Lunar Eclipse

by Ephemeral Memory

Chapter 04: Hope

Celestia’s PoV

Day Court versus Celestia. Round over nine thous-pardon me- three hundred sixty-five thousand and one.

I groaned inwardly. Fortunately for me, by the ten thousandth round, I had become a master of composure, so all the ponies right now only see a passionate, powerful, philohippic, poised, and positive leader in front of them.

Philohippic..That doesn’t fit. Let’s see..

“Princess Celestia,” muttered a royal guard on my side, “Everypony has settled down and is waiting for you to open court.”

I looked up, already seeing the endless line that stretched behind the large doors in front of me.

“Wonderful,” I replied, “Court is now in session. Let the first pony in, please.”

On normal days, I would sit within the room from eight in the morning to half past noon, speaking to my little ponies and solving or alleviating whatever worries that plagued their minds. After all, it is important for a ruler to understand her subjects. As soon as the Day Court ended, I would cast many spells over Equestria to ensure my citizens’ safety. Occasionally, though, some minor dangers sneaked in, like lethargic dragons, or the major ones that ignored my magic, including terrorist dragons, aggressive rebel griffons with magic-resistant armor, Chrysalis, and, most recently, Discord. Minor ones usually solved themselves eventually, while either the Elements of Harmony, the royal army, or the princesses would take care of the major ones. Then, from one to half past five, my assistants would take over, sort the more serious issues into different categories, and let the other departments handle them. In the mean time, I would continue performing my royal duties, including supervising those departments, approving or vetoing laws, and meeting with foreign delegates, to name a few.

Today was not a normal day. A previously unknown, sapient being arrived last night.

So as a caring ruler, I must show him around and make sure that
‘A,’ he is not dangerous (He seems alright so far.)
and ‘B,’ he is comfortable here. (Hospitality is important, after all.) And since it takes a while to completely make sure that somepony won’t hurt others, I must take care of the duties after my daily enchantments...later.

There was at least one troubling thing about Daniel though.

How did he get here?

I mulled over numerous possibilities during Day Court (I’m unrivaled in multitasking!) and ended up with two explanations. The first was that it occurred randomly with no reason that I knew of, which was highly improbable. The second..I didn’t want to think about.

A scroll from Spike appeared before me, and I unraveled it.

Dear Princess Celestia,
Waiting for what your heart desires can be really hard. So, you may try to take a shortcut. But this dishonesty never works, because you didn't earn what your heart desired. The only cure is being honest with yourself and others. And that's something every heart desires.

Huh. That’s a lot of “heart desire” for a letter. Don’t tell me they messed with that plant!

I giggled a bit before noticing the court ponies staring at me. I waved a hoof and gave a smug grin at the stallion before me.

“Oh, do go on, Filthy.”

---

Daniel’s PoV

“That is one heck of a bird.”

Beam Dancer and I had just entered the Royal gardens when a huge raptor shrieked and flew right in front of my face before landing on a low tree branch and looking at me. The thing had a plumage of warm colors and a beak and talons that looked more than capable of shredding meat.

“That is Philomena, Celestia’s pet phoenix,” informed the pegasus.

“Oh, right! The fire chicken!” I exclaimed dumbly, earning a glare from the phoenix.

I stammered, “Uh, sorry, Philomena. It’s just that when I first met Bluebu-blood, he mentioned Celestia having a pet fire chicken, which seemed to latch onto my mind more readily than ‘phoenix.’ And, um, that’s probably cause phoenixes don’t exist back where I come from.”

Neither do fire chickens..but she doesn’t need to know that. Wait. She can understand me?

As if to answer my question, the phoenix spread her wings and glided onto my left shoulder. She then nipped gently at my ear.

Guess that means she forgives me.

I raised my right hand slowly and softly pet her head. She gave a coo of approval before taking off and flying out of sight.

“Huh. Well, she’s pretty nice,” I commented.

“Uh..sir..”

“Daniel.”

“Daniel,” she corrected before continuing, “Philomena seems to have left something behind.”

Oh..please no.

I turned my head toward the now-birdless shoulder and caught sight of the phoenix’s white and brown present. I exploded.

“PHILOMENAAA! YOU FREAKIN’ CHICKEN. GET BACK HERE!”

Beam Dancer winced at the volume but began cracking up at my plight.

I sighed heavily, shaking my head. When she finished, we continued throughout the gardens, ending up in front of a giant hedge maze with statues around it. There were pony statues with scrolls, spears, bows, other ponies, and many more items.

“Hey Beamy, what’s with this one?” I questioned. In front of me stood some strange dragon looking thing with tons of other animals mixed with it. It looked like it was in pain or shock or both.

“That is Discord,” answered Beam Dancer before elaborating, “He broke free from his statue -”

“Woah! He’s right here?!” I exclaimed.

“Yes-”

“Why’s he a statue?” I interrupted.

Beam Dancer stared at me.

“Oh. Sorry, continue,” I mumbled.

The maid went on explaining the history behind the draconequus, as she called it, and I soon learned that the guy was escaped not long ago before wreaking chaos all over the land. I found out some more but didn’t pay much attention until she told me how the guy got free.

“A couple fillies argued in front of him. Really? Why would Celestia put the statue here again? Shouldn’t she just lock him somewhere without the potential for any kind of chaos? A dark, empty room in the dungeons would work.”

Beam Dancer opened her mouth and closed it several times before replying, “I’m sure the princesses have their reasons.”

Uh huh.

Desperate to move the conversation past her lame excuse, Beamy looked up and stammered, “Well, would you look at the time!”

The sun was right above us.

“Princess Celestia is almost finished with Day Court! Let’s go back in the castle for lunch.”

She trotted off and looked back to make sure I followed. With a quick movement of my shoulder, the non-blessed-by-dumb-chicken shoulder, I readjusted the backpack strap to a more comfortable spot and strolled after her.

Earlier, as soon as I gave up wandering the castle, I asked Beam Dancer to lead me back to Celestia’s room, where I had left my belongings. When we reached there, the guards were hesitant to let me in, but once I told them that they could just grab my stuff from in there, they just allowed me to grab my backpack quickly under their watch. Once I was out of the room, I checked my camera’s status but found out that it had not survived the pond water. After that disappointment, Beam Dancer led me throughout the castle and showed me the main rooms, including the archives, observatory, the area with tons of specialized departments, the kitchens and dining area, the ball room, the throne room, where Celestia was holding Day Court, and a hallway filled with stained glass windows, depicting important events. I noticed Discord from earlier, the princesses, with different mane colors, and six regular ponies that showed up at least twice, who were, as Beam Dancer explained, the Elements of Harmony. The maid then brought me to the gardens, where I had met the crappy chicken.

Beam Dancer and I were now in the dining hall. Hanging my bag off the back of the chair, I took a seat, and she stood near the entrance, waiting patiently for the princess, who arrived a couple minutes later. Beamy bowed and walked to the side of the room.

I stood up and greeted, “Long time no see, Celestia.”

The alicorn smiled and waved me back down.

“Nice to see you, too, Daniel -” she broke off, as her eyes shifted to my tainted shoulder. Chuckling, she continued, “-and it seems you’ve met Philomena.”

Her grin faltered slightly when she noticed my bag and asked, “And are your belongings still in good condition? The bag was soaking wet when Luna found you.”

Sighing, I replied, “My camera’s a goner, but the SD card should be fine. Whenever I get back, I’ll just have to buy a new one.”

As I spoke, Celestia’s expressions changed from confusion, when I mentioned the SD card, to pained, when I mentioned returning home. The latter lasted only a brief moment before she was smiling again.

Uh..must’ve been imagining things.

“Why don’t we get settled down and eat?”

That didn’t seem like a question, so I just nodded. After ordering our meals -Cake again? Seriously?- and finishing them with some small talk about my adventures and her Day Court in between, we exited the dining hall. I waved at Beamy, who waved back.

“So..are we going to talk about how I’m getting back now?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to show you around the city first?”

“That sounds interesting, but if the same amount of time that has passed here was the same as the amount on Earth, then my friends and boss would be wondering where I was. Uh..so if you’ve figured something out, I’d like to hear it. Please.”

Celestia pursed her lips and released a sigh.

“If that is what you wish, then so be it.”

We were in a random sitting room now. Celestia walked over to a couch and sat down (like a regular horse would). She motioned for me to sit, so I plopped down on another couch across from her and set my bag aside.

A full minute passed before she looked straight into my eyes and, in the most sincere yet serious voice I had heard her use so far, began, “From what you have told me about your experience right before being pulled into Equestria, I discovered several things and came up with a possible conclusion as to how you arrived and how you can get back. First, that your native land does not have or has a miniscule amount of natural magic. Second, that a total lunar eclipse occurred at the exact same time as the one here. Third, this caused a perfect alignment between our dimensions, in which, if our dimensions mixed together, our Moons would have shared the same position, while the other celestial bodies would have mirrored each other completely. Somehow, the perfect alignment formed a brief connection between Earth and Equestria, and because high concentrations of magic tend to flow to areas with lower concentrations, Earth gained large amounts in a short time. Fourth, once that magic rushed into Earth, Equestria had a temporary vacuum of magic -similar to when there is no air. Fifth, the still pond you fell in reflected your Moon faultlessly, which gave the ideal model of the dimensions’ alignment. Since Earth is not meant to carry so much magic, the magic gathered to areas that represented that connection as a way to cope with the unfamiliar environment. Thus, when you fell in, you disrupted the delicate, pseudo-connection, making the magic react in a way that pulled you into the magic-vacuum in Equestria, and because the Moons were the source of the connection, that was where the temporary vacuum existed, making you fall from the skies near our Moon. To summarize, for you to go back to Earth, the perfect alignment or some other way to connect our dimensions would need to happen again. And even if that rare event happened, there would need to be a similar vacuum there that could take you back from Equestria, but since Earth has very little to no magic, Equestria would have to have absolutely none for the vacuum to exist. And if we managed to deplete all of Equestria’s magic, the land would threaten to collapse because of its dependency upon it.”

What….What. What. What... What.

“Wait. Hold up. You’re saying I can’t go back?”

She nodded glumly.

I stared at her blankly before closing my eyes to collect my thoughts.

Oh. Haha. Very funny. She’s just fooling me. Silly Celestia. Who would doubt for any moment that the millenia-old, magical ruler of all magical ponies couldn’t do something as simple as magicking someone back home -even if that someone came from a different dimension? I mean..she can move the freakin’ Sun! And her sister moves the Moon! Surely something like this would be relatively easy for -

My thoughts ended when I opened my eyes, letting me see those beautiful, light magenta orbs of hers and the look of absolute pity coming from them.

It tore me apart.

“No...that’s...No, that can’t be. That overgrown puddle transferred me here?! You’re lying! You have to be..” I weakly replied with my voice wavering.

Celestia stepped off the couch and approached me. She then placed a hoof gently on my bird-blessed shoulder, while maintaining eye contact.

“I’m so sorry, Daniel. There’s nothing I can do for now, but please believe in me. I will keep searching for an alternate way to send you back,” whispered the princess, her ears drooping.

I was still in shock and stood up, letting the hoof on my shoulder drop down.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. Oh, please, someone wake me up.

She took a step forward probably to comfort me somehow with some pony hug. Her wings then unfurled and stretched towards me as if to blanket around me, but I couldn’t stand it. I stepped away towards the sides, noticing the hurt in her eyes. I froze for a second, as if captured by a spell, before turning my back to her and bolting out. It was dumb, but I couldn’t help it. Those eyes. Their pity. Their sadness. I wanted to be alone.

The guards didn’t stop me, as I ran through the castle. I don’t remember how long my feet pounded the tile floors, but the next thing I knew, I was standing in front of the giant hedge maze that Beam Dancer showed me earlier. There, I heard a voice that seemed to reach into my mind.

“Well, well, well!” exclaimed the voice, “We meet again!”

Again? What does he mean by again?

“Yes, my good sir,” spoke up the voice.

How- He can hear my thoughts?

“An affirmative to that as well! Also, it’s incredibly rude not to face those speaking to you, so turn around! Please,” answered the voice mockingly.

Despite my hopelessly confused mind, I listened and turned. It's just the weird statue again.

“I’m not weird!” cried the voice indignantly before continuing in a suave tone, “Think of me as chaotic.”

Strange. The statue isn’t moving, but I swear I could hear that guy grinning.

“You’re right about that!” said Discord jovially, who suddenly switched to a somber voice, “Now, why are you looking so blue? Did the pony princesses do that?”

“I -”

“Really! Just look at yourself!”

What?

I looked down and noticed that my skin color had taken a bluish hue. My head shot back up.

“Dude, what’d you just do!?” I inquired angrily.

I’ve just been told about one of the worst things possible to happen to me, and I don’t need some dumb, villainous statue to aggravate everything!

“Oh my,” jeered Discord, “My apologies! It’s just that your mind’s so jumbled right now, and, well, being the Lord of Chaos, I just had to have a little chat with you!”

My skin went back to normal, and I massaged my temples.

“You know what? I’m just gonna leave now,” I spoke before turning and stepping toward the maze.

“Wait a moment!” shouted Discord, “Wouldn’t you like to know how to get back, Daniel?”

I froze.

“How do you know my - Nevermind. I already know how, and it’s impossible,” I replied before continuing forward.

“My dear Daniel, nothing is impossible for Chaos!” proudly claimed the draconequus.

I paused again, ruminating over the implications.

“You’re absolutely right. I have the power to possibly send you home, and if you want me to, you will have to help me out a bit.”

If what he’s saying is true..No! He’s probably lying-

“You make me so sad, Danny boy.”

I flinched at the nickname.

The voice continued mockingly, “Why would you think that your best buddy Discord would ever lie to you? I just want to help you out.”

I considered his words and asked, “So, what would I have to do?”

I shivered, as I felt the statue grinning again even though I was still facing the maze.

“Why, Danny boy, all you’d have to do is cause even more chaos around me, and I’d do the rest. Your mind’s current state is what gave me enough power to speak with you -andturnyoublue.”

I thought of the consequences and everything Beam Dancer told me earlier.

“Oh, don’t be like that! Little poor me just wanted to have some fun! I wasn’t going to overrule Equestria with tons of fun disorder! I mean, who would want this land! I would only want a completely chaotic land! That would be much, much better! Then those evil ponies had to change me to stone. It’s torture, you know? I’ve been a bird poop catcher for more than a thousand years!”

“While I sympathize with you about the poop business -” I wrinkled my nose in disgust “- You said that you ‘would only want a completely chaotic land.’ How do I know that you won’t just turn Equestria into your dream home and rule over it? It wouldn’t be the same Equestria then.”

“You don’t, Danny boy. You’ll just have to take my word for it. I mean, there are plenty of other lands that need more of my homemade chaos!”

“Yeaaah, no,” I replied curtly.

I continued walking into the maze, ignoring the statue’s pleas. Soon, I came upon an opening with several paths tracing outwards. There was a stone bench off to the side, and I took advantage of it, laying down. A heavy-hearted sigh escaped me, as I watched the few unmoving clouds in a sky of a world in which I did not belong.

What am I going to do now? My family, friends, everyone I knew, my freakin’ planet -Gone! Those closest to me- what would they be thinking? How much time has passed over there?

Depressing thoughts raced through my mind, and the beaming sun above me made sleep overtake me before I could say -

---

Celestia’s PoV (an hour or two earlier)

I sadly watched Daniel run out. I saw his despair, shock, and denial screaming within his eyes. I wanted to hold him. Comfort him. And then he turned around. It hurt to see him like that, but I didn’t stop him. Couldn’t. He reminded me of Luna. That moment I had sent her to the Moon. Alone for a thousand years. Alone and away from her beloved world for a thousand years.

Was it right to tell him that? Maybe I should have lied. Maybe I should have told him it was possible. Given him a small piece of hope. No. That would’ve made things worse. It was better that he discarded any hope left so that he could slowly grow accustomed to Equestria. If he kept hope, he would never let go of Earth.

After what felt like several hours, I teleported his bag back to my room and walked out of the sitting room.

I suppose that I should see what the departments are up to.

Eventually, I arrived at the Department of Defense. There were many desks spread out within the area, and all the ponies noticed my presence when I walked in. A red unicorn trotted toward me, bowing before speaking, “Ah, Princess Celestia! We have reports for you!”

He looked up at me for permission. I nodded.

“Go on, Steady Fort,” I said.

He continued nervously, “Well, your highness, throughout the Badlands, we’ve noticed a sudden spike in changeling activities, and we have evidence that their queen is going to make some move on Canterlot within several months.”

I smiled and told him, “Worry not, Steady. We’ve foiled all of Chrysalis’s past attempts on our country, and we will continue doing so every time. Just keep gathering more information, so that we shall be more than prepared for the changelings.”

Placated by my words, the stallion replied, “Of course, Princess!”

“Is that all the news?” I inquired.

“Yes, Princess,” he answered.

“Then continue on with your diligence, my good pony.”

“Gladly!”

He bowed again before trotting back to his work area. I exited that department and checked on the others.

Chrysalis again, huh? I wonder what she’ll do this time. The Trojan Cheesewheel she rolled in last time failed utterly.

I smirked.

It was one of the worst disguises for those bugs, and it was delicious -after we removed all the changelings, of course.

By the time I completed my rounds with the departments and vetoed a couple silly laws, my sister had woken up and discovered me laying down on the bed in my chambers. She noticed my appearance and rushed over.

“Dear sister, what ails thee?” asked Luna softly.

I managed a smile before replying, “Nothing, Lulu. I’m alright. It’s just that Daniel -”

“That human is at fault?!” exclaimed Luna, ignoring my earlier statements, “Where is the knave?! I SHALL -”

I giggled a bit at her predictable, wild accusations and placed a hoof on her mouth before informing her, “Lulu, I told Daniel that he has no chance of going back to his world. Understandably, he was quite upset with the news.”

“Oh..Forgive me for mine outbursts,” apologized Luna.

“No need, Lulu. I’m just worried about Daniel. It will be difficult for him to adjust to his new life.”

“I see,” replied Luna, “But do not forget, Tia. We still have our royal duties and must change day to night once more.”

---

Daniel’s PoV

I woke up to see the moon overhead.

Woah. How long did I sleep? Hey! A waning gibbous. Of course. One day after the full moon necessary for the eclipse.

I grimaced, as I regained memories of the day. Shaking my head to knock away the thoughts, I concentrated on the scenery above me, as I felt a small gust of wind pass by.

So many more stars than I’ve seen. No way. Ursa major! And Draco and Ursa Minor in the right places just like ..back..there.

“So I can’t even look up anymore, huh..” I thought aloud.

A familiar voice answered, “Dost thou not appreciate my night?”

What the- How long has she been there?

I racked my brain for some ‘ye olde Englishe’ speaking skills.

“Nay,” I looked at Luna and answered, “T’is beautiful, but it remindeth me of home.”

“Explain,” ordered the princess before muttering in a quieter voice, “Please.”

The corners of my mouth twitched upward a bit before I pointed and traced out the first constellation I saw.

“Back on Earth, we named that pattern Ursa Major. O-”

“That is the same name!” interrupted Luna.

“Huh. What a coincidence. Anyway,” I pointed at another constellation, “that is Ursa Minor-” I heard a gasp “-and in between those two bears, is Draco, a dragon, which kinda surrounds Ursa Minor.”

“Those names are shared as well!” exclaimed Luna gleefully.

Dang, girl, your level’s too high.

I just had to clap at least once, making the alicorn look at me quizzically, tilting her head. I just shrugged -however you do that while laying down.

“Let me show you stars in all of your dark hours.”

I gotta stop -stop that song again.

I facepalmed. Luna was staring at me as if I was an alien now.

Oh wait. I am.

“Art thou well, Daniel?” inquired Luna.

“Quite well, Luna,” I replied with a slight grin.

She looked at me doubtfully before returning her gaze to the sky.

“Please continue. Perhaps there shines a constellation that not even I know of.”

I sat up and readied my index finger for its long work ahead.

“Sure thing. That one is Leo, a lion, and that is Leo Minor between Ursa Major and Leo.”

We continued discussing constellations for a while. While tons were the same, it turned out that there was no Orion, Hercules, Virgo, Perseus -all the human ones. Some of those constellations, though, somehow were traced into kind-of-similar pony versions. I also learned about the alicorn constellation, which was in the same place as Earth’s unicorn and borrowed a couple stars from Canēs Major and Minor for wings. Overall, Luna and I enjoyed sharing our stellar knowledge.

Though, by the way she’s beaming and clapping her hooves, I’d say she had more fun.

“Well, then, Luna, shall we head back? I bet you have a lot of princess stuff to do.”

“Worry not, my friend!” boasted Luna, “I had already completed my main duties before searching for thee!”

“You were looking for me?” I asked in surprise.

“Indeed, Daniel. Thy sudden disappearance made my sister fret, so I came to retrieve thee.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.”

“Nay, do not apologize. We are glad enough to find thee well after the explaining of thy situation.”

I flinched at the reminder, and a comforting wing draped itself on my shoulders. I turned my head to find a pair of cyan eyes staring into mine.

“Let it go, Daniel. Thy sadness. Thy pain. Thy worry. Thy fear. And thy past. Thou art too young to bear such a burden just yet,” spoke Luna softly.

“Wait until thou art as old as Tia!” joked the alicorn.

I can't just yet, Luna.

“Thank you, Luna.”

I gave a warm smile and received a friendly nuzzle in return.

“By the way, what time is it?” I inquired.

“Six hours past midnight.”

“What!?” I shouted.

Didn’t I sleep at around two or three in the afternoon? Woah..must’ve been exhausted.

“Six hours past midnight,” repeated Luna.

“Oh, uh, yes. Thanks, again. Why don’t we return to the castle? It’s almost time for sunrise, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” confirmed Luna, standing up, “We have about another half hour.”

I got off the bench and looked around.

“Uh..do you think you could lead the way out?” I asked sheepishly.

“I have a better idea!” yelled Luna triumphantly before shooting up to the sky.

I did not scream when I floated just as quickly after her.

Author's Note:

"philohippic" is my adaptation for "philanthropic"
hippo = Greek root for "horse" :P
Kinda looks like philohippie...love of hippies? Meh. I'm sorry for butchering Greek.

Sorry for that large explanation. I'm still proud of it though -for some reason. And if you don't understand the whole alignment thing, search up what happens during a lunar eclipse. You'll see several images. Choose one, think of the image flipped over, place the moons on top of each other, and make all of the celestial bodies form a line. That's what I mean by perfect alignment. I hope your minds didn't die from reading all them words and explanation stuff.

Also..another apology for the depressing moment there. xD It was..necessary -especially for a dude who got torn out of his world and what not. Just be glad I decided to not describe everything he was going to miss about his family or more. O_o That would have taken forever since I had easily typed this giant chunk of depressing stuff within a couple minutes while thinking a bit about what he would miss. Furthermore, it'd be way OOC for any actual human if one just took this news in stride even if that human happened to be extremely misanthropic.

But hey, that mood was lifted -kinda! <:D

Comments

[damnaion]

4# aww