//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Eclipsed Part 1 // Story: Death Cometh // by Dracthul //------------------------------// “This is frivolous.” “Yes, dear. Now, be quiet so I can add the last touch,” Rarity sarcastically told the surprisingly stubborn Sorin. All day, he had complained about wearing the costume she made for him to wear on Nightmare Night. Despite his displeasure at having to dress up in a costume and attend a party like a child, he thought the outfit was comfortable. It had an almost silk-like texture that made it breathable and smooth on his fur. It fit snugly around his entire body, excluding his eyes, nose, mouth, horn base, and ears in a way that would make some models jealous. Contouring to his physique, it outlined his features perfectly. He would have liked it if it was not blank white. Sorin grumbled under his breath, deciding to let the seamstress work. “What did you say this was again?” he asked her as she made sure everything was lined up on him correctly. “The costume was originally supposed to be a ghost, but I decided I’d try something new.” She went back in front of him, now sure everything was ready for the big finish. “If you’ll let me concentrate for a moment, you can see the revolutionary costume I have designed for you!” she exclaimed while gently teasing him. She took a step back, focusing on the spell she had been practicing for her other, more professional designs. Letting out a deep breath and closing her eyes, she let the magic flow through her. Shooting from her horn, a white beam washed over his body, coating him like a web. As he was about to protest, the spell ended, and the web faded. He looked down, seeing himself still in one piece for now. “Now,” she said, “say ‘trigger.’” “Trigger?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow. She nodded. “Trigger.” Once he finished, his body became alive, the white of the costume shifting. He looked down in surprise, seeing a swirling pattern of what looked like a white fog where the simple outfit had once been. The whole silky piece had undergone the same change, making him look almost transparent. “Do you like?” Rarity asked with a slightly smug smile. “Yes, but… what is it?” “You’re a windigo.” She saw him chuckle a little at that for some reason before telling her it looked stunning. He added, “As always, Rarity,” making her blush from the recognition. “And you, kind as ever,” she complimented in return. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. If you ever want to turn off the effect, say ‘deactivate,’” she told him. “‘Trigger?’ ‘Deactivate?’” “When I was making the spell, I put in those two commands. I was going to go back and change them when it was ready for my design lines, so I didn’t get around to it yet.” “I see. Nonetheless, I’m sure your creation will be the super spectacular special spectral spectacle of the night.” She broke into a guffaw from his remark. After a few moments of laughter, the two calmed down. Sorin thanked Rarity again for the costume, feeling some dignity in participating in the holiday Twilight had insisted he attend. The sound of hoofsteps came from the stairs, a small white unicorn filly appearing. “Cool!” she exclaimed upon seeing Sorin’s appearance. She ran up to him, about to hug him when she saw how tall he was. “Who are you?” she asked. He chuckled, glancing at Rarity with a smile. “I’m Sorin,” he leaned down to her, “and you must be Sweetie Belle.” “I sure am!” “Nice to meet you. I would offer you a hoof, but…” The young pony laughed at that. He realized she was wearing a costume like him. She had a golden crown on her head, a golden chest piece with a purple gem at its center, and pastel highlights in her hair. On her normally-blank flank, she had a painted-on sun. He dipped his head in the form of a bow. “I did not know I was in the presence of royalty, Princess Celestia.” “Why yes, it is I,” Sweetie Belle answered, trying to sound posh. Rising with some added effort from the costume, Sorin returned to his full height. “Well, that should be everything,” Rarity said. “Sweetie Belle and I really should be going now for the celebration.” “Okay. Thanks again for the quality work.” He looked back at her sister. “And have a great night.” He opened the door with his magic, going through it and letting Rarity lock up. The three went off, Sorin headed towards the only library in town. He quickly got inside since the boutique was not too far from the treehouse. It appeared he was right on time since Spike and Twilight were both in their desired costumes. “I’m Starswirl the Bearded!” Twilight announced. “Father of the amniomorphic spell?” Spike was still lost. “Did you even read the book I gave you about obscure unicorn history?” It was then that Sorin made his presence known. The two hosts greeted him as he made his way over to them. “I like your costume,” Twilight said with a smile. “And I, you, Twilight.” She struck a little pose to show off what she was wearing. “Who am I?” He put a hoof to his chin in mock pondering. “Well, I overheard your little chat with Spike, so you’re Starswirl the Bearded.” She seemed just as annoyed about her costume as before. “Anyways, we should get going before we’re late,” she said, going for the door. There was a knock at the said door, so she opened it wide, finding a group of foals in outfits. “Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!” they all sang in unison. “Hi, everypony! Great costumes. Happy Nightmare Night Granny Smith.” “I should have been asleep five hours ago,” the older mare answered, clearly exhausted. “Pipsqueak the pirate at your service,” a small, brown and white colt said while waving a rubber sword around. He tripped, landing on the ground. “It’s my very first Nightmare Night!” “Since you moved here from Trottingham?” Twilight asked, in love with the adorable colt. “No,” he answered, “my very first Nightmare Night ever!” A blur of white swept through the group of foals, one Pinkie Pie in a chicken costume appearing in front of them. “Enough chitchat,” she said. “Time is candy!” “Pinkie Pie, aren’t you a little old for this?” “Too old for free candy?” the party mare replied, almost offended. “Never.” “Okay…” Sorin said, putting a candy bag out for the group. They jumped on it like vultures, Pinkie Pie gnawing at it like an actual chicken. Twilight tried to strike a pose again. “Do you like it?” she asked her friend. “Yeah, great costume, Twilight. You make a fantastic weirdo clown,” Pinkie Pie responded as chipper as ever. That got a chuckle out of the stallion putting the candy bag away. The group of candy hunters turned away. “A clown?” Twilight pulled over some of her star-speckled cape. “Look at the borders on these robes. These are hoof-stitched!” “It’s a great costume.” Spike lowered his voice just low enough where Twilight could hear him say, “Huh. Grandpa.” “Even if you didn’t know Starswirl,” Sorin started while the group walked, “you look like a great astronomer, wizard, or philosopher, Twilight. Plus, the outfit itself is of the highest quality.” “And you,” he turned towards the tiny dragon, pointing at him with a hoof, “you're dressed as a dragon. I have to say that I have never seen such originality before.” The stallion’s snickers only made the dragon grit his teeth. “That’s enough, you two,” Twilight said as if she was talking to two foals. They continued their stroll through the street, the moon shining over the small town as it did every full moon. The only difference was that this Nightmare Night, the night sky was more vibrant than ever before. The stars themselves seemed to be pulsing with excitement, likely due to the approaching pony. “Starswirl the Bearded is only the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era,” Twilight said matter-of-factly as they walked. There were cheers in the background of happy ponies since they had gotten a lot closer to the town center. “He created more than two hundred spells. He even has a shelf in the Canterlot Library of Magic named after him!” Sorin had been tuning out until that last part of her mini-rant. “There’s a Canterlot Library of Magic?” “Oh yes,” she adamantly replied, “it has at least a thousand unicorn spells. Ranging from perfectly cooking toast to time spells, they are all held within the library.” “I see,” he said. “Maybe I should start up a pony group to teach ponies about history. I bet everypony would love it. Don’t you, Spike?” The dragon in question mumbled something as he continued to stuff candy from his giant-sized bag. “I for one would like that,” Sorin said. Twilight smiled briefly before she realized they were in the town square. “Hey, look, we’re here already! Should we get something to eat?” she said before looking to her two companions. Spike looked like he was about to slip into a coma from the amount of candy he had eaten. Clearly, he did not need any food. Sorin shook his head, already having eaten while at Rarity’s. She had been kind enough to provide him with a nice meal. Pinkie Pie, in chicken form, darted up to them, a group of foals following closely behind. She was holding a bag of candy similar to Spike’s in amount, smaller pieces falling from the top. “Twilight, Twilight, look at our haul! Can you believe it?” She continued to talk of her candy quest, but Sorin noticed the small dark cloud inching closer above then. As he looked up to it, he saw Rainbow Dash dressed in a tight black flight suit with goggles on. The mare reared her hooves up, slamming them down into the cloud. When she did, the sound of thunder broke out as a small lightning bolt hit the ground. The noise startled the foals and Pinkie Pie started to flee from the area, the foals going with her after a few steps. Atop the storm cloud, Rainbow Dash rolled over from the intense throes of laughter. She had managed to scare a large group of ponies, a feat for her. “Rainbow Dash, that wasn’t very nice,” Twilight called out to the pegasus. The weathermare waved a hoof in dismissal. “Lighten up, old-timer. This is the best night of the year for pranks.” “Look what you did to Spike!” the unicorn clapped back, turning to her twitching and motionless assistant. He was trying to recuperate from the near heart attack he had just suffered from. “It’s all in good fun.” Rainbow Dash saw five stallions trotting with each other in the distance as she already started gripping her cloud. “There’s another group over there!” she said, shooting off towards them. As Twilight and Sorin walked, Spike on her back, they could hear the distant sound of thunder and screams. Sorin cracked a smile from it, but Twilight quickly shot him a glare. “Happy Nightmare Night, Applejack!” Twilight joyfully said. They had come up to a wooden pool filled with a green liquid and with apples near the bottom. Applejack was dressed as a scarecrow, her cowmare hat replaced by a hay one. “Howdy, Spike. Hey, Twilight.” She saw the long fluffy beard Twilight had, as well as her starry robe. “Nice costume.” “Thanks. I’m a dragon,” Spike quickly answered. “She means me, Spike.” At last, somepony recognized who she was. “With that beard, I reckon you’re some sorta country music singer,” the country mare confidently said, getting a giggle from Spike and Sorin. Twilight simply grimaced. “While y’all are here,” Applejack started, “ya’ feel like bobbin’ for an apple?” A grey mare with blonde hair popped up from the pool, holding a stopper in her mouth. The water in the pool swirled around as it drained away, leaving the derpy mare with an embarrassed look. Applejack went over to deal with the situation, leaving Twilight, Spike, and Sorin to go to the growing crowd of ponies around the stage at the center of town. When the three fell into the group, the curtains opened, Mayor Mare coming out and up to the wooden podium. She had a bright red clown nose on, and she had a giant rainbow afro on her head. She cleared her throat, silencing the ponies in front of her. “Thank you, everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!” The crowd cheered, excited ponies getting ready for the events of the night. “Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of Nightmare Moon,” she said, trying to sound creepy on the last two words. Spike put a hand over his mouth, angling his voice to his two friends. “Spooky voice might work better if she wasn’t dressed like that.” Twilight giggled, and Sorin cracked a smile. The mayor, having heard a small part of the dragon’s mumbling, turned back to the crowd before stepping down from the podium. Emerging from the curtain, the supposed Zecora appeared in a cloud of green mist. Sorin let out a small gasp when he saw her. She had white fur that was striped through with black like ink spilled onto a blank canvas. She was similar to a pony, just a little bulkier with a more unique head shape. Wrapping around different parts of her body, gold bands gripped her. Two large ring earrings were hanging from her ears, and her mohawk had been straightened out like a human female’s hair. “A zebra,” Sorin said out of surprise. Hearing him, Twilight leaned towards him. “Yes, she is. She came here not too long ago, but she lives off in the Everfree Forest.” She chuckled to herself as she remembered a particular memory. “It was funny actually, we all thought she was a monster because she was different and lived in such a weird place, but she ended up helping us get rid of a strange side effect of a plant in the forest.” “I never expected to see one here.” Twilight scrunched her face up from his comment. What did that mean? Equestria, especially Ponyville, was a very accepting place. She looked back to the stage. “Follow me, and very soon, you'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon,” Zecora said, beckoning everypony to follow her. Follow her they did, most of the town coming with her into the shrubbery of the forest. Sorin found himself looking up at the stone statue before him. It was the image of Nightmare Moon, her crude regalia on. Instead of slick and elegant, the armor-like pieces looked menacing. Her pose made her look like she was towering over her enemies, glaring at them with the fury of a god. Sorin snickered, realizing how tyrannical the ponies had made her out to be. Nightmare Moon was weak, mostly because she was made from very little of his blood, as well as the fact that Luna resisted with great will. If she had not held back the monster, Nightmare Moon may have unleashed destruction upon all of Equestria. He took a moment to gaze at the statue. To everyone else, the figure was a monument to the evil Nightmare Moon, but to him, it was a sign of his influence, proof of his power etched forever into stone. He had caused a thousand years of unrest in the world, all in his plan to escape. If only the ponies knew what Nightmare Moon truly was. Zecora turned around, now looking at the group of ponies around her while standing at the bottom of the statue. “Listen close, my little dears, I'll tell you where you got your fears of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary.” She pulled a bit of green dust from her coat, the substance glowing brightly in the moonlight. She sent it scattering with a quick blow. “Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary.” The cloud rose into the air before consolidating and shifting into the shape of Nightmare Moon herself. Complete with eyes, the illusion of dust grinned with wicked sharp teeth as it flew down, crashing into the scared ponies below. Dust blew everywhere as it did, making the ponies shake. “Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves from her searching eyes.” Sorin coughed a little from the foul taste of the magic powder in his mouth. He heard a few fillies scream, Zecora emerging from the creature they thought they had seen in the cloud. “But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!” she shouted, ponies looking up at the depiction of the monster. She blew more dust into the air, taking the form of Nightmare Moon once again. It darted around, looking for ponies in a state of frenzy. “Hungrily, she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year!” The cloud rose high into the sky, bursting into a thousand shimmers of glowing dust. “Uh, Miss Zecora,” Pipsqueak said beneath Zecora, “if we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon so she won't gobble us up, how come we still need to give her some of our candy?” “A perfect question, my little friend. For Nightmare Moon, you must not offend.” She blew one last bit of dust from her hoof, it taking form once again. “Fill up her belly with a treat or two,” she said, the illusion coming closer to the ponies, “so she won't return to come eat you!” The thing pounced on them, shattering into a cloud as it did so. They shrieked all the same, Pinkie Pie being the loudest. “Everypony!” she nearly screamed, getting everypony’s attention. She shot up to the statue with her bag of candy. “Just dump some candy and get out of here!” All the foals poured a large part of their treasured candy into a pile at the foot of the stone out of fear. Sorin chuckled, in part because of how hilarious it was to watch the events unfold, and partially because the ponies were scared so easily. He was about to calm everypony down with a comment when the wind picked up rapidly. Frigid air nipped at his fur as storm conditions set in. To his surprise, the clouds above him formed a circle, growing darker by the second. He cocked his head in confusion, wondering what was happening. Everypony looked up with him. With a powerful flash of light from the moon, something came from the clouds. Sorin had to shield his eyes and let them recover before he snapped his gaze back up. Descending from the night sky was a shadowy chariot led by two ponies with wings. Chains linked them to the body of the chariot, and a cloaked figure sat in the carriage. The thing whipped through the air with speed, turning up in time to sweep over the ponies' heads with a whoosh. The floating chariot slowed a small distance away from the ponies, hovering in the air. Sorin saw the outline of the winged ponies who pulled it. He started to draw up spells as he prepared for an attack. “It's Nightmare Moon! Run!” Pinkie Pie hollered, getting every foal to run with her into the distance. Lightning struck behind the chariot, casting light over its entirety. The pony who sat in it had white eyes and an evil grin plastered on their face for a fleeting moment, the lightning providing this look. Before Sorin could release a spell, the winged ponies flew toward the center of Ponyville. Twilight and Sorin chased after them. Screams of rampant ponies rang out through the streets as Pinkie Pie and her group ran through town. Everypony looked at them in confusion until Twilight and Sorin appeared in the middle of town. The sky darkened, the chariot stopping above the gathered ponies. The hooded figure jumped from atop it, falling slowly and landing on four hooves without any sign of pain. They whipped their head back, lightning ripping through the air as their face was revealed. Everypony was surprised to see Princess Luna before them—Sorin especially. The ponies around him all bowed down in an instant out of fear of the ruler, except for Twilight. He saw them shake with fear of the pony they thought to still be Nightmare Moon. It seems she has returned. She must have overcome her self-loathing—for the time being at least—and come to Ponyville. “Princess Luna!” Twilight cheerily said, about to greet the royal sister when Spike pulled both her and Sorin to the ground. He put fingers over their mouths, shushing them as best he could. Sorin grunted in annoyance, reluctantly deciding to play along. What is she up to? Why is she here? he thought to himself as he watched her intently. Her wings extended as she walked down a line of ponies. She came up to one quivering mare, cracking a smile at her. The mare simply shuddered. The princess then spoke with a voice so loud it made Sorin internally roar with rage. The very chords of her throat vibrated the ground itself as she expelled air from her lungs in such a manner that produced shattering volume. “Citizens of Ponyville!” Her voice echoed loudly as she finished. “We have graced your tiny village with our presence so that you might behold the real Princess of the Night!” She waved her hooves as she spoke, smiling warmly to her subjects. The effort was sadly lost on them. “A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration,” she said while pacing around, eyes closed. She continued with the speech she had practiced. “Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!” Unseen by her, the ponies had backed away from her. Pinkie Pie stood up, still stuck on the last few words the princess had said. “Did you hear that, everypony? Nightmare Moon says she's gonna feast on us all!” she said with wide eyes before screaming. The ponies in the town joined in, stampeding away again. Luna’s face dropped as she saw her subjects run from her. “What? No, children, no,” she said out of shock in her normal voice. “You no longer have reason to fear us. Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!” she tried to explain, but her horseshoe slamming into the ground made the few ponies left around her cower. She whipped her head to the mayor, hoping to save this visit. “Madame Mayor, thy Princess of the Night hath arrived.” She put a hoof forward, but the mayor only covered her head with her hooves and shook. Luna looked around, seeing more ponies showing. She tried to extend her hoof to another, but they gasped and covered their head as well. “What is the matter with you?” she said, finding the same result every time she tried to offer a greeting. “Very well, then,” she said with grit teeth. “Be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell.” Although she said it with dignity and sass, her heart scraped along the ground. Was she truly irredeemable? Would her subjects ever trust her again? She started to walk away, feeling as if she had failed. “I'm gonna go talk to her,” Twilight announced, standing up and heading towards the princess when Spike pulled on her coat. She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. “You can't talk to her; she's Nightmare Moon!” he said with the slightest of quakes in his voice. “No, she's not. I saw the Elements of Harmony change her back to good, but it seems like she's having some trouble adjusting after being gone for a thousand years.” “I agree,” Sorin stated. “If she has truly been gone for so long and has rarely interacted with other ponies, I doubt she will be able to fit in, let alone be loved.” Twilight nodded to him, giving Spike a look that said she would be okay. She trotted away, Sorin walking alongside her. Sorin had carefully watched how the ponies had responded to Luna’s arrival, and he could smell their fear. If they were that afraid of a princess who was no longer even the boogeyman they thought she was, what would they think of him? He smiled as they walked, savoring that thought. They went back the way they had come into town, retracing their steps to the open, dirt expanse where the statue of Nightmare Moon loomed.