aunts, she would try to play "Cupid"

"Eclipse and I were just talking about guy things..." Shining Armor winked at Eclipse, understanding why Eclipse didn't want to tell her. "Cadence, we should probably be heading home, it's getting late."

"But we're having such a great time!" Cadence looked around, and most of the visiting ponies had left to go home.

"Oh, don't worry, your highness. I'm sure that we could meet again, sometime!" Eclipse smiled and bowed. "I must agree with Shining Armor, though. It's getting late, and well past my bed time..." He pulled an alarm clock out of his pocket to check the time, but it began to violently ring and exploded loudly. Eclipse shrugged off the event as if it was normal. "Until next time, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!"

"Wait, Eclipse!" Cadence managed to squeeze out the words between her laughter at his clockwork antics. "Would you be willing to come spend some time with us... Thursday night?"

Eclipse thought for a moment. "Well, let me check my schedule..." He reached into his pocket again, pulling out a tiny schedule book. As he opened it, a few moths flew out and dust blew up into his face in a soft plume. "Yes..." He coughed. "I'm definitely free!"

"Wonderful! Don't eat, we'll have dinner at our house. Shining Armor will come and get you after he finishes his work." Cadence smiled. "It's really been nice meeting you, Eclipse! I'm looking forward to seeing you again!"

"As am I!" Eclipse nodded and snapped his fingers, teleporting out of the Ballroom and back into his own bedroom. He quickly pulled off the suit and hung it up, then immediately jumped into bed. "You know..." He muttered. "Celestia and Luna were right. Now that I have some friends, I'm not feeling as scared anymore..."

"I told you so!" Luna's voice came from the moon sitting in the corner of his room. "You just needed to learn to adapt a bit! Change your perspective!"

"Luna! Were you eavesdropping on me?" Eclipse walked over to the moon and activated the video feed, where he could see Luna with her back to him, practicing playing Space Invaders on the small console in her room.

"No! You left your end on!" The game paused, and she turned around. "I just happened to hear y- AAUGH! What HAPPENED to you?"

Eclipse laughed, knowing exactly what Luna was seeing. "What happened? You scared me clean out of my skin! Revenge is sweet..." He chuckled and snapped his fingers, his skin reappearing on his body. "But... You were right. I had fun... Thanks to your niece! She saved me from a veritable flood of ponies..."

"Oh, you met Cadence! Wonderful!" Luna laughed. "I'm glad that she could help you out!"

"Yes... By the way, you alicorns have one twisted family tree..." Eclipse laughed. "Cadence took about ten minutes explaining how she's both your niece and Celestia's..."

Luna rolled her eyes. "You should go to sleep, Eclipse. You had a big night tonight..." She turned back to her game, un-pausing the aliens.

"That's a hoot coming from you..." Eclipse mumbled, turning off the communication and going back to his bed. Soon, he fell asleep, still smiling as he remembered everything that had transpired through the night. A bit overwhelming at times, but great!

Everything was dark. Eclipse was hovering, but without flapping his wings or using any type of magic. He looked around, trying to see if he could find anyone. "Hello?"

"Clips... I've missed you..." The voice was impossibly loud, filling the entire void and shaking the air. "What have you been doing? You stopped visiting."

Eclipse froze. "D-Dizzy! I.. I haven't been up to much! Just the usual... You know! Timber Wolves, Ursas, Zap Apples... Mortal peril and all! I'm sorry I haven't been around to visit, but things have been tougher than usual lately..."

"Really? Because if my stony ears heard correctly, you got caught by that silly filly, Celestia!" Discord appeared out of the mist, arms folded in a tense look of disappointment. "Now, I can feel that you're sleeping much closer by than usual."

"Oh! Celestia was there?" Eclipse tried to look surprised, avoiding looking into his brother's red eyes. "Gee! I guess it's a good thing I had to stay at home..."

"Don't lie to me, Eclipse!" Discord grabbed Eclipse's shoulders and threw him against a wall, staring straight into his eyes. "I heard everything! You're getting goody-goody with those ponies!" His red eyes seemed to bore holes straight through Eclipse's heart. Eclipse didn't even reply, almost falling into a trance of fear. "They're no good, Clips!" Discord let his brother go, and they both slowly floated down into the abyss below. "They can't be trusted! You're going to end up like I did if you try going it alone..." His tone softened to one that Eclipse could almost recognize from the days before the two of them had split apart.

"Dizzy... They're not that bad..." Eclipse whispered in a feeble attempt to convince his brother of the legitimacy of his new friends

"Not that bad? Eclipse, they're killers! They froze me in stone!" Discord was yelling again... "You need to get away, Clips! Help me get out of here, and together, we can-"

"No!" It was Eclipse's turn to yell, now. Discord had pushed him beyond trying to remain calm. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! I'm not helping you conquer Equestria! I don't care what you say, I'm not doing it!"

A deck of playing cards appeared in Discord's hand. He threw them up into the air, and they separated into a ring that surrounded them, silently circling. "Then you run. You had better run, Eclipse. They're going to get you, eventually..." His hand shot out without even looking, plucking two cards from the ring. He held up the first: the ever-familiar draconequus joker. "This... Is you! Easy to show off, good for a laugh, but never serving a true purpose in the deck. Eventually, the joker just gets shoved to the side... Thrown away!" Discord's voice had dropped to a growl. "The other card... Is the truth." He grabbed Eclipse's arm and slapped the card into his palm, face down. Eclipse began to shake out of fear, and nearly dropped the card as he turned it up.

It was the queen of... hearts. The heart insignia, however, was shattered. The illustration, on the other hand, was completely clear. Celestia and Luna shared the same throne, and were both dressed in the attire of the typical queen of hearts illustration. Each one had their own scepter, and they were both pointing at the source of their uproarious laughter: the draconequus jester, Eclipse.

"You're their pet, Eclipse-o..."

Tears quickly welled up in Eclipse's eyes. "This... It's not the truth... It can't be."

Discord moved forward, gripping his brother in a hug. "Listen carefully, bro. Not only are you their pet, but once you've outlived the number of tricks that you can do to keep them entertained..." He turned the card over, revealing a new picture on the back. It was the joker again, but this time with a wide gap between the neck and the head. "They'll eradicate the 'threat' of the draconequus race once and for all..."

"They wouldn't..." Eclipse's words were more for himself, his recently built trust in his friends taking a dramatic turn downhill. "They've been helping me make friends..."

"Oh, so that when they frame you, the public execution won't seem so out of place?" Discord drew his finger across his neck, and his head disattached from his body. "I don't have to be a mind reader to see what's going to happen, Clips... And I don't want it to!" As the two brothers floated in the air, pieces of Eclipse's heart fell into the abyss below. The darkness around them began to creep in again. "Eclipse, I don't have much time! You have to get me out... or run. Run away by yourself! Please, Eclipse! Let me help..." The darkness finally became blinding, leaving Eclipse completely and utterly alone on a moonless night.

[ Author's note: Okay, everyone! I'm bearing down on 20 chapters and 2,000 chapter views, not to mention, I've almost smashed the 3,000 words per chapter barrier! To celebrate these three momentous occasions (momentous for me, anyway...) I'm having a special event of my own!

Chapter 20 is going to be a one-shot GAG chapter! Submit ideas of what you think would be a hilarious situation for our "intrepid heroes" via PM, and I'll read them and pick a favorite! Credit for the idea will go to the submitter, and the idea will be completely contained in one chapter! After that, we'll return to our regularly scheduled chaos.

Thanks for the support, I WANT to hear from you all! -Pennington Inkwell ]

Wills in the Woods

Everything had gone wrong. Celestia was pacing in her room, trying to think of what possibly could have happened to Eclipse. Maybe we pushed him a bit too much? Luna told me that Eclipse had fun! Shining Armor says that none of the guards have seen him since the night of the party... She shook her head, trying to clear away the more morbid ideas of the kind of state that they could find him in.

When they had first realized that Eclipse was missing, she and Luna had assumed that he had finally found something to do on his own. They didn't question his disappearance until he didn't come to dinner... That was when they started looking. He wasn't in his room, he wasn't beating more of Luna's high scores, and he hadn't been seen by anypony all day. When Celestia looked extremely hard, she could catch only the faintest of wisps of energy in his room, not enough to try and follow. She and Luna put everything that wasn't absolutely essential on hold, writing letters to everyone who had been at the party. They all came back with the same response: Eclipse had turned down their invitations to their assorted events, and they hadn't seen him since that night.

Cadence and Shining Armor joined the search as well, looking all over Canterlot. When they returned, however, they came back with only empty hooves and heavy hearts.

"Tia! Tia! You have to see this!" Luna ran into her sister's room, Cadence and her husband following closely behind. "I think that somepony has been threatening Eclipse!" She slammed her hoof down on Celestia's desk, and when she pulled it away, Celestia was horrified at what she saw. It was a playing card almost exactly like the ones that had made up Eclipse's igloo in the Everfree Forest, but with one major difference: the head of the joker was sliced off, hovering above the remaining stump of a neck.

"But, how could they have known about Eclipse's connection to this card? How could they have known about this card?" Celestia was horrified and dumbstruck.

"Aunt Tia... That's not all..." Cadence lifted the card up with her magic, turning it over and setting it down again. Rather than the normal checkered backing, this card sported a queen of fractured hearts, along with a disgusting caricature of her and her sister ridiculing Eclipse, who was playing the part of the court jester. Celestia recoiled at the horrid illustration, taken completely by surprise. "They dare... to threaten Eclipse, and then insult us?" Her normally cool temper began to flare.

"Your highness..." Shining Armor bowed before presenting his view. "Whoever this is, I think that they're saying you're threatening him. They're trying to play off of his distrust and paranoia... The same qualities that you were trying to eradicate with last night's party..."

Luna growled, her coat moving more towards a black as she bordered shifting into her Nightmare Moon form. "How could Eclipse believe such lies? It's preposterous! Who would even do such a thing?"

"It must have been someone that he trusts." Celestia was growling, too, and her mane was beginning to darken towards a crimson. "Someone who hates the two of us..."

Cadence could hardly believe what was happening. She had never seen her aunts this angry before... "Do you mean... It was Discord?" At the mention of their old foe, both alicorns snorted loudly. "But that's impossible! He's imprisoned! Stoned! Essentially, dead!"

Shining Armor walked up behind her, keeping his voice relatively calm to prevent the princesses from being pushed over the edge. "Never underestimate the bond between siblings, dearest... Eclipse and... his brother... were together for a long time. Not to mention, we can't understand the full extent of the prison that his brother is trapped in. It could be that a connection has remained between the two..."

Celestia took a few deep breaths, her mane losing its blood-red tint. "If this is true, we need to find him before Discord's silver tongue undoes everything we've tried to accomplish. Luna?"

"Night has fallen, Celestia. I can search, but it's unlikely that I'll be able to see him if he doesn't want to be found." Luna moved out onto the terrace. One by one, every light in the room snuffed itself out, ushering darkness and silence. Cadence took in a sharp breath as she realized what was about to happen.

Celestia told me about this... Luna used to do it before she was banished at times when Equestria was facing other threats...

In the darkness, there was only a small glow as Luna grew into the shape of Nightmare Moon, trying to maximize her abilities. Just as everypony else's eyes had begun to adjust to the low light, the stars began to disappear in the night sky. As the stars vanished, the moon waned and disappeared as well, and the night became totally dark. Luna closed her eyes, keeping a sharp focus. When she opened them again, they were glowing a misty white that was just enough to illuminate her face. Judging from the twitching from other parts of her face, her glowing, white eyes were moving quickly from side to side, as if she was trying to read a book at high speed.

"Tia..." Her voice sounded surprisingly strained. "I can see him, but I can't exactly pinpoint his location..."

"We just need a general area, Luna. I know that it's been a long time since you had to do this, but can you get an area?"

"Somewhere in Everfree... He's... near Ponyville!" Luna closed her eyes and, with a massive sigh, released her hold on the darkness of the night. The moon and stars returned to their normal places, and the lights in Celestia's bedroom turned back on, again.

Not surprisingly, Shining Armor was a tad bit confused and freaked out. "Your highness, what was that?"

"Sometimes, with enough focus..." Luna panted as she returned to her normal form. "I can interact with the darkness of the night... I can see and hear any place that there are shadows and dark corners. I can search all of Equestria, if I know what I'm looking for. The narrower the search... the easier it is to find." She flopped down onto Celestia's bed, panting heavily.

"We have to hurry. Eclipse told me that he had more than a hundred different camps in the Everfree Forest, and he could move to another one at any second!" Celestia was all-business now, like a hawk that had spotted its prey. "Then, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!" She lifted Luna to her hooves, preparing to teleport away. "Luna, there's no time to rest... I'm sorry."

"Wait, we're coming with you!" Cadence shouted, running to stand next to her aunts. "Just because we haven't known him as long as you, doesn't mean that we can be left out!"

"Cadence, come back over here..." Shining Armor didn't even look at her, his eyes were locked with Celestia's. He could read everything that needed to be said. "This isn't for us, dear..."

"What? What do you mean? Of course it is, Eclipse is our friend, too!" Cadence stomped her hoof, not wanting to move.

"Cadence, Discord is trying to push Eclipse away from Luna and Celestia for a reason..." Shining Armor smiled as he looked up at the two sisters. "You've been his anchor, right? You found him, you gained his trust, you asked him to come here, to your home... You're his closest friends." As Cadence returned to her husband's side, both sisters nodded.

"We're not just his friends..."

"We're the last true family that he has."

In a flash of light, both Princesses vanished, leaving Cadence and Shining Armor alone to ponder what had happened.

It was difficult for Celestia to do the teleporting when Luna was guiding it, but the two sisters somehow managed to appear just outside of Eclipse's camp. Luckily, Eclipse was facing the other way when they appeared, and they quickly found a large bush to hide behind.

"Tia, what are we going to do?" Luna whispered. "I'm guessing that you have a plan..."

"Well... I think that we just need to get what Discord said out of his head... Remind him of what we've been trying to show him: the good in ponies." Celestia whispered back. Neither of them saw the many sets of eyes peeking out of the bush until it was too late. The parasprites swarmed them, clamping down on their legs, their wings, and even their horns. Both princesses began to scream as they were both lifted up into the air and carried into Eclipse's camp, where he was waiting for them, a confident smile across his face. What was truly shocking, though, was the lack of hue in his body. He had been reduced to a complete monochrome, a gray ghost of his former self. He snapped his fingers, and a steel prison sprung up around the princesses. He snapped them again, and both of them immediately lost their horns and wings.

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here, my creations!" The parasprites flew to him, buoying him up into the air. "It looks as if you caught a couple of intruders! Well done..." He snapped his fingers once again, and several of the parasprites ceased to be, losing most of their recognizable features and becoming the fruits that Luna and Celestia had seen him snacking on so often. Eclipse popped one of the fresh fruits into his mouth, looking like a king on a throne. "Now, I wonder what you two could possibly want with me, the last of a race that once brought Equestria to its knees? Perhaps you've come to share the 'magic of friendship' with me?"

I don't believe it... Discord corrupted his own brother! Not only that, but... It's like he's a second Discord! The opposite of his nature is his crazy brother! "We came to find out why you left us, Eclipse!" Celestia shouted, resisting the urge to throw herself against the bars of her prison. "We missed you, and we were worried-"

"Oh, don't make me laugh, Celestia!" Eclipse stood up, and the parasprites reshaped themselves into a hovering set of stairs. When Eclipse reached the bottom, he was standing directly in front of the cage. "You missed your pet! You just wanted to see how far I had run before trying to put a leash around me again!"

"Pet? Eclipse, what in Equestria would make you think that we were keeping you as a pet, for pony's sake!" Luna yelled.

"Luckily, despite my previous idiocy in refusing to help him, my big brother is still looking out for me!" Eclipse dusted off his hands, walking away from the cage. "He warned me about your true intent, and I do NOT plan on letting myself be lured in!"

"Lured into a home? Lured into a family?" Celestia cried, grabbing the bars of their cage. "It wasn't a trick, Eclipse! Discord's filled your head with lies about us! Look at yourself, you're not acting like Eclipse anymore!"

"My brother would NEVER lie to me!" Eclipse spun around to face them, and the ground turned into a checkerboard. The fire in the fire pit flared ever-higher with his anger. "He's always cared about me, even when I was being so stupid, I didn't help us make a new home!"

"You don't have to make a home, Eclipse! You have one with us!" Luna shouted, reaching out between the bars. "Discord thinks that to enjoy something, you have to control it, and he's controlling you, Eclipse! Do you remember what you told me? About Nightmare Moon? Do you remember how you felt when you looked up in the sky, and knew that I was watching you?" Luna was desperately trying to find something that could resurrect the true Eclipse, the one that she knew. The colorless draconequus froze, as if pondering a decision.

"Eclipse, you said that you saw a lot of Discord in me! Not the egotistical tyrant, but a loving older sibling! How could I betray you if that's who I am?" Celestia cried out, trying to pry open the hole that Luna had created in his mental defenses. "If I want to protect you, why would I ever hurt you? We WANT you here, Eclipse! We want you to come HOME! You don't have to fight to live any more!"

Eclipse gripped his head, wrestling with the words that he knew that he had said, himself. Luna and Celestia could both see that it was working.

"Eclipse! Do you remember why you trusted me more easily than Celestia? You said that it was because you felt like we were already friends! I had been watching you all of those years from above, and I was always a comforting sight, hidden away in the moon. A kindred spirit of loneliness! Do you remember? You have to remember!"

"When we spoke in the labyrinth, I told you that you need to find your own happy ending, and to leave behind your sadness! I could never comprehend what it's been like for you to lose your brother forever, I know that! But please... Don't make me lose YOU!" Celestia's nerve began to crack, and tears ran down her muzzle. "Don't lose yourself with your brother! Eclipse Tumult, the one who understands! You're the one who didn't fight, but ran and hid! You didn't want to fight, you never have! Please! Come back!" Celestia's voice began to crack as her words became more and more desperate.

It was enough to drive Eclipse over the edge. In a furious tornado of cotton candy, chocolate, and playing cards, he leaped towards the two princesses, snarling and with his fang bared. The two sisters grabbed each other and cringed, prepared for the worst. Instead, Eclipse wrapped an arm around each of their necks and fell against them, beginning to cry. "I- I'm so sorry... I just don't know who to believe! You... or my brother. I thought that he was finally back... That he was watching out for me again... I wanted it so badly..."

Celestia, who was only now realizing that her wings and horn were back, lifted up his chin with the tip of her wing. "I know, Eclipse. I wanted the same thing for a thousand years... Let's just go home, okay? Cadence and Shining Armor are worried sick about you, and I'm guessing that a lot of other ponies are, too..."

Luna helped him to his feet and gave him a reassuring smile. "Do not worry. We're not mad at you, alright?" With a mute nod, Eclipse snapped his fingers, teleporting all three of them back to their home.

Cadence and Shining Armor weren't quite sure of what to do with themselves after Celestia and Luna left, except to watch, pray and hope...

"You know, maybe there's some other kind of clue in Eclipse's room?" Cadence asked after sitting in silence for a while.

"Honey, we know who got to him and where he went. What other clues would we need?" Shining Armor asked from the sentry point that he had taken up on the balcony.

"I don't know! I just would feel better if we were actually doing something!" Cadence groaned, rising to her hooves on Celestia's bed. "I'm going to go looking."

Shining Armor smiled. "Typical Cadence... You just can't sit still when you're nervous. I'll come with you."

Together, the two of them ventured into Eclipse's room. It was a bit eerie, with the forest mural illuminated by Luna's miniature moon. Cadence and Shining Armor began looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

"Hey! Check this out!" Shining Armor called as he looked around in Eclipse's bedside table. Cadence ran over.

"What? What did you find?" Cadence ran to her husband's side, trying to peer over his shoulder, impatient to see the new clue.

"He kept my letter! The rest are in the trash, but he keeps mine in here! Along with just a couple more..."

Cadence rolled her eyes and smiled. "Look, I appreciate you trying to take my mind off of the matter at hand, but this isn't just me being nervous! I really think that we could find something important if we go over all of this again!"

"Cadence, Shining Armor! Over here!"

Cadence could hear Celestia's voice, but she couldn't see her anywhere in the room. "Aunt Tia? Where are you?"

"Over here!" In the darkness, Shining Armor had somehow managed to spot them in the distance... Inside of the mural. "Your highness, how are you IN the mural?"

"Oh, that's my fault!" Eclipse stepped out from behind another tree. "Don't worry, we should be able to walk right out!" With Celestia and Luna, the three of them began running towards them, gradually becoming bigger and bigger until they finally reached their destination- and slammed into what seemed to be a glass wall. Eclipse was knocked straight onto the ground, but Celestia and Luna managed to keep their balance. "Oh, yes... The pesky 'fourth wall'... Hold on a second!" Eclipse picked himself up off the ground, dusted himself off, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small hammer, and began gently tapping the invisible pane, listening closely to the sounds that it made. Finally, he seemed to hear something that no one else did, and he marked a spot on the wall with a huge "X" before turning around and slamming the hammer into a spot several feet away. There was the sound of several panes of glass breaking, and he, Luna, and Celestia all stepped into the room. "Well it shouldn't take long to re-form... Pennington is probably going to kill me for breaking the fourth wall..." He muttered under his breath. "He's just the narrator, though... I'm a main character. He can't kill me!"

Cadence nearly knocked him over, tackling him in a tight hug and completely derailing his train of thought. "Where have you been? We were looking everywhere! You scared us half to death, Eclipse!" Shining Armor walked up behind her and gave Eclipse a small salute.

"It's good to see that you're back, Eclipse! We were all really scared that something bad had happened to you..."

"Something bad did happen... But I had Celestia and Luna to help me through it." He smiled and Cadence let go of him, glaring up.

"You had better not scare us like that again! And don't even think about skipping out on dinner tomorrow night!" The sight was a little comical, with Cadence's baby-sitter side coming out more than usual.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Cadence." Eclipse laughed. If I have any dreams tonight, they're definitely not going to have her... Just Discord. The thought of what might be yet to come made him shiver and cringe.

Cadence and Shining Armor said their goodbyes, and soon left the two princesses and Eclipse alone together. Eclipse grabbed at the back of his neck, trying to relieve the awkwardness of what he was about to ask. "Ummm, Luna? Celestia? Could I ask you two for a favor?"

"Of course, Eclipse! What do you need?" Luna smiled, happy simply to see Eclipse being willing to ask for help.

"Well, the thing is... Sometimes I see Discord in my dreams... That's how he was talking to me last night... And I'm a bit nervous to go to sleep again..." Eclipse rolled his eyes upwards, approaching what he had determined was his full capacity for awkwardness. "So I was wondering... Could we all sleep together tonight? It would really make me feel better... and safer."

Celestia smiled, relieved that Eclipse had told them instead of trying to suffer through things on his own again. "Of course we can. I'm pretty sure that we can all sleep in my room! It's bright and cheerful, hardly the kind of place to have a nightmare..."

Of course, Eclipse knew two things from breaking the fourth wall moments ago: the author had decided that Discord wasn't quite finished with him yet, and that Celestia's room was as good a place as any other to have a nightmare...

Nightmares and Dreams

Eclipse was terrified. He was back in the void, despite his attempts to try and put walls up around his mind. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he had to face the consequences of his decision.

"Clips... What are you doing back in the castle?" Discord sounded more than annoyed, his voice booming through the  void. "I told you, you're going to die there if you stay." The most frightening part, however, was how calm he sounded, despite his obvious anger.

"I- I don't believe you, Discord! Celestia and Luna have my trust! You lost that a long time ago!" Eclipse jumped backwards as the area in front of him was replaced with a giant stained glass image of his brother, surrounded in fiery colors of orange and red.

"Oh, Eclipse, what one earth makes you think that you can't trust old Dizzy? The one who protected you all of those years? The one who kept you safe, tried to give you a home?" his voice was dripping with sarcasm, and the image in the stained glass spoke his words. Without warning, the glass shattered, raining huge shards towards Eclipse. Out of desperation, Eclipse snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. A huge orange shard bore down on him, and Eclipse was paralyzed with fear. Just as it was about to strike, however, he heard another finger snap, and they all froze in mid-air. Eclipse opened one eye, having shut both so that he wouldn't see the glass when it sliced into him. When he saw that the onslaught had been stopped, he gently reached up and tapped the glass. The massive shard lost all color, dissolving to gray dust and floating away on the breeze. Behind it, though, was Discord, glaring down at Eclipse with anger that he had usually saved for those who had attacked them when they were moving from place to place.

"YOU are the one who stopped us from having a home! You could have helped me, and we could have made this place into our own home! One just for us!" He floated down to eye level. "But you just couldn't go out on a limb for your own brother, who had risked his neck for you countless times!"

"You wanted to conquer! It wasn't about a home for you, anymore! It was trying your hand against a whole country! You just wanted a challenge! And you bit off more than you could chew!" Eclipse shouted, losing his inhibitions in desperation.

Discord growled and grabbed Eclipse's shoulder, digging his eagle claws in deep. "Eclipse, don't try and blame me for my imprisonment when you hold the keys to my escape!"

Eclipse tried not to show the pain, throwing off Discord's grip. "I'm not the warden! You brought this on yourself by hurting so many others! It's not my responsibilit- gaack!" Eclipse was cut off as Discord's lion paw shot forward and wrapped around his throat.

"And it wasn't MY responsibility to keep you safe all of those years!" Discord snarled. "You owe me, Eclipse! You have a debt, and you can pay it by letting me be free again!"

"The realm of nightmares is not your domain, Discord!" Eclipse's pounding heart felt a thrill of hope at the familiar voice. From out of the darkness, a tall pony with a black coat and shining blue armor strode out. "You had best let him go..."

Discord let go of Eclipse, but only to grip his stomach in laughter. "Ha ha ha! Night- Nightmare Moon? Are you kidding me? Is that supposed to scare me or something? I mean, seriously! Celestia managed to beat you, and I'm ten times more powerful than she is!"

"Would you care to test that? Because we figured out what's happening..." Luna smiled, eliciting another round of chortles from Discord. "You're leeching off of Eclipse to do this. You're barely alive, Discord."

"Making two alicorns more than a match for you!" In a flash of sunlight, Celestia appeared next to Eclipse. "Eclipse never told us what happened to separate the two of you, but I think that we understand now. After fighting for so long, you started to enjoy watching giants fall... And you began to enjoy the fighting."

"After so many years of rejection, you grew angry..." Luna began to slowly walk forward, horn lowered and ready for an attack. "You enjoyed punishing the ones that you saw as being responsible for denying you a home..."

"Which, in our case, seemed to be everyone." Eclipse rasped, rising to his feet. "You thought that we would have to make a home, but there are good and kind creatures in the world, Dizzy."

"And you just made two of them very angry." Celestia mimicked her sister, lowering her horn and slowly advancing towards Discord. "You're not going to be a parasite to Eclipse any more... Eclipse, you should say your goodbyes."

Discord had finally begun to see what was happening, and snapped his fingers to teleport away... But nothing happened.

"I told you, the realm of nightmares isn't your domain. It's mine." Luna's horn began to glow. "You're not in control of this dream anymore..." A ring of dark violet and golden yellow energy formed around Discord, springing from their horns. Discord tried to run, but suffered a violent shock when he met the ring.

"Dizzy... I'm still going to miss you." Eclipse rubbed his neck. "I'm going to miss the big brother that I ran away from home with... The one who thought a peace offering of chocolate could tame a savage swarm... The one who kept me safe because we were family..." Eclipse was beginning to tear up. "I've missed you for a long time..."

"Eclipse! Help me! Don't let them get me again! Help me!" Discord's cries went unheeded as the diameter of the ring grew smaller and smaller. Luna and Celestia both grew closer and closer, until their horns both touched Discord's body.  With a final, tortured scream and a flash of light, Discord vanished.

The void of darkness seemed to fade away, revealing a new setting: a sunny day at the entrance to the Royal Labyrinth. Luna had reverted back to her normal form, and the three of them all remained silent for a moment.

"Thank you..." Eclipse finally whispered. "I see now. All Discord was doing was playing off of my fears to try and free himself. He didn't care anymore... I'm sorry that I doubted you... both of you." He dropped to the ground, deciding to sit down, rather than keep standing.

"It wasn't your fault. Discord can sew discontent in even the most stalwart of hearts." Luna smiled, pulling him close in a quick hug.

"He won't be able to reach you again, though. We severed the magic that was tying his mind to yours." Celestia quietly added. "He won't hurt you again..."

"Thank you..." Eclipse's reply was half-hearted. "I guess that he just didn't want to change... No matter what happened."

Celestia didn't bother to ask him what was wrong, she could tell that he was trying to come to terms with the fact that he had lost the last connection that he had to his brother. "Do you want to wake up? Things aren't always the clearest in a dream..."

Eclipse shook his head, raising a glass of chocolate milk to his lips. "I'm good. Thank you for rescuing me when I couldn't run..."

Luna smiled. "It's nothing, Eclipse. We're your best friends, why wouldn't we come to help you?" She sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder. Celestia did the same, smiling at the fact that Eclipse didn't tense up or become nervous when they did that anymore.

Eclipse downed all of the milk, then drank the glass. "You're right..." For the first time since Discord had appeared, Eclipse smiled. "You girls are my best friends."

"Well, I can assure you, you can rest easy for the rest of the night!" Luna smiled with a yawn. "So, I'm going to head back to my own dreams... Ready to go, Tia? All aboard who's coming aboard, as they say..."

"I think that I might stay, Luna. I rather like it here..." Celestia smiled. "The sun is bright, the sky is clear... I think that I'll stay."

Luna looked a bit confused. "You'll be here until Eclipse decides to wake up, you know. If Eclipse sleeps in, so will you."

"Celestia, you don't have to stay with me, you know. I'll be fine." Eclipse smiled, giving her a friendly pat on the back.

"I know what happens if I stick around without you to pull me out, Luna. Go ahead and leave."

Luna shrugged. "Whatever you say, sis... If you want to run around in his head all night, that's for you to decide." He horn glowed for a moment, and she faded out of existence.

Eclipse looked down at Celestia with a bit of confusion. "So, we're here... in my head?"

Celestia nodded. "I thought that it couldn't get much more private than this..." She rose to her hooves, stretching her legs.

"Private? Why would you want things to be private?" Eclipse raised an eyebrow, choosing to stay seated.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about what happened today..." Celestia turned towards the maze and motioned for him to follow.

"What about it? You and Luna saved me... Twice." Eclipse stood up and caught up with Celestia. "Once from myself and twice from Discord."

"Yes... But the fact that you went missing without warning really made me think about a few things. About what's important..." Celestia looked up at Eclipse with a smile. It was easy for her to forget how out of the two of them, Eclipse was actually the elder. Being here, though, in a representation of his mind, she could feel his age as a wrinkled edge in the air, like she felt in the library.

"Celestia, I don't really see where you're going with this..."

"Eclipse, there are very few alicorns left... And there's only one draconequus. The loss of any one of us is a great loss for the world... I really think that together, we might be able to save the world from that loss." Celestia was having trouble putting her thoughts into words.

"So, we're going to stick together! Watch out for each other, like friends do!"

"Like family does... We can be a family, Eclipse. You, me, Luna, even Cadence and Shining Armor!" She let out a long sigh. "I guess that what I mean is, you don't have to feel like some kind of guest in our home because it's your home, too. When we realized that you had disappeared, it felt more like you had run away from home, not checked out of a hotel!" Celestia had to assemble every sentence ahead of time, words simply refused to come easily.

"Thank you, Celestia. You don't know how much it means to me to have a home..." Eclipse smiled and put his arm around Celestia's shoulders in a quick hug. "I promise, I only ran away because of Discord. I know that this is my home now."

Celestia still felt like she hadn't said what truly needed to be said. "Eclipse, that's not the point that I'm trying to get across... I mean..." She stopped walking for a moment to think. "Seeing you and Luna playing together, seeing how much you two are alike... It warms my heart." She resumed her walking, finally feeling as if she had gotten onto the train of thought that she wanted. "It shows me even more the similarity between our two pairs of siblings... And I think that I'm beginning to feel a bit like Discord did about you." Celestia had hit her stride now, but judging by the blank look on his face, Eclipse wasn't getting the point. "When we found out that Discord was responsible for your vanishing act, I nearly lost control of myself. I was just so angry that somebody had threatened you and was trying to pull us apart..."

"Well, he wanted me to free him, it wasn't really an attack towards you..." Eclipse muttered. "It was all selfishness, not vengeance."

"Still, it felt like he was trying to rip you away from me!" Celestia shouted, stomping her hoof. "If Luna hadn't been there to help me find you, it would have felt like 'Nightmare Moon' all over again for me..." Celestia's pace slowed as she looked down at the ground, beginning to struggle for the right words again. "I know that out of the two of us, Luna's been more social with you, Eclipse, but I don't want you to think that I don't care, okay? I want to try to spend more time with you, even if I am busy, so that you won't think that Luna's the only one who cares. I care a lot..." Celestia tried hard to keep her voice from dropping much farther down in volume, but she suddenly felt very embarrassed.

Eclipse smiled and walked in front of Celestia, cutting her off. He dropped to his knees so that he could look her in the eyes at her eye level. "I think that I get it. You don't want me to think that just because we won't be having our 'secret meetings' in the labyrinth, you don't care anymore." He smiled and winked at her as he stood up again. "Tell me, I was asleep for two days after the incident with the zap apples, correct?" Eclipse reached into his pocket and pulled out a zap apple. He seemed to ponder it for a moment, then took a large bite before Celestia could stop him. "HA! It can't hurt me in a dream!"

Celestia thought about bringing up the point of what would have happened if it could hurt him, but quickly decided that it wasn't worth fighting over. "Well, you woke up near the end of the second day, yes..."

"And you were there." Eclipse smiled. "That didn't go unnoticed, Celestia. How long had you been there?"

Celestia began to turn a little red. "Well... Luna would have been there too, but there were things to take care of... important business!"

"But, you took the time to be there... for how long?" Eclipse had already guessed at the answer.

"Well, almost the whole time... I would leave to go eat with Luna, and raise the sun in the morning-"

"But you spent the rest of your time there, in the dark, watching to make sure that I was okay." Eclipse gave Celestia another one-armed hug from the side. "I can see that you care, Celestia. No one has done that for me before except Discord..." He smiled wider as he began walking again, this time taking the lead. "You were the one who began the pestering to get me to come to dinner with you, and you were the one who convinced me to stay in the castle. Luna and I get along really well, Celestia, but I know that you and I have a deeper understanding of one another. There couldn't be another pony who cares and understands me the way you do. Maybe because it's because I'm like Luna or because you're like Dizzy, I don't know. All I know is that the connection is there."

Celestia felt much better now. She felt like she had finally gotten the confession off of her chest, and Eclipse's understanding of the true nature of the situation only helped. "Thank you, Eclipse. You really put that better than I could..."

"As for trying to spend more time with me... I wonder if we could find something that we could do together, like how Luna and I play video games!"

"Well, video games are how Luna relaxes..." Celestia thought out loud. "But they're also her hobby. She collects some, obsessively plays others... She even holds a few Equestrian records." Celestia couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I don't usually get as much free time as her... That's another reason that I wanted to talk to you here, nopony will interrupt us while we're asleep."

Eclipse put his mind to the task. "Well, maybe I could come with you when you're being so busy? I could probably help!"

Celestia frowned. "I don't know... You would probably just be bored, what I do isn't very exciting, just politics. Maybe after I've finished my work tomorrow, we could find some time?"

"Oh, what's the worst that could happen?" Eclipse laughed, jumping up and sitting on Celestia's back. "If I get bored, I can entertain myself! At least we'll be hanging out together!"

Celestia rolled her eyes and bucked him off, sending him over the wall. "I hope that you can entertain yourself pretty well, then!"

Eclipse laughed as he climbed back through the bushes. "Okay, note to self: don't sit on Celestia."

The two of them laughed together for a moment, and the sun seemed to shine a little brighter. "Well, still, it would be nice to just have times like this, without work to be done or ponies to talk to..."

"You're the ruler of all of Equestria! Can't you just appoint somepony to take care of a few things so that you don't have to?"

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. For all of his experiences... He has no idea about politics. "It's not that simple. I'll tell you what: You can follow me tomorrow, come to all of my meetings with me, and see exactly what it is that I do here. You'll be my shadow for the day!" As soon as the words had passed her lips, Celestia realized exactly what she had said...

"I really hate figures of speech..." A voice came from the wall behind her, and she turned around to see Eclipse's shadow... being cast by her body! She looked back at where Eclipse had been standing, and sure enough, he was gone.

"Whoops. Sorry." Celestia couldn't help but giggle at Eclipse's situation. "I forgot about that..."

"Well, at least it wasn't in the dark..." Colors began seeping into the dark form, and Eclipse was soon restored to his former, three-dimensional glory. "Who knows what would have happened then?"

The two began laughing again, and the night carried on very much like a dream. Which, of course, it was.

[Okay. Fine. The PRANK chapter will come later. So far, only 1 private message has been received, and thus, only one idea has been pitched to me. Maybe Chapter 25, if this story even makes it that far. I have a feeling that we're reaching the end. I'm going to resume work on my other fanfic, "My Little Ponybots", so updates here may start come less often.

Seriously, though. If no one PM's me with ideas for the non-related, funny, joke chapter, then there may not be one. I'll assume that no one wants it. (Except, of course, for Neon Fracture, who was kind enough to PM me with a VERY good idea.)]

Happy Endings

[Author's note: Everyone, it's been brought to my attention that many of you didn't quite understand my earlier request from you, the readers. By "Gag Chapter" I meant a chapter that is meant to be funny. A Joke chapter! I'm moving up the deadline for ideas, and apologize for the confusion!

By the way, this chapter is going to be extra-long because it's the last chapter of "Brothers!" (Not counting the special joke chapter) Don't cry, and don't be sad! Nothing good can last...

Just kidding! Of course it can, in the sequel! I'm going back and forth between titles, but I'm thinking "Daughter of Chaos..."

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! No little fillies of draconequui in this sequel... It's totally different from that! More adventure than this story, more action, and a new character that will knock you all back on your plots! I can't give any more information than to say that Eclipse has one more skeleton in his closet. One that could change the lives of the princesses forever...

No more spoilers!

Happy Adventuring!

-Pennington Inkwell]

For the most part, Celestia had been right: her typical working day WAS boring. Throughout the course of the day, Eclipse had the opportunity to practice paddle-ball, solitaire (with a deck of only 51 cards), juggling, and even a bit of writing and art on some of Celestia's spare scratch paper. All in all, though, Eclipse was bored. Very bored.

Until the National Security Meeting with the Equestria Electorate. As Celestia and Luna both took their seats at the head of a very large room filled with ponies in expensive-looking suits and dresses, Eclipse did his best to really and truly go unnoticed, staying in the darkest part of the farthest corner of the room. Celestia had told him that he could only come if he swore an oath of confidence of what he heard in that room and if he stayed absolutely quiet during the proceedings. It sounded even more boring, but in a room filled with some very tense-looking ponies at official-looking desks with official-looking name plates, Eclipse was hardly wanting to argue. Surprisingly, Shining Armor was also there, sitting at the front of the room with Celestia and Luna.

"Order! Order!" Celestia called, slamming down a gavel on her podium. As silence fell, she cleared her throat. "We all know why we are gathered here today! To discuss and hopefully resolve the issue of another possible attack or retaliation by the changeling swarm! I would like to call upon our Senior Security Officer, Shining Armor, to remind us of the progress and main points of our previous meeting!"

"Thank you, your highness." Shining Armor rose from his seat at his own podium to Celestia's left. "As you all know, the Changelings attacked us here, in Canterlot, via a combination of espionage and sheer force of numbers. This attack and the ensuing repelling of our enemy leaves us wondering not if, but when they will attempt to attack again. In our previous meeting, we discussed the possibility of increasing security near Equestria's borders, but also proved that there would not be a way to do so due to lack of horsepower. Our goal today is to either find a solution to this problem, or to devise another way to protect Equestria." His job complete, Shining Armor sat down again.

Princess Celestia rose to her feet. "The floor is now open to the electorate for discussion of our dilemma!" She slammed the gavel three times and sat down again as the floor erupted into a chorus of hushed whispers and debates.

Eclipse began to listen, pondering the question of what should be done himself. He could hear the whispers of some ponies suggesting that separate areas ought to guard themselves. Other suggested a kind of magical fence to hold out the intruders, like Shining Armor's protection spell, but on a massive scale. Eclipse heard many different discussions of many different problems, and he did his best to factor them all in from his perspective in the corner of the room. An idea began to form, hazy at first, but quickly growing in clarity. As the sheer brilliance of his idea took hold, his excitement and enthusiasm grew. Unfortunately, he could feel the tension growing in the air as many discussions became arguments, and ponies were becoming more and more frustrated. He looked up at Celestia, trying to find a way to convey the fact that he had an idea, but her eyes were closed in what was obviously an attempt to ignore the growing chaos of the ponies arguing below.

I have a great idea, maybe even a solution! But I can't get it known without telling everypony... I don't want them to be mad at me for interrupting, though. He looked around at the chaos of constant arguing. I'm just supposed to be watching... But I know I can help! He felt his throat become dry with nervousness as he sat on the fence between inaction and action. Well, if I can help, I can't just sit here! I need to do something... I guess it's like jumping off of the deep end, you just have to jump! With a snap of his fingers, Eclipse did something that he was pretty sure would get attention: he conjured up a gigantic neon sign displaying the word "IDEA" in large, red letters. It took only a few seconds for the room to become as silent as the grave. With everypony staring at him, Eclipse felt as if he would be needing that grave soon.

"Umm, well..." Luna, who was sitting to the right of her sister hesitantly spoke up. "The Electorate would like to recognize Mr. Eclipse Tumult."  Her statement sounded more like a question.

"Motion seconded!" Shining Armor seemed equally confused, but willing to listen.

The glare that Celestia was giving Eclipse could have melted the face right off of the skull of a normal pony, but she didn't speak any kind of objection.

With all of the eyes of the room on him, Eclipse wished away the sign that had drawn so much more attention than he ever wanted. "Mares and Gentlecolts of the Electorate, I know that I am a stranger in your eyes..." He cleared his throat, trying to think of a good way to pitch his idea. "I can assure you, though, I have seen stranger things than changelings in my time. I've been listening to as much as I can of this problem, and in my naivety, I would like to think that I have a solution!" Now that he had begun to talk, Eclipse was walking down the aisles towards the front of the room, and he was growing more confident as he tried to focus more on the stained glass windows than those he was speaking to. "The need for increased national security is obvious, and a defensive role is usually the best one to take in a fight, especially when the need to fight is not assured. There aren't enough ponies that can serve the role of border guards in a reliable fashion, however. Thus, we must turn to a new species of guard! Where a security camera may be fooled by a disguise, and a pony may not be ever-vigilant 24 hours a day, the solution that I would propose would be immune to hunger, tiredness, and weather, yet still be able to sense the small traces of magic used in a changeling disguise! To fight the parasites... You need parasprites!"

"This is ridiculous!" One particularly irate stallion shouted. "Parasprites have proven themselves to be a pest beyond control, fit only for eradication! They nearly leveled Fillydelphia and Ponyville, and consumed and multiplied exponentially beyond control! Not only is Mr. Tumult NOT an elected member of this representative body, or likely even a legal citizen of Equestria at ALL, but what he proposes is preposterous!"

Eclipse spun around to face his accuser, then vanished in a puff of smoke. When he reappeared, he was leaning on he boisterous pony's desk, looking him in the eye. "I have lived in Equestria for over a thousand years! I was here before Celestia raised the sun and before Luna brought out the moon! If you do not think that to live in a country for over 200 times the time you've spent alive can qualify for citizenship, then heaven help your immigration program!" He snapped his fingers, reappearing in the front of the court.

"The incidents in Fillydelphia and Ponyville involved parasprites that were taken away from where they were supposed to be fulfilling their appointed tasks! I should know, I gave them those tasks! The parasprites were originally created to be a food source for myself, because many of the foods here in Equestria are not healthy for a draconequus! Instead, they proved themselves to be capable of any task assigned to them! They will carry out their duties without question and without failure, and I have been perfecting them for the past 1,000 years as my own personal bodyguards! They have proven to be able to do anything from finding intruders and raising an alarm to holding back blasts of energy and forming solid objects with their combined bodies! The tasks of the parasprites in Ponyville and Fillydelphia were to consume and multiply so that I could eat. They were removed from the Everfree forest, and could not receive instructions on when to stop. I can create parasprites specifically designed to guard the borders of Equestria. Parasprites that will answer not to me, but to Shining Armor, or another pony designated to lead them! You would have nothing to fear, fillies and gentlecolts, but the idea of never having to fight for your freedom again!" By now, there were not more arguments, but only more whispered discussions.

His part seemingly finished, Eclipse looked up at Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor for instructions. Celestia was obviously pretending to be lost in thought, still angry. Luna scribbled a quick note, then dropped it down from her higher viewpoint. Eclipse caught it out of the air and quickly read the contents.

Good job, now get going. We'll handle the rest. Eclipse looked back up at Luna, who winked and nodded her head towards the door. He gave her a quick nod and once again teleported, this time back to his room. When he was finally away, the magnitude of what he had just said and done began to sink in, and his knees seemed to lose any and all solidity. He flopped onto his bed and tried not to think about the look on Celestia's face when he had begun to speak. If looks could kill... She would have nuked the city! Well, at least I have dinner tonight with Shining Armor and Cadence...

It wasn't until about two hours later that Eclipse heard anything from anypony. With a knock on the door, Shining Armor pushed it open. "Do you mind if I come in?" The question was more of a formality, seeing as he had already walked into the room. Eclipse sat up, then jumped out of his bed.

"Shining! No, I don't mind at all! I'm so sorry for that, I don't know what I was thinking to get up in front of everypony and speak out of place like that!"

"Eclipse, you ended the debate!" The stallion laughed as he took a seat on the side of Eclipse's bed. "There are going to be a few inquiries into parasprites and how they can be managed without losing control, but after the princesses testified to having seen them in action, almost the entire vote turned in your favor!"

Eclipse's jaw dropped straight to the floor. "What?"

"You're most likely going to be placed in charge of production and quality control! Eclipse, you just became our national guard!" Shining Armor laughed at his friend's shock. "Princess Celestia also said that she has a special announcement that she'd like to make at dinner, tonight!"

Just as Eclipse had gathered up most of his mouth and put his jaw back into place, it hit the ground again. "What?"

"Well, she asked if Cadence and I would mind hosting both of you tonight, and I said 'yes'." Shining Armor laughed a little nervously, now. "I'm sorry about not asking you if you would mind, but she is the princess... And my aunt, now..."

Eclipse tried not to panic. "Are you kidding me? The look she was giving me in there could have melted a snowball on the shady side of an iceberg at the North Pole!" Eclipse brushed a set of icicles off of his shoulder. "I was more scared of her than of everypony else combined!"

Shining Armor couldn't help but laugh earnestly, now. "Don't worry, Eclipse. She's more than calmed down, I think that she's relieved to finally have this all over with! Trust me, she's going to thank you!"

Eclipse rolled his eyes and sat next to his friend. "I can only hope so... If she doesn't, is there any chance that you could seal me inside one of those magical bubble thingies that you're so good at making?"

"It's not going to matter..." The two of them laughed and joked for the next hour, both releasing their stress and pent-up energy. As the sun began to lower in the sky and the clouds lit up into a spectacular show of crimson and violet, Shining Armor finally stood up again, stretching and yawning. "Well, we better get back to my house, Cadence said that dinner would be ready when the sun set... You go ahead and get into that nice emerald suit that you wore at the party, I'll be waiting outside!"

Eclipse smiled as he went to the closet to get the suit, but couldn't help but sigh. "She's going to kill me... I just know it!"

"Oh, would you relax? For pony's sake, Eclipse, Tia's coming along so that she can thank you!" Luna's voice echoed through the room, and Eclipse rolled his eyes.

"Luna, are you sure that you're not eavesdropping on me? I could have sworn I turned the communicator off this time!"

"Not eavesdropping, just making sure everything's okay!" He heard her chuckle. "Just thought you should know, Tia's not mad! Now get going, you don't want to keep her waiting! It's been a long time since I saw her get dressed up for dinner!"

"Wait, what do you mean 'dressed up?' You mean, she's not just going around... like she usually does?" Eclipse's questions were supposed to be met with silence, but her could hear Luna trying to hold back her giggles on the other end. Eclipse finished getting dressed and quickly went outside to meet up with Shining Armor. When he left his room, however, it wasn't just Shining Armor waiting for him.

Celestia's mane was pulled back in a ponytail that draped over her neck and was held in place by a golden clasp. Her normal crown had been replaced with a halo-like laurel wreath of autumn leaves that draped over and behind her ears. Her normal bejeweled necklace had been expounded upon and grown into a coat-of-arms that extended several bands back to a glimmering golden saddle with two holes for her wings. Her gown was made from an exquisite translucent material that looked like spun gold, wrapping down around her legs in front, with a separate section stemming from the saddle and creating most of the dress part, finally coming to and end around her ankles. All in all, complimenting her sparkling white coat, the ensemble didn't overuse gold to the point of being flashy, but simply elegant and calm, just like its owner.

Eclipse managed to catch his jaw before it clattered to the floor, but couldn't hide his wings flying out straight from his body at ninety degree angles with a light "pomf!" sound.

Celestia winked at him with a coy smile. "After your help with the security issue today, which has been a problem for many weeks now, I felt like going to someplace nice for dinner and celebrating... Surprisingly, I found out that you were going to see my niece, and I thought I'd tag along!"

Eclipse quickly got his wings under control and cleared his throat. "Yes, well, as long as you're not still mad at me, I don't mind, do you, Shining Armor?" He looked down at his friend trying to divert attention away from himself.

"Oh, no! I don't mind at all! Cadence said that you're always welcome in our home, your highness, and we both meant that!" Shining Armor tried not to laugh at Eclipse's embarrassment. "You didn't have to get dressed up, princess."

"Well, like I said, I feel like celebrating!" She laughed and looked back up at Eclipse. "You know, I never got to see how that suit looked on you, Eclipse. Rarity did a fantastic job, as usual."

Eclipse's face was becoming redder and redder. "Thank you, Celestia... I'm not used to wearing it."

"Well, I believe there's a carriage waiting for us downstairs at the castle entrance, if you're both ready..." Shining Armor began walking towards the exit.

It took several minutes for them to make their way down to the entrance, and Eclipse tried not to stare at Celestia while they were walking. Every few seconds, though, his eyes would wander back to her, and he would once again be awestruck at her appearance. Finally, trying not to seem strange for staring, he struck up a conversation.

"So... The security issue has been a lingering problem?"

"Yes, we've been trying to find a solution for the past two months!" Celestia let out a long sigh of relief. "First, we were wondering whether or not to do something about it, then there was the issue of whether or not to go for an offensive or defensive strategy... After we chose to defend and hope that the changelings didn't want any more quarrel with Equestria, we needed a way to protect the border that would work efficiently against shapeshifters... And that's where you came in. In ten minutes, you ended a debate and national security issue that had been plaguing the electorate for months!" She gave Eclipse as big a smile as he had ever seen.

"So... The fact that you were staring daggers at me the entire time meant nothing? Because I was starting to feel a bit like Swiss cheese up there..." Eclipse laughed a little, hoping that reminding her of her previous anger wouldn't initiate a return of that anger.

"Well, you explicitly went against my instructions..." She pretended to eye him angrily, but it was easy to see that she was joking. "In the end, the good that you did far outweighed that! Besides, I think that you saved me from having to attend more of those meetings!"

Eclipse smiled, more than a bit relieved as they finally reached the doors to the castle. Shining Armor pushed them open, and a carriage was waiting for them. He jumped up into the driver's seat, taking hold of the reigns. "Hop in, we'll be there in no time!"

Eclipse moved forward and, remembering his manners, held the door open for Celestia. after she climbed in, he looked up at Shining Armor, who only winked and motioned for him to get in as well. Eclipse wasn't exactly sure what the wink was for, but he quickly climbed inside, ducking his head down and moving in next to Celestia. It was a bit cramped, and the two of them had to sit close. He was a little cramped, due to the fact that the carriage was obviously not built for ponies his height, but did his best to make do.

"You know, Eclipse, I'm really proud of you..." Celestia whispered. "Even I hate speaking in front of the Electorate, and you got up and not only delivered an impromptu speech with no script, but completely destroyed a heckler! You've come a long way from teleporting the moment somepony laid eyes on you..." In the limited space of the carriage, she moved a bit closer and leaned on Eclipse's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"Heh... Well, I- ummm..." Eclipse snatched a cotton candy cloud that was beginning to form and stuffed it into his mouth. "I'm really glad that I'm living past your expectations, your highness..." He was completely lost as to what to do, and decided to simply stay still, not making her move back again.

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you called me 'Tia.' It's not just a name for Luna to use." Celestia sat up straight again. "You're just as close as any brother I could have had."

Eclipse relaxed a bit when she moved off of his shoulder. "Thanks... Tia. I'll remember that."

"We're here!" Shining Armor's voice shouted from outside. "I told you that it wouldn't take long for us to get here!"

Eclipse stepped out of the carriage, bending his neck back into an upright position with a series of loud snapping noises. He held the door once again, watching Celestia step out into the moonlight with a mix of awe and admiration. As both her coat and dress shimmered in the opalescent light, Eclipse felt extremely underwhelming in his simple suit.

Shining Armor walked up next to Eclipse as Celestia walked past them and into the house. "You know," he whispered, "I married a princess, and seeing things like that... It's only the beginning." He winked once again.

"Wait, wait, wait! Are you insinuating that- No! Never! I'm a draconequus, she's an alicorn! Besides, we're polar opposites: order and chaos!" Eclipse quickly scrambled for the list of reasons that Shining Armor's insinuation was completely ridiculous.

"Well, opposites attract... I'm just saying!" He laughed as not only his face, but Eclipse's whole body turned a bright red. "Now, go ahead and calm down. Red body, green suit, you look like a Hearth's Warming Eve decoration!" He laughed and turned towards the house. "Just forget about what I said and come in for some dinner, okay?" The two friends walked up to the door, Eclipse being a bit more hesitant as he returned to his normal colors, with the exception of his face remaining a bit flushed. As they went inside, Celestia and Cadence were talking together in the hall, but when Shining Armor walked in, she ran over and hugged him.

"Honey! Why didn't you tell me Aunt Tia was coming? I would have set an extra place at the table!" She laughed and moved on, giving Eclipse a quick hug, too. "Eclipse, it's great to see you again!"

"Cadence, thank you for having me! If you need help setting a place for Celestia, I'm sure that I can hel-"

"No, you're our guest!" Cadence shook her head. "Just give me a couple minutes, it's an easy fix!" Cadence ran out of the room.

"Don't expect to do any kind of helping, Eclipse. Cadence really hates it when our guests do anything for themselves..." Shining Armor laughed. "I had better go help her." With that, he trotted out of the room, leaving Eclipse and Celestia once again alone.

"Eclipse? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Celestia pulled a chair away from the wall and sat down, then motioned to Eclipse to sit next to her.

"Of course, Tia." Eclipse grabbed his own chair, sitting so that the two of them were facing each other. "I'm always ready to talk."

Celestia looked to the side, becoming obviously nervous. "The entire time that I've known you, you've always had a perspective that was completely unique. Often, you've changed MY perspective for the better... That's a quality that I don't think should go unused. I trust you just as much as I would trust Luna or Cadence, like family." She finally brought herself to look Eclipse in the eyes, locking them into place. "I told Shining Armor and Cadence that I would be making an announcement tonight, but I need to make sure that you would be okay with it."

Eclipse didn't move, staring straight back into her violet eyes. "Well, I'm glad that I can help you with my perspective, but what would you need my permission for?"

"I'd like to make you the Royal Adviser. You'd confer with Luna or I on any matter that we feel we need a second opinion on, and you will be responsible for helping us make decisions with a clear view of the matter." She smiled. "Not too demanding, but something I've recently thought will be necessary as times change. With your parasprites taking over the national security, you're going to be a big name in Equestria, and chaos is going to begin to cooperate with harmony..."

Eclipse thought for a moment. "That's a big responsibility, Tia..."

"Well, it means that you'll be doing a lot of work with Luna and I. I think that you proved today that you're ready for some responsibility..." She smiled, leaning in a bit closer. "So what I need is an answer. I can cover for you if you say no, just claim that the announcement was about resolving our security... Or I can announce your new position. I'm afraid that we don't have long. I didn't talk to you about it in the carriage because I didn't want to spoil the surprise for Shining Armor."

Eclipse bit his lower lip in thought, trying to weigh all of the options, costs and benefits as fast as he could.

"Not to mention, it would really mean a lot to Luna and I to finally be able to include you in what we do for Equestria. Together..."

Eclipse closed his eyes. "Well, if I'm going to have to constantly deal with you two to do my job right. If I'm going to have to step out into the limelight and work with the only two ponies capable of annoying me into doing whatever they want... Then  that just seals the deal, doesn't it? Of course I'll accept, Celestia! As long as we have each other, we don't have to worry, right?"

"Okay, everything's set!" Cadence called from the door to the dining room. "I hope that you two like lasagna!"

"I love it!" Eclipse laughed, putting the chair that he was sitting in back up against the wall.

"You know that I love your cooking, Cadence!" Celesta did the same with her chair. "Just because you know how impatient I am about surprises, what's going to be for dessert?"

"Well, considering the fact that Eclipse is a very unique guest, I decided to try a very unique recipe! Luna gave it to me a few years ago, but I haven't tried it until now: zap apple pie!"

Celestia quickly looked over at Eclipse, expecting him to panic and disappear in another puff of smoke. Instead, he laughed.

"You'll have to forgive me if I pass on dessert, Cadence. I'm afraid that I'm quite allergic..." He gave a quick glance over to Celestia. "What were you expecting me to do, Tia?"

As Cadence began to panic and try to decide what to do for dessert, Celestia and Eclipse simply laughed together, enjoying the fact that they had both come so far since the fateful day in the Royal Labyrinth. The day Celestia took a day off.

It looks like Eclipse finally got his own ending... A very happy one. But this is just the beginning, too.

[Well, that's the end of "Brothers," everypony! I hope that you enjoyed it, and I'm going to be submitting the sequel for approval right away! Please send me your ideas for the joke chapter right away, time is running short before I close the cover on this story for good!

And while you're waiting for "Daughter of Chaos" to come out, please feel free to check out my other story, "My Little Ponybots!" This story couldn't have happened without every one of you supporting me every step of the way!

Happy Adventuring!

-Pennington Inkwell

Sunlight in the Garden

It was a beautiful day. The weather pegasi in Canterlot had once again painted the sky in beautiful robin's egg blue, dotted only by a few wisps of cloud from here to there. After raising the sun in the morning, Celestia had taken a deep breath of the air of late Summer and made a decision: to take the day to herself. It wouldn't doom the entire land of Equestria if their leader took one day off, would it? Besides, Luna really needs more experience with her royal duties. I'm sure taking one or two of mine wouldn't hurt her at all. She'll thank me in the long run. With a smile and a curt nod to herself, the princess made her decision. Walking back inside from the balcony, she announced that she was taking the day off to her servants. As was to be expected, his resulted in more than a few gasps of shock and even a few spit takes, but nopony questioned her. As Celestia walked out of the front door of the castle and into the rays of the sun, she pondered what to do with her now-copious spare time.

"Well, I really would like to avoid attention..." She muttered, recalling her tense reception in Ponyville. "and I could really appreciate some peace and quiet. The castle is always noisy." On a whim, her eyes moved to the Royal Labyrinth. "Well, nopony would be able to find me in there, and it's remained quite empty after we put Discord's statue back. Harmless, of course, but apparently frightening." She turned and walked to the front entry to the maze, standing in front of the rim of hedges. "I don't see anything wrong about this place. It seems like the perfect place to relax." She stepped forward and entered the maze, and the hedge slammed shut behind her, sealing her in.

Normally, with its ever-changing walls, the labyrinth was a place to keep one's wits sharp, but Celestia chose not to. She could always fly out again, but she wanted to enjoy the thrill of being totally lost, a feeling that could cripple her if it came at any unwanted moment, like while working in court or writing and repealing laws. The experience became very novel to her as she continuously wandered. The world became a sea of dark green walls, and things like time and distance began to blur. She would, indeed, be lost beyond all help if she had been without her horn or wings. She entertained herself by trying to determine where different sounds were coming from, or recalling old legends of a monster within the maze, just waiting to gobble up little fillies who wandered away from home at night.

Of course, those are just old mare's tales. Leave it to an old mare to remember them, I suppose. Celestia chuckled at her own joke. It was true that she didn't look a day above her prime, but time haunted her mind instead of her body, making her sometimes feel like an old lady in a young filly's body. The only beings older than she and her sister were Discord and perhaps a few dragons. Everything else passes by in the blink of an eye. Every pony grows old but me... She shook away the thoughts with ease, erasing the train of thought like a drawing on a chalkboard. "I'm here to enjoy myself, so that's what I'm going to do!" With all of the childish glee she could muster, Celestia flung herself down the corridor, making turns without thinking, giggling madly, and engrossing herself even more in the seemingly never-ending maze.

Discord! I'm howling at the moon,

and sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon.

Discord, whatever did we do,

to make you take our world away?

At the sound of another voice in the maze, Celestia froze in her tracks. She had assumed that she was alone, and had thus acted as such. Now, a light tenor floated on the breeze, wafting through the maze like the scent of Derpy's muffins in the morning slipped out of the kitchen. Some stallion is singing about Discord? I thought everypony hated him so much, they refused to write songs about him. Celestia unfolded her wings from her sides and gently glided into the air, trying to spot the source of the music. From her elevated view, she could see that she had wandered at least a couple miles from the castle, close to the heart of the maze. At the rate I've been walking, that should have taken hours... It surely hasn't been more than an hour and a half! Unless I was somehow walking in a straight line...

I am fine with changing status quo,

but not in letting go.

Now the world is being torn apart...

The mysterious stallion continued his song. IT was at this moment that it struck the alicorn what it was that had been disturbing her about this song: the tone. Rather than despair for what had been lost to Discord's rule, this was a song of mourning! She could hear more clearly where the noise was coming from, and as she turned to face it, she didn't like what she saw. It was coming from the one fixed point in the entire maze. The resting place of Discord's stoned body.

A terrible catastrophe

played by your symphony,

what a terrifying work of art!

Celestia hardly moved her wings, gliding on the small breeze to her destination. The voice was wavering, becoming choked up with emotion. Though the difference was only slight, Celestia could hear it easily. Silently, she settled on top of the topiary wall lining her archenemy's prison, but she couldn't see the singer...

I can't sit idly...

no I can't move at all...

There were unnatural gaps between the lines at this point, and the song had dropped to a low whisper, but it didn't take a listening spell for Celestia to tell where it was coming from: directly beneath her. Making sure not to create even the smallest of noises, she leaned over to look down at who was sitting beneath her feet.

I curse the name...

The one behind it all...

The draconequus below her placed his head in his claws and let out a choking sob.

"Discord!" The cry was one of longing, pain, and regret. Celestia knew the emotions well, but still could not hold her peace enough to stop herself from gasping in shock. Another daconequus? Another Discord?

At the sound of her shock, the mourning creature's eyes shot upwards. For only the briefest of moments, Celestia could see them clearly: bloodshot and wet from crying, with uneven irises and... sapphire blue pupils.

And then he was gone, vanished in a wisp of smoke.

((Credit for Eclipse's song goes to OdysseyEurobeat's song "Discord", on youtube. Please support the original artist! -Pennington))