In the Shadow of an Eclipse

Chapters

To Cast a Shadow
The Skeptic Eye
A Circle of White Shadows
Prologue
The Way He Was Taught

To Cast a Shadow

Twilight sat in what passed for a dining room in her library. In truth, it was better described as a table and two chairs set in a corner so as to be out of the way, but it was a cozy place to enjoy tea and some light reading.

Or at least, it was when an imposing stranger wasn’t sitting across from you, having drained much of the life from a Pinkie Pie party an hour ago.

The dark-coated alicorn watched Twilight as she sipped at the tea, his eyes glinting slightly. Twilight shivered. Those eyes still put her on edge. “Um, the tea is... good. What is it?” Might as well make an attempt at conversation.

“Rooibos,” he answered, Twilight recognized the name of the red tea plant, but had never tried it herself.

“Oh,” the conversation ended before it began. Eclipse had finished his tea, Twilight’s was now stone cold, and was walking around the library’s main room, reading the titles of the books as he passed. Twilight quickly gulped down her tea and followed him, hoping to extract something from him that might make him seem more approachable.

Eclipse walked slowly, and with a slight limp in his rear right leg, drawing her attention to his cutie mark, a ring of red, jagged on the outside smooth on the inside. An eclipse, appropriately. After several minutes of shuffling by the shelves, Twilight finally spoke up, voice shaky, “So, you’re going to be teaching me illusion magic?”

“In the sense that I’ll start in the future, no, I won’t.”

“What?” Twilight stiffened. He wasn’t going to teach her? Why not? And... why did he say it like that?

“But,” he interrupted, “in the sense that I’ve already started teaching you, I am,” Eclipse turned to face her, “Lesson one, how to identify an illusion.”

Twilight, having barely recovered from her initial shock, froze again. His face again had that affixed scowl that spoke of immense displeasure with what he saw, and his gleaming eyes pierced the tattered defenses of her soul. He loomed over her, seemingly ready to crush her like an ant if he so pleased. “What do you notice has changed?” his voice came as a soft rumble, breaking into Twilight’s mind like thunder through a home.

And yet, despite her fear, the devoted student in Twilight couldn’t let such a question pass by, “You’re scarier than you were a minute ago. You seem to have grown in size even though it’s my fear response. You seem to be much harsher, and seem like you really want to hurt me...” Twilight’s voice petered out as she answered, hoping beyond hope that her answer was correct. Eclipse drew up, either sizing up her answer, or readying to rear and trample her into dust. Twilight closed her eyes.

“Correct, on all but one count. I seem larger because of the illusion I put on myself, not due to your fear,” Twilight’s eyes snapped open, curiosity overcoming the fear that now seemed to be insignificant. Eclipse had returned to a somewhat normal size, perhaps a head taller than Twilight. His mouth, while still curved downward, no longer radiated displeasure, and his eyes were flat black again, neither catching light nor gleaming.

“How did you?” Twilight gasped.

Eclipse’s mouth tightened, “I am the Master Illusionist to Equestria. Or rather, I was then the title had any meaning. The shadow of deception is as much my place as Princesses’ is the sun and the moon.”

“N-no. I mean, yes, but... How did you cast that spell without your horn lighting up? Even an illusion to hide the glow would itself make your horn glow! Did you cast one when I wasn’t looking?” Twilight fought the words out.

The taller pony’s eyes widened slightly, “A clever observation, and an important one to make. Illusion magic takes many forms. Changelings, for example, do not light their horns to cast their illusions, correct?”

“No, they don’t,” Twilight answered thoughtfully, walking over to her shelf of books on magic theory.

“In a similar way, illusions are... as much an integral part of my being as my own skin and bones. It was forged into me from a very young age. The illusions are me, rather than a spell I must cast.”

Twilight had found the book she was looking for: A Basis on the Study of Magic: Laws and Theorem. Turning to a page about halfway through the sizable tome, she pointed to a paragraph, “But one of the most basic foundations of magical study states that magic is expressed through the horn! It should be impossible for you to cast magic without at least your horn glowing!”

Eclipse laughed, a heartfelt, if sparse chuckle, “Twilight, there’s one thing you must know before studying illusion magic as I practice it. The rules and laws of traditional magic will be of no help whatsoever. Textbooks will only serve to make your illusions weaker.”

Twilight’s reaction was a cross between disbelief, nausea, curiosity, and panic. “What do you mean, they won’t help? That’s what textbooks do, help!” she early shouted, nearly jumping onto Eclipse’s head in nervous agitation.

“Perhaps... this will be better explained in metaphor,” Eclipse sighed, and walked around the room, gathering a few candles with his magic, and blowing out the rest, leaving the library heavily shadowed.

Returning to Twilight, he held the candles he had gathered next to her, and pointed toward the far wall. “What do you see?” he asked.

Twilight turned to the wall, and against the wall stood a large, yet perfect shadow of herself, the outline of her mane, tail, and horn made her unmistakable. “I see me, or at least my shadow,” she replied.

“Correct,” he shifted the candles behind Twilight’s head, “And now?”

Twilight looked again. The shadow was largely unchanged, but for one important detail. “That’s not me, the horn is gone! The shadow is an earth pony!” she giggled.

“Oh?” Eclipse lowered the candle to around Twilight’s front knee, “You’re telling me that that isn’t your shadow?”

Twilight gasped. The shadow on the wall had grown magnificent wings, somehow. Her shadow had become a pegasus.

“Illusion magic is like the shadow of the magic you are used to,” he moved the candles around, “It is free-form, unbound, and can do many impressive things with only a mind to guide it, rather than formula or structure,” he returned the candles to give Twilight’s shadow wings again, “but no matter how hard you try, you cannot fly with the wings it gives,” he walked away, returning the candles he had borrowed to their place, and relighting the ones he had blown out. Soon, the library had returned to its usual cozy feel.

Twilight was stunned, trying to absorb what had been illustrated to her. Magic that functioned like nothing else she had studied before? Tempting, but such a strange concept. Was this another way for Celestia to get her out of her books? It seemed unlike her though.

“Can I ask you about our lessons?” Twilight shook off her stupor.

“Of course. That is why I’m here, after all,” Eclipse chuckled again. “Ask away.”

“Well, first thing I need to know is how we’re going to structure the lessons,” Twilight’s foremost concern came out as though she’d been thinking over it for hours, which in all fairness she had.

“I will be teaching you similarly to how I myself was taught, meaning that I will decide on your lessons based on how well you are advancing. Most of your teaching will be practical, show instead of tell, giving you practice. We will begin with casting illusions, and once you are ready and only,” he gave her a hard stare, “when you are ready, we will move on to illusions you can use to protect Equestria in the event of an attack.”

Twilight was off-put by the description, but it answered most of her questions, so she let it go. “So... where will we meet?” It was another good question. After all, a pony can’t attend class if they don’t know where the classroom is.

“For tomorrow? We’ll meet here, around noon. By the looks of you, you’re a night person, and haven’t been able to sleep in the last few days. I’ll need you rested for tomorrow. Goodnight,” he said as he turned and left, apparently done with the conversation.

Well, that settled it. There was nothing about this ponies’ lessons that sat right with Twilight. No formulas to study, no set structure to the class, and by the sounds of things, not even a stable place to learn in! Celestia wanted her to learn from him, so she would. It only made sense then, that when Twilight had concerns about her new teacher, that she’d ask Celestia about them.

Twilight rolled out a piece of parchment on her desk, inked a quill, and started writing:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have met with Eclipse, and we have begun planning my first lesson. Or at least I think we have. Eclipse seems very knowledgeable in illusion magic, even though I have no way of knowing what he says is true, due to his apparent distaste for books. I am also unsure as to what to expect concerning my lessons, as he has failed to say anything about them except that it is how he was taught. Could you clear some of this up, as I want to take advantage of this opportunity as much as possible.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Re-reading the letter to check for errors, she noticed the slightly hostile tone in her writing, “Um, oh. Didn’t mean for it to come out like- haaaah -like that,” she yawned, “I’ll try it again after I get some sleep...”

The next pre-noon greeted Twilight Sparkle with a less than sunny day. The weather control team had covered the sky in a solid veil of gray clouds in preparation for a rainstorm that night. The rain would be welcomed, but for now it just filtered the sun out, giving the day a flat, wet feeling.

Twilight forced herself out of bed, the blankets begging her to stay. She brushed her mane into its usual tame style before a panic she hadn’t had in almost a year set in.

She forgot to study for class.

She’d spent a good minute darting around her room, searching for her materials before she remembered that there weren’t any. She sighed, and exited her bedroom to prepare for the day, deciding that following the smell of toast was a good start.

She wound her way down the staircase and over to the kitchen, seeing her number one assistant using a step stool to make daisied toast. “Good morning, Spike,” she chimed, inhaling the aroma of lightly cooked daisies and the light char of good toast.

“Hi, Twilight,” Spike said before looking at her oddly, “Um, Eclipse is here, didn’t you notice?”

“Huh?” Twilight span around, looking around the library. Sure enough, lying near the door, eyes closed as though sleeping, was Eclipse.

“He’s been like that since I let him in,” Said Spike, lifting the toast out of the pan, “He asked if you were up yet, looked around, and laid down there.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, still wondering how Eclipse had managed to avoid her notice, “Wait, he looked around? Was he near my desk?” The last thing she needed was for Eclipse to see that... less than flattering letter.

“Uhh, I was making sure breakfast didn’t burn too much. Why? What was on your desk?”

“Twilight, whenever you are ready, we can begin your lesson,” Eclipse’s voice carried over to the kitchen.

“Eep!” Twilight spun on the spot, “Eclipse! Sorry to have woken you!”

Eclipse stood in the middle of the library, facing toward Twilight and the kitchen, his face still bearing the deep frown and tired eyes he had since she had met him. “I wasn’t asleep, I was waiting for you. Once you’ve eaten we can begin teaching you the basics.”

“O-okay,” Twilight felt slightly cowed. Maybe he really did read the letter? Spike offered her the piece of daisied toast he had been making, and she chomped it down, barely tasting it, and then walked over to Eclipse, ready to learn, for better or worse.

“There is only one true constant in illusion,” Eclipse began, “And that is that the most successful illusionists use their victim’s expectations to their advantage. Other than that, everything is fluid. Forms and categories serve as cages, limiting your ability to adapt.

“But all the adaptability in the world cannot help you if you don’t know what illusions are capable of in the first place,” Eclipse walked to a bookshelf and pulled out one of the titles, “All illusions can call under three paradigms: Shadows, Phantoms, and Glamors,” he set the book carefully on the floor between them, “Shadows are created from nothing, floating images controlled entirely by its creator.”

His eyes began glimmering, and a white mist appeared, condensing inward by the book until it resolved into a white pegasus mare with a sea-green mane. She smiled at Twilight before flapping her wings and taking to the air. Twilight flinched slightly as the wind blew in her eyes. “With practice, an illusionist can make a Shadow nearly indistinguishable from the real thing, even seeming to interact with the world around them,” the pegasus landed by the book and opened it, seeming to skim its contents before breaking away into an indistinct blur.

“Phantoms are very similar to Shadows, but they only influence the ponies you wish it to,” the blur reformed into a swarm of around ten parasprites, who took ff to the kitchen, where Spike was cleaning the dishes he had used in making Twilight’s breakfast, “Notice that though you and I can see them, he can not, and even if I were to make them destroy the dishes he was cleaning, only we would see or hear it, and he would notice nothing,” as he said this, the parasprites began picking up any dishes Spike wasn’t touching at the time and flinging them throughout the library, making a huge amount amount of noise and mess, while Spike seemed to be ignoring it all. The pests whirled away in a mist again, along with all the mess they had made, flowing back to where Eclipse and a very perplexed Twilight stood.

“Glamors are the illusions most rooted in reality, as they work off of a real object,” the mist settled onto the book, but had no obvious effect, “Open it,” he instructed Twilight.

Twilight opened the book to the first page, and was startled to see that the first page of the hardcover book was, in fact, the front cover! She felt the oddity, noticing that it felt exactly like the actual front cover of the book, and then turned the strange second cover. Again, she was met with a replica of the book’s thick, protective face. She looked up at Eclipse in total bewilderment, and he met her gaze with a low chuckle, “Perhaps it will make more sense if I break the illusion.”

The sound of breaking glass was heard from nowhere in particular, and Twilight was looking at page three of her copy of A History of Ancient Equestria: Volume 3. “You were flipping the pages, but the Glamor made each page appear to all your senses to be just like the front cover,” he paused afterward.

Twilight took this as an indication to speak, “So, Phantoms and Shadows can only seem real, while Glamors are real, they just seem different. And while Phantoms can only be seen by certain ponies, Shadows and Glamors can be seen by anypony, right?”

“Ah, this is what I was afraid of. You are already constraining your thinking!” Eclipse berated her lightly, his eyes dim, “Glamors can be seen by few or all. Your thinking along such strict lines could have limited you from some very useful illusions.”

“Like what?” Twilight asked eagerly. Even in her incorrect assumption, she was learning.

“Lights that only you can see. Hiding places that only you and your friends can tell are there. A message that looks blank except for the intended receiver,” Eclipse listed some off as he re-shelved the book, “But you are far away from any of those. Now that you know how illusions act in relation to the world, I would like to see you make one. Start with something simple, a Shadow of a block of wood. I will correct you when you make a mistake.”

Twilight furrowed her brow slightly. Who said she was going to make any mistake? She had done basic illusions like he had described before, though maybe not as flashy. A block of wood was simple. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of a block of wood, her horn lighting up, and in no time, a wooden cube about as wide across as Twilight was was floating between them, gently hovering.

Eclipse’s scowl curled slightly as he looked at it, before snorting and turning his head slightly.

A sharp pain and noise broke their way into Twilight’s head, as though someone had broken a large glass bottle on her horn. When she was able to ope her eyes through the pain, she saw her illusion was gone, despite her not dismissing it.

“Twilight! What happened?” Spike ran out of the kitchen, likely expecting to see a broken window, only to see Eclipse standing over Twilight with a stern look, and Twilight holding her horn with tears in her eyes.

“Nothing, Spike. Twilight is just learning,” Eclipse growled out.

The Skeptic Eye

Five ponies’ stares were fixated on Pinkie Pie, who was unable to meet their gaze.

“Pinkie, how do ya know about somethin’ as bad as... that?” Applejack choked out, unsure of whether she wanted her hopefully-fellow-earth-pony friend to answer or not.

Pinkie raised her head, and her wan smile was all that was needed to confirm the worst. “You guys ever wonder how I could do all the ‘Pinkie Pie’ things I do?”

All the ponies in the room were silent for a minute, as everypony worked out what Pinkie was saying. The 'Pinkie Pie' things she does? All the weird and wonderful infractions on reality that everypony takes in stride? Those could be something other than 'just Pinkie Pie?'

Rainbow Dash was the first to say anything, moving over to Pinkie's side. "Hey, Pinks, whatcha mean by that? You're still the same 'ol Pinkie Pie, right?"

Pinkie Pie looked in to Rainbow's eyes for a moment before bursting into tears, clinging onto Rainbow Dash for dear life.

Eclipse averted his eyes from the pair, looking out the window a the inconsiderate afternoon sun streaming through the window. He ruffled his wings once, and the room darkened, shrouding the room in a breath of softened light.

Pinkie sobbed into Rainbow's chest for a minute before speaking again. “They pretended it never happened. That I never had a horn. They didn’t think I’d remember, because I was so little,” she mumbled to the quiet of the room.

The Boutique’s main room was bathed in a soft dusklight. Pinkie Pie was cradled between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, having cried herself to sleep after telling what she could remember of her early childhood.

“How could anypony do that to their foal? How could Celestia let anypony do that to their foals?” Twilight asked the stunned silence pervading the room.

A few eyes turned toward Eclipse for answers, though he simply shook his head. “I have seen and retold many horrible things that ponies have done, but I can only ever guess as to what goes through a pony’s mind to do something like that.”

“There’s gotta be something we can do!” Rainbow Dash fumed motionlessly, her side serving as a pillow for Pinkie Pie. “Can’t we tell somepony about this?”

“I doubt it,” Eclipse said as he looked at the huddled form of Pinkie. “Nopony would believe that anypony still practiced Earthing. I myself would hardly believe it if it weren’t for one thing.”

He glanced pointedly at Twilight expectantly, who knitted her brows in thought for a moment, trying to follow his train of thought. What did he expect her to know, all of a sudden? All he’d taught her was illusion magic...

Wait a second, thought Twilight, the train. Sleeping in the dining car. Smelling the nightdew. In the morning she thought it was still there...

...when Pinkie Pie woke her.

“Are ya’ll sure you won’t be needin’ any help?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, it’s alright, Applejack. Sugarcube Corner isn’t that far from here,” Fluttershy assured, hoisting Pinkie gently onto Rainbow Dash’s back, careful not to obstruct her wings.

“Yeah, we’ll make sure she’s okay,” the cyan pony affirmed before lifting off, gently exiting the front door of the Boutique with Fluttershy in tow.

“I hope she’ll be okay,” Rarity said, taking the cups her friends had used into her kitchen.

“Me, too...” Twilight said, closing the door.

“Aw, me three,” Applejack added. “Why the hay’d you have to bring that up, anyway? Why drag something like that out in the open?” she said toward Eclipse, her irritation more present in her tone than her volume.

Eclipse didn’t move to look her in the eye, which grated on her even further, but she didn’t press it. “I hadn’t thought it was such a traumatic event as that. I’d assumed it was a foalhood accident or something similar. Something that removed her horn with less... traumatizing connotations,” he said. “As I said before, nopony would think that Pinkie was originally a unicorn, much less one who was Earthed. Celestia absolutely loathed the practice, but at the time she had to make the choice between sparing children trauma, and sparing her ponies their lives. Not a good choice, but there wasn’t anything pleasant about that time in history.”

Twilight’s ear perked, but she didn’t say anything. Hearing Eclipse talk about history was fascinating, but this obviously wasn’t the time to indulge her academic side.

Applejack., though, took Eclipse’s explanation with a sour face. “So, you gonna do anything to help her? Or, wait, ya can’t. All yer magic can do is make pictures fly around in the air, nothin’ you can do is real! Lotta help that is!” she seethed.

Rarity shouted from her sink, “Applejack, that’s hardly appropriate! He did nothing wrong!”

Applejack looked as though she was going to argue the point further, but Eclipse spoke before her, “I never said that I didn’t intend to help Pinkie Pie. And my illusions can have a very real effect, if you just give it time.” He still hadn’t moved from his position on Rarity’s floor.

Applejack growled, “Aw, ferget it. I’m goin’ home fer the night. I’ll check on Pinkie in the mornin'. I’m guessin’ I’ll be seein’ ya then?” Rarity and Twilight nodded, and Applejack let out a sigh. “All righty then. Thanks for the tea, Rarity.”

She left the Boutique, only realizing once she stepped outside that it was still daylight out, Eclipse having made the false night inside the Boutique for Pinkie.

“Consarned trick magic!” she growled to herself, storming off to her home. She had the sudden urge to harvest apples.

A few more minutes passed with no one speaking before Eclipse sighed, “Rarity, would you like some time to yourself to absorb all of this as well? I promise it is no inconvenience to us.”

Rarity flushed slightly, taken back by his offer, and his preemption of her offer to let them stay, “Well, if you’re sure about it, then, yes, I could use some time to myself, thank you.”

Eclipse nodded, first to Rarity, then toward the door, indicating to Twilight that she should leave as well.

“How do you do that?” Twilight asked as she walked down one of the emptier streets of Ponyville by her mentor.

“Do what?” he replied, his eyes flicking toward her for a moment.

“Know what everypony is going to say, and then say something before they do? You did it to Applejack and Rarity just then, and you’ve done it to me, too. Is it some kind of illusion?” she asked, eyes brightening at the possibility that she figured out one of his tricks.

Eclipse chuckled. “No, it is no illusion. Just life experience and common sense. Applejack was obviously upset, and I was just answering her previous statement anyway. And the Element of Generosity, letting her friend leave in a time of need, without offering to let them stay? Unlikely. As for you, you’re an easy pony to read.”

Eclipse’s mouth drew tight at the corners as Twilight stammered in response.

The inside of the library shone with the casual, warm glow that only came from homes lived in by warm ponies. Spike was upstairs, counting the gems he was pleasantly surprised to have found on his outing with Sweetie Belle and her friends. He wouldn’t even complain that he had to split the gems they had dug up with her, seeing as they went straight to Rarity’s own stash of jewels.

Twilight, meanwhile, was regarding her house guest with confusion. Eclipse had never been reluctant to come in her house before, few times though it had been. But today, he turned town three invitations to come inside before relenting. It was almost as though he were some reversed version of a vampony from the classic fiction Twilight had read, cannot enter an abode if he has been invited.

And speaking of odd things Eclipse was doing, he had situated himself by the front door of the library, laying just like he did at Rarity’s Boutique, eyes closed, head bowed.

“Um... Don’t you want to come in?” Twilight asked.

Eclipse’s eyebrow quirked, though he didn’t move otherwise. “I thought I was in?”

“Well, um, I meant come... more... in?” she fumbled over the odd phrasing.

Eclipse’s mouth stretched as he stood and walked over to Twilight’s sitting area. As he arranged himself on a couch, Twilight noticed how his normally looming size seemed to diminish so that he seemed no larger than herself.

Eclipse spoke, startling Twilight, “Today was supposed to be a day for you to recover from yesterday’s lesson.”

“I know, but my friends really wanted to meet you,” Twilight blushed, “and I wanted to get to know you more, too.”

“Why so? I am hardly a pony worth knowing,” Eclipse frowned.

“Everypony is a pony worth knowing. Well, almost everypony.” Twilight frowned, before sitting down across from Eclipse.

“And what ponies aren’t worth knowing?” Eclipse asked, head tilted in curiosity.

“Well, Changelings, for one,” Twilight frowned, remembering the invasion at Cadance’s wedding, “and I’ve met some ponies who were just mean. Oh, and there’s the worst of them all,” Twilight shuddered, “Discord. Anypony like that monster should just leave everypony alone.”

“Indeed,” Eclipse mused.

“But from the sounds of things you knew some pretty bad ponies, too,” Twilight continued, “There are almost no history books that go past Luna’s banishment. What was Equestria like back then?”

Eclipse’s face fell. “There is a reason for the scarce history, Twilight. It isn’t pleasant.”

Twilight’s face sparkled with eagerness in contrast to Eclipse’s reluctance, “but didn’t you work with Celestia and Luna back then? I could learn about what you did!”

Eclipse stared into Twilight’s eyes, and she could almost feel his mind boring into hers, searching for something.

“Celestia wanted me to teach you illusions. A history of illusions would give you perspective and reference. Anything you pick up along the way wold be incidental.”

Twilight jumped up from her seat, leaning in toward Eclipse, a wide grin splitting her face, “Thank you thank you thank you! So when can we start? Can we start right now? Can we-” Eclipse held up his hoof to stop her.

“This will wait until tomorrow. Today is still for you to recover from yesterday, understand?”

Twilight’s ears fell back as she smiled shyly, “Oh, yeah,” she laughed guiltily.

The two sat in silence, Twilight deep in thought, and Eclipse as unreadable as he ever was. This continued for several minutes, until Twilight perked up, remembering a question that had been sitting in the back of her mind for a few hours now.

“Eclipse?”

The illusionist raised his head and turned his closed eyes toward Twilight, “Yes?”

“Why were you sleeping on the roof when we found you?”

Eclipse drew his mouth into his half-smile, “The short answer is that I wasn’t. The long answer is that I wasn’t sleeping, I was observing Ponyville.”

“But your eyes were closed!” Twilight angled her head in confusion.

He raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. “Twilight Sparkle, you must quickly learn that vision is hardly the most important part of an illusion. Anypony can make guesses at what something looks like, but the other senses are important as well. I take what free time I have and use it to observe my surroundings, or to meditate on old memories.”

“Oh,” Twilight responded eloquently, before she remembered something else. “Oh, right! Where are you staying, anyway? We couldn’t find your house anywhere!”

“That was your first mistake. Assuming I am staying anywhere. As I said, all my time not teaching you is spent observing or meditating.” He opened his eyes and pointedly looked into hers, “All of it.”

“You... You don’t sleep?”

Eclipse closed his eyes again, “I prefer not to, and I don’t really need sleep anyway. Many of the things I used to do demanded my attention at all times, and even tonight I will be busy.”

“Busy? Doing what?”

“Helping,” his answer was short and clipped. Obviously he didn’t want her to press further.

“Okay...” The conversation descended into silence again.

The pair spent the evening talking, though Twilight noticed that no matter how hard she tried to keep the conversation on Eclipse, he would always bend it back to her. Eventually, Spike came down to inform Twilight that the tossed salad was going to spoil if she didn’t eat already.

Twilight wished Eclipse good night, and he reminded her that their lessons resumed tomorrow, though she hadn’t forgotten. Tomorrow she would see what life was like in Equestria one-thousand years ago, and possibly learn some more about her enigmatic tutor.

Pinkie Pie woke up, safely nestled in her bed at Sugarcube Corner, a glow of warmth clinging to her, despite the horrors the relived earlier that day. She stood up and, feeling her forelock tug oddly, decided it would be a good idea to brush out her mane. Even with her mess of a mane, unusual tangles were still annoying.

She walked over to her vanity, which was really just a mirror and a shelf holding the brush she had bought for Gummy before realizing he didn’t have hair. Without bothering to look at what kind of mess her mane was in, she lifted the brush to pull out the offending knot.

“Brushie, brushie, brushie,” she sang to herself as the myriad loops and swirls her hair took fell away, only to reposition themselves immediately.

“Brushie, brushie, brushie...”

Tap.

“Huh?” She pulled at the spot in her forelock again.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Pinkie finally looked in the mirror and gasped.

There was a spiral-grooved, pink cone pointing out of her forehead, rubbing up against the lock of hair that always fell over her face. Her horn, it was back!

“How? How is it possible? How is it back?” she asked to nopony in particular.

“Because this is a dream. Your dream, actually. I just made some changes to make it less... unpleasant,” the nopony in particular answered.

Pinkie turned, and saw a large, winged serpent curled on her windowsill. The monster had claws and paws and horrible fangs, not unlike Discord, but for one difference. Its face was the same as the pony whose presence seemed strangely logical in this dream.

“Eklie!” Pinkie shouted, running over to the beast.

“Eklie?” he responded questioningly.

“Uh-huh! Short for Eclipse!” Pinkie shook her head vigorously, but became mesmerized by her horn moving with her head, and kept nodding her head.

Serpent-Eclipse sighed, and decided that this was as attentive as she could be, “This is your dream, as I said. I just made it less scary for you. In fact, you were already going to dream of me, which is why I’m here.”

“Oh, cool, you can change dreams, too!” Pinkie continued to nod.

“Only slightly, but it is a type of perception.”

“Which is why you aren’t able to appear normal in here, because that kind of change is beyond you abilities to change what I see when I’m only in my mind?”

Eclipse-Snake paused, taken aback by her perfect explanation, “Er, yes, actually. Though I’m confused as to why you’d dream me like this.”

“And then there was cake!” Pinkie Pie shouted, realizing that she was in a lucid dream, and thus could control her dreams.

Eclipse sighed, realizing that Pinkie’s dreams were safe and calm, and withdrew to the real world, leaving his serpentine self to Pinkie’s whims.

Rarity put Sweetie Belle to bed after they sorted out all the gems she had brought home. Celestia only knows how she got them all! She and her friends must have spent all day searching to have stumbled across them all, much less digging them up!

As Rarity left Sweetie’s room, she went downstairs to look through her store before heading to bed, placing an empty box of tissues in the garbage.

After Twilight and Eclipse had left, Rarity had nopony needing her support, so she was finally allowed to let herself cry. For the fact that ponies could do something like that to their foal. For the fact that it still happened in this day and age. But most of all, for poor Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy left Sugarcube Corner an hour or so after sundown, each carrying a box of jelly doughnuts that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had made them as thanks for looking after Pinkie Pie.

“I need to get home to check up on Angel Bunny. He said he would take care of the animals while I was gone, but I need to make sure they’re alright.”

“Sure thing Fluttershy. You go on ahead,” Rainbow yawned, “I gotta head home anyway.”

Applejack came into her home, worn out from half a day spent bucking trees, but she had a satisfied smile across her face.

“Good, honest, real work there.”

Eclipse soared through the air, watching as his shadow raced across the plains beneath him, all the world around him painted in muted gray tones. Everything shimmered at the slightest movement, the beams of silver light giving everything life.

Feeling the cold night wind cloaking him as he flew, Eclipse turned a series of intricate spins and loops against the moon, painting a portrait with his shadow, he ink fading as soon as it was applied.

“A fading impression with imaginary ink. How long will it last?”

Author's Note

Merry Christmas everypony! I told you it was in the works, and I was not being a Liarjack! Usual kudos goes to Copy Cat for making sure that I don't make your head explode with my weird writing habits. The first two scenes used to be six scenes. :derpyderp1:

Enjoy, and please review!

A Circle of White Shadows

In retrospect, thinking that Eclipse wouldn't be there when she woke up was kind of silly.

Twilight sighed slightly as she walked down the stairs from her loft to where Spike waited with breakfast. Taking the plate in her magic, she trotted over to the small sitting area where Eclipse was perched on a couch.

“Ready for your history lesson?” the looming immortal asked.

“Yup!” Twilight answered, smiling. “Where are we going to start?”

Eclipse simply nodded toward a book that sat between them, on a table. The book was one Twilight knew well. It had a derby brown leather cover, with a blue-eyed gold unicorn-head on the front.

“We start with the written history,” Eclipse opened the ancient book and read the first page.

“'Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land.' True enough.

“'To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night.' Except no number of unicorns could move the sun or the moon, and the princesses are alicorns.

“'Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.' In a general sense, yes, but paying attention to every case of racism is hardly possible.

“'But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.' And that is the most depressing abridging of history there ever was.

“'She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony.'” Eclipse sighed, “Amazing how they've taken the only civil war in Equestrian history, and made it a footnote in a storybook.

“'Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.' Debatable, considering the remaining princess was hardly harmonious in the following years.” Eclipse turned toward Twilight. “Ready to see what this book glossed over, and how steeped in illusions the past is?”

Twilight nodded eagerly.

Eclipse closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were glinting intensely. The book floated in between them.

“Then let us begin.”

The book opened, the pages turning rapidly, flying out to surround Twilight, filling her vision. Her view of the library dissipated as page after blank page assembled themselves into a dome round her.

However, Twilight didn't panic. This was one of Eclipse's transitions, so she couldn't accidentally disbelieve the illusion. As the last of her vision was consumed by white, she took a moment to appreciate his artistry.

The white faded into a hallway that Twilight thought she knew, but couldn't place. The stonework seemed sturdier than the walls of Canterlot, and much less intricate. Which wasn't to say it was undecorated, but it was very Trojan.

At the end of the hallway there was a set of double doors that framed a patch of the night sky, and the silhouette of a pony. Twilight walked toward the door and noticed that she wasn't alone. To her left she saw Eclipse, though he didn't seem to notice her. An illusion of a memory, she realized.

They stepped through the door onto a balcony that had a massive view of the night sky stretched clear and wide above them. The full moon hung like a silver bit in the soft, velvet spread of black, bathing the world beneath them in its pale light.

“What a lovely night it is to walk a moon-lit field.”

Twilight jumped at the voice, only then remembering that she was in a memory with other ponies in it. She realized quickly that the pony in question was Princess Luna.

“So it is,” the form beside her replied, “Though that brings to question why you don't do so?”

Luna shook her head, “It is nothing. Just an observation of sorts. An invitation.”

“Perhaps you should ask it of them, then?”

Luna scoffed, “And what? Watch them as they are cowed by the will of the princess of the night? No. I'll not intimidate my little ponies to enjoy my night.” Luna took several deep breaths, turning to Eclipse as she spoke, “How have you enjoyed the castle? Have you found any books you could study in the library?”

“Yes, a few, but none of those illusionists followed the same theory as my father...” Eclipse trailed off, his eyes knitted.

Luna leaned closer to him, taking his shoulders under a wing, “Shhh. He isn't here now, dear. It's over. I promise it isn't going to happen again.”

Celestia was standing beside Luna and Eclipse on the same balcony, the sun burning above them.

“Luna, ponies adore you, same as me! Whatever makes you think they don't appreciate you?”

The two alicorns looked each other in the eyes until Luna responded, “I know they appreciate me, Sister, but I am not just a pony, I am the night just as much as you are the day. That is a part of me that seems to scare ponies.”

“Luna, our ponies aren't afraid of your night, but very few of them are able to devote time to it...and they must sleep sometime!”

Luna stood tall, eyes furious, “Then why do none sleep in the day and be awake at night? Surely little of their lives would be so ruined?”

“Luna, calm down!”

“No, I will not!” Luna tossed her mane against the waning moon, “How is it that I am the villain? I did not walk into the filly's home and scare her! How is it my fault that her parents have spent her whole life teaching her that the moon is the harbinger of monsters that will devour her?”

“Luna, that is one family of ponies!” Eclipse yelled, “One family! Do not take the example of one for all!”

“Yet theirs is the opinion of all!” Luna roared, the very stars shaking with her voice, “Am I so wrong to wish that they would see things like I do?”

Eclipse and Luna stood in a small field beneath the half-moon.

“Let the world around you tell you how to make the illusion,” Eclipse lectured, “Breathe in, and let your magic flow.”

Luna exhaled, and several patches of moonlight flowed toward her, coalescing into silver plates which affixed themselves to her face and chest.

“Armor? Truly? It's a little showy for you, isn't it?” Eclipse questioned.

“The moon could use to be a little showy, I think,” Luna said, admiring her silverclad face in a nearby pool of water.

“Your subtlety is one of your best features, though. You do not need to seek the love of your subjects.”

“I shouldn't seek to please them? Why not? Why shouldn't they adore me? Is it not within my right?”

“I said no such thing, Luna.”

“Sister, please! Don't do this! There is no need for war!”

Luna stood across the empty plain on a huge chariot drawn by her personal soldiers, the Night Guard. “No, there is every need to take the throne from you, Celestia! Ponies will learn to appreciate my night one way or another!”

Luna's voice rolled across the doomed Equestrian plain like thunder, her eyes flashing brightly as shadows boiled under her, enveloping her body, becoming the menacing, black shape wearing silver plates, that would one day be known as Nightmare Moon. “And though the Sun may plead and threaten, the Moon will stand her ground!”

Eclipse made his way through the dismal capital of the New Lunar Republic, flying toward the obsidian tower Luna, or rather, Nightmare Moon called home. She was waiting for him on the balcony from which she observed her army.

Eclipse alighted next to the Nightmare, “You asked to see me?”

“Yes, I did, my dear Eclipse,” she whispered to him, “I wanted to see you. I wanted to,” she walked by him, brushing her tail against his side, “make you an offer.”

“Join me.” She said, “Join me and we can rule Equestria together. Just as soon as Celestia is removed.”

Eclipse drew away from Nightmare Moon, “Why do you want me? This,” he gestured at the city below them, “is yours.”

“But it could be ours!” Nightmare exclaimed, “Equestria could be ours. And I...” she leaned towards him again, “I could be yours.”

Eclipse leapt into the air, hovering above the mare. “Nightmare Moon, you have forgotten something. When you and Celestia took me in, I swore you an oath. But I swore that oath to Celestia and Luna. Not you.”

And with that, he disappeared.

Celestia and Eclipse stood, staring at the crescent moon.

“She is not fully gone, is she?” Celestia asked.

“No. She is... upset. In pain. She is hiding behind the mask of 'Nightmare Moon'. So long as she doesn't become the mask... she will be fine.

The moon was the only patch of sky that had no stars, as Celestia and her guard met with Luna and the Night Guard.

“Luna, please, you can still stop this. Come back, Sister!”

Nightmare Moon looked down her snout at Celestia, “You are no sister of mine, Sun. And I will not compromise any longer, the Day did nothing to celebrate the Night! All will know the wonder of my dark and jeweled sky when all the world is racked in an eternal lullaby!”

“Luna, no! Don't do this!” Celestia yelled in anguish.

“Say goodnight to this, the final setting of the sun!”

Eclipse disappeared in a whisp of mist.

“Tomorrow dawns in darkness. The nighttime has begun!” The moon flared above her, but somehow, it had lost its luster, a flat circle of gray.

The illusion faded rapidly, blowing away like dirt being washed away by rain.

Twilight swayed in place, slightly green under her purple coat. “Why was that so... disjointed?” she slurred.

“Those were my memories, shown to you as I experience them. You had no sense of division.”

“Oh... So... that was how Luna became Nightmare Moon. And... Nightmare Moon is just an illusion? How is that possible? That illusion touched me! It moved things!”

Eclipse smiled, “Yes, Luna did indeed move things, which isn't to say the illusion did,” he picked up the undamaged storybook.

“Create the image of a table,” he said.

Twilight, her curiosity overpowering her, put together a simple wooden coffee table in front of her.

“Now, hold your hoof flush with the surface of the table,” Eclipse instructed.

Twilight did so, her hoof melting through the wooden image, until she situated it just under the surface. Eclipse then placed the book on Twilight's hoof, and it seemed to stay on the imaginary table.

“Oh! My hoof is giving the appearance that the table can hold objects on it! So when Luna was in the Nightmare Moon illusion, she would move to interact with things for the illusion!”

Eclipse nodded, “An illusion must be maintained. But another lesson to take away is that when you create an illusion, you create a mind for that illusion. And it is possible for that mind to influence yours just as much as you influence it. Luna fell prey to jealousy, but she also created Nightmare Moon to hide her pain. But it hid her kindness as well.

In the plains outside of Ponyville, a dragon, roughly twice the size of a pony ran amok. It slithered along the ground, bright red scales scraping the grass beneath its belly. It picked up a nearby stone, crushing it in its claw, a gray cloud of dust exploding into existence.

“Good. You're maintaining interaction well,” Eclipse said from above.

The dragon's face turned up toward him and smiled widely, “Thanks, Eclipse!”

“Believability, however, needs work,” he chuckled, landing next to the dragon that was Twilight.

“Oh, yeah,” Twilight giggled.

Pinkie Pie trotted through town, carrying a large basket filled to the brim with fifteen jam tarts (twelve to deliver to Carrot Top, three to eat on the way there), humming to herself, when she heard a sigh. It was the kind of sigh that you didn't notice because you heard it, but because you felt it.

She looked around, worried that somepony may be feeling anything less that joyful, and was saddened to see an orange filly with a mulberry mane sitting with her wings against a wall, frowny face frowning at the ground.

“Hey, Scootalootaloo! What's got your face in a frowny-wowny-downy mood?” the excitable pink mare asked.

“Oh, hi Pinkie,” Scootaloo sighed. “It's nothing, really.”

Pinkie tilted her head, “That face isn't a 'I'm perfectly fine and happy' face. That's a 'I need someone to talk to right now' face!”

Scootaloo took a bite out of her jelly tart, then wondered how she had come into possession of the confectionery treat in the first place, “Uh, whah?”

Pinkie giggled and seated herself by the confused filly. “So, you wanna tell me what's wrong?”

Scootaloo looked at Pinkie. She wasn't the first mare she would have chosen to talk to, but she would never tell Rainbow Dash something as lame as what was bothering her. And she had to admit, this jam tart was pretty tasty...

She sighed, “Okay, Pinkie. It's my wings. I can't fly. I'm the only pegasus I know that can't fly! I even know some other ponies that can fly, how sad is that? My dumb wings won't work. I mean, what if I'm all grown up and I still can't fly?”

Pinkie smiled, putting a hoof around the younger pony, and pulling her into a hug, “You know what, Scootaloo? I see exactly where you're coming from.”

“Really? How can you-” Scootaloo was interrupted by another jam tart in her mouth, and a laughing Pinkie.

“Let me tell you a story I know about a unicorn who lost the ability to control her magic,” she started.

Author's Note

Some lines from this chapter were taken from the song “The Moon Rises” by Ponyphonic.

If you're wondering if the lack of transitions in the flashback was intentional, yes, it was. Explanation is in-story, so no complaining!

Prologue

The festivities were in full swing as soon as they began, celebrating the marriage that had just been saved. And why wouldn't they? Princess Cadence had been saved, her doppelgänger exposed, and the invasion averted. All was at peace as the eldest princesses watched as their little ponies laughed, danced, and milled about. Or, in a certain poofy-pink mare's case, popping up in seemingly random spots, in one case dropping from a chandelier that didn't exist in the outdoors party area, only to land in one of several bowls of Sweet Apple Acres punch.

"It is truly wonderful, to see peace restored," Princess Celestia mused, her aurora mane flowing windless across her smiling face.

"Indeed, sister," Princess Luna replied stiffly, her strained smile betraying that something was bothering her.

"Luna, you have not called me 'sister' in some time now. What is bothering you? Where did you disappear off to during the invasion earlier?" Truth be told, Celestia knew the moment Luna had returned from her unannounced absence that her smile and casual air was the same carefully constructed relaxed grace that she herself wore in times of crisis, so as not to worry anypony.

"Sister, there's something you must come with me to see. Now.”

Celestia’s brows furrowed, only for a moment, before she stepped lightly over to one of the guards overseeing the party, whispering in his ear for a moment. He saluted, and Celestia trotted back toward her sister. “Where?”

“The castle,” Luna replied, and she was off, Celestia not two steps behind her as they entered their castle.

“Ohboyohboyohboy that was the most amazing superspecialcollossal extraterrific party EVER!” the hyperactive pink blur squealed as she zoomed around the train’s bed car.

“Yep, that sure was, sugarcube, but we really oughta get some sleep if we’re gonna be up an’ about tomorrow,” Applejack yawned from her bed.

“Oh, let her burn off the energy now, Applejack, darling, rather than her waking us up even later than it already is,” Rarity said, stifling a yawn as she fitted on her sleeping mask.

“I don’t know where she keeps all that energy,” Rainbow dash blurted as she stood in the middle of the car, attempting to keep her eyes on their friend, “I mean, I could keep up with her, it’s just, how does she do it?”

“Oh, my,” a voice as light as a butterfly peeped out from under one of the bed’s pillows. To her friends, Fluttershy’s cause for worry was obvious. She knew that she needed to be well-rested to help her animal friends once they were home. Not that she didn’t trust Lyra to help, or anything, but she had a way of being distracted by the squirrels. And the raccoons. And the mice. And even the bats once.

“Guys, it’s okay. Just lay down your head and rest. Pinkie will tire herself out eventually,” Twilight said as said pony whipped by her top bunk. Twilight was arguably the freshest looking of them all, save the one currently bouncing on the ceiling. While her friend’s eyes all had lines marking their edges and their eyelids drooped quite a bit, again, save one, Twilight’s eyes were wide and alert. She would say that this was due to her studying habits, staying up late and waking up early.

A limp pink doll of a pony fell sideways into her bunk.

“Aw thank goodness! Time fer some sleep!”

Everypony said goodnight, and turned in for some well-deserved rest to recover from their fight with the changelings. Everypony, that is, except for Twilight Sparkle, who wrapped a blanked around her and crept out of their shared bed car onto the next, the dining car.

The car itself was impressive, with seating offering comfort and privacy with plush seats and glass visors between tables. Twilight found her way to one toward the far side of the car and curled up in it, draping the blanket over herself as she stared out the window.

She had very nearly lost her brother that day. In fact, if she had been wrong about Cadence seeming off, she could have lost the trust of her friends and teacher, too. Things had turned out for the best, but much like anypony, she would rather it have not been an issue in the first place.

Twilight reached up and unhooked the latch on the window, letting it slide down an inch or two. It was getting late enough that dew was starting to form on the grass, and Twilight breathed in the smell. It was calm and comforting, but at the same time mysterious. Twilight loved this smell. It was one of the advantages of living in Ponyville that she was a window away from this aromatic treat each morning.

Twilight fell asleep with the smell of fresh dew and moonlight.

“Geeeeeronimo!”

And Twilight woke up with the smell hanging on her mind as Pinkie dove onto her, wrapping her in a four-hooved hug.

“Wakie-wakie sunshine! The train’s almost to Ponyville!”

“Ugh... huh?” Twilight groaned as she was dragged forcefully out of the soft bed of sleep by the crushing grip of what had to be the Sandpony’s biggest headache.

Twilight gulped down the last of her tea, the liquid easing her into proper consciousness without making her jittery.

“Well, Twilight, I don’t know what you were thinking, sleeping in the dining car. And with a window open, no less! Why, you’re lucky not to have caught a cold!” Rarity chided her from over her own cup of tea.

“It’s okay, Rarity, really. See? I was just fine through the night. I just needed to be by myself for a bit.”

“Well I can understand that, dear with all you’ve been through, but there’s no need to shut yourself away in the dining car with a breeze blowing in!” Sudden comprehension dawned on Rarity’s face, “Unless! Unless you wanted to be alone to think about that absolutely marvelous dishwasher who put on that fabulous show on the train!”

Twilight chuckled, “No, Rarity, I don’t have a crush on Towel Twirler.”

“You know his name? Well you simply MUST introduce us! To think a dishwasher could be so refined and talented!” Rarity gushed.

“Rarity, he told everypony his name before the show, remember?” Twilight lowered her voice, “I’m Towel Twirler. I wash the dishes.”

“Oh right,” Rarity blushed. They chatted until it was finally time for Twilight to get home to help Spike get the library ready to open the next day.

The next morning started as abruptly as the last, though this time Twilight found herself woken up not by pink legs crushing her body, but by a scaly hand poking her side. After much prompting, Twilight finally let go of any hope that she could sneak a few more minutes of sleep before having to function.

“Ugh, what is it, Spike?” she growled, her eyes flinching from the light assaulting it.

“It’s a letter for you! It looks like it’s from both the princesses!” Spike waved said parchment over his head, the seal glinting in the morning sun streaming in the windows. Sure enough, both Celestia’s sun emblem, and Luna’s crescent-moon crest adorned the seal.

Twilight vanished in a burst of lavender, reappearing next to Spike before taking off at a gallop, dragging Spike and the letter downstairs with her magic.

Twilight sat at her desk with the letter in front of her, tense with anticipation. “What if she’s mailing me to congratulate us for how good we did against the changelings no it was Cadence and BBBFF who did the real job maybe it’s something else attacking Equestria like maybe the changelings are back but no they all got exiled two days ago they can’t be back yet so maybe somepony forgot their luggage but she could just have a guard send it so maybe I did something wrong and this letter is telling me I’m not her student anymore and that I’m a failure who doesn’t deserve friends and-”

“Hey, Twi, you gonna open the letter yet? I wanna know what it says!” Spike rocked back and forth on his heels.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Twilight laughed nervously as she undid the sun-moon seal and allowed the parchment to roll open, and she read it aloud:

“My dearest student Twilight Sparkle,

“I do hope that you have recovered from the events at the royal wedding, for I have a new assignment for you. While I do not expect another threat to come to Equestria for some time, the changeling invasion has shown that we need to be more careful in the future against foes who we cannot necessarily see.

“For this reason I am sending to Ponyville someone far more skilled in the magic of illusions than I, and one of my most trusted advisers, so that he may teach you how to recognize and defeat deceitful creatures like the changelings. He will be arriving this evening, and I shall make any additional arrangements that need to be made.

“Princess Celestia of Equestria”

Twilight’s desk drawer jolted open, “Wow! A new pony this evening!” Pinkie yelled, “I’m gonna hafta set up a whole big welcome party by then!” She bolted out the door.

Twilight sighed, “There was a...” she glanced in the drawer, “whatever you do that with...”

Pinkie had drafted a large portion of Ponyville to help with the preparations. Not to say they minded at all. After all, a Pinkie Pie Party was nothing to miss, especially one where she needed the help of every free hoof in town.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Pyrotechnicians, YAY!”

“Aw no ya don’t! You three get back here!”

“Fluttershy could you be a darling and pass me that streamer? My magic’s rather full right now.”

“Oh, okay. Er, um, excuse me, but those muffins are for the party.”

“Mmmmuffins...”

“Lyra could you lend me a hoof carrying these chocolates?”

“Hmph!”

“Oh, all right, could you lend me a ‘hand?’”

“Sure, Bon-Bon!”

This was arguably the least chaotic of Pinkie’s party preparations.

“Berry! The punch! Not until the foals are in bed!”

Gliding over the massive expanse of green that made up much of the areas around Canterlot, he twisted in the air to feel the resistance on his wings and body, letting out a satisfied breath as he steepened his descent. Picking up some speed, he leveled out. He continued like this until the lights of the small town he was traveling to made themselves visible. As he passed over the town, he spied the one he was looking for, the Golden Oaks Library, the only building-sized tree in the town proper.

He alighted in front of the door off put by the stillness of the town, despite it only being evening. Did ponies in this town perhaps retire before sunset? Rather upsetting.

He knocked on the door, hoping his apparent student would answer. The door instead swung on it’s hinges, having been unlatched.

“Is anyone there?” his voice pierced the silence as he lowered himself into a ready stance.

Light flashed in his eyes as numerous burst of firecrackers and candles all lit at once and a huge mass of ponies yelled greetings to him, but when they looked, their guest had vanished.

“Huh? Where’d he go?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

Twilight stepped forward toward the still-open door, “Um, Mr. Eclipse? Hello? Where are you? Oof!” she had bumped into something.

From the dusk-light in front of her a sound like a small glass breaking on stone could be heard, and suddenly a night-blue stallion stood before Twilight. He was lean, yet stood imposingly above her. His wings, even folded, seemed overlarge on his already ponderous frame. His mane, darker even than his coat, was cut only long enough to drape back over his head behind his horn His mouth was frozen into a scowl, which only drew her gaze to his eyes, oh, Celestia, his eyes! Twin pools of black that seemed to be cutting their way into her very soul with every intent to turn every detail found against her!

And he looked away, and the feeling of cold pressure was gone, “Just call me Eclipse,” he rasped in a voice that seemed far too gentle for the merciless beast that stood over her just before.

“H-hi,” Twilight managed to stutter back, “You must be the teacher Princess Celestia sent, right?” Twilight held her breath, hoping there was some mistake, some misunderstanding with the letter. How could someone so terrifying be a trusted adviser to Celestia?

“I was sent by the Princess, yes. Are you Twilight Sparkle?”

Well, there goes that hope, Twilight thought. “Yes, I am,” she spoke.

“Then I have much to teach you. Who are all these ponies?” he indicated the party guests around the room, all frozen watching the exchange between the dark-hued alicorn and the terrified Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, they’re, uh...”

“Your party guests!” Pinkie Pie attempted to break the established tension by somehow arranging several kazoos and fireworks into a sparking, wailing array of party materials.

Eclipse’s mouth strained against the sides of his face, and Pinkie Pie, seeing the downturned corers of his mouth in the face of her display of improvised joviality, backed down. Eclipse’s mouth seemed to relax. “Fine, let’s get this over with.”

The party itself was fine once it got started, it was just getting it started with a party guest whose gaze seemed to suck the joy out of anything he turned toward. On one occasion, a balloon actually deflated as he passed by it, though this was mostly because the pony blowing it up had stopped midway.

Gathered in a corner, Twilight stood with her closest friends save Spike, who had fallen asleep shortly after the party attempted to begin.

“Sugarcube, I don’t care if he’s the princess’ trusted anything, somethin’ about him just don’t sit right with me,” Applejack cast a sideways glance at the pony in question.

“I simply must agree, darling! The way that he treated you, most rude,” Rarity spoke quieter than normal, so as not be overheard, though still with the regal air she always had.

“But Celestia says that I can trust him! And did you see that invisibility spell he cast?” Twilight said.

“Uh, Twilight...” Rainbow Dash nudged her in the ribs.

“Oh, right, invisibility,” Twilight blushed, “Well, that’s it! You didn’t see any horn flash, and he was gone in the time it took for the light flash to die down! I was even able to bump into him without breaking the spell, that’s almost unheard of! I could learn so much from him!”

“Well, yeah, assuming he doesn’t kill ya first!” Rainbow half-yelled, “Did you SEE the way he was looking at you? It was like he wanted to cut you open!”

From across the room, at the refreshments table, Eclipse looked their way and exhaled.

“Aw hay he can hear us! Move!” Rainbow Dash took off flying, trying to find a place to hide from the huge alicorn. As the others dispersed, Fluttershy stayed behind to talk to Twilight.

“D-do you think... Um, would you like me to, maybe talk to him, see why he looked at you so scary? If you’d like me to, that is...” she barely got the words out.

“That’s okay, Fluttershy. He’s going to be my teacher. I’ll just have to sort it out myself,” Twilight replied.

The last party guest had left, seemingly the only one undisturbed by Eclipse’s presence, leaving Twilight and the foreboding giant to be the only two awake ponies in the library. This understandably terrified Twilight, now being alone with those eyes that scraped her soul for weaknesses. So she was obviously startled when he spoke up.

“Tea?”

“Huh?” Twilight blurted.

“I asked if you would like tea? I have some leaves I brought with me I could brew,” he said, rummaging through a bag she’d never noticed before.

“Uh. Uh, sure,” Twilight said without thinking.

“All right.”

As he set about boiling the water, Twilight’s mid finally caught up with what was going on, and she berated herself for being an idiot. Who accepts tea from ponies THAT scary? Even if he wasn’t going to hurt her, accepting tea meant she’d have to look in those eyes again sooner or later!

“Here,” a teacup had appeared in front of her. On reflex, she looked up to thank him, looking right into his eyes, but instead of the cold, dead searching eyes she had seen before, now she saw pools made of the soft cloth of dreams, warm and cool at the same time.

Eclipse sat across from her, “We have much to discuss. Drink.”

And without fear, at least for now, she could.

The Way He Was Taught

“What did you do to her?” Spike yelled.

Eclipse stood over the shaking form of Twilight, his eyes betraying nothing.

“As I said, she is learning. I just taught her what happens when one casts a shoddy illusion,” he huffed.

“You hurt her!” Spike moved between Twilight and the larger pony, shielding her from him, “Why did you hurt her?”

Twilight stopped shuddering and came shakily to her feet. “It’s okay Spike. It was just magic recoil. A lot of it.” She flinched at the memory of the magic she had poured into the illusion returning all at once to her horn.

Eclipse nodded, “Exactly. Magic recoil in illusion magic acts differently than in other forms of magic. Or rather, it acts under the same laws, but because of how illusion spells behave, more of the raw magic returns to you.”

Twilight’s head tilted inquisitively, but before she could voice her question Eclipse answered her, his eyes closed.

“Because illusions aren’t real, they don’t consume as much magic as other magic constructs, but they need a maintained stream of magic in almost all cases. You are pouring water into a dam to keep the water level high, but if the dam bursts, all the water comes back at once.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, a little cowed from his preempting her question. Sending a grumbling Spike away, she moved to her next question, “So, why did my illusion break so easily? I thought it was good!”

“It was good in the sense that it was indeed a cube and supposedly wood,” he answered, eyes still closed, “but you missed many basic concepts that the concept of ‘a block of wood’ require.”

His eyes opened, glinting in the light, and a perfect replica of Twilight’s floating wood block appeared beside them. Eclipse’s hoof waved in between them, and Twilight heard a light clatter on the floor in front of her. She looked down to see a small piece of wood, like a blank homemade die. It was rough-cut, but otherwise seemed perfectly normal. “What differences do you see between your wood block and mine?”

“Well, yours is smaller, and,” she gulped, “not... floating.”

“Both of which are important. Giant, perfectly cut wooden blocks do not appear out of nowhere, and they do not float. Mine, however, is small, imperfect, and acting under gravity, and thus, believable. And the movement with my hoof when the block appeared? Who is to say that it isn’t a real block of wood that I had with me, just for the purpose of tricking you into thinking it is an illusion?”

Twilight’s eyes grew wide at this possibility, and Eclipse chuckled slightly, “And now you cannot remove the possibility that it is real from your mind, meaning that it is impossible to Disbelieve it.”

“Disbelieve?” Twilight wasn’t sure she wanted any more vocabulary lessons from this pony.

“Disbelieving is the most basic counter to any illusion. It is finding a fault in an illusion that allows you to realize that, without a doubt, you are experiencing an illusion, so that you can break it. It is what I did to your wood illusion.” He turned to his replica of said wood block, “Now, Disbelieve this one. Focus on how it ignores gravity, which is it’s most unbelievable aspect.”

Twilight looked at the floating image of wood to her side, taking in all the details that now seemed so obvious. Especially the floating, how could anypony make such an obvious mistake? How she wished she could just tear down that stupid, stupid failure like-

A crack of glass was heard from somewhere over Eclipse’s head, and the giant cube was gone.

“What? I did it?” Twilight gasped. “But I didn’t even use magic!”

“You don’t have to. Any thinking thing can Disbelieve an illusion if it applies the will to do it. The key is to know the fallacies of the illusion, and choosing to exploit that weakness to break the illusion completely.”

“Oh...”

“So now, you will practice seeking out faults in illusions, so you will know how to craft a believable illusion,” Eclipse continued. “The wood piece I made has a flaw in it. Find it, and take note of everything else that you cannot Disbelieve about it.”

Twilight looked down to examine Eclipse’s wood block. At first glance, everything seemed perfect about it. The edges were rough and rounded on the corners. The grain of the wood was consistent on all the faces. Picking it up with her magic, she could feel the contours of the block, and the weight felt correct. Turning it around, the sides facing the candles were brighter than those that weren’t. She even jabbed a hoof at it, and the block scuffed where she hit it.

Turing her thoughts to its creation, she remembered that motion he made with his hoof, like he was tossing it from... where? His saddle bags were in the corner, and he wasn’t wearing anything else the block could have gone in... “Even though you tossed it out, where did it come from? You don’t have anywhere to keep it!”

Twilight watched in triumph as the block of wood shattered and dissipated to the sound of a glass sphere shattering. Eclipse’s head jerked slightly.

“Oh, did I hurt you?” Twilight stepped forward, examining his horn even though magic recoil never caused visible damage.

Leaning back, Eclipse said, “It stung slightly, but nothing I haven’t felt thousands of times already,” his mouth drew tight. “More importantly, you found a flaw in my illusion that most ponies would never puzzle out. Very good.”

Twilight’s face sprouted a small smile.

Their lessons continued into the evening, though to call them lessons would be an insult to classrooms everywhere, as most of the time was Twilight finding the faults Eclipse had placed in illusions and breaking them. A repeating page in a familiar book, a cube with seven sides, at one point there was a glass that didn’t break when Twilight threw it across the room in frustration.

On occasion, Twilight would try applying what she had learned to her own illusions for Eclipse to break. The result was invariably a disappointed Twilight with a sharp headache.

Over the hours, however, Twilight discovered an interesting, but pleasant side effect of illusion magic that made the ache more bearable. Illusion magic that hasn’t been molded into a spell yet carries a slight scent of dewy grass at night, just like her train ride home from Canterlot two days ago.

“I should be leaving now. I’ve taken up your whole day. We will meet again the day after tomorrow. Take tomorrow to recuperate from today. You were too eager to impress me, when you still need to learn how to cast a proper illusion.”

Twilight rubbed her forehead sheepishly. “Um, yeah, I guess so...” she chuckled, before falling silent. After a moment, she spoke up again, “Can I ask you a question?”

Quirking an eyebrow, Eclipse said, “So long as it isn’t another illusion for me to critique. I’d hate to break the princess’ student on her first lesson.”

Twilight chuckled, “No, it’s not that. It’s just... You said before that you were going to teach me illusion magic the same way you were taught. Is this part of how you learned this?”

Eclipse stared in her eyes a moment, and then turned and walked toward the door. “I said I would teach you similarly to how I was taught. My teacher was... much harsher with me. I had to learn how to make illusions without help, and he would Disbelieve every one I made. So yes, you are learning like I learned. Through the Disbelief of my illusions.” He opened the door and took flight, the light breeze behind him shutting the door, leaving Twilight in shocked silence.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that you really can have knowledge forced into your head, but it hurts worse than that time Applejack got her reflexes checked at the doctor. Eclipse’s teaching methods might be different and difficult, but he taught me more about illusion magic than any book I’ve read on the subject. Although, he really didn’t teach me much, he just made it so I would figure it out myself. And come to think of it, why do none of my books have anything about this kind of magic? It seems like an important thing to be missing!

Anyway, Eclipse let me have tomorrow off, so I think I’ll hang out with my friends. They’re probably still worried about Eclipse. You might be getting a friendship report from me, tomorrow, Princess!

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S. Do you know who Eclipse’s teacher was?

Twilight emerged from the library, feeling fresh and happy despite the previous day, Spike seated on her back. She made her way toward the Ponyville market, where the agriculturally-inclined ponies would set up stalls to sell their produce. One stand in particular stood out among them, the Sweet Apple Acres apple cart, situated in its traditional location (In front of Sugarcube Corner, next to Carrot Top’s vegetable stand.). Business was thriving in the noontime rush of ponies who wanted one of the famously delicious apples as a light lunch. Or breakfast, in Twilight’s case.

“Heya Twi! Hi Spike!” Applejack called as the swarm of hungry ponies thinned out. “How was yer lesson yesterday?” she asked as she selected three apples from her stand, offering one each to Twilight and Spike.

“Oh, it was fine,” Twilight skirted the question, not wanting to worry her friends over Eclipse’s teaching methods.

“Yeah, if spending a day magicking each other in the head is fine,” Spike grumbled.

“Spike!” Twilight tried to cover his mouth before Applejack would notice, but had no such luck.

“What in tarnation? He hurt you?” Applejack began digging at the ground, about to gallop off at the first opportunity.

“No! I mean, yes, but, it’s not like that!” Twilight stammered, waving her front hooves over her head.

Spike, sliding off of Twilight’s back, said, “Twilight, you were crying when I came in there, and you ignored me when I tried to help,” his face became downcast, “even when I brought you dinner...”

“Huh? When did you do that?” Twilight turned her head to look at her assistant confusedly.

“In the evening. And at sundown. And after dark. And at my bedtime...” Spike’s words trailed off as he began nibbling on his apple.

“Spike... I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice. I guess I was caught up with my lesson. I’m sorry,” Twilight leaned her had back and nuzzled Spike.

“So am I gonna have ta’ go find this varmint or not?” Applejack said, still poised as if ready to tear down all of Ponyville to avenge her friend. Though in all fairness, she probably would.

“No, Applejack, it’s fine. His lesson just... stings a bit at first,” Twilight grinned as she rubbed her forehead.

“Well alright then,” Applejack visibly relaxed, “but you just tell me if he does ya wrong, an’ I’ll have him hog-tied faster ’n you can say... Rainbow Dash?”

“Hey Twilight. Hey AJ,” the cerulean pegasus hovered between the other two ponies, grinning like mad at her barely stopping from crashing into the apple stall. “So did I hear you right? Are we gonna kick that freaky guy’s flank outta town?”

“No, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled. “Nopony is kicking anypony out of town! My first lesson with Eclipse just dealt with some magic recoil!”

“Magic recoil? Oh, dear, are you alright? Magic recoil is terribly painful!” Rarity trotted up to the fast-growing gathering of ponies before Twilight found herself laid down on a soft pillow, a wet washcloth on her forehead.

“Oh my, you’re hurt? Don’t you worry, I’ll have you feeling better in no time,” Fluttershy began fussing over Twilight, taking her temperature and fluffing the pillow.

“Guys, I’m fine! Really!” Twilight gently moved Fluttershy off of her and stood up. “Wait, why are you all here, anyway? I didn’t tell anyone I was-”

She was cut off by the large, pink necklace that found itself hanging off her shoulders. “Hi Twilight! I saw you leaving the library and I thought ‘Ooh! This is the perfect time to get all of our friends to we can talk about how your lesson with mister grumpy-pants went’ so I got Dashie and Fluttershy and Rarity and me and told us all to go to the market where I saw you going except me of course because I already knew!”

“Well, that explains that. I think...” Twilight sighed.

With Spike having been dragged away by the Cutie Mark Crusaders Gem Miners, the rest of the day was spent in an impromptu girl’s-day-out, as none of them had any concerns more pressing than interrogating Twilight about Eclipse, save Twilight herself, who just wanted to relax. Everywhere they went, it seemed one of her friends had a question for her.

“Why haven’t we heard of this ‘super-awesome’ guy before?”

“Master Illusionist to Equestria, you say? Oh, he must know all the most posh ponies!”

“His teacher hurt him like that on purpose?”

“Does he like ice cream?”

The questions were all more or less what Twilight expected from her friends concerning her mysterious mentor, and the answers, for the most part, were a mixed bag of ‘I don’t knows’. Even if the answers were unsatisfactory, she could still answer them. At least until-

“So yer tellin’ me he ain’t told ya nothin’ about himself?”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer on reflex like she had all the other questions, only to choke on the bite of the pressed hay sandwich she had ordered from the café they sat in now.

As she methodically swallowed her bite, she realized how challenging Applejack’s simple question really was. How much did she really know about Eclipse, anyway? With most ponies, if you spent a day talking with them, you could know enough about them to become fast friends, but most of what she knew about Eclipse had to do with illusion magic, not the pony himself. Twilight’s ears folded back as she frowned at the question Applejack had thrown at her. Surely she could think of something substantial to say? How he knew the princesses? Who his family is? How he got his cutie mark? There seemed to be so much missing that should have come up in simple conversation, but looking back at the idle talk she had made during their lesson, Eclipse had directed the flow of conversation, always keeping the focus subtly on herself, while answering her questions evasively. And she hadn’t even noticed.

“Um, I guess it never came up,” Twilight grinned. A bleating was heard from a passing flock of sheep being guided by three fillies.

“Never came up?” Applejack repeated. “Twilight, ya can’t spend a whole day with a pony and not know a thing about him!” The others nodded in agreement.

“And I, for one, am rather curious about him,” Rarity added. “At the party, he seemed so cold and hateful, but from hearing you, he seems much less... icy.”

“Well, if you wanted, I could introduce you...” Twilight faded off. “But I don’t know where he is. Our next lesson is tomorrow, but I don’t want to interrupt that, and I don’t know where he’s living,” Twilight frowned. Where was he staying, after all?

“Well, that’s easy!” Pinkie Pie burst out. “All we have to do is go to the town hall and check the housing records!”

“Pinkie, that’s... genius!” Twilight gasped. “How did you?”

“Oh, when I moved to Ponyville I had to tell them I was moving in with Mr. and Mrs. Cake! It was easy breezy frosting squeezy! Mmmm... frosting...” Pinkie drooled.

“Well c’mon! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash called as she started flying toward the town hall.

Twilight stood alone in a room seemingly made out of file cabinets, a drawer labeled ‘Housing – May 1002 – Present’ opened in front of her. These were the public access records, normally used by businesses for advertising pamphlets, so she had no trouble getting them, save for the claustrophobic room they were in.

“Anything in the last two to four days ought to have it,” Twilight said as she flipped through the folders.

She shuffled through the files, most of which detailed various land perimeter adjustments for agricultural ponies, who were granted the land for free as long as it was utilized for farming, and a certain amount of the produce sold in Ponyville. As she flicked through the papers, however, she found no new housing documents, even as far back as three months before the changeling attack.

“I can’t find anything!” Twilight said, closing the drawers she had pored through. “It’s not here!” Leaving the file room, she communicated her lack of findings to her friends, each of whom looked at her in disbelief, but looking harder would be futile. After all, Mayor Mare was very careful with her paperwork.

Beaten, they left the town hall. Rainbow Dash took off in a last attempt to find him manually, but agreed that if she couldn’t find them, they would simply wait until Twilight could ask him in person.

Rainbow Dash flew over them a few times before touching down again, a perplexed frown now adorning her face as she folded her wings. “Well, I didn’t see him, but I think the Mayor’s gone crazy with decorating the town hall again. She’s put a gargoyle on the roof!” she pointed up.

Following her hoof, the other five looked at the edge of the round roof of the hall, and sure enough, there was a dark, unmoving head and shoulders looking out over the Eastern side of Ponyville. As they looked, though, it became apparent that the thing wasn’t a thing.

“That’s not a gargoyle, sugarcube. That there’s a pony, and I’d bet my hat that’s the pony we been lookin’ for,” Applejack said.

Applejack’s hat was proven safe, as the pony stirred, its eyes opening, revealing Eclipse’s dark irises. He stood, and propelled himself gently off the roof, gliding down to the ground by them, before muttering, “Looking for me? Today is for recovering from yesterday, Twilight. You shouldn’t need to see me until tomorrow.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow at him, “You ain’t never heard of a social visit?”

Eclipse raised an eyebrow right back, “My life has never been disposed towards socializing, sorry. I don’t expect people to come to me to talk often.”

“Uh-huh. Can’t imagine why, what with yer sunny personality.”

“Applejack!” Twilight interjected, before Rarity cut above everyone.

“Why don’t we all go somewhere nice and private so we can talk, alright?” she said in an undisguised diplomatic tone. “Does that sound agreeable, Mister Eclipse?”

Eclipse’s face showed no reaction as he responded, “I didn’t have anything significant planned.”

Rarity kept a table at the Carousel Boutique for special occasions. It had served a variety of purposes over the years, from an extra worktable to a showcase for her latest design. On one occasion, Sweetie Belle and her friends had used it as the deck of the ill-fated S.S. Cutie, and it came out flawless. Currently, it served to seat her and her friends, as well as the tea she had made. The only pony in the room who wasn’t at the table was the subject of the gathering, who insisted that he wouldn’t fit at the table, and opted to lay down nearby.

Twilight looked at her friends, all of whom seemed to be waiting for her to take the initiative. It made sense, as she technically knew the most about Eclipse, but how do you ask a pony you’ve known for two days some of the most basic details about themselves?

After a few moment’s thought, a question that had been niggling at Twilight’s mind gave her an idea of where to start. Turning to him, she began, “So, how did you meet Celestia?”

Eclipse’s frown deepened, and it seemed he wouldn’t answer, but after a moment he began, “Celestia and Luna found me when I was a child, after my teacher abandoned me. They took me in and taught me how to use my magic to help ponies. After that I served under them as the most skilled illusionist in Equestria. At the time, it was a fairly important position.”

“Your teacher abandoned you?” Fluttershy whispered. “That’s just horrible! And did he really hurt you as badly as you hurt Twilight?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she realized what she said, “Oh, no, I mean-”

“It’s all right,” Eclipse’s face betrayed nothing as he answered, “How my teacher taught me magic is the same way I’m teaching Twilight. But my teacher would force me to spend days on end casting illusions for him to break. It took a long time for me to figure out that I was supposed to make my illusions more believable.” He turned to look in Fluttershy’s wide eyes, “Does that ease your concerns over Twilight’s safety?” Fluttershy could only nod.

“Seems awful convenient that your ‘teacher’ was so harsh. Makes it seem all right that yer hurtin’ Twi like that,” Applejack mumbled.

Eclipse turned his head away from the table, his eyes closed, “You think I’m lying.” It wasn’t a question.

“A’course I do! All yer magic is to do with lyin’!” Applejack said as though it were obvious. “I don’t know why I should believe a word you’ve said since you came here! Tell me how I’m supposed to trust a pony whose talent is makin’ lies!”

Eclipse rose, unfurling his body into the unnaturally large size he sported when he had first arrived in Ponyville. He flapped his gigantic wings just once, alighting on the table, and loomed over Applejack, his eyes shimmering softly. He got almost nose to nose with her before he growled, “Look in my eyes. Do you see the light in them? That is my honesty. It is a spell I cast on myself any time I cast an illusion. The more intense the illusion,” the room and everything in it except for the table and the ponies at it fell away to show a barren, scorched field, and Eclipse’s irises shone like a spotlight, “the faster the light moves.” The lights in his eyes flashed for an instant, and they were back in Rarity’s Boutique, everypony in their original positions, though Applejack was slightly shaken.

“So Ah’m supposed to believe ya, just because ya make yer eyes light up when yer castin’ magic?” she forced the words out, her accent thickening with her fear and disorientation.

“No, I suppose not, but I could try. The Element of Honesty and the High Illusionist. It is no surprise that you dislike who I am.”

“Oh, now don’t you turn this around on me, I still don’t think you can be trusted!”

“Applejack, darling, calm down! Really, he hasn’t done us any wrong!” Rarity managed to drive herself into the conversation. Applejack huffed, but was quiet.

Pinkie Pie took the opportunity to ask her own question, in addition to waving her fore-hoves in the air, and jumping on her chair. “Ooh! Ooh! I have a question! Why is your face all frowny-wowny?”

Eclipse’s mouth tugged itself into the flat line that seemed to be the furthest extent of his facial expression, “My face doesn’t show smiles well. Believe it or not, I am smiling right now.”

“Really? Wow! That makes so much sense!” She gave a huge gasp, inhaling loudly for several seconds, “So at your party, you weren’t frowning at me, you were smiling!” Pinkie Pie bounced around the room while Rarity spoke again.

“Now, Mister Eclipse, if I may ask you, being an alicorn, how long have you been alive? You must have seen so much of Canterlot through the years!”

Eclipse sipped his cup of tea for a few moments before replying, “Actually, most of Canterlot history that you would know of, I was absent for. Around one thousand years ago, after Nightmare Moon was banished, Equestria no longer had need of me or my magic. I had failed to help Luna to reject her jealousy and greed. I had failed her, so I rested for all those years in a cave, hoping to awaken upon Luna’s return and succeed at what I had failed all those years ago. But over those thousand years, a crystal formation had covered me. I would still be petrified in there had somepony not destroyed the mining track that had been assembled there and shattered my prison.” He glanced pointedly at Twilight, whose eyes widened.

“The caves under the castle! You were there? For a thousand years?” Twilight yelled incredulously.

Eclipse nodded, “Thank you, by the way.” He turned back to Rarity, “But to answer your question, the Canterlot nobility from the time before Luna’s banishment were less than tasteful, though their fashion was certainly... dualistic in appearance and practicality.” His eyes flicked for a moment toward Pinkie Pie, for some reason.

Rarity didn’t notice this, however, and magicked over a sketchpad and pencil, “Oh, please, do tell me what it was like! Fashions from millennia past!” she squealed.

Eclipse’s mouth tightened in one of his smiles, “Why don’t I show you?” His eyes lit up.

A small number of ponies, all around half the size of a real pony, appeared on the tabletop, all dressed in finery that predated anything Rarity was familiar with. Some elements were there, such as the basic structure of the dresses and tunics, but there were design elements she had never even seen or considered before, such as one outfit that seemed to be assembled from one continuous bolt of cloth, folded into a dress. There was only one thing that seemed off to Rarity. Something that she knew would doom these outfits if she sold them as-were.

In fact, it was glaring enough that Rainbow Dash caught on to it, too. “Um, those are cool and all, but isn’t there anything for, you know, pegasi?”

“Indeed,” Rarity voiced, “none of these could be worn by a pegasus, the backs are all covered. On all of them! In fact,” she looked closer at the little ponies, “unicorns couldn’t wear them, either! Look at this one, the tiara covers the spot where a horn would be! And the dress attaches to the tiara, so the dress cannot be worn without it! Why are they so... exclusive?”

Eclipse frowned, his face tinged with more than a little disgust. “Canterlot nobility, as I said, were distasteful. At the time, it was believed that earth ponies were superior to other kinds of ponies, so non-earth pony nobility was rare. The problem with this, though, is that anypony can be born as any kind of pony, so earth pony nobles having a pegasus or unicorn child was common. Unfortunately, so was Earthing.” Upon hearing this, Pinkie Pie and Twilight’s faces drained of color.

“I thought Earthing was a myth?” Twilight’s voice shook as she fought with her curiosity, unsure if she wanted to hear more.

“Wait, what’s Earthing?” Rainbow Dash asked, her face etched with confusion.

Eclipse chuckled humorlessly, “Earthing is the process of making an earth pony from a non-earth pony. Through means available to earth ponies in the years before modern medicine.”

Around the table, faces were draining of color. Fluttershy looked faint. “You mean they...” Rainbow Dash tried to ask. Eclipse just nodded.

“The clothes were to hide the scars, but some Earthed ponies keep their magic, but don’t have a horn to control it, so the magic happens on its own.”

“Wait, how do-” Twilight began to ask.

“If a unicorn’s horn is removed early enough,” Eclipse preempted her, “the magic learns to work around it, the pony channeling constant, unconscious magic. Based on her explanation just now, I would say Pinkie Pie has some experience with Earthing.”

Pinkie Pie nodded, tears in her eyes.

Author's Note

Yes, this is only a minor update, but it was necessary for part of the next chapter, which is well on its way.