//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: The Eclipse begins 
// Story: The Prince of the Crystal Empire 
// by Prince_Dark_Bane 
//------------------------------//

Castle of Death, Right after Chapter 6:
Dark Bane was resting on the bed in his and his wife's bedroom. Trixie was sitting by her husband's head waiting for him to awaken.
"Please awaken honey." Trixie begged as she looked at her husband as he took deep breaths.
"My lady, you went to bring Eclipse back, but when you returned she was not with you, and her voice disappeared from our collective mind. Where is she?" a mare unicorn maid asked as she walked in as she held a tray of food with what little magic Dark Bane has aloud her to use.
"Why do you want to know?" Trixie snarled the question out as she glared at the servant with the eyes her husband and her share from the dark magic.
"We servants and warroirs see each other as kin. If I fail to find out my brothers and sisters will ask you until you tell us." the maid answered as she looked her empiress in the eyes without blinking.
"She shielded me from an attack from the royal guard, but was unable to survive." Trixie lied as she turrned her head back to the sleeping form of her husband.
"Thank you my lady." the maid replied but suppected that she was being mislead.
As soon as the servant closed the door, Dark Bane's eyes shot wide open as if he was only acting like he was asleep. His eyes were glazed over and his over all presence has changed.
"Honey, are you alright?" Trixie asked with a large amount of concern.
"You must be the mare my son has married from using the Crystal Flask Binding Ritual." said a voice much like Dark Bane's but different.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HUSBAND?!?" Trixie yelled as she caused the servants outside of the room that where close by to cringe out of fear.
"Like I said before I'm Dark Bane's father. I am King Sombra, the true king of the Crystal Empire." Sombra stated as he stepped off the bed and started to put his son's royal wear on the boby of his son.
"Why are you controlling my husband and your son?" Trixie asked as she kept her eyes on him.
"To tell you that you need to cast the resurrection spell and the animation spell tonight if you are to bring me back and give Nightmare Moon a body. Hello Loki." Sombra answered as he looked at his daughter-in-law then looked at the bird as it land on his son's back.
"Why tonight?" Trixie asked as she raised an eyebrow and motioned Loki to get away from his master.
"Tonight there will be a lunar eclipse. During a lunar eclipse dark magic's power increases ten fold." Sombra answered as he felt his hold over his son weaken.
"Wouldn't Luna just keep it from happening?" Trixie asked as she looked to the now darkening sky.
"If Luna was to stop it from happening nature would be sent into chaos that is why the moon has different phases." Sombra answered with some stuggle keeping control now.
"One last question, what if Celestia has Twilight and her friends use the Elements of Harmony on us?" Trixie asked as she remembered that they freed Luna from her husband's curse and turned the god of chaos and disharmony to stone.
"The Elements of Harmony saves one from chaos that has been brought to one's soul, but in Discord's case he is chaos so they turned him to stone. You have nothing to worry about from them since Celestia and Luna made them to end Discord's rule. I will see you, my son, and granddaughter tonight." Sombra answered as Dark Bane took back control of his body.
"Ready the army, because when we start the spells everything that can feel magic is going to know what we're doing. We might even amplify all magic around Equestria." Dark Bane stated as he grabbed his father's horn and the armor of Nightmare Moon.
"Very well, but we are renaming our daughter when we give her a body." Trixie replied as she sent the message to the army.
"You read my mind." Dark Bane stated as the two started to walk down the stairs.
Ponyville, new Temple of the Moon:
Twilight was walking up to the building that the Children of the Night where calling the Temple of the Moon. She wasn't really surprised since the Guardians of the Light called their home the Temple of the Sun. Twilight was going to the Children of the Night because she was a little curious what they know about the younger sibling of her teacher.
"Ok that's enough for now! Everypony take a break!" Snake Eyes yelled as he over looked of this temple.
"Hey, your name is Snake Eyes right?" Twilight asked as she got closer to the new leader of the Children of the Night.
"Yes. Is there something I can help you with?" Snake Eyes asked as he looked Twilight in the eyes.
"Yes. I would like to learn more about Princess Luna. Princess Celestia doesn't seem like she wants to tell me, and Luna herself doesn't want to talk about it." Twilight answered as she looked at the fellow unicorn.
"What about our mother do you want to know?" Snake Eyes asked as he looked at Princess Celestia's student.
"Why does she hate Dark Bane so much?" Twilight asked since all she know was that Dark Bane tried to turn Luna into a slave.
"That is a story from a long time ago. Follow me and I will show the first book of our order." Snake Eyes stated as he walked over to a finished area of the temple where they where keeping the books for safety.
"I really don't need to know about how your order formed." Twilight stated as she followed him.
"The first book has our mother's and our aunt's triumph over Discord. It also has shows why our mother turned into Nightmare Moon." Snake Eyes replied as he brought a book over to them, and it was one of those books that look like it would be on Celestia's book case in her room.
When the book was opened it revealed it was blank, but before Twilight could say anything Snake Eyes sent magic into the book causing both him and Twilight to go into the past like how Discord show Twilight the past.
"Wow." Twilight stated as she looked at the surrounding area.
It looked like both her and Snake Eyes where standing in the begining of Everfree Forest. Twilight was amazed to see the Castle of the Royal Sisters in all its glory in the light of the full moon. It was a giant castle that looked to be made from gold, silver, coper, and sapphire. Luna came walking out with a younger Dark Bane, but something seemed different with him. His coat was white, his cutie mark was a whole heart that had a shield in it, his eyes where blue like her brother's eyes(Which made Twilight a little uneasy), and he only wore a grey versions of Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's royal wear.
"Prince Dark Bane, how can thee be the son of King Sombra? We mean he is so cold and heartless to your citzens, but you are so proctive of them." Luna stated with the old tongue.
"My father seeks to only make the empire stronge incase of war. I want to make the ponies stronge, and the only way I can do that is to inspire them to become the best they can be. How I wish I was an alicorn like you pretty Luna, then I could be the great protecter of the empire, that is with the help of the Crystal Heart." Dark Bane stated as he walked with Luna.
"We hear thee are studying Changeling magic. Why is that?" Luna asked as if he was a close friend.
"From what I have learned Changelings may have been ounce been a group of ponies trying to become alicorns like you and your sister. They tampered with items of great power to do this, but something happened to them they didn't want and they made themselves into creatures that need to consume love to grow more powerful. They are immortals like you and Celestie, but they cravie love. If I can find a way to release them from their curse then I can most likely become an alicorn from my actions." Dark Bane stated as his eyes light up.
"Maybe, and we hope you do." Luna stated as she nuzzled his head.
"Now Luna, what would Celestia do if she saw this?" Dark Bane asked playfully.
"She would most likely throw a fit." Luna answered as she looked up to her night.
"Very true." Dark Bane replied with a small chuckle.
"By the way you said that the Changelings tampered with items of power like the Elements of Harmony. Is that true?" Luna asked as she looked at the prince.
"No. From what I have learned the Changelings come from the time before you and Celestia rose up to end Discord's rule. They where a group that wanted to end the fighting between the pony tribes. They used items from the ancient world known as the Elements of Nature." Dark Bane answered with a look of excitment.
"What are these Elements of Nature?" Luna asked as she had this confused look on her face.
"Everything I know about them is from old scrips writen by Starswirl the Bearded when he was young." Dark Bane answered as he looked at the night sky.
"My sister and I know him, but he never said anything about them. How we miss that grumping old unicorn." Luna replied as she looked at the stars.
"Would you like to hear what he believes they are?" Dark Bane asked shyly like Fluttershy.
"He's acting nothing like he did when my friends and I are around him." Twilight stated as she watched this with Snake Eyes.
"Dark Bane was his father's spy. He could fool anypony when he wanted to. He trick our mother just to try to enslave her." Snake Eyes replied with a look that said he wanted to destroy Dark Bane himself.
"Yes please tell us." Luna replied to Dark Bane.
"From what I have read the Elements of Nature are from a time and world before ours. He believes nature itself made them when darkness came close to destroying the world, but six brave friends stepped up to it. When the darkness went to destroy them they where proctected by nature itself and it gave each friend a power over an element." Dark Bane stated as he looked to the ground and used his emerld magic to draw figures into the dirt.(Imagine a cloud of evil [Like Sombra.] appoaring six humans with their arms pointed out towards the cloud.)
"What are those strange creatures there, and what are the peices to the Elements of Nature?" Luna asked looking at the picture.
"If I remember correctly Starwswirl called them humans, but I can't be sure. How ever I do remember what the peices of the Elements of Nature are. There is fire, water, earth, air, light, and shadows. When these six are united then they banish darkness and corruption back to the depths of Hell." Dark Bane answered as he looked at Luna.
"Shadows, but isn't that a part of darkness, and where are these elements now?" Luna asked as she looked at the prince.
"Every light makes a shadow. The two can not excist without each other. If there is no shadow then the light would burn us all to ash, but if there was no light then the shadows would became darker until only darkness was left." Dark Bane answered with a look that held more wisdom then he should.
"Ok, but where did they go?" Luna asked her question again.
"I believe when the Changelings used them to try to become gods, fire, water, earth, and air where sent to the four corners of Equestria while light and shadow disappeared for being used for something so greedy." Dark Bane answered with a look of curouisity.
"You believe." Luna stated with a raised eyebrow.
"He never said anything about how they disappeared, but using a spell on the Crystal Heart allowed me to see that around 100 years before the pony tribes unified, a large magical explosion happened on the land to become Equestria." Dark Bane explained as he looked to the moon.
"Ok." Luna stated as she looked to the moon, then turned to Dark Bane with what looked like a question on her tongue. "Dark Bane, if your father where need to be over thrown would you help in doing it?"
"If it means to keep the empire safe then yes, but Luna my father is getting more and more secretive and he's been asking me to help him in his tests of enhancing spells. Each time I let him use me as the subject of them I feel my light dim. The next time I see you, I may not be who I am now." Dark Bane stated as he used magic to teleport back to the Crystal Empire.
"I just hope you don't change my  friend." Luna stated as the sence changed to darkness.
When Twilight could see again, she saw a village on fire and a lot of bodies on the ground. Most of the bodies where villagers. The princesses where there with a large force of ponies and all of them had shocked looks on their faces.
"Who would do such a thing?" Celestia asked out loud as she looked at the destruction as she and Luna walked through the village.
"My princesses, the prince of the Crystal Empire did this to us." an earth pony stallion replied as he started to get up showing a large gash on his chest.
"Don't move my little pony." Celestia ordered as she motioned for medics.
"Dark Bane did this, but he's to protective for this." Luna stated out of shock as she looked at the village again.
"Oh but I did." Dark Bane stated as he appeared from a shadow looking like how Twilight first saw him.
"Why did you do this? This isn't like you!" Luna cried as tears went down her face.
"Because my father was right. Equestria is weak. I will take this kingdom in the name of mine and my father's empire. The Empire of Shadows." Dark Bane replied as he fired a blast of dark magic at the wounded pony making him disappear with a scream of pain.
"You used forbidden magic, then that means everything you said was a lie!" Luna yelled as she charged Dark Bane.
When Luna's horn meant the thorn of a horn that was Dark Bane's, Luna yelled as her coat started to change to black and her eyes to become dragon like. If it wasn't for Celestia to use her magic to pull Luna back to her it seemed like Dark Bane was going to turn Luna into Nightmare Moon.
"What did he do to Princess Luna?" Twilight asked as she saw Luna was breathing hard.
"He tried to turn Luna into a slave." Snake Eyes answered with lots of hatred in his voice.
"Not everything I said was a lie. The Elements of Nature are real and like they where used to defeat the darkness and end the world of humans, I will use them to destroy all weakness and becom an alicorn. After I become a god I will do the same for Father so we can take over the world and shadows rule over all, but don't think I'm returning back to the Crystal Empire my father took over with force I'm staying here in Equestria. Nice and close to the soon to be the most powerful of my slaves." Dark Bane stated as he disappeared as a shadow.
"My closest friend, somepony that I consider as close as you Tia, just tried to turn me into a slave." Luna cried as she cried into her sister's shoulder.
The sence turned dark again as Luna cried into Celestia. When the darkness left again, Luna and Celestria where fighting Sombra and Dark Bane with both sides using deadly force.
"You can't win Luna. Dark magic is to powerful to your magic over the sun and moon." Dark Bane stated as he had tendrels of dark magic around him and attacking Luna.
"Which is why we will not end you, but imprision you!" Luna yelled as she flow up and was joined by her sister as they combined their powers and slamed Dark Bane with a beam of magic turning him to stone and then teleported him to their castle.
Twilight saw that just before Dark Bane's head was turned to stone, his eyes glowed red and so did Luna's.
"Dark Bane is the reason why Luna turned into Nightmare Moon." Twilight stated out of shock.
"Yes. He ordered Luna to bring forth the eternal night." Snake Eyes replied as the sence grow dark again.
When the sence returned, there stood Nightmare Moon, with what looked like members of the Children of the Night bowing to her.
"This was a tragic day. Half of the order left thinking that puppet of Luna was being justifing the night by bringing chaos to nature." Snake Eyes stated as he looked at the sence with a pained look.
"What did they call themselves at that point?" Twilight asked as she saw that the once members of the Children of the Night where fighting the members that where still in the true order.
"They called themselves the Children of Nightmare. They will do what ever Nightmare Moon tells them. If Dark Bane brings that monster back and she obeys him, his army would become that much more powerful." Snake Eyes stated as the sence disappeared altogether and the two where back in the present.
Twilight looked out to the sky and saw the moon was close to the middle of the sky and it seemed every member of the order was outside to watch the moon. She then got this confused look and turned back to Snake Eyes.
"You said that Nightmare Moon would of sent nature into chaos. What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked as she looked at him.
"Long before ponies where what they are now, magic was thought to be nothing more but fake. The world was being devoured by greed and corruption. The darkness Dark Bane was talking about is corruption itself and if it wasn't stopped at that time the world may not even be here now. The Elements of Nature ends the darkness that is around an object or in one's soul. They can also when together allow a group control over nature itself." Snake Eyes stated as he looked Twilight in the eyes.
"Then we have to find them before he does!" Twilight yelled as she was scared what would happen if that power was in the hooves of a tyrannt.
That's when both Twilight and Snake Eyes felt a pulse of magic and turned to the moon to see it was turning red.
"What's happening to the moon?" Twilight asked as she saw this.
"It's a lunar eclipse, but it doesn't send a pulse of magic out like that." Snake Eyes answered as he turned his head to Canterlot Castle.
That's when the Guardians of the Light and the rest of the Mane Six came running up. The Guardians of the Light looked mad.
"What have you all nighters done now?" yelled one stallion from the Guardians of the Light.
"Something is very wrong with this eclipse." Snake Eyes stated as him and the rest of the the Children of the Night looked at the eclipse.
That's when all three princesses and Shining Armor teleported to the large group with looks of terror on their faces.
"Dark Bane is using the lunar eclipse to amplify his power to bring back his father." Cadance stated as she looked at everypony.
"Princess Luna, we fear that Dark Bane is planning to bring back Nightmare Moon." Snake Eyes stated as he bowed to his princess.
"I'm going to send him to Hell myself." Luna stated as her eyes started to glow white with power.
"To do that we need to know where he is." Rainbow stated as she looked at the now very angry princess of the night.
"Then I will lead you to the castle." said the voice of Eclipse being followed by Spike.
"I tried to stop her, but she kept using magic to push me out of the way." Spike stated as he catch up.
"How are you awake?" Twilight asked as she looked at the unicorn mare.
"Never mind about that how are you feeling darling?" Rarity asked as she looked at the ex-crystal pony.
"I feel fine and I wakened because Dark Bane is starting to use the resurrection spell and animation spell now. As soon as the moon is fully eclipse the spells will be complete. I can teleport a good number of us there but I will need help." Eclipse stated as she looked at everypony.
"How many ponies can you take to the castle?" Luna asked with a look that said she was ready to kill.
"At max I can taken 13 other ponies with me. The princess are coming, I'm sure of that, and the holders of the Elements of Harmony. That's 10 ponies, we still have 3 more to go." Eclipse stated as she looked at all the other ponies near by.
"I will go. I will avenge Grand Master Libra." Clockwork stated as his anger and hatred showed.
"I will go too. Sensie Wolf Moon's murder must be brought to justice." Snake Eyes stated as he took a step forward standing with the other unicorn.
"That's olny 12, one more can come." Eclipse stated as she looked over the large group of ponies.
"I will go." Shining Armor stated as he stepped up.
"No your not honey. Your needed at the Crystal Empire. We can't leave it unprotected." Cadance stated as she walked over to her husband.
"But the crystal heart protects the empire." Shining replied as he looked at his wife.
"Brother, Dark Bane, Trixie, their dam bird, and their army was able to get into the city and the crystal heart did nothing to stop them." Twilight stated as she remembered seeing her brother nearly being decapitated.
"Fine, but then who's going to go?" Shining asked as he looked at the group.
"I will go." replied a voice the Mane Six remembered very well.
"Flame is that you?" Pinkie asked as she looked around the area.
"Look above you." Flame ordered as the group heard the sound of pegasus wings.
Everypony looked up to see the magical pegasus flying above them with his dragoness friend on his back.
"Flame, don't do this. It took more than a thousand years to finally leave the Crystal Empire and those tyrants." Scales stated as her friend landed on the ground and she got off of him.
"Scales, those two want to rule everything. That means that they are going to attack the world, and that includes Equetria. In fact I'm pretty sure that Dark Bane is planing on taking Equestria before he helps his father take the Crystal Empire." Flame replied as he looked at his little scaled friend.
"So you are from the Crystal Empire." Luna stated as she looked at the pony.
"Yah. Never know my parents. Scales here is the only one I trust." Flame stated as walked up to the soon to be with the group.
"We don't need your life story. Just stand over here so we can make a circle." Eclipse stated with a tone that stated she was losing her patience.
"Scales, if I don't come back in three days, use the black bottle on him the next time you see him." Flame stated as he walked over to the group.
The group of fourteen ponies stood in a circle as magic started to swirled around them as if it was alive. The group seemed to turn into shadows and then they disappeared much like the Legion of Shadows.
Haysead Swamps, Castle of Nightmare:
Night Shade was talking to most of the unicorns of the cult when his daughter came walking up to him with a serious expression.(Where you expecting her to be silly?)
"What is it Night Veil?" Night Shade asked as he turned to his oldest.
"Father, I sense an influx of magic appeared and it has covered Equestria. If we act now, we can move the castle to any part of Equestria." Night Veil answered as she pointed herself at her father.
"Get everypony in the castle now! We move to the Everfree Forest this night!" Night Shade yelled causing every pegasus to take flight and to find every member that the castle was moving to Everfree Forest.
"Father, there's something else to this inflex." Night Veil stated as she directed herself at her father.
"What about it?" Night Shade asked as he looked at his daughter.
"There is something dark and corrupte is using it to do something dark." Night Veil stated as she actually could not discribe the dark feeling she felt.
"That must be Dark Bane and his toy bringing Sombra back." Night Shade stated as he looked to his daughter.
After about two minutes, all members that where close by where in the castle and the castle was starting to disappear. When the castle reappeared with in the Everfree Forest close to Ponyville but could not be seen from the town.
"The castle may be in Everfree Forest, but we are going to be living in Ponyville." Night Shade stated as he looked at his daughter.
"What? Why?!?" Night Veil asked as if the thought hurt her.
"I told my cousin I was going to move to Ponyville. We don't have to go there now, but by the end of the month we will be moving in." Night Shade told his daughter with a strong fatherly voice.
"But why?" Night Veil asked as she started to sound like a spoiled child that was just told no.
"Your mother wants to make sure that your younger brother gets some friends. We have already started to fill out the papers to put him in the school here, and we even started to fill out papers to own a house in the town. It will be near the edge of town." Night Shade answered as he turned to work on other matters.
"But how will I work on my projects?" Night Veil asked as she started to sound like a spoiled child.(So like Diamon Taira when she's complaining.)
"There is a library for you to work with. I believe it is called Golden Oaks Library." Night Shade answered as he told his daughter.
"Fine. By the way, what is our relative's name?" Night Veil asked as she gave up on trying to stay in the castle.
"Her name is Fluttershy, and I believe she is the animal care in Ponyville." Night Shade answered his oldest.
"Great. I'm related to a animal lover." Night Veil stated as she lowered her head.
"You will show respect to her. She is the kindest pony you will ever meet." Night Shade replied as he turned to his daughter in disappointment.
"Are talking about great cousin Fluttershy?" Blizzard asked as he walked in with Starlight.
"Yes Little Brother." Night Veil answered as she sounded annoyed.
"Did you know that she's the Element of Kindness?" Blizzard asked as his wings flapped sending him up above his mother's head.
"She is!" Night Shade And Night Veil yelled out in surprise.
"Ah. She helped Twilight Sparkle defeat our queen. I know about all the mare of the Elements of Harmony." Blizzard replied as if he wanted to tell more.
"I would like you to tell me all the names of these mares." Night Shade stated as he looked at his son.
"Well Twilight Sparkle is the Element of Magic, Fluttyershy is the Element of Kindness, Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyality, Rarity is the Element of Generosity, AppleJack is the Element of Honesty, and Pinkie Pie is the Element of Laughter." Blizzard stated as he looked at his father.
"How do you know all of this?" Night Veil asked as she most likely raised an eye brow.
"I asked a scout to bring me newspapers of the week of the town he stays in." Blizzard answered as he looked at his sister.
"And the newspapers just happened to have the six that tried to kill our queen." Night Shade stated as his eye brow raised.
"It happened on the Summer Sun Celebration where the night lasted longer then it should of." Blizzard replied as he looked at his family. That's when Blizzard got this confused look, "Wait, what was the condition the armor of our queen?"
"The spy said it was in perfect condition. Why?" Night Shade replied as he got confused.
"From what I read, the armor was in badly damaged, but the spy said it was perfect. Who ever took it must see our queen in some way as family, so they might try to do something with our queen." Blizzard stated as he put a hoof to his chin.
"We must get our queen back!" Night Shade yelled as he started to run to the war room.
(Well that's chapter 7. I build it up, and I do this. You must hate me.)