//------------------------------// // High Paladin Black Wings // Story: Order of Eclipse // by Comrade Bagel Muffin //------------------------------// Two figures make their way up the pass at Rambling Rock Ridge. One of them was a simple Changeling. He looked at the ground to avoid looking at the other creature that was at his side. The other creature was easily taller than him and walked on two legs instead of four. It was hidden under a brown burlap cloak. The hood blocked its face. "Changer hungry," the changeling said. "I told you, you should have gotten something to eat at Zecora's." It looked behind it past the river lay the ruined castle of the two sisters. "That was about two hours ago, completely your fault." "Would you give Changer some please?" "Do I look like Derpy?" The changeling shook its head. "Do I sound like Ditzy?" "No." "Am I married to the most filthy disgusting thing in this universe; other than myself of course." "No." "Then why are you bothering me for food?" "Who were you talking about?" "Doctor Whooves, who else." "Changer is hungry" "Ugh. Listen Derp will be there. You can have your feel when we get there, so won't you please just shut it." "Changer thinks we not on time." The Changeling looked up to the sun that was blazing over head. "Black Wings won't like us because we always off time." He looked to his partner. "You not like the griffon." "That's right and the fact that I can ruffle his feathers is an added bonus." After half an hour of tracking through narrow passes the two of them arrived at a dead end. "Celestia and Luna hold the sky. Sun and moon shall turn to black. And after there is no going back. For an hour both day and night. For an hour neither gives their light." The stones crumbled away to reveal a small cavern. "Is it me or is the password redundant?" "Changer not know that word." "Forget it." "Okay." The two of them continued their walk in silence. The cavern echoed with the changelings hoof steps, as well as the thousands of water drops falling from the cave ceiling. The furthest wall was covered with key holes. The changeling looked to his partner, "I said the password you can do the locks." Changer nodded and began focusing his magic on the rocks around the keyholes. One by one they began to disappear. After the final keyhole faded away the wall crumbled. The cave walls echoed the chaotic argument. "I will not ally myself with such a creature," a buffalo yelled at a brown earth pony with an hour glass cutie mark. "We don't have a choice at the moment," A red scaled dragon with black spikes snapped at a gray minotaur. "I will not tolerate a chaos spawn as a knight," A golden griffon with black wings shouted at a blue diamond dog. "Not a good sign when it's this bad before I even show up, is it Changer," the cloaked phantasm said to the changeling. "Changer's tummy hurts." "Ugh, Derpy is over there next to that thing. Go over there and get a quick snack." Changer quickly makes his way over to the corner of the large, loud, and chaotic meeting hall. "Hello," the specter whispered its voice amplifying in each creatures head. The arguments end instantly, and all eyes shift to the entrance. "I see that you finally decided to show up," The golden griffon with the black wings said. "It's such a nice day to walk." The specter makes its way through the room. "Though it seems like there was no need for me to be here today. Since you're all fighting without me. I want to know who or what could sew such strife amongst our members?" "We've been at an impasse, but with you here all three High Paladins are now assembled, yours will be the tie breaking vote." An old and withered unicorn slowly takes his place next to Black Wings. His fur is black as night his mane and tail white as the stars and moon. His mark were two scrolls one unrolled the other sealed. "I can accept that Golden Comet." "I hate being the peace keeper, but what am I voting on? "We have been debating whether the chaos spawn known as Screw Ball should be inducted into the Order." Golden Comet lets out a small cough. "It seems that it has proven a point of strong disagreement. So now we the High Paladins shall decide on the Order's course." "Will the Order concede to the judgement of the High Paladins?" The gold and black griffon asked, every head in the room nods in acceptance. "I don't care for pretentious ceremony. I vote that the chaos spawn be admitted under one condition." Black Wing's face soured. "What?" "I hold the right to the initiation test." "A fair compromise your tests seem to always be the hardest." "So long as you don't hold back." Black Wing stares at the cloaked phantom. A white smile appears in the blank, black void under the hood. *** Cheerilee walked around her class room. every filly and colt in the room focused on the paper in front of them. Even Screw Ball was at least drawing on the test. Cheerilee sighed as she watched Screw Ball doodle. She slowly made her way over to the young earth filly's desk. She froze when she looked over at her paper. She had drawn a near flawless rendering of Celestia fighting Nightmare Moon, complete with captions. She nearly jumped when the bell sounded. Cheerilee made her way quickly back to her desk to take the exams. "Screw Ball I would like to." She looked up. "Where did Screw Ball go." "She already left Ms.Cheerilee" A White colt said as he puts his paper on the desk. "Thank you Candle Light." The rest of the day passed by quickly, and before long the bell sounded for the last class of the day. Once the last student made her way out of the small school house, Cheerilee sat down at her desk and sighed. "I really wish that she would focus more on class." She said as she shifts through the papers. "What the?" Cheerilee jumps as she catches movement in the corner of her sight. "I could have sworn that it just moved. You know looking at it up close it really is well done. Not conventional but still I suppose I should give her some credit. I wish that she would apply this amount of effort to actually writing her essays. I think a coincidental meeting may be in order." She opened the school house door and nearly screamed as she bumped into the strangest pony she'd ever seen. "I'm sorry sir, but what are you doing here?" she asked trying to catch her breath. "And why are you in that cloak?" "I'm sorry I was going to walk a comrade's filly home but it would seem that Dinky has already left. Pity." He looked down at the ground. "That is quite the picture you've got there. The decent of Luna to Nightmare Moon?" "Yes one of my students did it." Cheerilee looked around something seemed off about this stallion. "How do you know Mr. and Mrs. Whooves exactly?" "Hm?" The stallion continued to look at the picture. "Which of your students did this one?" "I'm not at liberty to give student information away to strangers. Now how do you know Dinky's parents?" "Such a shame oh well tell Dinky her deranged uncle stopped by will you, thanks Ms.Book Reports." "My name is Cheerilee." "Sure it is." He didn't even bother to look back. Some distance away he stopped by a tree which he started talking to. A bird flew away, and he gave a wave to the school pony and left. "Deranged and rude." Cheerilee muttered as she picked up Screw Ball's essay. "I should probably get some shopping done before I visit just in case I need a reason to leave." Cheerilee said as she made her way into the ponyville market. After that detour Cheerilee made her way to Screwball's home which was far on the outskirts of town. The house was very unimpressive, looking like every other house in the small hamlet. But on the inside things were much more chaotic. The furniture was scattered throughout the house armchairs were not limited to the floor. The refrigerator was on the living room ceiling, there was an inn table on the kitchen wall. there was even an arm chair floating halfway in the floating pool between the second and third floors. Screw Ball grabbed the fire pole on the second floor slid up to the third floor, stopping at the living room on the first floor for a quick hot coffee from the refrigerator. She was about to dive into the pool when somepony knocked at the front door.