The Pony Loa

by Leila Drake

Chapter 29: Plus One

Twilight quickly stepped back as the mirror surface rippled again. Bodies fell out of the portal, piling up at the base of the mirror. Then, the heap of limbs and bags groaned and moved.

"Still hate portals," she heard Darren's voice in a language that was probably Common. A Night Elf with tattered dragon wings rolled off the pile and stretched out a claw to help Darren up.

They quickly drew their weapons and looked around, ready to fight anything that threatened them. Twilight noticed that the Night Elf's eyes were covered with a dark bandage. How could she see through it?

Darren relaxed as soon as he saw Twilight. He lowered his sword and a tired smile spread on his face. Then, he looked back at the pile. Eclipse and Levinia untangled themselves, nervously glancing around and folding their wings.

"Phew," Darren exhaled. "We all made it." He sheathed his sword and immediately staggered backwards - Twilight hugged him tightly.

"Welcome back!" she exclaimed, on the verge of tears. "We were so worried!" She patted his arm affectionately as she stepped back.

"Good to be back," Darren replied. He bowed slightly before the princesses Celestia and Luna. Then, he noticed Jonathan and his smile grew wider.

---

Eclipse stood up, feeling a little sick. That portal had been less shaky than the one that had pulled them to Azeroth but it was still a hole in space-time. He grimaced, holding his queasy stomach.

Levinia tapped his shoulder and pointed at the ponies that stood there to welcome them. The princesses! Eclipse quickly bowed down, almost tripping over his feet.

"Welcome back," said Princess Celestia with a kind smile. "Just wait a moment, I will fetch your parents." She lit her horn and disappeared in a bright yellow flash of light.

His parents. Eclipse was going to see his parents again! He spontaneously hugged Levinia, squeeing with excitement and grinning widely.

"Oh?" he heard Princess Luna say, surprise in her voice.

Eclipse let go of Levinia. As he still looked at her, she faded a little.

"Uh-Oh," Levinia said sadly.

"What was that?" said Eclipse. "You got more transparent."

"I see it, too," said Jonathan. "Twilight, can you still see Levinia?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No, sorry. She turned invisible again."

Levinia's ears folded back. "Figures," she sighed. "Though I'm still glad I'm not in that vault anymore."

"Me, too," said Darren and Nylene nodded with a smile.

"It's so weird to talk in Equestrian again," said Eclipse, picking up his shield.

"It's hard," said Nylene. She stored her warglaives behind her back. Turning to Princess Luna, she bowed deeply. "I am Nylene," she said.

Princess Luna smiled at Nylene, motioning for her to stand up straight. "Am I right to assume you wished to come along?" she asked.

"Yes, milady. Will you allow it?"

Luna nodded. "A friend of Darren's is a friend of mine," she said simply with a kind smile. "Welcome to Equestria. Or, in this particular case, the Crystal Empire. My name is Luna - and the pony who just disappeared is my sister Celestia. We are the Princesses who rule these lands. But the Empire is under the protection of Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. They should be here soon."

"Thank you. Princess Luna," said Nylene. Eclipse raised an eyebrow. She sounded so respectful, that was unusual. But her Equestrian was more than just a little blocky.

The doors at the far end of the room unlocked and opened. Several ponies stepped inside: Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, the latter holding their alicorn foal in his magic, Princess Celestia, the unicorn Sunburst - and Mom and Dad!

Eclipse dropped his shield and dashed towards them with an excited shout.

---

"Mom! Dad!" Eclipse ran towards Feather, tears of happiness in his eyes and a big grin on his face. There was something off but Feather could not tell what it was. She stretched out her forelegs to embrace her son. Eclipse all but collided with her and hugged her as tightly as he could.

"You've grown," Feather observed, leaning away a little so she could look at him. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

"We're all okay!" Eclipse declared happily. He turned to White to hug him but White simply hugged both Feather and Eclipse at the same time.

Eclipse went on, his voice slightly scratchy, "But I missed you guys so, so much." He closed his eyes for a second, his breath hitching. "I never wanna be away for that long again."

"For - for how long?" Feather asked, confused.

"Weeks and weeks," said Eclipse, letting go of them. "Darren said that time passes differently on Azeroth."

Feather looked at Darren who simply nodded with an apologetic shrug. The knight rummaged in his bag and passed a sealed scroll to Princess Celestia with a comment on who gave it to him. Then, he shook hands with Jonathan. They spoke to each other in a strange language Feather did not understand.

"Let me look at you," Feather said quietly. She held Eclipse's face between her hooves and smiled at him. Oh, he looked almost the same. But something in his eyes had changed. There was something new, a certain kind of alertness that had not been there before.

Eclipse's blue eyes looked back at her. He smiled again and this time Feather realized what else was different. "Honey, your teeth," she said slowly.

The colt's face fell. "Yeah," he said. "I got fangs. Darren says it cause I'm growing up." He blushed and looked down, avoiding Feather's gaze.

She gently forced his head back to face her. "Eclipse," she said, looking intently at him. "It's okay. We know you're a shadow pony. And I love you just the way you are. Fangs or no fangs. You got that?" That got her another hug from him. Now Eclipse shuddered, tears running down from his face.

"Thanks, Mom," he whispered in utmost relief.

"Of course," said Feather, exchanging a worried glance with White.

Feather noticed in the corner of her eye that Princess Cadence was greeting the woman with the long ears and dragon wings. The woman was slightly taller than Jonathan and spooked Feather a little. There was something strange about her. It was not her species, it was something else. Feather felt faintly reminded of Eclipse's Shadow powers. Was she a wielder of that kind of magic, too?

Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle talked to Darren. Jonathan apparently spoke to Levinia because all Feather saw before him was thin air. Sunburst just watched as happy chatter filled the room.

It was hard to believe that they had been gone for weeks. It had been only a few days for Feather. But she still saw that Darren's hair was longer than before, so was Eclipse's mane, and they both seemed tired. Darren's armour did not look new even though Feather had never seen him wearing it. And the way Eclipse clung to her confirmed the truth: He really had missed his family a lot. Her grip around him tightened. What had happened to them on that foreign world?

"It's a big relief you are all back in one piece," said Princess Cadence now. "We know that time passed differently for you. So feel free to rest in the castle. We can continue this later, over breakfast."

Everyone nodded, Eclipse still in Feather's embrace. They picked up their things and left one by one. Shining Armor was the last one to exit the room. He cast a spell and a pink shield bubble appeared around the mirror. Then, he nodded at the two crystal guards that had stood on the other side of the door. They went inside and closed the door, ordered to guard the still active portal.

---

Darren decided to accept the royal family's offer to rest before breakfast. It had been around midnight when they returned to Equestria and he welcomed the chance to get some proper sleep with open arms.

Talking about a heartfelt welcome: Eclipse did not leave his parents' side. His mother kept her hoof on his shoulder, reassuring both him and herself. White nodded his thanks at Darren.

Everyone said Goodnight to each other. Darren and Nylene followed Twilight and the Prince, everyone else went with Princess Cadence.

After Shining Armor had showed him to a room, Darren sat down on the blanket of the large bed. He sighed. The inn had been cozy and clean but still sort of dark. Everything in the Crystal Castle, however, was bright. The sheets, the walls, the curtains, even the flowers in vibrant colours that stood in a vase on the wooden table. It felt surreal, as if Darren was dreaming. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation.

Darren put his bag down, slowly took off his boots and armour and lied down.

It was strange to be alone after weeks of sharing a room with Eclipse. With a child around, there was usually noise around, too. Now silence greeted Darren. There was not even any noise from outside: The windows were apparently soundproof.

He still fell asleep almost instantly after his head hit the pillow.

---

Someone knocked at the door. Nylene woke up and blinked. The bandage over her eyes was still in place. She sat up and stretched all of her limbs. The additional six hours of sleep had been a blessing. She smiled and jumped off the bed. Snatching her bag, Nylene hesitated.

She did not need to bring anything along. Nylene put the bag back down, leaving it with her cloak and weapons.

As she left the room, she saw that a guard had waited for her. A pony guard, obviously. Four legs, a noticeably bright aura, and armed with a halberd that fit his size. It had to be a male. He asked her to follow him and his voice had a similar pitch as those of Prince Shining Armor and Eclipse's father.

So Nylene did as the little pony guard asked, following him until they arrived in a larger room. Several people were already there: Darren, Eclipse and his parents, along with a pony of similar age which was probably his sister. Also, the four princesses, Shining Armour, the slighty shy unicorn scholar from yesterday and the human Jonathan. They sat around a long, roughly horseshoe-shaped table (how fitting) and talked to each other about how their night was. Nylene stepped onto the soft ground, probably carpet, and quickly found the empty seat that was hers.

"Good morning!" Eclipse greeted her happily. "You can sit here." He patted onto the empty seat while he stated the obvious.

Nylene smiled kindly. "Thank you, An'dorei." She pulled the seat back and eyed the filly that sat on Eclipse's other side. The earth pony looked back at Nylene, her aura spiked, and then the filly quickly faced her plate again.

Darren nodded at Nylene from across the table. She gave him a small smile, then focused on Eclipse.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Sort of, I'm still kinda excited so it took a while till I fell asleep," Eclipse answered. "And you know what, it was strange to be in my own bed again! I never thought that could happen, to feel like your own bed is somebody else's."

The filly twitched, confused. "What did you say?" she asked, both shy and curious.

"Oh, right," Eclipse said, slapping his forehead. "Sorry. I'm so used to talking in Common that I didn't even notice. I told Nylene I slept okay."

"Ah." The filly returned her attention to her food.

Nylene noticed the princesses asking Darren several questions about his time in Stormwind. He began by telling them about Vol'Shalai's mishap when he had summoned them, then he went on to their journey on the ship to Booty Bay. It seemed that the royals got to know what they wanted without Nylene's help. Good, that meant she could focus on getting acquainted the ponies in the room. Nylene already felt the gaze of Eclipse's parents resting on her.

"Who are you?" she opted to ask the filly. "Eclipse's big sister?"

"Uh, y-yes," the filly stammered. "I'm Peridot. Nice... to meet... you," she added meekly.

"You, too," said Nylene. She accepted a piece of bread from a basket Jonathan was offering her. "Sorry, I don't know much Equestrian. Eclipse and Levinia teach me."

Peridot nodded. "You already sound pretty good," she said, bravely trying to cover up her nervousness.

"Thank you," said Nylene. "Eclipse looks happy to see you again."

"You bet!" Eclipse said with a grin. Nylene noticed Peridot's aura spiking again but the filly did not flinch. She was probably intimidated by the colt's fangs but tried not to show it. Maybe they had already talked about it. "You know, I never noticed how boring it can be without a big sister." He affectionately patted Peridot's shoulder, eliciting a giggle from her. "And sometimes I felt really lost," Eclipse added quietly. "So thanks for being there."

Nylene nodded and quickly ran a finger though a lock of his mane. "Now your Mom and Dad are here for you," she said. "That is better."

"Well, thank you for looking after our son," said Eclipse's father. "I gotta admit that I did not expect you to show up with Eclipse and Darren. Eclipse told us that you sacrificed a lot of your time to take care of him."

"It's okay," said Nylene, inwardly irritated that she lacked the words to say how she felt. She pursed her lips, thinking quickly. "With Eclipse, it's a good use of time. He learns a lot. And he is a good pony."

"What are you going to do now?" asked Eclipse's mother. "Why did you come to Equestria?"

Suddenly, the other conversations halted. Silence fell and Nylene became aware that Feather Rush was not the only one who wanted an answer to that question.

"I..." she hesitated. "My work on Azeroth is over. I want to do something else. New things."

"Ah," said Feather. "How come? Didn't you like Azeroth? Was it hard to make a living there?"

Thank Elune, the other conversations resumed. Lowering her voice a little, Nylene decided to take a leap of faith and tell Feather more.

"My old life was hard. I -" she sighed in defeat. "Eclipse, would you mind translating for me?" she asked in Common.

"No problem," said Eclipse seriously, thankfully realizing that this was a tough subject.

Nylene nodded. She had to make simple sentences so it would not be too difficult for Eclipse.

So she went on, Eclipse translating after each sentence, "A long time ago, there was a great evil that threatened the entire world. Some of my people decided to leave our home and fight it. We took the power of our enemies and made it our own. But our families and friends thought that we had gone too far. That we had become demons ourselves. It's true, it happened to a few of our fighters. They gave in to the powers inside of them and lost their mind.

"In the end, we won against the invaders. But I can't return the magic that I have. I must stay the way I am. I can't go back to my family because they don't want me. But Eclipse is different. He, Darren, Vol'Shalai, Levinia... they are my friends. I want to stay in touch with them. And try and make a new life in a new place, like Equestria. Eclipse told me that this world is peaceful. And peace is all I ever wanted. I'd be honoured if we could be friends, Feather."

Feather's aura had changed colours during Nylene's explanation. First sceptical and alert, the mare was now intrigued and radiated compassion towards Nylene. Feather bent forward to get a better look at Nylene.

"I'd be happy to befriend the mare who protected my son," she said warmly.

"The honour's ours," added White.

If she could have, Nylene would have blushed.

---

Across the table, the princesses discussed the portal with Darren. Celestia held the scroll in her magic, its seal broken.

"This is a very important decision," she said. "Your Lord Commander sounds like a good person. But all of this is way too big to make a choice without the other leaders of Equestria."

"He's not my Lord Commander," Darren clarified, his tone respectful but firm. "Turalyon is the leader of the Alliance until the king returns. Light knows where Wrynn is right now. I don't speak for anybody but myself. Khadgar asked me to give you the scroll. But, to be honest... I'd appreciate if you approved." He hesitated, then he added, "I found my cousin over there."

"I see." That was Luna. She tapped her chin with a hoof, her spoon idly stirring the coffee in her cup.

"I can contact Thorax," said Twilight. "The changelings would surely vote for keeping the portal open."

"Yakyakistan, too, probably," said Cadence. "Since Yona's attendance at the School of Friendship, diplomatic relations with her tribe have improved significantly. And the Dragon Lord will most likely agree, too. Same with the hippogriffs and griffons. I'd worry more about the minotaurs."

"Perhaps," said Darren. "It's hard to say how they'll react to the existence of tauren. They might be glad or offended, there's no way to tell beforehand."

"What about Saddle Arabia?" Sunburst asked.

Celestia frowned. "Fifty-fifty," she assumed. "We're not at odds with them. If we play this right, we might win them over with the chance of gaining new business opportunities."

"The letter says that the Alliance would like to open diplomatic relations," said Luna, "but there's not a word about the Horde."

"What do you think, Darren?" Twilight asked. "Would there be trouble if we invited only the Alliance?"

"Most definitely," Darren said without hesitation. "The Horde leaders would assume that we allied against them. It might even start a new war."

Twilight groaned, covering her forehead with her hooves. "Politics," she sighed, contempt in her voice. "If we could just exchange knowledge and goods, be friends with one another, that would be so great."

Jonathan patted her shoulder. "Don't give up yet, Twilight. I think there may be a way to stay at least neutral here."

Twilight looked up, hopefully lowering her hooves. "How?"

"Archmage Khadgar," said Jonathan simply.

Darren's eyes widened. "You're right, that could work." He raised a hand, trying to explain. "He's neither Alliance nor Horde. The Kirin Tor are a faction outside of that... conflict. More or less. Dalaran is open to both enemy factions. If the portal could be moved there it would mean that a neutral party controls it."

"Dalaran used to be a base for military operations against the Lich King, for instance," said Jonathan. "In case something goes wrong, the Kirin Tor would ensure that both Alliance and Horde would lose the portal."

"Are you saying that those factions can be kept in line if the condition for the portal is a truce on Equestria?" Shining Armor asked.

"Exactly," said Jonathan. "If Equestria doesn't play along, the portal is history. Which means that you get to make the rules. Well, most of them, anyway. And trust me, you'll want to establish a few. There are certain traps we need to avoid. I'm thinking of the goblins here, and the Forsaken, but we should be careful in general. Some resources should be off limits for Azeroth."

"Who is that Khadgar?" asked Luna. "Is he the leader of the Kirin Tor?"

"Yes. Archmage Khadgar is the one who secured the other end of the portal," Darren explained. "He's interested in keeping it open but wants to avoid conflict as much as we do. And with the power he's got, not just politically but also as a mage, people will listen well to what he has to say."

"He sounds like a reasonable guy," said Shining Armor. "Or at least someone worth talking to."

"That he is." Darren nodded. "With him on our side, we're halfway there."

"Sounds like you get to see your folks again after all," Jonathan said to him with a grin.

Darren shook his head. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

---

"Eclipse? Can we talk for a minute?"

Eclipse's ears twitched when he heard the ethereal voice echoing through his head. He stopped walking.

"Mom, please wait a second, Levinia wants something," he said.

Feather blinked, surprised, and halted. White and Peridot were already a few steps ahead. Their house was almost in sight. Feather waved at them to keep going.

"Sure, honey. Do you want me to go ahead?"

"Er." Eclipse pondered that for a moment. "Can you stay here? If you go, it'll look as if I'm talking to myself," he said with a blush. He looked up and down the street. Crystal ponies everywhere - and not a single biped. Eclipse was supposed to be at home but the feeling just would not come to him. He sighed and looked expectantly at Levinia.

"I need to tell you something," said Levinia, suddenly shy. She fiddled with her long, beautiful mane. "It's about the Shadowlands."

The Shadowlands. A sinking feeling hit Eclipse in his gut. "Y-yeah? What about them?"

"Mark said that it's not clear what happens to the dead right now," said Levinia.

"Yeah, but we can't do anything about it," Eclipse said slowly. "We can't just die, too, to find out."

Feather gasped as she heard him say that.

Eclipse quickly went on, "That would be extremely stupid."

"Of course," Levinia agreed, "bit since I'm already dead, maybe I can do something after all. I want to travel all over Equestria. I want to warn everypony who dies. Maybe I can save a few souls before they get lost." She spread her forelegs. "I can't just do nothing."

Eclipse sighed. "Yeah, I understand," he said sadly. "I guess I'd feel the same way. But please, please be careful. And maybe tell the humans before you leave. And please drop by once in a while, I wanna know you're okay."

Levinia nodded. "I'll be careful," she said. "Pinkie Promise." She floated down until her feet touched the ground.

They hugged tightly. Wow, she was really cold. Eclipse shuddered even though he did not want to. He let go of Levinia. She smiled sadly at him. The sinking feeling in his gut expanded.

"Bye," he said quietly, watching the ghost fade away until there really was nothing but thin air.

Eclipse wiped his eyes. He faced Feather and made a grimace. "She left," he said curtly.

"Hm." Feather eyed her son with a frown. "Are you okay?"

"Think so," Eclipse said, his voice shaky. "Just... there's been too many Goodbyes lately. I need a break."

They resumed walking, Feather putting a foreleg across Eclipse's back.

---

Darren watched as the landscape passed the carriage window, his head leaned against the side of the car.

What would his house look like when they arrived? White had assured him that everything was in order. After Darren's disappearance, he had taken the key and looked after the house and the garden, whatever that meant.

Darren tilted the key in his hands. He had not even used it yet.

"Key to your house?" Nylene asked.

Darren nodded. "Imagine that: I had my housewarming party when that damn portal pulled us in."

"Maybe there's still some cake left," Nylene said dryly. She leaned forward, resting her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees. The carriage was well-sprung. Paper rustled when she put her bag onto the next seat.

"Why did the prince give us the carriage?" she asked.

"My mount is at home and so is my money," said Darren. "They're generous like that. Now that I know the date here, I can get my things in order. There's still two vacation days left."

"Convenient," Nylene commented.

"More like urgently needed," Darren corrected, rubbing his eyes.

"I said it before: I can find other accomodations."

"Nonsense. I do have a couch." Darren put the key away. "And if the cake is spoiled, we'll just make a new one."

---

When they arrived and got out of the carriage, one of the stallions who had pulled the car got out of his harness. Grinning, he stepped towards Darren. It was a blue crystal pony with a dark brown mane and tail and bright blue eyes.

"Abs!" Darren said incredulously.

"Yep." The muscular pony nodded at the other three guards. One of them reached into his bag and gave Abs a small stone. Then, the guards turned the carriage around and left for the city.

"So Twilight already copied the concept of a hearthstone," Darren commented. They bumped fist and hoof and Darren introduced his friend to Nylene. "This is Abrasive Paper, a City guard. We fought together against Sombra. And he didn't tell me he'd pull the carriage."

"Been in a hurry, huh? I saw you guys get in." Abs offered his hoof to Nylene who hesitantly made a fist to bump it.

"Sorry. Guess I'm just too tired." Darren made a face. He blinked, properly looking around for the first time since getting out of the carriage. The fields and forest around the small building looked the same as before. It was still hard to believe only a few days had passed here. But here he was, right back at his new house.

"I won't bother you long," Abs assured Darren. "Just came along to show you what's what. Got the key?"

Darren unlocked the house and led his two guests inside.

"So, we put all the leftovers into the fridge," said Abs, "and White came once to water the plant. What else? Oh, right, we swept the floor, dunno where the broom goes, though." He pointed at the broom that was leaned against Darren's closet next to the front door.

"Thank you," said Darren, feeling embarrassed.

"No prob. Anything you need?"

"Don't think so."

"Awesome. Well, then I'll be off. I'm on duty. I pulled a few strings to do this." Abs grinned. "See you tomorrow night?"

Darren nodded. "I'll be there."

"You can bring your girlfriend if you want to," Abs said nonchalantly, raising the hearthstone. A blue magic circle appeared at his feet. "The more the merrier."

"She's not my -" Darren began but Abs had already teleported away.

Darren felt heat creeping up his cheeks. He cleared his throat and put the broom away.

"Er," he said smartly.

Nylene chuckled. "I wouldn't mind," she said, setting her bag and warglaives down next to the couch. "Either of those things." When she noticed Darren's lack of reaction, she sighed. She took the paper bag out that Darren had given her earlier.

Darren went into the kitchen and found two plates. His guests had cleaned all the dishes, too... He returned to the table and set the plates down, along with two knives. Nylene opened the paper bag and added bread and croissants.

"Got butter around here somewhere," Darren muttered, avoiding to look at Nylene.

---

"What's that package at the counter?" Nylene asked curiously while they ate.

"Shelf," said Darren. "A gift from Sunburst."

"Do you need help with the assembly?"

Darren tilted his head. "Yes, please," he decided with a smile.

Nylene continued to eat. Now she was smiling, too.

"This is ridiculous," she chuckled. "You're a former death knight, I'm a demon hunter. And we're here on a pony world, sitting around and staring at each other like awkward teenagers."

"Maybe." Darren rested his face on his hand, also amused. "Beating around the bush, as it were."

Nylene wiped her mouth. The chair scraped across the floor as she stood up and leaned over to give Darren a kiss.

---

Eclipse sat down on his bed. He bounced a little, shaking the soft mattress. Pulling his shirt over his head, he huffed. Now that he was safe in his room, he felt extremely tired again.

Eclipse put the shirt aside, next to his belt and shield, and yawned. He froze in mid-movement. He was being watched.

"What?" he asked Peridot.

His sister fidgeted a little. She sat down on her own bed, at a distance from Eclipse. She eyed him like a stranger. Eclipse felt his heart sinking.

"What?" he repeated, trying to sound nice even though he was scared of the answer.

"What happened to you?" Peridot asked. "Where were you? Mom and Dad hardly told me anything. You're even taller than before! How can that even be? Did some weird magic give you fangs?"

Eclipse's shoulders sagged forward. "That's a lot of questions," he said, trying to play for time.

"Then pick one," Peridot snapped.

"Okay... well... I was on a different planet. On Darren's home world. For over five weeks."

"Oh." Peridot looked at him, her violet eyes finally meeting his. "Guess that's a good reason." She slid off her bed, stepping closer to him. "But what about these?" She pointed at his mouth.

Eclipse's ears folded back. "I don't know," he admitted. "Darren says it's because I'm a Shadow pony. I think he's right. I trained a lot and got a bit older. It kinda makes sense that they came out." He grimaced. "It's uncomfortable. I keep biting my cheeks and tongue. I don't even know what they're for."

"Maybe nothing at all." Peridot sighed.

"Maybe." Eclipse looked dejectedly at the floor.

Peridot slowly touched his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I was just scared that you're not the same pony anymore. I don't wanna lose my little brother."

Eclipse hugged her carefully. "I don't want to lose myself, either."

"What do you mean?" Peridot asked, confused.

He looked at her, his blue eyes dead serious. "It was very dangerous over there. We had to fight a lot. I was so scared that I almost lost control of my powers." When Peridot still looked at him with big eyes, he went on, "They taught me to use the Light. That created some kind of balance. But I don't think I'm the same pony as before. I did some really bad things and I don't know what to do about it. I can't apologize to the people I hurt, you know. And that... that sucks."

"Maybe there's nothing you can do," Peridot offered hesitantly. "But if you wanna talk about it, I'll be there for you. I've got to look out for you, don't I?" She smiled a little.

"Thanks," said Eclipse quietly.

"Can I touch them?" Peridot asked.

"Er, what?"

"The fangs. I've never seen any up close." Peridot grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, sure." Eclipse opened his mouth, baring his teeth.

Peridot shuddered a little. She reached out a hoof and gingerly touched the tip of Eclipse's fang.

"Wow, it's very pointy," she said.

Eclipse closed his mouth and nodded. "Yeah. Like I said."

There was an awkward silence.

Eclipse jumped off the bed. He went to his bag and searched for his Hearthstone pack.

"I gotta show you something else," he said. "Nylene bought me some really cool cards. I bet you Deep is gonna love them. I even have a card of a new friend! An actual friend," he added when he saw Peridot's face. "He's the one who made the portal. Maybe we can meet him again one day."