Eclipsed Truth

Title: Eclipsed Truth
Chapter 7: The Echoes of Tartarus

A Nightmare Given Voice

The castle was quiet. The warmth of the rising sun barely reached the heavy tension that loomed over Canterlot. Though Eclipse was still resting, her presence alone had changed everything.

Luna remained beside her daughter, watching over her like a guardian star. But tonight, something was different.

Eclipse stirred. Her breathing quickened. Her magic flared, raw and untamed, causing a soft pulse of dark energy to ripple through the room.

And then—

The magic spoke.

It wasn’t Eclipse’s voice. It was his.

A voice that had been seared into her mind for a thousand years.

"Here’s more bread for you, freak. Be grateful I even give you anything at all."

Luna’s blood ran cold.

The voice continued, an eerie echo of the past, projected into the air by Eclipse’s subconscious magic.

"How are you enjoying sucking on the stone wall for water? A creature like you isn’t worth even that."

Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor had barely entered the room before they froze at the sound.

"Nopony is coming to save a worthless monster like you."

Luna’s breathing turned ragged.

"You should never have been born."

And then, it wasn’t just words.

The air around them shimmered—memories taking form.

Tartarus. The chains. The darkness.

Eclipse—so small at first—curled up in the corner of her cell. She didn’t cry. She barely moved.

Then, the shadowy forms of robed ponies entered.

And the beatings began.

Celestia gasped as she saw it. As they all saw it.

Eclipse, weak and starving, being dragged by her mane across the jagged stone.

Eclipse, being kicked in the ribs by one of her captors. The crack of breaking bones was unmistakable.

Eclipse, her wings being forcibly spread and struck, again and again.

Luna’s stomach twisted. Every lash, every strike—she felt it.

Cadance pressed a hoof to her mouth, horror in her eyes.

Shining Armor’s jaw clenched so hard it hurt. His body trembled with barely contained rage.

Twilight and the others, who had just arrived outside the door, heard everything.

Fluttershy sobbed.

Applejack took off her hat and pressed it to her chest, her eyes dark and unreadable.

Rarity’s hooves shook violently.

Pinkie Pie, for the first time in her entire life, looked murderous.

Rainbow Dash dug her hooves into the floor, her wings flared, fury radiating off of her.

Even Discord—normally so detached and lighthearted—stood in absolute silence, his claws curling into fists.

The recording continued.

"Now, now. We can’t have you dying, can we? Healing magic is so convenient."

The image shifted. The wounds on Eclipse’s body mended themselves under a dull, practiced spell. Her bruises faded. Her breathing steadied.

Then, the cycle repeated.

They let her heal.

They waited two days.

And then they did it all over again.

Celestia, for the first time in centuries, felt something dangerous boil inside her.

This wasn’t just cruelty.

This was a systematic breaking of a child.

A thousand years of torture.

The magic projection finally ended as Eclipse let out a weak breath, her body shifting slightly in sleep.

She hadn’t even been awake.

And yet, her magic had shown them everything.

Luna couldn’t move.

Her hooves were shaking.

She hadn’t been there. She hadn’t known.

And her daughter had endured this alone.

A tear slipped down her cheek. Then another.

Then more.

She turned toward Celestia, voice trembling. “We… we could have stopped this.”

Celestia had no words.

Because it was true.

If they had known… If they had searched…

Eclipse wouldn’t have suffered for a thousand years.

Shining Armor finally spoke, his voice low and dangerous.

“Where. Are. They?”

Twilight’s horn sparked with raw magic. “We need to find the rest of the Order.”

Rainbow Dash growled, wings flaring. “Just tell me where to start.”

Luna took a deep, shuddering breath and pressed a hoof to Eclipse’s cheek, her touch gentle despite the storm raging inside her.

She had been a child.

Her child.

And they had treated her as something less than nothing.

Never again.

Luna wiped away her tears, eyes burning with an intensity Celestia hadn’t seen since their battle a thousand years ago.

“This is not over,” Luna whispered.

And as Eclipse slept, her family vowed—

Justice would be served.

To Be Continued…