The alliance between Equestria and the Emerald Kingdom of the changelings has been successful for the past five years, but a conspiracy in the shadows aims to change all this.
One year after the failed invasion attempt by Chrysalis, Equestria and the Emerald kingdom signed the Emerald Sun Treaty. This ushered in a golden age for both countries, and numerous technological and societal advancements were made. That was five years ago. Today, changelings and ponies get along wonderfully, both races are a crucial part of the others culture, but not everyone is so pleased with the changes. Numerous criminal and political factions work together to bring down the current government in both nations, wanting to unify the two for their own avarice and agendas.
As the world turns, both nations seem oblivious to the plots forming in their underbellies, but when a mysterious stallion stumbles into the life of a young guard, hidden plots begin to reveal themselves.
During the day, Fillydelphia was a bustling industrial haven. Textile mills churned out processed fabric at breakneck speeds to meet the city’s demands. Savvy entrepreneurs maneuvered their way through the corporate battlefields of city’s private business sector. At night, it became a place of cool relaxation. Level bass tones from Filly’s sundry of jazz clubs gently joggled the walls of every building near them. Scented herbs, ranging from spicy to sweet and from sharp to flat wafted through the air, calming any wandering souls and enticing them to come investigate. Moist, chilled air rushed through the countless alleys and streets of the city, regulating its temperature naturally. Ponies had come to know Fillydelphia as a place to go when one wanted to make a clean start, the “City of New Beginnings”. The city provided a never ending supply of means for the inhabitants. Everywhere one turned a pony was needed to build this or fix that. The name of the game was opportunity, and the city always won. Opportunity was the city’s game, and it always won.
Opportunity, however, knows no bias. Like all of Equestria’s major cities, crime in Fillydelphia increased after the peace talks with the Emerald Kingdom. Changeling and pony kind had come to terms and vowed to live in peace. Though the tension would never settle, trade and free travel between the two nations were unbound. Both economies grew exponentially as technology and culture was shared. Every venue of society expanded… Including the illicit side of both nations.
Equestria’s criminal syndicates were real and very powerful; however, they were effectively suppressed by the nation’s military and international policies with other lands. But with the extremely neighborly relationship the Emerald kingdom and Equestria formed criminals from both nations now had new allies, rivals, and markets to infest.
Newer, more frequent threats called for improvements to military training on Equestria’s end. Basic training was now supplemented by simple field work and specialized training programs. Soldiers fresh out of basic were stationed in towns with high levels of malicious localized crime, allowing them to build experience as well as contribute meaningfully.
The wind roared overhead and the rain pounded down on the cobblestone streets while the night guards in their dark purple black armor patrolled.
At the edge of the city, the start of the slums, a dark shape sheltered itself against the backdrop of the night and storm. It crawled through dark alleyways and side streets, being careful to stay hidden and unseen, though it stopped moving when it came across a guard patrol that had decided to take a break and sit down.
Come on, come on. Move just a tiny bit to the left.
The creature lurked in the darkness. It crouched in the dirt and refuse, cloaking itself with the shadows themselves to conceal itself from even the most sharp eyed of observers. Unnoticed like a single tree in a forest, it waited for the patrol to leave.
It lay in wait for several minutes, the rain pounding harshly on the city but the guards still didn’t move. This is gonna be a long night, the creature thought with a mental sigh.
Corporal Eclipse stood stone straight as Lieutenant Commander Fleetwing drilled the squad leader and his team of five-- once again-- on the proper technique for bringing in a suspect for questioning. Eclipse was trying his best to keep his face from forming into a grimace, but with each word from the grizzled commander’s mouth he found his frustration growing. Sure, Jet Stream had sort of tackled a pyromancer into a petroleum storehouse, but she subdued him before the fireworks started. Did that call for the berating they were currently receiving? Probably. Was it necessary to split the squad up? Likely. But lining them up in the rain, outside of the station, just yell at them was too much in Eclipse’s opinion. As the onslaught of noise continued, Eclipse slowly began to tune the old soldier out.
“-- and that’s why Corporal Eclipse and PFC Jet Stream will be running tonight’s beat patrol of the economy housing district and its surrounding area by themselves!” Commander Fleetwing shouted as he stared at the line of soldiers. “Well? What are you all looking at? Frostbite, Havok, Raycaster, Basalt! Get the hay outta here! Eclipse, Jet Stream, You know what to do.” Fleetwing turned on his hooves and entered the massive Fillydelphia military outpost.
“Sir, yes Sir!” Eclipse and his squad shouted.
The older pegasus sneered at Eclipse as he walked away. “Luna’s little pet unicorn,” Fleetwing muttered under his breath.
The resulting beat was one of Eclipse's more miserable patrols. The cold rain pounded mercilessly on his skull despite the thick blue cloak he wore. In his mind, the corporal cursed his superiors and considered ditching the patrol. Eclipse shook those thoughts from his head as quickly as they formed. No, that’s just the kind of behavior everyone expects of me. I can’t let myself or my teacher down like that. He thought.
The guard stallion trotted close to his partner-- a pegasus mare-- as they scanned the streets for any signs of trouble. The salmon coated mare shook violently, tossing droplets of water off of her black weather cloak and all over the place. Her action was in vain, seeing as the downpour instantly replaced the expelled liquid with a fresh coating rain.
She grunted in frustration; most of it was directed at the terrible turn the pegasi chose to take this week’s weather in, but just a tiny sliver of her frustration was focused on a certain grey coated, purple eyed stallion trotting beside her.
Eclipse chuckled under his breath at the mare’s antics. “What’s the matter, Jet? This little stroll with your squad leader not to your liking?”
“What do you think? The bucking sky’s falling and were out here doing beat patrol!” she growled.
He shrugged his shoulders and continued trotting through the streets of the stormy city streets. Fillydelphia had been his home for the past month and a half. Even though visibility was nearly zero, Eclipse and Jet Stream navigated seamlessly. They’d memorized the city’s hotspots sufficiently. Both soldiers knew the position of every high-rise, fountain, and market area by heart.
Rain gave the slate colored structures around them a beautiful sheen, each popping out against the darkness like glittering spires of ingenuity. Alleyways cut endless fissures between the many firms and residences. Ever since Eclipse was posted in this city, he had been fascinated by it. Fillydelphia was a far cry from Canterlot. The nation’s capital was a pristine place of soft whites and regal golds; whereas this place was harsh and grey.
Something pinched at Eclipse’s awareness, causing the stallion to stop dead in his tracks.
"Did you see anything, Jet Stream?" Eclipse asked from underneath his dark blue cloak. Something was lurking nearby, skulking through the shadows. And he could feel it.
"Didn’t see or hear a thing." the mare responded. "Are you picking something up with your magic?"
"Possibly, continue the patrol. I'll meet up with you when you reach the next block." He narrowed his eyes and extended his senses as searched the shadows of the adjacent alleys for whatever was hiding about.
The mare nodded respectfully, "Be careful, Eclipse," Jet Stream said as she continued trotting. The mare bumped him with her flank as she passed him. “And don’t do anything stupid!”
Eclipse discovered the alley where he sensed the disturbance. The stallion peeked into the urban ravine, inspecting and scrutinizing every detail his eye could point out.
Well at least one of them is moving. The creature sank even further into the surrounding darkness as it narrowed its eyes. The real question is, why is he coming down here?
The alley was unnaturally spacious, even by Fillydelphia standards. Puddles of water trickled through the spaces in the worn down, uneven cobblestone of the alley. Banners, street lamps, and neon lights decorated the front of many buildings in the city, but the alleys were all the same. Rusted steel pipes, discarded furniture, paper and dumpsters where the closest things to decorations the space between structures ever saw.
It was at times like this that Eclipse cursed that shadow scrying was one of his weaker skills. If he were more skilled, then he could pinpoint what was shuffling around in the alley. I know I felt something around down this alley. The stallion shifted uneasily on his hooves.
He doubled his search effort, by moving boxes and debris aside. As the unicorn was trudging through the alley, he felt another pinch in the back of his mind. Using his mind’s eye, he let the shadows give him a vague view of all they hide from the world. His search through the alley yielded nothing. He knew something was off, but could spare the time lest his CO claim he was slacking on his duties.
"Hmm..." Eclipse exited the alley on the other side of the block. His face held an expression of confusion.
The shadows smiled as the guard left. Keep on walking. Nothing over here to see.
"It turned out to be nothing, must've been a rat or something..." Eclipse looked over his shoulders again. Felt off though.
The silver maned stallion’s gaze was drawn to the sky in haste to find his quarry. His final survey of the area turned up empty hoofed. Eclipse snorted in annoyance, now, with both his and Jet Stream’s time wasted, he aimed his focus at locating his partner and regrouping as soon as possible. Eclipse shut his eyes and let his mind meander through Filly’s serpentine alleyways in search of Jet Stream’s profile.
Bingo. Eclipse’s shadow stepped out into the moonlight as its owner called for Jet Stream. The instant that the pegasus’s ears detected her squad leader’s voice she whipped around, discovering that Eclipse was trotting to her. Eclipse swiped a lock of his mane out of his face before speaking. "All we have left is a sweep through the economy housing district then we're done."
Jet Stream shivered. "Can't stand that part of town," she said with a frown.
"Keep your opinions to yourself on that subject, everypony isn't fortunate,” Eclipse growled. He glowered at the mare trotting next to him for a few seconds before turning his attention to the roads. The scene shift was almost noticeable when they passed into the gated low income section of Fillydelphia.
The well-kept buildings gave way to ratchet apartments and dirty roads. The concrete walls were plastered with vibrant paint, some representing one of the city's small time gangs while others were just some punks' attempt at original art.
The sweep of the slums was always the most eventful. In just this night alone, they had stopped a mugging and a carriage theft. Thankfully, nopony had been hurt and the retrieval teams could pick up the criminals in a timely fashion.
The creature departed from the wet alleys, and progressed on to the wet street, a dark black cloak protecting it from the rain and concealing its face and body from any passerby’s as it walked towards a seedy, dirty looking bar a couple buildings over.
The street itself was in disrepair, its surface cracked and large chunks missing. The buildings were just as bad. Most of their windows were cracked, missing, or covered up by something and had various gang symbols and messages on their foundations.
Almost there...
"Well, that's it, we're-" Eclipse felt a familiar pinch in his mind. Feels like before.
"Corporal?" Jet Stream looked at the stallion skeptically.
"Nothing. Good work out there, head on back to the outpost. I'm going to grab a drink. Dismissed!"
The mare nodded and left his presence.
The strange creature walked through the bar doors and walked up to the counter. "Whiskey and any meat you might have." It spoke without looking up, placing a few bits on the worn and stained counter as a glass and plate were set in front of him.
Eclipse let his mind's eye guide him. He tracked the familiar feeling until he came to an old, rundown, shady-looking bar. Following the feeling, he entered the establishment. The bar chatter shut down completely once Eclipse entered the building and for a moment everypony simply started at the dark cloaked unicorn trotting past them. There was very little darkness in the bar, but enough for him to be able to point out the signals he was receiving.
Inside, the tables were in shoddy condition and the seats weren’t much better off, with multiple stains and deep scratches in them. The patrons mostly kept to themselves, nursing drinks of their choice.
Nonchalantly, Eclipse took a seat at the counter and grinned at the barkeeper. "A screwdriver," he said before looking past the other patrons and at the pony receiving his drink near the end of the counter.
The creature next to the guard briefly flashed its eyes in its direction and th. That's the same guy as before....
Eclipse threw the hood on his cloak back and shook his grey and silver mane, increasing its volume. The barkeeper slid him his drink, obviously not too happy about the guard disturbing his establishment, but the barkeeper's frown soon became a smile when he saw the tip Eclipse left.
He stared at the cloaked pony to his left for a moment. The bar’s weak illumination made it much easier to feel around with his mind’s eye. Yeah, he's who I felt skulking around the alleys. No doubt about it. He gave his prey a "gotcha now" smirk before sipping at his drink.
The creature noticed the guards gaze linger on him a second too long. Got to get out of here. It stood up, having not even touched its meal or drink and walked toward the door.
Eclipse waited for it to exit the building, before getting up and following. He exited right behind the cloaked pony. "You sir, stop!" he called.
It stopped in its tracks. "May I help you?" It asked in a decidedly male voice.
"Actually, maybe you can help me understand why you were skulking around the alleys outside of the economy district."
The creature’s eyes widened slightly underneath its hood, but Eclipse was unable to see this.
“I was mugged and knocked out. I guess they dragged me to that alley for some reason.” His voice was completely emotionless.
"Unlikely. If a mugger knocked you out, I doubt you would have been left with enough bits to afford dinner and a drink." Eclipse's mane was soaked and sticking to his coat by this point. "And meat at that." Eclipse slowly advanced on the cloaked creature. "I need you to get down on the ground, front and back legs straight out."
The creature took a step back from Eclipse. "Trust me. You don't want to do this right now."
"Is that a threat?" He continued his advance. Eclipse was almost within legs reach of the creature. "I suggest you get down on the ground, now!" He barked.
Damn it I just got into this city. Oh well, maybe I'll try Manehatten again. The creature threw its cloak into the guard's face. “You brought this on yourself.” It threw a jab towards the guard's head as it said this.
Eclipse scrambled to remove the cloth from his face as quickly as possible. With the obstruction cleared, he could see finally see his assailant.
The creature was like a pegasus in form, but its eyes were slitted like a cat's or a dragon's and were a cool azure while its coat was a dark grey. His legs were a snow white, while a black mane rested on its head and Eclipse caught a glimpse of a red and black tail.
The surprise of the creature’s strange appearance was enough to cause the stallion to almost forget any form of defensive maneuvers. In the last moments however, Eclipse jerked his head to the side, causing the blow to tear the flesh on his cheek. He hissed in pain as his foe withdrew his hoof.
Damn he’s fast. The creature reared up on its hind legs, taking a bipedal stance. It put up its hooves and lashed out with a vicious one- two combo.
Eclipse easily ducked under the first strike, but the creature’s quick hook caught him in the side. Luckily, he was already braced for the blow. Biped fighting... this guy isn't just some street thug.
The unicorn hooked his foreleg around his assailant’s exposed leg. While the creature was off balance, Eclipse put all of his strength into his back legs, throwing himself into a full body tackle and slamming the creature to the ground. The solid impact forced the air from his lungs and hopefully dazed his opponent. He tried to find his balance, but the rain wasn’t helping.
The creature's forelegs ignited as black flames wreathed his hooves, vaporizing rain into stream as it landed on his morphing appendages. When the ethereal flames dissipated, his forelegs were replaced with strangely textured arms harboring wicked claws at the end of long, dexterous digits. Taking advantage of Eclipse’s situation, he took a vicious swipe at his chest.
What the buck? A changeling?! Eclipse panicked.
There was no way he could avoid the strike at this range. The changeling's sudden transformation escalated the situation from a simple takedown to assault with deadly magic authorizing Eclipse to retaliate with his own spells. But there was more to it than that. The moment the creature's limb had gone up in flames and shape shifted, the unicorn was filled with a rage he hadn't felt in years.
Scarily sharp, precise claws ripped at his chest, but before they could cause any real damage tendrils of darkness halted them, slowly pulling the extremity away from him. The burning wounds leaked crimson as the stallion panted from his near death experience.
Eclipse summoned more of his magic and formed a shadowy club above the changeling's head. He swung the conjured weapon, hoping to knock his opponent out and avoid any killing. Despite his feelings, he'd bring it in alive if he could.
Though pinned, the changeling was not defenseless. Faster than the guard could react he jerked his head to the side, avoiding the blow and kicked the one of the guard’s back legs out from under him. Using the falling pony’s forelegs as leverage, he threw his head forward in a barbaric headbutt. The guard’s forward momentum, coupled with the force of the blow, was enough to send the him reeling. Speckles of the unicorn’s blood fell from his muzzle onto the changeling’s chest.
Eclipse stumbled back, gripping at his bloody muzzle with a hoof. He growled at the changeling as it moved to get back to its hooves. Fueled by growing rage, he jumped onto the changeling again and delivered a vengeful back hoof to the side of his face. The blow connected with a solid crunch, forcefully snapping its head to the right. He’d seen that if he gave this thing any breathing room, he’d try to kill him. Without hesitation, Eclipse followed up with his other hoof, slamming the changeling’s head into the wet cobblestone.
His vision was swimming, and he was unable to form coherent words. Eclipse had done his best to knock the changeling out, but its natural hardiness and thick skull kept it awake. "Whhhhhbllzzz...." He managed to mutter.
Seeing as he was still coherent enough to mumble, Eclipse decided to finish the encounter in the most appropriate way he could think of. He narrowed his eyes on the changeling and called to the shadows. In less than a second, a deathly looking club made pure dark darkness hovered over his opponent’s head.
“AHH!” He yelled as he swung the club. The sudden boom of thunder drowned out the crack of the blow against the changeling’s skull. His limbs hung limply as the unicorn lifted him onto his back.
Eclipse breathed heavily as he carried the creature back to the economy district’s outpost. He wanted to call it a changeling, but he was taught that the insectoid creatures would revert to their natural form when knocked out. Eclipse glanced back at the thing on his back. Its clawed appendage had reverted back to the white pony hooves it had before, but the rest of its body still looked like a pegasus. It didn't make any sense to the stallion.
The trot back to the outpost had been arduous, but it was finally over. Eclipse stepped through the doors of the fortified building and immediately dropped the creature on the floor. "Changeling," he called out, "found him stalking the alleyways. When I confronted him, he assaulted me. I was forced to incapacitate him."
Several guards came and lifted the unconscious creature and hauled him towards the outpost’s prison cages. Fleetwing, Sigil, and Cypher stood in the lobby, staring at the strange creature as it was dragged away.
“Isn’t that-” the earth pony started.
“-Yeah that’s him, Cypher.” Sigil said, cutting him off.
Fleetwing ruffled shifted his wings and snorted before turning to the other officers. “I’ll have the guards transport him back to the central hold and clear us a time block for the interrogation of our newest prisoner.” He sneered at the unconscious prisoner, attempting to burn a hole through its body with his eyes.
“Sigil, get us back to Central,” the pegasus commanded.
The unicorn mare levitated three golden medallions off of her specially made armor and floated them over the two stallions. Sigil cut her magic, letting the disks drop to the ground, each landing with a sharp ceramic ring. All three nodded, indicating that they were ready for transport. Sigil and Cypher smashed their medallions, releasing the spells trapped within and being swallowed by light. The spell started as soon as it ended, leaving empty air where the two soldiers once stood.
Fleetwing snuck one final glance at the pony Eclipse captured, before slamming his hoof down on his medallion. He vanished in a flash of light, yet his voice still lingered behind. “Enjoy your last moments. You’ll be in Tartarus soon enough.”
The night guards stripped the changeling of his equipment and blindly tossed him into the cell. The soldiers slammed the steel bars and locked the cell. One stallion tugged on the bars, making sure the cell was secure. Both stallions nodded to each other and exited the holding cells. They only sent a quick glance to the guards who would be taking tonight’s dungeon watch.
Three sets of eyes observed the prisoner, and a broad grin spread across one of the spectator’s muzzle when the prisoner moaned in his sleep.
“Let him sleep for now,” Fleetwing said, leaning against the doorway of the holding area.
Sigil brushed a bang of her blue mane out of her sight. “That doesn’t sound like the best course of action. Why not use some smelling salts to try to bring him to? It doesn’t make sense to stretch this out.”
“Surprisingly, I agree,” Cypher added. He reached back and flipped opened his saddlebag. Fishing through the pack, he retrieved a small folded package.
Fleetwing shook his head and sighed. He watched as his fellow officers approached the cell. “No sense of flair, those two,” he grumbled as he followed behind them.
Cypher and Sigil entered the cell first, followed shortly by Fleetwing who stood vigil at the entrance. Cypher walked over to the unconscious changeling and prodded it with a hoof. Convinced that it was down for the count, he dragged it by the tail and propped it up against the dry stone walls. He pulled out the small package again, but this time unwrapped it. Small crystals shimmered in the moonlight. "Wakey, wakey motherbucker," Cypher chuckled as he waved the smelling salts in front of the changeling’s nose. "Thought you’d be able to dodge us forever didn’t you?" Sigil gave the changeling a friendly back-hoof strike to help it through its grogginess.
It wrinkled its nose as its eyelids fluttered open. "B-buck...my head...” It moaned. “You’re going to regret that once I get out of here.” The changeling’s voice was a little weak.
Cypher clicked his tongue. “Whatever. Like you’ve got a chance of getting out of this town. Now that we know you’re here, you aren’t leaving.” The stallion reared up on his hind legs. “Besides, not like you can get far with broken hooves anyway.”
Sigil turned to Cypher. "Control yourself. We can’t get any answers from him if you shatter his legs and he dies from shock. Not to mention, it wouldn’t look too good if somepony walked in and saw you stomping all over a prisoner." She growled at the captured stallion. Using her magic, she tossed several sigils from her armor at his hooves, binding them to the floor with sticky orbs of gold magic. She addressed him calmly. “And as for you… Well, let’s just say that a pony in your position wouldn’t be wise to wager any bits on escaping.”
“Hasn’t stopped me from escaping before.”
"Cocky lil’ freak, aren’t you? Doesn’t matter. The crowns will be long dethroned by the time you’re done rotting away in some dank hole of a dungeon." He grinned darkly as he spoke.
The other officer quickly covered her partner's mouth with her hoof. "Shh, you idiot! You can’t just talk about stuff like that out in the open!"
The damage had already been done though. He needed to tell someone, but whom? Command was compromised and he had no way to alert Luna while he was awake. He clutched the freshly stitched wound on his chest, now wondering if he had arrested a good guy.
A coup against the crown… He mentally kicked himself.
"Buck!" He cursed out loud before teleporting away.
"I think somepony heard me." Cypher’s smug expression melted away and was replaced by a stoic stare. “I’m going to check it out. Nopony can hear what goes on in here.” He turned away from them, preparing to exit the cell.
When he looked away, the changeling bathed its legs in black flame before leaping at Cypher and tearing his throat out with his freshly transformed limbs.
Sigil jumped away the moment she saw Cypher clutching at his throat. The sight of her conjured restraints crumbling like talc caused the mare to step back. Those dragon appendages must retain the magic resistant properties of actual dragon claws!
Fleetwing took the initiative, charging the changeling as Cypher’s limp body fell to the ground. He lashed out with his wingblades, going for the quick kill. The prisoner rolled to the side before he jumped onto his hind hooves, dodging a swipe from one of the officer’s wing blades.
"You damned monster," Fleetwing hissed as he haphazardly threw out another strike.
The changeling’s response was to dodge backwards before he pushed off of a wall, lunging at Fleetwing with his claws outstretched.
Fleetwing tried to dodge, but was too slow. Though he avoided the dive, the changeling’s wicked claws still managed to cleave cleanly through the soft flesh of his neck. The stallion crumpled to the ground, clutching his throat as his life spilled from him.
"This wasn’t supposed to happen!" The unicorn mare yelled as she dropped a medallion on the ground and stomped on it, causing her to vanish from sight.
The changeling’s attention was torn from the now dead pegasus to the spot that the unicorn had occupied moments ago. Not good. I have to get out of here before the guard mobilizes. He ran through the open doorway and into the hallway of the jail.
He sprinted down the corridor, opening the door at the far end of the hall, and bounding down the steps. Once at the bottom, he burst through the door, and into the guards’ offices.
Shit.
Eclipse, having no set destination in mind, arrived in one of the hold’s armories. The stallion was at lost for words. Stumbling, he leaned against the wall and ran a hoof through his mane. What did I just hear? Sigil, or the perp... Which one was the priority? If what he just had heard was true, then Sigil was an enemy of the state; whereas the changeling in the room was simply spreading the word about their plots. Sigil had been one of the officers who transferred from Canterlot with all of the guard academy’s graduates. He trusted her to give him some closure on the issue; she was who he needed find. Searching through the darkness, he felt his target's current location. With practiced ease, he sank into the shadows and vanished.
He reappeared in a large, well furnished office space. He cast a quick glance to his sides and was rewarded with the sight of several medallions and pins adorning the cherry wood walls. A faint amount of moonlight streamed in through the through the window on the back wall of the office. The entire room smelled of cinnamon and vanilla. Everything about the office matched the pony he was looking for, and, as if to prove him right, he heard the rustling of items in front of him. A bronze colored mare with a blue mane and red eyes popped up from under the wooden desk in the center of the room.
When Sigil saw another pony in the room, her eyes widened and her face paled as if she had stared into the depths of Tartarus and witnessed all the evils of the world. Her expression cycled through surprise and terror, and finally settled on relief when she realized who the intruder was.
“Oh,” she panted. “Thank Luna it’s you, Eclipse!” Sigil slid from beneath the desk and regaled the stallion with a hopeful smile. The signature jingle of her namesakes bouncing against her custom armor filled the office as she trotted over to him. Her horn was lit from the magic she was using to levitate a thick dossier. “Listen, I need you for a special assignment.” She telekinetically pushed the documents up against his chest, but Eclipse was totally unresponsive. Sigil, too preoccupied by her machinations, hadn’t noticed and turned away from him.
The folder fell to the ground with a light thud. Eclipse ignored it. “Why?” It was a simple question, but the feelings behind it were complex.
He stared at her as if she were a total stranger. His face stuck somewhere between confusion and disgust. Sigil’s head turned slightly and her red eyes met his gaze, cutting right through his resolve and making him second guess himself.
“Why what?” She asked innocently. Her eyes constantly shifting between Eclipse and the door to her office. Eclipse’s mouth started moving, but, before the word coup could even roll off of his tongue, she interrupted him. “So you heard that...” The words were dry and lacking in their usual mirth. Eclipse’s stoic expression morphed into a scowl. “I don’t have the time to try to explain, or justify my actions to you at the moment--”
“-- Don’t bother,” Eclipse interrupted.
A single golden sigil with a ruby centerpiece clattered loudly as it hit the floor. "Even if I can't stop it," Eclipse intoned as he slowly shoved a smoking black lance through Sigil's chest, "You won't live to see this coup come to fruition." He twisted the shadowy lance inside of the mare’s chest cavity, causing the mare to cough and spray blood laced spittle onto his face. Her blood soaked the front of his body, darkening his grey coat. The mare sputtered as the light left her eyes. Stars above, what have I done?!
The door on the far end of the room swung open and the same changeling from before burst into the room, slamming the double doors shut behind him and placing a conveniently located broom in between the handles, and twisting the dead bolt. He turned around, looking for an exit and was surprised to see the same guard who captured him, standing over the dead body of a coup member. I doubt they’d kill their own at a time like this. “Well, at least I know you’re not with them.”
That voice… Eclipse whipped around faced his foe. His hooves stomped on the blood soaked folder, staining it with crimson horseshoe prints. He’d thought the captive would have escaped by now, but regardless of what he expected, the changeling he'd brought in, the one who set this night's events in motion, stood behind him. Eclipse let his magic crumble away, leaving a gaping hole through clean through the mare’s chest cavity. Sigil's body noisily flopped to the floor behind him. Her blood pooled around Eclipse’s hooves.
Eclipse looked at the stallion and growled. “T-this... This is all your fault!”
“Please, do explain how you killing a guard is my fault?”
The shouts and bangs from the door behind the changeling grew louder.
“And you might want to hurry with that.” My decision depends on your answer.
“You came here… exposed sedition among my superiors… I- I’m loyal to the diarchy. I had to do my duty and stop the traitor.” Eclipse looked at Sigil’s corpse. “I did my duty,” he said, hanging his head low.
Good answer. “That’s right and if you want to keep on doing that duty--”
The reinforced redwood doors burst inward, sending splinters of cream and cherry colored material flying at the rooms occupants. Guards burst through the door, each surveying the area keenly. Their eyes fell first on the bleeding body of Sigil, and then on the blood soaked Eclipse. Backup whipped around to face the guards as they trained their weapons on the two of them.
A pegasus mare spoke up, the familiar voice causing Eclipse’s ears to stand up at attention. “Eclipse?”
The addressed unicorn looked up slowly, dreading what he would see. “Jet Stream...” He said quietly as he scanned her face. Tears ran down her cheeks, messing up the fur on her face and her mouth was twisted into an unreadable expression. He took a step towards her, but the moment his hoof touched the floor every spear tip was directed at him. Jet Stream shook her head sadly, denying him a final look at her amber eyes.
“The guard who found Fleetwing claimed that his final word was Eclipse... I told them it was a load of horseapples… H-how could you…?” She mumbled as she disappeared into the group of guards.
Eclipse had no words to comfort her with or even make a case for himself. Rather, he had the words, but Jet Stream’s reaction was like a knife to the heart, leaving him stunned and unable to respond. Is that how I looked when I saw Sigil?
The changeling started backpedaling towards Eclipse. Just gotta get close to him.
A guard that Eclipse wasn’t familiar with stepped to the front of the group, replacing Jet Stream. “Eclipse, you're being charged with one count of murder, two counts of assisted murder, assisting in an escape attempt, and treason. We’re taking you in for questioning.”
The changeling suddenly leapt backwards, wrapping his forelegs around Eclipse’s neck as he stood on his hind legs.
“Take a step closer, and I break his neck,” he said coolly.
"Release him!" One of the guards barked. "Return to your standard form, then lie on your stomach, NOW!" He took a step forward and every other guard followed. "Both of you, down!”
Eclipse eyes widened and he struggled against his assailant’s vice-like grip. As it was now, he wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise and would probably die before anyone heard his side of the story.
The changeling leaned close and whispered in the stallion’s ear. "You wanna get outta this mess alive?" He felt his captive nod.
"Good. I’m going to need you to hold onto me.”
Eclipse still didn't trust this thing at all, but, with the guard as they were, there was no way they'd listen to him, especially with him basically bathing in their commanding officer’s blood. He squirmed a little in the changeling's grasp to keep up the illusion.
The guards jumped into action. Unicorns cast paralysis spells at them while earth ponies and pegasi charged the duo. “Somepony, bucking stop them!” A unicorn yelled.
The changeling turned, dropping to all fours, and threw Eclipse onto his back. In a single bound, he leapt over the desk, and through the window. Spells and spears flew over their heads as the pair crashed through the glass, and once they were through, Eclipse used his magic to cast a barrier over the window, preventing anypony from attacking them from their point of exit. Right as they started to fall, the changeling’s limbs transformed and he stabbed his claws as deep into the stonework as he could before starting the perilous descent down the wall.
Eclipse looked around and noted how vulnerable they were. The heavy winds sent his mane flying off to the left and the icy rain chilled him to the bone. “We’re sitting ducks out here! We need to get off of this wall!” he yelled, trying to be heard over the maelstrom.
“Agreed!” The changeling pressed himself closer to the wall, readying his muscles for what was to come next. He released the stored energy in his limbs, jumping several feet away from the outpost’s wall. He twisted in air gracefully, despite the added weight on his back. His wings snapped open, catching the wind and slowing their fall.
"I’m Sub Backup. Would you mind explaining who you are, and why you killed that guard?” He shouted over the wind and rain.
"Sub Backup..." He whispered as he thought about Backup's claws. Changelings shouldn’t be capable of dragon mimicry. “Corporal Eclipse... It might not matter anymore." His voice battled the storm with each word. He clung to Backup as they glided through the alleyway adjacent to the keep. It was slow, and uncomfortable, but at this rate they'd be at ground level before too much resistance could be formed. What happened between him and Sigil was still fresh on his mind. Thinking about it made his stomach churn, like somepony was wiggling a hot poker in his gut every time he thought about the mare. Eclipse sighed, “I had to kill her… to defend the crowns,” was all he had to say.
Eclipse didn’t want to dwell on that, so he decided to occupy his mind by asking a question. "If you don't mind my asking, is your knowledge about all of this why you're wanted?"
Several buildings whizzed by them as they weaved through the network of connecting alleyways. The harsh weather ensured that everypony was in their homes.
Backup seemed to consider his answer for a moment. "Primarily." He said as he landed on the ground. Stumbling a little from the extra weight on his back, he quickly regained his balance and lowered himself.
“You know the layout of the city fairly well right? What’s the fastest way out?” Backup asked.
"I'm fairly familiar with the most of the districts. Enough to navigate with no map or assistance." His pride at having that knowledge was evident by his tone. “As for a way out we’re about ten blocks away from the eastern gates,” Eclipse informed.
"Running for ten blocks is out of the question. We need an alternate strategy.”
"Well, there are the sewers, but I have no idea how far outside of the city those extend, plus I'd rather not go down there if possible." Eclipse pointed to a street cover. “It’ll take a while before the guard mobilizes a full search party.”
Time is of the essence and the sewers are a complete unknown. Probably like a maze down there. Can’t risk it. “Not a good option.”
Backup went back to thinking and looking around at what little of the city he could see from the narrow alleyway. If we don't move soon, it’s going to get much harder to escape. He looked up at the sky, able to see clearly despite the darkness and the raging storm. That could work. "How far could you teleport us?"
“Half a mile, why?" Eclipse asked curiously.
"Are you familiar with the clock tower over in that direction?" He pointed a claw into the murky sky.
"I am." He looked at Sub skeptically, "What are you planning?"
Backup stood on his hind legs and flexed his wings and claws. "If you can teleport us there, I can either glide out pretty far. Either out of the city or damn close.”
"Hmmm." He looked towards the clock tower. The structure was maybe six-hundred and fifty to seven-hundred meters away. After calculating what the distance to the top would be, he turned his attention to Sub and nodded. "I think I can get us to the top."
"Good. Ready when you are."
"Alright, stand next to me, the sooner we get off the ground, the better."
Eclipse's horn lit up as he focused his magic, summoning pools of seemingly endless darkness. The void crept up both characters legs, while at the same time dragging them into the infinite darkness. The entire process took less than a second.
A black portal opened just a few feet away from the top of the tower, depositing both stallions on a balcony one floor beneath the roof.
Backup blinked and narrowed his eyes for a moment. "That felt...familiar..."
"Actually, I'm pretty surprised that you aren't completely confused right now. Most ponies can't tell the difference between their flanks and their head after a shadowport."
“Not sure why I wasn’t, but that’s not our primary concern right now. I can’t gain altitude with our combined weight, and we’re probably going to fall faster with this storm. We’re most likely going to have to run once we get close to the edge of the city."
"Let's glide down; hopefully the weather will cover us enough. As long as we don't fly directly at any patrols, we should be fine." Eclipse popped his neck and limbered up a little. The last thing he wanted to be was uncomfortable during the ride.
"Same deal as before. Hang on tight, avoid my neck. Chitin doesn't cover anything starting from the base of my neck up." He walked over to a large arch and crouched so Eclipse could get on more easily.
Eclipse nodded then climbed on to Sub's back. "Ready."
Backup grunted a little as he rose from his crouched position and walked to the edge of the arch, rain whipping him in the face. "Can you conjure a construct to protect my eyes?”
"I could make some goggles, but they'd be about as good for your sight as a blindfold," Eclipse sighed. "I may be able to help some other way though.”
Hmm... Not good. I can still do this, but it's going to be a tad more difficult. “Help how?”
"I can give us more lift, make it easier to get there with more altitude to spare. Hold on," Eclipse answered. Backup couldn't see what Eclipse was doing, but he could feel a coolness envelop his wings. Large black wings overtook his, adding at least another two feet to his wingspan.
With a satisfied nod, and a single mighty leap, Backup took to the air and spread his newly augmented wings to their full length.
The view from the clouded sky over Filly would have been magnificent if Eclipse could actually see anything for more than a second. Every so often, a flash of lightning would break up the darkness smothering the city and illuminate the world around them. Eclipse had never seen the city like this. The large rain-slicked buildings towering over the empty city streets as the lights from magical street lamps reflected off of every wet surface around them. Eclipse looked in the direction of the guard outpost he was stationed at. A deep frown was plastered on across his face as doubt formed in his head. Sigil had tried to give him her last words, but he denied her and his squad... how was this affecting their squad? How was this affecting Jet Stream?
“Jet...” He mumbled.
Everything was dark, and no noise other than the falling rain and Backup’s breathing stimulated his ears. By this point, he didn’t even care that the icy water had soaked him to the bone. He was much too busy listening to the world. The pounding rain, Backup’s labored breaths, and the steady beat of wings all lulled him into a sense of safety. Wings?! Alarms went off in Eclipse’s head. Backup was gliding, that meant... “Buck! We got incoming!”
Backup banked sharply to the left, nearly throwing Eclipse from his back, sparing a glance behind him. Following them were five pegasus guards, each leveling weapons at the escaping pair.
Backup saw the closest one shout something, but whatever he said was lost over the roar of the wind. Moments later, he felt something fly past his head.
“They’ve got crossbows!”
Eclipse ducked down the moment Backup shouted. The stallion had no idea if the bolts were rubber tipped or not, but he wasn’t going take any chances. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the pegasi preparing another volley of crossbow bolts. This was the first time he’d ever been under live fire before and it was coming from his allies. Panicking, Eclipse conjured a thin black barrier to defend them from the incoming salvo of the bolts.
He couldn’t hear the twang of the wires or the whir of the projectiles through the air, but he could feel the impacts against his shield. Each hit was like a mental wasp sting, causing him to wince as each round deflected away from them.
“Eclipse! If you can’t take them down, we’re not going to be able to escape!”
“Are you insane?! If I knock them out up here they’ll die!” He yelled over the storm.
“Better them than us!”
“No!” One of the pegasi tried to tackle the duo out of the sky only to be shoved back by a wave of darkness, disorientating the attacker. The pegasus fell a few feet, but was otherwise unharmed.
“ECLIPSE! If you want to serve the crown, you WILL take them down!” Backup shouted angrily.
“Buck you! Don’t use my loyalty to try to get me to kill ponies who may just be doing their job! Just keep going, I’ll handle this!” Eclipse grunted as he blocked a few more bolts and smacked away another pegasus. This time, he slashed one of the belts on the pony’s armor, causing it to shift out of position and slow the soldier down.
You better. Backup thought darkly.
Eclipsed growled. His frustration rose with each attack he thwarted. Just keep them way for a bit longer… That’s all I have to do. I’ll figure something out. Something that doesn’t involving killing them. Keeping the pegasi off of their backs proved to be difficult, but the unicorn had a plethora of tricks to keep them at bay.
Using his magic, he temporarily blinded them, struck them in the wings, and knocked them back, but they were well trained and bounced back quickly. As the buildings sped under them and the ground drew closer, his mouth curled into a sinister smirk, he knew exactly what he could do to get the city guards and soldier trainees off of their backs. A pegasus mare rushed them, forcing Eclipse to crack a dark tendril against her wing like a whip. She dropped into the darkness below them, but was up again soon.
They were quickly approaching the eastern gates. Using the ground as a reference, Eclipse wondered if they’d have the altitude to clear the last few building at the edges of town. The rooftops of the smaller, more homely buildings were now clearly distinguishable from each other and the ground. Eclipse smiled at the fact that they’d made it this far. Now, he could actually do something to the stop their attackers.
The unicorn lashed out with two tendrils, grabbing one of the ponies by the head, he pulled, causing the pegasus to slam into the roof of a home. The impact tore off several tiles and left the pony looking like a mangled heap, but likely alive.
That’s better. “Keep it up!” Backup yelled.
Eclipse nodded as a pegasus stallion with a short sword accelerated and charged them, though the storm made the attack harder to see. Hastily, Eclipse threw up a small shield. It was sloppy, but it worked. The pegasus’s blade sank into the shield and refused to move. Using his magic, Eclipse ripped the soldier’s weapon from his grasp and slammed the flat of the blade against the soldier’s armored head, knocking him out cold. Two down… Still, got three more to deal with though. “Backup, I have an idea. Land on next roof!”
Backup nodded. As soon as they passed over the edge of the next roof, he collapsed his wings and dug his claws into the roof, leaving long furrows in the roof.
The pegasi shot over their heads like arrows. None of them were able to stop instantaneously or turn sharp enough to capitalize on Eclipse and Backup’s now sudden stop. Eclipse looked at the gates and the buildings around the edges of town. Teleporting took a lot out of the unicorn and he had already burned through more than half of his reserves. From where they were now, he could get them a good distance outside of the gate, but that would be it, he’d be spent. Eclipse dug as deep as he could, fishing for enough energy to get them safely into the brush outside the city.
By now, the soldiers had turned and were banking widely in an attempt to flank them from above and the sides. The spell formed slower than usually, due to the onset of mana exhaustion. The pegasi were closing rapidly, Eclipse could see the whites of their eyes as they came for them. Come on, come on! He pleaded with his magic, and like a parent pitying a begging foal, it gave him what he wanted. The last sounds Eclipse and Backup heard before sinking into the darkness were steel and stone clattering against each other as the soldiers smashed into each other.
Not even a second later, the duo were ejected from a dark hole in the ground and into the brush outside of the city’s limits. Eclipse clutched his head and groaned as he lay on his back, staring up at the storming sky. The stallion shook violently as the temperature caught up to him. “I-I got nothing else… ”
Backup got up on shaky hooves while his wings hung limply at his sides. His scales were covered in scratches from when they tore through roof tiles. “Good job. We need to get moving before they expand their search zone.”
“Yeah, it won’t be long until they notice that we’ve slipped out of the city,” he said as he rolled over and got to his hooves. His fur and cloak were caked with mud and the rain didn’t seem to be washing it out at all. “What now?” Eclipse sounded absolutely lost.
“If I were you, I’d head for the Skyverge,” Backup said as he started tiredly walking away.
Eclipse stared at the stallion as he walked away. The unicorn was totally stunned at Backup’s answer. After he got a few steps away from him, the grey coated stallion broke out of his trance and bounded in front of the changeling, blocking his path. “Wait! You cannot be serious. You’re joking, right?”
“What do you mean?”
Eclipse looked as if he was going to backhoof the changeling. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. He bit his quivering bottom lip to take his mind off of what Backup had just said.
“You-” Eclipse jabbed Backup in the chest with a hoof. “-are going to just blow through my life and destroy everything like a bucking typhoon, then leave me to the wolves like you didn’t have a damn thing to do with this?” Eclipse gave the stallion in front of him a look of pure disgust.
“I could have left you back in the outpost. It was also you who was unable to keep quiet when spying on your superiors and it was also you whom killed that guard.”
“We can go back and forth on this all night, but the simple fact is that you are the variable that caused tonight’s events to occur.” Eclipse turned away from him. “Buck you. After what I heard back there in the outpost, I kind of thought that you were a good hearted anarchist or something. Fighting on the side of stability. But now I see what you are...” The unicorn threw his hood overhead and started trotting towards the Skyverge.
“As if you’d know what I am,” Backup said darkly.
Eclipse stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. He wanted to burn a hole straight through Backup, but the best he could muster was a ferocious glare. “I know you’re a coward. The worst sort too. You go around kicking pebbles down mountains and not giving a buck about whoever gets caught in the forming avalanche.” He shook his head at Backup. “Why should you care? You’re fine up there on top of the mountain. Alone...” Eclipse snorted. “Whatever, as soon as my mentor gets word of this, she’ll set things straight.”
Backup turned around and faced Eclipse. “Head into any city and you’re going to be captured, you know. No matter who your mentor is, they’re going to be unable to help you.”
“I’ll just camp out deeper into the forest then. She’ll contact me magically in day or two. I’ll tell all about this coup and she’ll make hostile action towards me high treason.” He started back on his path.
Spoiled brat. “Have fun with that.” Backup started walking towards the forest.
“I will. Once Luna contacts me and I tell her all about this, she can take an active stand against all traitors.”
Backup stopped moving. “...Luna you say?”
Eclipse continued walking. “Yeah, Luna. What about it?”
“If I take you with me, could you arrange a meeting between us?”
How could one pony be so vile? A moment ago, he couldn’t have given a flying feather about what happened to me and now he wants a favor? Inside his head, Eclipse was screaming bloody murder. He really had no choice but to say yes to Backup. He didn’t want to be in this by himself with no direction. He was exhausted and his muscles were burning, so any chance he had of survival hinged on whatever teamwork he could get out of the stallion he was currently walking away from. Begrudgingly, Eclipse nodded. “I can.”
“Then get on.” Backup crouched. “You probably have mana exhaustion after such a long teleport.”
“No thanks. I can walk just fine on my own,” Eclipse snipped. “I take it you have someplace in mind. Trot. I’ll keep pace.”
Nights in the Everfree were a hair's breadth away from freezing, whatever force allowing the unnatural ecosystem to survive also sapped away the forest’s heat at night. For intruders, staying within of the confines of the forest was akin to signing a death warrant.
“We’re nearly--there,” Backup punctuated his sentence with a swipe of his claws, slicing through the thick green foliage that blocked their path. It was dark enough that his night vision had activated, painting the forest in various shades of blue. “Once we get to the base of the mountain--it’s gonna be a hard climb to the cave so you might--have to get on my back again.”
“I think I can manage a climb,” Eclipse proclaimed, following Backup closely.
The canopy was thick, blocking out most of the silvery moonlight. Eclipse’s senses were severely hampered; the activity of forest making navigation for him impossible. Coupled with the darkness of the Everfree, the murderous vibe that the forest was exuding, and the fact that the guard’s only lifeline during the hike was the changeling in front of him; it created the perfect recipe for a possible freakout.
With a final swipe of his claws, the last of the foliage in their path was vanquished, revealing a brightly lit clearing at the base of a dark grey mountain.
“Let’s hurry.” Backup swept their surroundings with his eyes “I don’t want to be exposed right now.” Especially not right now. the stallion turned his gaze away from the forest and focused on the mountain. Tapping his chin, he began plotting the safest route he and Eclipse could take to his home.
The forest’s mountains weren’t known for their height. What they lacked in elevation, they made up in deadliness. The rock face presented to them was a battered, weathered mess. Loose shale made up a majority of the mountain base before them; it was a rock slide waiting to happen. The equally treacherous angles were almost sheer drops, while those that weren’t deadly drops held far too many obstacles to be climbable. Even the stones at ground level could impale a pony should they fall.
“Right, we’re vulnerable out here.” Eclipse mulled over their current position. “We should hurry up and get where we’re going.”
Using his experience with the obstacle in front of them, Backup completed his mental path finding and nodded his head. “Okay, get on my back and I’ll take us up. You aren’t going to be able to climb this mountain with hooves.”
Eclipse ignored him and tested the ground at the base of the mountain. With his hooves pressed down, the stallion caused a few chunks of stone from the rocks near him to slide under his weight. He didn’t like how unstable everything looked. The stallion’s horn glowed as he prepared a simple spell. Darkness writhed around his hooves like agitated worms, and once sure of the spell’s integrity, he tested his footing again. Tendrils of darkness dug into the rock, reaching for something solid to find purchase on. Each little tentacle of shadow found its place in the earth, easily supporting the unicorn’s weight. Confident in his spell, he pointed up at the mountain with one of his enchanted hooves. “Lead the way.”
Backup was still for a moment; his rear legs erupted in black flame, morphing into a dragon’s clawed feet. Making his way to Eclipse’s side, he sunk his claws into the shifting stone. The rock held firm under his weight; not a single stone fell from its place. “Okay, this should be good. Just to be safe, I want you to be somewhat to my right so you don’t get hit in the face with any rocks that fall loose. The path I have should be safe for about one and a half meters from each side I’m on, but the right side seems a bit more stable.”
“No more than one and half meters from your right,” Eclipse repeated. “Got it.” He nodded at Backup and rolled his shoulders, preparing himself to follow the “pegasus’s” lead.
“Hmmm… I feel like we should still have another safety measure. If only we had some rope…” He scrunched up his face in thought.
Eclipse progressed along the path, albeit much slower than Backup. The stallion had two of his hooves pressed against the shifting rock, while a third provided a pull up point from above. Unicorns aren’t meant to be in the air, pfft! His face was scrunched up in determination. I’ve go--
“What’s with your face?” Backup asked, managing to suppress a chuckle and snapping Eclipse out of his thoughts.
“What do you mean?” The unicorn’s determined look was now gone, replaced by one of confusion.
“You looked like you were in pain or something.”
Eclipse cocked his head at the stallion above him. “No, no. Just determined I guess.”
...Really? “Uhhh….determined?”
“Yeah, unicorns aren’t exactly a high altitude species.”
Backup sighed, exasperated. “Eclipse, how high do you think we are?”
“About fifteen… twenty meters up...” Eclipse closed his eyes, shivering as he thought about what a drop from that height could mean for him. Brief flashes of his twisted, mangled body flattened on the ground shot through his mind. “Why do you ask?”
Backup abruptly dropped off the cliff face, looking up at Eclipse. “Come on, get down here. It’s going to take us days to get there with you climbing.”
“What!? No, just go! I’ll keep up,” Eclipse pleaded. The unicorn pulled up carefully, as to not loosen the already unstable terrain. He had prepared a witty retort by the time he reached the level Backup had been on, but, before he managed to open his mouth, his eyes traced a path from where the other stallion jumped from to where he should have landed.
Eclipse’s left eye twitched. The strange changeling landed exactly where Eclipse predicted he would. Backup appeared much larger than he should have, considering their height, or perhaps it was the fact that the estimated landing point turned out to be the ground and they hadn’t even made it three meters up the mountain.
“Wha- what?” The unicorn asked, confused. “How long have we been climbing?”
“Less than a minute,” He said quickly. “Like I said, if you don’t get on my back, we’re never going to get to my home.”
“I just have to get my head in this and focus! If I can’t do this, how can I be expected to do anything further down the line? Just continue as we planned. I’ll either keep up or I won’t.” Eclipse planted himself on the spot and glared at Backup before quickly averting his gaze.
Backup flew up behind the stubborn unicorn and wrapped his arms around him, attempting to pry him from the mountainside. “Eclipse, we really don’t have time for this. Eventually, something is going to come along and either eat us, or the guards will have expand their search radius and find us.” My wings are sore, and I don’t want to deal with this.
Eclipse’s tendrils dug into the rock beneath his weak footing. “Stop! Let me do this!”
Backup scowled. “You’re being obnoxiously stupid about this. Either let me carry you or leave. I don’t have time for this!” he growled.
“You haven’t even let me try before declaring that I can’t do it!” The unicorn’s magic faltered while he focused more on the pony trying to remove him, and less on the spell. Slowly, his hooves disconnected from the stone underneath them.
“Would you stop it!? You’re acting like a damned foal! Aren’t you in the guard? Bucking act like it!” He hissed into Eclipse’s ear before dislodging him.
A brick-sized chunk of stone broke free from the mountain free along with the unicorn. Eclipse redoubled his efforts to hold on, despite how futile it was. The strength of the spell pulverized the rock that was once his foothold on the mountain. Dust floated lazily in front of him, lifted by a light breeze.
Luna’s favored foal… the cloud whispered to him.
Dropping to the ground, Backup shot the stallion a venomous look. “Now stop acting foalish and get on my back so we can get in my home.” He crouched down low.
Eclipse stood behind Backup. The stallion’s shoulders were slumped and his gaze never left the loose rocks at his hooves. His purple eyes hid behind his silver mane, blocking Backup from seeing the look of absolute defeat plastered on his face. “Guess I really do need to be coddled...” He muttered climbing on to the stallion’s back.
Backup brought a claw to his forehead and rubbed at his temple. Please don’t tell me he’s having an emotional breakdown. We’re never going to get anywhere at this rate. “Can you tie yourself to my back with some of your shadow….things? I’m going to need a good range of motion, and you can’t be holding onto me by the neck.”
Wordlessly, Eclipse summoned several dark tendrils, wrapping them around Backup’s midriff to form a simple harness. Sadly, the process of creating said harness pinned the changeling’s wings to his body. The magical appendages shifted in place, their chill attempting to invade his body.
Backup hopped on to the base of the mountain, his claws once again digging deeply into the rock. He rapidly ascended towards the peak, trying to put distance between them and the ground as quickly possible. Five minutes later they were a dozen meters off the ground.
“See how much faster that was?”
“Yeah,” Eclipse said sadly. “Backup, I apologize for my conduct, it was immature and unprofessional.” He sighed. “It’s just… Never mind.” Eclipse went silent, letting Backup climb in peace. If I’m going to be carried, I might as well take in the sights.
Eclipse gazed out at the thick wood they emerged from, taking note of its intricacy. Being several meters in the air without a chariot was many things to Eclipse. Traumatizing was the premier effect, followed closely by a freeing sensation. Seeing the tree limbs weave together, forming a delicate tapestry of natural progress, was invigorating to the unicorn. The moon lingered far above their heads, following an invisible path until its time to meet with the horizon. I wonder if she’s watching.
“Thank you. I had to get you moving though. They’re going to be looking around Fillydelphia for at least two weeks in search of us. They don’t take too kindly to their guards being killed.”
“I understand.” Backup was right; they didn’t have time to fool around. “So, how high up is this place?”
“About four hundred meters,” He said with a grunt, jumping over some rock that would have come out underneath him.
Eclipse dry heaved when he heard this. “W-what?”
“Problem?”
“A few hundred meters of free climbing… just… ugh.”
Must be afraid of heights. He better not throw up on me.
“At this rate, it’s gonna take us about three and a half hours to get there so get comfy.”
“I-I’m going to be s-sick...”
“Not on me you’re not. If you’re going to throw up, you’re aiming away from me.”
“J-just climb,” Eclipse choked out.
“Alright.” He reached forward to pull himself up farther, but he accidentally pulled the rock loose, cause him to fall a short distance and his heart rate to jump.
Eclipse whimpered and tightened his hold on Backup when the stallion loosened his grip on the stone. His eye’s slammed shut and remained that way for a few seconds; eventually, the lack gravity reasserting itself caused the stallion to open his eyes. Above them a set of jagged furrows in the stone illustrated where they had fallen from. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before replying, “R-right. C-can I ask you a question?” Eclipse pleaded.
After a few minutes of letting his heart rate stabilize, he started climbing again but being more careful of his footing this time.
“Sure. You’ve been honest enough with me so far, so I guess I can answer a few.”
“Where are you f-from? N-never seen anypony like you before.”
The only sounds for the next couple minutes were Backup’s breathing and the sound of his claws digging into the rock face. “Backup, did you hear me?”
“Yeah I heard you. I’m thinking,” he said with a sigh.
“So?” Eclipse asked, wondering if Backup had changed his mind about answering him.
“I’m from the Emerald kingdom. Or, as you ponies like to call it, the Hive.”
“You’re a changeling or something similar right?” Eclipse thought back to when he knocked the changeling out in the city. The only thing about him that reverted was his claws. He looks a lot like a pony, but he claims to be from the changeling’s homeland. Doesn’t add up. I’ve got an idea, but now’s not the time to focus on that. Maybe later.
Backup chuckled silently, shaking Eclipse who was tied tightly to his back. “Yeah. I’m a changeling.”
“I see.” Those two simple words oozed malice, despite Eclipse’s attempt hold it in.
“One more question: How can you perform dragon mimicry?” He shifted anxiously as he awaited the answer to that mystery. Backup stopped climbing for a moment; his mind wandered, searching for a satisfactory response.
Eclipse tapped Backup’s shoulder. “Dragon mimicry… not something changelings are known for. Has their magic advanced that much in recent years?”
“Can’t tell you that,” he responded immediately, his voice flat, before beginning their ascent again.
“I won’t pry further.” While Backup’s response was off-putting, it didn’t discourage him. He understood that there were some things that a pony just didn’t want to talk about.
An hour later, they reached a plateau of sort, which to Backup indicated meant they were a third of the way up the mountain."
“I gotta take a break. This isn’t easy you know.” He panted, kicking the rock face hard, digging his feet in deeply and gripping the stone tightly with his claws.
Backup looked out across the forest; taking in the moon’s reflected rays.
Over the past hour, the moon moved directly above the pair, its subtle light making the forest far beneath them glitter. This far up, there was almost no sound, save for the wind and their breathing.
Forgot how beautiful and tranquil the forest is at night. I’ve been away from home for too long. Thank you, moon mother.
“I can ease the burden,” Eclipse suddenly blurted out, shattering the silence and interrupting Backup’s rumination.
“How so?”
“I should be able to augment your claws like I did your wings back in the city. That way you can get a sturdier grip much more easily. Or maybe I can form my own set of claws and help support our weight.”
“And you know this will work how?” the changeling asked skeptically.
“I’ve never done it before honestly, but it’s worth a shot if it makes the climb safer.”
Backup considered it for a moment before responding. “Just be careful. I won’t be able to catch us if we fall.”
Eclipse closed his eyes and focused on his magic. The shadows responded to him hastily, happily answering his call. To Eclipse, the darkness he commanded felt natural, like the umbra was his own limbs. He pulled from their umbrae until he had four shapeless masses of tangible shadow situated at the end of each hoof. The familiar chill of dark magic pierced his mind, sending a shiver down his spine. It granted him clarity and peace, something he desperately needed right now. With a simple mental command, he began to mold the shadows into black claws similar to the ones Backup was using to climb. The spell sputtered, failing right as they took form. A growl slipped past his lips at his shortcomings and put more effort into his casting, focusing on every important aspect of the claws. Slowly, they took shape, solidifying around his hooves. A quick flex of his new claws verified the integrity.
Backup’s nose twitched, his senses flaring from some faint stimulation. What is this feeling of familiarity? It’s just like at the clock tower.
“What are you doing back there?” He questioned, being unable to move his head far enough to see what Eclipse was doing. The unicorn held his front hooves out in front of Backup’s face and flexed his claws. The inky constructs pulsed to the rhythm of Eclipse’s heart as wisps of black mist drifted away from the appendages. “Creating these,” the unicorn replied smugly. Backup let go with one claws and inspected one of Eclipse’s shadow claws with a hand, turning it over and squinting at it.
“Hrmmmm… So, how does this work exactly?”
Eclipse scratched his chin. “Well, first off we have to build up a good rhythm, so we should probably start off slow, until we can get a feel for each other. Once we’re comfortable, we can increase our pace.”
“And just how do we do that?”
“We need to move in sync; I’m going to bind our legs together so that we both step in time with each other, sound good?” Eclipse asked.
He reached towards the rock, commanding the pliable shadows forming his new appendages to extend and dig into the rock right alongside Backup’s. Darkness slithered from Eclipse’s legs to Backup’s, locking them together.
Yeah this is gonna be weird, Backup thought.
“So just...walk?” he asked, not entirely confident in Eclipse’s plan.
“Yeah. That’s it. ” Eclipse took a deep breath. “Ready when you are.”
Backup started their ascent again and his eyes widened when he only had to exert half the effort he did before to move.
Huh. This is working surprisingly well so far.
“Backup?” Eclipse asked as they continued up the mountain. “Something’s been bugging me for a while. Can I ask you about it?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“It’s about when we escaped from the city.”
"What do you want to know?"
"You took a big risk when you helped me get away from the guards. You could’ve left me to them; instead you decided to drag another pony with you even though you knew that it would slow you down in the end. Why?”
“I’m not entirely--certain.” He punctuated his sentence with a jump to the side, avoiding a loose patch of stone. Eclipse barely managed to keep up with his sudden movement.
“So, you don’t really know?” He said disbelievingly. After the sudden jump, Eclipse hastily summoned two tendrils to anchor them to the mountain and distribute their weight. Once their footing was good, he dispelled the tendrils and released the breath he was holding, fighting back his building panic attack.
“It kind of felt like something was urging me to do it. So let’s say it was a gut feeling.”
“Soldiers have to follow their guts quite a bit on the field, so I guess I can understand that reasoning.” But I’ll keep my ears open; he could have an ulterior motive.
“Okay, just another meter and we’ll be safe.” Backup was panting and barely clinging to the mountain after their three hour climb. It got far easier once Eclipse started helping him climb but he was still dead tired.
“And you wanted--” Eclipse huffed. “--to do this alone, with a grown stallion--” he clipped his own phrase sucking down huge breaths of air. After catching his breath, he continued. “--on your back.”
“I’ve done it before when I've… injured a wing. It’s much harder to… carry the weight of another… and climb.” They were a couple meters away from an indentation in the cliff side. “Just a bit further.”
“Finally, this awkward day can end! Then we can actually get some real rest and figure out what to do.”
“Yeah. Having you here… complicates things,” Backup said pulling the two of them over the ledge and collapsed on the sloped ground, greedily gulping down air.
Eclipse released all of his spells and rolled off of the stallions back. He felt like his muscles had been tenderized with a spiked mallet. Sweat matted his coat in several places and his mane had become disheveled during the climb. “Gah.” He stayed there, panting heavily for what felt like eons.
“Come on...we can’t stop moving or we’re gonna cramp up and we’ll be stuck on the ledge,” Backup panted while he weakly pushing himself up. Both his front and rear legs were once more coated in the black flames, the transformation dropping.
“I know... I know,” he choked out, dragging himself back to his hooves. Once he was standing again, Eclipse shook vigorously, dislodging dozens of loose pebbles from his coat. He took a few shaky steps forward before stopping to wait for Backup.
“Just gimme a minute.” Backup stood there for several minutes, stretching his muscles to keep them from cramping while he caught his breath. “Okay. Let’s go,” He said as he took the lead.
Eclipse popped his neck. Sighing contently, he fell in behind Backup. Gonna be stiff for a while once I stop moving.
The mouth of Backup’s mountaintop cave funneled deep into the stone. A dry chill pervaded cavern, biting at the skin. Light became increasingly sparse with each step until the moon’s kiss was all but forsaken. Eventually, Backup shattered the eerie silence. “Here we are.”
“I can’t see anything…” Eclipse deadpanned. He could feel objects littered around the chamber. Furniture perhaps. All he knew for certain was that this section of the cave was huge. The beginnings of other paths and sections away from the main area lingered near the edges of his perception, teasing him with the promise of adventure. The air was slightly stuffy, but that was to be expected inside of a cave. What he didn’t expect was the smell. While not unpleasant, the odor was still quite odd.
“Let me get the lights.” For the next several minutes, all Eclipse could hear was the tink of metal on stone reverberating throughout the chamber. “You should cover your eyes unless you want to get blinded. Just tell me when you’re ready.” Eclipse closed his eyes and, just to be safe, covered them with his foreleg as well. “Ready!” He yelled.
Backup’s ears flattened against his head. He didn’t need to yell.
After a brief explosion of light in the cavern, Backup spoke up. “You can open your eyes now.”
Eclipse slowly opened his eyes. The stallion was curious to check out the dank, drab, emp- “What the hay? H-how?” If his jaw wasn’t firmly attached to his, face he’d have been picking it up off the floor. “How’d you get all of this stuff up here?”
“I flew some of it in and built the rest,” he replied casually. Changelings are known for their ability to build things.
The ceiling was a dark gray and about fifteen feet high and there were several walls made of a strange black substance that led off to different sections of the cave. In the center of the room was a collection of three soft looking couches made of wood, a large ottoman made of the same substance the walls were, a wooden table, and a loveseat.
Scattered around the room were a few smaller tables with various knick-knack’s on them and shelves on the walls that had what appeared to be various weapons and pieces of armor on them. There were silver candle and lantern holders on the walls spaced evenly around the room.
“So what do you think?”
“Cozy. I’m impressed that you managed to get all this up his,” he said as he eyed the chamber. Eclipse let his gaze wander over the various curiosities in the room.
“What, did you expect me to have lived in a cold cave for the past two years?”
“Well when you said ‘lived in’ I kind of thought you meant you hid out here, as a temporary base of sorts.” He started to walk around the room, even taking time out to poke at the ottoman and the couch. “Speaking of cold, why isn’t it freezing in here?”
“Heating crystal,” Backup said as he followed Eclipse around the room.
The guard rubbed his temple with a hoof. “Most obvious answer...”
“Mhm. Let me show you around so you don’t get lost.”
“Yeah, that would be nice. I might be here awhile, so I should probably know my way around.”
“Well you’ve already seen the living room so let’s start with the kitchen.” Backup led Eclipse past one of the walls. “It’s nothing ridiculously high class. Just a standard kitchen.”
As Eclipse looked over at the kitchen, he realized Backup was right and that the kitchen was fairly simple. There were pots and pans hanging over a large square black counter that was made of the same strange material that seemed to be everywhere. There was an oven and a sink, though how he got water up this high he only had a few ideas for, and a large door at the end of the room that he assumed led to a freezer or fridge.
“Seems like you’ve got mountain life down. I’m curious about a lot of this, but it can wait. Anything in particular that I need to know about?” Eclipse asked, using his dark tendrils to sift through Backup’s cookware.
Backup tapped a hoof to his chin in thought. “Well, there’s the combat range and armory.”
“Hmm...” Eclipse raised an eyebrow at that.
Everything was nice so far, better than nice even. He had expected a barely livable hidey-hole, but what he got was a nicely furnished middle class abode. The stallion ran his hoof down one of the walls. Its texture was unlike any stone he’d ever felt. “What is this made of?”
“Kreust, which is a mixture of changeling spit, powdered rock, and dirt. It’s what most of the buildings in the Hive are made.”
Eclipse immediately stopped rubbing the wall. “I see. So it’s the material the changeling’s trade with us. This is my first time seeing it up close.”
“It's a rare material. Changelings won’t make it outside of the Ark or the Hive.”
“The Ark?” Eclipse asked. “That’s the joint settlement started by the Emerald Kingdom and Equestria. Some sort of “olive vine of peace” project between changelings and ponies, right?”
“That’s the one,” Backup thought as he led Eclipse out of the kitchen and back into the living room.
“As for other rooms, yes, I’d like to see them. I don’t use weapons, but I know your stock is important, same is true when it comes to proper training areas.” He followed closely behind Backup.
Backup silently led hem down one of the tunnels that was lit with the same candles that were in the living room. “Then the armory would be a good first stop, however, the only weaponry I have are my wing blades, making the space into something more akin to a workroom.”
“Well I’m not a fan of weapons or armor anyway. In case you couldn’t tell.”
I’ve noticed. As they exited the tunnel, a room with a high ceiling and lockers scattered around the area greeted them. There was a solitary grindstone and workbench in the center of the room, standing side by side.
“Well unless my magic absolutely fails me, I don’t really need either.” He walked in and trotted from station to station. “Yes, yes… very nice.”
“Seems like an unnecessary risk,” Backup continued. “I hope you’re at least trained in other forms of fighting.”
“Of course. I can fight with a lance and a sword as well, both are my most used magical constructs; however, I prefer to stick with magic or hoof-to-hoof combat. Carrying weapons just seems like extra weight to me.” He shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave.
“Still seems needlessly risky to me.” He called the unicorn’s attention to another of the cave’s pathways. “That leads to the combat range. We don’t need to visit that today. Instead, I should show you the spare room.” Moving through the tunnel, he ushered Eclipse along. “It’s this way.”
“Right behind you,” he called back. “If you don’t mind my asking, how large is this cave system?” Even in the confines of the tunnels, Backup kept a brisk pace.
“I’m not entirely sure. They run extremely deep in some sections, and are too expansive for me to bother exploring.” The rest of the walk was done in silence as they reached the living area again. “Here’s where you’ll be staying,” Backup said as he walked over to an open doorway. “Before I go though, I’d like to know if you can teleport yourself up here from the ground, like you did in the city.”
“How high up is this place?” He asked.
“Like I said earlier, four hundred meters.”
“That’s reassuring. Assuming there’s a decent sized shadow to exit from, I can shadowport close to twice that difference.”
“Alright. Just making sure.”
Backup left Eclipse’s new quarters and walked across the room to his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. There were no lighting fixtures inside since he could see in the dark. There was a plush looking bed inside with a nightstand next to it. On the nightstand was a silver bracelet and necklace. It’s good to finally be home after two months. He tiredly crawled his way over to the bed and underneath the covers, instantly falling asleep.
Canterlot was burning. At the center of the raging inferno was a young colt. The little grey coated unicorn lie in the middle of the road, shivering underneath a shroud of turbid shadows. The child curled up into a ball in an attempt to block out the horrid scene around him. The screams of ponies being attacked and hauled off echoed within the colt’s shield, amplifying the piercing sounds. He hid behind his grey and silver mane, shut his eyes, and covered his ears with his hooves. He didn’t want to hear the buzzing anymore. Everypony was suffering and soon the buzzing would come for him.
The constant buzz soon escalated to a deafening roar. His shield shattered, flying away in a wave of black mist. Some invisible force tore the burned, stained cobblestone up from the streets, replacing it with patches of garden decorated by blossomed nightingales. The scent of singed fur and bile was quickly replaced by the pleasant fragrance of outdoors as the scenery shifted to that of a well-kept garden.
“Never going to let that dream play through are you, Luna?” The now adult Eclipse asked the camouflaged moon princess.
A sound not unlike the deepest bass line of a cello filled the garden as the Princess of the Night stepped out from a darkened corner.
“The number of times you bring this up shall not sway my feelings on the matter, my loyal apprentice,” Luna said, trotting to his side.
Eclipse glared at her for a moment before decided to relent.
She met his gazed with the same steel-eyed yet caring look that he had grown to find comfort in. The two stood side by side for several minutes, staring into the nothingness that surrounded the gardens.
“We need to talk. Word of your exploits have reached my ears...”
Eclipse tossed and turned in his bed. Despite how inviting the soft pillows and warm blanket were, something had broken him out of his dreamscape. The stallion’s ears twitched, both picking up the source of the disturbance. The noise was barely a whisper on the wind, but the feelings behind it chilled the stallion to the bone. He knew that checking in on Backup would be the right thing to do, but that didn’t make sliding out of bed any easier. With his choice made, he popped his back and quickly made his way out of his room.
Backup’s room was right across from his, giving him no time to actually think about what he was about to do. Eclipse could still hear the silent yelling through the Kreust door, but he wouldn’t just barge into another’s room. In the end, he settled on placing his ear against the door.
“No…..stay away from her! ...Stop!” Eclipse heard Backup shout. The words penetrated the material easily, entering Eclipse’s ears as though nothing separated the two stallions.
Eclipse vigorously pounded on the door. “Backup! What’s going on in there?! Backup!”
“No stop! You’re hurting her!” Backup was screaming now.
Does Backup have someone in there with him? Are we under attack?! The thoughts raced through his head at a mile-a-minute. Instinct and training took over where rational thought failed Eclipse, causing him rear up on his hind legs and slam his front hooves against the door. Kreust was a lot less durable than he expected. Instead of dislodging the entire thing from the wall like he expected, his hooves sailed clean through the Kreust.
“Horseapples,” he cursed, withdrawing his legs from the door. Backup was still screaming his lungs out and here he was… failing to help.
Eclipse took a deep breath and peeked through one of the holes he created. He couldn’t see much, but he could see that there was enough empty space directly in front of him to teleport into Backup’s room safely. A single thought later, Eclipse found himself sinking into the darkness under him. He reemerged safely inside of the pitch black room. Though the guard couldn’t see anything, he could hear and feel Backup thrashing about. There’s nopony else here.
“P-please stop!” His screaming was now intermixed with sobbing.
The plea broke Eclipse from his ruminations. In an instant, he was at Backup’s bedside, watching stupidly as the stallion’s silhouette cried and flailed about. “W-what do I...” Eclipse sputtered.
I need to bring him to his senses before he hurts himself. “Backup!” He shouted, shoving his hooves roughly against the stallion’s side.
“Huh?!” Backup’s eyes snapped open and he fell off the bed.
Backup clambered onto the bed after recovering from his fall, his wings spread wide and his teeth bared, but relaxed when he saw who had woken him up. “O-oh. It’s just you Eclipse.”
“What the hay was that all about?!” Eclipse asked, concerned. “You were freaking out and it looking like you were struggling against something.”
Backup reached over to the nightstand and picked up the silver necklace, holding it close to his chest for a moment before putting it on around his neck. Once it was on, he hopped off of the bed and onto the floor next to Eclipse. “It was nothing.” He took several deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart. “Just a nightmare. Sorry for waking you up.” He walked out of his room and towards the kitchen.
Backup’s sudden departure caught Eclipse by surprise. It wasn’t long before the unicorn had turned on his hooves and caught up with the fleeing pony. “That’s horseapples and you know it! Ponies don’t act like that during nightmares!”
Backup entered the kitchen and pulled a cup and a jar of coffee grinds out of a cupboard. He placed the grinds in a teakettle before turning on the stove, turning to Eclipse and sitting down as the coffee boiled. “In case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you that I’m not a pony.”
“C’mon, don’t give me that weak excuse.” Eclipse gave the jewelry that Backup had taken solace in a questioning glance. To him, it was nothing more than a bauble, but for the changeling it obviously meant something more. “Does it have something to do with that?” He probed.
“Does it matter?” He said with a small amount of venom in his voice.
“Of course it matters! The same way it mattered that I couldn’t climb fast enough. It matters because now I’m not even sure that you’re stable! How do I know that something like what I just saw won’t happen in the future? How do I know that you won’t lose your hold on reality and attack me in place of whatever you were yelling at?” He replied, matching Backup’s tone.
Backup slowly stood up, his expression twisting into a grimace. “Be careful what you say next, pony,” He spat out the last word and growled.
Eclipse rose to Backup’s challenge. “Or what? You going to hit me? Remember how well that worked out earlier. It’ll end the same here. With you confused and on the ground.” He narrowed his eyes at Backup and snorted.
Backup spread his wings wide, knocking a couple pots off of the overhead racks, and was about to launch himself at Eclipse when the teakettle started whistling. He folded his wings shut with a snap and turned around. The changeling started pouring the coffee into the cup he had set out earlier, before storming past Eclipse and into the living room. The couch he chose to lie down on was facing away from the kitchen a little more than a meter away.
Eclipse followed Backup with his eyes until the other stallion was out of sight. He sighed, releasing the breath he was holding. I was way out of line. Still, with what I saw there was no way I could just let that go. Whatever it was it must have really hurt him.
He decided to walk after Backup, but he couldn’t bring himself to pass through the threshold dividing the two rooms while he collected his thoughts. “Backup,” he said calmly.
Backup didn’t respond, instead choosing to ignore the stallion lest he attack him.
“Listen, I know you can hear me. I want to talk. First thing’s first, I’m not apologizing. Now that I got that out of the way, I just want to let you know that he reason I pried in the first place was because I wanted to help. If what you experienced was painful or personal and you didn’t want to talk about it, you should have just said so. I would’ve dropped the subject.” Eclipse took a few breaths before continuing. “I know how hypocritical this may sound coming from me Backup, so say what you will. Don’t slap away hooves that try to help you. I have no idea what’s going on with you. In the guard, we couldn’t let compromised soldiers fight alongside us. They endanger everypony. You understand?”
After a few moments, Backup broke the silence. “I’m fine. I’m not compromised, and no you can’t help with it. You can’t change the past.” Eclipse couldn’t see it, and even though Backup had a neutral expression on his face, tears were escaping his closed eyes as he tightly grasped his necklace.
“That’s all I wanted to hear.” Eclipse prepared to turn and leave Backup to deal with his problems, but he remembered something important. Had Backup’s night terror not awoken him this would’ve had to wait until they got up naturally. “And one more thing. I have good news.”
“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.”
