//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Shields and Swords // Story: Day of Eclipse // by Eclipse_Nightstar //------------------------------// “If I may venture, this would be the girl you’ve bonded with, yes?” The older draconian asked, his muzzle coming inches from Sunset’s face. He gave her a few cautious sniffs. “Yes, you have his blood in your veins” He nodded, squinting at the girl for a moment. “Very, interesting, a bond like this hasn’t happened since Lady Gwendolene.” he added, folding his wings to his side. He raised his hand and snapped his claws. Instantly, several more draconians, all with varying colors and their weapons at the ready. “Now that is what I’ve expected. You, father, are definitely a pleasant surprise.” Eclipse said, giving a bow. “I’m curious, has something happened at the sanctuary?” he asked standing up and looking his father square in the eyes. “No, I have come to ask you to come home.” His father replied. Eclipse raised his hand, placing the other over the bridge of his nose. “Wait, wait, wait, did you by chance set up a little event using a bear?” He asked, his eyes gleaming with the dangerous light that Sunset had seen when he had interrupted the Friendship Games, his father gave a small smile and nodded. “Then you are aware that had I not intervened, someone could’ve gotten seriously hurt from that little stunt.” he growled, standing a little taller. “No, not just hurt, even killed!” He he had raised his voice to a shout. “And we wonder why humans beat us back into our capital! We treat them as a-” he started, but his father raised his claw to quiet him. “Calm down, calm down. Had you not intervened, one of my men would’ve.” He soothed, placing his claws on his son’s head and ruffling the silver-like strands. Eclipse frowned, his eyes still gleaming with the cold light. “You could’ve led off that little detail.” Eclipse grumbled in reply, rolling his eyes. He looked over the other draconians, then nodded . “My son, I have reinstated your inheritance, and I believe you will take an interest in a certain meeting that has been arranged recently.” His father nodded with a chuckled. “After all, they had cut off their communications when you were but a young whelp.” Came the elder’s voice in a knowing tone. Another draconian stepped forward, bowing. “Lord Nightstar! Are you certain?” he asked, looking at Eclipse. “Yes, he knows his old fal’ra better than any of my councilors.” Nightstar answered, causing Eclipse’s cold stare to soften. “We have reestablished contact with Equestria?” He shouted, reeling back. “If I recall the time dilation correctly, it’s been about a thousand years for them.” Eclipse glanced over his shoulder at Sunset, who was staring at the two draconians, and cleared his throat. “My apologies sal mir, we didn’t mean to disregard you.” “I’m sorry, sal-what?” Sunset asked, causing Eclipse and his father to chuckle. “Sal mir, the translation is ‘my dear’.” Eclipse smiled, looking at his father. “Pardon my manners. This is my father, Lord Nightstar, king of the draconian people.” He said, bowing his head slightly. He looked at Sunset and motioned in her direction. “And this is Sunset Shimmer.” He paused. Nightstar chuckled to himself, and looked over Sunset, his breath sending shivers down her spine. “I dare say this young woman has her heart in the right place.”he replied, turning his head slightly. He gave Sunset a slight sniff, then hummed thoughtfully. “I would refer to you as a human, but now that I’ve had a closer look, I see that you have crossed a rift between here and Equestria.” he placed a claw over his mouth. “And that is concerning, we cannot stop any threats if we do not know where they emerge from.” “I’m sure that we’ll be able to keep an eye on it.” Eclipse replied, relaxing. “If I were to guess, I think it might be around the school, this most recent… incident would be the second centering there.” He glanced at Sunset, giving a slight smile. He looked back to his father, his face becoming stern again. “ However, I do ask we leave it be. I don’t think our ‘improvements’ would be of benefit to that rift.” He added. Nightstar chuckled in reply. “Indeed, although that would be a bit entertaining.” he said, a sarcastic grin crossing his muzzle. He was going to continue, but a distant scream draws the company’s attention. “What was that?” Sunset asked, looking towards the sound. Eclipse growled and drew his sword, spinning the blade viscously. “Don’t know, but that was from Sanctuary…” He replied, turning to his father and nodding, then back to Sunset. “Stay here, They’ll keep you safe.” He paused, waving another draconian over. “I’ll take a guard or two and make sure everything is fine.” He rolled his shoulders before sprinting into the underbrush. After a few moments, he came to a stop near a deep cavern, which had thick, black smoke billowing out from the mouth of it. “This doesn’t bode well.” The guard said, drawing the bow from his back. Eclipse nodded, and quietly slipped into the darkness. They came upon what looked like a sentry station, completely demolished, and Eclipse thought he saw a few bloodstains among the rubble. “Sir, over there!” the guard pointed at a dimly lit pile of stone and wood. Eclipse squinted, then ran over to it when he caught a glint of steel. He dug around in the rubble, uncovering an armored hand. “C-capt..ain..” A weak voice asked, the hand twitching. Eclipse dug even more furiously, uncovering a beaten and battered Draconian soldier, several wood beams had impaled him, and several points in the armor had been punctured and had dug into the man underneath. “What happened soldier?” Eclipse demanded, his his hand tightening around his blade. “Our Talon squad staged a rebellion, had two other squads behind them.” the wounded soldier coughed. “We held them off as long as we could, Captian Bladeclaw was organizing a defence at the main keep.” The soldier started another coughing fit. Eclipse placed a hand on the man’s jerking shoulder. “You did your best, may you find solace in Falrim my friend.” Eclipse said soothingly as the soldier coughed a few more times before dropping his head into the rubble, the life fading from his eyes. Eclipse lowered his eyelids before the rigor mortis caused the body to become stiff. Eclipse stood, clenching his fist and turning to his guard, and nodded to where the Main hall would be, as each sanctuary was built in a uniform format. This had always been an issue with Eclipse, but he could complain later, now he had to deal with infighting among his own people. “This is pointless, the only thing this accomplishes is unnecessary destruction and death.” He grumbled, looking over the ruins of homes. “If I ever get my own sanctuary, I won’t be following the normal layout.” He said under his breath, just as he and his companion came into the vast cavern that had once been decorated in suits of armor and weapons, but it was now stripped bare. “Sir, it appears that Bladeclaw’s men have used this chamber. We should continue onwards.” The captain informed, brushing a part of the wall that had been hidden behind a shield. “Looks like those who fell were able to take four of the five rebels with them.” Eclipse nodded towards the site of the remains of battle. Four ornate uniforms among the corpses catching his eye. He examined another body for a moment, “She’s not an active soldier, and from the looks of it, Most of her friends weren’t either.” He growled. “To what insanity did the Talons fall to to be able to kill civilians, even women.” He stood, glancing over the carnage, a part of him hoping to find even one survivor. The Captain lightly grabbed his shoulder. “Mi’lord, I do not wish to Burden you further, but it seems that they didn’t spare even the children. The soldier said, pointing towards a huddled corpse with several arrows protruding from his back. The corpse shifted, causing both men to draw steel. A young girl, not even a year past hatching by Eclipse’s guess, cried and squirmed under the lifeless arms of what the men supposed was her older brother. Eclipse returned his blade back to it’s scabbard while letting out the breath he had held. He walked over to the infant, gently removing it from the corpse’s arms and cradling it in his own. “Eclipse! There you are!” came Sunset’s voice as she ran out of the shadows, accompanied by three other soldiers. She stopped and fell to her knees when she saw the corpses littered about the far end of the room. “W-what happened? Are they-” “Dead…” Eclipse whispered, barely able to keep himself from bursting into tears. “May their souls find rest in Falrim for their bravery.” He carefully maneuvered through the field of corpses as he made his way to Sunset’s side. “I swear, I’ll find the one responsible for this.” he growled. Eclipse pulled Sunset to her feet, just as mocking laughter echoed through the empty end of the room, back to the entrance. The accompanying soldiers quickly formed a wall in front of their prince and his bond mate. “Stirring performance, But I’m afraid that won’t save you now.” A dark voice said as a tall, imposing figure walked towards them, stopping just before reaching the area illuminated by the torch. “However, since I am so generous, I will give you another chance.” there was a slight pause then the figure tossed a beaten and battered draconian at their feet. “I see you’ve found my bait. This is Sir Bladeclaw, and that little morsel you’re holding is his child, kill them both, and I’ll let you pass.” Eclipse gritted his teeth, then he wrapped the child in his arms with his cloak, gingerly placing it into Sunset’s arms. He pressed his way passed the guards, his eyes taking on the eerie ice blue glow Sunset had seen when he had fought Midnight Sparkle. He knelt at the wounded Bladeclaw. “Eclipse? You came back, Your father must have found you.” He smiled weakly, giving a little nodd. “My daughter, please, make sure she finds a good home. I can’t bear that she would grow up without a family.” Eclipse shook his head. “Mar’ran, you will be able to raise her yourself. We’ll get through this, we’ve had worse.” the prince insisted, reaching out for his friend. Just before he could touch him, a black tail, tipped with a metal blade, shot into view and pierced Bladeclaw’s throat. “My apologies, but I was getting bored with all the sentiment.” The voice came with a chuckle. Eclipse’s eyes shone even brighter, and the braziers around the room flared to life, the flames burning a bright blue. In front of the group stood a tall, black Draconian, his armor and scales stained with blood, and his burning red eyes staring Eclipse down. “Lost yourself to the need for battle, have you Bloodtalon?” Eclipse said darkly. “I, Eclipse Nightstar, will make you pay for what you’ve done.” He let himself transform fully, shaking shards of ice off of his arms and legs. His poised for battle, the raptor like talons on his foot striking the floor hard enough to crack the stone beneath him. His hands shone eerily, his magic surrounding them. “So you’re willing to risk exile to defeat me?” Bloodtalon chuckled, rolling his shoulders. “ The dragon’s fist is forbidden you know.” “I’m well aware, I just came back, but if it mean putting a stop to your madness, I will gladly risk it again.” Eclipse growled in reply. “And it’s not like I have much choice, I’m injured.” he added, nodding to his limp wing. What happened next Sunset could barely make out, Bloodtalon jabbed at Eclipse with his tail, looking to impale him with the blade at the end. Eclipse caught it, then shattered the blade. Almost at the same time, his other hand swung upwards, cutting Bloodtalon’s right shoulder to the bone. As Bloodtalon staggered back, he was struck across his face by Eclipse’s tail, whose thin whip-like tip left a nasty gash across his face. Bloodtalon tried to retaliate, but Eclipse sidestepped and kneed him in the stomach. Bloodtalon crashed into a pillar a few feet away. Eclipse cleared the distance in one feral jump, landing on his adversary’s back. Sunset looked away, closing her eyes. “Sunset? Are you alright?” Eclipse’s voice came, Sunset opened her eyes, Eclipse was looking concerned, again in his semi-human form. Sunset hadn't noticed that his eyes didn’t change between his human and his natural forms. She could ask about that later, but for now there were more pressing matters. “Y-yeah, I think so.” She nodded, the Baby she held in her arms gurgled happily. And he smiled. He looked behind them as they left the room. Then he ushered them back out into the halls, and towards the exit. “What happened?” She asked, Eclipse took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “I think it’s best that we not talk about that, and I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have had to deal with what was down there.” He replied, “I hope you can forgive me, the last thing I want is to have innocents hurt on my account.” Sunset looked at Eclipse, who continued. “Had I not dabbled in the Dragon’s fist, I wouldn’t have been exiled, and all this insanity wouldn’t have happened.” He nodded “In a way, I’m just as responsible as he was.” “No you’re not!” Sunset snapped, Eclipse flinching slightly at the suddenness of the outburst. “You saved the crusaders! You stood up to Mrs. Cinch! You are a good person!” She finished, the draconian took a moment to process her words, then chuckled. “Let’s not forget that I also, for lack of a better term, beat the corruption out of Twilight.” He added with a smile. Sunset punched him lightly on the shoulder. “I’m not counting that one as helping.” She scolded, turning away. “Alright, what would you have done? Zapped her good with sparkles?” Eclipse joked, stretching his uninjured wing a bit, flinching when the stitches tugged on his membrane. “Well, I see that you have dealt with the rouge talons.” Lord Nightstar’s voice came from overhead, Eclipse nodded as his father landed on front of them a few moments later. “I must ask that you greet the Ambassadors, whilst I focus on repairing the damage done to this sanctuary.” Eclipse bowed his head, Sunset, despite witnessing him dropping a formal facade over his playful nature, was still amazed that he was able to switch his demeanor so quickly. She was pulled from her thoughts when Eclipse nudged her with his elbow. “Sorry, what?” She asked, shaking her head. “I asked if you would like to stand by my side during the negotiations.” Eclipse repeated, smiling warmly. “I could use an equestrian to ensure that offers are beneficial” Eclipse looked over Sunset hopefully, a slight glitter in his eyes. “I would, but the Girls and I have a summer camp tomorrow.” “Alright, I wish you the best, I’ll let you know if I find anything more about the bond, then I’ll be back after the negotiations are done.”