Chapter 14
Princess Luna, the Overprotective Mother

It was the afternoon of the same day as the battle with the first generation Tirek and Twilight had her hooves full. Twilight had no idea how this poor little alicorn filly had ended up at the ruins of the old castle. What's more is how did little filly even survive what had seemed to her like some version of Tirek. The poor filly was battered and bruised all over especially on her sides but she was fine for the most part. However the little filly hadn't stopped crying for 2 hours during which time Twilight had to hold her the whole time and tell her she was safe.

The filly had told Twilight her name was Shattered Eclipse but hadn't told her anything else as her crying resumed. The filly had eventually cried herself to sleep and was currently sleeping on a bed in one of the guest rooms. Twilight couldn't leave the room as she didn't want to leave the little filly alone right now. So many different questions raced through her mind right now. The first of many questions was where her friend Shattered souls had gone. He had still not returned from the old castle and she suspected something bad had happened to him. She figured he must have been the one who had killed Tirek but where had he gone afterwards. The filly must have appeared sometime during the battle and he had been forced to protect her.

Twilight figured that he must have been hurt pretty badly and was hiding somewhere until he was well enough to make it back. As far as she could tell he didn't want to be found right now. So all she'd be able to do is chew him out once he had finally reappeared from his prolonged leave. She was glad that Starlight Glimmer was still around in town and hadn't left to go on a tour with trixie around equestria. She had already sent Spike out to fetch her as quickly as possible.

Sighing in frustration, Twilight turned to look back into the room with the sleeping filly. Her gaze fell upon the filly and she ran her hooves over her eyes for a moment in exhaustion. One of the most interesting things to her at the moment was that the filly already had a cutie mark of a full moon that was eclipsed with the sun but was lying on what looked like on grassy ground in shattered pieces. She had decided to tie a bow into the filly's hair that was a nice aquamarine blue to contrast her dark blue coat and frosty white mane. It was interesting that the filly's mane didn't have the flowing etherealness that the two diarchs of equestria did. Another interesting thing is that it looked like the filly had two small fangs coming from the top of her mouth like a thestral.

Regardless, that wouldn't stop her from caring for the filly. So she wasn't exactly like a normal alicorn that didn't change the fact she still was one. Nor did it change the fact that the poor thing was just a young filly with no parents in sight. She figured that the little filly must have lost her parents when she was still very young and had been wandering around on her own. It didn't look like she had been starving which was good but she'd obviously been through some hard times. Twilight turned back to her desk as she sighed at the sight of all the crumpled parchment she had wasted.

Twilight's horn lit up with her basic levitation spell as she wrapped a quill in her field while dipping it into the ink well. She moved the quill tip to a fresh piece of parchment as she started to write a letter to Princess Celestia for the umpteenth time. She started it like she always did with the big flowing cursive letters,"Dear Princess Celestia" before she had to stop and set the quill down with frustration. She let out a frustrated grunt as she talked to herself,"Argh. Why is it so hard to write one simple letter to Princess Celestia? I've written plenty before so why is it so hard right now?"

Picking the quill back up in her grip, Twilight put it back to the parchment. "Ugh. At this point it would be best to just go ahead and tell her what I found ever since Souls showed up in the first place. I don't know why I haven't told her before all this." So she wrote a long letter detailing the start of when she had first seen Souls and his skills up to the most recent part with her leaving the throne room of the old castle while Souls battled the weird version of Tirek.

She also continued the letter with the appearance of the filly, who she had found in the old throne room near the dead body. She explained what the filly looked like and that she had brought the poor thing back to her castle. She also mentioned that it appeared the filly had no parents whatsoever. With that she set her quill down after signing her name and turning back to the filly only to see her still fast asleep.

She let out a deep sigh of relief that the filly was still sleeping. Twilight got up from her seat with a groan of pain at sitting in place for so long. She smiled lightly at the small foal before moving off to get herself something to eat. She felt the filly would be alright for the moment by herself. Eclipse would probably be sleeping for a good long while before waking up.

Eclipse found herself moving around in a cell of the dungeons that belonged in a video game. If she were to be more precise she would tell you that she was in the dungeons belonging to the castle of Dragonsreach. She knew this was all a dream because there was no way she could be here in the land of Skyrim while still being a tiny alicorn filly. As for why she was in a cell in her dream it was due to the fact that she had been trying to pickpocket one of the guards. She had figured that her pickpocket skill was high enough only to fail miserably and land herself in jail for her troubles. To the beings of her dream she appeared to be an Argonian dragonborn so they had been a little rough. She had a new big black bruise on her side thanks to it. She hoped that lucid dreams like this wouldn't translate to the waking world.

Right now she was huddled on the straw caught shivering from cold and fright. She had no idea that playing the game in real life even if it was just a dream could be so scary. But that could just be her new childish tendencies and way of thinking. She looked out the cell at one of the metal clad Whiterun guards that was standing guard. It was really scaring her at the moment as the guard stared back without any eyes it seemed like to her. She started to cry softly again as the tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. Small tears ran down her cheeks and onto the ground.

Everything in the waking world threatened to mess with her here even in her dreams. Just why did she end up as an alicorn filly and not revert back to her regular male self. Why did she keep talking about herself as We instead of I. And why was it so hard for her to keep her separate sense of self as Souls. It felt more and more like her sense of self was starting to degrade and slip back into the meld of this new fusion. As it was the part of Eclipse's mind that was still Souls could feel his mind remelding with that of Nightmare Moon to make the fused mind of Eclipse. Eclipse had managed to stabilize her mind for now using a special spell that halted the melding of her different minds but that seemed to be having more of a detrimental effect on her than anything.

She turned her scattered thoughts and mind back to what was at hand at the moment. Mainly how the heck she was going to escape this stupid cell and the scary guards. But before she could think of a plan her thoughts went right back to her predicament and the tears came forth even stronger than before as she started to sob.

Princess Luna walked along the starry pathway of the dream realm having exited her own dream only a little while ago. She had been having a lovely dream of ponies appreciating her night when she felt a large sense of urgency that she was needed somewhere in the dream realm. So she had pulled herself from her lovely dream and was currently trying to find the source of her feeling. She walked along seeing the dreams of those who were currently napping in the day or just full on sleeping due to having jobs at night. They were orbs of light that pulsed with different colors depending on the type of dream and the feelings of the dreamer of the moment.

She finally stopped on the pathway near an orb that was drifting through the air. The orb was a deep red, black color that indicated the dreamer was experiencing great fear and that there dream was a nightmare. She quietly tapped on the orb with a hoof to try and get a feel for it. Her eyes widened in surprise at the information she got from just that small tap. It was a very young foal that was having a nightmare about some strange ape like creatures wearing clothing. And it seemed she was suffering from other things too.

She carefully entered the dream of the young foal as blackness covered the area around her for a moment. Then everything solidified around her into the shape of a damp dank dungeon. She was currently hiding in the shadows of a guard room surrounded by these strange ape like creatures. There manner of armor and dress was something that intrigued her. Yet the fact that these guards didn't seem to have any eyes was most disturbing. They carried round shields on their backs and walked around on two legs it seemed. They also had arms that ended in some kind of appendages that could wiggle around. They carried all manner of weapons along with the shields on their backs.

She frowned as she looked around for the dreamer wondering where the small foal could be. She knew the dreamer had to be somewhere nearby but the question was where. She started to look inside the dreary damp looking cells to see all manner of different creatures. Some appeared catlike while others were more lizardlike in appearance. Finally her eyes rested on a cell containing what seemed to her eyes a small foal. Her jaw slowly dropped as she saw just what kind of a foal it was. The foal in question had a small horn jutting from her forhead as well as a pair of wings. She also had two small fangs coming from her upper mouth. Her eyes widened even more as she saw the cutie mark. The magical energy signature the foal was giving off was massive for her age. It seemed to be the combined might of an alicorn with help from a skilled unicorn.

Luna then started to frown once she realized that the poor little filly appeared to be bruised all over. Whether that was from the dream itself or from the waking world she couldn't tell. What she could tell was that the filly was scared of these ape like creatures and curled up into a ball crying. She quietly unfolded her dark wings and flapped them gently. The setting around them dissolved into blackness leaving the filly in a spotlight. But the filly didn't seem to notice at all as she was still crying.

Luna felt that she shouldn't reveal herself to the filly yet as it could have tremendous consequences. But she flapped her wings again and the blackness resolved into a colorful nursery of sorts with all sorts of toys that a filly her age could play with. A kindly looking matron was in a rocking chair nearby just smiling gently down at the crying filly.

Luna nodded at her work before letting out in a whisper,"Your ok now young one. The nightmare is gone. Rest and be happy for you will be watched over and protected." With that her horn glowed softly as she used a spell to exit the dream. She stepped back from the orb containing the dream as her horn continued to glow. She needed to wake up to go tell her sister of this discovery. The spell she was charging was a spell that would wake her up very quickly as if she'd had a bad nightmare herself. She really hated doing this to herself but his was an emergency. She fired off the spell with a small flash of light.

Next thing she knew she had bolted straight up from her bed into a sitting position with a gasp. Her sides were heaving from the momentary fear she had put herself through. She whipped the covers of her bed off of herself with her magic as she raced to her vanity. She noticed her mane was frazzled and bedworn as her mane's etherealness had canceled out while she was asleep. She grunted and felt her magic start flowing through her body again making the etherealness return. Nodding in satisfaction, she quickly put her regalia on by herself using her magic while stepping into her four silver hoof slippers.

After putting on her things, she trotted to the closed door to her room. Quickly opening it with her magic, she poked her head outside to see a loyal nightguard on either side of the door entrance. These nightguards were special as they guarded her rooms during the day while she slept. She spoke with authority yet softly at the same time,"We must be away to see our Sister. There is much we must speak with her about."

Both guards nodded to her silently in way of answer as they moved away from the door to follow behind her as an escort. Princess Luna stepped out of her chambers in her full regalia. She nodded to her guards and moved off with both in tow. She looked up at the sun to see the time was about 4 in the afternoon so Celestia had about another hour of Day Court left. But this matter was was so imporatant she figured that she could interrupt just this once.

She quickly moved through the castle hallways having memorized them in her wanderings at night when no one else was around except her night guards. She moved out of the way of the different servants who were going about their day cleaning. If they saw her they of course dropped into a bow and she returned it with a thanks for all of their hardwork. Finally after about twenty minutes of walking she finally made it to the royal throne room. She blinked in surprise upon realizing that there was no long line of petitioners or a small one anyway of ponies to see her sister. The day guards were still in their regular spots so she moved over to one.

"Guard pray tell Us what is happening? Is are Sister not performing her duties in Day Court?"Luna asked with confusion.

The guard pulled himself to full attention as he saluted the Night Princess,"Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia, is currently in her private study after having received a letter from Princess Twilight in the middle of a case. She deemed the letter important enough to halt the case and cancel the rest of Day Court. She has actually asked to see you in her study as soon as possible. One of us went ahead 10 minutes ago to your chambers to wake you to see her."

Luna nodded her head,"We thank thee guard. Return to thy duties. We must be away to our Sister." She had slipped into full archaic equestrian as her apprehension grew. She left the guard back at his post as she went to find her sister in her private study.

Upon finding the door to her sister's study, Princess Luna moved over to it and knocked lightly upon it. Her ears flicked as she heard her sister called out with a cheery little,"Come in."

Pushing the door open, Luna walked inside as she looked around her sister's private study. The room was the same as it always was. The walls were a pure white with stylized depictions of Celestia's cutie mark. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with all sorts of rare one of a kind books. There was also a nice fireplace roaring away with a merry little fire at the moment. A grate was in front of the fireplace and Celestia could be found reclining on a cushion near it. The desk that sat on the other side of the study was left unoccupied. The desk held all manner of nick knacks and other things Celestia had acquired from her school for gifted unicorns.

Luna turned her attention back to her sister to see that she held a scroll of parchment in her grasp. Celestia looked up from the scroll to Luna and sagged in relief as her demeanor changed entirely,"Thank goodness Lulu. I've been waiting for you for a bit. There is something the two of us must discuss immediately. This is a letter from Twilight detailing something the both of us have never heard about occurring naturally."

Luna frowned as she moved over to the cushion opposite her sister. She layed down on her stomach as she tucked her leg's underneath herself,"While that is all well and interesting sister I too have something important to tell you on my end that we must discuss."

Celestia blinked in surprise but nodded regally,"I understand. But would you mind if I went first?"

Luna nodded her yes,"Yes sister. In this case I do believe that my matter is more important then yours."

Celestia sighed but nodded her head,"Very well. What did you need to talk to me about Lulu?"

Luna rubbed her forehead for a moment,"Sister while we slept we encountered something we have never before seen. It seemed to be a nightmare like every other I have dealt with in the past but it was far from one. The dream belonged to a young foal who was dreaming of some strange creatures that kept her locked in a dungeon cell. I believe the creatures I saw were just manifestations of the foal's fears. The foal herself is what I needed to talk to you about. She was a little alicorn filly Tia. A natural born one it looked like to me. What's more it looked like she was...." She trailed off as she saw Celestia's hoof had been raised in a stopping motion.

"Just a moment Luna. This filly sounds exactly like the one in Twilight's letter here. Twilight tells me in this letter that she happened to find a very young alicorn filly in the ruins of our old castle. She has the filly with her at her own castle but she seems to have been hurt. She reports to me that there are bruises all over her body. It seems to Twilight that the filly had been in captivity for a while but had escaped somehow and wandered around everywhere. But that is all just a theory from her. Could you please describe the filly's appearance?"

Luna's jaw had dropped slowly before she shook her head,"I do hope that the fillies we are talking about are one in the same. I will endeavor to describe what the young filly looked like. She had a very dark blue coat with a white mane the color of frost during early winter. A light blue bow sat upon her head. Her cutie mark was that of a full moon eclipsing the sun but it was lying shattered in pieces upon grassy ground. She had bruises all over her body but whether that was from the dream or not I had been unable to tell. Now with this information you've provided I can indeed say that it was from the waking world translated into her dreams."

Celestia nodded her head,"That matches the description of the filly in the letter exactly Luna. It eases my heart a bit to know that we are talking about the same foal. But it also saddens me to know that something so terrible could have happened to one so young. It appears that she has no parents to speak of at all. If Twilight's theory is right then she has been wandering around by herself for at least the past couple of days. And its a wonder that she was not starved during her captivity if she was indeed captive. Although from the description of her dream that you have told me it does indeed seem that she was held captive in some dungeon."

Luna frowned as she listened and nodded her head,"Indeed. It is my belief that the filly was being held captive by some ponies that wanted to use her for some awful thing. Like attempting to make a new Nightmare alicorn. But I can't say for sure. All I can say is that she saw her captors as eyeless, souless beasts that watched her every waking moment of her captivity. I'd even go so far as to say that the creatures in her dreams are indeed manifestations of those ponies that held her captive. I can think of no other reason for her having such terrible dreams. I would say that these ponies would have killed her birth parents just to get ahold of her. This would explain why she didn't stay around the dungeons where she had been held captive instead of wandering off like she did."

Celestia nodded in agreement,"Indeed. Now the question about the poor thing is what are we going to do about her? She is far to young to be on her own. She needs a loving family to look after her and raise her well. And then there is the fact that she is indeed an alicorn. That makes her royalty among our little ponies and I don't think any regular family would be able to handle her. She has more magic than a unicorn foal her age and she also has the wings of a pegasus. One of the noble family's here in Canterlot may be able to take care of her but I don't hold much faith in that. I believe she would be raised to act just like the nobles of this present day and age. She needs to be close to one of us Luna."

Luna looked uneasy at this,"I can understand that sister but the question is which one of us should look after her? Mayhap Princess Twilight could take care of her?"

Celestia sighed as she set the letter in her grasp down,"No sister I do not believe Twilight is a good match for taking care of the filly."

Luna blinked in surprise before asking,"But sister. She was your student was she not? Surely she could research how to take care of a foal and then raise her?"

Celestia frowned,"No Luna. While books and research may give one knowledge and insight it does not count for everyday experience. Especially where it concerns a foal that is also an alicorn. With that said Twilight is still to young and inexperienced to even think of such a thing. Not to mention that her time is consumed with her duties as the Princess of Friendship and her studies into various forms of magic. She is able to talk and still do things with her friends because that is part of who she is. This new friend she speaks to me of in her letter is one such friend she can do things with. What's more is that he's a stallion. She has never had a real friend that was a stallion before. I can only hope that she takes this opportunity to learn how to interact with stallions rather than just being flustered by them all the time. Then maybe in the future she'd be able to meet a nice stallion she could fall in love with. A foal would unbalance her life style completely and throw it into disarray. Most of her time would be consumed looking after the foal and she would be unable to attend to her duties and life. "

"Then there is the fact that Twilight has a tendency to become engrossed in something she's really interested in for weeks at a time. She will go days in her library just studying without eating or noticing anything. That would result in neglect of the foal. This foal will need constant attention and watching and if she is not watched she's liable to get into trouble or under-hoof,"Celestia finished.

Luna sighed as she replied,"I understand Tia. Twilight Sparkle is not the idea pony for taking care of the foal. But what about yourself? You were practically a second mother to Twilight not to mention you were able to spend time with her almost every day." She was really trying to avoid bringing herself up in all this.

Celestia shook her head again,"Again that is not a good idea sister. I was able to spend time with Twilight every day purely because she was my personal student. Her magic was to great to be left to the teachers of my school. She needed my guidance and lessons. Yes I was able to teach her many of the things she needed to know and we grew close but Twilight Velvet is still her real mother. Twilight Velvet was the one who really reared Twilight. I admit that I should have given more opportunities to Twilight to make friends but that is neither here nor there at the moment. The important thing is that of right now I am simply to busy to be able to care for a foal. Every day is packed with important matters or duties for myself. Day Court takes up a significant amount of time as does making public appearances. And I find that soon I may be taking on a new student. There is a promising young filly who will be taking her entrance exam to my school soon. If her magic is as great as I think it is she will need my lessons and guidance like Twilight did. As such I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to give the attention or love that such a foal would need. This does indeed sadden me but there is nothing I can do about it."

Luna nodded understandingly but still tried for her final gambit,"But perhaps Princess Cadance. I realize that she has young Flurry Heart but surely an older filly would not be as much trouble?"

Celestia brought a hoof up to her face in exasperation as she rubbed the bridge of her muzzle,"Luna surely you know as well as I that Cadance is already fully occupied by Flurry Heart. Flurry Heart is still a baby and it takes Cadance complete attention to take care of her when Shining Armor isn't. And even then it takes the both of them to completely watch over them even when they have their babysitter with them. You know as well as I that it would never work. I'm afraid Luna that you are the only one who could take care of the foal."

Luna shook her head frantically,"No sister. There is no conceivable way that I could take care of a foal. I'm much to busy with my duties."

Celestia gave her a deadpan look,"Luna you take part of the night just to put good smelling flowers all around the castle. I love that about you but its not very necessary. Then there is the fact that I find you have been going around to different places at night here in canterlot to hang out with ponies in order to make new friends. That too is good but it only adds more weight to my arguement. You have more than enough time to look after and care for a filly. You don't even bother with a night court most of the time. And on top of all this there is one more fact that should be mentioned. The filly is most likely nocturnal because she is apparently still asleep. Twilight told me she cried herself to sleep but such a sleep for an alicorn like her should have only lasted an hour at the most. Thus it is most likekly that she is active and awake at night instead of during the day.

As such there is no way a young filly her age would be able to do the normal things a foal should be doing. Which is playing with other foals in school during the day and other normal activities. And there is also the fact that you to are nocturnal sister. Even now I can see how much of a struggle it is for you to stay awake. So as much as you may dislike it and fear it you are the best one out of all of us to take care of a foal."

Luna's head slumped down to the ground in defeat,"Sister I still do not feel that I am the best choice. I am still catching up with modern times and its hard enough as it is. What would I do with a foal? I don't even know where I would begin with trying to raise one."

Celestia smiled softly,"That is the trouble and joy for a new mother Luna. They don't know how to raise children yet they do so. Its an experience and a most joyful one at that. And there are always others that you can ask for help or advice from including myself. While I've never had a daughter myself I still know plenty about young foals. And then there are the many mothers all over equestria you can ask for help."

Luna's frown deepened,"Be that as it may sister. I am still needed to help guide the realm during the night."

Celestia's smile dropped completely as she went back to deadpan,"Luna, I can keep up with ruling Equestria by myself. I did it for a thousand years while you were gone and I still did many other things. I think you can find it in yourself to do both your duties and care for a foal."

Luna's face impacted against the ground,"I admit defeat sister. Your logic in this matter is sound. We should see about meeting with Twilight Sparkle as soon as possible and seeing the young filly."

Celestia's smile returned if very small,"Indeed. I wonder what the young one will be like. We should go as soon as possible Luna. Just let me send a letter to Twilight to let her know that we will be coming. We should be able to leave in half an hour at the least."

Luna sighed as she kept her face to the floor. Celestia grabbed a fresh role of parchment in her grasp and started to scratch away with a quill. A moment later she sent the letter off with a spell from her horn. She nodded to Luna and then made herself comfortable as she said,"I told Twilight we would be teleporting directly there so as to avoid an public showing for now." All Luna could do was nod her head.

Finally ten minutes later a new letter appeared form Twilight in a flash of green dragon fire. Celestia quickly read it and then nodded to Luna who was still keeping her face to the floor,"We may leave in 20 minutes sister. You should prepare yourself."

Luna nodded her head as she picked it up off the ground wearily. She sighed as she started to prepare herself mentally and went into a sort of trance in order to gain focus and mental clarity. Finally after 20 minutes had passed Celestia got up from her perch and put on her regalia using her magic. She turned to the now calm and reserved Luna,"Let us go now sister."

Luna nodded,"Indeed." Both their horns charged up with a teleport spell and they disappeared with a flash of light to Twilight's castle.

Back at the castle, Eclipse had been tossing and turning in her sleep due to her nightmare. Twilight hadn't been able to do anything to calm her down and help her. But Eclipse has finally settled down into a comfortable sleep again after a while and was still sleeping deeply. It was now about 5:30 in the afternoon and it would soon be time for Dinner. The sun would also be lowering very soon.

Starlight had returned to the castle alongside Spike but she was just as stumped as Twilight about what to do. Spike had then sent of Twilight's letter to the princess only to receive a reply some 30 minutes later. Once Twilight got the reply it sent her into a panic to get things ready for their arrival but had still managed to send off a letter through Spike to them that she would be ready for them.

So here it was at 5:30 in the afternoon and Twilight had finally gotten everything ready for their arrival. Mainly making sure everything was clean and orderly as well as making sure the filly was alright. There was a great flash of light and the two diarchs of equestria stood before her in full regalia looking regal as they always did.

Celestia stepped forwards with her calm demeanor and splendor,"Hello Twilight. Thank you for receiving us on such short notice."

Twilight came forwards and had to force herself not to bow,"It was no problem at all Princess. I'm glad that you were able to come. The filly is in one of my guest room's at the moment. Just let me lead you there."

Celestia nodded with a grim smile,"Please do Twilight." She and Luna followed along behind Twilight to the guest room where the small filly currently was. Celestia and Luna both gazed upon the sleeping form of the foal for a moment before turning to each other. Luna's gaze had only grown more apprehensive and fearful after having gazed at the foal and the look in her eyes plead with Celestia to not make her do this.

Celestia motioned to the foal with her head,"Go on Luna. Just so you know her name is Shattered Eclipse. I will be talking privately with Twilight should you need us."

Luna nodded with dread as she watched her sister leave to go talk with Twilight. She turned back to the still sleeping filly as she contemplated what to do. She finally walked over to the filly and touched her own horn to the filly's. This gave her access to the filly's dreams again but it only caused her to frown when she realized that the filly had gone back to having a nightmare again. She felt that the filly was crying due to great emotional distress. And the images she got from the spell were ones of the poor filly having no one to turn to. No loved ones to care for her or give her advice.

This caused feeling to stir inside of Luna as she thought about her past. Back to a thousand years ago when she felt that no one appreciated her. That no one had loved her, not even her sister who she knew had. She'd had no one to turn to. No one to help comfort her or give her advice on how to proceed. She had no mother to ask for help or advice. All she had at the time was herself and her feelings and thoughts. So here was another pony going through something similar to herself. A little foal who had no parents to watch over her or love her or to guide her. She was all alone by herself with no one to count on. The feelings radiated more deeply inside of her and she felt a small jolt spark between her horn and the filly's. To her it was the dawning of a realization. The dawning of a feeling that she was the only one who could understand the filly. The only one who'd be able to give her the attention and love that she needed.

The strange electric feeling filled her entire being as she gazed down at the filly before her. She slowly drew her horn back away from the filly's as she stood up completely. She closed her eyes for a moment as she let this feeling fill her body and very soul. She felt some kind of dormant instinct within her slowly awaken and she opened her eyes again. They seemed much softer than they had been previously and a new kind of light seemed to be shining through her eyes. A new kind of fire could be seen through her eyes. One of understanding for the troubles the filly was experiencing and the need and want to comfort her fears and troubles. To keep her safe from all the troubles and dangers of the world until she was ready to face them on her own.

She reached down with her hooves gently towards the still sleeping foal. Her hooves slipped underneath the sleeping form and gently picked it up. She held the filly in her arms as she sat sofly down on her haunches. Bringing the filly up to her chest she gently started rocking her from side to side in her arms. What's more is she started to sing an old lullaby that she remembered her mother singing to her so long ago when she was still a little filly herself. It was in old ancient equish that she sang it a language that had not been heard in centuries. She gazed down at the filly with a soft expression as she sang gently.

The filly seemed at ease in her arm's as she continued to rock her and sing. Her nightmare easing and disappearing completely as Luna continued to sing the lullaby. Her dreams returned to ones of peace and quiet. Luna smiled gently yet hesitantly at the filly as she started to whisper to her.

"I don't know how good I will be at something like this. But I promise you now that I will do my best to care for you. To be there when you need me to be and to be the guiding light that you need. I may not ever be the best parent you could have but I vow I won't be the worst. I will make sure your Shattered heart is mended and made whole once again. I will be the best mother I can be to you my little Eclipse." With that she went silent as she just continued to rock the small filly.

Eclipse had been crying and dreaming of that dungeon when suddenly it all disappeared. She hadn't noticed but once she had finally finished crying she had looked at her surroundings to see she was in a nursery of all things. There were all sorts of toys and a matronly looking mare watching her. She thought she heard a wonderful soothing voice. Yet she was very confused but unfortunately her childish mind let her thoughts wander and next thing she knew she was playing with the toys happily. Things had been going well for her until her mind had gotten back on track to its current predicament.

That had set things all in motion once again except this time her surroundings had dissolved entirely. That lone spotlight shined at her as she broke down into tears once again. She didn't know what to do and there was just no one to turn to. The faces of different ponies appeared around her taunting her for being stupid and weak. For not knowing how to figure out how to fix her problems. She just cried all the more. She wished she was back with her family. Her human family with parents that could advise her and tell her what their opinions were. Her parents that could help drive her fears and insecurities away. But she didn't have that here in this new world of hers. She was all alone with no one to help her. Not even Twilight Sparkle would be able to help her or understand her if she were to tell the truth of her origins.

The faces closed in around her, circling her as they taunted her and her weakness. She buried her muzzle in her hooves as she continued to cry and the darkness pressed in around her from all sides. The lone spot of light playing over her slowly fading away so she could be consumed by the darkness.

Then everything froze as she heard the faint traces of a song. Her ears flicked as they tried their best to focus on the source of the music. Things seemed to resume movement around her only the spotlight around her was growing bigger. The darkness retreated as the song became softer and louder to her ears. The words of the song were in a language she didn't understand but they were still soothing to her. Before she knew it the darkness had disappeared entirely to be replaced with the soft setting of the nursery again. She felt at peace even if she didn't know why. Slowly her fears and insecurities melted away as she continued to listen to the song. Finally the words ended and she heard a voice speaking to her. One that was familiar yet not at the same time. It was a voice that spoke of comfort and being there for her. To be the guiding light she needed and the family that she so desperately wanted at the moment.

It was with the last bit that she felt even more at peace than before as her body relaxed. She was able to let her mind wander again until she was playing with the toys in the nursery all over again. Finally she felt the world around her disappearing, which let her know that her body was finally waking up.

Eclipse had finally woken up but she kept her eyes closed and breathing steady. Her ears twitched a bit as she felt the sensation of weightlessness yet softness beneath her. She felt like she was drifting through the air gently from side to side and she could hear breathing belonging to someone who seemed to be directly above her. She finally opened her eyes just a tiny crack to see what was going on. What she saw shocked her completely yet at the same time didn't. Right above her looking down at her with a soft smile was none other than Princess Luna. But why was she here of all places and holding her.

Her eyes opened completely as she looked up at the Princess with wonder as well as curiosity. She looked up into Luna's eyes to see some kind of fire burning behind them with an intensity that was calming to her for some reason. Finally Princess Luna decided it was time to speak up.

"Hello little one. It is good to see you had a nice rest. I am Princess Luna one of the rulers of Equestria. Can you tell me what your name is little one?" She smiled gently at Eclipse.

Eclipse looked up with awe at the Princess but finally blinked and said in a small shy voice,"Our name.....is Shattered Eclipse your majesty."

Luna smiled as she held Eclipse in one foreleg as she looked down at her,"That is a very lovely name Eclipse. But can you tell me where your parents are? Can you tell me why you were in those ruins all by yourself?"

Eclipse's pupils dilated a bit as she started to panic. She had no idea what to say in answer to these questions. She started to panic as her mind raced to give an explanation,"Our parents are gone. Some ponies took them away and we never saw them again." Her mind raced to one of her recent dreams. That of the land of skyrim and she formulated a background around that. "We don't know why they took our parents away but We were forced out of our home. We had to look for food all over. We were seen by guards who didn't like Us. They grabbed us and took us to a cold dark room. We didn't know what we had done. We stayed there for so long. They fed us scraps of food until we finally managed to get out somehow. We can't remember how but we wandered and managed to find enough food to fill ourselves. We ended up in that old castle only to be faced by that scary monster. Some pony jumped in and saved us only to disappear after beating the monster. We were so scared we don't know what do to. We still don't know what to do."

Luna held onto her gently as she replied,"It is okay young one. You are safe now. You don't have to worry about what you need to do right now. I'm sorry about your parents young one. I know that I could never replace them but I would like to ask if you would like to have a family again."

Eclipse nodded her head frantically in answer as Luna smiled,"That is good to hear. If it is okay with you little one I would like to be your mother. That is if you will let me."

Eclipse's eyes grew wide,"Really princess? You want to be my momma?"

Luna chuckled a bit,"Yes little one. As long as you wish it that is."

Eclipse's mind raced through so many thoughts at once. When she had been asked if she wanted a family and then if she would let Luna be her mother she had nodded her head yes on instinct. And as she thought it through logically it made sense to her. She had no family here in this world to speak of. No one who would be able to truly understand her or offer her guidance in the way she needed. And then there was the fact that she didn't know how long she'd be stuck in this new form of hers. It could be years that she could be stuck in this form. So she might as well have a family that her childish mind was crying out for. Right now all she could feel was the cold lonely darkness pressing in on her from all sides. But as she looked up at Luna it disappeared. Slowly a small smile appeared on her face.

She looked up at Luna with that small graceful smile and nodded her head slowly just once,"I'd like that Mommy."

Luna's own smile became gentler still and wider as she brought Eclipse close to her chest. "Then I shall be the best mother I can be for you my little Eclipse. You are my daughter now and will always be even after the end of time." She leaned her head down and nuzzled Eclipse softly.

Eclipse happily smiled and leaned into the nuzzling happily but blinked in surprise once Luna started doing something strange. A new instinct had welled up within Luna that told her what to do. So she just followed that instinct and closed her eyes as she licked Eclipse's face with her tounge.

Eclipse blinked up at her in surprise but some hidden instinct inside of her arose and she found herself leaning into it. Her instinct and mind told her that this was the ancient way of a mare claiming a filly as her daughter. One that started a deep bond that could never be broken. Sparks seemed to leap between them as a tingling electric feeling filled her body and soul. She closed her eyes and leaned into Luna's chest as Luna started to rock her again.

Luna smiled as she finished what her instinct told her to do and she could feel a deeper bond connect her heart and soul with that of her new daughter. She rocked little Eclipse for a while before she looked out the window and realized that it was almost time for her to lower the moon. It was about 6:30 meaning she really needed to start.

So she smiled down at Eclipse as she spoke up,"My little Eclipse I must go raise the moon. I will be back in a moment. I promise."

Eclipse opened up her eyes full of trust as she replied,"Ok mommy." Luna set her back down on the bed.

Luna got up off her haunches and moved off to go raise the moon while Celestia lowered the sun. Once she had moved out of the room to go find a balcony, Eclipse looked herself over and sighed. She explored the new connection she could feel inside of herself. She blinked once she realized she could feel feelings of contentment from the link he felt. And she could also feel the general location of the being on the other side of the bond that of course being Luna. She shrugged to herself but looked around the room and grunted.

She had full control of her thoughts at the moment despite her childish mind and tendencies. She looked at her left foreleg and closed her eyes as she willed her Archiver to appear. There was a surge of magic within herself that flowed to her left foreleg and when she reopened her eyes she could see her Archiver right there. Latching her eyes onto the slots of the device, she could see that one of the slots was still occupied by the Nightmare Moon soul chip. She frowned and pressed the red button on her Archiver to eject the chip. Instead of immediately ejecting the chip the machine hummed and then gave a blaring little beep and the screen lit up.

A message appeared on the screen which she turned her eyes to to read. It read,"Error. Unable to Eject soul chip. Soul Unison still in progress. Unable to end Soul Unison. User's synchronization rate with current soul is perfectly harmonized in thought. Current Soul does not wish for separation at this time. Unable to force separation at this time. Time to keep form.......indefinite. User's magic pool is greatly increased and recharge rate is more than enough to keep transformation going."

She scowled and flicked the message away as she talked out loud,"What the hay? Dang it Nightmare Moon. You were just supposed to help me in the fight. How did I end up as a freaking alicorn filly?"

The machine hummed and beeped with a message to answer his question,"The Nightmare Moon soul saw the user was under extreme pain and duress from the fight. The soul took over after the user's mind passed out completely and activated a large scale healing spell to heal most of the damage. It took almost all remaining magical energy at time of the spell. As a result the user reverted to a young alicorn filly due to power loss. The user's mind fused fully with the soul's mind as a result of this reversion. As such this unit is unable to separate the user's mind from that of the soul. This unit is currently working on developing a program to separate the user's mind from that of the soul. Time to program completion is a week. End of transformation will be possible at that time."

Eclipse blinked and tilted her head,"Huh. Well that's good with the program. But this means I can't fight the inter-dimensional threats if they show up. What do i do about that?"

The machine beeped with another message,"This unit reminds the user that there is one new active Soul Warrior who is able to take care of the current threats. This unit has also unlocked a stored program to make a new Soul Unison possible. The name of such a program is Soul Fusion. This is the combination of up to three or more souls which include's the user's own soul. The User will thus be able to fight off threats if necessary."

Eclipse nodded with a sigh,"Dang. Well its good that the new program was unlocked so at least I'll be able to fight if I need to. Till then I might as well move around and see if I can find something to eat. I know Lu-mother can find me if necessary." She stopped for a moment as she realized that for some reason she had corrected herself with calling Princess Luna her mother. "Huh. Must be the whole bond thing."

She sighed as she let go of the magic keeping her Archiver in place, which resulted in the Archiver disappearing with a flash of light. With that she moved off the bed in search of something to eat as her stomach rumbled. "Good thing I know where the palace ktichens are. This place is enough of a maze as it is."

Eclipse walked along in silence as she felt inwards to the bond. Luna was radiating feelings of calm and peace through the bond. It appeared Luna had yet to realize that she had moved out of the room. She shrugged and continued along as a thought came to her mind and she willed her satchel to appear. After it appeared with a flash of light she looked to see a new soul chip waiting on top. It bore an image of Princess Luna in full regalia looking calmly up at Eclipse. The caption for the image read,"Princess Luna, Goddess of the Moon!" She shrugged at the caption,"Fitting since that is basically what she is."

As she walked along the halls towards the palace kitchens, a great feeling of unease overcame her. She stopped in one of the hallways when she was halfway to the kitchens. She looked around for a moment before jumping back in fright as a loud crack and snap was heard by her ears. She looked at the wall near her to see that lightning was running across it as well as the air around it distorting. Her body locked up completely as she stared at the growing distortion.

So many thoughts ran through her mind before settling on one train of thought. The train of thought she settled on was how scary looking the distortion appeared. And what kind of horrible monster could come out of it. She curled up into a ball as the distortion appeared. She started to radiate pure fear as her small body shook all over. Her fear pushed itself into the bond inside of it and surged along to Luna's end of the bond.

As that happened another loud crackling sound was heard and the distortion turned into one of the swirling green portals that indicated an interdimensional prescence. Out of the portal came a being that she had hoped would never come here. One that had been such a pain in the past in a completely different world and setting. Out before her came none other than Sigma. Sigma was a robotic being known as a Reploid that caused untold destruction and death in the world he was from. A robot that didn't go down until years later after he fully revealed himself as the villian. Now this being was standing right before her completely and utterly terrifying to her.

Sigma looked down at her with a look of confusion that quickly turned to one that was uncaring yet cunning. He spoke up,"Hmm. It would seem that the portal did work. Now I can start over in this world. All beings will bow before me and hail me as their king."

All poor little Eclipse could do was shake in fear as she curled up into a quivering ball. The fear inside of her growing all the more as it forced itself down the link she had developed with Luna.

After Luna had finished raising the moon, she felt a strong jolt of fear run through the bond that she could now feel inside of herself. She had been told about this kind of bond by her sister but she never could have truly fathomed what it was like. The fear that ran into her from her end of the bond was overwhelming and it caused her to jolt to attention. She focused on the bond and frowned when she realized that Eclipse wasn't where she had left her. Instead Eclipse appeared to be in one of the halls halfway to the kitchen. She was able to tell exactly where Eclipse was due to all her experience with magic. The fear became even stronger a moment later which caused Luna to jump into action as she fired off a teleport spell to her daughter's location.

When the light around her faded and then reformed into the hallway where her daughter was, she was forced to stop in shock. There before her was some kind of bipedal being similair to the beings from her filly's nightmares yet this one looked far more metallic and was wearing some kind of armor that was even stranger. The being stepped forwards and picked her daughter up in a huge fist right around her neck.

Luna immediately reacted as she growled,"Put my daughter down you miscreant. You shall pay most dearly for even touching her."

The being looked at the filly with one eye and then her and laughed,"Oh so this scrawny little thing is your daughter. Well I guess that will make this all the more satisfying then." He squeezed his fist rather hard making Eclipse gag and choke as he little forehooves waved around in the air. Her face started to go purple till Sigma stopped squeezing and instead tossed Eclipse aside as a very angry Luna came his way.

Eclipse hit the ground with a heavy thump folled by the sound of a few cracks before going completely still. She was still breathing but it was very uneven and very shallow at the same time.

Luna's gaze had turned blood red as she gazed at the being who had hurt her daughter,"You will pay with your life."

Sigma just grinned down at her,"We shall see strange horse."

Luna growled as she continued to charge him with her head down and horn extended. He just stood there unimpressed until she slammed into him with her shoulder. He was sent flying down the hallways with great speed and slammed into one of the crystal walls.

He was dazed for a moment as he tried to process what the heck had just happened. Luna used this to her full advantage as she charged up a massive ray spell of pure magic. It fired from her horn and sped across the hall to slam into his chest burying him in the wall further.

Sigma roared in pain as his armor cracked, circuits fried, and a subsystem or two crashed. He got back out of the wall with a bit of difficulty as he used his immense strength to pull himself back out. He glared at the pony who was already charging up another spell.

"You will pay for that horse. I don't know how you are doing that but you will be destroyed for striking your future king." With that he charged up rays in his hands and fired them at Luna. They sped through the air before Luna could finish charging another ray spell. They slammed into her hard sending her flying through the air to land right next to the body of her unconcious daughter.

She wheezed in pain from the beams of energy as she looked towards her unconcious daughter. She could see blood pooling in the corner of her mouth which caused Luna's heart to feel overwhelmed to the point of breaking from sorrow.

Sigma stomped across the ground laughing all the while,"See horse. You should be bowing before your betters. Before you die I'll will destroy that little horse completely and make you watch."

Luna's eyes widened in horrors and then contracted as her pupils almost completely disappeared. An aura built up around her as she slowly got back onto her hooves. A black aura surrounded her form as she glared at the being before her,"You will not touch her again. I'll make sure of it." Her wings unfurled as Sigma just laughed and charged up more energy beams.

She flapped her wings hard behind her which sped her across the floor towards him as her hooves were outstretched before her. She was growling and her hooves were coated in pure shadow that became sharper than the deadliest blades. She slammed into him just as he unleashed his beams. They slammed into her chest with full force but she shrugged them off even as they burned holes into her skin. Her hooves slammed into him and cut into his chest and arm.

He roared in pain as he backed up and held his bad arm with his good arm. His armor was in pieces on his chest as his arm sparked uselessly. He growled but laughed a bit in satisfaction at seeing the horse in front of him on the ground with bleeding holes in her chest. But she seemed unconcerned about them as she sped forwards again.

His face switched to that of confusion yet determination as he drew an energy sword from his side. He activated it with his good hand and swung down towards the side towards her. Luna stopped right in front of him as she raised one of her hooves still covered in the deadly shadows. It collided with the blade and halted its motion entirely as it sparked and fought against the dark shadows it had collided with.

Luna growled,"I shall erase any trace of your existence fool." Her other hoof came down and sliced into his arm hard enough to make him drop the energy sword. It clattered to the ground and turned off. Sigma's arms hung before him uselessly as he glared at the horse before him.

He spat,"How is this possible? I should be unbeatable." He prepared to kick at the horse.

Luna spat,"No one is unbeatable. Especially a villain like you." Her horn charged up with a great amount of energy before she point blank unleashed it on him.

He roared in pain and agony as the beam of pure darkness ripped into him. It consumed him and turned his parts to dust before he was completely enveloped by the beam. After the magical beam ended there was nothing left of him except a black mark on the floor. Luna snorted and nodded her head in satisfaction before her magic was set to healing herself. In a matter of moments the holes in her chest was gone and she was completely fine if a bit exhausted physically and mentally. Her magic pools were decreased but they would return to normal with time.

She turned back to her unconscious daughter and rushed over to her. She gathered Eclipse into her hooves and started to cast a healing spell only to wobble as she realized that she didn't have enough control right now to cast the spell. It had been hard enough to cast it on herself. She looked frantically at her unconscious daughter, watching as blood dripped from her mouth onto the ground. She closed her eyes and horn lit up brightly as she fired off one spell she knew she could. It was a teleportation spell anchored to a point in Canterlot that she had made earlier. With a flash of light and a pop she had disappeared all the way back to Canterlot.

She rushed to the royal infirmary with Eclipse in one hoof and knocked the door down. She got Eclipse to a bed and roared for a doctor and a couple of nurses to come help her immediately. Everyone was disoriented for a moment before responding to her commands and coming to her aid. They did their jobs to help take care of the patient before them.

They ended up making Luna leave so they could work as her panic and worried manner was making their job harder. Once Luna was out of the room they were able to get to work. Luna herself had to calm down and when she did she managed to send a letter off to her sister and Twilight. Then she fell into a restless state as the doctor and nurses worked late into the night on Eclipse.

Thus we see the consequences of angering a new mother. Especially when that new mother is an alicorn goddess that can kick your butt. And if completely obliterating an enemy like that isn't overkill or overprotective I don't know what is.

Author's Note

Hey guys. Sorry for not uploading a chapter during the weekend but I didn't have time. This chapter took me a long time to complete but I feel it is worth the effort. I hope you all enjoy it. And yes Souls will return to normal in time. But I'm still trying to have some fun with all this. So yeah he's made a connection with Luna now. Not to mention the whole soul chip. There are things coming in the future that I'm sure you all will like. So as always feel free to leave a comment about what you liked in the chapter. Or if you have a female oc you'd like me to add to the story just pm me. Have a good day everyone.