-Chapter 4-
“How have you spoken to Luna?” Backup rose from the couch, walking over to Eclipse.
Eclipse yawned, still tired from their trip. Tapping a hoof on his head, he answered, “Through the dreamscape of course.”
Backup furrowed his brow in confusion. “The...what?”
“Dreams… She came to me in my dreams.” He stared at Backup as if the stallion had grown two heads. “How else would she have contacted me up here?”
Backup closed his eyes, exhaling sharply. “She comes into your dreams?”
“Well, yeah.” Eclipse shrugged his shoulders. “It’s one of her duties: patrol the dreams of Equestria’s citizens and defend the sanctity of a peaceful night’s rest,” he recited.
“Ponies…” He grumbled under his breath. “So what did she want?”
The unicorn mumbled something under his breath. He brushed past Backup roughly, ignoring the physical contact entirely. “Apparently news of us has made it back to Canterlot. You being sighted, me killing Sigil… Everything. S-she wants to talk to us, face to face,” he sighed.
“No,” He immediately responded, his tone leaving no room for debate.
“As if declining were an option.” Eclipse snorted. “She was in my head. Luna gave us a time and date. I think we should go.”
“And I said no. We go to Canterlot, and we will get captured.” I said I wanted a meeting, but I didn’t want to walk into a hornets nest to get it .
Eclipse thought back to the times Luna had found criminals in Canterlot by their dreams. “Definitely a concern, but on the flip side what if Luna starts to monitor my dreams? What if she just watches and waits until I dream about this mountain or the trek here? All this secrecy will be for nothing. She’s giving us a chance to come to her. All we have to do is make a way.” The perpetrators didn’t stand a chance against her style of investigation.
Not like she can legally touch me here, but whatever. Don’t want to risk it. Backup sighed. “Fine… Any bright ideas on how to get to the Castle? Canterlot is basically a fortress.”
He tapped his chin for a moment. “Aren’t you the sneaky one? I mean I caught you skulking around a seedy looking bar after you snuck through the shadows of Fillydelphia. Don’t you have disguises and cloaks or something?” he asked.
“Yeah. Except that they even have checkpoints in the damn sewers that lead to the castle. It’s got a ludicrous amount of security.”
“What if we don’t break in? You know, just go there as two ponies seeking the aid of the night princess.”
“Like I said, I’m too well known. The highest concentration of the coup in Equestria is in Canterlot.”
“So we go as somepony other than ourselves. It could work, definitely better than trying to sneak into the city.” Eclipse weighed their options mentally; neither side of the scales looked very appealing.
“...I really, don’t like this. It’s completely doable but very risky.”
“It is, but I’m taking the risk.” His gaze met the floor of the cave. “Face Luna or not, you can just continue as you were. Not me, I need to talk to her. If we do this, I’ll do everything you say exactly how you say to do it.”
Backup sat there in thought with his eyes closed for several minutes. “Damn it. I’m going to regret this, but fine. Got a plan?”
The unicorn paced back and forth. His mouth moved wordlessly, forming plan after plan, but his brain shot each idea down before his body could act on them. Stopping on the spot, Eclipse held a hoof up and made and ah-ha sound. “Ponyville should be close to here, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Rural town, lowest guard presence around, very low key place. I could go into town, see if there’s a quick way to get to Canterlot, pick up anything we may need for disguises I guess.” He looked at Backup hopefully. “How does that sound?”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but my eyes are pretty defining of me and it’s not very likely that a small town like Ponyville would have contacts that would work on someone me.”
“Luna told me about the time she attended a Nightmare Night festival in Ponyville. The ponies there had all sorts of costumes. I don’t doubt that they have some sort of costume or joke shop with magical contacts for sell. They aren’t uncommon. Kind of expensive though...” He rolled his eyes at the thought of how pricey the novelty items could get.
“I’ll go get some money. Make sure to get magical contacts.” Backup contemplated his options. The stallion in front of him didn’t seem like he was willing to let this go anytime soon. If he didn’t allow this meeting, chances were that Eclipse would try to make it work on his own and compromise everyone’s safety. Snorting, he turned and trotted down a corridor that his guess had yet to explore. All things considered, going through with this is probably for the best in the long run.
Eclipse chose not to follow after him. Wherever he went, he hadn’t included it in his earlier tour, meaning it was private. Instead, he trotted back to the guest room Backup allowed him to live in. He didn’t really look at it when they got to the cave yesterday, so now was the perfect chance. Overall, it was better furnished than he expected. The bed looked as comfortable as it felt and a nightstand sat on both sides of the head board. On the floor, at the foot of the bed, was a large cherry wood chest. That Eclipse remembered. He’d stashed his cloak away within the confines of the container for safe keeping. He cast a simple spell, causing a small tendril of darkness to flick the latch on the chest and open the top.
The young stallion reached in and claimed his prize. Holding the article up to his face, he inspected it closely. The details of the piece never ceased to captivate. To him it was as unique as was masterful in design. The way the dark blue bled into the lighter shade of itself, the tough materials, and the exact stitching all told a story to him. Something personal. He turned the fabric over in his hooves to look at the area where his cutie mark was stitched in.
He froze.
A few minutes later, Backup came out of the dark tunnel carrying a small brown bag with a string tied around its opening. He looked around the living room for Eclipse, but the pony in question was nowhere to be found. “Eclipse?”
Inspecting the area, he noticed that the door to the guest room was ajar. Through the opening he could see that Eclipse was sitting still, hunched over, cradling the cloak he wore yesterday. “Eclipse, I brought you a few bit to purchase the supplies with,” he said, interrupting the unicorn’s fussing. “This should be enough to acquire whatever we’ll need. The fur on my chitin doesn’t dye easily, so be sure to buy extra of whatever color you chose for me.”
“It’s torn...”
Eclipse’s quiet voice caught him off guard, but he recovered quickly. “And? Cloaks tear all the time. Not that big a deal.”
“Yeah… Not that big a deal,” he choked out. Eclipse folded the article up and gently places it on the bed before turning to Backup. He rubbed his red, puffy eyes with a fetlock. “A lot of dye. Got it.”
“Are you...crying?” Backup gave him a strange look.
“Huh?” Eclipse asked, still dazed from his discovery. He watched Backup with an empty stare for a moment before finally coming to the realization that he had actually been talking to the other stallion this entire time. “Yeah- no- Don’t worry about it...”
“Why were you crying over a cloak? It’s just a piece of clothing.”
“It’s a bit more than that to me. Anyway”-- He pointed at the brown bag Backup had. -- “You have money for what we’ll need, so what time are we actually going to do this?”
“It would have to be during the day that you buy it, but we should leave at night for the castle. Luna is the lunar princess after all. We’re going to need to get you a new cloak though. Can’t have your cutie mark showing.”
“Right on all accounts. Let me borrow a cloak and I guess we can start this little operation.”
Backup left the room and walked over to a small closet next to the kitchen. He opened the door and pulled out a black cloak identical to the one he had in Fillydelphia and brought it back to Eclipse.
He threw the cloak and money towards him. “Use that.”
Eclipse caught the items in a bubble of sable magic. Giving Backup a curt nod, he draped the cloak over his body and tied the small sack of bits to the collar of his clothing. “Thanks.” The stallion squirmed a bit to get the fabric to fit correctly. “Ok, this works,” he stated, getting comfortable in his new wear. Soon, the bag of bits was tied around his neck and fastened, securing it to his frame for travel. “Ready.”
“It’s about eight in the morning right now so you should be fine to head out. Teleport yourself to the bottom and be careful. This is still the Everfree forest.”
“Alright, it shouldn’t take me too long to get everything,” he said, slowly walking past Backup. He remembered the layout of the cave well enough to make his way from his guest room, through the main chamber, and back to the mouth of the cave.
Eclipse entered the rural town from its Everfree Forest road. The town changed quite a bit from the last time he’d seen it. The population had evened out, though most of the ponies he was seeing were earth ponies, and many of the businesses had expanded as well.
Somehow, Ponyville managed to pull off what a hundred other small towns wished they could do: expand and become a national hub without losing their homely origins. Looking around, Eclipse could tell that the town still held onto its original values and charms. Homes with thatched hay roofs and dirt roads framed Ponyville as a peaceful old timey farming community. Scents from several open windows wafted through the streets of Ponyville: Waffles, eggs, and hay bacon all mingled in the air and entered Eclipse’s nose, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything since last night.
Ponyville was an entirely different beast compared to the big cities. Ponies moved through the town organically, but at a rapid pace. Instead of mares and stallions trudging along dolled up in business suits, the ponies around Eclipse favored overalls, yokes, or nothing at all. Mares and stallions alike pulled carts and worked behind market stalls. Everything imaginable was on display in the hopes of attracting a buyer. Even though the bits he was carrying weren’t his he still felt the urge to indulge in some of sellers deals.
His stomach rumbled loudly. Heh, guess I should grab something to eat. He thought, patting his gut. Backup won’t mind. Eclipse scanned the street until his eyes found an overly decorated restaurant sign, not unlike one of the extremely expensive places in Canterlot that Luna had taken him on a few occasions. The meals were amazing, but if he remembered correctly the bills were outstanding as well. He smirked as he thought about his dining options. Sure, he could easily just grab a pie or something-- that’s what he’d do if he was spending his own money-- but this was somepony else’s money. His smirk turned into a huge grin as he walked towards the dapper looking establishment.
That little detour had taken nearly an hour of the his time, but he didn’t care. The unicorn walked out of the restaurant, Platinum Platter, looking satisfied. He licked his lips and yawned. Eclipse could feel the post meal fatigue bearing down on him in full force, but he banished most of it by doing a full body shake. Sleep sounded good right about now, but he was a stallion of priorities.
Eclipse figured the best place to start was a cosmetics shop, easiest place to find mane and coat dye in his opinion. His wanderings lead him past a large facility. He remembered the building; back when he was just a colt the establishment was a small veterinary hospital. It was owned by a nice young mare and stallion. Now it was positively massive, rivaling the presence of Ponyville General Hospital. From the street, Eclipse could see bird houses and roost areas on the roofs of several new wings of the building. It wasn’t long before he passed the front of the building. Above the vet’s door was a massive sign. The glowing sign easily caught his eyes with its yellow and pink butterfly design. He remembered seeing one of those signs in Canterlot as well. Buttercup Veterinary Center, an establishment realized straight from the heart of the Element of Kindness herself.
Continuing his search, found his way to an average sized shop. The store was painted in vibrant shades of pink, blue and yellow. The crazy splash of colors made Eclipse’s head spin. It was as if somepony had just haphazardly gone to town on the building with the brightest colors they could find. He looked at the sign. Funnerific Costume and Prank Prop Consortium Emporium. After reading the name, Eclipse had the feeling that somepony had vomited color all over the building. A certain Element of Laughter to be specific. These shops were all over Equestria and were quite successful during Nightmare Night when adults and foals alike sought out to dress themselves up for the occasion or purchase a few trinkets to trick a friend with. They were what happened when one of Equestria’s most successful fashionistas and the nation’s number one party pony worked together to bring everypony the highest quality costumes and party supplies possible.
Figuring this was the best place to pick-up the supplies he needed, Eclipse entered the shop. He expected to be assaulted by absolute chaos; he expected to be surrounded on all sides by absolute anarchy and ridiculousness, but the interior design of the shop was rather tame. As a prank and costume store so a little flair was to be expected, though it was still a bit over the top. The isles were ordered logically and the shop layout was simple to navigate. All in all, there was a surprising amount of method to the madness, no doubt thanks to the Element of Generosity’s supervision.
Eclipse navigated his way through the shop easily. Instead of baked goods, the unicorn could smell various artificial scents reminiscent of plastics and nylons. Rubber suits and strange accessories hung from the racks on the isles. Even though the place wasn’t terribly large, he could see that searching each isle individually just wasn’t an option. Sighing, he relented to the fact that he’d be stuck in the colorful store all day at this rate.
This was a stupid idea. Eclipse made his way towards the door. Thinking about the other stores in town, he was sure he’ have luck elsewhere. Right as his hoof touched the doors to the outside, a blur of pink filled his peripherals, causing to him to snap to attention. The unicorn whipped around to search for the cause of the blur, but his hunt was cut short when his nose pressed up against the pink nose of a familiar mare. Lavender met blue as they stared into each other’s eyes. For a tense moment, neither pony spoke. Eclipse swallowed hard, hoping that the mare in front of him didn’t recognize him. Pinkie Pie was known for knowing everypony and never forgetting a name. The last thing he needed was for the most hyperactive mare in all of Equestria to gallop through the streets with his name on her tongue.
“Um...”
“Hi! Welcome to the Funnerific Costume and Prank Prop Consortium Emporium where everything is as fun as it is stylish!” Pinkie beamed excitedly. She was different from how Eclipse remembered her. Pools of boundless energy still shone within her eyes, but now, like the insanity of the shop, her hyperactivity was tempered. It was still Pinkie, but a more even and down to earth Pinkie. “Can I help you find something?”
“Uh, yeah. I need s-some stuff I can use to make up a new persona… for a play. I need some enchanted contact lenses as well,” Eclipse stuttered as the mare backed off.
Pinkie tapped her chin for a moment. “Hm… Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed as sat back on her haunches and clopped her front hooves. “Ole Pinkie has just the stuff you need! Go to the register, I’ll be there quicker than when I ate that cupcake!”
“What cup-” he was interrupted by loud chewing sounds.
“Huh?” she questioned, licking frosting off of her lips.
“Nothing…” Eclipse sighed as Pinkie zipped off into the depths of the store.
Eclipse made his way to the register and waited patiently. The countertop was pretty average and the bit register was nothing special. What was interesting were the knick- knacks covering the counter. What stood out the most among the oddities were the piece of black crystal and the pink cloud in a bottle. Likely keepsakes from her adventures with the other members of the Elements of Harmony. Eclipse wondered what it would be like to be a national hero and a chosen one. The fame and glory would be incredible, but at the same time stifling. A small frown formed on his face. Despite being a bit of a rabble rouser, he didn’t want that much spotlight.
Soon after he finished that line of thought, Pinkie bounced into sight carrying a decent selection of cosmetic products. She dropped them all on the counter. Regardless of how haphazardly she let them fall, they all managed stand up perfectly fine and undamaged. Eclipse looked through what she had brought, it all looked good, but he had a few questions about her choices. Each time he went to make a query, she cut him off with the answer before he could even form the question. He stared at a bottle of mane relaxer, mentally claiming it as his.
“Is this good? Can I getcha anything else?” Pinkie asked. Eclipse shook his head and Pinkie nodded. “Alrighty then, your total comes up to one hundred and eighty-six bits.”
Eclipse levitated the bits out of the little sack that Backup had given him and onto the counter. “Thanks for your help.” He packed his purchases into his saddlebags then turned and head for the door.
“And thank you for choosing the Emporium!” She waved to the stallion excitedly. “Oh wait!”
Eclipse stopped and looked over his shoulder just in time to catch a small box of items that Pinkie tossed to him. He looked at the box quizzically before turning it over in his magical grasp. Ultimate Prank Kit. Was written across the label in stylized Equestrian. He gave Pinkie a sideways look.
“It’s free with all purchases totaling over a hundred and twenty-five bits,” she answered.“Sooooooo, take it! And happy pranking!”
Eclipse shook his head and chuckled as he exited the shop. Guess it’s about time to head back. He walked around to the back of the Emporium and looked around to make sure that no pony followed him. Okay, I’ll teleport from here, to a little bit inside the forest, then hoof it until I get to the base of the mountain. With a plan in mind, he sank into the pool of shadows beneath him and vanished. Unbeknownst to Eclipse, a pegasus watched the entire thing from the Emporium’s rooftops.
Eclipse rose from the darkness just inside the mouth of the cave. Long range teleports took a lot out of him. Even though the mechanics of shadowporting were much different than those of a regular teleport, distance was still an important variable. The unicorn wiped the sweat from his brow and shook his body to fight off the exhaustion that was creeping up on him.
He trotted into the living room. Using his magic, he tossed the bulky saddlebags he was carrying onto the couch. Backup obviously wasn’t in the living room, so Eclipse poked his head into the kitchen.
“Backup?” He called out.
Nothing but silence greeted him.
He raised his eyebrows at how quiet the cave was. A few deep breaths allowed the stallion to clear his mind. Closing his eyes, Eclipse let the shadows tug at his senses. The short scrying session didn’t reveal much to him other than a vague feeling that somepony was near the armory. Figuring it was the pony he was looking for, he headed off towards his new destination.
The walk to the armory was short and pretty soon Eclipse was face to face with the door. The stallion knocked politely and when he got no response said, “Backup?” out loud.
He still didn’t receive a response. He took the only choice he had left, open the door and go inside. He really didn’t pay the equipment on the walls any mind as he passed them, his focus on the form of a snoozing Backup at the other end of the room, laying over a plate of metal.
When Eclipse reached him, he placed a hoof on the stallion’s back and gave him a firm shake. “Backup, I’m back.”
There was a soft black glow as Backup’s forelegs transformed and before the fires on them had even died down, he had his claws around Eclipses throat. “Who’s th--oh.” He relaxed his grip and let go of his throat. “It’s just you.” He rubbed his eyes with a scaled knuckle. “Did you get everything?”
Eclipse took a single step back, giving Backup some space. He rubbed his neck with a hoof. “Yeah, I got everything. Probably got more than enough. The contacts were a little expensive, but at least I managed to find some.”
Backup held out a claw. “Can I see what you got?”
He nodded. “Sure, I left it all in the living room.” Eclipse turned and trotted out of the armory with Backup following him.
“So did anything happen while in Ponyville?”
“Nothing of any real note,” he said. “Met one of the Elements of Harmony, luckily I doubt she recognized me or was even aware of what happened back in Fillydelphia.”
The pair arrived in the living room. Backup walked over to the table that their supplies on it. “I’m not surprised. Were you expecting them to recognize you?” He asked as he inspected a bottle of dye.
“Yes actually. You may not know but Princess Luna and Princess Twilight are close friends. The Elements of Harmony are quite friendly with the Luna as well. It’s become something of a tradition for Luna to come to Ponyville every Nightmare Night and socialize with the towns folk. I went with her a few times. I met some of Twilight’s friends, if only briefly.” He shrugged his shoulders.
Backup set the bottle down and picked up the case that held the contacts, carefully opening it and inserting one. “Which one did you happen to run into?”
“Pinkie Pie. That mare is still as hyperactive as ever.” Eclipse took a bottle out of the saddlebags. “That’s mine.”
Backup turned towards Eclipse, the contacts now in. Instead of their usual blue with a black slit at the center, they were now a bright green with a rounded pupil, like a pony’s eye. “What’s in the bottle?”
“Just some mane relaxer,” he answered.
“What do you need mane relaxer for?”
Eclipse pulled a bottle of mane dye along with two smaller bottles out of the bag. “I’m going to straighten my mane and dye it. I figure the less like myself I look, the better.”
Backup nodded. “Makes sense.” He took the rest of the items out of the bag and set them on the table.
“It’s still pretty early in the day, so I’ll probably be in the training room until I start preparing for the mission.” Once Eclipse was sure that everything but the products he bought for himself were out of the saddlebags, he replaced the removed items and turned and left the living room.
Let’s see. It should be several hours before we have to leave so I should have time for more sleep. I want to be completely rested if we’re going to Canterlot. Backup walked over to his room and shut the door before locking it. Won’t do much good with the hole there but it helps a little. He lie down in the bed before pulling the covers over himself and shutting his eyes.
Cool, crisp mountain air nipped at the coats of Canterlot’s inhabitants. While most cities’ nighttime scenes were venues of debauchery and vanity, Canterlot remained prim and sophisticated. The company a pony would find in the young hours of the night was of the same caliber one might find at the height of the day. Important looking aristocrats in tailor suits wandered the roads, attempting to buy the fancy of some young pony. Whether for personal pleasure or business was not to be seen. Nighttime in this city was just another side of the same coin. Daytime markets closed, leading the way for the vendors of the night to take their places under the glow of the moon.
The city streets were the same bright whites and golds they’ve been since their conception, but the colors of the populace were as diverse as ever. Ponies, griffons, zebras, minotaurs and even a few changelings roamed through the lanes of Canterlot, none looking any less respectable than the other. Canterlot was one of Equestria’s greatest melting pots, a place where creatures from the furthest reaches of the world came to mingle, share ideas, and do business.
With Canterlot’s increasing importance, the chance of threats increased. The standing guard took a much more active approach in defending the capital from their enemies. Checkpoints stationed at each official entry point into the city where now the norm and not just something set up for exclusive events when V.I.P’s were visiting.
Sunlight Heart stood at one such checkpoint, waiting as the guard finished patting him down. The cloaked white stallion stood perfectly still during the procedure. The night guard gave the stallion another once over before staring him in the eyes. Sunlight met the bat pony’s golden gaze with his amber gaze, neither pony backing down from the test of wills. Eventually, the guard relented.
“You’re clean. Move along,” the guard said as she stepped aside.
Sunlight tossed his black mane over his shoulders, letting its gold and amber highlights catch the moonlight. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said, trotting past her.
The guard mare resumed her previous position of blocking the turnstiles into Canterlot.
Lunar Ankh stepped into the checkpoint and waited for the guard to start asking him questions.
“Good evening, sir.” She greeted him in the same manner she did everypony before him. “Would you kindly stand in a spread legged fashion?” The mare demonstrated the stance she wanted him to take.
Assuming the submissive pose shown, Lunar took a deep breath as she started searching him for any concealed weapons or contraband substances.
Her hooves explored his body, checking as much of him as was allowed. She respectfully prodded at his legs, noting that there they felt a little rigid, but she wrote it off as some form of clothing. The firmness of the stallion’s body caught her off guard, prompting her to feel around a bit more. She didn’t feel any buckles or latches anywhere her hooves touched, so she had to accept it what she was feeling as his body. Had she not been trained to keep a straight face she’d blushing like a school filly at how she just felt up the stallion.
It’s for the greater good. she told herself. “You’re clear, sir. Move along.” She stepped aside and let him pass.
Lunar nodded and proceeded forward, catching up with Sunlight and walking beside him. “Well that was interesting.”
“Not even ten steps into the city and you’ve made a friend,” he said chuckling.
“So I noticed.” Lunar may have seemed relaxed on the outside but it was a ruse. He was paying close attention to his surroundings and every creature they came across. “So where do we go now? I don’t know my way around this city.”
“Night court is in session now. That’s where we’ll find the Princess,” he said as the trotted out of the small checkpoint building and onto the white cobblestone.
“So how do we get there?”
Sunlight pointed towards the largest structure in the city. “There’s the castle. All of the city’s main roads lead there. Simply walk to it.”
“Did Luna happen to mention how we are supposed to get in? Because I very much doubt that our disguises will hold up to inspection at the castle entrance.”
“She simply said ‘come to night court’. I trust that she has done something that will get us an audience with her.”
Lunar sighed. “I hate it when people are vague.”
The two continued their walk in silence, passing several stores, most of which were being run by bat-ponies, but there were a few changelings every so often. The vendors were relatively quiet, being courteous to their daytime counterparts who were asleep. There were still plenty of different smells coming from the various food vendors though, mostly meaty ones because bat-ponies and changelings were omnivores.
If there was a phrase for the atmosphere in Canterlot right now, it would be “the predators lurk at night.” It was a sight Sunlight grew accustomed to through his life in the royal city. As they walked, he caught eye of a griffon purchasing a red stained package. Obviously a juicy fleshy bundle of meat for his consumption. The unicorn shivered at the thought of eating meat, but it was something that had come to be accepted in pony society in recent years.
As they made their way through the city, the melody of smooth jazz and powerful classical movements penetrated their ears. It was all calming to the stallion. This was the world he was familiar with.
Sunlight was uneasy with how simple their approach on the castle was. Where were Luna’s praetors? There were no guards around the castle’s large golden gates or the ivory walls surrounding the grounds.
“Where in Tartarus is everypony?” He asked, gawking at the utter lack of defensive stations.
“I was wondering that too,” Lunar said, looking around for any sort of guard presence.
Sunlight shrugged. Though it worried him, there was nothing they could do about it now. If they had walked into some sort of trap, it’d be much better to see how it played out than to try and backpedal out of it now. “Guess we’ll find out what’s going on inside...” He said, uncertain of what was happening.
The pair walked through the gates, meeting no resistance. “Maybe this is how she intended for us to get in? Dismiss all the guards?” If that’s the case, I hope she was intelligent enough to dismiss them for the entire night and not just a few hours. Lunar snidely thought.
“Hmm...” Was all Sunlight had to say about that idea. With how diligent the guard had gotten in recent years, the only reason for them not to be around would be if they were dismissed.
Everything was exactly as the unicorn remembered it. Stained glass windows were placed sparingly between regular window to decorate the castle walls and break up the monotonous aesthetics. The small beds of flowers lining the path painted the borders of the stone with natural yellows and reds, giving each step weight. The path’s colors and design evoked a feeling of reverence to whatever being sat in wait at the end of it all. It was a straight shot to the throne room from the gates they passed through and with no guards or other ponies around to hassle them meeting the Night Princess wouldn’t take too long. The two stallions reached a set of large navy blue double doors leading to throne room’s foyer. A snooty looking pegasus burst out of the castle in front of them, fuming. Obviously, his audience had not gone as planned.
They entered in the pegasus’s wake and stood, staring at next set of doors before them.
“So, you ready to meet ‘She Who Brings the Night?’” Sunlight asked.
Lunar rolled his shoulders and ruffled his wings. “As ready as I’ll ever be. The sooner we’re out of Canterlot the better.”
“The next ponies may enter!” A feminine voice boomed from beyond the door.
Sunlight nodded at Lunar and stepped forward. Before he could push the doors open, a blue aura enveloped them, swinging them wide and revealing the entire throne room to the two stallions. Dark blue and black drapes decorated with white crescent moons hung from the arches to either side of the room. A similarly fashioned carpet lay at their hooves, complimenting Luna’s night themed throne room. At the end of the carpet, several steps above them, sat Luna. Her throne was the exact opposite of Celestia’s, though no less regal. The blue, onyx, and silver of the royal seat accentuated the alicorn’s features finely.
Slowly, they began their approach to the throne. Halfway to the throne, the princess called out, “Halt, present yourselves.” Her voice was smooth as velvet, yet commanding. Where Celestia held a motherly tone with her subjects, Luna sounded more like commanding officer, critical and neutral.
Sunlight bowed immediately, taking no qualms with putting his nose to the carpet. “Your Majesty, my name is Sunlight Heart.”
Lunar did not take a bow like Sunlight did. He opted to sit down instead. “And my name is Lunar Ankh, moon mother.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at Lunar’s title for her. While it was something she heard rarely, she was aware of her name within changeling culture. “You may rise, Sunlight Heart.” Luna stood from her position and took a quick look around the throne room. As she ordered no one was around, guard or otherwise. With little to be wary of, she trotted down the steps to her guests.
Luna smirked, watching in amusement as Sunlight rose from his bow. “Your disguise is quite convincing, however your voice is enough for me to point you out, my loyal apprentice,” she said in a much warmer tone than before. She turned to the stallion with him. “And I assume this to be your ‘partner in crime?’”
“You are mistaken. I’m not his partner, he is mine.” Backup, who was disguised as Lunar, interjected.
Luna nodded. “Right, Eclipse would not be in this situation had you not skulked in the shadows in Fillydelphia...” She found herself frowning, but quickly but regained her composure. “But that is neither here nor there at the moment, all that matters is that Eclipse is involved and, if his recount of events is accurate, you helped him escape a dungeon sentence. Or worse. For that, you have my thanks, Lunar Ankh.”
“You may call me Sub Backup, and I’m glad you’re grateful. Because of my having to save him, my plans will be unable to progress for the next few months.”
Eclipse glared at Backup, but chose to keep his mouth shut.
The Princess walked past the two stallions. “Would I be right to assume that these plans have something to do with the alleged coup attempt Eclipse has told me about?” She didn’t bother turning around to address him.
“They do,” he responded simply.
“How so? How does having another free agent to split the workload and watch your tail hamper your plans?”
“Free agent? What do you mean by free agent?” Eclipse had been sitting there quietly, but he had to speak up at what Luna was insinuating.
“The reason I was in Fillydelphia was to gather supplies so I could infiltrate the Hive. Now, having been seen and captured, they’re probably going to increase all security measures in it. My plans to get into the hive aren’t exactly unknown by the coup members, I’ve attempted it several times, but they aren’t certain why I’m trying to get into it. Not to mention I don’t exactly look like other changelings, and I can’t sneak through every section of the city.”
“I understand.”
Eclipse tried to get a word in edgewise, but Luna held a hoof up to his lips. “Be patient, my apprentice.”
“Now, why would you need to infiltrate the hive, why not simply shed your pony disguise and walk freely amongst your own kind? You are a changeling are, you not? Moon mother is what they took to calling me.”
His gaze became strangely intense for a moment, but disappeared almost as soon as it came. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Due to an accident, I am stuck in this hybrid form for the foreseeable future.”
“I see… ” She decided to drop that line of conversation. “If you were planning on infiltrating the hive, then you must know its current status? What did you hope to do there?”
“I can’t reveal all my plans to you,” he replied flatly.
Luna paced back and forth in front of Backup and Eclipse. “Ah, Sub Backup. Are you not the international criminal who is slowly climbing Equestria’s wanted charts? Several counts of murder and terrible, violent torture of Equestrian and Emerald Kingdom military personnel are under your saddle.” She stopped and stared directly at Backup, trying to bore through his skull with her eyes. “I have no idea what your motives are. All I know is that you are on the bad side of ponies who wish to see us both harmed. You’ve dragged my Eclipse into this and now I have a choice…” she paused for a moment. “My sister and I have known about the possibility of a growing movement against us for some time now, but we cannot do anything to stop it with so little information. Give me a reason to trust you, and you may find yourself with my aid and favor.”
Backup returned her stare with his own. “The torture charges were fabricated, and I do not need your aid or your favor. The only reason I came was because Eclipse said you would be able to discover where I was hiding.”
“You are, at best, few against many.” She ended their staring contest, pulling her head back. “So far you have only seen the help of those who would want to see my sister and I dethroned!” She stomped her hoof on the marble floors causing the echo of metal shoes on stone to reverberate through the room. “Abandon whatever foolish dream you have of making some difference on your own! Alone you have neither the connections nor the power to make effective strikes. You, little changeling, are kicking a dragon in the knees then scampering about with your tail between your legs to avoid its flames. I cannot provide mass, direct aid, but I can be of help. We have common enemies, we can aid each other. Let. Me. Help. You.” The Princess took a deep breath, giving her a moment to discharge her riled up emotions before offering Backup a hoof.
He stared at her with narrowed eyes, reluctant. A part of him fought with the idea of depending on somepony else, even if they were a princess. Yet the rest of him knew that he couldn't do it on his own. His plans were at best incomplete, but Luna’s method gave him both direction and a method of direct intervention.
With a sudden flash, his legs were encompassed in black flames, surprisingly giving off no heat as he shook Luna’s outstretched hoof with his draconic digits. “You have a deal.”
“By the stars!”