The Nightmare Wars

by GigaBowser

The Eclipse

Chapter 8 - The Eclipse

"Do not move! Return at once! Guards! Keep her down!"

My mane swirled in the wind as two jet black blurs rushed past me at remarkable speeds. Ponies screamed as the two soldiers of the Night Guard tackled the fleeing mare and held her down. She cried out in pain and began weeping, her muzzle sporting a nasty gash.

"Consider yourself lucky to still be breathing," I spat at her. "My soldiers are trained assassins," I continued, turning back to look at the assembled crowd, "Do not move unless you are commanded to, or you will not survive!!"

I growled and stomped one of my hooves, concentrating on dissipating my burning aura. It burned like the raging fires in the distance. The tiny village of Naponi had not been as cooperative as other places I had previously traveled to; a trend that was continuing even as their town hall, library and theatre were being reduced to ashes. These ponies were testing my patience.

I pounced on the next pony in line, my furious eyes glaring right through him. He squeaked in surprise and fell back on his rump, then began moaning anxiously as he was encased in a navy glow. His eyes bugged wide open and his jaw fell for a moment, and then he grimaced and held a hoof to his head.

"Where is she?!" I shouted.

Instead of responding, he brought his other hoof up to his head and yelled in pain.

I growled in growing frustration and stood up straight, glancing off at my surroundings. I knew that this was just one part of an ultimately ridiculous process, but what else could be done? I asked myself that at least a hundred times a night. Equestria was a very large place, after all.

Celestia had been taken from me and was being hidden away somewhere. The mere thought sparked flames within me. She was my greatest foe, even in her nearly-destroyed state, and so she was my number one priority until she was discovered. Nothing else mattered!

The ponies who had rescued her, however, were doing a frustratingly efficient job of concealing her. I now had three times as many bats scouring these lands as Soldiers of the Night. At the time, it would have been impossible to look up at the sky and not see one of my soldiers flying overhead for more than five minutes. My eyes were everywhere, and they were not seeing anything!

Celestia clearly had a large group of ponies dedicated to her. If more than 40 of them had been willing to simply give up their lives, then it was clear that there were a great number more of these scarf-wearing adversaries that I had to deal with. In fact I had even discovered quite a few, though this was ultimately proving to be of little use.

I shook my head in frustration. A soldier alighted next to me and whispered his regiments' findings into my ear. I scowled from what I heard. "Search harder!" I shouted at him before sending him away. It was looking as if this village held just about as much information as so many before it; absolutely none.

I returned my attention to the stallion in front of me, still encased in my magic's aura. He was recovering, and was staring up at me with frightened eyes once more.

My horn pulsed and I spoke. "When was the last time you saw Celestia?"

"One month after the summer sun celebration in 1009," he replied immediately. His eyes shot open and he clasped his hooves to his mouth in surprise.

I growled. "Get out of my sight," I spat, releasing my magic's hold on him and letting him scamper away like a frightened kitten.

My army was everywhere, dedicating their very existence to finding Celestia or her scarf-wearing crusaders, yet the most they had found were a tiny collection of the latter, which would have been great except that they had no useful information to dig out. Celestia was being hidden frustratingly well. I quite simply couldn't fathom it.

That left myself with the next-best course of action, which was yielding a similar set of results. Truth-telling spells were usually an exceedingly-useful tool, so much so that they had been forbidden during the sun's reign. It was becoming irritatingly evident, however, that Celestia's little servants had planned for this as well. We had interrogated her rebels and had uncovered some information while questioning the townsponies, but they always had very little to say.

Though they were unquestionably involved with Celestia's planned rebellion, their answer to 'Have you seen Celestia?' was always 'No'. My enemy was thinking intelligently, letting as few ponies as possible actually interact with the alicorn so that truth spells would have little if anything to unearth. Similarly, it seemed that any of her soldiers that knew where their 'base of operations' was were staying there, and those stationed elsewhere had no idea where it was.

So when we found them, we knew what they were doing, but any specific details remained in the unknown.

I barked a command and began to ask the next citizen in line some questions. While this lack of success was irritating and extremely frustrating, I was certainly not worried about anything. Even if I never found her, what was she going to do? She was barely any better than a run-of-the-mill pegasus at this point. She had no magic and a horn that would probably not heal completely for a couple of years.

Still, however, that didn't mean I was going to give up and simply let her live. She was still my enemy, and I knew I would not rest until she was destroyed. Celestia would pay for her crimes.

It is not as if my army had achieved no success whatsoever. We had confirmed through interrogation of her soldiers that she was still residing somewhere within Equestria and that there were no plans to take her across the borders, and we had discovered that there were a large, indeterminate number of ponies dedicated to this rebellion who were hiding amongst the commoners. We had found a few, but it irked me to know that there were some slipping past us.

We had even managed to storm a base of rebels near Shetland, arresting more than 20 ponies. However, we did not discover much of interest inside besides these ponies. Shetland is quite far from the capital, so the only thing these rebels had been planning were relief operations in case all-out war erupted. No plans to storm the castle or any information regarding Celestia.

The dice had not been favouring me as of late.

"Where is Celestia?" I demanded.

The tiny mare responded by moaning loudly in pain.

I let out a huff of frustration. Of course, there was another flaw in truth spells which was probably the reason they had been forbidden in the first place. If the target is asked a question which they do not know the answer to one way or another, the result is a painful shock to the brain. With them hardly in a state to answer anything afterwards, it just ends up causing frustrating delays.

This damn alicorn was causing me such a waste of time and energy. I would have much rather been in Canterlot, gleefully planning my total domination of this world. I knew, however, that it would be unwise to attempt anything while Celestia still roamed freely. The most important lesson I had learned was not to underestimate her.

I asked the mare another question, but I had been too impatient and she was still clutching her head. I growled in frustration, stamping my hoof on the ground before her.

"Leave her alone!" a male voice shouted, "You're hurting her!"

"She will live," I replied without shifting my gaze, "You, on the other hoof, may not be so lucky."

To my surprise, he yelled right back. "We're all going to die! You took away the moon's harvest light! All of the crops are dying again and we'll starve!!"

This time I shot my head up to glare at him. He flinched under my gaze, but otherwise held a determined, if not fearful, expression. I was not terribly angry at him; I knew that he was mere moments away from being hoisted away by soldiers. So, I calmly informed him, "Equestria shall adapt to the night. The night will not adapt to you." I turned back to the mare, saw that she was still in pain, and instead gazed at my surroundings.

"But-" was all I heard from the stallion before his words were covered up by the fluttering of leathery wings.

I sighed. This place was more vibrant under the moon's light anyway, even if it was on fire. The city of Canterlot had definitely seen better days, though I hardly cared. Previously the home of an unwelcome ruler, the castle was now an impenetrable fortress hosting a powerful mare set to conquer everything set before her.

It was of little surprise that most of the citizens had fled. True, I could have forced them all to stay, but what use would that have been to me? It had been amusing to watch them run with their tails tucked between their legs. The city itself mattered much less to me when compared to the castle itself. Sitting directly in the centre of Equestria, it was the perfect seed from which an unstoppable empire could grow, and it was mine.

This weakling had not seen Celestia since before her fall either, a trait shared by most of the ponies in this disgusting hovel. I was about to send her away, perhaps forcibly if only to amuse myself, but a thought occurred to me.

"Are you a member of the rebellious group who wear the red scarves?"

"No," she answered from behind the glow of my truth spell. It was not the answer I would have hoped for, but something else caught my attention. Though her truthful answer was 'no', she had become noticeably nervous upon hearing the question.

I stared down at her for a moment. "Do you know of this group?"

"Yes."

For the first time this evening, a welcome grin appeared on my face. "Interesting…"

The mare was trembling like a leaf.

"Is there a rebel in this town?"

"Yes."

"Do you know him?"

"Yes." The mare had her eyes clenched shut and was shaking her head, as if trying to stop her own mouth from betraying her.

I chuckled quietly. Perhaps I had been asking the wrong questions. Perhaps these everyday citizens could prove more useful after all…

"This pony you speak of, you have seen him don the red scarf and then commit acts of treason?"

"Y-yes…" She was crying now.

"Has this pony…" I leaned down, bringing my muzzle a mere few inches from her own, glaring at her even though she couldn't see me, "Has this traitor ever told you anything about Celestia's current whereabouts, or have you overheard said subject being discussed?"

She sobbed a couple of times before murmuring, "No."

My grin vanished, quickly replaced by a glare. "Then tell me who-"

"Your majesty! I have urgent news!"

I swung my head around to face him so hard that my horn was nearly flung right off my head. "Do not interrupt me!!"

The night soldier was already bowing low to the ground. "Regiment Omicron has witnessed several rebels in the vicinity of Palermino. You wished for word to be delivered to you as soon as possible."

My rage disappeared in an instant. I turned around to fully face him, and saw that he was not part of the regiment that was currently with me, identifying him as a messenger. "I see," I spoke to him, "You have done well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he replied in the raspy voice that most of my soldiers shared.

I glanced back at the assembled citizens. The mare I had been speaking to was rooted to the spot, frozen by fear and unable to move.

"Captain!" I shouted, and moments later heard the flapping of bat wings behind me. He didn't need to respond for me to know that he was there and awaiting orders. "This village is to remain under observation. Your entire regiment will remain here, and if you see any rebels you will capture them alive and hold them here until I am able to deal with them myself."

"As you command."

I tilted my head to regard the mare once more. She shrank back slightly when my gaze fell upon her. "And," I continued, "take her to Canterlot and hold her for future questioning."

Upon hearing this, her pupils shrank to pinpricks and she gasped in horror. "No!" she exclaimed, life returning to her frozen limbs, "No! Please don't take me! Please!!" She cried even more as she tried to backpedal along the ground to safety, but the Night Guard was soon upon her. "I know nothing! I swear!!"

"Do you understand your orders?" I spoke.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Do not fail me."

If the Captain or the panicking mare said anything more I did not hear it, for I had already disappeared in a flash of magic.

When the bright light dissipated before my vision, I found myself standing in a new location. I was not in Palermino yet, but the beauty of such powerful teleportation spells was that they allowed for certain luxuries. I was now back at the castle, standing on one of the smaller and less obvious balconies, and I used my magic to seek out what I wanted.

A moment later, it appeared before me in a more muted flash. My brilliant, pristine scimitar crafted of pure silver, retrieved from the armoury and thirsting for the blood of rebels. I grinned at my own reflection in the shining blade, my eyes sparkling back like two radiant aquamarine jewels.

My blade was begging for a coat of red paint. Celestia was free, and so the more foolish of ponies in this land now thought that they had a chance, but I laughed at them. Though free, she was just as useless as when she had been in her cage. Now that some of the ponies were acting out, all it did was give me reason to slaughter them all.

One of my ears twitched. I quickly shot my gaze down to the ground. The balcony I currently occupied was on the west side of the castle, away from the front-facing south end that connected with the city itself. Whatever view I had of the city was blocked by a small wing that extended out from the main fortress, but I could still see a small section of the street that bordered the castle grounds. The source of the noise had only been in my vision for a tenth of a second, but that had been enough.

In even less time, I appeared on the street and lanced my horn forward. From it, swirling navy aura was released that shot forward like a bird of prey and pinned my target to the ground 20 metres away. He cried out in surprise and began frantically pawing at the ground, trying to escape.

I somewhat casually trotted over, observing my prize with a satisfied smirk and a twinkle in my eye. The young, lithe pegasus was struggling valiantly, but all six of his limbs were painfully anchored to the ground by my magic. I got the impression that if I had let him go, he would have sped off and been out of sight in mere seconds. As I had expected, an iconic red scarf was wrapped around his neck.

I trotted around so that I was in front of him. His eyes turned up and he stared defiantly at me, but he did not stop struggling. I could tell that he was brave, that I couldn't deny. Besides his scarf, he was carrying nothing and was completely unarmed. I didn't even have to ask to know what he had been doing. He was alone and unarmed, wandering around in a deserted city, and he looked as if he had been picked for his speed. I had caught a scout.

"Well, well…" I purred, "I sure hope whatever you were trying to accomplish was worth it…"

He grit his teeth and continued staring at me, but he didn't say a word.

"These streets are not exactly safe for little ponies like you," I continued, giving him a sinister smile, "You should be careful where you wander…or else you may get hurt!"

Upon that last word, his eyes bugged out for a moment before clenching shut. I could see pain rippling through his body as he buried his muzzle in his hooves, but still not a sound escaped from him. My telekinetic aura dissipated, depositing his severed wing onto the ground right in front of him.

"You look like a smart pony. I'm sure that you know that had been entirely avoidable, right?"

He wrenched open one teary eye and glared at me. His resoluteness was certainly amicable.

"What's wrong?" I asked playfully, as if speaking to a frightened child, "Don't want to talk to me? That's okay. I know how to fix that."

As a familiar navy aura surrounded him, I saw his eyes close once again. This time, however, I noticed a small hint of defeat in his demeanour.

"What is your name?"

"V-Velocity…" he murmured, trying valiantly to keep my spell from dragging words from his throat.

"What were you doing when I caught you?"

"Searching for hidden or forgotten entryways into the castle."

I chuckled. "I can assure you that you would have found none. If your pathetic little band of scarf-lovers wishes to retake Canterlot Castle, they are going to need a lot more than a mousey little pegasus such as yourself."

Still he stared at me with his defiant eyes. There was not a drop of fear to be seen within him, only disappointment and hatred.

"Where is-" I caught myself and formed a better question. "Do you know where Celestia is?"

"No," he replied without hesitation.

I growled. "Why not?"

"I do not reside in the city closest to her location and, as such, are not privy to any information as to her whereabouts."

I considered this information for a moment. "I see…" It seemed even fewer ponies than I thought knew of where she was. I realized that perhaps the only ponies who knew were the ones in direct contact with her, and I had a feeling that they would not allow themselves to so easily be caught.

"Where do you reside?"

"Pegassaly"

I mentally took note of this. At least that was a place where I knew Celestia was not.

"She will destroy you."

I blinked and leaned down towards him. "What was that?"

Velocity was glaring straight up at me with fire in his eyes. "Celestia will destroy you."

I let out a curt laugh before saying, "If you and your friends think I am afraid of Celestia, you are more foolish than I thought. Celestia poses no threat to me. I am searching for her because she deserves to die."

"Celestia will slaughter you. The sun will rise."

"What makes you say that?" The aura around him brightened. "What do you know for certain about Celestia's current status?"

"She is hidden, and is being cared for."

I scowled. "That's it?!"

"Yes."

A growl escaped my throat. The pegasus was losing blood and it looked like it wouldn't be long before he fell unconscious, so I put my anger aside continued my interrogation.

"Are there any other rebels in Canterlot at this moment, to your knowledge?"

"No."

"You're a brave pony."

"You're a monster."

I chuckled and then continued. "Is there a significant rebel presence in Pegassaly, or are you some lone ranger living amidst a town of commoners?"

He grit his teeth and growled, but then answered, "There are others in Pegassaly, but we all work as one big group. Our allies come and go, with some constantly on the move."

"Is there a rebel base in Pegassaly?"

"No."

That made things a little more difficult. It seemed as if the rebels had few bases at all, with most of them working on the fly from wherever they could. That made them a weaker threat, but also made them harder to catch. "Do you know where any rebel base is?"

"No."

"I get that answer a lot. Why is that?"

"If you are enlisted to work in a base, or the location where Celestia is behind held, you will hardly ever leave."

I scowled once more. Just as I had thought. "Tell me," I continued, "You said Celestia is being 'cared for'?"

"Y-Yes…" Velocity was beginning to struggle now against my magic's hold. He had his muzzle clamped shut in a futile attempt to prevent any more rebel secrets from leaking out.

"Your group plans to treat her wounds and bring her back to health?"

"Yes…"

That would certainly not be an easy task. "Does your group plan to use her against me somehow once she is healed?"

He did not answer but grimaced in pain. I cursed loudly and stomped my hoof. These rebels had taken 'need to know basis' to a ludicrous level. These ponies hardly knew anything of what was going on within their own movement! According to this fool, all they knew was that Celestia was damaged and they intended to mend her. I was certain that this rebel group was more than some glorified hospital.

I waited for what seemed like forever until the pegasus seemed able to speak once again. He was growing weak, but still had that defiant sparkle in his eye. I had to choose my questions more carefully with this spell.

"I assume you were instructed by somepony to come here. Is that true?"

He let out a painful breath and then said, "Yes."

"What were your instructions?"

"I was to enter the town without being detected, take note of the status of Canterlot and discover if any aid was necessary, then observe the castle from as many angles as possible, searching for ways to get inside."

I glanced up and to my right at the nearly-opaque magical barrier; the one I was kicking my formerly muddied mind for taking down in the first place. "Did you really expect to succeed?"

"Yes."

I snickered. That had been rather hypothetical, but the spell could not discern. "If you had found a way in, what were you to have done?"

"Returned immediately and reported to… to…" He groaned and growled loudly before saying, "…S-Sunrise…" He then hung his head and murmured, "Forgive me, sir…"

"Don't worry," I replied with a smirk, "I'll make sure to take good care of him."

"Grrr…"

"Do the rebels intend to take back this castle?"

"Y-yes…"

"And do what with it?"

"Canterlot Castle is a…" He paused, and I could see he was getting woozy. "…is the most heavily fortified structure in the land…and a strategic point of military occupation."

I opened my eyes wide. Now he had my attention. "'Military'? Your pitiful, weak little group plans to use Canterlot Castle as a military base?"

"Yes…"

"You ponies plan to fight me? You aim to make war with the unstoppable glory of the night?"

"Yes…"

I couldn't help but laugh. For at least a good minute, the streets were filled with my chuckling. "If you ponies are looking for ways to die, I assure you there are far easier and faster methods. You do not have an army! You barely have a fighting force!"

He remained silent.

"Let me tell you, peasant. Even if you had the full force of what was once the Solaris Guard and you nursed Celestia back to fighting condition, you would still have no chance of winning. Or perhaps you are not aware that I am all-powerful and unstoppable, and I have a tremendous army that shall remain loyal to me until the end of time."

"Your army shall fall…"

"Really?"

"You shall fall…The forces of harmony shall prevail, and the hour of dawn shall arrive. Know that your enemies will not rest until you are gone."

I barely heard his last sentence because I was laughing once again. "'Harmony'?? Harmony is but a fantasy, you fool! It is an imaginary construct dreamed up by ponies with over-privileged lives. The battle shall end before it even begins if Celestia hopes to defeat me with an army of 'friendship'. I question your intelligence if you still place your faith with her."

He remained still. He was beginning to lose consciousness as he lay in a thick, red puddle.

I narrowed my gaze. "What other duties have you performed for your superiors?"

"I have… protected the ponies of Pegassaly from the bat ponies. I have delivered messages by wing from town to town. I have transported weapons to our allies in Featheraklion."

I considered his words. I knew that in the following cycle, Featheraklion would be swarming with soldiers. "What are other activities that rebels you know have performed?"

"Some of us are…gathering supplies in secret. Some of us are performing reconnaissance. Some of us…are training…" He mumbled a few more words, but they were unintelligible. His head was drooping towards the red-stained ground.

I knew I only had the opportunity for one more question. These foolish rebels would, no doubt, stay by Celestia's side until they were victorious even if it seemed impossible to win. I was pretty sure they would continue even if Celestia was gone. Honestly, their actions seemed foolhardy even to the most optimistic pony, and so I asked, "What is it that makes you ponies believe you will win?"

His eyes were barely open. He moaned for a while before slowly, lethargically moving his lips and mumbling one word.

"Secret…"

His head hit the ground and I growled in frustration. What an utterly useless answer! I turned around and walked away, leaving the lifeless pony behind me and considering what I had learned from him.

This rebel group was more ambitious than I had thought, though this certainly made them no more dangerous. If their intent was to nurse Celestia back to health, then I was certain she would present herself to me once she was able. That would simply make it easier to find her and destroy her.

But these ponies were also planning to militarize themselves. What frustrated me was that I could see no logical reason for them to think they would have the ability to do so. Did they not know the power of who they were dealing with? They could perhaps possibly win if they had a legion of ten Celestias, but only if they got lucky. I had used the term 'suicidal' to describe these ponies in jest, but it was becoming more and more accurate it seemed.

As I teleported back inside the castle and retrieved the weapons I had come for in the first place, I thought about his final word once more. The tone in his voice had suggested that 'secret' was to be the first of two words he was planning to say, but could not utter anything more before his life slipped away. Secret what?

Secret base? All of their bases were secret, not the least of which was the one where they were hiding Celestia. No matter how elusive they remained to me, they were still simple, basic rebel bases. Unless they housed some apocalyptic weapon inside one of them, I failed to see how one particular base could hold the secret to their supposed victory.

Perhaps it was 'secret weapon'? The wording of that phrase felt unusual to me, so it didn't seem like the correct answer. Secret magic? For all of her faults, Celestia had been obsessed with magic and had been incredibly dedicated in documenting everything there was to know about the art. Of course, few ponies had access to these notes, but with the castle under my control I certainly did. I highly doubted they could come up with entirely new and fantastic magic to defeat me in any short amount of time.

'Secret plan' seemed to be the most logical answer, but that offered no information whatsoever. Obviously these rebels were planning something if they had the courage to militarize themselves against me, but what sort of plan could that possibly be? Any chance of victory for them would involve getting to me in some way, and I was completely untouchable. Entire villages could be wiped off the face of the earth with a wave of my horn.

This rebellion had been irritating me for a while by this point, but now it seemed as though they truly needed to be taught a lesson.

…

"What did you call it…?" I asked, skepticism evident my tone.

"An 'eclipse', Your Majesty."

I furrowed my brow. "'Eclipse'…"

"It comes from an ancient word meaning darkness or obscuring-"

"Yes, I have figured that out on my own," I barked testily.

"I apologize, Your Majesty."

It was a couple of weeks later. I found myself sitting in a large room within the castle which contained a large, round table. It was a 'meeting room' that I only permitted the most top ranking officials to enter. Seated around the table aside from myself were six other soldiers of the night; four stallions and two mares. Five of them had originally been bats, while the remaining stallion had once been a member of the resistance before 'joining' our side. These ponies had proven themselves to be steps above the rest, and their accomplishments had been rewarded in more ways than one.

It was good to hear others' thoughts, even if most of them were simply ludicrous. There was always the chance that somepony else had a brilliant idea, and it would be a shame to go to waste. As such, I met with these elite members of the Night Guard every so often to hear not only their thoughts, but the thoughts of our entire army. I usually went in optimistic and came out bored, unfortunately.

I was presently listening to one of the stallions speak; one of the ones who had been a bat. They never did truly lose that scratchy, screeching quality to their voice, but I rather liked it. I felt it gave them a sense of identity, and it could definitely be seen as intimidating.

"You do realize just what you are suggesting and whom you are suggesting it to?" I asked him, a hint of impatience in my voice.

He briefly bowed his head. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I must stress again that this is not my idea."

"Then whose idea was it?"

"I am not entirely sure, Your Majesty. It has been circulating throughout the guard for a number of days by now, and I felt it prudent to at least bring it to your attention." He spoke with more eloquence than most Soldiers of the Night, a gift few were privileged enough to receive.

I tapped my hoof on the table in irritation. "You are suggesting to me that I raise the Tartarus-damned sun. That horrible blinding thing that I worked so hard to banish from our lands!"

The soldier kept his mouth shut for a moment, and I could see him carefully considering his words. When he finally had the courage to reply, he said, "Yes. I agree that it would send a message to our enemies."

"Then perhaps you had better explain it again," I snapped, "because I am not seeing this supposed 'message'."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," he said with another bow, "I am not sure if this is entirely the original intent of the idea, but this is how I see it. If you will, please allow me to walk you through what would occur."

I growled quietly. "Very well…"

"At six hours past midnight upon the next cycle, a time when the sun would have risen in the past, the ponies of this land, the rebellion included, will witness the sun rising into the sky against all odds. It will fill them with a sense of hope and optimism, fulfilling the dreams that they have been so desperately holding on to…

"Imagine then, Your Majesty, how they shall feel when the sun is completely obscured, without warning, by the dominance of the moon. What had so recently been 'graciously' returned to them would suddenly be taken away from them once again, and in such a striking way. That sense of hope and elation will be crushed when they see what power the moon holds over the sun. It will demoralize and destroy them."

He paused for a moment as I gazed emotionlessly at him.

"And, perhaps, Celestia will see it too. Seeing her sun defeated in such a way shall certainly have a great impact on her."

I regarded him thoughtfully for a few moments, and he gazed back at me passively. With my magic, I raised a small, silver goblet filled with wine and took a small sip. I was quiet for quite a few minutes, mulling over the idea in my head.

"It is…not a terrible idea…" I eventually decided. I took another sip and then spoke once more. "The peasants will not be able to see me as I do this. I cannot be everywhere at once, and they would just run in fear anyway."

The soldier who had brought this up tapped his chin in consideration. "Your Majesty, I believe that works in your favor. The ponies will believe it is Celestia's doing, only to see that it was you the whole time, which will emphasize your control and dominance over the sun."

"Mmmm…" My eyes trailed upwards as I envisioned the scenario in my mind. "Even so, the peasants of this land do not deserve to see the sun's light."

The soldier hissed and said, "I agree…You could perform the eclipse after it has cleared the horizon; that would be all that is necessary."

"Perhaps…" I replied thoughtfully, "I do appreciate the idea of false hope and crushed dreams. There are few better options for quelling rebellious dispositions…"

"A small gift to the opposition can lead to a grand strike against them."

I merely nodded. What this soldier was proposing, or whomever had come up with this idea in the first place, was a display of power and dominance. When I had first taken the throne, the sun had been defeated by merely being prevented from rising. The last they had seen of the sun had been it setting naturally. Perhaps a display of 'defeat' was necessary, even if it meant subjecting these unworthy peasants to a few minutes of their precious sunlight.

"I will consider it," I replied finally, which brought the discussion to a close, "What of the situation in Saxpony?"

"The rebels have been forced out of the city. The skirmish is won in your favour, Your Majesty."

"And I presume there is still no word on Celestia's whereabouts?"

The soldiers all bowed their heads. "No, Your Majesty," one of them replied reluctantly.

I could only growl in irritation and try to prevent the table from bursting into flames.

…

In the early hours of a new cycle, I stood below the silvery light of the waxing moon. I was situated atop the main balcony of the castle, the one that overlooked the main square of Canterlot. There were no ponies in the city to gather in the square below, but this was of little concern. Instead, my gaze was fixated upon the horizon.

I had given the notion of the 'eclipse' some more thought, and over time the idea had grown on me. The ponies' spirits were growing too high. It seemed as if there were more members of the rebellion every night. A reminder was needed of just who was in charge and how ultimately powerful she was, and this would do adequately.

A few minutes later, the sixth hour arrived. Those peasants still tied to their ordinary lives would be waking up and getting ready for whatever it was they needed to do. I could imagine that a good majority of them were looking out their window in hopes that the sun would be there, as they surely did every single cycle.

They were in for a surprise.

I tapped into the vast reserves of my celestial magic, channeling it through my horn and reaching out to the cosmos that lay beyond. The magic reached my moon, which I admired and caressed for a moment before moving past it. I cast out my grasp beyond the horizon, looking for the piece of trash that I had left there to rot.

The damned thing was still burning hot, and an uncomfortable wave of warmth passed through me. Simply touching this thing with my magic filled me with disgust. I hated this thing and everything about it, so I was going to show these ponies what I would do with it.

Then, I began to pull upwards. Like pushing a marble across the ground, I could move it effortlessly through the cosmos. The sun was under my control, and I could do whatever I wanted with it. I began to grin, imaging the foolishly hopeful expressions that would soon adorn the peasants' faces.

I guided the sun closer to the horizon, enduring the persistent discomfort it caused me. It felt as if somepony were casting a heat spell on me that was a touch too intense, and it was incredibly irritating. How Celestia managed to deal with this volatile thing every single morning I would never know.

A few moments later, the first sunbeams broke past the horizon. I stared at the appearing light with mixed feelings. It was still rather detestable to see the pride of my enemy reappear once again, and a part of me was considering just forgetting the whole thing. However, the more logical side of me reasoned that a number of ponies had to have seen the sun by now, so there was no point in stopping.

Though I could not see or hear anypony, I could envision their reactions in my mind. The Night Guard had been instructed to make themselves unseen near their posts so as to seem like they had disappeared. Once the eclipse was complete, they were to step out into the open and reassert my power over them by proxy. Now, however, it was not hard to imagine all of those fools smiling, hugging one another and dancing in the streets.

The sun had nearly crested the horizon entirely, bathing the land in its horrid, blinding light. I began to move the moon as well, as it had a long distance through the sky to cover. It felt a little unfavorable to have the moon leave its rightful position, but any good ruler must leave their throne occasionally to deal with their enemies.

Certainly, nopony would be noticing the moon's movement as they would all be focusing on the 'wonder' of the sun. The moon was approaching the sun, and I planned to complete the eclipse only two minutes after the sun was above the horizon. "Yes…" I murmured, "Enjoy your last few minutes of sunshine before the sun disappears forever. The sun is mine to control, mine to conquer, and mine to destroy." A few moments later, the sun rose the last remaining distance upwards and was completely visible above the horizon.

Immediately, I found myself hunched forward and steeling myself against the powerful forces rippling through my body. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I completely lost my focus and both the sun and moon stopped moving. In less than the span of a second, I had gone from standing proudly to grimacing in pain and struggling to remain on my hooves.

My eyes were open wide and my mind was running wild. What was this?? Was I under attack by some unicorn assassin? Impossible! Not even the most powerful unicorn could harm me. Yet, it felt like there were powerful forces ripping apart at me from the inside. I was suffering vague but painful sensations of churning, yanking and pulling. It felt as if somepony were trying to telekinetically pull me inside-out.

And, above all else, I felt hot. I was burning hot.

I lifted my head and glared at the vile thing that I had just lifted from the horizon. I didn't know what was happening to me, but I immediately knew what to blame it on. I should have known better than to play with this horrid thing! I should have left it to die! I knew that I had to put the sun back where it belonged, so I prepared to aim my horn straight at it and cast it back down.

I realized then that my horn was somehow already pointed towards the sun. What concerned me even more was that my horn was already glowing. I tried to move my head away, but found that I could not. I strained the muscles in my neck, but I could not shift my head's position at all.

I realized a moment later that my head wasn't locked in place, but rather just my horn. It was as if there were a powerful magnet attached to the top of my horn, drawing it directly towards the sun. I grunted and strained, trying to regain control of my body. A moment later, however, yet another strange sensation overcame me. My body was warming up even more, and the heat was especially concentrated in my head. I could barely feel anything in my hooves; it was as if the heat were being drawn up through my body to the top of my head, where my horn resided.

I had no idea what was going on. I can definitely say that I started to panic a little. I fought against my barely-responsive body and tried to cast any sort of spell that would stop whatever was happening; shield spells, remedy spells, teleportation spells. Everything I tried died before it reached my horn, and as I gazed up I started to realize why.

At the extreme top-edge of my vision, where I could barely see the tip of my horn, I noticed a brilliant, wispy golden glow. It was connected to my horn and it appeared as if it were flowing, or 'leaking', out. It did not take long for me to recognize this aura; one that was forever burned into my memory. I gasped in shock.

Then, not a moment later, my entire being was rocked by a powerful jolt. It felt like my insides were on fire, churning with molten lava. I grunted in pain at the sensation of something trying to rip my head off by my pulling on my horn. My defenses were shattered. I could barely stand and hardly comprehend what in the world was happening.

Through my strained vision, I glanced upwards. I saw a blinding golden beam of light shooting forth from my horn and traveling directly into the heart of the sun. It appeared as if I were casting a spell, but in reality it was quite the opposite. My head, and especially my horn, burned so intensely that I thought they could both simply crumble to ashes. It felt like an eternity of pain, but it was actually only a few brief seconds before everything stopped.

I managed to catch myself before crumpling to the ground. I stared at the stone floor beneath me, eyes wide as I panted heavily. All foreign sensations were gone, and the only negative effect that remained was exhaustion. I could not believe what had just happened. I refused to believe it.

When I glanced up a moment later, I realized I did not have time to neither recover nor contemplate. I let out a loud cry of absolute frustration as I watched the scene before me unfold. Out in the distance, now twice as high above the horizon, the sun was rising on its own.

I let loose a cry of rage like a wild animal and coursed magic through my own horn. A brilliant silver light erupted from its tip and the moon rushed forward to meet the sun. The glowing sphere began to slow until it eventually came to a stop as the moon pressed back against it. I grit my teeth, growled, and set my stance as if preparing to duel somepony, which was not far from the truth.

"Damn you, Celestia!! You shall not win!!"

I poured every ounce of magical energy I had towards the moon, holding it against the sun and forcing it back below the horizon. Sweat ran down my face as I struggled against my opponent's strength. In the sky before me, the celestial bodies unsteadily wavered back and forth, sliding downwards a ways before shifting back up a second later. Opposing forces met like an inverse tug-of-war as powerful magic struggled for dominance.

As I battled, I ran everything that had just happened through my mind. Of course the sun was filled with much more volatile magic; it always had been. Of course it had powers and properties that nopony besides its master would understand. As soon as I had foolishly allowed it to re-enter the sky's domain, that is when its true properties could take effect. Now, the sun was moving through the sky, and it was not my horn casting the magic.

That was all she had needed. Only a few brief seconds with the sun in the sky, and what was rightfully hers was ripped violently away from wherever it was. While the moon was akin to a silent and powerful guardian, the sun was like a rowdy, obedient beast. When it was permitted control, it had the power to correct what was wrong.

Even with only the magic of one alicorn, I refused to back down. The sun was pushing against the moon, the two entities forcing themselves against each other and struggling for dominance, but I knew that the moon would refuse to allow the sun to raise any higher than it already was. I would not allow it!

It seemed as if a stalemate had been reached. The sun was barely touching the horizon, but neither entity could make any further headway. More sweat ran down my body as I strained myself to my limits, gritting my teeth and letting lose a war cry. I would force this thing out of the sky if it destroyed me!

Yet, at the same time, I was still thinking. Still analysing the situation. The magic had been torn from my grasp, but that should have been the end of this unfortunate incident. Instead, though I could not see, it was clear that the aura of golden magic was moving the sun and fighting against me. Celestia was using her magic.

How?! The question repeated itself through my mind a hundred times. I had taken from Celestia the ability to cast her magic, and that was a wound that could not be healed in a short amount of time. No other mortal pony could possibly utilize magic as powerful as this, so there was no other answer. It was impossible!

I have no idea how much time passed. I remained vigilant, pouring every ounce of strength and magic I had into the force of the moon. Fate had not been on my side and more than a couple of unacceptable incidents had occurred. Much of what I had gained had been taken away from me, but I refused to be defeated. I was being challenged, and I would not lose! These strikes against me only served to make me angrier and more determined to get back what I lost. Those foolish ponies had gained nothing more than the vengeful wrath of a powerful enemy.

Finally, after what seemed like an impossibly long time, I felt my opposing force simply vanish. My horn shone a brilliant silver glow as the might of the moon forced the sun down. Further and further it went until it completely disappeared, once again basking the land in the glory of the night. When I cast my horn skywards and returned the moon to its rightful place, the sun did not reappear to challenge it.

I was left panting. I was thankful that I was presently within the castle grounds, as this war of attrition had left me without strength or stamina. I took in heavy breaths as I attempted to recover.

I knew that my opponent had not been defeated. It was rather obvious what Celestia had decided to do. She knew that, even with her magic returned to her, I was still a more powerful being. She also knew that I would do everything in my power to prevent the sun from rising, and that the ensuing struggling between the celestial bodies would put a huge strain on her. So, she must have decided to simply cede the heavens to the moon, instead setting her sights on me. Leaving the sun below the horizon and not wasting effort to raise it until I had been defeated was the more logical option.

After a couple minutes of catching my breath, I brought my head back up and glared. There was an inferno burning in my eyes, and if I hadn't just exhausted myself I would have been surrounded by a furious tornado of black fire. When the citizens had refused to bow, when those ponies had tried to rescue Celestia, when Celestia had escaped…I could not rightfully say I had been angry during those times. Not in comparison to how I was feeling right then and there.

I was beyond angry. I was far beyond furious. I was absolutely livid!

I turned my furious gaze back towards the castle, almost trembling as the rage boiled through me. It took a lot of concentration to tap into my connection with my soldiers and seek out the pony I required.

The flash from my teleport could almost be called an explosion. The startled soldier fell back on his rump, squeaking in surprise.

"Who told you?!"

"Wh-what…?" he mumbled in fear.

"The eclipse!! Who told you?!"

He blinked. "I…I…I think I overheard it from the guards near the armoury…but everypony was-"

I didn't hear the rest of his sentence because I was now outside the armoury, glaring at a group of equally surprised soldiers.

"Whose idea was it?!" I screamed, "Which one of you came up with the eclipse?!"

Many of them glanced at each other in confusion. A few of them mouthed a few words to each other.

"Now!!"

"Y-Your Majesty, uh…I-I do not believe it was anypony within this division. I-it was just something one of us heard…"

I glared at the soldier who had spoken, the captain of this division. He shrank back below my furious, dominant gaze.

"I do not know what else to say, Your Ma-G'ak!!"

He began flailing wildly as I lifted him in the air by his neck. "It had to have come from somewhere! Ideas to not just appear from nowhere!"

"Y-Your Majesty, wait!"

I turned towards the other soldier who had spoken.

"I think…I think some soldiers were talking about it while retrieving weapons."

I tossed the captain roughly to the ground and advanced on this other soldier, who cowered before me.

"What soldiers?!" I exclaimed, "Doing what?! Going where??"

"G-going to…to fight in Maris."

A second later, I was in Maris. Not long after that, I found myself in Pegassaly. The trail continued, with every soldier seeming to have heard it from somepony else. The ranks of the soldiers I interrogated continued to lower and lower, but my rage did not. The fire burning inside of me would not be doused until whomever had come up with this ridiculous idea was no more than a stain on the wall.

A soldier cried out as I slammed him painfully to the ground, roughly holding him down with my hoof and shouting loudly at him. "Who told you?!"

He groaned in pain. "I…I don't know…"

"Do not try my patience! Tell me who told you!!"

The trail continued. The air of Equestria was filled with my cries of rage. There was no doubt; I had never, ever been this angry in my entire life. Finally, however, I began to find soldiers who were more confident about whom they had heard it from. Some of them told me they had been pleased that this idea had managed to reach me. Those ponies found themselves with painful bruises.

And then, after teleporting around like a mad pony for almost 20 minutes, the soldier presently standing before me said with utmost certainty, "Yes, Your Majesty! My bunkmate had this idea. He told it to me and I shared it with-"

"Who is your bunkmate?!"

One teleport later, and it seemed I had found who I was looking for.

"So it was you??" I shouted at the startled soldier.

"Wh-what, Your Majesty…?"

I cast a quick truth spell on him as I demanded, "It was you who suggested the idea of this eclipse?!"

He shrank back, but my spell made him reply, "Yes." He quickly found himself held in the air by a painfully tight magical grip. His eyes bugged out slightly as he groaned in distress.

"You are an imbecile! You knew what this would do! Because of you I have been weakened and humiliated, and my greatest foe now has power! Do you have anything to say before I completely obliterate you?!"

"Y-Your Majesty I…I…" He closed his eyes and grimaced. "I have de…defied the g-glory of the night…and f-failed you…m-my liege…"

Every muscle in my body ached to end this fool's life. The only thing that was making me hesitate was his strange behaviour. His pauses and difficulty speaking did not seem to be borne out of fear, though he was certainly terrified.

"I was just trying to…I was…trying to…" His face twisted up in pain for a moment and he let out an unusual-sounding groan. "I was trying…to…save our Princess." As soon as those last three words slipped out of his mouth, he threw his head back and screamed in pain.

I stared wide-eyed at this pony, this Soldier of the Night, and memory struck me. I remembered how this particular pony had joined our family. He had walked right up to the castle from a distant city and requested to join our ranks, after which he wilfully submitted to my transformation.

Realization hit me after hearing what he had said. This pony was no believer of the night. This was a damn sun pony who had placed himself within our group and somehow managed to hold on to his love for the sun. Even with the mind of a bat, some small part of him must have managed to resist its influence for long enough to plant the idea of the eclipse, knowing full well what it would lead to.

I squeezed him a little harder, glaring at him with murderous eyes. "You realize what you have done, don't you? Your actions have now condemned the lives of who knows how many supporters of the sun. This will lead to conflict, and so many of their lives will be lost and wasted. Is that what you wanted? Is that what your precious little Princess wanted??"

"Your…Your Majesty, I…"

"I almost think that I should spare your life, just so you can run back and tell that pathetic alicorn what her actions have gained her. To tell her how many more lives are now on her conscience, and that she has evoked the wrath of an unstoppably powerful creature who will not rest until she is destroyed."

Blood splattered on the wall.

"…Almost."

Comments

[GigaBowser]

6664629 Ask and yee shall receive, it seems

[buttonbelle]

I'm guessing you've seen a few Winx Club episodes.

[GigaBowser]

6674129 Nope, not at all. Why?

[buttonbelle]

6674521 Eraklyon is a planet in Winx Club. You said Featheraklion in the story. That is one big coincidence then.

[GigaBowser]

6674636 Haha, all the cities are based on European cities. Pegassaly and Featheraklion are based on Greek places (Thessaly and Heraklion)

[SevenSerenity]

This is by far my favorite fiction of Nightmare Moon! Although dark isn't exactly my favorite read of fiction, but this one fails to disappoint! I like how the rebellious forces have their own clothing to symbolize their undying loyalty to the sun, and how they grow stronger. But perhaps the thing I love about it is the portrayal of Celestia, the little spirit and mind that is now Luna, and Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon has to have faults just like Celestia does, and you incorporate that very well. I look forward to the next chapter!

[SilverPassion]

This is getting good!!!

Though I hope Luna doesn't die in the end

[GigaBowser]

6677831
6678667

Thank you very much!!

[thelastprincess]

Love it best nm fan fic ever