A Heart Eclipsed

by Show Stopper

Chapter 2

"Oh my gosh! That was so superly awesomely fantastically amazing! You were like, SLASH! And he was like, Yaaaaagh! And then he made that GIANT fireball, and you were like, oh no you don't! ZAP! And that was the coolest thing EVER! Who are you? What are you? What are those sword things? Do you like cake? Silly me, eveypony likes cake! Hm, but I guess you're not a pony, but-"

My ears were spared further assault as the rainbow maned stallion stuck his hoof over the pink one's mouth. "Um, are we sure that part of Discord's magic didn't break off and jump into him?" I asked, eyeing the muffled pony worriedly.

The tiara bearing unicorn who's heart looked remarkably like Clover's shook her head. "Don't worry. That's just Berry being Berry." She looked me up and down curiously, her eyes lingering on my keyblades. "But I have to agree with some of her questions. Who are you? And what are those?"

I shouldered Oathkeeper and Oblivion, allowing the latter to vanish. "Name's Sora, the Warrior of Light. And this," I held out Oathkeeper proudly, "is the legendary keyblade."

While the unicorn gasped, the other five just looked on in confusion. "You've heard of him, Twi?" asked the orange mare.

The unicorn nodded, her jaw still hanging loose. "The Prince told me about you. You were a warrior who fought beside him over a thousand years ago. But he said that you were destroyed."

"Yes, well," I chuckled, "let's just say that the rumors of my destruction were slightly exaggerated. So, you're the Elements' new bearers?"

The unicorn shook her head to clear out the last of her daze. "Sorry. Just, it's a lot to take in right after Discord." She cleared her throat and stood tall. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic. These are my friends, Rainbow Blitz, Berry Bubble, Elusive, Fluttershy, and Applejack, Bearers of Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness and Honesty, respectively."

Each of her friends nodded or waved as they were introduced. I nodded back and smiled. "Nice to meet you. Good to see that old Sun-Butt finally trusted someone else with them."

All o six of them gasped and Twilight shot me the the mother of all glares. "How dare you refer to Prince Solaris like that! Just who do you think you are?"

"Let's see," I said, counting off on my fingers. "The Warrior of Light. The Keyblade master. The Dragonbane. Personal friend and adviser to the royal sibs. Shall I go on? I can go on if you want. Trust me, I've known them longer than this town has existed."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Blitz challenged, flying up to my face. "Then why haven't we ever heard of you, huh? If you were such a big shot a thousand years ago, where have you been?"

"Trapped in stone in Everfree Castle's basement," I deadpanned. "For most of it, anyway. Sol came to visit all of us down there last year and teleported us up to the new castle's gardens. Been stuck staring at Discord's ugly mug ever since." I leaned to look around Rainbow at Twilight. "By the way, when did Sol move into that castle. I wasn't aware of that little construction project when I got stoned."

"A little less than a thousand years ago," she replied, using her magic to yang Rainbow out of my face. "He had it built after the old castle was damaged in his fight with Nightmare Moon."

Ice. No, hearing Discord's voice had turned my blood to ice. That name froze my very heart solid.

"...what did you just say?" I whispered.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Um, she built it after fighting Nightmare Moon? Apparently the battle did a lot of damage to the castle, making it unsafe and..."

I didn't hear the rest. My mind had gone nearly blank. That one name repeated itself over and over in my mind. Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon. NIGHTMARE Moon. NIGHTMARE MOON! NIGHTMARE MOON! NIGHTMARE MOON!!!

"Um, Sora?" asked Fluttershy, noticing as I started to shake. "A-are you alright?"

My fists were clenched. My teeth ground against each other. My entire body trembled as I tried to contain my rage.

It didn't work.

"SOLARIS!!!!!"

"...and send three chariots down to Ponyville to pick up Twilight and her friends. We certainly can't hold a celebration without the guests of honor."

"Yes, sir!" The guard dropped his salute and left to carry out his orders. Prince Solaris sighed and leaned back on his throne as soon as the doors were closed. It had been a long and exhausting day, a day filled with more stress and worry than any other in the past thousand years. Even Luna's return had been less tiring as he had simply had to wait for Twilight and her friends to succeed. He looked out a nearby window that offered a wonderful view of the Royal Gardens. He smirked as his eyes fell on Discord's empty pedestal. Not empty for long. Soon you'll be right back where you belong, along with all the others. He sighed sadly as he looked over the other statues, always standing under his watchful gaze. Cobalt Star. You had such promise. If only you'd never come across that accursed tome. And Quicksilver. I don't know where you got the notion that killing an alicorn would cause you to ascend. Hopefully we'll be able to heal your mind soon. And of course, Aros. I wish...

Prince Solaris's eyes grew wide as he beheld the pedestal that had once held the dark monstrosity. "No," he whispered, standing slowly. "It can't be..."

His attention was drawn away from the missing statue as the sound of a struggle reached his ears. He turned towards the large double doors that stood as the only entrance to his throne room. Guards could be heard shouting behind the doors, and the sound of metal striking against metal reached his ears.

Finally, the doors were slammed open as a guard was flung through them. He landed on the floor, dazed but not yet unconscious. Solaris glared up at the open doors, crouching down in preparation for a fight.

All thoughts of fighting fled his mind as he saw who stood in the doorway. All thoughts period flew from his mind. He could only stare in a rare moment of total shock as a spiky haired human walked into the throne room, a keyblade in each hand. His eyes were down, hidden in the shadow of his bangs. "Hello, Solaris."

I saw Solaris turn his gaze behind me, probably to check on the guards I'd just wiped the floor with. None of them were hurt too badly, though that one stubborn mare with the shield spells would probably be feeling sore for a few days. "Sora," Solaris finally said. "How? I thought you were-"

"I warned you," I said, interrupting him. It was the only chance he would get. If he didn't start explaining himself immediately...

"Wh-what? Warned me about what?"

That was it. My mind filled with rage. I felt energy coursing through me as an overpowering aura filled the room. It all came to a head in a flash of light, and I was left standing all in red, my strength doubled. I glared up at Solaris and darted forward, Fenrir and Oblivion in my hands. Solaris was too stunned to react as I swung both with all my might, sending him hurtling to the side, splintering the stone wall with his impact. "I WARNED YOU!" I shouted, charging at him again. He raised a shield, but a swipe from Fenrir tore it to shreds. "I WARNED YOU THAT SHE WAS FAILING! I TOLD YOU THAT THE DARKNESS IN HER HEART WAS GROWING!" Another double strike sent him hurtling through the air. I sped forward beneath him, striking upwards to send him hurtling up to the ceiling. "BUT YOU IGNORED ME! YOU LET HER BE CONSUMED! NIGHTMARE MOON? IS THAT WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HER AS NOW?"

He fell from the ceiling, recovering before he reached the ground. He stared down at me in fear as he hovered, bleeding from a gash on his forehead. "S-Sora. I didn't... I couldn't have known that-"

"YOU COULD HAVE KNOWN IF YOU'D JUST LISTENED TO ME!!!" I flung Fenrir up at him, gritting my teeth as he managed to dodge. "I WARNED YOU THAT SHE WAS GOING TO FALL!" I shouted as I threw Oblivion, summoning Fenrir back to my hand and preparing to throw again. "AND NOW SHE'S GONE! SHE FELL INTO DARKNESS! SHE BECAME A HEARTLESS! AND IT'S ALL! YOUR! FAULT!!!"

Solaris continued to dodge keyblade after keyblade, each strike coming just a little closer to hitting. "Sora, please!" he shouted, ducking under Fenrir as it knocked his crown from his head. "Please, just listen to me!"

"WHY SHOULD I? WHY SHOULD I LISTEN WHEN YOU NEVER LISTENED TO ME? THUNDAGA!!!"

A mighty bolt of lightning struck Solaris. He screamed in agony as he fell to the ground, landing hard on his wing. He gasped in pain as his wing snapped beneath him.

"Cure," I muttered, pointing at him, releasing just enough power to heal the wing. I wanted him to pay, not die. "You never listened," I hissed. "I told you that darkness was growing in Luna's heart, but no. You insisted that she wouldn't fall. 'We're alicorns,' you said. 'We can't fall into darkness.' Well? What happened to that? What happened to Luna then? I TOLD you that she was in danger! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HER!"

"Sol."

...that voice. I knew that voice. Slowly, not daring to believe what I was hearing, I turned towards the double doors. Both keyblades fell from my hands. There she was, a beautiful alicorn of dark blue, silhouetted by the night sky that formed her mane and tail. She stared open-mouthed at her older brother, tears gathering in her eyes. "You knew?" she whispered.

"Luna," said Solaris, reaching out a hoof. "Please. Let me explain. I-"

But Luna just closed her eyes, turning away and running back down the hall, tears streaming out behind her.

I continued to watch until she turned a corner, and stood still until the sounds of her hoofsteps faded into the distance. Finally, I turned back to Solaris, who was slowly getting to his hooves. "How?"

Solaris sighed, not able to meet my gaze. "The Elements of Harmony. They were somehow able to restore her last year."

I shook my head. "That's not possible. Nothing can bring someone back once they've fully become a heartless. I've told you this several times."

"So you have. Nevertheless, she's back."

Silence reigned for a few minutes. "Where's her room?" I finally asked.

Solaris looked up. "Gleaming Shield," he called, gesturing over the troublesome unicorn guard from before. "Please take Sora to Luna's chambers. They are not to be disturbed.

"Are you certain, your Highness?" asked the blue maned mare. Solaris nodded and she sighed before glaring at me. "This way."

She led me off down the hall, glaring straight ahead. After a while the silence became uncomfortable. "So," I said, scratching behind my head nervously, "sorry about the whole, you know, wiping the floor with you thing. Um, how's your horn?"

"It will recover," Gleaming Shield replied stiffly. After a moment she spared a glance in my direction. "You know the royal siblings?"

"Yeah," I said. "Been gone for a while. Only got back today. Solaris was kind of like a brother to me. When I found out that he let Luna become Nightmare Moon, I kind of, well..."

"...lost all control and flew into a bloody rage?"

"I was going to say flipped out, but I guess that works too."

Gleaming snorted, but her face softened. "I can understand that," she said. "I have a sister down in Ponyville. If anything ever happened to her, I don't know what I'd do."

I then noticed her cutie mark, a starburst superimposed over a shield. The starburst looked strangely familiar...

"Here we are," she said, stopping in front of a large, dark blue door carved with depictions of the moon. "I'll be waiting out here if you need anything." She looked at me, a hint of a plea in her face. "Try to comfort her."

I nodded and pulled the door open, slipping through and closing it behind me. The room was dark, decorated in blues and purples that made me feel like I was surrounded by the night sky. The ceiling was covered in constellations that cast a soft light over the room. A modest desk stood against one wall, and a door stood at the back, probably leading to a bathroom. The center of the room contained a giant circular bed, the sheets and covers as white as the moon. On this bed lay Luna, crying into one of several pillows. I slowly approached and sat on the edge of the bed, laying a hand on her back.

She flinched and looked up, her entire body tensing as her eyes met mine. "S-Sora?"

I smiled as I stroked her back between her wings. "Hey there, Lu. I'm back."

In a blink, her forelegs were around me and she was crying into my shoulder. I returned the hug, continuing to stroke her back soothingly.

"I-I always knew you would c-come back," she sobbed. "I-I never gave up. Even when I came back. E-even when Sol said that you never ch-changed."

I pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "That's right. I'm back. And I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled and closed her eyes, slowly leaning forward.

The throne room's (recently repaired) double doors swung open, and six ponies began their walk up the crimson carpet. The room was packed with ponies, both from Canterlot and from nearby Ponyville. Prince Solaris stood before his throne, smiling down at his prized student and her friends as they approached. The doors closed, and Solaris cleared his throat.

"We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends, who stood up to the villain Discord, and saved Equestria from eternal chaos." Cheers erupted from the crowd, filling the room with a near deafening cacophony. Solaris allowed the cheers to continue for a moment before raising his hoof for silence. "However, they were not alone in this endeavor, for in the very hour when it seemed that victory was just beyond their grasp, a hero emerged. One who has not been seen in over a thousand years returned to aid in the fight against chaos, allowing these six friends the time they needed to activate the Elements of Harmony. Please welcome back to Equestria, the Warrior of Light, Sora!"

The doors swung open again, and the few cheers that had begun turned instantly to murmurs of confusion. Sora strode leisurely into the throne room, hands behind his head and grinning at the stares that he received. Whispers of "What is that?" and "Have you ever heard of this Sora?" spread throughout the room. A few of the Canterlot natives whispered a little more fearfully amongst themselves.

"Strange creature, isn't it?"

"Have you noticed how much it looks like that statue of Aros?"

"By Solaris, you're right! And didn't that statue go missing during the Discord fiasco?"

"Don't tell me Discord released it!"

"Maybe they're not the same creature? The Prince did refer to it as a warrior of light, not shadow."

"Just listen to the name! Sora is simply Aros backwards! I don't know what the Royal Siblings are trying to pull or cover up, but I don't like it!"

The whispers followed Sora all the way up to the throne, but he couldn't have cared less. He reached the steps leading up to Solaris and bowed respectfully. Solaris nodded back and lit his horn. A red curtain opened neerby, revealing an intricate stain-glass window. Sora and the Element Bearers were depicted firing beams of different colored energies at Discord. The crowd began cheering once again, bringing mixed reactions from the honored heros. Fluttershy blushed and ducked her head, hiding behind her bangs. Elusive, Twilight and Applejack simply smiled and stood proudly. Berry waved happily to anypony who made eye-contact. Sora and Rainbow smiled cockily over the crowd, drinking in their praise.

Throughout it all, no-one noticed a shadowy figure sneaking out the doors.