The Forgotten King

by Ghost Writer

An early morning

The sky was now a blur of the orange light of the sun and the regressing blue of night. The stars were no longer visible so Eclipse presumed it would be safe to look up.

He took a walk to Sugarcube Corner and decided that he could eat there. He could also visit Pinkie, he hadn't seen her in a while.

He came to Sugarcube Corner and walked inside. There was a small bell on the door that rang as soon as he opened the door and Pinkie popped up from behind the counter, almost as if she had been hiding until somepony came in.

"Hey! Oh my gosh! Eclipse is that you?" she asked, clearly astonished by Eclipse's appearance.

"Ya, it's me. Why? Do I look that different?"

"Uhh ya! Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"Well I did last night but I don't remember looking that different."

Pinkie fumbled with something behind the counter and produced a small mirror. She held it in her mouth and walked in front of Eclipse, holding the mirror so that he could see his face.

He knew that he would look the same as he did the night before but he looked in the mirror anyways. He was shocked when he noticed that the tiny sliver of red in his left eye was now a small crescent of blood red that gave off an eerie glow. He wasn't sure if it really glowed or if it merely looked like it but he definitely didn't like it.

Pinkie put the mirror down on a table and asked "How did you change the color of your eye like that, and what’s with the red tips on your hair, and I think you look darker than you did before."

"I don't know. Something strange is happening and I'm going to Canterlot to see Celestia about it today."

"Today?" asked Pinkie, clearly astonished. "How could you get to Canterlot in a day? It takes a little longer than that to get there if you take a train."

"Oh, well in that case. I'm leaving today and I'll get there as soon as I can to see if she can help me with this problem"

"Ok. Well while your here do you want some breakfast?"

"Ya, that's kinda the reason I came here in the first place."

"Alrighty then. What do you want? We have Pancakes and donuts and all kinds ah stuff."

"Pancakes is fine. And guess what. Today I have money!" said Eclipse.

Within a few minutes Pinkie had a plate of pancakes on the table and put them in front of Eclipse. She came back again with another plate of pancakes and sat across the table from him.

"Might as well have breakfast at the same time as you. After all it is pretty early and nopony will be coming in for a while." said Pinkie as she proceeded to eat her food.

Eclipse finished his food and looked out the window off into the distance. He was worried about what would happen when he met Celestia. Would she be able to just stop whatever was happening to him? There could be no way to stop it and he could lose himself, that's what he feared would happen. Especially at the rate at which he changed when he looked at the stars. Then there was the fact that the red in his eye had spread more even though he had not looked at the stars. This worried him because it could mean that even without looking at the stars he was still slowly changing.

Pinkie seemed to notice that he was worried and frowned. "Something wrong with the food?" she asked, no longer as cheerful as she had been when Eclipse came in.

"No. The food is great. It's just... It's just I'm scared about what's happening to me. What if I change and hurt somepony or what if I change and this me's gone forever. Whatever it is that's changing me it's bad. I've had dreams where I could hear it. And it's evil."

Pinkie had a genuine look of concern on her face but tried to cheer Eclipse up. "Don't worry, Celestia will know what to do. She's ruler of Equestria for a reason, she knows how to handle stuff."

"I sure hope so." Eclipse replied still looking out the window.

"Besides, you'll always have us, your friends. We'll be there with you no matter what happens."

"Thanks. I think I should be heading for Twilight's house soon though. I don't want to end up missing my ride to Canterlot." said Eclipse. He pulled out twenty bits and put them on the table. "Alright bye." he said as he headed for the door.

Pinkie was about to object to him paying her so much but he was out of the door before she could say anything.

Eclipse walked down the road and took the path that led to Twilight's house. Soon he found himself in front of the door and gave it a few knocks. In a few minutes Twilight answered the door, her hair was uncombed and she was still drowsy from sleep.

"Eclipse? What are you doing here so early? We still have a few hours before we need to head to the train station." said Twilight, letting out a long yawn.

"It's not that early is it?" asked Eclipse.

"Eclipse... I think everypony but you and I are still asleep." Said Twilight.

"But Pinkie was already awake." he responded.

"That's Pinkie though. I'm not even sure if she sleeps at all." Said Twilight.

"Oh, well I guess I woke up kinda early. I was sleepwalking and nearly went outside and looked at the stars. So I didn't want to go back to sleep." said Eclipse.

"Oh, well you're welcome to take a nap here. I'm going back to sleep for a few hours." said Twilight.

"Alright then." said Eclipse as he walked into the house and Twilight closed the door.

"Sooo, do I sleep in the same bed as you?" Eclipse asked jokingly.

"Sure. My bed is just over here." said Twilight as she turned towards her room.

"No!...I mean, I-I uh I wouldn't want to bother you while you sleep. I roll over and stuff. Oh! And I snore sometimes!" Eclipse said. His face was totally red now and he hoped Twilight didn't see.

"Huh? Ok then you can nap in the guest room. It's the room right next to mine." said Twilight.

"Haha ok great!" said Eclipse with a fake smile on his face. He was still blushing hardcore from the sharing the bed comment.

Twilight led him to the guest room and pointed him inside as she went to her room to get some more sleep.

Eclipse walked into the room and got on the bed. Without the stars out he didn't have to worry about looking at them and hopefully he would be free of the voice in his dreams. Now that he knew he could relax Eclipse put his arms behind his head, under his pillow and relaxed. Soon he had fallen into an undisturbed sleep.