//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Years Ahead 
// Story: Shadow's Eclipse 
// by Pendragon552 
//------------------------------//

	A groan escapes my lips as I come to. “Where, what?” My mind is still sluggish, adjusting to the dim light. “What happened, how did I get here?” I shake myself to clear my vision. As my eyes finally adjust, I see a small room with little furniture. In one corner there’s a small chair and bookshelf, and the opposite holds a small kitchen.
“So.” The voice causes me to jump, charging a mystical bolt. “you mind telling me what the hell just happened?” It takes me a few seconds to settle on the pony speaking, as her black coat melds with the flickering shadows in the room. As she steps further into the open her blood red eyes are focused on me, matted grey mane pulled into a short braid, and my horn dims.
“I, uh, what?” My mind, while becoming clearer, was rattled at her question. “What do you mean what happened? I,” I pause, frowning while trying to dredge up my memories. “what...  what day is today?” A small snicker escapes the pony, whose face looks almost like a teenager’s for a moment.
“It’s not really any day. Not after that, thing, appeared.” I went to speak up, but the pony gestures at the window. With a raised eyebrow I turn towards said window. I attempt to gasp, but all of the air is taken from my lungs.
“Oh…” The gears are clicking in my head. It can’t be, this hasn’t happened in close to a thousand years. “Oh no, how?” There, outside the window, was a black circle, the moon, with a corona of sunlight surrounding it. “Never thought I’d see one of those, and I still wish I never did.”
“Yes but what is it?” As the pony shudders, I gulp and answer her question.
“That is an,” Gazing back at the circle in the sky, the word sticks in my mouth. Swallowing, I cough out the word. “eclipse.” A small pain goes through my head, and I swear I hear laughing as I gasp. The pony raises an eyebrow at my crumpling form, and I wave a dismissive hoof. “I’m fine. Equestria, I’m not so sure of. The only eclipses in history have been when those that control the sun and moon enter a conflict.” The pony maintains her raised eyebrow, until the gears click into place in her head, and her eyes go wide.
“So the sister princesses, they’re fighting?” I open my mouth to say yes, but something stops me. Something about the eclipse feels, off, and I can’t quite place it. “Speaking of which, where were they in the castle? All I saw was you and that... thing.” My mind latches on to her words, and I speak in a hasty voice.
“Thing, what thing?” I advance on the poor pony, who slips deftly around me.
“I dunno. Hoped you could tell me.” She pauses for a moment, thinking. “I heard something about a nightmare, or the nightmare, or nightmare something. But I have no idea what that-Hey you alright?” I hadn’t realized, but I’ve dropped to the floor, quivering. The thoughts running through my head range from ‘This can’t be real’, to ‘Oh what have I done.’ The pony walks cautiously up to me, and pokes me with her hoof. “You still here?”
“I, yeah. I think… I think I have an unintentional hand in all this.” I stand on shaky legs, grasping the windowsill on the way up The pony merely stands there, watching and waiting. “I, my name is Shadow Bright. I’ve lived for, let’s say for a long time.” The pony nods, interjecting before I can continue.
“Now that I know your name, I know who you are. Celestia’s diary describes you in detail.” I choke on my own saliva, coughing and sputtering. When I recover, I’m looking at the other pony, my face portraying pure astonishment.
“How in Tartarus did you read Celestia’s diary?” A mischievous grin appears on her face, and she vanishes into the shadows.
“Oh, I snuck into the castle, and in between pilfering the jewels from the royal quarters, I read some of the more...private books in the castle. One of which happened to be the princess's diary. You wouldn’t believe some of the thoughts she’s had about her prize student.” I stare blankly at her as she steps back into the open, until her words begin to click. My blush causes her to smirk.  “Anyway, what’s the Nightmare’s Child doing in Canterlot? And how does this have anything to do with the, what’d you call it? Oh right, eclipse.” The word sends another sharp pain through my head, and I grimace. It means something, something more than it’s standard definition, but what?
“First off, don’t call me the Nightmare’s Child, I’ve.” I try to say that I’ve gotten that behind me, but I can’t. I know that I’ve pulled myself away from the Nightmare, but, wait have I? I don’t remember pushing closer, but saying that I haven’t feels, wrong. “Nevermind, second, I have no idea what I’m doing in Canterlot, last I remember I was hiding out in a cave in the Everfree. And third, what’s your name, and how did you break into the castle?”
“Yeah, yeah whatever Shadow.” She mutters something under her breath, a slight pout on her face. “To answer the only question in that, I figure this will bring some clarity.” I cock my head as she reaches down to the floor and tosses something at me. With a gasp, I light my horn and wrap it in my mystical grip. Looking at it, it’s a small black cat statuette with a tag. The pony in front of me speaks with a grin as I begin turning the tag around, lights flickering on in my head already. “The name’s Swift Shade, but most just call me the-” I read the words on the tag and almost shout.
“The Shadow Thief!” Swift’s grin vanishes, replaced by another pout. Her mumbled affirmation causes my mouth to drop. “But she’s the best and most notorious thief in all Equestria!” Immediately her smirk returns and she’s nodding cockily. My eyes dart between the statuette and the mare, filly really, in front of me. “But you’re what, 16?” There goes her smile again, only this time it’s replaced with a glare.
“Oh of course,” I try to back away, only to realize I was already against the wall. Swift’s voice is dripping with anger and sarcasm. “a pony my age couldn’t be a master at anything. Ignore the fact that I know about how you were born into the Cult of Nightmare 800 years ago, and cursed by a connection to all Nightmare for all eternity. Of course I’m not the Shadow Thief because of my age, it has nothing to do with my skill.” As she speaks, she stalks towards me, looking almost like a cat hunting it’s prey. It’s at this point I notice her tiny, yet braided, stub of a tail and red cat’s paw cutie mark. By the time she finishes she’s pretty much shoved me against the wall.
“Well, that’s not, I,” My voice stutters, completely speechless under her fiery blood colored eyes. “I have to figure out what happened with the eclipse, GAH!” I shout, collapsing to the ground as images pulse through my head. Swift’s blazing gaze turns to one of concern, and I barely see her begin to speak, though I don’t hear her words. My vision fades, and I see myself in that cave in the Everfree Forest, my black magic aura wrapped around myself. My white-striped black mane and tail flowing through the air. My black pelt shimmering in my magic as it holds me suspended in midair. This is where I put myself in a mystically induced coma to escape the Nightmare. But why am I seeing this, and from outside my past body?
Oh no. That can’t be what I think it is. The thought burns through my mind,  as a misty black vapor flows through the air. It rolls through the cave and pushes against the black magic around my past body. This is confusing. It pushes against the aura maintaining my coma, and my cutie mark, the sun and full moon placed in a venn diagram formation, glows gold and pushes together, turning into an eclipse. The magic aura breaks, and the mist flows in to my body as my eyes fly open. Their off-white irises contract around my pupils, causing them to slit like a snakes. “I, have to, control this! Gyah.” I hear my voice, and see myself attempt to light my horn.
“The Eclipse! We must create-No!” My voice shifts to one I recognize for a moment, and I shudder as the scene fades. It seems I was woken from my coma by the Nightmare, and it claimed my power while I was weak. Hearing that hissing, grating voice belonging to Nightmare, after all these years, is almost too much to bear. I hear a groan echo through the world as the real world fades back into focus. Swift is standing over me, a concerned and quizzical look on her face.
“It looks like you’re back, are you back?” After a second, I realize she’s speaking to me. I nod slowly and begin to stand. “Good. So to get rid of the eclipse we have to figure out why the sister princesses are fighting, and get them to stop?” I begin to nod, then what she said actually clicks.
“Wait, sister princesses? But, Luna’s still trapped on the moon with part of...the...Nightmare. How, how long was I in that coma?” Swift looks at me, completely lost, but I wave a hoof in dismissal. “Um, nothing, anyway last I checked Nightmare Moon wasn’t set to return for another 164 years.” Swift suddenly looks like she’s holding in tears, and I begin to ask what’s wrong, before she burst into hysterical laughter.
“164 years? Man you are way behind the times, Luna came back 3 years ago. Hell, if you’ve been gone that long I bet you’d be surprised to know that Canterlot was attacked by changelings, the crystal empire returned, Discord returned and was then reformed, and Equestria has a new princess.” Strangely, only the last one shocked me, as though I already knew all the others but couldn’t remember them. “That last one only happened like, a week ago.” So, I was in a coma for 167 years or so, good to know.
“Ok, so Nightmare Moon being turned back into Luna must have caused this.” Swift begins to look confused, then rolls her eyes and gestures for me to continue. “Sorry, I, a little memory slipped in to my mind. It would seem that Luna losing the power of Nightmare caused it to search for a nearby vessel. This must have happened near the Everfree-”
“It did. The castle of the two sisters in fact.” Swift interjects and I shut my mouth, glaring at her. “Sorry, sorry, continue.” With a nod, I continue my story.
“Anyway, I had cloaking charms around myself, hoping to avoid this exact thing. However, being that close, the Nightmare must’ve sensed me and gotten through my defenses. Though, I had it set up specifically to stop the Nightmare, I have no idea how it got through.” Swift looks at me, again confused, before slapping her face with her hoof. “I guess I’m not making much sense, am I?” Swift sighs, shaking her head.
“No, no really you aren’t. But I think I’m getting the gist. Nightmare found you, possessed you, and somehow separated from you to create whatever that thing in the throne room was. It, uh, it did separate from you, didn’t it?” I look down at myself, pondering the same thing. “Shadow? You aren’t still, uh, nightmared are you?” I purse my lips for a moment before looking back at her.
“I don’t believe so. And if I am, I appear to be in control of myself. There’s been a small amount of the nightmare in me ever since I tried contacting it centuries ago, that’s how I’ve lived so long.” Swift is wearing a face of mild panic, and I shake my head at her. “That is to say, however much of the nightmare may be inside me, it shall not affect my judgment or character.” A slight nod from the mare before me tells me she understands, and I turn towards the door. “We should leave. If what you say is correct, we are not safe in Canterlot. That thing, I know what it is, though I’d rather not say her name for fear it draws her to us.” Swift begins moving towards the door, but she stops at the edge of it.
“We’re gonna leave, but I should tell you something first. I, kinda burned the entirety of my magical reserves teleporting us across Canterlot. I even overloaded my connection to the magical nexus here.” I nod solemnly, it seems any magic that must be done will have to be done by me. Swift sees my nod, and exits the house. “C'mon Bast.” she swings her head forward, and a black cat with green eyes appears darting between my legs. He jumps onto Swift’s back, and seems to disappear. “I get the feeling I won’t be coming back here.” As I follow her out, I grimace.
“I believe you are right, Swift. We likely won’t be returning to Canterlot until we can take out N-that thing.” Swift looks to me, a dark look on her face. “Now, let us leave. If what you say is true, and Luna has been returned to her normal self, then I know where to start.” Swift nods to me and steps aside, allowing me to take the lead. “The only way to revert Nightmare Moon to her original form is to use the elements of harmony with the destined bearers. Thus, the elements have found their bearers, is this correct?” Swift nods to me, and I grin. “Good, then we must find them and acquire their help. The elements are our only hope at stopping that thing.” My voice trails off as we step out of the back alleys of Canterlot into the open city.
“Boy that’s creepier out in the full sky.” I look towards Swift, and see her staring at the sky. Following her eyes, I swallow deeply. The sky seems tainted by the eclipse, colored a dark, yet light, orange. Sitting in the middle of the sky, completely unmoving, was the eclipse. It stands as an unmoving sentinel staring down at the-wait. My eyes widen, and I grab Swift roughly. “Hey!”
“We need to get out of the-”  A laugh echoes through the city, dark and terrible, as a familiar voice flows through the streets. “Swift, start running. Now!” Swift nods to me and bolts forward, with me close behind.
“Fool, you are too late.” Oh no. Well, it’s too late to worry about her finding us, we’ve been found.  I narrow my eyes and dart in front of Swift, leading her through the city. As we gallop, I attempt to stay out of sight of the eclipse as much as possible, though it proves difficult.“My dear young Nightmare, why flee? Your destiny is to be our vessel, just accept it.” Swift’s face pales, and I see her quivering.
“Nightmare Eclipse, so I was right. You are the thing Swift saw in the throne room.” Swift’s eyes widen, and she looks at me in shock. A laugh shakes the foundation of the city, and ponies start flowing towards us. “Curses, this way!” I turn us away from the ponies moving towards us and we slip into some alleys. Swift starts shrinking away from the many shadows, likely from how the buildings are becoming much worse for wear.
“You were indeed correct my little Nightmare. And fear not, our nightmared servants will soon acquire you, and we shall be reunited.” I glare into the sky, more nightmared ponies diverting our path along the way. “Come now, you know you shall be ours in the end. It is inevitable, we are inevitable.” Glaring once more into the sky, I barely notice Swift’s surprised shout. Turning forward again, I skid to a stop.
“Gah!” Skidding forward, I end up slamming into the mountain at a slightly reduced speed. “Ow, that was painful.” Swift comes over and offers a hoof, helping me up to my hooves. I look back towards the entrance to the alley we’re in, only to see ponies blocking our escape.
“Well, this sucks.” Swift’s simple statement causes me to laugh. “Do we have any way out? Cause right now it looks like we’ve been outwitted.” My eyes dart around, but sadly it looks that way. “Hm?” I look at Swift, whose hoof is on the wall. She reaches up and raps on the mountain. As far as I can tell, nothing happens, but a defiant glint appears in her eyes. “There’s a cave back here, or at least some form of opening.”
“Come now, you’re trapped. Come now and I’ll leave this, thief, be.” I smirk at the words that flow into the alley, and grasp Swift’s hoof. She looks at me and nods.
“I’ll not surrender to the Nightmare. I’d rather die!” I light my horn, sending a seeking pulse through the mountain. I smirk as I feel the opening Swift spoke of. “You’ve not caught me yet.” I charge up a teleport spell, and shift both Swift and me through the stone. A roar of anger echoes through the stone wall, as Swift and I appear in a large cave. “I have to seal this.” I charge up more magic, laying charms over the wall hoping to bar magical passage.
“Arrogant fools! You can’t evade us, we will find you, and you will become ours.” I look to Swift, and she grins, turning to move down another passage. “Why aren’t you going after them?” As Nightmare Eclipse’s voice echoes through the wall, I feel magic push against my charms. Following Swift, I barely hear Eclipse’s next words. “We will be there shortly, keep-” Her voice fades away, and I reach up to stop Swift.
“Hm? What is it?” She turns and looks at me, and her red eyes are almost blinding in the dark. “Oh, that makes sense.” She’s looking at my coat, and eyes, likely noticing the same thing I had, that our coats blend into the background. “You want to lay a magical link on us, I guess we are in this together.”
“Glad you understand, and know that I will fix this.” Swift nods and I once again begin charging my magic, laying the groundwork for a link between us. With all the prerequisites in place, I spark my side of it and look to Swift. “You have to place your own spark on your end. I need you to have this much magic in you.” Swift grimaces, and she closes her eyes. After a few moments, I feel the link establish. I smile, though it quickly goes away as I hear a thunk. “Swift!” Her form slowly fades into view, surrounded by a white aura, collapsed on the ground. I begin to move over to her, speaking with a worried tone. “Are you okay?” Her hoof goes into the air, and I hear her voice muffled from the stone.
“Yeah, just, really burnt out.” She raises to her feet, and smirks. “Let’s get deeper in and search for an exit. From what I hear, that thing, Nightmare Eclipse you called it, is almost here.” I look back, straining my ears trying to hear Eclipse, but all that meets my ears is silence. I look in astonishment at Swift as she turns and walks through the cave.
“You can hear that?” She turns back with a raised eyebrow.
“You can’t? She’s really loud, I don’t even have to try.” I shake my head, and she shrugs, a bemused look on her face. “Huh, people have told me I have incredible senses, I just thought this was how everypony was.” I shake my head, completely dumbfounded, as we continue moving through the caves. We twist and turn so many times, I rapidly lose track of where we came from. “Uh oh.” Swift’s sudden statement startles me, but before I can ask what worried her, I feel the strain on my magic. I groan quietly as the charms lain over the entrance are broken, I look to Swift, the question written plainly on my face. “Yeah, that was her. We should really get deeper in, can she track you?”
“Not without the eclipse. My connection to the Nightmare is actually a boon here. All the Nightmare Energy she sends out will simply curve around me, sensing my power and connection to the real thing.” Swift looks confused for a moment, mulling my words over in her brain. After a few seconds she nods before glancing backwards. “What do you hear?”
“So far, nothing much. She’s going into a rage about how you escaped and talking about how-” Swift blanches, or at least her face becomes not as dark, and she looks at me in fear. “What does she mean she’ll ‘corrupt the land’ so we’ll have nowhere safe to run?” My eyes widen and I tackle Swift, hardly processing my movements. “Hey!”
“She’s going to send out a pulse of Nightmare Energy, strong enough to encompass all Equestria. My connection will protect me, but you need to be close enough for-” I’m forced to stop talking as the raw power of the corrupting wave washes over me. I feel it slide harmlessly around me, and look down to see Swift grimacing in pain. As quickly as it started, it ends, and I roll off of Swift.
“That, wasn’t fun.” Again I laugh at Swift’s simple statement. I hear Swift laugh as well, but it turns to a cough. “It seems she’s just going to leave us be now. She said something about letting you think you’ve won. Although, this does put a damper on our whole elements of harmony plan.” I nod, looking around at the darkness surrounding us. Swift follows my gaze, and groans. “Though I guess we should first find our way out of here.” I look around, and start heading in a direction. Swift puts her hoof on my back, stopping me. “That’s the way we came. I think I should lead.” I blush, turning to follow her.
“Perhaps that is best.” Swift nods, gesturing forward. The cat, Bast, leaps off her back and plods forward. I lose track of it, but Swift seems to follow it perfectly. She will be very useful in assisting me against Eclipse. I smile, hope flowing through me for the first time in centuries.