Five ponies’ stares were fixated on Pinkie Pie, who was unable to meet their gaze.
“Pinkie, how do ya know about somethin’ as bad as... that?” Applejack choked out, unsure of whether she wanted her hopefully-fellow-earth-pony friend to answer or not.
Pinkie raised her head, and her wan smile was all that was needed to confirm the worst. “You guys ever wonder how I could do all the ‘Pinkie Pie’ things I do?”
All the ponies in the room were silent for a minute, as everypony worked out what Pinkie was saying. The 'Pinkie Pie' things she does? All the weird and wonderful infractions on reality that everypony takes in stride? Those could be something other than 'just Pinkie Pie?'
Rainbow Dash was the first to say anything, moving over to Pinkie's side. "Hey, Pinks, whatcha mean by that? You're still the same 'ol Pinkie Pie, right?"
Pinkie Pie looked in to Rainbow's eyes for a moment before bursting into tears, clinging onto Rainbow Dash for dear life.
Eclipse averted his eyes from the pair, looking out the window a the inconsiderate afternoon sun streaming through the window. He ruffled his wings once, and the room darkened, shrouding the room in a breath of softened light.
Pinkie sobbed into Rainbow's chest for a minute before speaking again. “They pretended it never happened. That I never had a horn. They didn’t think I’d remember, because I was so little,” she mumbled to the quiet of the room.
--------------------
The Boutique’s main room was bathed in a soft dusklight. Pinkie Pie was cradled between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, having cried herself to sleep after telling what she could remember of her early childhood.
“How could anypony do that to their foal? How could Celestia let anypony do that to their foals?” Twilight asked the stunned silence pervading the room.
A few eyes turned toward Eclipse for answers, though he simply shook his head. “I have seen and retold many horrible things that ponies have done, but I can only ever guess as to what goes through a pony’s mind to do something like that.”
“There’s gotta be something we can do!” Rainbow Dash fumed motionlessly, her side serving as a pillow for Pinkie Pie. “Can’t we tell somepony about this?”
“I doubt it,” Eclipse said as he looked at the huddled form of Pinkie. “Nopony would believe that anypony still practiced Earthing. I myself would hardly believe it if it weren’t for one thing.”
He glanced pointedly at Twilight expectantly, who knitted her brows in thought for a moment, trying to follow his train of thought. What did he expect her to know, all of a sudden? All he’d taught her was illusion magic...
Wait a second, thought Twilight, the train. Sleeping in the dining car. Smelling the nightdew. In the morning she thought it was still there...
...when Pinkie Pie woke her.
--------------------
“Are ya’ll sure you won’t be needin’ any help?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, it’s alright, Applejack. Sugarcube Corner isn’t that far from here,” Fluttershy assured, hoisting Pinkie gently onto Rainbow Dash’s back, careful not to obstruct her wings.
“Yeah, we’ll make sure she’s okay,” the cyan pony affirmed before lifting off, gently exiting the front door of the Boutique with Fluttershy in tow.
“I hope she’ll be okay,” Rarity said, taking the cups her friends had used into her kitchen.
“Me, too...” Twilight said, closing the door.
“Aw, me three,” Applejack added. “Why the hay’d you have to bring that up, anyway? Why drag something like that out in the open?” she said toward Eclipse, her irritation more present in her tone than her volume.
Eclipse didn’t move to look her in the eye, which grated on her even further, but she didn’t press it. “I hadn’t thought it was such a traumatic event as that. I’d assumed it was a foalhood accident or something similar. Something that removed her horn with less... traumatizing connotations,” he said. “As I said before, nopony would think that Pinkie was originally a unicorn, much less one who was Earthed. Celestia absolutely loathed the practice, but at the time she had to make the choice between sparing children trauma, and sparing her ponies their lives. Not a good choice, but there wasn’t anything pleasant about that time in history.”
Twilight’s ear perked, but she didn’t say anything. Hearing Eclipse talk about history was fascinating, but this obviously wasn’t the time to indulge her academic side.
Applejack., though, took Eclipse’s explanation with a sour face. “So, you gonna do anything to help her? Or, wait, ya can’t. All yer magic can do is make pictures fly around in the air, nothin’ you can do is real! Lotta help that is!” she seethed.
Rarity shouted from her sink, “Applejack, that’s hardly appropriate! He did nothing wrong!”
Applejack looked as though she was going to argue the point further, but Eclipse spoke before her, “I never said that I didn’t intend to help Pinkie Pie. And my illusions can have a very real effect, if you just give it time.” He still hadn’t moved from his position on Rarity’s floor.
Applejack growled, “Aw, ferget it. I’m goin’ home fer the night. I’ll check on Pinkie in the mornin'. I’m guessin’ I’ll be seein’ ya then?” Rarity and Twilight nodded, and Applejack let out a sigh. “All righty then. Thanks for the tea, Rarity.”
She left the Boutique, only realizing once she stepped outside that it was still daylight out, Eclipse having made the false night inside the Boutique for Pinkie.
“Consarned trick magic!” she growled to herself, storming off to her home. She had the sudden urge to harvest apples.
--------------------
A few more minutes passed with no one speaking before Eclipse sighed, “Rarity, would you like some time to yourself to absorb all of this as well? I promise it is no inconvenience to us.”
Rarity flushed slightly, taken back by his offer, and his preemption of her offer to let them stay, “Well, if you’re sure about it, then, yes, I could use some time to myself, thank you.”
Eclipse nodded, first to Rarity, then toward the door, indicating to Twilight that she should leave as well.
--------------------
“How do you do that?” Twilight asked as she walked down one of the emptier streets of Ponyville by her mentor.
“Do what?” he replied, his eyes flicking toward her for a moment.
“Know what everypony is going to say, and then say something before they do? You did it to Applejack and Rarity just then, and you’ve done it to me, too. Is it some kind of illusion?” she asked, eyes brightening at the possibility that she figured out one of his tricks.
Eclipse chuckled. “No, it is no illusion. Just life experience and common sense. Applejack was obviously upset, and I was just answering her previous statement anyway. And the Element of Generosity, letting her friend leave in a time of need, without offering to let them stay? Unlikely. As for you, you’re an easy pony to read.”
Eclipse’s mouth drew tight at the corners as Twilight stammered in response.
--------------------
The inside of the library shone with the casual, warm glow that only came from homes lived in by warm ponies. Spike was upstairs, counting the gems he was pleasantly surprised to have found on his outing with Sweetie Belle and her friends. He wouldn’t even complain that he had to split the gems they had dug up with her, seeing as they went straight to Rarity’s own stash of jewels.
Twilight, meanwhile, was regarding her house guest with confusion. Eclipse had never been reluctant to come in her house before, few times though it had been. But today, he turned town three invitations to come inside before relenting. It was almost as though he were some reversed version of a vampony from the classic fiction Twilight had read, cannot enter an abode if he has been invited.
And speaking of odd things Eclipse was doing, he had situated himself by the front door of the library, laying just like he did at Rarity’s Boutique, eyes closed, head bowed.
“Um... Don’t you want to come in?” Twilight asked.
Eclipse’s eyebrow quirked, though he didn’t move otherwise. “I thought I was in?”
“Well, um, I meant come... more... in?” she fumbled over the odd phrasing.
Eclipse’s mouth stretched as he stood and walked over to Twilight’s sitting area. As he arranged himself on a couch, Twilight noticed how his normally looming size seemed to diminish so that he seemed no larger than herself.
Eclipse spoke, startling Twilight, “Today was supposed to be a day for you to recover from yesterday’s lesson.”
“I know, but my friends really wanted to meet you,” Twilight blushed, “and I wanted to get to know you more, too.”
“Why so? I am hardly a pony worth knowing,” Eclipse frowned.
“Everypony is a pony worth knowing. Well, almost everypony.” Twilight frowned, before sitting down across from Eclipse.
“And what ponies aren’t worth knowing?” Eclipse asked, head tilted in curiosity.
“Well, Changelings, for one,” Twilight frowned, remembering the invasion at Cadance’s wedding, “and I’ve met some ponies who were just mean. Oh, and there’s the worst of them all,” Twilight shuddered, “Discord. Anypony like that monster should just leave everypony alone.”
“Indeed,” Eclipse mused.
“But from the sounds of things you knew some pretty bad ponies, too,” Twilight continued, “There are almost no history books that go past Luna’s banishment. What was Equestria like back then?”
Eclipse’s face fell. “There is a reason for the scarce history, Twilight. It isn’t pleasant.”
Twilight’s face sparkled with eagerness in contrast to Eclipse’s reluctance, “but didn’t you work with Celestia and Luna back then? I could learn about what you did!”
Eclipse stared into Twilight’s eyes, and she could almost feel his mind boring into hers, searching for something.
“Celestia wanted me to teach you illusions. A history of illusions would give you perspective and reference. Anything you pick up along the way wold be incidental.”
Twilight jumped up from her seat, leaning in toward Eclipse, a wide grin splitting her face, “Thank you thank you thank you! So when can we start? Can we start right now? Can we-” Eclipse held up his hoof to stop her.
“This will wait until tomorrow. Today is still for you to recover from yesterday, understand?”
Twilight’s ears fell back as she smiled shyly, “Oh, yeah,” she laughed guiltily.
--------------------
The two sat in silence, Twilight deep in thought, and Eclipse as unreadable as he ever was. This continued for several minutes, until Twilight perked up, remembering a question that had been sitting in the back of her mind for a few hours now.
“Eclipse?”
The illusionist raised his head and turned his closed eyes toward Twilight, “Yes?”
“Why were you sleeping on the roof when we found you?”
Eclipse drew his mouth into his half-smile, “The short answer is that I wasn’t. The long answer is that I wasn’t sleeping, I was observing Ponyville.”
“But your eyes were closed!” Twilight angled her head in confusion.
He raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. “Twilight Sparkle, you must quickly learn that vision is hardly the most important part of an illusion. Anypony can make guesses at what something looks like, but the other senses are important as well. I take what free time I have and use it to observe my surroundings, or to meditate on old memories.”
“Oh,” Twilight responded eloquently, before she remembered something else. “Oh, right! Where are you staying, anyway? We couldn’t find your house anywhere!”
“That was your first mistake. Assuming I am staying anywhere. As I said, all my time not teaching you is spent observing or meditating.” He opened his eyes and pointedly looked into hers, “All of it.”
“You... You don’t sleep?”
Eclipse closed his eyes again, “I prefer not to, and I don’t really need sleep anyway. Many of the things I used to do demanded my attention at all times, and even tonight I will be busy.”
“Busy? Doing what?”
“Helping,” his answer was short and clipped. Obviously he didn’t want her to press further.
“Okay...” The conversation descended into silence again.
--------------------
The pair spent the evening talking, though Twilight noticed that no matter how hard she tried to keep the conversation on Eclipse, he would always bend it back to her. Eventually, Spike came down to inform Twilight that the tossed salad was going to spoil if she didn’t eat already.
Twilight wished Eclipse good night, and he reminded her that their lessons resumed tomorrow, though she hadn’t forgotten. Tomorrow she would see what life was like in Equestria one-thousand years ago, and possibly learn some more about her enigmatic tutor.
--------------------
Pinkie Pie woke up, safely nestled in her bed at Sugarcube Corner, a glow of warmth clinging to her, despite the horrors the relived earlier that day. She stood up and, feeling her forelock tug oddly, decided it would be a good idea to brush out her mane. Even with her mess of a mane, unusual tangles were still annoying.
She walked over to her vanity, which was really just a mirror and a shelf holding the brush she had bought for Gummy before realizing he didn’t have hair. Without bothering to look at what kind of mess her mane was in, she lifted the brush to pull out the offending knot.
“Brushie, brushie, brushie,” she sang to herself as the myriad loops and swirls her hair took fell away, only to reposition themselves immediately.
“Brushie, brushie, brushie...”
Tap.
“Huh?” She pulled at the spot in her forelock again.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Pinkie finally looked in the mirror and gasped.
There was a spiral-grooved, pink cone pointing out of her forehead, rubbing up against the lock of hair that always fell over her face. Her horn, it was back!
“How? How is it possible? How is it back?” she asked to nopony in particular.
“Because this is a dream. Your dream, actually. I just made some changes to make it less... unpleasant,” the nopony in particular answered.
Pinkie turned, and saw a large, winged serpent curled on her windowsill. The monster had claws and paws and horrible fangs, not unlike Discord, but for one difference. Its face was the same as the pony whose presence seemed strangely logical in this dream.
“Eklie!” Pinkie shouted, running over to the beast.
“Eklie?” he responded questioningly.
“Uh-huh! Short for Eclipse!” Pinkie shook her head vigorously, but became mesmerized by her horn moving with her head, and kept nodding her head.
Serpent-Eclipse sighed, and decided that this was as attentive as she could be, “This is your dream, as I said. I just made it less scary for you. In fact, you were already going to dream of me, which is why I’m here.”
“Oh, cool, you can change dreams, too!” Pinkie continued to nod.
“Only slightly, but it is a type of perception.”
“Which is why you aren’t able to appear normal in here, because that kind of change is beyond you abilities to change what I see when I’m only in my mind?”
Eclipse-Snake paused, taken aback by her perfect explanation, “Er, yes, actually. Though I’m confused as to why you’d dream me like this.”
“And then there was cake!” Pinkie Pie shouted, realizing that she was in a lucid dream, and thus could control her dreams.
Eclipse sighed, realizing that Pinkie’s dreams were safe and calm, and withdrew to the real world, leaving his serpentine self to Pinkie’s whims.
--------------------
Rarity put Sweetie Belle to bed after they sorted out all the gems she had brought home. Celestia only knows how she got them all! She and her friends must have spent all day searching to have stumbled across them all, much less digging them up!
As Rarity left Sweetie’s room, she went downstairs to look through her store before heading to bed, placing an empty box of tissues in the garbage.
After Twilight and Eclipse had left, Rarity had nopony needing her support, so she was finally allowed to let herself cry. For the fact that ponies could do something like that to their foal. For the fact that it still happened in this day and age. But most of all, for poor Pinkie Pie.
--------------------
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy left Sugarcube Corner an hour or so after sundown, each carrying a box of jelly doughnuts that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had made them as thanks for looking after Pinkie Pie.
“I need to get home to check up on Angel Bunny. He said he would take care of the animals while I was gone, but I need to make sure they’re alright.”
“Sure thing Fluttershy. You go on ahead,” Rainbow yawned, “I gotta head home anyway.”
--------------------
Applejack came into her home, worn out from half a day spent bucking trees, but she had a satisfied smile across her face.
“Good, honest, real work there.”
--------------------
Eclipse soared through the air, watching as his shadow raced across the plains beneath him, all the world around him painted in muted gray tones. Everything shimmered at the slightest movement, the beams of silver light giving everything life.
Feeling the cold night wind cloaking him as he flew, Eclipse turned a series of intricate spins and loops against the moon, painting a portrait with his shadow, he ink fading as soon as it was applied.
“A fading impression with imaginary ink. How long will it last?”