Lunar Eclipse: The Rock Opera

by CrowMagnon


Part 5 - Take Back the Sun

Lunar Eclipse: The Rock-Opera
by CrowMagnon

While Fluttershy wailed in despair on the stage, the generally upbeat pegasus portraying Celestia's mourning with impressive passion, Carrot Top felt Spike's little claws reaching over to hug her leg for comfort. Aside from his earlier outburst, the baby dragon had been extremely well-behaved. Now, though, the farmer saw that he was sniffling sadly. When he saw that he had Carrot Top's attention, he pointed toward the mirror from which 'Princess Luna' tried in vain to get Celestia's attention.

"She's w-wight there," he whispered as quietly as he could, having been chastised after his attempt to warn his mother about Eclipse's appearance. "W-Why can't the Pwincess see her...?"

Carrot Top hugged the baby dragon and whispered back, "Back then, Princess Luna was stuck in the dream world. She was too weak for anypony to notice her, but don't worry... It all turned out okay, thanks to your mommy."

"But... she's wight there..." Spike protested, his eyes watering as he sniffled more loudly.

Carrot Top produced a tissue and gently dabbed at Spike's eyes to dry them. "Shhh, I know, but it's just a show. It's sad right now, but it gets better, I promise. Can you watch quietly for the rest of the play?" When he nodded, she placed the tissue over his nose and mouth. "Okay, now blow."

Spike did so just as 'Sungleam' announced, "All of them, your highness." Carrot Top smiled, but then barely stifled a surprised yelp as she felt heat against her hoof. As Spike blew his nose, the tissue she was holding suddenly went up in a flash of green flame, which thankfully evaporated in a puff of smoke and magic before it could do more harm than startling his temporary foalsitter and distracting the ponies nearby.

Those who did keep their focus on the stage, however, were treated to an even more entertaining sight as the curtains closed. Before they could shut completely, 'Princess Luna' suddenly went cross-eyed, her cheeks bulging as purple smoke started leaking out of her nostrils and the corners of her mouth. The instant that the stage was completely hidden, the scene which had ended so ominously was punctuated by a belch forceful enough to make the curtains wave.

-----

Backstage, Vinyl let out a sigh of relief as she got through another song. Meanwhile, Octavia finished explaining to her cousin why the DJ was on her keyboards instead of playing the record they'd made.

"Well, dang. Looks like Ah picked the wrong time ta visit the li'l filly's room," Fiddlesticks mused, immediately before Rarity's burp rocked the backstage area.

Moments later, Rarity came back to join them. The unicorn coughed the last bits of magic smoke out of her lungs while holding Carrot Top's tissue in her magic. "Will somepony... please explain... just what is going on...?"

Everypony gulped, none of them wanting to incur the wrath of a pony who could quite literally spit fire when angry.

Ultimately, it was Sweetie Belle and her friends who stepped forward. Simultaneously inhaling, they started rattling out explanations of what had occured, from Apple Bloom getting momentarily blinded, to the damage to Vinyl's soundtrack, to the last-second improvisations. Somehow, despite each of them saying it in a different way, resulting in a cacaphony of non-sequitors and babble to anypony trying to unpack their confession, they all chose the exact same moment to conclude, "And we're really sorry."

Rarity blinked, having failed to understand any bit of it. Only that they were apologizing and giving her the biggest, wettest puppy eyes she'd seen since she cracked open a boulder full of emeralds in front of Spike. "Well. That's... That's alright, girls. Just be a little less rambunctious now, and wait for your part to come up. Pinkamena's worked so hard for this, and nopony wants to make things more difficult for her, right?"

-----

To ensure that the next scene went off well, nopony was allowed back in the dressing room aside from Rainbow Dash and Dewdrop Decimal. The unicorn librarian's horn was encased in a tight, focused glow as she magically crafted a second layer of illusion over the inky shadows that already covered the pegasus. It was going to be one of the more impressive special effects in the show, and Dewdrop wanted to get it exactly right as she surrounded Dash's form with the beak, feathers and claws of a griffon.

It was very intricate work, setting up illusions for so many ponies at once, and layering two on a single pony was all the more difficult. Still, as long as everything went as planned, it would be great for the show. That was why nopony was allowed to come in until it was time for Dash to get back on stage. Nopony could disturb them and break her concentration.

Nopony whispered in her ear as she worked her magic.

"Done! You're good to go now, Dash," the blonde unicorn said with a smile as she stepped back. Rainbow Dash looked herself over and lifted a foreleg, which now looked like it ended in a griffon's talons. She couldn't move the appendages or grip anything with them, but as long as she was just going to be walking around, the illusion would do its job.

The librarian's good mood dimmed somewhat when Dash asked in a panic, "Dewdrop, what're you thinking? I can't go out looking like this! Have you been drinking?"

Dewdrop gave a little frown as she looked Rainbow Dash over. She had worked hard at the griffon guise, and try as she might to see what it was that Rainbow Dash was protesting (in rhyme, no less), it all looked right to her. "What are you talking about, Dash? You look-"

Suddenly, the door opened and Derpy poked her head in. "Hiiii, Rainbow Dash! It's almost time for your..." The wall-eyed pegasus trailed off as one eye focused on Rainbow Dash, and even convinced the other to lock onto the same sight, it was that surprising. Once she realized she was actually seeing what she thought she was, Derpy let out a snort of badly-restrained laughter before erupting into a full-blown giggle fit.

Even through the multiple layers of illusion magic, Rainbow Dash's face flushed with humiliation. "It's not funny! Derpy, y-you aren't even supposed to be back here! Dewdrop, fix this, you hear?"

Dewdrop blinked at Dash's sudden recalcitrance and rolled her eyes. Whatever it was that was bothering her, Dewdrop couldn't see it, so she placed her hooves on Dash's shoulders and ushered her out of the room. "Relax, it looks fine," she assured the disguised pegasus. "Everypony's going to think you look great."

Dash's jaw dropped as she was pushed out into the hall, where Derpy was still staring and giggling at her. "Wh-wha? Have you gone insane? Just look at what you did to my mane!" The only response she got was the door shutting in her face.

Dewdrop sighed and shook her head as she took a seat so that she could recover a little from all the magic she had been asked to use thus far. "Probably just stage fright... she does have a history with griffons, so she's going to be more picky about it than other ponies."

"Quite," nopony agreed. "Personally, I think she looks perfect."

-----

Iron Will gaped as he looked at the diguised pegasus that he was about to enter the upcoming scene with. "Rainbow Dash? What the hay?"

"Don't ask me! Ask Dewdrop! She made me look like this, then pushed me out into the hall!" She reared up on her hind legs and spread her wings to better showcase what 'like this' meant, but the neon green with bright pink polka dots which covered her body needed no assistance in drawing attention to the problem at hoof. "I look like some sort of clown doll..."

"Rainbow Dash! What the hay?!" Applejack asked as she came up behind her.

"Arrrgh!"

Iron Will smacked a fist against his open palm. "Alright, the librarian's gone crazy, and we don't have time to get you back to the dressing room to fix things... but we can still save this!"

-----

Unaware of what was going on backstage, Pinkamena filled in the brief lull with her narration.

"Dame Sungleam's dire news pierced through the shroud of Celestia's grief, and the Princess of the Sun pushed herself to action. Together, they hurried to the embassy of Equestria's staunchest ally, the fledgeling Griffon Empire. However, what they found when they arrived shocked them both to the core."

The curtains opened once more upon a new backdrop. The eclipsed sun illuminated a tower surrounded by a stone gate. Unlike the glamorous, ornate structures of marble and precious metals which were so common in Canterlot, this tower appeared to be made of heavy granite blocks, and designed in a manner which evoked the image of a craggy mountaintop. Painted on the backdrop were lines of armored griffons standing at attention, which made Iron Will's presence even more striking as the armored minotaur loomed over Celestia and Sungleam.

Hefting a large axe, Iron Will bellowed, "HALT! You have no business here!"

Celestia stopped short, glaring so hard at the minotaur that even the audience thought that he might burst into flame at any moment. "By what authority do you claim to bar us entry into the griffon embassy?"

Standing defiantly against the Sun Princess, either out of bravery or stupidity, Iron Will thumped his fist against the breastplate of his armor. "His worship, Cardinal Minos, is entreating with the ambassador at this moment and is not to be disturbed! Not even by the Tyrant Sun!"

Celestia stiffened with shock from the harsh words, but Sungleam went into action immediately. Drawing her sword with her magic so fast that it barely appeared to move before the shining blade was held in front of the minotaur's face. "Mind thy slanderous tongue, lest I remove it," she threatened, her voice lowering to a fiercely protective growl.

"Lower your blade, Dame Sungleam," Celestia ordered to keep matters from escalating as the minotaur's grip tightened on his axe. Taking wing, she flew up toward a balcony jutting from the tower and hovered there as she called out, "Ambassador! Equestria has ever been a staunch friend and ally to both the minotaur people and the Griffon Empire! What, then, has brought about this sudden hostility?"

Fluttershy, expecting to see Rainbow Dash step out onto the balcony in her griffon disguise, was genuinely surprised when a white sheet separated her from her friend, a bright light from the other side casting a griffon-shaped sillhouette against its surface. "I should ask the same of you, Princess Celestia," came the faux-griffon's reply. "Long have you and your sister been entrusted with the cycle of day and night. Trust that was earned, we thought, through centuries of good stewardship. Folly! Folly! Folly on all of our parts, as the sky above now proves! How long have you plotted, Celestia? Was it not enough to rule over the most prosperous nation in the world? Was it not enough to command the life-giving sun itself?"

Celestia shook her head. "Nay, ambassador, this is no doing of mine! The moon was stolen--"

"From your sister, who despite supposedly being one of the rulers of Equestria, has scarcely been seen since my father was a hatchling." The ambassador's voice took on a sly, mocking tone. "A griffon's eyes are sharp, your highness, and a diplomat's must be all the sharper. I have seen how your sister was kept cloistered away in her tower, only occasionally brought out as a prop. I have seen her stare up to the night sky, alone and lamenting her lot. And what a coincidence that the very day she attempted to take a larger role in ruling, she is attacked by a 'monster' seen by none save you and your pet zealot! It is clear to me that you are the one who struck down your sister, so we shall stand firm and take control of the celestial bodies from you. In that way... we will show your 'dear sister' our love."

While the ambassador spoke that last sentence, Celestia gasped as she saw the sillhouette shift unnaturally, tendrils of shadow sprouting from the griffon's outline. "What are you...? No...! You! You! ECLIPSE!" The Sun Princess stared in shock, but then slid swiftly through confusion into the wrath of a furious god. Her horn became surrounded with a bright golden glow, and a beam of light shot out of it toward Eclipse's shadow.

Eclipse screamed, and the stage lights dimmed slightly, making the beam shooting out of Fluttershy's false horn seem brighter by comparison. The lights then flashed brightly before plunging the stage into total darkness and silence. The audience practically held their breath, waiting to see what would come next, so when they heard Eclipse's voice coming to them from the darkness, many of them would later say that it felt as though spiders were crawling over them.

"You lose again, Celestia. First your sister. Then the sky. Now your allies. Next, it will be your kingdom. But I am not merciless, Celestia. You can have it all back... through me. Let me show you my love. Give me back my Luna, and you can be together, again. Forever."

As the word 'forever' echoed throughout the theater, the fading word was slowly replaced by a low, angry muttering which grew in volume as the lights slowly illuminated the stage once more. Celestia was on the ground while Sungleam stood protectively over her, holding the armored minotaur at bay with her sword. Looking around, the Princess heard the mutterings all around her turn into angered shouts.

"She's attacked the ambassador!"

"The ambassador is alive, but will not wake!"

"This means war! Equestria has declared war against us!"

Celestia weakly stood. "No... no, it was Eclipse! Eclipse possessed your ambassador, just as it did my sister! You must--"

"Enough, your highness! That is not what they saw." As she struggled to defend herself against the accusations, Princess Celestia found herself interrupted by none other than Sungleam. "As Captain of the Guard, I am charged with your safety above all else, and to that end we must retreat to the palace at once."

The minotaur angrily roared and bellowed, "Don't think that you can run away from your crimes, Tyrant Sun! The minotaurs stand with our griffon friends! Aurox, guide my arm!" Letting out a ferocious war cry, the minotaur swung his axe down toward Sungleam and Celestia.

Before it could strike, Sungleam's horn flashed as the two ponies teleported away, leaving the axe to cleave nothing but air.

Hefting his axe up, the minotaur showed the audience a fiendish smirk. The tinkling of a piano began to play, and with Eclipse's raspy voice overlayed on top of his own, he mused, "Run away, Celestia, but you cannot escape me any more than you can escape your own shadow. It is only a matter of time before you give me everything I desire."

He then raised his axe high overhead, and purely in his own voice, bellowed along with a choir to represent the griffons painted onto the backdrop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take Back the Sun
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Based on "Give Us the Rope" by The Protomen)

Take down the Princess!
Take back the sun!

Take back the sky!
Take back the land!
Take down the Princess!
Take back the sun!

Accompanying the cries of the Eclipse-possessed minotaur and the griffons that he had whipped into a frenzy, a trumpet blared triumphantly, as if to signal the moment that the shadow's manipulation of the crowd fully took root. As he waving his axe over his head, the bloodlust in the choir's voices only grew.

Tear down her throne!
Tear off her crown!
Take off her head!
Take down the Princess!
Take back the sun!