Chapter 5
The Celestial Eclipse
There were tears flowing down Luna’s muzzle. These tears came unbidden, born from happiness, not sadness. Despite the horrible situation and the dire threat that Wizeman cause to her shared kingdom, Luna’s mood had never been higher. The ponies, her ponies, the one that she had felt shunned from so many years ago, accepted her and trusted her to protect them. It was the trust in the night princess, that Luna wouldn’t let go unfounded. It was also something that she could not dwell on, for there were other priorities that needed to be attended to.
After her address, Luna had returned to her sister side, carefully holding Celestia’s hoof and a vain effort to comfort the distressed and comatose mare. It would be several hours from now before Luna would be able to enter the dream realm, so with nothing else to do besides bide her time, she felt it would be prudent to comfort her sister, despite it being nothing more then a fruitless effort. Nights floated nearby, silent, having explored over ever nook and cranny of the solar diarch’s room. It did not take long for the violet harlequin to grow bored, yet out of respect to his new found friend, she had found it best not to voice his lack of stimulus. With nothing else to do with her time, he pantomimed a flute and played a somber tone that echoed in the bedroom.
“Nights…” Luna called out, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes?” Nights replied, pausing her melody and floated closer to the princess.
“I never thought to ask, but why are you helping me? I have no idea what you are, why you were imprisoned in that place, like myself. So why did you help me?”
“It’s a simple answer you silly filly. You were crying.” Nights Stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I can’t stand the sound of crying. It just bothers me…So I do what I can to help prevent or stop who ever cries. Probably one of the biggest reasons I fight Wizeman. All he seems good for is making others cry.”
“I…I see.” Luna accepted Nights’ answer, but felt as if the violet jester was holding back something more. However, everypony was entitled their secrets, and just the same, Nights’ was entitled to his as well. It seemed to be a disrespectful thing to intrude upon that, She had helped her after all.
The day had passed by in an agonizingly slow pace. For most, it was hard to tell if it was even still day, or if time had passed into the night. The events of the night prior and the lack of dawn to follow had taken their toll on the princess of dreams. Her eyes, red and puffy, still damp from the repeated tears that had shed. Her wings had drooped to the floor, a sign of deep physical and possible mental exhaustion, the tips of her midnight blue primaries turned grey from the dust they had accumulated. Her main, normally flowing in the etherial wind sparkling like her night sky, was flat, tangled, and starless. She looked ragged. Yet, despite the burden upon her, her turquoise eyes held a steely resolve, and as her body grew ever more tired, her mind grew sharper and sharper. Before long, Luna’s true night, still locked behind the twilight, had returned and so had Luna’s ability to enter the dreams of all her subjects.
“Are you ready my friend?” Asked Luna, both to inform her new friend she was ready, and to bolster her own courage.
“Always…Though, How are we going to enter Nightopia from here to rescue your sister?” Nights had answered.
“Like this!”
A flash of light had enveloped Celestia’s bedchambers and tendrils of white light snaked through the air and ended their journey at the foreheads of Luna and Nights. Connecting the lunar princess and Nights to a shared dream before a wave of midnight blue light had enveloped them both.
The first thing Luna was aware of was the smell of cake in the air. While it was true her sister had an affinity for the baked treat, the exaggerations of Celestia obsessing over her cake were beyond ridiculous. So while Luna could smell the sweet sugary smell, it was not as if the dream was built from, or completely devoted to the desert. The second thing that Luna noticed was the spread of food before her.
A table stood before her, with plates of all diversities placed meticulously upon it, as if some sort of summit was being held. Given the some of the dishes had some offerings for the omnivores and meat eaters, Luna didn’t have to make much of a stretch to make. Supporting the Summit theory was the royal banners hanging from the ceiling and light fixtures. The gold and silver banners only were brought out for special ceremonies or visiting ambassadors from other nations on Equus. It was very clear Celestia was dreaming about some important gathering of nations to come, or possibly had already passed.
Thirdly, and by far the most disconcerting was the lack of her violet companion. When Luna noticed she was alone in the dream, that Nights was nowhere in sight, panic ensued. Not caring where her sister was at the moment, Luna’s priority was to locate her strange friend. Rapidly moving through the dreamscape, scouring every nook, cranny and room, for Nights. When her fear fueled frenzy of a search returned no results, Luna’s anxiety only grew worse. Tears started to form from her eyes before soft melodious flute notes hung in the air like sweet pieces of audible candy. Mirthful and upbeat notes, conflicting with the serious tone of the dream, gave Luna a sense of relief. I think Nights is trying to find me, or call me to her…him…Though it might be a trap, I’m doubtful Wizeman or his creatures could make anything as pleasant and delightful as the music I’m hearing
Taking in the much needed and calming breaths Luna gave her wings a few warm up flaps, before taking to the air, and swam through the air toward the sounds of music, cautiously.
Nights was back in the familiar…ish surroundings she found himself in every dream. Like many of the dreams before this one, She was stuck inside an Ideya Palace again. The part that had him confused was the castle that the Ideya Palace was placed next to.
“It’s always nice when the background changes. I think…Yes, This is Luna’s castle. I didn’t really explore the outside of it, but I’m sure this is it. If Luna can let me out into the waking realm again, I’ll see to exploring it a little further.” She pondered aloud.
Being trapped in the palace wasn’t anything that Nights thought was too unexpected, that being standard fare anytime he was caught even briefly outside in Nightopia. And usually the Dreamer would be close enough to see not just the Ideya Palace, but Nights as well. Yet, As She scanned the scenery around him, she just couldn’t spot his new friend. That was a bizarre fact, that Nights guess was due to the dream not truly belonging to Luna. Not having much else to do, Nights flew around lazily while thinking aloud again.
“I don’t think Luna knows I’m trapped in here…hmm…How do I get her to find me here…? Ah, This should work.”
Coming to a stop, She pantomimed his usual flute, and played a joyful tune, from the nonexistent flute.
The Ideya Palace was just as small and unassuming as when Luna was trapped within it. Marbled blue, decorated with gold leaf trim with softly polished jewels, the same color of the ideya that Luna had lost, standing above the alters for the ideya. How the top of the palace managed to float unsupported didn’t matter, the logic of dreams not withstanding. When Luna spotted the Ideya Palace a warmth began flowing from her barrel. Her confidence grew, as she neared where Nights was held captive, making her less and less afraid of the monumental task before her, the dark machinations of Wizeman. A few wingbeats closer a crimson glow caught Luna’s eye distracting her from saving Nights. Luna turned her attention to the source of the luminance.
The red glow was an orb of concentrated emotion, and ideas. Inside the sphere of light lighter red, almost pink starburst, seemed to spill out a sort of comfort that she took hold in every time the ideya had crossed her vision. Though the warmth that had initially filled her barrel had now been removed, the feelings that the warmth had brought had not diminished in the slightest. Is this…Is this an ideya? I feel braver, as if I could take on and beat Wizeman right now, even in my weakened state. The fact the ideya is floating around me…Does this mean I’m closer to Nights? Bolstered by her ever growing confidence, holding to her theory that the closer she was to Nights the more active the ideya became, Luna gave a powerful thrust of her wings and sped toward her destination.
There was a reason for the summit, Celestia was sure of that, but at the moment she couldn’t for the long life of her remember what it was for. Forgetting something like this didn’t happen often, maybe once in a decade or so. It couldn't be helped though, as occasionally the extremely busy mare might overlook something so small months in advance, and then it would slip past the extremely organized mare’s memory. No sense panicking over the So, she’d have to do something she’d hated to do. Wing it. And so, using her vast experiences and a well of default speeches, Celestia stood in front of every being in Equus and gave her address.
She had formed it from the multitude of species present, Minotaurs, Zebras, Griffons, Dragons, and more, how peaceful the crowd was, and put it in a shell of sweet delicious compassion. She spoke about the power that had save their planned as a whole for recent and long forgotten memory, about the most powerful source of magic in the world. Her sermon was on the merits of forgiving enemies, and how friendship, as a virtue, would lead to a better more prosperous future. Every word she had spoke had captivated her audience, their undivided attention sparking hope in the solar diarch that finally, finally the world would hit home, and the species of the world be eager to heed the message. Celestia had view the whole ordeal as perfect, like a dream, until one stallion had asked a single question.
“Could you say that again?” Celestia repeated, her tone polite but with a hard tone.
“Aren’t you a hypocrite? IT is a simple question your highness.” responded one of the faceless press ponies his features hidden in shadow. “You have and I assume will continue to do so, preached this message of ‘friendship is the future’ shpeal for decades. Yet, when there was an issue of friendship, not only did you abandon her, but when she disagreed with how you ran things you banished her to the moon for a thousand years!” Pressed the shadowed stallion.
“I had no choice.” Celestia firmly stated, “Had my sister made the night eternal, our world would have suffered a slow death. Banishment wasn’t my first option, I did everything in my power to reason with my sister. To have her realize the folly of her actions so many years ago.”
“So then friendship is useless anyways? That’s what I’m hearing!”
A few faceless crowd members gave noises of approval.
What is this stallion playing at?
“No the message is true, friendship is the best option and everything should be done to help promote it.”
“Unless they’re against your sense of order right? Your sister, Discord, the changeling queen, Sombra, Tirek, and who knows how many others you’ve banished or possibly killed…After all history is written by the victors, and you’ve been victorious for millennia. What lies have you written as truth your highness?”
“I have never written a lie. Friendship is vitally important. I had attempted friendship, attempted a peaceful solution to every enemy that has come to equestria’s borders. I did everything I could to end my sister’s rebellion peacefully, to persuade Sombra, and Tirek to stop their wicked ways. I have offered peace talks to the changelings since the wedding, to which I have yet to received an answer. Discord, has been in most part reformed and has helped Equestria in ways we have not yet seen bare fruit. Yes, sometimes offers of friendship fall upon deaf ears, and no other alternatives exist but to take what ever actions necessary to save your fellow pony. But, do not discredit Friendship as an avenue to pursue. Is it not better to befriend an enemy and gain strength together then simply to continue to feuding?” Celestia pleaded, hoping to placate the obnoxious stallion.
“Thank you princess. I understand perfectly what you hope to accomplish with these speeches of friendship. You hope to amass strength by subjugating other species and by forcing this notion of friendship upon them and any malcontents are killed or banished leaving no one to argue against you.”
“NO! That is not what I meant at all!” Shouted Celestia slamming her hoof lightly to reinforce her point, causing the crowd to wince, and taking a step back from the ivory mare. Why? Why are you being so difficult, you FRUSTRATING LITTLE PONY!
What Celestia expected was the press stallion fighting back, to continue being belligerent. But when the stallion began to cower in fear, Celestia was shocked, which then quickly turned to concern. But what the stallion did next, Celestia would have never have predicted.
"DON'T BANISH ME!" He shouted, his eyes wide in pure panic. "I know I have angered you my queen, but please...I have a family."
"What?! I would never banish you for a slight so small, not even if I was angered."
"Please...don't..."
The stallion couldn't finish, breaking down into tears he curled up into a ball, shaking. The audience who started in as interested, broke into looks of pure unadulterated terror. Celestia desperately scanned the crowd trying to determine just exactly what went wrong. Why are they looking at me in fear?
"Sister, What are you doing?" Asked a voice that could only belong to the night princess, but her tone, her tone was cautious, unsure.
"Luna? What are y... Never mind. Could you help me calm the audience so I, we can dispel all of this fear?"
"We will do as you ask, Celestia, just please calm yourself." Pleaded Luna, in almost a mirror of that one forceful night so long ago. "There isn't a need to take out your rage on our subjects"
"Rage? I'm not...Sure I'm flustered by the belligerence that the reporter was showing, but not angry, or full of rage." Celestia scoffed, she couldn't help it with her sister's accusation.
"Then why are the attendees cowering in fear? Why is your court sweltering under an oppressive heat? Why are you in your combat form?"
Celestia's mouth open, but her reply was silence, before she closed her mouth. I never called forth any magic, I can’t have assumed my combat form. Could I?
“But more important, my sister, is why…Why did you send me away? We could have talked things through. Back then, did you send me away to have all of our subjects love? Is that why you look as if your ready to do the same now? Or is it something simpler? Do you just hate me? Did you then or now, truly wish to be an only child?” Luna’s voice breaking not in anger, but defeat.
“NO! I would never wish you gone. I had no choice, then. There was no other action but to send you away. It broke my hear—.”
“So if you did what you had to for our subject. the very ones here that have angered you, and You would not hesitate to send me away again for them, or them for disrupting your utopia, your world. So I’ll give you what you wanted,” Luna said cold and distant tone. “We, all of us the subjects of you solar queen will give you the world you want. We’ll leave you to your peace, alone.”
From the aether Luna called forth her magic, flooding the court with blinding brilliance, forcing Celestia to close her eyes and turn away. The light from what ever spell was being cast grew even brighter, burning her eyes from behind her eyelids. Then the spell tinted radiance was gone in an instant. The light was gone the spell cast. Only after a few moments had passed did Celestia open her eyes. the court empty. Confused, Celestia moved about, exploring just what had might have changed with her sister’s spell. It did take long for her to find out what Luna had done. They were gone, everypony, from Canterlot, Manehatten, Ponyville… all gone. The realization had turned the world around her darker, and darker until the light of her sun no longer touched her fur. But it didn’t matter to Celestia as sorrow filtered into her heart, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
“No…Please…come back…I…” Tears flowed , “I don’t want to be alone.”