//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: New friends 
// Story: Day of Eclipse 
// by Eclipse_Nightstar 
//------------------------------//

When he awoke, he found himself in a very different place than where he remembered. Eclipse shook his head, trying to clear the hazy thoughts from his mind. When he had succeeded, he looked over his surroundings. He wasn’t in the school’s front lawn, that’s for sure, and to his surprise, he wasn’t in a prison either. Instead, He found himself in a expensively decorated room, lying on a lounge sofa with red velvet cushions. The windows had their laced curtains drawn closed, making the room a good deal darker than it should have been. The draconian whirled around, his eyes looking through the darkness as well as if it were noonday, as he heard the a creaking sound, most likely originating from the fluffy staircase on his right. A girl, not over ten years old, stood frozen with fear. If he had to guess, this was a younger sister of one of the girls he had met what he hoped was only a night before. Eclipse stood up, noting his cloak hanging on the coat rack next to the door, along with his bow, arrows, and his sword tucked neatly in a far corner.

“Sweetiebelle! Don’t be rude!” Came a familiar voice from further up the stairs. Inwardly, he groaned, he wasn’t an indoor person, and being holed up in a house of a person that he hardly knew wasn’t helping. “Say hello to our guest.” Rarity insisted, walking down the rest of the stairs, pushing her younger sister along.

“H-hello.” the little girl stammered. Eclipse smiled, he let a cheerful grin spread across his face. 

“Hello Sweetie Belle.” He happily replied, giving a short, polite nod. He walked over to a window, examining the curtains. “I suppose that we can let a little light in, yes?” He asked, placing his right hand on the silk curtains. Rarity looked unsure, but after a moment, she nodded. He pulled back the fabric, but he froze, his hand was covered in dull grey scales, tipped with sharp, curved claws the color of a fresh snowfall. He pulled it back, cursing to himself. I lost control of my magic again , did I…. He knew that the rest of him was human in appearance, but despite the slight relief of tension, the nagging feeling that he had repeat of the incident that had caused his banishment. “Did I … hurt anyone?” He asked, his voice visibly shaking. 

“Goodness, no.” Rarity smiled. She waved her hand dismissively. Eclipse let the news wash over him, he let out a relieved sigh. 

“Thank the Gods!” He chuckled, “ For a moment there, I thought… I thought I had-” He said, his voice cracking even more as he fell to his knees, he felt a single tear roll down his cheek. With one look at the sympathetic face of Rarity and her sister, he broke down, full on sobbing. He paused for a moment, as there was a knock at the door, but he soon resumed his sobs, moving to a counter that was still in shadow. 

“Oh, Fluttershy!” Came the grateful voice of Rarity, a few other words were exchanged, but he couldn’t hear over his sobs. “Quite frankly, Dear, I’m not sure what to do, he woke up, opened the curtains, and then reduced himself to this poor mess.”  Eclipse felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, he looked up, finding himself looking into the sapphire eyes of  Fluttershy. His eyes watered, He looked away, he couldn’t look her in the eyes, not while the shadow of his past actions loomed in his mind.

“Are you okay?” Came her quiet voice, he blinked away a few tears, wiping a few away with his arm. She immediately pulled him into a hug. He took a deep breath, tapping her shoulder when he had calmed down. “All better?” She asked, pulling away. He nodded, pushing himself back to his feet.

“Just one question,” he said, raising one finger. “What exactly changed from when I passed out and now that changed how much you trust me.” He crossed his arms, his eyes now back to the normal, icy gaze.

“Well, you have Twilight and Sunset for that, Dear.” Rarity replied, mimicking his posture. There was another knock at the door, Sweetie Belle was the one who answered it. “I offered to give you a place to stay, one one condition.” Eclipse nodded, rolling his eyes.

“There’s always a catch.” He chuckled, gesturing for her to go on.

“You must let me make you a decent change of clothes.” Rarity said, turning towards a sewing machine over in a neighboring room. He raised his eyebrows, taken back slightly.

“That’s it? No other strings attached?” He asked, half expecting something else to come up. She shook her head, he felt for something, anything he could use as payment. Her sister hadn’t said anything, and he had heard the door open and close, so he had supposed the young girl had gone outside to play.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about paying me, Dear, after all, It’s not as if I run a business.” she said happily, giving a satisfied smile. Eclipse rolled his eyes, he had forgotten that Human culture had a different view on being an adult and owning property.

“My apologies, where I’m from, you could very well do so, we’re considered adults when we leave our profession master.” Eclipse said, glancing at the door as another loud series of knocks grabbed his attention. Rarity’s eyes visibly darting to it.

“Hey, Rarity!” Came Applejack’s voice. “Mind if I come in?”  

“Come in, Applejack darling!” Rarity called over her shoulder, grabbing a measuring tape from the table nearby. 

“Rarity,” AppleJack said, glancing at Eclipse and nodding. “I came to see if y’all needed anythin.”

“Okay, seriously, what in the name of Alexzandria is going on? When I first met you, you didn’t even look me in the eye.” Eclipse growled, throwing his hands into the air. “Now two of your friends say some little speech and you are ready to trust me.” Applejack crossed the room and glared at him.

“Now see here mister, I still don’t trust ya, but Sunset and Twilight want me to give ya a chance. Despite my better judgement.”  She said, glaring at Eclipse and folding her arms over her chest.

“Glad to have that cleared up.”  he replied, slowly clapping. “I don’t suppose that it’s unreasonable for me to talk to them.” quietly slipping his clawed hand back under his sleeve. He could feel it slowly reverting back to normal, but he didn’t want to give out the fact he wasn’t human just yet. Fluttershy let out a small squeak as another urgent knock shook the room. Rarity rushed over to the door and opened it. The girl that he had fought before, whom he guessed was Twilight rushed in, her breath ragged. “Speak of the devil.”  he mumbled to himself.

“Apple Bloom, Sw-sweetie belle, Scootaloo, in trouble.” Twilight panted, Eclipse took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. 

“Where are they?” He demanded, crossing the room and tying his sword onto his belt.

“I-in the woods, Sunset and Rainbow went to help,  they sent me for help.” Twilight explained, looking out the window. 

“Let me guess, it’s about a five minute run to where you heard the forest. Then a who knows how long  of a trek through the woods.” Eclipse said, cracking his knuckles,his mouth in a frown. “And I don’t want to be the one to spoil this, but if they are in trouble, we just don’t have any time.” He opened the door, but barely had taken a step before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not leavin’ you to do this by yerself, too risky.” Came Applejack’s voice. Eclipse looked over his shoulder and gave a smirk.

“I wouldn’t worry about me, and if your friends are anything to go by, they’ll have enough common sense to stay out of a situation that is over their heads.” He chuckled, grabbing his bow and arrows and holding them out to her. “But if you insist, I must ask that you use these, I will not have you hurt because of your stubbornness.”

“But don’t you…” She asked, grabbing them hesitantly.

“Relax, I’m better with a good blade anyways.” Eclipse shrugged, turning back towards the yard. He looked around nervously, as if he was nervous that someone was watching when he was satisfied, he snapped his fingers. A small cyclone of frigid wind and snow swirled around him, obscuring him from view. When it cleared, the Draconian bore a pair of Dragon’s wings, the scales matching those on his hand, the webbing  was a dark teal blue. The girls gasped behind him. “ I don’t see what the surprise is, after all, your magic, seems to do something similar. I just have a little more control over what mine does.”

“It’s just a little unsettling that’s all, dear.”

“Well, let’s stop wasting valuable  time and get going.” Eclipse lept into the air, Applejack ran out after him. He looped back around, picking up Applejack by the arms.

“Sorry, but we won’t make it in time if we run, and to add to that, we would be exhausted, which is no way to enter combat, if that does happen.” He said over the roaring wind. He closed his eyes,letting his ability to sense the unique magical imprint of an object of interest, in this case, it happened to be three little girls. He found their trail easy enough, he cursed under his breath.

“What was that!?” Applejack shouted over the wind. 

“I’ve got good and bad news, I found them.” Eclipse replied, diving below the canopy of the forest. “But they’ve seemed to have angered a rather large bear.” He scanned the forest floor, searching for a safe place to set  Applejack down. “Doesn’t look like we can get any closer, the trees are too close together to carry you the rest of the way.” He slowed and dropped his passenger on the ground.  “Stay here, I don’t want you getting caught between a dragon and it’s hoard.” Applejack took a deep breath to protest, but Eclipse had lept out of sight and was heading towards the bear with a thin trail of frost glazing the grass and ferns on the forest floor as he flew over them.

“Somebody! HELP!” a voice shouted, Eclipse made a mental note that it sounded like a younger Applejack as he shot forwards even faster. He entered the small clearing in a grey blur, his right boot smashing into the large furred side of the bear. His speed alone was enough to throw the animal off balance enough that it had to stop its attack and steady itself. As he continued on his trajectory, he dug his claws into the soft ground, righting himself with his wings. He looked over his shoulder, Sweetie Belle and two other girls her age were cowering at the base of the tree, trying to make themselves as small as possible.  The sound of two motors tore through the short silence. Moments later, Rainbow and the girl with the red and yellow striped hair, whom he had supposed that she was the Sunset Applejack mentioned, skidded to a stop, their vehicles humming idly as the girls ran to them. 

“Get them out of here!” Eclipse commanded, gripping his sword’s hilt and drawing the blade. He slid it so he was holding it by the tip and holding it out to Sunset. “Follow the trail of frost, Applejack is likely somewhere along the path.” he growled, turning back to the bear. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”  The bear roared angrily, Eclipse crouched, ready for an attack. The two had driven off, the younger children seated further back on the motorcycles. 

“Well, it’s just me and you.” He laughed darkly. Letting magic envelop his other arm, he relished at the felling of the dull, gray scales sprouting from under his skin. When it was intentional, the feeling of the change felt something similar to stretching a stiff limb, otherwise, it could be extremely painful. The bear lunged at him, he blocked its claw with his wing, returning with his own swipe. He’d felt his claws dig into the paw, but compared to the size of the bear, the gashes were only small cuts. He ducked another swipe from the bear, driving his knee into the lower jaw. Another swipe came, he lept over the angry beast, but the bear fell ontop of him, the full weight of the animal smashed him into the ground. The bear swung its claw again, and Eclipse threw his wing up as a shield. Then he screamed, his voice scaring off a few birds from their nest. The bear, instead of it hitting the hard scales, its claws tore through the membrane. Eclipse couldn’t focus, the pain causing his vision to blur. He threw the beast off of him, throwing it aside as if it were merely a stuffed toy. It lunged at him again, this time, aiming to tear out his throat with its teeth. What it got however, was a scaled arm braced across the inside of its jaw. He twisted his arm sideways, snapping the neck of his opponent. He brushed the dirt and hair off of his cloak, now growing stained with his own blood, seeping from the tear on his wing. He sank to his knees, undoing the clasp on his cloak and draping it over the wounded wing. The blood loss was making him lightheaded, his thoughts melded together, unintelligibly. Then he fell over and let darkness overtake him.

When he came to, he found himself in a small room, the sparse decor told him he wasn’t in Rarity’s home. He looked over his surroundings, finding nothing, he inspected his injured wing. To his surprise, he could see the careful, deliberate stitches sealing the tear. He moved to touch it, but his arm jolted with pain. He scrutinized it, and despite the armor like scales covering his form, the bear’s teeth had bruised him, it had been rather vicious at one point, but it had died down. He shifted to a sitting position, looking around the small room. 

“Oh my, you’re up already?”  he heard Fluttershy’s voice. Eclipse looked over the windows and doors to find the shy girl, he found her peeking around the corner of the doorway.

“Sorry, I’ll attempt to not make a habit of it.” He smirked, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at his stitched wing. “I take it that I have you to thank for patching me up.” 

“Oh, you’re welcome! But Sunset did most of it.” Fluttershy said, smiling quietly.

“Don’t be modest, I know that she doesn’t have the skill.” Eclipse paused, shaking his head. “I don’t doubt she helped, my wing was too damaged to repair by yourself.” He looked over his wing again, then looking back to Fluttershy. A knock at the door surprised both of them, though Eclipse hid it a little better than the timid girl.

“Fluttershy? Is something wrong?”  A voice that he didn’t recognize asked.

“Oh, no nothing’s wrong, I’ll be right there.” Fluttershy called back, he could tell she meant to be loud enough to be heard, but her voice went even quieter than when she had introduced herself. She left to answer the door, whispering something that he didn’t here.

“He’s up already?!?” The voice asked, and, now he had a moment to himself, he closed his eyes, letting the magic of his surroundings flow over him. He reached into the next room, where Fluttershy was talking to her visitor. He gave a quiet chuckle, he recognised the aura, it was the girl he had given his sword to. He gave a sigh, he swore that girl, who he had guessed was Sunset when he had seen her in the forest, was following him around. To his surprise, the second he thought of her, a warm pressure flooded through his chest, he had not felt warmth since he had chosen to specialize in cryomancy. 
“Could she have… I have been unconscious twice around her, and I did get injured the most recent incident.” He mumbled to himself, standing and walking quietly into the room. Fluttershy gasped quietly, noticing him standing awkwardly, his outstretched wing throwing off his balance.

“Oh my, are you sure that you should be moving around?” She asked, rushing up to him and grabbing his arm to steady him.

“I’ll be fine, I thank you for your concern.” He replied, giving a weak smile. He glanced over to Sunset, giving a slight bow. “Sunset, I assume?” He asked bowing stiffly, not wanting to fall over. He noted that  she was blushing slightly. 

“Yes. I’m Sunset Shimmer” She replied, shaking his hand. He smiled and took a seat on the couch. He shifted his weight, careful not tear open his repaired wing. After a few moments, when both Fluttershy and Sunset had taken seats, he cleared his throat.

“ To get down to business, I’m in your dept for picking me up after that fight with the bear, and aiding in my recovery.” He said, bowing slightly.

“Don’t mention it, it was the least I could do.” Sunset said, her face blushing slightly.

“I do have a few questions, Firstly, do you  have any open wounds.” He asked, looking at Sunset, she nodded. “ And did your wound at any point come into contact mine?” He demanded. His eyes gleaming. After thinking for a few moments, Sunset nodded. “I was afraid of that.” He scowled. When the girls gave him a questioning look, he sighed and shook his head. “You see, my people have something called a blood bond, it’s a draconian way to… mark potential mates.” He grumbled quietly, his face blushing in embarrassment. Sunset lept back, Surprised, and understandably taken back.

“WHAT!?” Sunset screamed, waving her arms frantically. He chuckled a little darkly, causing Fluttershy to shrink back.

“Relax, I won’t force you into anything. And I will let you know I figure anything out.” He replied. “A bond like this hasn’t happened for at least a thousand years.”  He looked around for a moment, then stood. “I’ll be back, I need to procure a few things from my camp.” 

“Wait.” Fluttershy said quietly. Eclipse turned, eyeing the girl questioningly. “I found your things in the woods and had them brought here while you were sleeping.” She smiled. “Applejack was a big help.” she added, suddenly leaping up after a few moments. “Oh dear, they asked me to let them know when you woke up. I just got so caught up in-” She started, but she was cut off by Eclipse raising his hand.

“No, worries. I’m sure they’ll understand. I apologize for any inconvenience that my equipment caused.” He said, flourishing his bow by spinning his wrist. 

“Oh no, I’m happy to help, I’m just glad everyone’s okay.” She replied, running out the door after a slight pause. Eclipse turned to Sunset, who immediately turned a deep red with blush. Eclipse was about to say something, but Fluttershy walked back inside, looking at the two.

“Oh my, am I interrupting?” she asked, he shook his head. “The others will be coming soon, I hope it won’t be trouble.” She added, moving to sit back down.

“No trouble at all, I’m sure they’ll have their own questions.” Eclipse waved, stretching his arms. “In the meantime, I suppose I owe you two some answers. Ask anything you want, and I’ll tell you what I know.” He sat back down, crossing his arms. The two girls looked at him for a moment, He rolled his eyes, annoyed. “I would think that beating a corrupted being into the ground and killing a bear with my bear hands would raise a few questions.”

“I think we should wait for the others.” Sunset replied, Eclipse complied, leaning back in his seat.

“Very well.” He agreed, pulling the knife from his boot and spinning it between his fingers. “While we do that, I’d best write my report.” He said, looking at Fluttershy, who left the room and returned with his bag. Eclipse procured a blank scroll, a raven black quill, and an ink well. The three sat in awkward silence, the only noises were the ticking of the clock and his quill scratching the paper. After a few moments, he stood up, opened the window and called his phoenix, Sunset looked surprised, as if she recognized the bird and didn’t expect to see it. Eclipse gave the scroll to the bird and nodded, closing the window as it flew back to where it came. Just as he closed it again, Rainbow dash burst through the door.

“Oh hello again.” Eclipse smiled, holding the knife by the blade in a throwing position. He lowered his arm, slipping the knife back into his boot. “Sorry, old habits die hard I’m not usually that jumpy.” He smiled, taking a deep breath. “I think I should keep this in its sheath.” He looked at Rainbow apologetically for a moment, then looked back at Sunset and Fluttershy.

“Ummm, Rainbow how did you get here so fast?” Fluttershy asked, shrinking away when Eclipse looked at her. “You were at your house when I called a few minutes ago.” Rainbow shrugged.

“I took a shortcut, Passed AJ on the way.” She said, dismissively, then turning to Eclipse. “You got guts, standing up to a bear like that.” 

“It wasn’t all that special, someone needed my help and I did the best I could.” Eclipse said, glancing at his repaired wing, which still throbbed with a dull pain. I still can’t believe that beast was able to hit me like that, I should’ve seen that, I should've been more prepared. He thought to himself sourly. 

“Sorry what was that?” Sunset asked, standing up. 

“I did the best I could.” He replied, looking at her in slight surprise.

“No, after that.” She demanded, earning a strange look from her friends.

“Sunset, he didn’t say anything after that, are you sure you're okay?”  Rainbow asked, “I mean, you hit your head pretty hard yesterday.”

“What happened?” Eclipse asked, genuinely concerned. 

“I fell down some stairs when I missed a step.” Sunset replied, looking at Rainbow who was trying her hardest to hold back a laugh. 

“Sounds painful,” He said, thinking for a moment. “But I don’t think that has anything to do with what just happened, I may have not said anything, but I did express my annoyance at the lucky hit that bear got.”
“Lucky!” Sunset shouted, pointing at his wing. “You passed out from blood loss! If I hadn’t wanted to go back and make sure you were okay, would would be dead right now!” she crossed her arms. “ That wing was so torn up, I could've crawled through it.”

“Well, that bear was bigger than is usual for this realm.” He stated matter of factly. “In fact, the only place that I know of where things are that big is….” He paused, his eyes snapping wider. “Home.”  Instantly, he stood up, racing to the corner and picking up his sword. “The quickest way to the forest.” He demanded, throwing a cloak over his shoulders. He strapped the sword to his belt, then turning towards the door. “The portal wouldn’t be that open unless something happened.” He reached to open it, but it flew against the wall before he had touched it. Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie stood in the door. He glanced over the three before placing a hand on Applejack and Pinkie shoulders, and pushing them aside gently.

“Somthin’ wrong?” Applejack asked, immediately picking up on Eclipse’s distress. He let out a quiet sigh.

“I don’t know, but something doesn’t seem right.” He glanced past them, his eyes looking past them and into the sky. He sighed quietly, “I can’t fly with the state of my wing, and there’s no other way to get to the sanctuary from here, unless...” He droned, his mind running at thousands of miles a minute. “There might be.. No, too dangerous. There’s got to be another option.” He rubbed his chin quietly, then he snapped his fingers, a smile lighting his face. “Of course!” he shouted, looking to his right, then to his left. He pushed them aside gently and took off running towards the woods. A small roar of an engine flared to life behind him, he kept going, his muscles pulsing with magic. He let himself relax, letting the magic increase his already inhuman speed, all the while, the engine kept at a reasonable distance. He closed his eyes, then he turned to the right in a wide arc into the woods. 

After a few moments, he slid to stop. Looking around and drawing his sword. The small rubble that had followed him grew louder. Eclipse tightened his grip on his sword, pulsing his magic around him. In a moment, he glanced over his shoulder, seeing Sunset riding her motorcycle towards him. He rolled his eyes, and smirked.

“Hello again.” He said, nodding when she finally had stopped the engine and taken off her helmet. He spun the blade for a few moments before placing it in his sheath.

“I’m coming with you, if only to drag your sorry body back when you pass out.” She added glumly. Eclipse laughed, eyeing the green bushes around the clearing. 

“That will not be necessary.” A kind, distant voice said behind them. Eclipse turned on his heels, to find a gleaming white draconian, standing on its hind legs. The wings extended out, the bright, icy blue of the webbing like a crisp, blue, cloudless sky. As it was, the dragon looked over them, taller than the pair by a foot or two. Eclipse bowed, flourishing his sword before sliding it into its sheath.

“Father, to what do I owe the pleasure?”