//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Festival of the Eclipse // Story: The Legend Of Harmony: The Eternal Eclipse // by Radiant Eclipse //------------------------------// Many legendary sagas start off with a pettiness. Banal, barely noteworthy, unsuspicious. It was a festival… a festival where ponies celebrate a legend that better should have been forgotten. A legend about the light and the darkness, a legend that gives hope to those who feel crushed by the vices the life imposes on them. It’s ironic that such a little thing was the flashpoint for an incident that is called “The Renascense”. An incident that caused so much pain, woe, angst, grief and despair. I’m still questioning if it was worth it, believing that leaving the darkness sealed in the crystal where it once belonged would have been the best thing to be done. But seemingly random circumstances precluded this possibility. Or maybe it wasn’t random and it was predestined to happen. I don’t know, nopony ever will. The only thing I know is that we have to live with our past sins and mistakes. Keeping them in mind helps us to prevent another failure… and in some cases even an inevitable catastrophe. But if the fault surpasses your durability, everything seems lost and only a loving light can reincarnate your spirit. If there had been a light… nothing of this may have happened… ======== It was a warm summer morning and tension controlled whole Equestria, possible even the whole world. The Festival of the Eclipse would soon begin. But it wasn’t just a regular festival. It has been celebrated every 25 years since millennia by all ponies, for 3 whole days. This quarter century, it has been celebrated in Ponyville and ponies from everywhere poured into the town to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna performing a sacred ritual, the summoning of an eclipse. Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood in the first row. Because they are her most faithful friends, Celestia wanted them to be next to her, but Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were on the spot as well, but not in the crowd. They were behind the stage. The Wonderbolts performed a spectacular airshow for the occasion, together with Rainbow Dash performing a Sonic Rainboom. The crowd indeed enjoyed the performance, but still, they longingly expected the princesses to begin with the actual initiation of the festival, but they took their time. “Can you believe that we will see this event with our very own eyes!?” Twilight yelled to his also very excited friends. She had to yell, because it was so loud that ponies could barely hear their own thoughts. “The glamour, the art, the fascination!” Rarity raved about all the famous ponies in the crowd with their expensive dresses and their exorbitant self-portrayal. Applejack turned Rarity’s head back from the snobs to her friends. “Not to mention the huge honor for Ponyville. It’s the first time ever that the princesses want the festival to be celebrated in our little town.” “It´s also exactly the fiftieth time ever ponykind celebrates it!” Spike pointed out to seem to be well prepared and informed, especially to impress Rarity. Fluttershy interrupted the attempt of Spike by asking an interesting question. “But… I thought that Equestria has been founded just about 1100 years ago.” But like always, Twilight had the answer. “That’s right, but the festival has already been celebrated 150 years prior the foundation…” “Wow! That´s very long ago, isn´t it?” Pinkie Pie asked, actually interrupting what Twilight was going to say. “Yes… Pinkie, I will explain it! Our princesses were born 1270 years ago. When they were 20, that means when it was 1250 years before today, they had defeated a gigantic threat. That is the reason why ponykind celebrates this festival every 25 years. Like you have said before Fluttershy, Equestria has been founded 1100 years ago, 150 years after the rescue of the world. 20 years later, Discord conquered the new land Equestria and controlled it for over 50 years. Then, Celestia and Luna conquered it back and were crowned princesses and ruled the land together for 30 years. But then, Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon and… you know the rest of the story.” “This land has a really dramatic past, hasn´t it?” Applejack pointed out with a slightly sarcastic undertone. “But this makes this festival so romantic!” Rarity shouted at Applejack, willingly provoking a dispute. Fortunately Rainbow Dash got in their way and stopped the dispute by presenting her point of view. “Romance or not, I’m just here because of the Wonderbolts. Yeah, yeah, my heroes…” But Spike did not like her very superficial opinion and fought against it. “You know Rainbow Dash; you should look forward to celebrate the festival and not just…” Pinkie Pie suddenly interrupted him. After so many times her friends said festival, she couldn’t contain herself anymore. “Oh yes! Party! Party! Party! I wanted to celebrate this festival since my day of birth! I always wanted to celebrate the… I mean, that we…” She stopped and began to think, but she got no answer. “To be honest, I´ve no idea what we’re going to celebrate…” Twilight was slightly confused. She was sure she told her the reason for celebrating the Festival of the Eclipse just a minute ago. But after all, it was Pinkie Pie, so she just summed everything up. “Didn’t I mention that? Ponykind celebrates the festival because of the gigantic threat 1250 years ago. It was…” Loud trumpets played by the royal guards interrupted Twilight and all the other ponies. Everypony knew what the interruption was supposed to mean. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna entered the tribune, which has been decorated with pretty flowers and colorful balloons. The crowd acclaimed the princesses, but everypony became silent after a little while, so everypony was able to listen to the respectable princesses. Celestia began “My loyal subjects! I welcome you to the fiftieth Festival of the Eclipse!” Luna then took the lead. “Let us make the next 3 days be the most memorable moments in this millennium!” With much confetti and a fireworks display, the festival was opened and the crowd was astonished and put into fascination. After 5 minutes of only cheering and applauding, everypony became silent again. Like every time, Princess Celestia told the story of an ancient threat, the reason for celebrating this festival, but this time with the assistance of Luna. Luna introduced. “Keeping with tradition and to make it enjoyable for our young ponies as well, my sister will tell you the story behind the Festival of the Eclipse. Celestia, would you?” “But of course. My dear friends, exactly 1250 years ago the perhaps darkest chapter in history of ponykind occurred, a time in which our beloved land Equestria didn’t even exist. At that time, me and my sister were just young mares and very energetic and we weren’t princesses yet. However we and our 5 best friends who unfortunately cannot be here were destined to fulfill a greater duty, the prevention of a catastrophe that could have destroyed our world. The eternal eclipse!” Deep horror and tension controlled many minds and especially the young foals were excited of the story. “Despite we were just 7 young and vehement adults; we knew what we were supposed to do. We had to defeat the creature that could have set the end of everything off.” A young foal, the pegasi Scootaloo, interrupted her and asked Celestia openly a question. “What was that creature?!” “Good question my sonny. It was the being, ponies say, which created the nightmares. It was the opposite of all good, the come to life gloom… the harbinger of the complete darkness. The dark pony called… Pariah!” A cold shiver went down the spines of nearly everypony, but Scootaloo wasn’t impressed at all. “A pony? Is that everything? That isn’t terrifying at all.” “Scootaloo keep quiet now!” “Apple Bloom is right. You spoil all the fun.” “Never mind my little ponies. Pariah wasn’t just a regular pony. He was unique. He neither was an Earth pony, nor a Pegasi, nor a Unicorn. He was a beast, born from the worst characteristics that exist, the opposite of the 6 Elements of Harmony. Insincerity, callousness, desperation, greed, egoism and the most powerful of all, the Dark Magic! “His coat was jet-black, his mane, tale and eyes had a dusky purple. Although having jet-black coat is already nonrecurring, other special characteristics were more outstanding. He could summon a horn made of pure darkness, representing the Element of Dark Magic. In addition to that, ponies say that his heart was as black as his coat, freed of all kindness. In place of his chest where his heart was supposed to be was a big scar. That is why some ponies believe he ripped his own heart out of his body right after his birth, so he wasn’t forced to feel anything. The Element of Callousness then took the role of his heart. “But the most unforgettable characteristic traits of Pariah were his wide wings. There were 4 of them! Each of them had a unique symbol engraved into the flesh, representing the remaining 4 dark harmonies.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe what Princess Celestia just said and shouted her opinion out loud. “4 wings?! That is impossible!” Luna took the word and replied. “We couldn’t believe it as well, but it is the way Celestia told.” “Indeed. We 7 behold this monster with our very own eyes, but it was already too late. Pariah created an eclipse made of pure dark energy, which gradually consumed every bit of life energy out of all beings. The grass shriveled, plants withered and even the light couldn’t dispense any warmth. “The world was doomed fall, but there was always one hope that never faded. The Elements of Harmony. Each of us possessed 1 element. Me and my sister were both the bearer of the Element of Magic. Together, we were able stop Pariah just before he could finish his plan to drown the world in darkness and we were able to banish him into eternal crystal. “But the price for our victory was high. The land was burned, the world’s balance was disturbed… and our friends… perished… when they used all their energy to push back the darkness.” Several tears poured out of her eyes, flew down her face and shattered into millions of pieces on the ground. Luna consoled her sister and a sudden smile graced Celestia’s face. “After many years, the world recovered from the ordeal it had to endure and the burning sky became azure again. Since that time, 1250 years ago, we celebrate the Festival of the Eclipse. We celebrate for 3 full days, because our fight against Pariah took the same amount of time. In the end, we will create a total eclipse which will last only a few minutes. After it is gone again, we can greet our precious light and see how beautiful our beloved world is.” Everypony applauded Celestia for the fascinating story; some ponies even began to cry. But then, it was finally time to officially begin the festival. “With this festival, we honor the light, which gave us all the harmony we carry in our hearts and share with our family and friends every day.” “But also the darkness, which gives us strength when we have to face a threat we believe we cannot overcome.” Celestia and Luna together carried an amulet with their magic. It looked like an oval crystal vessel made of lucent materials, hold by a bleak altar. Luna then explained its meaning. “The relict from a past time, the essence of darkness. Although we defeated the darkness, it will always be a part of our world, like the light is a part of our world as well. Both are required so life can exist. So we give the darkness the required light.” They levitated the amulet in front of the sun. The light coming from it shined directly into the vessel and a luminescent, rainbow-colored gleam appeared in it. The princesses placed the amulet on a crystalline basement in the middle of the tribune. The crowd was thrilled of this ravishing sight. “Heroes of harmony, would you mind doing a pleasure for us?” Celestia asked her most faithful friends. They did not know what to do, so they just went on the tribune. Luna levitated a familiar looking box to the heroes and opened it. Inside were the Elements of Harmony. “Take them and bring them next to the amulet.” Luna told them supportingly. Each took their respective element and carried to the basement. The elements despites Twilight’s began to glow and hovered in midair, surrounding the amulet in a cycle. “Levitate it on the amulet, my dear student.” Celestia told her and Twilight executed her order. The Element of Magic finally began to glow when it was right above the amulet. A magic force field held the Elements in the air and the heroes went off the tribune again. “In honor for past heroes, the heroes we thank today and the yet to be born.” Celestia said sentimentally. It was silent for a minute, but it felt like hours would pass, as time itself would have been slowed down by the magnificent view. “May the festival begin!” Celestia shouted and everypony began to rejoice and all ponies celebrated until the late evening. No pony was able to hold a candle to Pinkie Pie, but many tried hard. As the sun went down, our heroes, the princesses, Shining Armor and Cadance sat jovially at a private table which was a bit away from the party. They took a good gulp of Applejack’s cider and a big mouthful of Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes, who was very proud of her backing recipe. “Dig in ponies! You have to savor this S.S.R! Secret Special Recipe!” Rainbow Dash was very curious and wanted to know what this special recipe might be, so she asked her. “What do you mean with special recipe? What’s inside these cupcakes?” “You little dimwit you are, hihi! If I would tell you, it wouldn’t be secret anymore, right?” Rainbow Dash took a look at her cupcakes, regarding it suspiciously, but then she stopped questioning and began again to eat it. “What the hay! I can think about when I’ve piped out. They are just too delicious!” “Wow! Hard to believe that already a half year went by since we defeated the Changelings and this cruel Queen Chrysalis.” Cadance said in an assuaged way and Shining Armor immediately replied to her. “Well, time flies when you have great friends spending it with you.” “Hear ye!” Spike yelled, holding his jar into the air and inviting everyone else to raise their jars as well. But he got no backlash, so he just put his jar down again. “Aaaah… it is just so wonderful magnificent, isn’t it?” Rarity said dreamily, pointing to the ancient relict that glowed suavely in the light of the sundown.” “Eeyup! Like the morning dew on fresh, seasoned apples.” “Or the song of nature…” “Or a good, old Sonic Rainboom.” Pinkie Pie recognized that Twilight was very quiet and not happy at all, just staring in the air. “Hey Twilight, you are so silent and lost in yourself. Be happier and have fun with us! Hey, even Fluttershy is more excited and louder than you.” “I am? I’m sorry…” “Oh, it’s okay, I have my fun. It’s just that the old legend fascinates me very much. Everything we heard today was just a précis. I’m just… brooding over some aspects…” Celestia suddenly behaved a bit petulant and looked Twilight right in her eyes.“And what is it you are brooding about?” “Ääähm… well, the historical tradition says that Pariah said something to you before he got sealed. Something about that he will recover the source of darkness. No matter how, he will find a way to return to finish what he once began… shortly before the fiftieth eclipse will arise.” Celestia began to giggle a bit, but then she suddenly stopped and told Twilight something she already once said to her. “I see Twilight! You don’t have to take everything so serious, especially when it is just written down in an old book.” “But you were there. Did he say something like that?” Twilight asked suspiciously, but Luna interfered with her slight royal voice. “Of course he did, like everyone would have done in his situation. But you don’t have to fear. Pariah has been defeated and now rest in eternal crystal, sealed away from the rest of the world in a distant place nopony has ever reached.” Twilight still seemed to be sorrowful, so his brother Shining Armor consoled her. “Hey… our princesses are right Twili. Nothing involving him has ever happened again and I’m absolutely sure that nothing involving him will ever happen again.” “Yes… I think you’re right. We really should focus on having our fun.” Pinkie Pie heard what she said and knew what to do. “I’ve waited for this catchword! DJ Pon-3! Time to make the hooves of everypony sweat!” “My pleasure Pinkie!” She yelled to Pinkie Pie and levitated a whole DJ construction right next to the tribune. She then began to play her best funky songs so loudly that it was ear-battering and everypony had to scream so the sound could reach somepony else ear in the first place. Understanding what somepony else said was nearly impossible, but fortunately the royal group resided short of the festival. “Come no guys! We should enter the dance floor! I mean it’s a party, not a supper.” Pinkie Pie commented energetically rashly, but the others reacted positively and approved her idea. “I’m with you Pinkie!” “You can count on me sugarcube.” “Me, too. I love to be in the spotlight.” “I think I will join in as well…” “Twilight, what’s about you? Do you stay, or do you come with us?” Spiked asked her sentimentally, assisted by every of Twilight’s friends making use of puppy dog eyes, even the princesses. “Hehe, all right then! You’ve convinced me, I’m coming.” “Wuhu! Best party in life we’re coming!” The ponies didn’t celebrate the whole night, but it was already 2 in the morning when they wished each other a good night and went home so they would be fit again for the next upcoming day. While Spike was fast asleep, Twilight was still awake and foraged for something in dim candle light. She went through hundreds of books until she finally found what she had been looking for all the time, the historical tradition centering on Pariah. “There it is, *The Legend of The Eternal Eclipse*. Ok, let’s see…” Twilight thumbed through the tradition and found the passage she had been looking for, which was at the very end of the book. “Thus spoke Pariah, he would return one day, overcoming every obstacle no matter what and finish what he once began, shortly before the fiftieth time the world experiences a near-drowning in lasting darkness. Before his whole body was surrounded by crystal, Pariah cried a single, rainbow-colored tear, of which ponies say the artifact was made of. This tear burned in a message in every mind and those of the yet to be born offspring. It said “When the harmonies, together with the ancient fragment, break the chains that perpetuate the dream, a power will reveal itself which is mightful enough to restore the world’s balance. This power will be obscure and shrouded, but it will save the peace together with the sparking light. If this power won’t be recognized, this world and every life exist on it will evanesce”…” “Twilight… why are you still awake?” Spiked asked warily, being obviously annoyed by Twilight’s invasive, insatiable thirst of knowledge. “I just had to check up something Spike. Don’t worry, I will hit the hay, too.” “Oh, I’m not worried about you… I am the one who wants to sleep.” “Hihi. No reason to be on edge, I’m coming.” But before she closed the book, Twilight noticed something strange. The seemingly last page seemed glued, because it was creased and corrugated. Despite it was against her own attitude, she broke the page away from the book and found another short paragraph on the page’s backside. “Forgive us Radiant Eclipse… We had no other choice, we had to arrest She’ol. There was no other opportunity. Please forgive us young colt. And please forgive us sister. We miss you and we will never forget your self-abandonment. Farewell.” Twilight startled shortly. She couldn’t grasp the last line of the paragraph. “Thus spoke Celestia and Luna…” She put the book back into the bookshelf and took to her bed with a strained, nervous and questioning mind. She began to think, analyzed everything she knew thitherto and tried to see a sense behind everything. “This paragraph hasn’t been hid without any reason, but why? And what do the princesses dissimulate? Who is Radiant Eclipse or the nameless… sister? A close relative? But their family tree only displays the two! Maybe just a best friend they honor by calling her a sister, like Applejack calls us sugarcube sometimes? And has this Radiant Eclipse-guy the mysterious power the tradition speaks of? Do we have to find him? And who or what is She’ol? Maybe it is the darkness the legend speaks of. But what is Pariah then… “Shoot Twilight Sparkle! Those are just theories, speculations! But two things I know aren’t just speculations. First, the princesses leave relevant particulars out, but why? Do they fear something? But just this information could help us to stop Pariah… or whomever. That brings me to point two. Something will happen and it will have to do with Pariah, this Radiant Eclipse and She’ol… and whatever it is, it will have apocalyptic proportions. And even worse, it will happen the day after tomorrow. The fiftieth time the world experiences a near-drowning… the fiftieth time we celebrate the Festival of the Eclipse… “No, I can’t just sit around and do nothing. Something tells me that everything that happened or is going to happen isn’t just a contingency, like Nightmare Moon’s appearance wasn’t as well. After all, me and my friends are the chosen ones who possess the power of the Elements of Harmony. It is our duty, no… our destiny to act and I will not confront my.” “Stop mumbling around and finally fall asleep, Twilight.” Spike peevishly whispered to Twilight, but then he suddenly fell asleep again. “I hope… my friends will help me… this time…” Twilight thought. When she made sure that Spike was fast asleep, she sneaked out of the library right into the dark, cold night. ======== Fascinating how a sole, little filly can have such sense of duty, although it’s based only on possibilities and speculations. It’s inspiring how a single soul can have so much will and strength. I often asked myself if she had a hunch about what’s going to happen to her. That she would face a threat infinitely greater than anything ever before. That she would participate in the final battle between good and evil, although I question that those notions had any meaning left. Or that she would realize what the true friendship’s power is capable of and that she and her friends never unleashed more than just a tiny piece of its true, unbridled fortitude before.