Chapter Three
The Fury of the Sun
Celestia's sun still hung high in the sky as Twilight soared over the city. Ponies were busily going about their days as Twilight sped past them, receiving friendly waves as she went. They did not register to her however, as she was too preoccupied with her task of finding the stallion that she believed held the answers she craved. She did not want to believe it, but she had to make sure. And if Eclipse was the old king, then Twilight had to come to the decision on what to do about him. He had caused Celestia and Luna much suffering, and had ruled the land with an iron hoof, surely he did not expect to never answer for his crimes.
Twilight spotted the narrow street in which Eclipse had set up his stall, and landed with force enough to crack the ground slightly. Twilight was a whirlwind of emotions at the moment, but she was working as hard as she could to at least give Eclipse the decency to hear his side of the story. But thoughts of how he could speak with her, while keeping a straight face kept popping up.
Twilight looked to the building that sat at the end of the street, she had not noticed it before with the festival lights strung up, but the house was covered in graffiti. 'Monster', 'Get Out', and 'Freak' were painted all over the building. Apparently the local residence knew of the occupants of the house. This however only caused Twilight more ire, because the one she had come to enact justice upon was in a known location, and she was not told of it.
Twilight approached the house warily, she could have sworn the shadows in the alleyway were moving, and given the talents of the mare who she knew had to live here the notion was not so far fetched. Twilight stood in front of the door for a few seconds as she calmed herself and readied for what would await her on the other side. Slowly nudging the door open with a hoof, Twilight peered into the house.
Seeing no immediate danger she crept in and eyed her surroundings. The interior of the house was a dramatic change from the outside. The decor was expensive and ornate looking, thick red carpets with ancient looking designs covered the floor, and exquisite paintings in gold frames hung on the walls. Twilight had the feeling she knew where the money he earned went.
She made her way further into the house, cautiously looking around and growing more and more on edge the further she made it. She looked closer at the decor as she advanced, and noticed that each painting while done by a different artist, was of Eclipse. Twilight stopped in her tracks as she noticed this, and compared the different works of art. It appeared as if the paintings were done down the hallway in a chronological order judging by the aging of the paint and methods used. Eclipse in the earlier paintings held a fierce glare, but as they went down the line, the expression changed to a more passive expression. The final two however he seemed to have an almost sad expression, Twilight frowned at this as she thought of what could have caused him to choose different looks for each painting.
"They are beautiful are they not?" A voice said from directly next to Twilight.
"Gah!" Twilight exclaimed as she jumped up and fell on her rump and flailed away from Eclipse who was just standing alongside her as she examined the paintings.
"Oh come now, you should expect to meet a pony if you go into his house..." Eclipse said with a frown.
Twilight's jaw worked wordlessly for a moment, until she finally regained her bearings, "You are the previous king, the one who caused so much suffering in the past!"
At Twilight's pointing and accusation Eclipse frowned as he responded, "Suffering? I would never do anything to harm my ponies... Well, they are yours now, but still."
"Then what of the open dislike and even hatred for you?" Twilight said as she got back onto her hooves.
"They hate me not for what I did, but for what I am. While others grow old and die around me, I alone persevered the ages." Eclipse said with a sigh as he turned and made his way down the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked in a stern voice.
"To my living room, one generally entertains guests there, not in a hallway." Eclipse said with a chuckle as Twilight cautiously followed him.
The room Twilight followed Eclipse into was just as extravagantly decorated as the rest of the house, "You seem to have spent quite a lot on decor in..."
"Yes, but to be fair most of the artwork are either family heirlooms or things I grew attached to over the years from the castle. Other than those however I know a few ponies who are still willing to do business with me for the right price." Eclipse commented in a carefree tone as he sat himself upon a plush looking chair and motioned for Twilight to take the sofa.
Twilight begrudgingly sat where she was prompted to and fixated a frown toward Eclipse who merely smiled kindly back at her. Twilight was the first to look away as she took in more of the artwork around the room, one such painting caught her eye, it hung over the fireplace and seemed to be the oldest of the paintings she had seen so far.
"Who is that in the painting?" Twilight asked as she examined the features of the stallion. It looked an awful lot like Eclipse, but the cutie mark was wrong. Where Eclipse bore a blackened and cracked heart wrapped in thorns, the stallion here had a shining gold heart on his flank.
"Ah, that is the once crowned prince Heart of Gold. You know, he had a reputation for being a stallion who could do no wrong, always helping out his fellow pony, and doing so with a smile. He was a good stallion..." Eclipse said with a far off look in his eye.
"Crowned prince? So he never became king?" Twilight asked casting a suspicious eye at the stallion who she knew to have a reputation for dethroning others who got in his way.
"Sadly no, no he did not. Though the throne was never really what he sought after. He was a stallion stricken by love, and that is what lead to his demise." Eclipse said in a somber tone.
Twilight quirked an eyebrow at this, "Was he family then?"
"You could say that, yes. The royal line are all related in some manner. That was long ago though, and I do believe you came for business, not a history lesson." Eclipse said waving his hoof to dismiss further talk of the portrait.
Twilight pursed her lips at the way Eclipse was treating this, he obviously knew what she was here for, but he simply calmly sat there as if waiting to see if she would go through with it or not, "Why are you so calm about this?"
"About what? About the student of the alicorn I banished from this land confronting me? Or is it about being in the presence of the only thing that can stop me?" Eclipse asked in an airy tone.
Twilight looked down to the Element of Harmony around her neck, the six gems sparkling brightly along its surface. Looking back up into Eclipse's eyes she finally answered, "Both, I want to hear your side of the story before I decide whether or not to go through with an act that could either be justice or petty vengeance."
Eclipse quirked up an eyebrow and whistled an impressed note, "Well done at being able to perceive that there is a difference. Already you prove yourself a pony worthy of wearing the crown! But to answer the question, I am calm because no matter what you decide I have come to terms with it. I have lived my life, and I have raised my daughter to the point that she can fend for herself."
Twilight thought over what was said to her for a moment before another question appeared in her head, "Who is Shadow's mother? You told me you only knew her for a single night. Was her conception merely so you could have an heir, or did the mare only wish to get closer to the crown?"
Eclipse's gaze softened at this, no longer holding the bravery his proud statement had brought him, instead switching to a look of sadness. With a heavy sigh Eclipse shook his head, "She... Is not my daughter by birth, but by adoption. You see, I am a loyal stallion and I was married once, though my wife and I were never able to conceive a child. Still, I to this day remain loyal in that I do not partake in pleasures of the flesh with any other mare. She may be gone, but our vows are not..."
Twilight was beginning to feel sorry for Eclipse, he not only lived a life of being hated by others, but he also refused to allow love into his life, that was apparently until he adopted shadow. Twilight found his sense of loyalty touching though, reminding her a lot of Rainbow Dash, though his did seem a bit more archaic.
"Then why leave the castle? Would it not have been better to raise her there?" Twilight asked.
"Children raised in castles tend to lack the knowledge of what is important in this world. Things such as respect and honor are often twisted when one is raised above others. It took many years for me to learn those lessons, and had I known them, there would surely have been many mistakes I would not have made." Eclipse said whilst shaking his head.
"So why did you decide to finally adopt a filly then?" Twilight asked, captivated by the story.
"That is a story better shown than explained." Eclipse said as Twilight's pocket dimension was opened without her will for it to do so, and the royal scepter floated out.
"Hey!" Twilight exclaimed more in confusion than surprise on how Eclipse managed to so easily force open the thing she kept hidden her most precious or important things.
"This scepter, serves two purposes. One is to suck in and devour evil souls that would do harm to ponies. The second is to use the power from absorbing the soul, to cast a powerful scrying spell." Eclipse said as he examined how much power the scepter received from the wendigo.
"You don't mean it can scry into the past do you?" Twilight asked in a surprised tone.
Eclipse merely smiled as he levitated the scepter to float directly between himself and Twilight, "It was originally forged to be a useful tool for the king to watch over the land, and even see what happened to deliver judgement for crimes. So, Princess Twilight, are you ready?"
"How do I use it..." Twilight asked as she stared into the pulsating round diamond.
"Focus on a question about what happened, the scepter will detect your thoughts and reveal to you the answer..." Eclipse said as he allowed Twilight to grasp it in her magic.
Twilight intensified her gaze as she focused her mind on the question, 'What caused Eclipse to adopt Shadow?' The diamond's light began to pulsate, and the vision around the edges of Twilight's eyes began to blur, before her vision completely blacked out. She felt the sofa drift out from under her, and it was as if she were floating in mid air. All at once her vision came back along with feeling of her surroundings, but she was no longer in the living room, but in a dark forest. She noticed she was floating slightly off the ground, and her body was ethereal.
A twig snapped and brought Twilight's attention to it, her head snapping up to see what was approaching. Eclipse stepped out of the shadows, looking no different now than he did in his home. Though he wore the ornate golden crown, and a long black cape with golden trim draped over his back. His white coat gave him away, and his face stood out in the shadows as the rest of his body was either covered by the cape, or concealed underneath the heavy looking black armor he wore. The metal boots that covered his hooves clanked noisily through the forest, and Twilight watched in amazement as he still carried on a quick pace with ease, even leaping over obstacles in the heavy looking armor. Twilight floated after him, to see where he was going, and wondered what he was doing in a forest like this.
They made their way into a clearing, and Twilight gasped in horror at what she saw. Beneath where she floated she heard Eclipse growl in anger at the sight. There was a small village that was built here in the forest's clearing, and it was currently being besieged by feral monsters. Dark beasts dashed through the streets and chased down fleeing ponies, tackling and feasting upon them. In the center of the village however, a large green dragon laughed as it engulfed house after house in flames.
"This forest does not belong to you ponies!" The dragon cackled in its deep voice as the different forest monsters slaughtered the townsponies.
Twilight was about to make a move to stop this at once, but before she could act an intense black beam blasted through her chest, causing her to gasp and look down at herself. She was fine however, the beam had passed through her ghostly body, and Twilight suddenly remembered that she was not really here. Casting a glance up to where the beam was headed, she swallowed hard at the sight. The dragon in the center of the town that was now ablaze, had a gaping hole in his chest. The dragon looked down at himself and let out a confused whimper as he fell over dead, crushing a building as he fell. Twilight looked behind her and saw the murderous look in Eclipse's eyes.
The once king stomped forward and yelled angrily to himself as he began sending arcing bolt after arcing bolt as he picked off the beasts that roamed the streets, "I should have been quicker! Why did the messenger not interrupt what I was doing?!"
A large feral cat hissed and pounced off a roof at Eclipse, but as the king turned his gaze at it, it disintegrated into nothing, having been hit with a dark bolt from Eclipse's horn. Eclipse meanwhile kept ranting as he butchered the forest inhabitants that had attacked the settlement, "I was only Fucking eating my dinner, that is not more important than this! I swear I will have that damned messenger thrown in the dungeons for not warning me sooner!"
Eclipse made short work of the creatures, Twilight never even got a chance to see what many of them were before they were blasted into dust. Eclipse was clearly disgusted at the sight of the burning village, but the few ponies who survived were not sure if they had been rescued or not. They cast fearful eyes on their savior, unsure if his anger would be directed towards them. This was not lost on Eclipse though, and he let out a saddened sigh as he extinguished the fires with a spell, and began searching for injured survivors.
Twilight watched as Eclipse examined the bodies of ponies, each one he found dead caused him to look sadder and sadder. He piled their bodies in the center of the town, not with magic, but with his own hooves. Twilight wondered if it was for respect for the dead that he did this, but she was still appalled by the growing mound of bodies Eclipse was making. The few who survived ventured from their homes and from under karts and openly wept now at the pile of their friends and families.
After several hours of searching and gathering the survivors Eclipse told them he would lead them back to the capital where they would be given a place to stay and food to eat. The old king's horn flared a black aura, and his shadow began to bubble and rise, as a perfect clone of himself was formed. Twilight gasped in amazement as she saw one of the spells she thought was only a legend. But here Eclipse had used the shadow doppelganger spell. The clone lead the survivors off into the forest, as Eclipse turned back to the ruined village and shook his head as he approached the mound of corpses.
Something then seemed to catch his eye as he turned his attention toward the house the dragon had fallen on. Eclipse had not bothered to check it before, seeing as it was completely demolished, but he figured he should anyways. Eclipse levitated the dragon into the air, and opened a tiny black hole inside of it, within seconds the dragon had been devoured by the dark void, crushed under the immense gravity, and then eclipse closed it. He then levitated the debris into the air, and looked among its contents. Several more bodies were there, making Eclipse hang his head as he levitated them onto the pile. He then made his way into the ruins of the crushed home as he deposited the debris into the streets, and searched for the basement. Instead of a stairway, he found a collapsed part of the floor, directly under where the dragon had been.
Eclipse jumped down there and his eyes immediately locked into a mare who was shivering under a large wooden beam that had fallen on her. eclipse gasped as he rushed to her, "Oh no!"
Eclipse bucked the beam off of her and examined her wounds, his face turning from elation at finding another survivor, to a grave look at her wounds, "I am sorry, but You have already lost too much blood..."
"Sa...ve... My....Fi...lly..." The mare forced out between spouts of coughing blood as she rolled over and grasped Eclipse's hoof with her own.
Eclipse tore his eyes away from the bleeding mare, and saw what she had been hunched over and protecting. A small gray filly lay unconscious on the ground, shivering now without her mother over her. Eclipse gasped as he took off his cape and draped it over the fragile little thing. He opened his mouth to ask the mother what the filly's name was, but stopped when he saw she had passed on. Eclipse levitated the filly off the ground and wrapped her in his cape for warmth. He then tied the ends of the cape behind his back so that the bundled up filly rested against his chest. Her face poked out and faced up towards him, and Eclipse looked down at her as he left the remains of the house.
As he made his way out of the village he cast one last glance back at it, a somber look on his face as his horn flared up and the town was engulfed and devoured by black flames. Twilight watched the village burn, its deceased residence cremated by the intense flames, and then she cast her gaze towards Eclipse and Shadow as they made their way into the forest.
Twilight's eyes lost focus and blacked out once more. She then found herself lying on the sofa in Eclipse's living room. As she lifted her head she looked around and noticed that Eclipse was still sitting where she had last seen him, reading a book. He looked up as he noticed Twilight stirring, and smiled at her.
"Welcome back." Eclipse said in a warm voice.
"Wha... How long was I out..." Twilight asked.
"Only about twenty minutes, time passes faster in the vision than here." Eclipse said as he set the book down.
"So... You took Shadow in because her mother asked you to..." Twilight said as it all slowly came back to her.
"You wanna know something funny about that whole thing?" Eclipse asked.
Twilight only gave the stallion a confused look in response.
"The damned messenger that was too afraid to disturb my meal, causing me to get there too late to save a majority of the ponies told the story differently. He said that he told me while I was eating, and that I waited to finish my meal before going to help them. So I was viewed as a heartless monster and blamed for the deaths of over a hundred ponies!" Eclipse said as if delivering a joke, but Twilight saw past this and knew that he was saying it in a light manner so as to not get angry.
"What did you do to him..." Twilight asked in a grave tone.
"I found him guilty for the murder of over a hundred ponies by not interrupting me. My last action as king before I took off the crown was to execute that fool." Eclipse said, his smile turning into a fierce frown.
"Is that why the ponies here all hate you enough to grafitti your home?" Twilight asked as she put the scepter back into her pocket dimension.
"Yes, though only about twenty some survived and they all feel that they owe me something, their friends and family believed the story the messenger told them, thinking that I had tricked them somehow, or cast a spell on them to make them take my side." Eclipse said in a grumpy tone.
Twilight observed how the mood of the once king changed as he thought over the past and how he had been wronged. Twilight frowned in thought as she looked at him, "Shadow always treats me as if I am an enemy, what have you told her of me..."
"I told her a couple years ago that she was old enough to survive on her own if anything ever happened to me. She told me that nothing could possibly happen to me, So I told her of the Elements of Harmony, and that it was possible that one day an alicorn would come and enact vengeance upon me for something I did long ago." Eclipse said with a shrug.
Twilight pressed her hoof against her forehead, "So she hates me because she thinks I am going to orphan her..."
Eclipse chuckled, and then laughed heartily causing Twilight to jump slightly, "It seems the irony of being seen as a monster to the daughter of one is not lost on you."
Twilight cast her eyes shamefully away from Eclipse, "I was actually going to use the elements on you before I came here, but all that would have done is enact vengeance upon a pony who served his country only to be branded a monster."
"There is a saying about that, We either die heroes, or live to see ourselves become monsters. Too bad for us immortals eh?" Eclipse asked, a now jovial look on his face.
Twilight's frown deepened as she looked back up at Eclipse and asked him her final question, "What did Celestia and Luna do to make you banish them? Celestia told me that you were angry that she took the throne from you... But she also did mention that you rewrote some of her memories so that she would not know your face..."
"That..." Eclipse said, a somber look donning his face, "What is another long story, but to answer your question shall we say that she betrayed me. I never wanted to take the throne, and I never meant to dethrone her. Things just... Got out of hand, and I rewrote her memories so that she would never return. I caused her to fear me more than anything else, to ensure that the mistake I almost made, never had a chance to happen."
"What mistake..." Twilight mumbled at the now fierce look on Eclipse's face.
"I almost killed Celestia and Luna... I didn't want to fight, and I only meant to protect myself. But I didn't know my strength, I had just become immortal and they attacked me. I was confused and disoriented as we fought, and when I came to my senses I found that they were both beaten to within an inch of their lives." Eclipse said with his eyes cast down to the ground.
"But... They had the Elements of Harmony with them didn't they?" Twilight asked with a confused look.
"I don't know why they did not use them, perhaps they thought they could handle me, and I disabled them before they had a chance to use the Elements." Eclipse said with a sigh as he shook his head.
Twilight frowned as she stood up to leave, having heard enough of Eclipse's side of the story to know that he did not deserve to be punished. Eclipse's eyes brightened noticeably when he saw Twilight was going to leave it at that, and he waved her off as Twilight made her way out of his home. But before she made it out the door, one final thought dawned on her, and she turned towards him.
"Did they have any family here?" Twilight asked with her ears against her head.
"Still do, they are a high standing noble family. Never in line for the throne, but still a branch of the royal family. They won't even speak to me though, seeing as I dethroned their only chance at ever becoming the main branch of the family. They are the Caelus family, though there are only about four of them left in this city now." Eclipse said with a shrug.
Twilight then left, not wanting to impose any further upon Eclipse who had allowed her into his home fully knowing that it was a possibility that she would use the Elements of Harmony on him. As she soared back to the castle she thought over what he had told her, and she wondered if it was okay to let Celestia and Luna know the truth. At the very least she should get in touch with their family that still lived here and tell them of the princesses.
As Twilight drew closer to the castle she closed her eyes and her horn flared up as she teleported into the throne room. All three members of the council were speaking among each other in hushed tones. When Twilight snapped into existence they immediately ceased though and stared at the princess.
"Princess Twilight, you are back!" Frost Horn said with relief.
"Where have you been? We were worried King Eclipse might have attacked you!" Summer Wind said with a worried expression.
"What? Why would he attack me? We only had a long conversation and he answered many of my questions." Twilight said raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we figured he would not be too happy about you being here since you have the Elements of Harmony..." Steel Hoof said with a frown.
"I have decided to leave him alone. He no longer has any interest in politics and simply wants to raise his daughter." Twilight explained to the council.
The council members exchanged confused looks with one another and Summer Wind finally spoke up, "We were unaware he had one..."
"Would explain the sudden resignation he gave us though..." Frost Horn offered.
"I always thought it was because he was ashamed of the rumor that was spread about him when he went to save that village..." Steel Hoof said thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin with a hoof.
"Where is Spike by the way?" Twilight asked in a concerned tone.
The council members seemed derailed slightly by the change in subject and it took a couple of seconds before Summer Wind cleared her throat and answered, "He is back in his sleeping quarters, after we had him patched up he wanted to rest so he went back to the ballroom."
Twilight nodded and thanked Summer Wind before she winked out of existence and reappeared before Spike. The dragon lifted his head and looked down at her before smiling. Spike moved to sit up but grunted in pain and clutched his side where one of the long gashes was.
"Hey Twilight, where ya been?" Spike rumbled as he smiled in embarrassment.
"I was having a nice little chat with the old king." Twilight said with a smile.
"What?! Did he attack you? What did he say?" Spike said, once more trying to get up and grunting in pain as he set himself down.
"Spike you should let that heal better before you strain it! At least try to get up a different way instead of using the muscles that are hurt..." Twilight said frantically to Spike.
Ehh... I should just stay down... But come on, stop being a tease and tell me what happened!" The dragon begged.
"Well, I went over to Eclipse's house an-" Twilight began before being cut off.
"Eclipse is the old king?! But he was so nice..." Spike said dismally.
"He is nice Spike, he was never really a bad pony, bad things just happened that he was blamed for." Twilight said in an assuring voice.
"Oh, and I suppose it wasn't his fault that he banished Celestia and Luna from here, dethroned them, and ruled for over a thousand years." Spike said sarcastically.
"Well, there is a little bit more to the story than that..." Twilight said, flattening her ears against her head.
"Well go on, not like I will be doing anything else until I get better." Spike said rolling his eyes.
Twilight then began to fill Spike in on everything, and after a few hours of them talking back and forth on their thoughts over what Twilight had experienced at Eclipse's house, Twilight yawned and shook her head at Spike.
"I think I should be getting to bed." Twilight said, stretching as she stood up.
"Will you tell Celestia?" Spike asked with a frown.
"I think so, I just don't know how exactly to tell her though. But I know I cannot lie to her. The only thing I worry about now though is how she will react..." Twilight said with a sigh.
"She wouldn't act that drastically would she? I mean, she mainly sent you here to lead the ponies of this land, not for revenge. What is the worst that could happen?"
Celestia sat in her bedroom smiling at pictures of past events. Currently she gazed at a picture that had been taken during the first Grand Galloping Gala that Twilight and the other elements had participated in. Celestia smiled at the fond memory, and all the memories that had followed. Her thoughts were filled with hope that Twilight was doing alright.
A letter then popped into existence next to her, something that had not happened in a long time. Twilight had not had need to send her a note such as this for years, but the fact that she had hinted at good news. Celestia hurriedly opened the scroll with her magic and read the contents.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to tell you that I have suceeded in taking the throne in the land that was once known as Oblivion. It was changed to Concordia slightly over a decade ago after the old king, Eclipse, abandoned the throne. When I first arrived I was greeted with open arms by the citizens who were glad to once again have an alicorn sit on the throne. They were on the verge of civil war as different parties vied for power and some even attempted to ascend to the throne. However, Eclipse left directions that an alicorn would come someday to rule the land. I was wary of those around me, and even skeptical about their motives for helping me, but I soon came to find that the pony council who helped me since I first arrived simply needed me to quell the starting rebellion. With their aid, I now rule over the land here, and will soon be visiting another province to quell the unrest there. I also came across the fact that you have family that still remain here in the capital city. I have yet to meet them, but soon I will make the time to visit them as well.
P.S. I have met with and spoken to Eclipse, the previous king. And I have decided that I will leave him alone. He no longer poses any threat to the ponies here, and he is raising a daughter. He told me he planted memories into you and your sister in hopes that you two would stay away from him, and to be honest I think it is also for the best. If you would be interested in meeting your family, I would be more than happy to bring them over to Equestria via a portal however.
Sincerely,
Princess Twilight Sparkle
Celestia scanned over the letter multiple times, each time her eyes growing more frantic at the news. She feared the worst, that Twilight had fallen victim to the old king, or even worse, that she had decided to take his side. Celestia's anger boiled within her as she thought over this, her mane beginning to boil frantically instead of its normal billow.
"After over a thousand years of nightmares... He is leading a normal life..." Celestia said in an eerily calm voice as she levitated a picture of Twilight off of her bedside table where pictures of Luna and Cadence also sat. Celestia stared calmly at the face of her once pupil, eyes staring, unblinking at the picture.
"Twilight... I will free you from whatever trick he has you in..." The glass over the picture fractured, and shattered under the force Celestia was putting into the levitation spell, her anger causing her to lose control over her magic.
"Eclipse huh..." Celestia said in the eerie calm voice.
"You will pay for tricking Twilight, and for causing me so much pain!" Celestia screamed as the picture and frame were crushed into a tiny bead that she deposited on the floor.
