Lunar Eclipse: The Rock Opera

by CrowMagnon

Epilogue

Lunar Eclipse: The Rock-Opera
by CrowMagnon

Princess Celestia drank her morning tea slowly, savoring its flavor as it helped her to stay alert, given that she had not slept at all during the previous night. Not that going a night or two without sleep was particularly strenuous for her, especially with the gradual restoration of her health and youth. Even so, she had wanted to receive the report she was expecting as soon as possible.

Right around the time that she was expecting, there was a knock at the door of the royal dining hall. "Come in," she said, projecting her voice so that it could be heard on the other side of the door. Immediately after that, the large doors swung inward as Flash Sentry stepped inside and removed his helmet.

Celestia carefully looked over the pegasus's face, and saw that he had a vacant, stricken expression. This wasn't at all unusual among those who were sent on errands to the Gates of Tartaros. In the dark realm beyond that place, there were creatures (and even ponies) whose twisted natures could sicken the hearts of the most resolute guardponies. Out of concern for his well-being, Celestia asked, "Do you need to sit down?"

To his credit, Flash politely shook his head despite his obvious discomfort. "No, I... thank you, but no, your highness."

Celestia nodded. "Alright, then please deliver your report."

Flash swallowed. "I went to the Gates as instructed, Princess. Once I got there, I told Lord Hades about the attack on you, and we spent the next several hours inspecting the prisoners to ensure that all of the ones who could have carried it out were accounted for. Then... then we got to Mesmer Eyes, and..."

Celestia frowned at the name. "The illusionist? He is the one behind last night?"

Flash shook his head. "No! No, we made absolutely sure that he was locked up like the rest, but... the creature he was with..."

-----

Hours earlier...

Flash Sentry kept his head high, despite how hard his heart was pounding in his chest. Tartaros was no place for a pony. Well, not for any sane ponies, at least. Even though he wasn't physically there, the enchantments which granted him an illusory, incorporeal form with which to inspect the prison realm didn't feel like enough. It certainly didn't prevent him from seeing and hearing things that would haunt his nightmares for a good long time.

Still, he was almost finished checking off the list that Lord Hades had given him. The last one he had to find was Mesmer Eyes, a vampony unicorn who had taken part in numerous plots against Princess Celestia over the past few centuries. Waking Night had put an end to that, along with most of his brethren, at least.

He finally found Mesmer seated in front of a chess table. He was a thin, almost sallow unicorn by all outward appearances. At least until Flash saw the vertical slits that he had for pupils, and the sharp fangs that he bared when he used his magic to move his rook into place. "Checkmate in four moves," he announced to his opponent.

On the other side of the chessboard was a tall centaur with a lean build. Bringing a crimson-skinned hand up to his long black beard, the centaur thoughtfully stroked his facial hair. "So it would seem. You are quite a skilled opponent," he conceded. But then a sphere of magic formed in the space between the curved horns which rose up from the sides of his head. "You would have to be, to have masked the true position of your pieces for the last thirty-seven turns."

Mesmer's triumphant expression turned to shock, then terror as a beam of raw, destructive magic shot out of the glowing orb and struck him straight in the eye. The vampony was thrown back and writhed on the ground, clutching where his eye had been while the illusions cast over the pieces faded away. Ignoring his opponent's pain, the centaur moved his bishop to take Mesmer's king. "And that is game."

When Mesmer failed to respond in any way more meaningful than a pained whimper, the centaur rolled his eyes and began putting away the pieces. "Oh, don't lay there whining all day. Besides, it's rude to cheat in front of guests. Isn't that right?"

Flash gulped as he saw the centaur turn to face him. He knew that he wasn't physically there, and that there was nothing that the prisoners of Tartaros could do to affect him in any way, but as the centaur turned a predatory grin toward his illusory projection, he felt less and less sure of his own safety.

That terror only grew when the centaur spoke. "Hello there, little knight. And what brings you to Tartaros? Did Celestia send you to check up on her dear old friend, 'Mr. Trick,' or are you here on other business?"

Flash felt his throat run dry. "O... other business," he croaked out before turned his attention to the maimed vampony.

"Ah, what a shame. My old friends never come to visit me anymore," Tirek mused while Flash carefully studied Mesmer, swallowing his disgust over the vampony's injury to inspect every detail that he could think of. The reaction to pain, the way the burnt flesh looked, even the way his writhing body scuffed the rocky ground beneath him. Everything he needed to convince himself that it was indeed the illusionist.

The very instant that he was done, Flash turned around to leave as quickly as he could.

"Flash Sentry."

Flash froze, and not just by stopping in place. The blood in his veins felt as though it had turned to ice when the centaur, the former Element of Honesty known as Tirek, spoke his name.

"Oh, good," Tirek chuckled. "I was hoping I would get your name right. All of you would-be romantic interests get jumbled together so badly, the only reason I remembered you was repetition. Honestly, I don't even know what she sees in you."

"What... who?" Flash looked back over his shoulder. "How did you know my--"

Tirek hadn't made a sound, but suddenly he was standing right behind Flash. Leaning down to look the pegasus in the eye, he asked, "Tell me, Flash Sentry... how is Twilight Sparkle these days?"

Rather than answer, Flash felt his body seize up. The next thing he knew, he was racing as fast as his legs and wings would take him back to Tartaros's exit.

But no matter how fast he went, the sound of Tirek's laughter followed him until he was halfway back to Canterlot.

-----

Whatever her thoughts were about this, Celestia hid them behind an impenetrable mask of calm. Setting her tea down, she said, "I see... Thank you for your report. You should go rest now, you've been up all night."

Flash nodded, but asked, "Thank you, but... should I tell Captain Armor about this? Or send a message to Twilight?"

Celestia gently but firmly told him, "No. I will tell Shining Armor personally. Knowing him, he would want to immediately confront Tirek himself over this, but that is most likely the exact reaction that Tirek wanted to get. Even when we fought side-by-side, his talent for manipulation was his greatest strength, and I won't have my best soldier rushing off to meet him while he is emotionally compromised. Go. Rest, and I will deal with this."

Flash nodded again and saluted before leaving the dining hall. Once he was gone, Celestia slumped down in her seat. Though she had regained much of her lost youth and vitality over the months since Waking Night, in that moment the weight of centuries fell upon her once more.

"Tirek... what are you plotting now...?"

Comments

[RanmaChaos]

Great Story!! Are you going to do the "Waking Night" story now? Also small question, does Derpy have Dinky in this universe?

[Hopeful_Ink_Hoof]

What? Him? Him?! Honesty? *Collapses* I need to process all this.

[djthomp]

Woah, looks like I was remembering correctly. And what's worse, now we know exactly who Mr. Trick really is, and holy crap!

Also, is this completely? It's still showing as incomplete for me.

[CrowMagnon]

4653040 Thanks. Waking Night will be soon, but first I'm going to do the Mane 6's cutie mark stories.

As for Derpy and Dinky... no, Derpy doesn't have any children in this universe.

4653058 I'm collecting the fluids leaking from your head now and converting them into diabolical laughter. MUAHAHAHAHA!

4653139 Fixed.

[CrowMagnon]

4658418 A savvy deduction! Indeed, there is a fair amount of that most headache-inducing of plot devices threaded here and there throughout the overarching story.

[Super_Big_Mac]

I can't say I'm surprised Tirek was Trick. I can't remember if you'd made the allusion or had said it outright in Snowblind, but it didn't even garner a raised eyebrow from me. I do see that you'd planned on using him as Trick before Tirek was shown in Season 4, which is also cool.

Also, finally got around to powering through this, now I should get onto reading Heave-ho soon.

[CrowMagnon]

4891546 Cool, hope you enjoyed the ride, and continue to do so with Griffon the Heave-Ho.

As for allusions, given that he was described as a red-skinned centaur during his appearance in Snowblind, so I didn't say it straight out at the time, but certainly wasn't hiding it for those who would make the connection, either.

[Super_Big_Mac]

4892660 Aye, must've slipped my mind since then, I couldn't remember how exactly you'd described him.

[CrowMagnon]

8198476
8203196
Well thank you very much! I tried very hard to visualize what it would be like to be backstage or in the audience, so I'm grateful that it paid off.

[CrowMagnon]

8223056 Well thank YOU for all the comments. It feels like it's been ages since I was as motivated to write as I was when working on this one (too many distractions ) but hearing from someone who honestly enjoyed my work and can elaborate on why helps a lot.