//------------------------------// // Total Eclipse // Story: Luna, Eclipsed // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// The kingdom of Canterlot, capital of Equestria, was abuzz with excitement, on a saturday that seemed like any other, but wasn't. A rare event was about to happen: A lunar eclipse was going to occur that night. Such events were few and far between, considering that control over day and night were in the respective hooves of Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna. The two alicorns usually kept their respective orbs out of the way of each other, for courtesy's sake. But that night, an unavoidable alignment between the sun, Equestria and the moon was taking place. To interfere would have caused drastic complications for all of Equestria, so instead, they made an event of it. As such, ponies from across Equestria were gathering in Canterlot for this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. Princess Luna was wandering the palace grounds, taking in the sheer number of ponies gathered there. The ponies she passed greeted her with bowing reverence, but some would glare and mutter under their breath after she had passed them. While Luna had yearned to recompense for the dark deeds she had performed as the evil Nightmare Moon, she had met with limited success. Though she had earned the friendship of the denizens of Ponyville during Nightmare Night, the inhabitants of Canterlot still head fear and loathing towards Luna for her past misdeeds, and with Nightmare Night a full year away, Luna had no idea how to change their opinions, not that she really blamed them; The alicorn had no excuses for what had happened all those years ago. For so long, she had been content to control the night, and would switch over to Celestia's day without fail. Then, without warning, she suddenly became resentful of the way ponies shunned the night and celebrated the day. Luna's jealousy towards her older sister manifested itself in her transformation into Nightmare Moon. She attempted to plunge Equestria into eternal night, but was defeated by Celestia, who, using the Elements of Harmony, trapped her within the moon. After a thousand years, a unique alignment of stars enabled her escape, and she once again attempted to make the night last forever. She was defeated once more by the Elements of Harmony, wielded by Celestia's protege, Twilight Sparkle, and five other ponies. The Elements of Harmony exorcised the hate and anger from Nightmare Moon, reverting her back to Luna again. Since then, Luna had tried to put her past behind her, but so many seemed to hold it against her, and there were times when she found it hard to challenge them. As Luna trotted through the palace grounds, she heard a commotion. "Sir, please." Said Stoic, one of the pegasus palace guards. "Her majesty does not have time for such idle adulations." 'Probably another one of Celestia's many admirers...' Luna thought to herself. "Hey, come on!" Protested the gray unicorn with a black mane and tail. "I just want to tell the Princess how much she rocks! I love her work, especially the stars!" 'Stars?' Luna thought. 'Is he referring to me?' She trotted over to the two arguing stallions. "Let him by, Stoic." Luna ordered. After her trip to Ponyville, Luna had discarded her old way of speech, and taught herself to speak in a more "modern" tongue. "Never let it be said that a Princess does not have time for her subjects." "Yes, your highness." Stoic bowed. "You may pass, sir." "Awesome." Smiled the dark-shaded pony. Now that she could see him close-up, Luna noticed that his cutie mark was a flock of bats, and that his mane was styled something like she would expect from a count in the eastern countries. She also couldn't help but notice he was wearing black make-up around his eyes and horn. "Princess Luna, my name is Gothic." The dark-shaded pony smiled. "It's a real honor to meet you, your majesty." "I'm sure it is." Smiled Luna. "You say you're a 'fan' of my work?" "Not just me." Gothic shook his head. "All my friends agree that the night you create is amazing. Sometimes, we stay up until dawn, just so we don't miss anything." "I'm glad you appreciate my work." Said Luna, both flattered and genuinely surprised. "I didn't think there were that many ponies who enjoyed my night so much." "Well, I don't know about ponies, but there are plenty of animals that enjoy the night too." Declared Gothic. "Bats, opossums, raccoons... They all only come out at night." "I see." Mused Luna, unaware of this fact. "Some plants, too." Gothic continued, digging into the satchel on his side, and finally producing a small blue flower bud. "A gift for you, your majesty." "What is it?" Luna asked. "It's a night flower." Explained Gothic. "It only blooms during nighttime. Quite a sight it is, too." "Thank you." Luna smiled. "You're very kind." "To tell the truth, I've been hoping to get a chance to meet for some time now." Said Gothic nervously. "You have?" Luna arched her eyebrow suspiciously. "Yes." Gothic admitted. "I grew up hearing the story of how you became Nightmare Moon, and, true be told, I've always felt a little sorry for you." "You have?" Luna gasped. "Yeah, I know you only wanted the proper recognition for your work." Gothic declared. "I didn't agree with how you tried to get it, but it was an honest mistake, and obviously you're not like that anymore." "Tell that to about half the ponies in Canterlot." Sighed Luna. "They're all afraid the next night will last forever." "I don't." Gothic reassured her. "And who cares about what those jerks think? All that's in the past now, and we've all gotta just move on." Gothic's words struck a chord with Luna. Ever since her restoration, she had been plagued by nagging feelings of guilt in the back of her mind. But this odd-looking admirer of her's was right: It was time to move on, and leave the past behind her. "And I thought you needed to be thousands of years old to possess such wisdom." Chuckled Luna. "Thank you for your kind words, and the lovely gift, sir Gothic." "You're welcome, your majesty." Gothic bowed. "I really should get going. Find myself a nice seat for the ceremony." "That you should." Smiled Luna, watching the unicron nervously depart. As dusk fell, Twilight Sparkle arrived, accompanied by her friends: Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. They were joined by Twilight's baby dragon assistant, Spike, Applejack and Rarity's little sisters, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash's #1 fan, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy's coltfriend, Forrest, who had all come to Canterlot to witness the event. As the onlookers gathered in the Canterlot town square, they watched in awe as a shadow fell over the moon itself. Once the shadow had passed over it completely, the moon glowed a dull orange. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. As ponies scattered, the source of the disturbance was revealed: A black ring was burning it's way into the ground, almost as if a giant pencil was drawing a circle. Once the ring was complete, the ground within turned jet-black, and an ominous blue mist swarmed out of it. To the onlooking ponies' horrer, the mist coelasced into a very familiar shape. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Gloated a cold, cruel voice. It was none other then Nightmare Moon. Everypony there gasped in horror, but none more so then Luna herself. "Hello, my dear subjects." Sneered Nightmare Moon. "Did you miss me?"