//------------------------------// // Chapter [ T W O ] - - - > The Solar Eclipse // Story: [ - S k i S M - ] // by Uzuki Cheverie //------------------------------// [ - S k i S M - ] Chapter [ TWO ] - - - > The Solar Eclipse Fluttershy bent her head over the patch of lilies, her pink mane falling off to the side of her face. She sniffed them gently, when suddenly Angel the bunny poked his head out with an angry look on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry . . . !" Fluttershy gasped, backing away from the mad little bunny. "Did I wake you?" The bunny scowled at her and hopped away to find a new napping place. Fluttershy sighed in defeat, and continued her walk through the flower fields. She trotted along a hillside path, and when she reached the top, she saw Twilight Sparkle pacing in circles in the clearing below, a worried look on her face. "Oh, um . . . hello, Twilight Sparkle . . ." she said shyly as she approached the nervous pony. Twilight looked at her. "Oh, it's just you, Fluttershy. Going for a walk?" "Yes, and I noticed you, um, pacing . . ." She began to trace tiny little circles in the dirt with her hoof, staring down at the ground in embarrassment and shyness. "I-Is everything, uh, alright?" "I just have a lot on my mind right now, Fluttershy," Twilight sighed as she finally stopped pacing. "I'm worried about tonight . . ." Fluttershy's face brightened. "Oh yes, there's going to be a solar eclipse tomorrow, right? I can't wait to see it!" she cheered. "Huh, I wish I had the same enthusiasm like you," Twilight snickered. "Fluttershy, can you keep a secret?" She had to get it off her chest somehow, and she knew she could trust Fluttershy of all people. "Um . . . I-I guess . . ." Fluttershy said, returning to her original shyness. Twilight looked around to make sure the coast was clear, and then she leaned in close. Fluttershy leaned in as well. "There are . . ." Twilight reduced her voice to a very low whisper. " . . . demon horses underneath Castle Equestria . . . !" Twilight backed away and stared at Fluttershy to see what her reaction would be. Fluttershy stared back with wide eyes, and then she started to giggle. "I'm serious here, Fluttershy," Twilight grumbled. "I know it seems weird and unbelievable, but I saw them with my own eyes. Celestia took me underneath the castle and showed me the horses - they're trapped inside mirrors!" Fluttershy stopped giggling. "Wait, but . . . if they're trapped in mirrors, then shouldn't it be alright?" Twilight sighed. "I know, that's what Celestia told me, but there was an inscription above the mirrors - it said that on the seventh day, at the seventh hour, when all is covered in darkness, the Horses will be at full power. At least, that's what it meant, I can't really remember how the original passage went. There's a solar eclipse today, right? Which means that when the moon covers the sun, everything will get dark, and that will be when the Horses break free." "I'm sure that Celestia would have a back-up plan, though . . ." "I know, I really shouldn't be telling anyone else this, but I'm worried," Twilight said. "And I'm trusting you to keep this a secret, alright? A secret between me, you, and Princess Celestia; now, we're the only ones that know about the Horses existing underneath the castle." Fluttershy's face turned red. "Oh dear . . . that is a big secret." "Exactly, and you have to keep it." Fluttershy nodded. "I will." Twilight sighed again and looked up at the sun just above the field. "We just have to cross our hooves that the Horses don't break free tonight, Fluttershy. And if they do, we have to stop them." "Rarity, y'all gettin' a little frisky." Rarity pouted at Applejack before handing the roll of streamers to Rainbow Dash, who flew up to adjust them along the roof of her shop. "Darling, you just don't understand how important tonight's ceremony will be," Rarity giggled. "We have to make sure that everything looks perfect." "The moon will be up for five minutes at most," Applejack grumbled. "That's no reason to be gettin' all antsy over how well the town looks." "Please, if I don't do it, the Mayor will make us all do it anyway," Rarity sighed as she checked the streamers off her list of things to do. "Am I done now?" Rainbow Dash growled from above Rarity's shop as she secured the last streamer. "I need to start working on clearing the clouds for the eclipse! It won't do us any good if the clouds are in the way!" Rarity rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine, dear, you're done." "Alright!" Rainbow Dash cheered, and took off like a rocket for the skies above to push the clouds away. Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy came walking into town together. "There you are!" Rarity called out to them when she spotted them. "I need help from the both of you!" "What is it, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "I'm decorating Ponyville for tonight's event, and I need you to help set up the food booths," she ordered, cramming a very quickly-drawn sketch of what she wanted the booths to be set up like around Ponyville. She turned to Fluttershy. "And I want you to hand pamphlets to anypony who doesn't know about tonight!" She used her magic to draw forth a huge pile of pamphlets, dumping them on top of Fluttershy. "This . . . seems like a bit much . . ." Fluttershy whispered as she looked at all the pamphlets surrounding her. "I agree," Twilight Sparkle said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure everybody knows about tonight." "Nonsense, dear, we have to make sure everything goes well," Rarity laughed. Rarity looked over her checklist again. There were so many things she had to do - prepare snack booths for ponies who got hungry while watching, decorating every last building in Ponyville, clearing the skies of any unnecessary clouds, making sure every pony in Equestria knew about the eclipse . . . but she was used to cramming things for big events like these. "We need the food!" Rarity exclaimed. "Where's Pinkie Pie?!" Pinkie Pie burst out from a barrel of apples that Applejack had pulled in earlier. "I'm here, I'm here!" Pinkie Pie laughed. "What are y'all doing in there?!" Applejack exclaimed in surprise. "Pinkie Pie, do you have everything prepared for the refreshments tonight?" Rarity asked worriedly. "Of course!" Pinkie Pie replied with a stern look on her face. "In fact, I'm just waiting for Donut Joe to bring me his new shipment of donuts!" "Wasn't he supposed to bring those in yesterday?" Pinkie Pie stopped to think, and began to scratch her head with her hoof. "Umm . . . I don't know, yesterday, today, it doesn't matter as long as he gets them here on time, does it?" "It does matter!" Rarity shouted, glaring at Pinkie Pie with frantic eyes. "Everything for tonight must be perfect!" Pinkie Pie looked around, and then she saw the stallion with the white outfit and hat coming up over the hill with a cart filled with fresh donuts. "Ooh, ooh, there he is! I see him, I see him!" she cheered. Rarity trotted over gracefully to meet with Donut Joe, Twilight following close behind. Joe looked overtired and stressed. "There you are!" Rarity said, following Joe as he walked towards her shop. "You were supposed to be here yesterday! What took you so long?!" "Well, I probably would have gotten here sooner, if a certain pony hadn't run into me on my way over last night," he growled, eyeballing Twilight Sparkle specifically. "Uh, hehe . . ." Twilight chuckled innocently. "Every single donut in that crate, ruined. I had to bake up a whole new batch overnight. There are seriously a lot of donuts in here." "It's necessary for tonight, dear," Rarity sighed, shaking her head. "And Twilight, what could you have been in such a rush for that you knocked over poor Joe?" Twilight tried to think up the best lie possible. She knew lying was wrong, but she had promised Celestia. "I, uh, had to leave for Canterlot to meet with Celestia for a personal lesson in friendship," Twilight said, off to a good start. "And I had forgotten that I left dinner in the oven, so I rushed home, and I . . . kind of ran into Joe." "Well, it wasn't very friendly of you to do that, now was it?" Rarity snickered. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry . . ." Rarity turned back to Joe. "Well then, now that that's all settled, let's get those donuts to the booths. Twilight here is in charge of setting them up, so you'll be working with her today. She will set up a donut booth for you near Pinkie Pie's candy booth." "Alright, then," Joe sighed. "Come on, Twilight." Twilight nodded, and guided him to the center of the town, where a few booths had already been set up. Pinkie Pie had returned to her own booth, which was set up just outside of her own shop. Twilight brought up the map that Rarity had drawn, and used it to set Donut Joe in his spot. She then spent the next twenty minutes setting up a booth similar to Pinkie Pie's, and helped Joe arrange them on the refrigerated shelves. "I love your booth, Joe!" Pinkie Pie cheered from her booth, where cupcakes of all shapes and sizes were arranged on shelves. Joe gave her a brief smile, and then returned to his donut arranging. Fluttershy went up to a pony dressed in various robes. She set a brochure on the ground and slid it towards him. "Um, come to the solar eclipse tonight . . ." she said. "That is, if you want to . . ." "Young one, it is I!" Fluttershy peered at the face behind the robes. "Zecora?" "You must run, young mare!" Zecora hissed. "They are coming out tonight, looking for hearts that are pure and fair!" "W-What?" "You must get out of here! If they catch you . . . that is the worst to fear!" Fluttershy backed away. "What should I do? Who am I running from?" "The Horses, young one! They will arise when the moon covers the sun!" "The eclipse?" "They are dangerous beings that only know death," Zecora hissed. "They can smell fear coming off a pony's breath." Zecora forcefully pushed Fluttershy around so that she was facing in the other direction. "Run now, pure soul!" she ordered her. "Hurry before the moon brings death's toll!" Fluttershy did as she was told, running back towards Ponyville, away from the forest. Zecora watched as she ran, and then sighed to herself, feeling a bit relieved. If she could protect Fluttershy, then everything would be fine. Because she knew that, when they arrived, Fluttershy would be the first one to be taken by the Horses. When Fluttershy reached Ponyville, she wanted to find anyone she could to ask for help, but then she remembered the promise she made with Twilight. Zecora had mentioned the Horses - the same Horses that Twilight had spoke of just that same morning - and warned her about their arrival, the same warning Twilight had given her. If these were both the same things, she couldn't go running through town asking for help. There was only one person she could talk to, and that was Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy found her setting up a booth in the center of Ponyville, a piece of paper floating in front of her face. "Twilight!" Fluttershy called her as she came to a quick stop. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy stopped to catch her breath, and then whispered, "Remember that, um, thing we talked about this morning?" Twilight looked around, and then leaned in close. "The Horses?" "Zecora . . . she knows!" Fluttershy gasped. "Did you tell her?!" "No, I didn't, she already knew . . . !" Twilight stopped to think, wondering how Zecora could possibly know about something that only she, Fluttershy, and Celestia knew about, which had been hid from everybody in the kingdom. "What did she say?" Twilight asked, leaning in close again. "She said that I should run and hide!" Fluttershy squeaked. Duh, Twilight thought with a heavy sigh. "Anything else?" "Well, um, uh . . ." Fluttershy tried to think back to Zecora's words, but it was hard to remember anything she said because she always spoke in rhymes. "Well, I think she said something about them coming out tonight and looking for ponies that were pure and fair . . . ?" Pure and fair . . . hmm . . . One of the ponies started to call Twilight over to their booth. "Ugh, I have to go take care of this," Twilight growled. "Listen, Fluttershy, just stay alert and don't talk to anybody you don't know, alright?" "Um . . . o-okay . . ." Twilight smiled and then took off for the booth, which was being slowly destroyed. "Derpy, get away from there!" It was later in the day, and everypony in Ponyville had finally finished setting up for the event, which would take place at any minute. Twilight sat with the rest of her friends near Pinkie Pie's candy booth, the six of them watching the sky as the moon rose while the sun remained in its spot. "Gosh, this sure is gonna be great, Twilight!" Applejack exclaimed in excitement. "Yeah . . ." Twilight muttered. She looked up at the rising moon, and swallowed in fear. "Great . . ." "What's wrong, Twilight? You look all down!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "You should be having fun! Here . . ." She grabbed a chocolate cupcake and pushed it towards Twilight. "Have a cupcake! Cupcakes make everypony feel better! They sure do make me feel great when I'm feeling down!" "Thanks, Pinkie, but I'm not really hungry," Twilight Sparkle sighed. "Well, as long as you enjoy the main event, dear, then it will all have been worth it," Rarity told her. I sure hope so. "Yeah! Chin up, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "It'll be no fun if you're all down!" Twilight tried to smile. The fear was still eating away at her, but she reminded herself about what Celestia said. They were trapped in those mirrors and they weren't going to get out anytime soon. She could trust Celestia. Trying to relax herself, Twilight let out a sigh, and stared up at the sky with her friends, waiting for Luna's moon to meet with Celestia's sun. Pestilence paced back and forth within the mirrors, waiting for the moon to finish rising. "She's taking too long . . . !" he growled. "Patience, Pestilence," War said from his mirror as he stared straight ahead. "Shut up!" Pestilence snapped back. "I don't see how you can all just sit there pretending to be asleep!" "It is because you lack patience." "It's because I actually want to do stuff!" "Can you two please quiet down?" Famine asked as he clutched his belly, his voice frail and shaky. "I'm not in the mood for your bantering today . . ." "Nobody cares about you, Famine," Pestilence sneered. "You're too hard-headed, Pestilence," War muttered. "One must have patience if they are to be rewarded." Pestilence bashed his head into the mirror. "I wish the stupid Princess would just bring up that stupid moon! Death! Wake up, would you?!" He turned his gaze to the mare who remained asleep in her own mirror. "I have no time to be dealing with a dog," Death hissed, her voice sharp and cold like ice. "Oooh, a little frisky today, are we?" Pestilence laughed. "That's fine with me, Death. I can take it. Throw your best insults at me." Death glared at him, her red eyes piercing through his very soul. "As War has already said, we must be patient. Any moment now, we will be free," Death said. "Hrm, whatever," Pestilence sighed as he fell back to sit on the floor beyond his mirror. Death closed her eyes again, drifting off into her own personal slumber. And from outside of the castle, the moon rose, pulling in front of the sun, its rays glowing out from behind it like a blocked-off flashlight. A shadow was cast from the blocking of the sun, traveling far across Equestria like a veil, until it reached the castle sitting on the cliff of Canterlot. In a split second, Death snapped her demonic eyes open, her mare head turning into a dirtied skull with black flames emanating around it, and she released a shriek so loud that the mirrors they were contained in shattered into tiny pieces. Death stepped out, and turned her empty, skull eyes to her companions. "Now, we attack," she hissed. War nodded, Famine got to his feet, and Pestilence let out a crazy laugh. Death spread her torn black wings, black fire growing around her sharp hooves, and she zoomed out of the castle basement like a rocket, speeding through to the throne room and blasting her way through the door that had kept the room a secret for so long. The others followed her, Pestilence, War, and Famine running below her as she flew up in the sky above. The guards at the castle prepared themselves, unaware of what the ponies were but determined to stop them anyway. They charged at them, their armor ready to hit the three ponies that were on the ground, but they disappeared into clouds of shadows, reappearing behind them and striking them down to the ground. War brought forth a spear with his magic, the weapon floating around him, and launched it straight for the guards, just hitting the wall behind them between the two of them. "That was a warning," War snickered. Just as they were about to leave the castle, Princess Celestia showed up. "Ah, Princess, how nice to see you!" Death laughed as her skull was covered in a sleek black coat again, her red eyes reappearing and the black flames returning to their original form as her long mane. "Impossible . . . !" Celestia gasped as she backed away from the demon horse. Death tilted her head in Pestilence's direction. Having immediately understood, Pestilence leaped forward and tackled one of the guard's standing by the Princess to the ground, laughing at them with wild, insane eyes. War took care of the other guard with his spear, launching the weapon at him and striking him down. Celestia looked around, panicking as she realized all her guards were now dead. Death went in close to Celestia, a smile on her face, fangs growing in place of regular teeth. "My my, Celestia, you sure do like to save yourself when the going gets tough, don't you?" Death laughed. "I don't know why I didn't kill you years ago." Celestia scowled at the demon horse. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Death. I will not allow you to leave this castle!" A dark purple-black shadow flew in from one of the open windows of the castle. It landed next to Celestia, and soon revealed her sister, Luna. "You called, sister?" Luna obeyed. She observed the horses standing before her. "We must take care of a certain infestation," Celestia hissed. "It's been years, Death," Luna greeted the horse. "As for the rest of you, War, Pestilence, and Famine." "Aw, you remember me," Pestilence laughed. "I'm so flattered." "I see your attitude hasn't changed," Luna growled. "What is it that you want?" "What else?" Pestilence sneered. "To purge this land of all that is evil, of course." "You're merely speaking of yourself," Celestia snapped. "No, we are speaking of everything else that is impure," War said in his deep voice as he stepped forward, spear floating above him. "We are the only pure ones - this world has been tainted, so we are here to dispose of the garbage that is ruining it." "I won't allow you to touch my kingdom!" Celestia yelled. "Well then," Death sighed as she began to ready herself to charge again, dragging her front hoof against the ground, "I guess we'll just have to force our way through." She took off again, flying throughout the room so quickly that it was hard for Celestia to keep track of where she was. While Celestia was distracted, Famine reared up to Luna and took her down. Before Celestia could go to the aid of her sister, Death zoomed in, striking Celestia hard to ground, pinning her down under herself. "You're not going anywhere, my dear Princess," Death laughed. She turned her gaze to the armored horse behind her. "War! You know what to do." War nodded and stepped forward with his weapons; he had somehow gotten his hooves on a second spear. He raised them both, Celestia staring at them with wide, terrified eyes, and he brought them down on her. Celestia screamed out in pain, and saw how War had planted the spears right through her wings, so that she would stay pinned down to the floor. Death rose back up from the Princess and stepped away. "Hurts, doesn't it?" Death snickered. "Now you just stay there like a good Princess." She nudged her head in the direction of the door. "Let's go, you three. We've got a bit of business to attend to." The other three horses trotted behind her, Pestilence slowing down to lower his head to Celestia's. He had a very stern look on his face as he began to speak to her. ". . . You think you know pain?" he growled. "Please . . . you don't know the meaning of the word . . ." Then he continued on to follow the rest of the horses. Twilight watched the ring of light burst out from behind the black circle that was the moon. "It's amazing . . ." Twilight gasped. "It's so dark out!" Pinkie Pie giggled as she clapped her hooves excitedly. Twilight looked around at her friends and the other ponies who had gathered to watch the event. It was supposed to last for about ten minutes, but it had already been nearly a half-hour, and the moon was still over the sun. What's going on? It's not supposed to be this long . . . Twilight thought worriedly to herself. Suddenly, a crash from close by could be heard. Twilight spun around to hear the shingles off the rooftops being destroyed, but she couldn't see a single thing; she could only hear the faint sound of hooves leaping across the rooftops. She heard one last crash, and then nothing. Twilight looked back up at the moon, and saw the bodies of horses leaping across the view of the moon, only seen briefly as they passed through the border of the sun and then disappearing again. "That was . . ." Twilight gasped. There was a loud crash, and suddenly four demonic horses ran in, their leader flying with torn black wings. "Take them all!" the mare screamed, the other three charging off on her command and attacking all the ponies around them. "No, it can't be!" Twilight hissed. She prepared her magic, and charged for the mare. "Oh my, we have a hero in our midst!" the mare laughed. Suddenly, Twilight was blown off her feet as the mare had pushed her away with some sort of shockwave. Twilight landed several feet away. "Capture them, now," the mare sneered. The three horses began to take down every pony in Ponyville, tying them up with chains and pushing them all together into one area. The leading mare flew a few feet into the air, everypony's attention on her. "Listen up, you disgusting creatures!" she roared. "I am Death, and I am here to dispose of you all for you have tainted this land with impurity and filth!" Death . . . I knew it, she's the same one from inside the mirrors . . . Twilight thought as she backed away. "What are you talking about!?" Twilight yelled. "It looks to me like you're the only ones destroying Equestria!" Death glared at Twilight, but was sidetracked when she saw Fluttershy trying to sneak away. "Pestilence! Grab her. She is essential in all of this," Death commanded the mangy horse who was smiling insanely at every single one of them. Pestilence let out a laugh and charged for Fluttershy, tackling her to the ground and holding her down. "P-Please, let me go . . . !" Fluttershy screamed. "Sorry, little miss, but you heard the boss," Pestilence snickered at her. Death launched forward her own chains, tying up the rest of the ponies, including Twilight Sparkle and her friends. "Let us go!" Applejack yelled. "I'm afraid we can't do that," Death sighed. "Where are you taking us?!" Rainbow Dash chimed in. "Oooh, you'll find out soon enough," Pestilence snickered as he reared his head up from behind Rainbow Dash, a wide, toothy smile on his face. He had sharp fangs that could only be seen when he smiled. Death's unicorn horn lit up with a black aura, and suddenly black bars grew up from underneath each set of ponies, growing a metal plate over top afterwards to create a cage. Death lowered herself to her feet. "We won't let you get away with this!" Twilight growled. "Princess Celestia will help us!" "Oh, I forgot to mention that," Death snickered as she approached the unicorn trapped in the cage. "Where do you think we came from? We were underneath the castle, remember?" Applejack glared at Twilight from her own cage. "What the?! You mean you knew all about this the entire time, Twilight?! How could you not tell us?!" "I'm sorry . . ." Twilight whispered. "Celestia made me promise . . ." "Hmm, and now your dear Celestia is just another bug that I've squashed," Death giggled. "No . . . !" Death returned to the three other stallions. "War, you and I will be securing the other areas," Death ordered. "Famine, you keep watch over the garbage.." She turned to Pestilence, who had pinned down Fluttershy again. "Pestilence, you know what to do with her." Pestilence gave her an army salute. "Yes, ma'am!" He forced the mare to her hooves and began to nudge her in another direction, away from the town. "Where are you taking her!?" Twilight demanded. Death shot a cruel, soul-shattering glare at Twilight Sparkle. "Hopefully, if you keep a hold on your tongue, you will live long enough to see."