When Eclipse awoke, the first thing that he noticed was the moon up above. Everything else was dark, but the glowing white orb caught his attention. His eyes stayed transfixed, but his mind began to wander. Where am I? The last thing I remember, I was having dinner with Celestia and Luna... Then dessert... Zap apples! Eclipse finally looked around the room, trying to see where he had wound up after he had passed out. In fact, I could have died... He moved to get out of the bed, but was stopped by a sharp pain in his arm. Looking down, he could see an IV stuck into his arm. Terrified, he reached over to pull it out.

"I wouldn't do that." Celestia's voice was low, and her tone was commanding. "That's there for a reason." She stood up and walked to his bedside, looking rather solemn. "Eclipse, you're in the medical wing of the castle. I'm sorry, but Luna and I weren't sure what to do, so we called for help. The doctors weren't sure how to treat a draconequus, but they didn't make it here by only fixing things that you can find in a medical textbook."

"You mean, you exposed me?"

"All of the doctors have been sworn to secrecy. You don't have anything to worry about." Celestia pulled her chair up next to his bed and sat down, staring at him at eye-level. "Now, I'd like to know what happened back there."

Eclipse sighed. "I suppose you deserve that much, your highness. Everything in the universe has a balance of chaos and order. Some things are more ordered than others, which are more chaotic in nature. Normally, this doesn't affect much. There are few creatures who are sensitive to this balance, and I'm one of them. Then, just like the Ph balance in a swimming pool, there are extremes that effect everyone. Zap apples are one of those extremes, refusing to even grow without perfect order. Considering how extremely zap apples lie along the chaos-order spectrum, coupled with my sensitivity..."

"You're lucky not to be dead." The idea of just how bad of a turn things could have taken began to sink in. "I'm so sorry, Eclipse. I had no idea-"

"Well, duh!" Eclipse shifted around in bed, trying to get comfortable. "Of course you didn't. You wouldn't try to poison me, would you, Princess?" He gave her a sarcastic glance. "I'm not stupid, your majesty. Luna had only a rudimentary understanding of the concept, and there was no way she could have known, either." He let out a long sigh. "I got too relaxed. Didn't pay enough attention to what I was eating." He raised his arm without the IV to gently smack his own temple. "So many years of paranoia for nothing."

Celestia shook her head, pulling his arm back down again. "Don't you even think about blaming yourself! We were the ones who served it to you, and you said that we couldn't have known how dangerous it was for you! It was an accident on everyone's part."

There was a dazzling flash of light as the door to the infirmary flew open, revealing Luna in eye-stabbing daylight. "Eclipse! You're okay!" She ran in, slamming the door shut behind her and gave her bedridden friend a tight hug.

"Luna! Luna!" Eclipse tried to push her off, but his arms were pinned to his sides. "Leggo! Please!"

"Luna, you're hurting him!" Celestia tried to hide her pleasure at the scene, having been resisting her own urge to hug him. Luna quickly let go, apologizing for hurting him. Eclipse waved away her apologies about dinner, saying that it was already resolved. "Eclipse, you're probably going to be here for the next few days. We kept it dark for you," She pointed up to the false moon, gently poking it out of place, "but Luna couldn't resist leaving her present." As Luna stepped back, she stood tall and proud of her hoofiwork.

"What you said made me want to make a moon that you can always take with you!" She reached up and poked it, laughing as it bobbed up and down like a balloon. "And, I have one, too! We can use them as a way to communicate!"

"That's... wonderful! I couldn't even tell the difference, Luna! Not until you opened the door and revealed that it was daytime, anyway..."

Luna looked around, noting how dark the room was. Indeed, her creation was the only thing giving light to the room.

"Eclipse, how are you feeling?" Luna's question was obviously a prerequisite to another.

"I'm feeling alive, Luna! And any day you're not in a coffin is a good day." He chuckled. "But I'm not exactly ready for some tackle hoofball..."

"Well, your mouth and head certainly seem to be working!" Luna winked. "Sooooo, could you tell us that story now?"

"Luna! Is that all that you can think about?" Celestia scolded her sister. "He just had a near-death experience a couple days ago!"

"Well, if I've been unconscious for two days, I ought to be well-rested enough, your highness."

Something finally struck Celestia that she hadn't realized until now. "Wait, why do you call Luna by her first name, but always address me with formality?"

"Respect, Princess. You never asked or gave me permission to call you anything in particular, so I have been treating you with the respectful titles a Princess deserves. Your sister requested that I call her 'Luna', so I do."

"Well, you can call me whatever you like, Eclipse. There's no need for such formality between friends. Is there anything in particular that you would like us to call you?"

"Yes, do you have any nicknames?" Luna asked as she pulled up a seat of her own.

"Eclipse is just fine, Celestia." He smiled as he turned back to Luna. "Discord had a nickname for me, but I would prefer to simply go by my real name. It would be like me calling Celestia 'Tia.' It's just a name Luna's supposed to use, right?" Celestia nodded.

"So, you two want to hear my story? The story of how Discord and I got to the point where he was locked in stone, and I was hiding away in the Everfree forest?" Both alicorns nodded.

"Yes, please!" Luna smiled and leaned forward, listening intently.

"If you're up to it..." Celestia couldn't hide the hypocrisy of her statement: she wanted to hear it just as much as Luna did.

"Alright, then. I'll tell you... tomorrow." As the word "tomorrow" dropped like a ton of bricks, Nurse Redheart walked in.

"I'm afraid visiting hours are over, your highnesses." She pulled the curtain around Eclipse's bed. "Any type of 'story' will have to wait for tomorrow."

"But Nurse Redheart, we've waited so long already!" Luna whined, trying to pull back the curtains.

"No 'but's about it! Royalty or not, he needs rest without any visitors." The pushy nurse moved the chairs back to their places... with the princesses still sitting in them. Grudgingly, the two agreed to leave.

"Bye, Eclispe!" Luna chimed as she walked out the door. She seemed surprisingly cheerful as she walked out the door.

"Goodbye, Eclipse." Celestia was less-than-thrilled. "I suppose we'll see you tomorrow."

Eclipse quietly settled down into the pillows of his hospital bed, trying to relax, but he couldn't sleep. I'm not tired, I'm BORED! I finally wake up and they have to leave!

"Psst! Eclipse!" He looked around, trying to find Luna. "Up here, in the moon!" He looked up and saw a faded image of Luna and Celestia in a sky-blue painted room, like an image in a crystal ball. "I told you they could work as a way of communication!"

"Luna, you're brilliant!" Eclipse whispered, snatching the moon out of the air and inspecting it before letting float back into orbit. "So, the story. It begins many years ago, before either of you were born, in a place very far from Equestria..."