//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: Eclipse // by Hiver //------------------------------// The wind tugged at my mane and at my cloak. I used my horn and pulled the cloak tighter around myself against the cold wind as I looked out over the forest below, the moon shining high in the sky above. I could see faint lights of a village far in the distance, but mostly it was just dark woods stretching out towards the horizon. The heating spell on me and the cloak took the worst of the cold away, but I likely shouldn’t be out here for too long anyway. But I needed some fresh air as my brain felt like mush. Twelve hours of studying and spellworking tended to do that and quite frankly, I was uncertain I would be able to keep it going for the next month. Sparks had very much been right, vacation this was not. But Sunshine seemed to be really enjoying herself. I could do this for a month if it made her happy. Sunshine should be a teacher, not a ruler. I should be a writer, not a ruler. Luna… …No, Luna was made to be a Princess. A warrior princess. She had hobbies, painting and the like. But being a Princess made her happy. Out of all of us, Luna was the one happiest being a ruler. Twilight and Midnight wanted to study, spend time with their friends and do research. Cadance did enjoy ruling too, admittedly, even if she should likely be a lot happier running a matchmaking service or something. But out of all of us, Luna was the one most suited to be a Princess. I turned my eyes upwards, looking up towards the moon high in the sky. My beautiful Sky. Turning around, I climbed the stairs down from the wall instead of gliding down from my wings. Keeping my wings against my sides beneath the cloak was chilly enough. I was tired, I wanted to sleep. Luna would be somewhere in the dream realm too during the night for her patrol of ponies dreams, I’d be able to meet her there. Putting my hoof against the door, I pushed it open and started up the stairs, giving the door a small kick with my rear hoof on the way in to close it. Out of the wind, the chill faded away some, but it was still chilly and I hurried up the stairs to slip into my chambers. The fireplace was crackling away happily, spreading warmth through the room so I slipped my cloak off and moved up to it, spreading my wings to catch as much of it as I could for a couple of minutes. Soon feeling less like an ice cube I let out a sigh and sat down for several more minutes, eyes half closed and just soaking in the warmth of the fireplace. Once fairly sure I wouldn’t freeze to death, I pulled away and spread my wings, launching myself upwards, kicking off the mantle of the fireplace and twisted, slipping to catch the perch with my tail, wrapping around it firmly. I slowly swung in place, getting comfortable. Up by the rafters it was nice and warm, but that fire would fade away in a couple of hours and then the chill would come. So after pulling my legs to myself and wrapping my wings around myself, I lit my horn and picked up my two blankets and wrapped them around myself, tying them firmly in place, leaving me into a nice and comfy cocoon of soft warmth. Too bad ponies don’t purr. I feel like this would have been a purring moment. Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh. All that was missing with my girls and this would be perfect. I let myself drift off to sleep. Opening my eyes once more, I looked out across the dream world. I’ll meet Luna later, but if she followed her usual schedule, it would be hours more until she entered the dream world. So I had some time to kill. If I planned to join Luna for her dream patrols, doing it on my own now would be a bit redundant. Spending a minute looking around the sparkling dreamscape, I then made up my mind and summoned my dream sphere. Might as well get some more worldbuilding done. Walking forward, I stepped through into the dark forest, two moons glowing in the sky. The air nice, warm and clear. Soft sounds of night creatures in the distance. A glow rack deer passed the clearing, it’s horns shining a soft blue as it grazed along the dew covered grass. The air was scented with moon lilies and the stars shimmered brightly in the sky. A buzz bee slowly flew past, doing a circuit around my head before continuing on its way. Almost the same as material bees, they produced honey, but they didn’t sting. Instead they buzzed angrily and the swarm formed shapes in the air to scare you off. Speaking of bugs, I had one of those on my list to do, so I settled down in the dew moist grass as the sun started to peek over the horizon in the distance. Oh yeah, I set day and night to be similar to the material world but opposite. So when asleep during the day I would be able to have night here. I could adjust that, the light was bothering my eyes. Hmm. No, it’s better if I played by the rules, I created them for a reason after all. Conjuring a pair of day goggles instead, I slipped them on before getting to work. Smiling to myself, I focused on my magic, starting to shift the dream with my eyes half closed in concentration. A small spot started to glow, grow, shifting and spreading before me as a butterfly appeared. Long wide wings slowly spreading, shifting into a heart shaped pattern. Actually a bit similar to Cadances cutiemark. Raising my hoof, the butterfly landed on it, wings slowly spreading and folding again. Pushing my goggles up, I could see the wings shimmering in the daylight, leaving faint trails of light as they moved. Should reflect any light hitting it nicely, both sun and moon. Not to make it visible, but to confuse any birds wanting to eat it. Raising my hoof, the butterfly dissolved into sparkles, flying towards every part of the world. Reforming into countless new ones all through the lands.