Lunaris

by Madame Ponka

Chapter IV - Eclipsed

General Polaris sat reflecting in his quarters. His anger had calmed, but the pain still remained. He was so close. He had the damn traitor within his grasp. He could still smell the euphoric scent of her blood and sweat. His goal had been met, and in a matter of minutes, he failed. And it was all because of that winged reptilian bastard. He had spent the last several hours staring out the window at Her Majesty’s glorious moon. Normally it gave him a sense of pride, but staring at her glorious canvas now only made him more disappointed in himself.

A knock sounded at his door. “Come in,” he said in a stern voice. He didn’t dare look at the pony that dared to intrude his quarters. She spoke in a frightened voice.

“Um… Her Majesty would like to see you.”

His heart dropped. “Is that so? I’ll be there in a minute.”

The mare quickly trotted out of the room and shut the door, too terrified to stand in his presence any longer. Polaris sighed and donned his robes. One must always look presentable when standing in the presence of the ruler of Lunaris. He trotted out the door and began to make his way to Her Majesty’s residence, at the very top of the Canterlot Castle. The castle was relatively quiet at this hour. Most of the mages were sound asleep. The guards stationed at every doorstep stood as still as a statue, their thousand-yard gaze piercing into the souls of those who trotted by. They saluted as the general passed by them. He saluted back, and after many winding staircases and silver doors, he arrived at Her Majesty’s throne room.

The instant that he knocked on the humongous doors, they slowly creaked open. He braced himself and trotted inside of the throne room. As soon as he went in, a cold draft descended upon him. He had gotten used to the freezing weather of the wilderness, but standing in Her Presence made him shiver down to the bone. Gathering his wits, he began to trot towards the empty throne.

He looked at the wondrous stained-glass windows that adorned the hall. They told the story of this wondrous land. How the astral sisters defeated Discord and King Sombra at the beginning of time. How they tended to the land and took care of its citizens. How Her Majesty had rebelled against her sister. How her sister locked her away inside the moon for a millennium. How the stars aided in her escape, and how she managed to crush the six ponies who dared to oppose her. How she locked her older sister inside the former prison. How she took over the land and dubbed it Lunaris. How she ruled over said land and took care of its citizens.

And how she ascended into her… almost godlike form.

A voice sounded that made his hairs stand on end.

“The stars are so beautiful tonight…”

Her voice was as quiet as a chilly winter wind, but as regal as her glorious moon. It echoed in his ears as a dark blue mist began to fill the room, wrapping it in an astral embrace. The glimmering stars speckled the walls and floors. Polaris shuddered as the room grew even colder. A dark blue sphere appeared in the empty throne. It hovered there, emitting the chilling mist. He could do nothing but bow in the presence of his master.

“You may rise, General.”

Polaris obeyed, trying to fight off the shivers.

“I have heard of your little… incident, General.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty. And I deeply apologize for it.”

“Polaris… I acknowledge that my wonderful world can have a mind of its own at times. A dragon is a tough thing to defeat, and I’m very impressed that you managed to defeat one.”

“But… Your Majesty, we lost track of our prisoners.”

The starry sphere began to shimmer even more. “Yes, you did. And I am obviously very disappointed in you. I expected better from you, General. Eventide was such a wonderful asset to our order. It’s a shame to see her escape from our grasp once again. And now she has that incompetent swordspony and that weak psychic with her…”

“Your Majesty, it is very likely that they are heading west to Las Pegasus to join the rebellion. If they manage to get there, they’ll prove to be valuable assets to our enemies.”

“Oh please. I can crush them in seconds if they were to ever come into my presence.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty. But… how do we capture them?”

“I’ve sent some…” she chuckled, “special visitors to take care of them. Should that fail, we’ll discuss our plans at a later date.”

Polaris shuddered at these words and nodded. “I understand, Y-Your Majesty. Now… w-what about my punishment?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve always admired that about you, General. Always willing to submit to me. It’s quite adorable. Anyways, I got something special planned for you…”

As Polaris looked around, he noticed that the walls seemed to melt. The entire world around him seemed to warp and distort into pools of darkness and rot. The ambient sounds of her presence intensified and filled his ears. He shook with fear as his vision dimmed. All he could see was the eternal abyss of darkness that surrounded him.

And then the pain began. All at once, he felt as if his entire soul was being set on fire. He felt every bone in his body being twisted and snapped. He tried to scream, but nothing came out. He twitched and contorted with each wave of pain that came washing over him. Every few seconds, he would see flashes of colors fly through his vision. Blue, lavender, orange, and green. Every flash made him spasm and shake. The pain filled his whole body, but he accepted it all. He knew that he deserved it…

Reality was collapsing all around him. His memories became warped and twisted to Her Majesty’s will. All he could remember was pain. His entire being became an essence of suffering. He wanted to scream for mercy, to beg for it to end, but to no avail. He was just a puppet, a toy for Her Majesty to play with, and he accepted every tinge of pain and misery that came upon him.

And then it ended just as fast as it began. His vision slowly came back to him and the pain slowly began to wilt away. He was lying on the floor of the throne room, Her Majesty staring down at him. He struggled up to his hooves, and a voice spoke in his mind.

“You are dismissed.”

~

“I’m just saying, I could never take somepony named Nightmare Moon seriously. Sounds like the name of a villain in a little foal’s tale,” Parallax said.

Eventide sighed as she trudged through the snow. “Naming things was never her strongest trait. But believe me, I’ve been in her presence before. It’s… different for everypony. You see, she knows your fears. She knows your desires. She knows your strengths and your weaknesses, and she uses them to her advantage. Some may go in and come out feeling rejuvenated and full of pride. Some may come out quivering in fear that will take weeks to recover from. Some even go in… and they never return.”

“I don’t doubt that for one second. It’s just… Nightmare Moon… what a name.” He chuckled.

They had been trotting for what seemed like days, although it was only a few hours. It felt like forever since they left the ruins of Auris. The three trotted through the snow at a slow pace, the hoofprints behind them speckling the path through the dark forest. All they had encountered were towering trees and the occasional corpse and abandoned encampment.

“How long until we get to the Hollow Shades?”, asked Even.

“About a day. We should probably rest up in the next hour or so,” Mythic murmured.

The two others nodded in agreement. Their legs ached from the long hours of trudging through the snow. The warmth spell that Eventide had cast was beginning to wear off. The brutal cold started to chill the gang to the bone. Another half an hour passed before they spoke again.

“You all h-holding up okay?” Parallax asked.

“Y-Yeah… Starting to lose f-feeling in my hooves and all, but other than that, I’m okay.”

“I’m fine. We’re almost done. Just keep moving forward and we’ll be there in no time,” Mythic said. The cold even made her shiver a little.

The three continued on their way in complete silence. The snow continued to fall and crunch beneath their hooves. Their trotting began to slow down as they continued. The wind had even gone silent for the past hour or so…

Crunch!

The three looked around for the source of the noise. There was nothing but the frozen blanket of snow and the towering trees.

“Okay, don’t panic,” Mythic whispered.

“Oh great. Time to fucking die, I guess,” Eventide said.

“Quiet, you! We aren’t going to die. Just stay together…”

Snap!

Parallax unsheathed his sword and scouted around. Still nothing. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest.

“Mythic, you sense anything?” he asked.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she whispered. Mythic closed her eyes and opened her mind. She expanded her mind across the general vicinity and tried to search for anything. Suddenly, her mental vision turned dark and she heard a horrific growling sound that made a chill ran down her spine. It sounded like a distorted growl of a hellhound, only much more sinister.

Mythic lost her focus and snapped back to reality. Her eyes went wide as she realized what their unexpected guest was—

“The Eclipsed…”

The words cut through them like the sharpest dagger. As they tried to comprehend it, a loud groan sounded. The three turned around and saw a black billowing mass of smoke. The three froze, too shocked to move. A voice suddenly sounded in Eventide and Parallax’s minds.

“I’ve fought these bastards before. They’re a tiny portion of Nightmare Moon’s essence. They know you’re afraid. Just… don’t panic. When they begin to form, keep staring at them. Whatever you do, don’t look away.”

The two nodded towards Mythic and stared at the black smoke. As they stared, the smoke slowly began to split and morph into the shape of an earth pony, a bat pony, and a unicorn. Their bodies were completely black and grey, with small rotting holes throughout them. Their eyes were an almost blinding white. The light seemed unnatural as it invaded the trio’s senses. The Eclipsed continued to make those horrific guttural noises. It almost seemed like the dying noises of a pony who’s life was coming to a violent end. And throughout it all, the trio continued to stare at them.

“They know your strengths, and they know your weaknesses. They know everything about you just by getting even the smallest glimpse at you. Once you look away, or show any signs of aggression… let’s just say that the result won’t be pretty. I don’t know what they’ll combat you with, but it could be anything. These little shits are skilled in almost any field. Now when I give the signal, give those bastards hell.”

The trio nodded and continued to stare at them. Parallax readied his blade and Eventide lit up her horn. The Eclipsed penetrated their souls with its white gaze. The horrific noises emanating from them began to grow even louder.

“And… now!!”

The trio sprang into action and charged at the ghastly ponies. When Parallax came into contact with one of them, he thrust his sword forward, only to be countered by a misty black blade. Parallax and the ghostly spirit exchanged a few blows before he kicked it to the ground and attempted to stab it. The Eclipsed rolled out of the way and slashed at his leg before getting back up. Parallax was unfazed by the puny scratch, however, and retaliated with a furious strike aimed at the neck. It parried just in time before swinging into one of his hooves. Parallax dodged this swing with ease and exchanged a flurry of blows with the ghastly opponent.

Eventide had instantly shot a fire spell when the signal was given. The blaze shot toward one of the Eclipsed with expert precision, but it countered with a grey magical forcefield that absorbed the flames. Eventide galloped towards her, charging one of her hooves full of magic. She struck the shield with astounding force, causing it to crack and shatter within seconds. The Eclipsed was blown back, but it managed to land on her hooves before charging up a large blast of magic in her horn. Eventide quickly countered with a magical barrier that deflected the blast back at the Eclipsed. With a flick of its hoof, the Eclipsed fired a beam of dark magic that absorbed the blast into it. Eventide used her telekinesis to hold the dark magic in place. The two attempted to push the dark magic into each other, but Eventide proved to be stronger and slammed the magic into the Eclipsed, sending it flying backwards.

Mythic and her astral adversary connected their minds together, and within seconds, they were on the Astral Plane. The stars and galaxies warped around the Eclipsed as it stared at the stoic bat pony. Mythic could feel her opponent’s psychic magic as she stared at it. The Eclipsed was the first to attack as she fired a blast of dark magic from one of her hooves. Mythic thrust out her hoof, and she forced the dark magic back at her opponent. It erected a barrier that absorbed the magic and deflected it back at her. Mythic braced for the attack and tapped into her astral magic. She stood perfectly still as her mind defended herself from the attack. The magic threatened to tear her apart, but her iron will proved to be far stronger. As the attack subsided, Mythic readied a blast of light within her hooves and fired it at the Eclipsed. The starry pony created a dome around herself that destroyed the blast of light.

Parallax smirked as he gained the upper hoof on his opponent. He had it knocked down to the ground with its sword knocked out of its hoof. He readied the finishing blow, but was caught off guard by a quick kick to the stomach. It’s hoof was icy cold and made him feel uneasy. As Parallax stumbled, the Eclipsed quickly got up and summoned its sword again. It dashed towards him and readied a powerful swing. Parallax ducked and swung at the demonic pony’s hooves, making it stumble a little. It swiftly recovered and countered with a slash to Parallax’s shoulder. He grunted in pain, but he pushed that feeling aside and continued to slash at his opponent. With a few quick slashes and parries, he found an opening and stabbed the starry pony in the throat. It made a horrific guttural noise, to which Parallax responded with another stab to the chest. The Eclipsed collapsed to the ground and split back into it’s misty form, ascending back to the heavens.

Eventide had clearly underestimated her opponent’s magical capabilities. Her starry adversary had her pinned down with a binding spell which she struggled to escape. She fired a beam of magic at it, which was countered by a deflecting spell that sent the beam back at her. As Eventide was struck with her own magic, an idea sprang to her mind. She wiped the blood off her brow and focused on a tree behind The Eclipsed. Tapping into her telekinesis, she uprooted the tree and forced it to slam down on her opponent. It tried to get out of the way, but it was quickly crushed by the large tree. Eventide felt her magical bonds become undone, and galloped over to her opponent who was trying to crawl out from under the tree. Eventide smirked and charged her hoof full of magic again. The Eclipsed tried to defend itself, but its puny shield was no match for her magic. With a horrific noise, it turned back into its smoky form and rose back up to the stars.

Mythic was impressed by her opponent’s abilities. The Eclipsed unleashed a powerful wave of fear upon Mythic. She felt her mind become swamped with visions of her long gone friends and allies. She saw how they died and how they left her. She saw those who betrayed her and those she failed to save. Mythic could feel her soul about to be torn apart as she became overwhelmed with these sights, horrific memories coming at her from all sides. She gathered up all her power and attempted to force back the fear spell at her opponent. She refused to let that fear overcome her and focused all her astral energy on the Eclipsed. She felt her thoughts come back to her as she pushed the fear out of her mind. The Eclipsed tried to push it back into her mind, but Mythic’s will proved to be far stronger. Mythic forced the spell back onto her adversary, and it screamed in agony as she forced the pony back into its misty state. With it’s mind destroyed, the psychic bond was broken, and Mythic came back to reality. She watched as the Eclipsed ascended back to the stars.

As the three finished their duels, they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Parallax’s open wounds oozed crimson blood, making him wince as he tried to regain his composure. Eventide was sure that a bone or two was broken. Mythic held her aching head as her senses slowly came back to her, trying to push away the last remnants of the fear spell.

“Well... we’re not dead. That’s something at least,” Parallax groaned.

“For our first battle together, I’d say we did pretty well, if you consider being alive in one piece to be well,” Eventide said, trying her hardest to stand up.

Parallax slowly trotted over to her. “You alright, Even?”

“Does it look like I’m alright!?” Eventide spat.

“Take it easy, Magey. We’ll get your poor little hoof fixed up soon. Mythic, you holding up okay.”

Mythic trotted over to the two. “Y-Yeah… I’m fine… Parallax, got any medical supplies?”

“A couple bandages and some anaesthetic. Not much, but we’ll have to make do. I’ve learned a few medical tricks during my time in the Guard. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Ooh what fun! Are you two going to play doctor on me? I bet that’ll be a treat!”

Mythic rolled her eyes. “Alright. Let’s rest and recover here for a few hours and continue on our way. Barring no more unfortunate setbacks, the Hollow Shades will be our next stop. Parallax, you get to work on the poor bastard’s leg. I’ll create a fire.”

Within a few minutes, the trio had built a small fire pit surrounded by a couple logs. Eventide’s leg was all bandaged up, still numb from the anaesthetic. They sat around the red embers, the cold giving away to the wondrous warmth.

“It’s almost become second nature to me…”, Mythic murmured.

Eventide looked at her curiously. “What has?”

“This. Sitting around a dingy little fire with a few acquaintances. I’ve done it so much over the years. It’s a ritual I do every few nights at this point.”

“Yeah, well, I’m new to this whole sitting-around-fire-and-having-an-existential-crisis business. What do you normally do during this?” Parallax asked.

“Tell stories, pass around information of various places, get drunk off our flanks.”

Eventide’s ears perked up. “I’m interested in the last one.”

Mythic giggled. “Hate to break it to you, but we don’t exactly have any cider.”

“Damn. How else am I gonna deal with you guys? Guess I’m gonna have to do it the boring way, eh? Who wants to tell the lame-ass story?” Eventide rolled her eyes.

“I’ll do it, I guess. That battle earlier made a lot of memories come flooding back. These eyes have seen so much,” Mythic said.

The two nodded and continued to stare into the fire.

“It was… around six years ago, I think.”

~

I used to be a very adventurous soul. It was near the beginning of my travels throughout Lunaris. I wasn’t nearly as meditative or reflective as I am now. I was always looking forward to going on the next adventure with my group of friends. My short mane, my green cloak, my plucky voice. All remnants of a more… innocent time in my life.

It was in the starting days of the Fourth Lunarian Civil War. The worst this land has ever seen. I’m sure you two remember it. The Rebellion was about to begin their advance on the capital of Canterlot. Me and my gang were just four ponies caught in the middle of this horrific event.

First there was Swift Trip. A dark blue pegasus who was an expert swordspony. I swear, that lad can defeat anypony. His form was almost beautiful. The way he swung with such grace was just incredible. He had a rough exterior, though, and was by far the most aggressive of the group. He’d often boss the rest of us around. At the time, I looked at him as a nagging bastard who needed to shut his damn mouth. Nowadays, I’m kind of thankful for him. He saved my flank numerous times.

There was also Sunlit Rose. She was the obligatory mage of the group. Her magic was some of the best I’ve ever seen. Her defense spells were practically impenetrable, I swear. She was also kind of an egghead, always having her nose stuck in those books. She even wore this cute pair of glassed at time. I, uh, had a bit of a relationship with her… Eventide! Quit giggling! I know I’m blushing!

Anyways, the last member was… my older sister. Mystic Soul. She was a psychic, like me. We were so close together. Our abilities combined were almost unstoppable. She was the strongest telepath I’ve ever seen. We had so many journeys together, whether it was into the depths of Lunaris, or the wonders of the Astral Plane. She was… a lot like how I am now. Philosophical and deep in thought. Our bond was like the moon and the stars. Never able to be separated, and always there for each other. She was almost like a mentor to me. She taught me a lot about life, about magic, and about the world.

We were in Canterlot on the day it happened. We weren’t part of the Rebellion or anything, just four ponies trying to make it in this world. The ponies of Canterlot were very harsh to us, especially since we had two psychics in our group. Keep in mind that the Astra Rebellion was fresh in ponies’ minds. We had both gotten used to it though. Any attempts at violence against us were met with a quick blast of lunar magic. Truth be told, it only added more fuel to that fire, but hey, it got those bastards off our flanks. Anyways, we were there to settle down for a month. We had just finished a long trek through the wilderness, so we decided to take a well-deserved break.

We rented an old cottage near the center of town. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. I slept with Sunlit one night. Her warm embrace made me feel so safe and secure. I still think about it every day…

Except that night I couldn’t sleep. You see, for a few nights, I began to have this vision. I rarely get visions of the future to begin with, but this one was especially noteworthy. If I remember correctly, it began with these white dots. Must’ve been about a dozen or so. I could hear voices emanating from them. There was happiness and laughter coming from them. They were filled with so much joy that I couldn’t help but smile the first time I saw it.

And then… it became quiet. The dots slowly turned to a dark crimson. The smile faded away from my face as I stared with a blank expression at them.

And then there were screams…

They pierced my ears like the sharpest needles. They ripped my entire mind to shreds. The blood-curdling screams and cries were unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. They seemed other-worldly and animal-like. My entire body shook and I began to scream, too. I couldn’t help it. The tears streamed down my face as I was assaulted by those damn screams of pain.

I would wake up a blubbering mess. Sunlit was always there for me, goddess bless her soul. She tried her hardest to comfort me, but I couldn’t help it. I would bury my face in her shoulder as I let it all out. I can safely say that it was one of the scariest moments of my life.

That night, I was too scared to sleep. I just knew that I would get that awful vision again. I snuggled up close to her. After a couple hours of staring at the ceiling, she woke up. She asked what was wrong, her voice like a soothing balm to my tortured soul. I told her of my little predicament. About halfway through my explanation, I began to tear up a little. I was quivering from fear, and I just couldn’t push that fear away.

She pulled me tighter in our embrace, and I buried my face into her shoulder. She kissed me on the neck and told me it would all be okay. I wanted to believe her, I really did, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it. That fear was wrapped too tightly around me, and I couldn’t escape no matter how hard I try. I don’t know how long I cried, but at some point I fell asleep. As it turns out, I did have that vision, and it was just as horrific as ever.

I woke up horrified and unsteady. Thankfully everypony else was getting ready to head out at the time. As I trotted down the streets of Canterlot, Mystic could sense something was wrong. She asked me about it, and I told her about my vision. She… didn’t exactly hold back in her explanation. To make a long story short, something bad would happen in the near future, and I would have to prepare for it. I nodded and asked what I can do to prepare for it. I still remember her words to this day...

“Our lives are speckled with many horrific events, and we must always be ready for them. Be strong, Mythic, for you never know when the last time you see a pony will be.”

Little did I know how prophetic her words would become…

~

“I’m sorry… I c-can’t continue. It’s just too much,” Mythic said, fighting to hold back tears.

“It’s alright, Mythic. You don’t have to continue,” Parallax said.

Eventide said nothing and continued to eat her dinner of beans and stale bread.

“Thanks. That battle earlier… it brought back some awful memories. I’ll continue the story at a later time. I just need to rest for now. Memories are funny things. They sneak up on us when we least expect us and take over our lives. They’re chapters that make up the book of our life. After all, what’s a pony if they don’t have a few awful memories?”

Parallax chuckled. “I can relate. Although, some reflect on them more than others…”

Eventide remained silent.

“Not necessarily a bad thing. They can teach us, but they can also be painful. A double-edged sword, if you will,” Mythic sighed. “Sorry, I’m just rambling again. We should get some rest. Sleeping in the middle of the forest isn’t exactly the safest idea, but we’ll have to make do. Once we all wake up, we’ll head out and we should end up in the Hollow Shades in a few hours.”

“I’ll cast a spell that’ll alert us of any unwanted visitors, along with a dome around us,”Eventide said, as she began casting the spells. “That should keep us safe.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Parallax nodded.

Within a few minutes, Eventide had cast a hazel dome around the group, along with the security spell.

“There. That should keep us safe from those bastards.”

The three had packed their things back into their saddlebags and laid down on the logs. “Remind me to get some sleeping bags next time we visit a merchant,” Mythic said. “Goodnight, you two.”

The two nodded. “Goodnight.”

With that, Parallax slept and Mythic “slept.” Eventide stared up at the stars, their twinkling rays stretching across the sky, bowing down to the wondrous light of the moon. It both relaxed her and made her feel uneasy. For years she had worked to maintain Her Majesty’s wondrous creation, and now she seeks to destroy it. She felt awful at the thought of ripping apart this wonderful sky. Even with all the pain and misery it’s brought, it still manages to be quite beautiful. She continued to stare at the stars before the darkness of sleep took over her body and lifted her from the grip of reality.

~

The Astral Plane was strangely quiet tonight. Normally she would hear the ambient sounds of galaxies warping, but now her ears were filled with complete silence aside from her hoofsteps. Mythic stared into the far-off nebulas and pulsating stars, feeling their magic entering her body and making her feel at peace. She tapped into her powers and made herself levitate. Closing her eyes, she forced herself into a state of deep contemplation. She let the lunar magic fill her soul, her cape and mane gently billowing from all the energy surrounding her.

The galaxies continued to remain silent...