//------------------------------// // Chapter 8- Eclipse, Part 1 // Story: The Cozy Anthology // by Silvermyr //------------------------------// "Eclipse?" Twilight looked quizzically at her mentor, one of her oldest friends, and ex-princess. They sat by a table on the porch of Celestia's manor in Silver Shoals. The wind carried a scent of sea salt and freshly cut grass. "I… think that's some celestial phenomenon, right? Something to do with both the sun and the moon? Sorry, I don't know the specifics..." Celestia nodded measuredly. "It is not strange. Eclipses happen only once every other century. In fact, I had planned to wait with your coronation until after this one, but after the fall of Tirek, Chrysalis and…" she hesitated, then coughed. "Well, after their fall it was a natural, sensible time for my sister and I to pass the torch to you." "Okay… but what is an eclipse, exactly?" Twilight asked, swishing her tail from side to side. She did not like not knowing what Celestia was talking about- it made her feel tardy.  "Just like you say, it is a celestial phenomenon," Luna explained. "Perhaps you have noticed when you move the sun and moon that they are… capricious, at times?" Twilight nodded. "Sometimes it's easier or harder to get them to rise, yes. I've made a list, but I haven't seen much of a pattern." "You see…" Celestia furrowed her brow. "Long ago, the sun and the moon moved on their own, without the help of us ponies. An eclipse is the event where the sun and moon are perfectly aligned, so all of Equestria falls in the shadow of the moon. In old texts, it is called a Dark Sun." Twilight hardly heard the second part. Her worldview had been completely fractured by the first revelation: ponies did not always control the sun! When she thought about it, it was obvious. Ponies had not been around since forever. In fact the earliest known unicornian settlements were less than ten thousand years old- the land of Equestria was far, far older than that, so naturally the sun and moon must have some sort of intrinsic movement.  But still… a world like that was so alien to her, so utterly and completely wrong… that she had never once considered it. The sun and the moon were under ponykind's control; that was the order of things. But it wasn't the natural order of things! It was something that her people, and her tribe, had ensured. She felt at once worried and proud of that.  "We have never experienced it… but we know the sun and moon well, and without our magic… every day would last for a week or longer. At dawn and dusk there would be massive thunderstorms owing to the temperature gradient between day and night. The sea would rise and fall massively with the tides, and agriculture would be destroyed." Twilight nodded lamely. She was not a metrologist, but the basic reasoning seemed solid. "And… what does the eclipse have to do with this?" "We don't fully understand why, but eclipses cannot be denied," Celestia said solemnly. She looked away for a moment, to where the sun shone brightly outside. "The sun and the moon… they want the eclipses. And they struggle against your magic to get them. On the day when their original rotations would have caused an eclipse, they will move on their own to make it happen." Twilight's mouth felt dry. "Are… are they… alive?" she asked quietly. She hoped dearly that they were not. She could not handle the existential questions that she was sure to follow such a realization. "No, they are not," Celestia said decisively. "Our theory is that they are simply following some type of magical pattern that makes this happen. It's the same sort of pattern that causes gemstones to grow, or summer turning to fall and then to winter, only on a much larger scale." "Okay, so… I think I understand," Twilight said. "Only… what is the problem, exactly? The eclipse will happen… but, so what? Does it take a long time?" "Just a few hours," Luna said. "But think about it. The sun and moon will be in the sky together and then suddenly it will be dark as night… ponies will panic if they are not prepared. And even if they are… there is some symbolism to it all, no? The sun being devoured by the moon?" Luna finished with a note of bitterness in her voice. "Like… with Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked.  Luna nodded solemnly. "An eclipse was how… I began my revolution. I moved the moon in front of the sun." "The eclipse will happen two weeks from now, Twilight," Celestia said. "It cannot be stopped, but we wanted you to know before the sun and the moon would start to act up. What you choose to do with this information, if anything, we leave up to you. It is no longer our place to dictate your actions." "Oh…" That was surprising. She had expected her mentor to tell her how to handle this event. How was she supposed to know the best course of action for something like this? A nationwide event that threatened to spark at the very least widespread fear and at worst mass panic?  She pushed her doubts away. She was the Princess now. Celestia's reasoning was right as always - this was her responsibility, not theirs. And she was going to shoulder this responsibility, just like any other. And she had every resource in Equestria to help her do it, and a competent staff of ponies to help coordinate her efforts. She smiled, feeling almost… excited for a real challenge. "Don't worry! I'll take care of this eclipse!" Celestia smiled brightly and tapped her forehead gently with her long, beautiful horn. "I know you will, Princess Twilight. I know you will." "Ninety-nine… one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" Flurry shouted and immediately flopped to her belly to look underneath the large bed.  No Cozy there, but Flurry hadn't really expected it. Cozy was too smart to hide in such an obvious place… at least that's what she had thought two rounds ago, when she had turned the whole room upside down only to then lie down in defeat and seen Cozy huddled up in the most obvious hiding spot possible, which Flurry hadn't checked because it was too simple. She was not making the same mistake again. She looked outside on the balcony, behind every curtain, under the tables and chairs, inside the cloud-mattress (that was Flurry's best hiding spot so far- it had even forced Cozy to surrender), on top of every bookcase, inside the chandelier, but still no Cozy.  She sat down on the carpet in the middle of the room, letting her eyes sweep carefully over the many hiding spots. She heard a spark of magic and hoofsteps that followed outside the room. She hopped up and opened the door. Cozy could wait a little while longer. "Hi Twilight! Did you meet Celestia and Luna in Silver Shoals?" Twilight looked up when she saw who it was. "Yes I did. They had some important news to share with me. What have you been doing? Have you practiced the compression magic like I asked you?" Flurry blushed. "Uh… a little bit. It's raining, and Cozy was bored, so she said we should do a friendship lesson together and play hide-and-seek. I'm winning!" Twilight rolled her eyes with a small chuckle. "Of course she did… well, as long as you practice a little bit too. School and playing are both important." Flurry watched Twilight open the door to her own room… and Cozy sat on her desk, reading a book. She looked up when the door opened and at least had the dignity to look a little bit guilty. Like she should! "Hey, that's cheating!" Flurry huffed indignantly and fluttered past Twilight to land next to Cozy. "We were supposed to hide in your room only, not in here!" Cozy grinned. "Golly… when did we say that? I just said I wanted to play hide and seek, and that I started being it. I never said I'd only hide in my room, and neither did you." Flurry thought back… then furrowed her brow. She couldn't actually remember they had ever decided on any rules… so then this was fair? It didn't feel fair. "See, Flurry? Sometimes if you want to trick somepony, you don't have to lie! You just have to not say what they think they already know!" Cozy chirped with a sly look on her muzzle. "That's… smart," Flurry said. Even if she didn't think she'd ever trick somepony like that, it was still a smart thing to come up with.  "Cozy, don't go corrupting Flurry's innocence like that," Twilight said with a certain annoyance in her voice. "It is not nice to trick your friend like that, and you know it." Cozy sighed. "I guess…" "So now what do you say?" Twilight said kindly, looking down at the little pegasus. "Tsk… I'm sorry, Flurry," she said, with an uncomfortable expression, trampling anxiously on the spot. Flurry could feel the dislike for those words emanating from Cozy when she spoke them, even if they were sincere. She had heard from Rumble that Cozy didn't like apologising. So really, Cozy did get a friendship lesson after all.  Twilight nodded and went around her desk to sit down, but Flurry wasn't done yet. It had been… almost forever since she heard from Celestia! She didn't even bother to hop down from the desk. "Did Celestia say anything? Did you tell her about my magic studies?" Flurry felt her chest swell with pride. She had gotten a lot better as of late and she was sure she could even impress Celestia now! "Did they-" Flurry silenced. Cozy's feelings suddenly felt colder than the blizzard outside the Crystal Empire. Looking over revealed that her mouth was pulled into a taut, angry line and her eyes were narrow and hard. "I'm sure you had a lot of nice things to talk about, huh?" Cozy hissed venomously. It looked like she wanted to say more, but she stopped herself  Twilight, meanwhile, was thinking hard. Flurry could sense that too. Her agile mind flitted from idea to idea, thinking, considering, weighing and measuring a myriad of approaches before she opened her mouth. Flurry shrunk back a little. With Cozy so tense and Twilight so careful, even a little filly like her realized she was not supposed to speak carelessly.  "There is a celestial phenomenon coming," Twilight said slowly. "It's called an eclipse, which means the moon will block out the sun for a few hours. She wanted to tell me before the sun became too hard for me to control, since I've been having problems with both of them," Twilight looked straight at Cozy, then continued. "That's it. We didn't talk about anything else, at all." Cozy narrowed her eyes, but Flurry could feel how she gradually relaxed before she sighed. "Oh… okay. But… you control the sun right? And the moon. Can't you just… not have the eclipse?" Flurry said, trying to steer away the conversation from something that neither Cozy or Twilight wanted to talk about (for some reason). "It's… not that easy… I can't just stop it because I want to." Twilight replied. "Celestia said that she thinks the eclipse will cause worry and panic among ponies and other creatures… and she basically told me I had to do something to calm them down during and after it." "Huh…" Cozy stroked her chin with a furrowed brow. "Sounds like a test to me." Over the course of two seconds, Twilight went from careful and thoughtful to barely controlled panic. Pupils contracting, wings twitching and sweat forming on her forehead. "A t-test? What do you mean?" Cozy shrugged. "Well… an event that needs you to lead in uncertain times but with no great harm if you mess it up… Golly, sure seems awfully convenient that something like that would happen just half a year after your coronation, doesn't it? And I've got to give it to her… Celestia is one nasty schemer when she wants to be." She all but spat the last words like they were profanities. "She- she is not!" Twilight said loudly, looking almost offended for a moment. Before she could protest more, Cozy continued, her voice rising to a furious, strident growl. "Oh, so she didn't hide all her magic from Tirek with you, just to give you a fighting chance against him?!" Cozy shouted. "Didn't she allow Discord to be freed just to have another all-mighty servant to call on?! Didn't she railroad you down the path to be a Princess ever since you were A FILLY, HUH?!" At the last words Twilight visibly winced. Her wings lifted just slightly and she kept her frowning stare down at the table. There was a painful uncertainty in her eyes for a moment, before she hid it again. She didn't manage to dispel it, Flurry could feel. It was still there, gnawing inside her.   She swallowed, took a calming breath and faced Cozy's furious glare with a level expression. "So… do you think this is a test?" Twilight asked with an empty tone. "If I had just abdicated after a thousand years, I'd like to know my successor knew what she was doing," Cozy snapped. She didn't manage to keep her tone as calm as Twilight's, but she certainly tried. "Especially if I doubted her and... Celestia doesn't like what you're doing with me." "It doesn't sound like Celestia," Flurry piped up. Twilight probably needed to hear that right now. And Celestia had always been kind to Flurry… She had even gifted the phoenix-down stuffed jacket that Flurry loved so much!  "That's what they want you to think," Cozy mumbled, not looking at Twilight or Flurry. An uncomfortable silence fell between three ponies. "I… will think about what you have said, Cozy," Twilight said with a tired look. "And I know that I'm doing right by you. I don't want to quarrel." "And I don't want anypony to put me in stone again," Cozy replied grimly. "I'll… be in my room. Good luck with the eclipse." Cozy turned around and hopped down from the desk. She closed the door with her tail. Flurry looked after her friend and back to Twilight, feeling lost. Why was Cozy so angry? What did she mean with those things she had said Celestia had done? She guessed that must be from before she herself was born, but what did it mean? She didn't know. So she did what every filly did in the face of questions: asked an adult. "Why… is Cozy so mad with Celestia?" Twilight fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to not meet Flurry's eyes. "She… blames Celestia for a lot of what's happened to her," Twilight said quietly. After a longer pause, she continued with almost a whisper. "She isn't… wrong, but... she isn't right either." Flurry cocked her head to the side. "Are you sad, auntie? You look sad." "No… I just wasn't ready for some of the things Cozy said," Twilight said mildly. Flurry could feel how she tried to sound like normal, but it didn't quite work. Her eyes still seemed… distant, almost like Twilight was afraid of something.  Well, then Flurry wasn't going to let it stand. Cozy was her friend, but she was not allowed to say things that made Twilight sad. And Flurry Heart was going to rectify that, because that's what a good filly ought to do! Before Flurry could make a step, Twilight stopped her. "Flurry, I don't want you to take this up with Cozy on your own," Twilight said with authority. "It's… hard to explain, but Celestia is a difficult topic for both Cozy and I. I need to talk to her on my own, but not right now." "But I want to help! She's my friend, if I just talk to her I'm sure she'll come back and apologize!" Flurry insisted. She wanted to help! That way she could even put to practice what they talked about in the friendship lessons. "No, Flurry. This is between me and her." Twilight said. She continued, mostly to herself. "We need to talk about this if I want to make more progress with her… even if she doesn't like Celestia, she must accept that I talk to her sometimes. She's my old mentor… my friend. Just because I talk to Celestia doesn't mean I'll let them put Cozy back in stone." Why would Celestia want to put Cozy inside the statue? That was just silly; only bad ponies were statued, mommy had said, and Cozy wasn't a bad pony, even if some seemed to think she was because she had been once… or at least that's what ponies seemed to think around Cozy... Huh, when one sat down to consider the issue, this actually was a difficult thing to grasp. "Don't worry, Flurry," Twilight said. "I want to talk to Cozy on my own, okay? I'll just need some time to think first. Don't worry. I'm not sad or mad; I just… well, like I said, I wasn't ready for this." "Oh… if you're sure…" Flurry said uncertainly.  Twilight nodded.  Flurry nodded too, like a big pony, and then she hopped down from the desk. She didn't really feel like playing hide-and-seek anymore though… maybe it was time to practice her magic a little bit. Cozy barely got out of the room before she felt shame hitting her like a slap in the face. She knew Twilight wouldn't let Celestia get to her again; she had already taken Cozy's party against the ex-princess once before. She knew that, so why did she decide to bicker? Say things she knew would be hurtful? She was supposed to be better than that now! She walked slowly into her room and sat down on the carpet. Twilight's face still haunted her. The shock, the worry… the hurt. It was Celestia and Luna that almost took away her life.  And even if Twilight wasn't innocent, Cozy had decided to forgive her. Eventually, Twilight had helped Cozy get her life back! She had offered to help Cozy strive towards her goal, despite everything Cozy had done. She even understood and appreciated Cozy's special talent! Not many ponies would have done something like that for somepony like Cozy. So how could she be so… so impudent as to attack her mentor like that?! The more Cozy thought about it, the angrier she got at herself. She had to apologize to Twilight. No hesitation, no holding back, no struggling or avoiding it. She owed Twilight that much… right?    "I've really changed, haven't I?” She said to herself with a tiny twitch of her lips, flicking her tail absently behind her. She felt the carpet tug a little at it when she brushed it over the fabric.  But before she could apologize, she was going to wait until Twilight and Flurry were done. She didn't have to wait for very long. She heard the hoofsteps approaching, so she turned around to face the door. She could feel her mouth going dry as she saw the magenta cloud of magic turning the handle. When Twilight entered, she looked… displeased.  Not exactly angry, but clearly not happy either. Twilight closed the door and silently looked down at her. Cozy swallowed, took a deep breath to compose herself and then looked straight in Twilight's eyes. "I'm sorry for what I said, Princess. It wasn't… nice. And I shouldn't have said it." The last words were spoken to the fluffy carpet, as she couldn't bear looking in her mentor's eyes anymore. She heard hoofsteps approaching and then she saw Twilight lavender hooves, not far away from her smaller, pink ones. She briefly looked up and saw Twilight sitting down next to her on a carpet. She heard Twilight also taking a deep breath. Is she going to yell at her? Call her names? Maybe… she's going to stop tutoring her? That thought made her heart stop for a moment. Only now did she realize how serious her outburst could be. With how high up on a pedestal Twilight placed Celestia, nothing was certain.  When Twilight spoke, her voice sounded tired, but it was also gentle and calm. "I accept your apology, Cozy, but… I think we should talk about this subject that I believe we've never talked about before."  Cozy felt a brief warm gust of relief, even by just hearing Twilight accept her apology, but still, she had a lecture from her to endure. Twilight's face softened, the frown was still present, but it seemed like it came from thinking very deeply about something. "I just… want to tell you, that even if you think I've been manipulated by Celestia and Luna to help Equestria, it's simply not true," Twilight said quietly. "You know that my friends and I were the Elements of Harmony, and when a great danger loomed over Equestria, we rushed to contain it. It was… what we had to do. But Celestia never told me to seek out the elements. She never once mentioned them to me. But more important, Cozy, Celestia didn't manipulate me into becoming a Princess, and she most certainly does not plan on putting you to stone." Cozy had to close her eyes briefly to calm herself down, least she'd say yet something more to regret. Once again Twilight showed that the two of them were worlds apart when it came to Celestia. Because Cozy was absolutely certain Celestia had manoeuvred Twilight here, whether Twilight realized it or not. And if the choice ever again was up to Celestia, Cozy was just as certain she'd be back to the statue before she could say "golly". Twilight wasn't angry for Cozy having shouted or insulted her; she was angry for Celestia's sake. And that was one reason Cozy could not accept. Seeing Twilight debase herself like this for such a dreadful pony as Celestia... But Cozy didn't want to bicker anymore. This subject was still too sore for them both to get anywhere with. Once again, Cozy resolved to keep this subject locked in her heart and mind until there was some way to approach it. So she said the only thing she could. "Alright… Again, I'm sorry, Twilight." The young alicorn looked down at Cozy in silence for a few seconds, then her frown disappeared completely.  "Cozy, I know this subject is still not resolved, it's far from being resolved and I see why you are angry. But you must understand, Cozy, that Celestia is my old friend," Twilight continued, although the sternness of her voice was gone. She sounded kind and patient, like a teacher explaining something to her student. "She was to me like the third parent. I got my cutie mark the day I met her. She let me develop my special talent, just… just like I want to do for you. I visit her sometimes just to see her. She doesn't give me any advice on what I should do with governing Equestria unless I ask her, and she doesn't talk about you either.  It's… nothing more than that, alright? Just two old friends meeting and talking. You don't have to worry about her, or me." Twilight continued with the same gentleness. "I guess," Cozy said reluctantly. She didn't want to argue or bicker anymore, but there was one thing she had to ask. One last thing she had to make sure of. "But... you see why I'm afraid of her, right?" She only hoped that Twilight would not brush it off.  Twilight tilted her head and replied with concern. "But you don't have to be afraid of her, or Luna! Cozy, what happened was a horrible decision, an awful... mistake! It will never, ever happen again, I promise! There is nothing to fear from Celestia and Luna. They also know it was a horrible mistake!" The cynical part of Cozy's mind wondered how long she would keep that promise if tested. If a threat like Tirek showed up, would Twilight be able to refrain from the simple, efficient solution of trapping them in stone? She didn't know. But just the fact that she gave the promise at all… that was something Cozy could and would take solace in.   "And that mistake would have killed me if it weren't for Sweetie Belle!" Cozy snapped. She did not want to bicker but… she was not going to let Twilight believe anything other than the truth. "When they… when Tirek, Chryssie and I failed, just before they set us to stone... my whole life just… raced through my mind. I had just enough time to think 'Now I'm...'" Cozy choked, and took a deep breath to stabilize herself. "Discord… smiled, when he did it." Cozy briefly looked up at Twilight's face. The lavender mare was not surprised anymore, but her slightly opened mouth, eyes filled with concern. All of her face seemed to speak: "pity". Cozy hated pity, it always made her feel weak. But for the first time it was almost relieving too - speaking about how much it hurt her  and seeing Twilight caring.  "Cozy, I… I can't even imagine..." Twilight mumbled. She sounded lost somehow. "I wish… I wish we could undo it, wipe out the memories or something... but I know it's not possible." Twilight's voice was barely a whisper, filled with sadness and compassion. "But I can promise to not let anything else happen to you, okay?" Their eyes met. "Is that… good enough?" There was something pleading in how she said it.  Was it? It wouldn't be enough for Cozy to accept or forgive what Celestia and Luna had done. But perhaps… she could accept that Celestia still represented an important part of Twilight's life. Silly as it may be, Cozy found herself believing Twilight when she said she didn't want anything to happen with Cozy. And if so, then it didn't matter if she met with Celestia or not. She nodded, just a little. "I guess… if you really have to speak with Celestia sometime..." That was all she was going to say on that subject. They were quiet for a little while.  "So… about the eclipse?" Cozy said, deciding to change the subject. "What… do you think?" Twilight shrugged. "Honestly… I will admit... you might be onto something. I don't think Celestia deliberately planned to test me with this, but I also think that she would like to see how I deal with this. Just like you said, it does make for a good training ground for leading through a crisis." "Do you… think you'll handle it?" Cozy asked.  "Oh, I'm sure," Twilight said with a sly look. "After all, I have my governing council to help me." She put a hoof on Cozy's shoulder.  "Huh?" Cozy looked up at Twilight's earnest eyes.  "That being said… I sure could use some help from somepony with a good understanding of ponies and politics." "You want my help? But I'm just a filly!" Cozy looked at Twilight, bewildered. Of course, Cozy had never let her age stop her before, but it was weird to hear an adult pony acknowledge her like that.  Then again… Twilight had said plenty of times she saw potential in Cozy. Maybe this was just her showing she meant it? Or… maybe this was a test?  Maybe Twilight was testing her to see how she tackled a problem like this… to determine if she should be given more problems to solve. Maybe this could even be the first stepping stone to prove she was worthy of ascension! Cozy felt her heart beat a little faster.  This was her moment, her chance to make an impression on her new teacher! She could not afford to mess this up.  She was going to work with Twilight to make sure this eclipse thing was barely even noticed! "Good golly. Well sure I'm going to help! I'm a good helper! So… what do you know about this eclipse?" she asked, eagerly clapping her hooves together. Twilight smiled, her eyes filled with mirth. "Like I said, it's a celestial phenomenon where the moon is in front of the sun, so it gets dark in the middle of the day. I guess I could write an article and send it to news agencies around Equestria,  so everypony could read about it in newspapers or something… but I don't really know the basics of why it happens." "Hmm…" Cozy put her hoof to her chin. "No, you shouldn't talk about it like that," she said, shaking her head. "You're an alicorn. Ponies expect you to have full control of the sun and moon, so don't let them think you don't." "But they will figure it out themselves when they see the eclipse," Twilight pointed out.  Cozy shook her head again. "Then you should lie somehow. Look-!" Cozy silenced Twilight before she could object. "Ponies already believe you do control the sun and moon! Do you think they will be happier knowing that you can't? You just have to let them continue to believe in you!" She stood up. "It's just like with Flurry before! You don't have to really lie, you just have to not correct them when they make the wrong assumptions!" "I don't know… Applejack wouldn't like this," Twilight said with a frown.  "Duh, she isn't the one here trying to keep Equestria together either," Cozy said. "Besides, if ponies start doubting you about this, what's to stop them from doubting you about something else too? Or worse, thinking you simply aren't as strong as Celestia and Luna was?" "Well…" Twilight hesitated. "But everypony is still going to find out that I can't stop it. I go out with a warning, somepony asks 'well why don't you stop it' if you control the sun and moon? And then what do I answer?" Cozy grinned. "You just say that… hmm, that... it's a special celebration! That you want to show ponies something exciting and magnificent! And then you just have to organize a celebration, like the Summer Sun Celebration!" Cozy nearly started flying. She just had a great idea! "And you can even call it the Twilight Day! Your own celebration! 'Cause when everything becomes dark, it'll be like a twilight in the middle of the day! It's perfect!" Twilight's face suddenly flushed in deep pink color. "My… celebration? I don't need a celebration, Cozy. I don't want ponies to worship me, or for them to think that I can do whatever I want." "Heh!" Cozy smiled a bit at Twilight's naiveté. "Oh Twilight Sparkle… humility is not good for an alicorn! Ponies want you to be larger than life! Celestia was! The Summer Sun Celebration was practically a celebration of her, personally, and her power! You have to do the same." She smirked. "Oh… and it's especially important for you, you know." "How so?" Twilight said. She looked quite amused by Cozy's happiness.  Cozy took a breath to explain her master plan… but then caught herself.  This was not the time. She needed to work with this plan a bit more… and especially she had to make sure to anchor it with the right ponies. It was going to benefit them all: Twilight, Equestria, Cozy herself… but it wasn't Twilight's type of reasoning. She had to make sure to tread carefully. Yes…  Cozy had never been afraid to work behind the scenes to make sure she got what she wanted.  "No… wait, that won't work," Cozy sighed and looked down, in part to hide her expression, just in case Twilight knew her well enough to see through her little lie. "I just got carried away." This… this was going to be her greatest achievement since she got out of the statue!