Ten ponies sat in one of Twilight's castle's many living rooms, lying about on chairs our couches, enjoying a peaceful evening free from worry. Princess Cadance sat beside Shining Armor, laying against him. Twilight sat alone on a couch while Spike went to get snacks. Fluttershy and Rarity sat beside Nightfall, one on each side of her, all the while Nightfall eyed both of them with a strange mixture of annoyance and curiosity, but she remained silent. Eclipse, Rainbow, and Pinkie sat on the other couch, and Pinkie way lying against Eclipse, who didn't seem to mind it. And Applejack sat in a lone chair.
Eclipse fidgeted slightly as Spike walked back into the room, carrying a tray easily as large as herself. Fortunately for everypony, he was using both his claws to carry it, and he had no trouble setting it on the table in the center of the room. Twilight slid out of her chair, then picked up the folding tabled sitting next to the table with her magic, and then distributed them, allowing each group of ponies to have one. Both Nightfall and Eclipse took their groups' own with their magic from Twilight and set them up themselves. As soon as the tables were set up, Twilight and Spike started distributing the snacks: chips, cupcakes, more chips, popcorn, and shards of emerald. Pinkie shot up as her cupcakes arrived, then picked one up and started devouring it.
After snacks and drinks were distributed to everypony present, Twilight sat back down and Spike sat down beside her. Princess Cadance looked around, everypony was here, with the exception of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She sighed at that thought, she missed her adoptive aunts. There was nothing anypony could do right now, they needed Starlight to make the first move. Discord wasn't there either. She was sure, he was hard to miss after all. "So when is Di-"
Princess Cadance was cut off by a flash of white light and the appearance of the almost mentioned spirit of chaos, Discord. Discord smiled and looked around, jubilant. He looked to Eclipse. "Story time! I didn't miss it did I?" Discord frowned and raised his paw to his head and leaned backwards. "Oh woe to me, I did miss it, I did, didn't I!"
"Um... Discord... It... Isn't story night..." Fluttershy said slowly. Everypony looked to her, including Discord. She looked around at everypony looking at her and shrunk back ever so slightly. "Um..."
"Story night is so much better though..." Discord pouted. He folded his arms and leaned his head passed them in annoyance. He blinked, then a second passed and he snapped his talons and a bowl of popcorn appeared in his paw. He grasped some of the popcorn with his talons, then popped it into his mouth and chewed, then snapped his talons again and appeared beside Twilight on the couch, startling her enough that her wings shot out. After Twilight recovered, she glared at him, which Discord perfectly and completely ignored as he leaned back.
"Right well..." Eclipse started. She glanced around, everypony was just getting started eating their snacks. "I guess we have time for one story before we start..."
Discord sat up straighter and smiled slyly. "Oh yes! Do tell us a good one, Eclipse! I am sure you have many interesting stories to tell..."
Eclipse shifted her weight and sat back. She had a sneaking suspicion that Discord had ulterior motives. She had seen that smiled before, and it meant he had a plan that nopony else knew about. "Well, what would..." she trailed off, seeing Discord's lips twitch slightly. She tilted her head away from Discord, towards Rainbow. Discord was hoping she would ask that question. "How about... When I defeated Starlight Glimmer, preventing her from destroying time?"
"Mmm no. I had something else in mind." Discord said. "What about the time where you returned from that thousand year banishment you never talk about?" Eclipse shifted her weight as all eyes fell on her. "Or perhaps," Discord added, "what you did to bring that upon yourself."
Eclipse met Discord's eyes. They held no malice, but she could see he was up to something... She had no idea what. She looked to Twilight, who kept opening and closing her mouth, failing to comprehend what Discord had said and formulate a response. Cadance and Shining Armor wore deep frowns, but said nothing. Nightfall looked at her blankly, Fluttershy looked at Discord with a slight hint of anger, and Rarity looked deep in thought. Pinkie looked confused, and Rainbow was frowning.
Rainbow broke the silence first. "What..." she said in confusion. She directed her full attention to Eclipse. "Eclipse?"
Eclipse shifted her weight again and ruffled her wings. She opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight cut her off. "Discord... I... No, no. This... I would never do anything that... No." she shook her head the entire time.
"Discord! That isn't very nice accusing Eclipse of something like that!" Fluttershy said forcefully.
Nightfall turned to Fluttershy. "He is correct, however." Fluttershy pulled back into her mane and her face paled slightly.
Nightfall lifted her head slightly, and focused on Eclipse. "This is... A story for another time..." Eclipse said carefully. "After we defeat Starlight..." she added.
"Mmm..." Discord stroked his beard with his claw. "They deserve to know, don't they? You shouldn't keep something like this from them."
"And I will tell them everything, after this is all over." Eclipse stated.
"You don't trust them enough to tell them now? Or is it that you know they won't trust you after hearing what we did?" Nightfall said bitterly.
Eclipse looked at Nightfall and pursed her lips. 'Is Discord trying to... Help me with her?' She wasn't sure. She needed her friends to trust her... If she didn't tell them, they wouldn't. If she did... They would. She trusted them. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Very well." she said. "I shall tell you the tale of the night where I ruined everything." Her heart pounded in her chest. She knew her friends would forgive her, but it didn't make telling the story any easier. She looked at Twilight. She was sitting still, very still. Twilight knew something had happened, that she did something in the future... But she did not know what. She wasn't sure she wanted to know now. Eclipse looked down to her hooves. "There is not a single day that goes by where I don't regret what I did..." she said sadly.
Rainbow shifted her wight. She watched Eclipse intently. She had promised to never abandon Twilight and Eclipse, no matter what. She would keep that promise. They needed it. Eclipse needed it. "Twilight... What did you do?"
Eclipse took a deep breath. She knew this moment would come. She had known since before she had come back. Even with all her preparation for it... It didn't make it easier. But, she trusted them. And they did deserve to know. She knew they would forgive her... But, if they did not... She would deserve it. "I... Killed Princess Celestia."
The nighttime sky was dark, the moon was barely visible above the tall trees and decaying stone ruins. As it was, the moon barely fought back the unnatural darkness of the Everfree Forest. Off in the distance, a flash of lightning, strong enough to briefly fully illuminate the castle. One pony, one alicorn stood with her head hung low. She ignored any and all sounds coming from around her, she didn't even pay attention to the crack of thunder. It wouldn't phase her. The forest wouldn't phase her. Nothing in the forest, not hydra nor dragon, would phase her.
She took a deep breath, but kept her gaze on the cracked stones that made up the floor of the former Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. Celestia and Luna's old castle. It had been over two hundred years since she last set hoof in the structure, and time had not been kind to the crumbling, moss filled structure. If one would look carefully, they would realize not all the damage to the castle had been from time, but that a great battle was fought in the ruins. If one knew history like she did, they would know that it wasn't just a battle, that it wasn't just a fairy tale told to little foals at night to scare them...
She found it fitting, that Luna turned into Nightmare Moon mere feet away from where she stood. And it was a fitting place to kill Celestia and finish what Luna started well over a thousand years ago. She clenched her jaw as her thoughts turned to her former mentor. The betrayal... The pain... Celestia would understand just a small fraction of what she felt before she ended her life. Luna, on the other hoof... She held no grudge against the younger sister to her mentor.
She took another deep breath, she could sense the aftermath of a strong teleportation spell in the distance. She could feel Celestia's approach. The sensation filled her with anger. She lit her horn with magic, and prepared several spells. Only one of them would survive tonight, and then tomorrow, Luna would kill her.
She could not help but think of the irony, that her friends had betrayed her, and that betrayal on their part and Celestia's brought them here... Celestia put her faith in the magic of friendship. She had seen it work so many times... But it would betray Celestia as it had herself.
She briefly looked up to the sky, and her thoughts shifted back to her only living friend... Spike... he would wake up to quite the surprise... But she hadn't seen him in over a century, nor his family. Her own family... She hadn't seen her niece for nearly two-hundred years. Her parents? Dead. Her mate? Dead. Everypony she knew, save for Celestia and Luna? Dead. Her sister in law? Dead by Celestia's hoof. Her... So called friends? Dead, they left her so long ago... And she hated them for it. She took a deep breath as the raw anger she felt intensified. Celestia was nearing. Of course that did not stop her mind from wandering.
The only thing she had left was herself. She hated the pony that was once her mentor... She had been distant with Luna for a century... Politics... Oh how many ponies she knew from it she would relish the opportunity to kill them one by one, slowly watching as the life drained from their eyes.
Her own life? She had failed, oh so miserably. Her friends were gone, and her attempts to make new friends were total failures. She was the Princess of Friendship, and she was a complete failure. She couldn't even save her friends... Her eyes narrowed. She mentally berated herself very intensely for listening to Celestia. She could have saved them, but she obeyed Celestia. She had been a fool. Worse than a fool... Killing her wouldn't bring them back... And even if it did, she wouldn't have kept them alive very long. Killing her would make her feel a little better, however.
Hatred and despair filled her eyes, and soon she heard the telltale hoofsteps of Celestia approaching. Her stride was calm, despite knowing what was happening. 'Of course she isn't worried...' Idiot. Celestia didn't think her a threat. She would try to talk her down. Twi... Eclipse would show her just how wrong she was. She would make her realize her mistakes.
The hoofsteps slowed as a tall white figure reached the doorway. She looked like she had been crying, and Eclipse relished in her enemy's pain. Celestia's mane was ever so slightly less vibrant, and her coat looked a little more grey than she had ever seen before. Her expression was grim. Both alicorns stood completely still as they locked eyes. They could both see pain in each other's eyes, but Celestia saw so much more than just pain. So much... Hatred.
Celestia lowered her head then stepped forwards. She paused as she entered the room, then raised her head slightly. She looked over Twilight, and her heart felt broken. She could feel the dark magic in the spell Twilight had prepared. She had felt something like it before, more than one thousand years ago. It wasn't the same, but there was no doubt in her mind what the spell was for. "Twilight," her voice broke up ever so slightly, "please don't do this..."
Twilight looked over the taller alicorn, and felt her rage growing at the sight. She was so weak and foolish. Celestia always made others do her dirty work for her. Evil Spirit of Chaos gets released? Throw Twilight and her friends at it. Evil king who enslaved an entire kingdom and then banished it for a thousand years? Throw Twilight and her friends at it. Eclipse would enjoy this.
"No!" Eclipse shouted in response, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. A menacing smile grew on her face. "You did this. This is your fault. You killed them."
Celestia flinched at the verbal assault. "Twilight-"
"Think again you foal. A thousand years ago, Luna blocked out the sun when she transformed into Nightmare Moon, intending to bring eternal night. I find it fitting, that we are here tonight, where that fateful battle took place so long ago... Well guess what, Celestia. Twilight Sparkle is dead! She has been dead for well over a century. Eclipse, is all the remains." Eclipse said with bitterness easily capable of rivaling Nightmare Moon.
"Ec-Eclipse..." Celestia stuttered, she hadn't realized it was that bad. She should have paid better attention... "You don't have to do this... I know Twilight Sparkle is still in there somewhere!"
Eclipse raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't have to do this. Yes, Twilight Sparkle is dead. We're both responsible for her death. So are the other Bearers of Harmony." Celestia felt a stab of pain and guilt strike her heart. "But I will do this. I will kill you, and then Equestria will suffer as badly as I have."
"Eclipse, taking it out on-"
"Don't even try it, Celestia." Eclipse cut her off. "If there is one thing you taught me, one thing that I have learned from you, one thing that you did not wish me to learn." She exhaled sharply. "Betrayal." Eclipse smiled gleefully, almost maniacally, as she cast her spell. Celestia took a step back in fear as Eclipse was surrounded by an impenetrable black orb of dark magic. Celestia could feel the raw hatred radiating off of it, and it's power.
After a few seconds, the black orb started to shift, swirls of red appeared in it, and the whole thing pulsed with dark magic. After a few more seconds, the black and red orb exploded outwards, and Celestia fell to her knees from the release of magic that nearly overwhelmed her. She stayed on her knees for a few seconds, only breathing, before rising back to her hooves and looking upon Eclipse.
Her heart broke at the sight. The closest thing she had ever had to a daughter was Twilight. And now Twilight was gone. She clenched her eyes tightly, then opened them. Eclipse stood at the same height Twilight had, but her coat, mane, and feathers were a darker shade. Her once beautiful eyes were now the all too familiar serpentine eyes she had seen twice before. Her mane and tail still did not flow, which caused her further discomfort. She should have had that two centuries ago... Celestia forced the thought away. She knew she could not run from this fight, and she knew she could never bring herself to hurt Twilight, even like this, let alone kill her. She did not have the Elements either. The outcome of the battle had already been decided centuries ago.
"You were a foal, Celestia. And now the magic of friendship will be your death." Eclipse stated, then powered up her horn. Her magic aura was significantly darker than before, and it barely cast any light across the dark room. A bolt of dark magic shot out of Eclipse's horn, and Celestia stepped back and protected herself with a yellow barrier. The dark magic struck the shield and caused an audible cracking sound, similar to thunder, but not as intense.
"Twilight... Please stop this, this will only end with more suffering!" Celestia shouted back as her barrier was struck with another bolt of dark magic. Eclipse hissed at her, then started moving in a circle around her, releasing a bolt of dark magic every few seconds, almost at random.
"It's all on you, Celestia!" Eclipse retorted, then shot multiple spells at her. "Fight me you foal!" she shouted in frustration.
Celestia grunted as another spell hit her barrier. "I will not fight you, Eclipse! You are like a daughter to me, Twilight! Stop this!"
"Hah!" Eclipse shot back. "You're just trying to get me off guard! It won't work you foal!"
Celestia clenched her eyes as another bolt of magic struck her barrier. She flared her wings, dispelled her barrier and teleported beside Eclipse. Eclipse jumped away from Celestia and fired another bolt of magic at her, striking Celestia's new barrier. "Twilight, please! I know you're hurting, but-"
"Hurting?" Eclipse repeated. "You know nothing about the pain I am in, Celestia. I will kill you, and then Luna will kill me. I will enjoy the nothingness after that. You took me from my friends, my family. Everypony I ever cared about. But guess what, now if I saw them again, I would kill them. Slowly. They left me here like this, all alone."
"Do you believe they wanted to leave you?" Celestia countered.
"Funny you should bring that up." Eclipse replied. "Since you were the one who prevented me from saving them."
Celestia winced. "It wasn't meant to be, Twilight..."
"I will never believe that." Eclipse said coldly. Eclipse shot another bolt of dark magic at Celestia. She was beginning to realize that her plan wasn't working when the barrier once again blocked the spell with next to no effort. "Why won't you just DIE." she shouted, and poured all her anger into the next spell, then released it. The spell shot forth and impacted Celestia's barrier, and she barely staggered from the impact. Eclipse clenched her jaw.
"Harmony will always prevail over disharmony, Twilight." Celestia said calmly.
Eclipse pursed her lips. "You cannot defeat me without fighting me." she countered. "Which you refuse to do."
Celestia nodded. "My sister is gathering the Elements of Harmony, Twilight. Unlike with Cadance, they will work now."
Eclipse's eyes narrowed. "Then the Elements, like their bearers, have betrayed me." she stated bitterly.
Celestia shook her head. "You are the one who is the betrayer. In truth, I do not know how they will affect you, Twilight. They very well may just kill you. I certainly pray that is not the case."
"Perhaps if you had been there for me, as a friend, Celestia, we would not be in this position." Eclipse said carefully.
Celestia sighed. "I do regret that, Twilight. If you will stop this, then I promise I will make the time for you."
Eclipse pursed her lips. "Why should I believe you?"
Celestia swallowed, hoping that she was getting through to Eclipse. "Because I love you like a daughter, Twilight. I do not want you to be in pain, and I do not want to hurt you."
Eclipse's expression hardened. "It is too late for me, Celestia."
Celestia shook her head. "It is never too late, Twilight. You always have a choice, and you can always change the future, even if you cannot change the past."
Eclipse sighed. "I miss them. I miss the way things were before..." She lowered her head slightly and looked at the stone floor.
Celestia took a cautious step forwards, and Eclipse did not react. "One day, you may see them again, Twilight." she said in her calm, motherly tone she was known for.
Eclipse clenched her jaw and looked up to Celestia. "I would... Like that." she said slowly. After a few seconds, Eclipse tentatively took a step over to Celestia, and then another. Celestia lowered her barrier as Eclipse reached her, then both of them met halfway and embraced in a hug. Celestia closed her eyes as she held Twilight close, blissfully unaware of her deception.
Eclipse's eyes narrowed, and after a few seconds, the hug broke. Celestia opened her eyes, and in one swift motion, Eclipse buried her horn in Celestia's throat, catching the elder alicorn by surprise. Celestia cried out in surprise as the horn pierced her neck, and then coughed up blood as Eclipse pulled back. Celestia looked down at Eclipse in surprise, shock, fear, and regret.
Eclipse smiled menacingly. Blood trailed down her horn and onto her mane, then rolled down her face and dripped onto the floor. "You foal. How does it feel, knowing that the magic of friendship has betrayed you, as it had myself?" she taunted. Celestia reached up to her neck with a hoof, and it was quickly tinted crimson. She took a step back as Eclipse powered up her horn. Celestia tried to create a barrier around herself, but she was too slow, and the spell shot forth from Eclipse's blood covered horn, and hit her in the chest.
Celestia stumbled back as another blast hit her in the chest, and she closed her eyes tightly. She stumbled backwards, wincing the whole way, until she was back against the wall. She clutched her chest with her hoof and closed her eyes. She ignored the pain and listened as Eclipse's hoofsteps drew closer. "Don't do this, Twilight..." she pleaded.
"You brought this upon yourself, you foal." Eclipse said bitterly. She looked over Celestia, and her blood stained chest and arms. Her crimson soaked coat was a sharp contract to her normally pristine body. "Goodbye, Celestia." Eclipse said as she channeled more magic into her horn.
Eclipse kept her eyes clenched shut the whole time. She couldn't bear to look at anypony as she went over the story of the night she... She took a deep breath as she finished. She waited several seconds for a bolt of magic to strike her, but none came. She waited in silence for what seemed like an eternity, then she tentatively opened her eyes. The only ponies who didn't look like they had seen a ghost were Discord and Nightfall, the former was still eating popcorn, and the latter was looking at her with disinterest.
She looked to Twilight. Her mouth was once more opening and closing, reminding her of a fish. Twilight was unable to process what she had just heard. She, a future version of herself, had murdered Princess Celestia, her mentor. And not just murdered her, but in cold blood. She had tricked Celestia, and then killed her. Twilight swallowed and then kept her jaw shut tightly. She shifted her weight.
After another second, Eclipse felt a pair of hooves wrapping around her. She didn't need to look to know it was Rainbow Dash. They were closely followed by Pinkie Pie doing the same. Eclipse hung her head low, ashamed of what she had done over a thousand years ago.
Nightfall eyed the trio wryly. She was not surprised Rainbow and Pinkie were supporting Eclipse. She was, however, surprised when Fluttershy and Rarity slid out of their seats and rushed over to Eclipse and joined the group hug. She felt her mouth fall open as Applejack walked over and joined. She quickly suppressed her shock and closed her jaw. She looked between the group hug and Twilight. Spike was rubbing Twilight's side, and Twilight's mane was fraying...
"Well... That was quite the story, Eclipse." Discord said after a few seconds. He slid out of the cough then walked over to join the group hug, leaving Twilight and Spike alone.
Shining Armor opened his mouth, but said nothing. "Eclipse..." Cadance said softly, unsure of how to continue, or even what to say.
Eclipse felt a shudder run through her body. "I'm s-sorry..." she said quietly as tears formed in her eyes.
"Shh..." Fluttershy comforted as she ran a hoof through Eclipse's mane. "It's okay... We forgive you..."
Nightfall opened her mouth as Fluttershy finished, but closed it. It would not do to show her surprise.
"Yeah... We all forgive you, Eclipse." Applejack added.
"I'm s-sorry..." Eclipse repeated. She took comfort in the embrace of her friends, but it was still hard. That night was a subject she never wanted to bring up, ever again. They deserved to know, but it was a painful memory now that she wasn't consumed by hatred.
Rainbow squeezed her tighter. "Hey. It's alright, okay? We all do dumb things every once in a while..." she paused, then said "Even me..." both quickly and quietly.
"Eclipse, darling... While I have to admit that I am shocked by... This... I do not hate you. You have been nothing but good to all of us, and Princess Celestia trusted you enough to leave you in charge."
"Ev-even though I-I k-" Eclipse stuttered out between sobs.
"Yeah, Eclipse! It might not have been very nice to do that to Celestia, but you've tried to make up for it! Besides, it's not like you're all evil and mean now!" Pinkie chirped.
Eclipse smiled slightly at Pinkie. A few seconds later, Twilight channeled magic into her horn. slid out of her seat, and immediately teleported away in a flash of lavender magic. Cadance glanced at Shining, who glanced back at her. Both of them shared worried looks. Both of them knew Twilight, and how she could react very badly during stressful situations. Nightfall looked evenly at Spike who was looking around in confusion.
After a few more seconds, the group hug broke apart, but Eclipse still did not look up. She had seen Twilight teleport out of the corner of her eye, however, and she was worried. "W-we..." Eclipse swallowed, "We need to find... Twilight..." she said. "I don't know how she will react to this..." The five ponies who had held her in a group hug looked between themselves, and the general sentiment was somber and worried.
Nightfall pursed her lips. They had all forgiven Eclipse much more easily than she had imagined possible. She shifted her weight and glanced to Discord. The Spirit of Chaos smiled, but didn't break his gaze from Eclipse. She slid out of her seat, drawing the attention of everypony to herself. She looked over everypony, then met Eclipse's gaze. "I will find her." she said, then made her way to the doorway. She hesitated slightly when she reached it, then made her way out of the room.