//------------------------------// // 6 - Shadows of the Past // Story: A Kingdom of Her Own // by Dizastrous //------------------------------// Shadows of the Past Eclipse's horn was wrapped in his black magical aura as the ice around Thorfinn began to melt. Within seconds the Dire Wolf fell to the ground, his limbs too weak from hours of being frozen in place by the ice to keep him upright. The once king gave an apologetic glance at the young warrior before trotting around him and opening the door. Glancing back at Thorfinn Eclipse queried one detail he needed to know before advancing, "How long have you been like that?" "Two, maybe three hours..." Thorfinn managed out, shame heavy on his voice. "Fuck." Eclipse spat out making the young warrior flinch. If she had been in his house that long she was going to be even more of a hassle than usual. If it wasn't one thing with that mare it was another, and for some reason it always fell on him to smooth things over. Worse yet, his hooves were sometimes tied with her for not only political reasons, but because of family reasons. As Eclipse made his way into his dark house, he noticed that the door to his study was open, the only light in the house bleeding out of there. As he trotted towards the open door, he could hear the sound of somepony taking a sip of their drink, and Eclipse's eyes shot open. Bursting into the room Eclipse saw what he feared, the mare had already made her way through half of the glass bottle that always rested on his desk. It was a special whiskey, his favourite, and he had been saving it for a celebration. Now well over half of it was gone, all because she felt the need to spite him for making her wait. "Noooo!" Eclipse cried out, a forlorn look on his face. "You should really cut back on your drinking, sets a bad example on your kid..." The mare said icily as she cast a glance at the cabinet that held row upon row of assorted spirits. "And YOU," Eclipse said nearly spitting out the word, "Should respect other ponies belongings." "Come now, would you really have enjoyed this by yourself? Such an exquisite drink should be enjoyed with company." The mare said, raising the glass to her lips. Eclipse frowned as he watched her take a short sip from the glass. His frown only grew deeper as a second glass was levitated over to the armchair across from hers. The once king made his way over and sat himself down, quickly levitating the glass to his lips and gulping the drink down without looking, never tearing his glare from the white mare. She raised a hoof and brushed a lock of her blue hair from her eyes, giving him a thin smile. "Better?" She asked in a voice that did not hide the fact she didn't really care. Eclipse merely grunted in reply. "Good, because I need to talk business with you." The mare pressed on. "My answer on that remains the same." Eclipse said raising a forehoof to his temple as he began massaging it gingerly. "Not that business, I have come to accept the fact that it is better off safe in your hooves..." The faux smile was gone, a serious look on her face now. Eclipse was silent for a moment as he contemplated what she could be after, "You wouldn't by chance be making another scheme to gain power would you?" "It is merely something that I believe would be best for the family..." The mare said in a hurt voice, but the venomous smile on her face betrayed her. Eclipse hated this part, their conversations always came down to this. Every time she needed something from him it ended up like this, and if it weren't for the promise he made, he would have killed her a long time ago. But as he listened to what she had to say now, his rage got the better of him. What she was plotting was going too far this time, she had finally crossed his line. As he stood up from his seat his body changed, horn and teeth sharpening as his eyes turned an inky black color, golden rings surrounding his oily iris giving the only indication to where he was looking. He approached her, smoke trailing behind his eyes that bore into her own with the force of his anger, and she just kept talking. He was almost upon her, a few seconds more and he would have ended her, but that was when her words cut through the fury, what she said made him stop. She smiled when she saw she had him right where she wanted. "And in return for that small favor, it will be yours." The mare cooed to him. That was why she had gotten into his spirits, she needed the courage to confront him with this. This close he could smell the whiskey on her breath, and he saw now the subtle hints as to how intoxicated she was. It would have been impressive for a normal pony to even stand with that much in them he realized. But what she had just pitched to him was bordering conspiracy against the nation, and sounded so calm and collected about it. She was insane, but she offered what he wanted. He had one chance to get out of this, Grasping her by the throat with his magic he hauled her in front of his face and stared into her eyes. He bore into her mind, searching for what she had just offered to him, hoping for her to be bluffing, or to at least have been careless enough to reveal where it was. But she was a cautious mare, she had erased from her own mind where it was, locked herself off from the knowledge of who she had trusted to remind her. But she had left a mental image of first seeing it, there in her mind he saw what he had spent almost his entire life looking for. There, was the Heart of Gaia. With a roar of rage Eclipse flung the mare, screaming into the ceiling. He then slammed her into the floor, eliciting groans and creaks from the floorboards. The mare attempted to raise herself onto her hooves, but Eclipse increased the pressure he was exerting onto her, forcing her back down with a surprised yelp. "You play a dangerous game girl..." Eclipse said in an eerily quiet voice. "The more you wager, the more you can win." She grunted from the floor. "What makes you think after I have what I want, I won't simply kill you and be done with it?" Eclipse asked, eyes narrowing. "Because I know better than that, you will be too happy with me once it is over. You will finally be able to undo your greatest sin." Even as she struggled, the mare showed a victorious grin. "Perhaps... But for now..." Eclipse's voice was steady as he moved forward to loom directly over her, "You are on thin ice. I need not remind you if you even think of double crossing me, you will die. And I WILL know, if you think about it..." "I'm telling you, somepony was there with him. I didn't get a long look, but it was definitely a Unicorn stallion." Summer wind exclaimed in an exasperated tone. "You don't suppose he still has contacts within the intelligence agency?" Steel Hoof offered. "No, he never dealt with them, remember they were only established ninety two years ago. Eclipse washed his hoofs of ruling one hundred and four years ago." Frost Horn said waving a hoof dismissively. "I think it was a member of the Heart Family, he looked similar to Eclipse, but the mane and the eyes were way off. Same colors though." Summer Wind explained. "What was he doing in the castle then? The Heart family has kept its distance from the capital for decades now. Ever since the old Matriarch lost her duel for the council seat." Steel Hoof said glancing over to Frost Horn. "Yes, she was truly a gifted Unicorn, but it would seem my years of experience was worth more than being a prodigy." The wrinkled Unicorn commented. "Hah, you were once known as a prodigy in your youth were you not? And that was over a hundred years ago." Summer Wind said in a teasing tone. The door to the council room creaked open, and the Princess of Magic trotted in, yawning slightly as she rubbed an eye with a wing. As she drew closer the council members all gave a courteous bow of their heads upon seeing her. Loose papers were shuffled as the council members prepared to give their reports, and propose important matters that were on the agenda. "Did I hear that correctly? Frost Horn, you are over a hundred years old?" You sure don't look it. Twilight asked with an impressed look on her face. "Well, yes. I am one-hundred-twenty-one actually." Frost Horn said in a bashful look on his face from the compliment. "Yes, you would never guess he was a day over ninety with his spry youthful stature." Summer Wind said, stifling a giggle. "Wait, you are the same age as me?" Twilight asked, cocking her head. "It would seem so, I would not have guessed you were that young though." Frost Horn said thoughtfully. "Before we get down to business there was something I wanted to ask before I get sidetracked however." Twilight said, her face adopting a more serious look. The three council members exchanged glances before nodding toward Twilight. The Alicorn cleared her throat and opened a hole into her pocket dimension where she kept items for safekeeping. From the rift, she pulled a rolled up piece of canvas. The council members eyes this warily as she unfolded it, and upon seeing it Summer Wind gasped. "That's him!" The pegasus exclaimed. "Who?" Steel Hoof inquired. "That was the stallion that was with Eclipse!" Summer Wind said excitedly pointing a hoof at the portrait. "Wait, he was WITH Eclipse? I was going to ask if this WAS Eclipse." Twilight's voice was full of confusion as her mind set to the implications. "That is a portrait of Heart of Gold..." Frost Horn said sagely. "Wait, THE Heart of Gold, the pony said to wield the flames of justice?" Steel Hoof had perked up to the name. "Yes, the one and only, Steel Hoof. What do you know of him princess?" Frost Horn asked quirking an eyebrow as he questioned Twilight. "Well, I know that he was a member of the Heart family, and was crowned prince long ago. Eclipse said he died because of somepony he loved. But he looks so similar to Eclipse..." Twilight said casting a glance at the portrait she was levitating. "Well yes, Heart of Gold is dead. He was murdered by his wife if the written accounts of it can be trusted." Frost Horn explained. "By his wife?!" Twilight exclaimed. "Yes, though it is only the accounts of a pony who claimed to witness it, story goes his wife was attempting dark magic. He tried to stop her, but ultimately fell. After that his wife completed the magic ritual, and summoned something dark, and eternal." Frost Horn said forebodingly. "Or so the story goes." "You don't mean she summoned Eclipse do you?" Twilight was not sure if she liked that implication. "Well, it would explain why they look so similar." Steel Hoof commented. "Yes, I had not heard that story before. But it would explain where Eclipse came from and why he has a connection to the Heart family if he wears the body of Heart of Gold." Summer Wind said thoughtfully. "Then what about the stallion you saw though?" Steel Hoof asked with a frown. "Perhaps it is Heart of Gold's ancestor. The written account was made by Heart of Gold's younger sister. It would not be too farfetched to assume he would look like his uncle from a millenium past." Frost Horn reasoned, "Otherwise we would need to believe in ghosts." "Wait a moment..." Twilight said, as something important donned on her. "What is it?" Steel Hoof asked, noticing the color drain from Twilight's face. "Eclipse said that after becoming immortal, he was confronted immediately by Celestia and Luna." Twilight's voice was full of thought. "Yes, Celestia and Luna were Heart of Gold's wife and sister in law. He was the one who made them Alicorns in the first place." Frost Horn explained. An image of Celestia showing Twilight dark magic a century before popped into her head. Twilight blinked a couple of times to clear the image from her thoughts, but to no avail. She did not want to, and refused to believe it. There had to be something else that happened to cause Celestia to do it if indeed she did. Twilight turned and galloped from the room, dropping the portrait from her magical grasp as she left. "Princess wait, we haven't gone over this yet!" Summer Wind called lifting a scroll into the air with a wing. "This is most troublesome, we need immediate action to this..." Steel Hoof said with a worried expression. "Yes, we need to discuss our plan of action in regards to that..." Frost Horn cast a tired glance at the scroll that was sealed with a mystical swirling pattern. Spike's talons dug easily into the rocky surface of the mountain. The large purple digits worked at revealing the dragon's next meal, whilst the stomach of said dragon growled greedily. He could have easily sated himself off the horde he had amassed back at the castle, but he smelled a more favorable meal under the rock here. With one last swing of his claws, Spike revealed a massive cache of diamonds. Smiling the dragon looked up at the top of the mountain, where in the past smoke may have once poured. The volcanic diamonds in hand, Spike stretched his wings to take off, licking his scaly lips before popping a few into his maw. "My my, what a delectable cache you found there..." A feminine voice said from behind Spike. The century old dragon whipped around to confront who it was, and nearly choked on the gems in his throat at the sight. Turquoise scales seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, her head was adorned with pale gold spikes that ran down the length of her back. Her eyes were a blue, as deep as a sea, and they were locked with his. Spike gulped down the gems that had almost lodged themselves in his throat. "I haven't seen you around these parts before..." The female dragon spoke in a sultry voice. "Oh well, uh... I'm actually new to these parts..." Spike said meekly as he slowly lowered his wings. "Mmm, I can tell. A big handsome dragon like yourself? I would have remembered if I had seen you before." The dragoness said as she crawled closer to spike up the side of the dormant volcano. Spike nervously edged away slightly, he had not actually spent that much time with other dragons, least of all female dragons. "Aww, don't run away. I won't bite..." The female said with a toothy grin. "W-well, uh... What do you want then?" Spike had learned long ago most of his kind were territorial and violent towards each other. Spike knew that if he angered the dragoness he would be forced to fight her. "Aww, don't act so cold. I just wanted to know how you found that little cache there. This volcano has all but been picked over." The dragoness said putting on a pouty face. "Oh, I just kinda... Sniffed it out." Spike chuckled nervously. The dragoness was on him in an instant, Spike was unable to react with the smaller dragons speed, her lithe body moving like lightning as she sprung. Her claws grasped him by the shoulder and the side of his face, as the dragoness instead of attacking seemed to be looking him over. She roughly tilted Spike this way and that, eyes darting over him as she inspected him more closely. Spike meanwhile, held his breath hoping that she did not decide to dig those sharp talons into his exposed soft neck scales. "My my, I was right. You are a fine example of dragonkind... Your scales are so vibrant, and your spines so sharp..." The dragoness commented as if she were a judge at a dog show. "Thank you?" Spike said with a worried expression. "You will do." The dragoness finally said after a moments more deliberation. "Will do for what?" Spike asked, a hint more of concern etched into his face. "A dragon your size with the ability to find quality gems will be one of the better catches around for sure." The female had a triumphant look on her face. "For what?" Spike reinstated. "For mating season of course." She answered with a predatory smile. Twilight found herself once more experiencing a feeling of leaving her body. The world was dark around her as her will forced the magic to do its work in answering her question. One sentence ran in her mind as the inky blackness began to swirl around her, preparing to show a time long past. Twilight found herself having to strain harder and harder as time rewinded further. But she pressed on, beginning to mumble to herself. "How did Eclipse come to be..." Twilight muttered with her eyes screwed shut in concentration. The swirling of the darkness seemed to grow in intensity, becoming almost violent around her as it sped back, before suddenly stopping. Twilight was left feeling as if her head was spinning from the sudden halt in movement. As she opened her eyes she noticed that all around her the darkness was giving way to a dim light. The light slowly grew in intensity before finally settling into a normal nighttime scene. Luna's moon hung in the sky, and the stars glittered, casting light upon the cobblestone road that Twilight currently floated over. Looking around she found that the city she was in was completely alien to her. The architecture was so foreign, and the few ponies who were out this late at night seemed to be nobility, though their noble clothes were something she never had seen before. Looking up she noticed a familiar sight however, her castle stood on top of the hill where it belonged. Looking around again, Twilight realized this must be what the capital city looked like all those years ago. She wished she could have spent more time studying the architecture, but she was here on a mission. Twilight began scanning the passing ponies for signs of Celestia, Luna, Eclipse, or even Heart of Gold. It did not take long however for Twilight to spot her former mentor. Celestia was flying overhead, directly for the castle. Twilight sped after her, flying despite the lack of moving her wings, she simply had to will herself to follow after Celestia. It did not take long before the two of them made it to the castle, meanwhile Twilight was observing Celestia. She was younger, her mane while still the flowing pastel colors although was shorter, and she was still the size of a regular pony. Twilight also took note of an opulent saddlebag Celestia had on. As they landed in the castle courtyard, Twilight took note of the lack of the gazebo. Instead a large marble statue of an Alicorn with her wings spread wide, who looked up into the sky with a serene look dominated the courtyard. The Alicorn the statue depicted had a cutie mark that appeared to be some kind of spherical object, but she was uncertain what it was supposed to be. As Twilight marveled the statue, Celestia in the meantime had opened a trap door at the base of the statue. A dim light illuminated the stone walls that lead into the ground, beneath the statue, and Twilight watched cautiously as Celestia descended. The stone slab that Celestia had raised lowered itself gently, barely making a noise as the entrance was once again hidden. Twilight floated over the slab, and looked around one more time before floating through and descending the passage after Celestia. The passage opened up a ways down, and lead into a circular chamber where a large granite altar stood, a golden idol of an Alicorn sat, its eyes closed and its hooves together reverently, as if in prayer. In front of the idol was a large onyx basin. Luna sat before the idol, seemingly just finishing up drawin a magic circle around it and turned at the sound of Celestia approaching, and greeted her sister. "Tia, there you are! What took you so long?" Luna asked in a relieved voice. "This was harder to get than you might think..." Celestia said in a wavering voice. "You didn't get cold hooves did you?" Luna said with a frown. "No, I want this as much as you. It was just... Harder that I expected..." Celestia seemed distant. Celestia opened her saddlebag with her magic, and levitated out a brown bag of sorts. Twilight had to move closer to get a better look at it, and she gasped as she realized it was a leather water skin. Celestia uncorked the top and drained the contents into the onyx basin, and Twilight immediately felt sick. Blood poured from the skin, and filled the basin. Twilight backed off slightly, and took note of the princesses' faces. Celestia looked ready to vomit, and even Luna now in the face of the blood looked squemish. "W-well... Let's get this over with..." Luna said, swallowing hard. "Get what over with?" A voice called from the passage behind them. Twilight turned her head and for a moment thought she saw Eclipse, but the white Unicorn had a softer expression, and wore a wedding band around his horn. This was Heart of Gold, and Twilight could see that his cutie mark was a golden heart that seemed to gleam in an unseen light. The shape was just like Eclipse's but it was not wreathed in thorns as the once king's was. "D-darling! Whatever are you doing here?" Celestia stammered out. "Celestia, I know you think I may just let you get away with this... But you have crossed the line here..." Heart of Gold said in a sad voice as he looked at the contents of the onyx basin and the spellcircle around the idol. "Goldie... Don't make us fight you. We are more powerful now that you know..." Luna said in a warning tone. Heart of Gold closed his eyes briefly as he laughed softly to himself, "Luna, you don't seem to understand something. I, am a monster." Luna and Celestia simultaneously fired magical bolts at the white unicorn, the twin beams of blue and gold soared true. But they never met their mark, instead vanishing without so much as an explosion or sound of impact. Both bolts were devoured by a circular shield that was erected instantaneously before the unicorn. Heart of Gold's horn bathed the room in its light, and Twilight was dumbstruck by what she saw. No Unicorn she had ever seen had magic like his, the golden aura his horn let off seemed more like rippling liquid than light, and it let off a metallic sheen, as if his horn had conjured a pool of liquid gold around it. Even the shield before him was strange, where most magical shields were transparent, his was solid, and rippled with the liquid gold that swam freely around it. "Come quietly and we can look past this though, I may need to detain you but I can make it a simple house arrest under my watch. We don't have to kill each other my love..." Heart of Gold implored with a hopeful expression as he let the shield melt away. "That won't work... They will demand my head if they knew about this..." Celestia said meekly. "They will have to go through me!" Heart of Gold said passionately. "And what of when you are gone? What then!" Celestia screamed, tears streaming down her face as she began to sob in frustration. "Sister no, we cannot let it go like this!" Luna screamed as she fired off shot after shot at the white Unicorn. The bolts were once again devoured by the odd golden magic that the crowned prince conjured. Heart of Gold slowly approached the princess of the night, a sad frown on his face. The rippling liquid gold magic that encased his horn changed suddenly, and in seconds the golden magic no longer moved like a liquid, and had begun to dance as if it were fire. Golden flames leapt out around his horn and licked the air hungrily. Likewise the shield he held in front of him now burst into the same golden flames he had coming from his horn. "You cannot defeat me in a fight Luna, not together, not with an army. I am the sole pony capable of upholding absolute justice." Heart of Gold said as he drew ever nearer to the princess of the night. "Stop! Wait, we give up..." Celestia said urgently. Heart of Gold halted in his hoofsteps, but Luna cried out, "Sister!" "No Luna, he is right..." Celestia said as she hung her head in defeat. Heart of Gold perked up at this, and let the magical shield and the fire around his horn die off. He trotted up to Celestia and nuzzled her cheek affectionately, "I thank you my love. I do not know what I would have done if I had been forced to harm you..." Celestia drew Heart of Gold into an embrace and buried her muzzle into his neck as she nuzzled back, "I am so sorry darling... But you were right, I can't possibly hope to oppose you..." Twilight jumped as the magical bolt from Celestia's horn cut straight through the unicorn. Heart of Gold's mouth hung open and his eyes were wide in shock. He tried to speak as Celestia moved her hooves to his shoulders and pushed him away slightly so she could look into his eyes. His mouth moved to make words, but his lungs had been torn apart by the magical blast, and with no air he made no noise. "You always trusted me so much, and you loved me more than anything else... Thank you for the time we spent together. I promise I will never forget you, even after I achieve my true immortality..." Celestia's eyes were blurry with tears as she spoke, and she leaned in and gave Heart of Gold one final kiss before gently setting him down on the hard stone floor, where his blood and tears joined in a pool beneath him. "Tia..." Luna said solemnly. "Let us be done with this Luna... I don't want his death to be in vain..." Celestia said, wiping a hoof across her eyes as she tried to compose herself. Luna set about the incantations, and Twilight watched with a sick feeling in her stomach as Celestia removed the wedding band from her horn, and let it rest on the unicorn who still now struggled in vain to breath without his lungs. The ring that now set on his cheek seemed to only spur him on, as he struggled where he lay, limbs thrashing about him. "It is done..." Luna said finally. A dark mist seemed to pool in above the basin now, before the golden idol of the Alicorn. The mist began to congeal together until it was a rippling orb of darkness. From within something seemed to sit, as if a snake lying in the darkness, ready to strike. This did not go unnoticed by the Alicorn sisters who began to edge away warily. From within the inky black, a pair of eyes gleamed. "Tia, what is that?" Luna whispered. "I don't know, there was no mention of this..." Celestia mumbled in return. Black tendrils leapt forth, ready to claim its prize. Both Alicorn sisters screamed and shot out magical bolts to defend themselves, but it was to no avail as their magic was seemingly absorbed by the the black appendages. Their hooves scraped the floor as they attempted to push themselves away from the swirling darkness they were being pulled towards. Luna whimpered weakly while Celestia cried for help. A golden flash nearly blinded Twilight who was watching the entire thing in mute horror. The tendrils evaporated, sizzling upon being touched by the golden light. Celestia looked up to the source of the light that was standing over her now. Heart of Gold smiled down at her as blood seeped from his chest and mouth. Wordlessly he turned and projected his magic at the darkness, the swirling black hissing and fighting against his magic's touch. Heart of Gold's magic was too strong however, and he pulled the otherworldly being into himself. The glossy black eyes glared daggers at Celestia and Luna who sat on the floor, cowering before the display. It knew that it was being robbed of its true prize. But it finally turned its attention towards the dying pony, and decided that it needed to settle on this host if it wanted to survive. Heart of Gold trapped the darkness within himself, and it filled the gaping wound that went through his chest. The other worldly being began to merge itself with its host, working quickly to ensure that its new body did not die and leave its essence vulnerable to the harsh elements of this strange world. Within seconds it was done, and Heart of Gold stood there, with a blank look on his face as an internal battle ensued. Twilight was unsure what kind of struggle could be happening, but she already knew what sort of outcome there would be. A small part of her still rooted for Heart of Gold however. Glancing away from the unmoving Unicorn, Twilight inspected the shivering Alicorns. Luna glanced over to her sister, "Tia did-" Celestia silenced Luna by raising a hoof, "Goldie, are you okay?" Heart of Gold made no attempt to answer, he merely stood there, staring off into the distance. But his Cutie mark was beginning to darken. The golden heart was becoming black, and thorns began to wrap themselves around it. His horn was next to change, darkening at the tip and curving ever more by the moment. Finally were his eyes, they grew pitch black until thin golden rings appeared around where his irises should have been. Celestia and Luna slowly stood up as the transformation seemed so cease, uneasiness etched in their faces. Celestia tried once more, "Darling are you o-" Celestia was silences as Heart of Gold turned his head to look at the sisters with an eerily slow pace. Celestia and Luna froze under the strange gaze of those eyes. All was silent, as Heart of Gold cocked his head slightly, seemingly trying to remember who they were. He then looked down at his chest where the wound was beginning to close itself. Black tendrils wriggled from within him, grasping on to one another and forming bonds that sealed the wound, skin and fur then grew rapidly over the now closed wound. Once the display was over, the stallion looked up and locked eyes with Celestia once more. "You were the one that did this..." Heart of Gold spoke in a strange voice, one that Twilight knew was Eclipse's. "Wh-what?!" Celestia exclaimed, hearing a stranger's voice from her husbands mouth. "Do not deny it, I saw it... In his memories." The otherworldly stallion continued. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances at this, it was now clear to them what had happened. They were thankful that they themselves had avoided this fate, but they were still in danger as it was. Neither of them dared move, lest they draw aggression from the stranger who now wore Heart of Gold's body. "He felt something for you..." The stallion mumbled, "He... 'Loved' you?" "Yes... We loved each other." Celestia said warily with a smile. "Then why did you try to kill him?" The question was hostile, and the Unicorn was frowning now. Celestia cast a hopeful glance at Luna who merely shook her head, "Well, that is complica-" "This love, is so strange... So foreign..." The stallion cut in, "Until the very end all he thought about, still thinks about is your well being." This caught Twilight's attention, and Celestia apparently caught it as well, "Is he still there?" Heart of Gold's body seemed to sag for a moment, as if its host vacated its attention from the physical world for the time being. Celestia tentatively began to move closer, but only made it a few steps before she jumped at the sudden movement of the Unicorn. "He is here, with me. I am holding on to him for now." The stallion finally replied. "Can I talk to him?" Celestia asked. "No." The answer was almost immediate. "Why not?" Celestia said with no small amount of hostility. "Because I do not think you deserve to speak with him." The stallion's face darkened. "He is my husband! How dare you deny me from him." Celestia was no longer afraid, her fury overcoming the lesser emotion. "You forfeit the right to call him that when you murdered him and removed the sign of your vow!" The rage in the stallion's voice shook the chamber. Twilight eyed the ceiling warily as dust fell. Celestia seemed taken aback by this, "You do not understand, th-" "NO, you do not understand. Every second that passes I gain more clarity of his memories. And all I am seeing is a foolish whelp who meddled in something she was warned not to. A self centered mare, who murdered her husband, and worst of all you used his love and trust against him to do it! In every definition of justice and law that I have gleaned from his mind, you should be put to death for what you have done. But he begs me to forgive you. Why does he defend you, why does he still love you?!" The stallion looked furious. His body sagged again, and Twilight guessed that the being that would come to be known as Eclipse once more withdrew himself to converse with Heart of Gold. Seeing this however, the two Alicorn sisters made their move. Both began firing spells at the Unicorn, but to seemingly no avail. The bolts hit true, but the damage they inflicted simply sealed up and was healed within seconds. After a minute of futilely blasting him with magic, they decided to instead attempt to impale him on their horns. The sisters rushed with desperate looks on their faces, for they feared what would happen if this being decided to enact what it viewed as justice upon them. Before they could reach him, he perked up again. Seeing that he was under attack, black tendrils exploded from within his body, and lashed out in defense against the charging Alicorns. The stallion seemingly didn't know his strength, because where each tentacle landed upon the sisters, bones were snapped. Seeing the two sisters crumple immediately to the ground the stallion's eyes shot wide open. "No...." He whispered as he tentatively stepped forward. Now standing above the bleeding and moaning sisters, the stallion frowned with an apologetic look on his face. He reached a hoof down to Celestia and touched her cheek softly. The Alicorn of the Sun struggled to look up at him, tears of pain and regret filling her eyes. Fear was there too, Twilight could see the fear. "He wanted to look at you one last time..." The stallion muttered. "You... A-are going... To kill me?" Celestia asked between coughs. "No, we have come to an agreement. I cannot let your actions go unpunished, and he will not see you die. So we are exiling you and your sister from this land." The Unicorn stated in an even tone. "C-can... I talk to him... One last time?" Celestia's eyes pleaded. "No, you do not deserve that favor from me. You do not deserve to remember such a stallion. And before I send you off, you will forget everything about him." The stallion's voice was filled with contempt. "Please... No..." Celestia begged, coughing up a mouthful of blood due to a lung being punctured by a rib. "On the off chance that you ever regain your memories... Remember my words now. If you ever come back to these lands... If you ever cause this stallion this much pain again. I will destroy you. Heart of Gold belongs to me now..." The Unicorns said, murder filling his eyes. Twilight stared on in disbelief as the scene began fading to black. She felt sickened with the knowledge she now possessed. Her entire world felt as if it had been turned upside down. Her childhood mentor, and the savior and founder of her homeland was once like this. In a sense, Twilight had to thank Eclipse for what he had done. Because whatever he had done to Celestia's memories seemed to have changed her. The mare Twilight saw in the vision was so different from the mother figure she knew. Twilight opened her eyes, and sat up in her bed. She glanced at the scepter that lay beside her, almost wishing she had not seen what she had. With a sigh and a sad shake of her head Twilight moved to get out of bed, but stopped as she noticed she was not alone in her room. Crawling in the window now was a zebra, in his mouth was a viciously curving dagger. Twilight stared at him with wide eyes, and he stared back. The princess of magic screamed as the Zebra leapt at her, too drained was she from using the scepter to ready a spell this quickly. The zebra stopped moving inches away from Twilight, seemingly stopped mid swing. Twilight blinked a few times, as she noticed a layer of ice had seemingly instantly formed over him. "Phew, that was a close one..." Frost Horn said as he stepped in the open door. "Frost horn... What is the meaning of this?" Twilight said, adrenaline now pumping through her veins. "This is about the letter we wanted to show you." Frost Horn replies as he levitated the letter over to Twilight. Twilight cast one last wary glance at the frozen zebra, and then unfolded the letter. Scanning the contents quickly her face fell at what she read. She looked up at Frost Horn as if to ask if the letter was serious, but the only reply Frost Horn gave to this was a simple nod. "Why would they do this at a time like this? We are stronger than before now that I am filling the once vacant spot as ruler." Twilight asked as she rubbed a hoof to her temple. "It is more because Eclipse has once more let himself be known to the public. Their problem was never really with our nation. They seek to eradicate him." Frost Horn explained. Twilight glanced at her would be assassin, "Then why try to kill me?" "They most likely ended the armistice and want you dead because you have been seen with him. Rumors already have spread that you are friends with him. And the Zebras hate Eclipse more than anypony else." Frost Horn said with a sigh. "Why?" Confusion was written on Twilight face. "That is because of a prophecy of theirs that is over two thousand years old now. A prophet of foretold the invasion of our world by evil spirits. The land was supposed to be consumed in a sea of fire, and the moon was foretold to fall from the sky into the sea, causing a tidal wave that would then wipe out the land. This was supposed to be done by an immortal being. And well, the only true immortal being is Eclipse." Frost Horn explained, taking a seat on a chair next to Twilight's bed. "But Eclipse would never do something like that..." Twilight said with a worried expression. "Perhaps not, but perhaps he may. Ponies do stupid things in anger. All we can do is hope that nothing happens that angers him enough to end our world. Anyways, let us get back to the council room. We have a few other matters to attend to. And don't worry, we will send for a few servants to clean this up." Frost Horn said, gesturing a hoof towards the zebra assassin. Twilight hopped off her bed, following Frost Horn. She took one more glance back at her bed, where the scepter sat, and shivered at her recently attained knowledge.