Total Eclipse of the Sun

by Sarikano

6 : I dream of the Moon

Total Eclipse of the Sun
Chapter 6 : I dream of the moon

May 3rd
The sun was shining, heating the sand I was using to work on my masterpiece, a castle on the top of a mountain. I'm happy that mommy agreed to let me go to the beach today, but it was unfortunate that Lulu couldn't come with me; it wasn't the same without my little sister...

Once it is completed, I'll name my fortress Camelot and I shall be its prince. Let be honest, kings are overrated. They have to do diplomacy with other kingdoms, be sure that the budgets are corrects and be nice to the snobby nobles. You have much more freedom as a prince. Besides, it would have been awkward if Luna finally decided to join me. She'd want to be my equal and I'm not sure I'd like the meaning of her being my queen.

Suddenly, I noticed a girl near me with a shovel and a bucket. She was wearing a blue knee short dress and shared the same mane and eye color as my favorite sister. While I didn't mind some help with my castle, I was wondering who just surprised me. "Who are you?"

"Well, Alex, I could be many things, but right now it would appear that I am a human version of young Luna." It was Luna? She must have practiced some transmutation magic before joining me at the beach. I preferred her normal pony body, but I guess that hands were more useful for building castles. And she was talking weirdly. Well, she was always a dramatic one.

Still, I was happy that she changed her mind and joined me after all. "Oh! That explains why you look so weird little sister."

"Um, yeah. So, you know this is a dream right?"

A dream? I think that Luna was taking her title of Alicorn of the Night a little too seriously... Beside, who did she think I was? We obviously both were on a beach at the moment, "Eh, this is a beach Lulu, not a dream. They don't look the same, and you should know that!"

"Alright, who am I talking to? Are you Alex or Celestia?" Okay, this wasn't funny. I knew that mommy and daddy would have called me Celestia had I been a girl, but this was kind of a low blow coming from her. She might have miscast a spell again...

"This is Alex... Luna, you are making even less sense than before. Who is this Celestia?" That was a little low from myself, but she had started it.

"If, you're not Celestia, then why do you keep calling me Luna?" Why was she insisting on it? Besides, she was the one who presented herself as my sister. Well, unless she was a changeling who was trying to pass itself as Luna to feed on my emotions. I really hated those bugs.

"What?" I shouted very loud. "If you aren't Luna, then GO AWAY!"

Mommy rushed to my side when my voice alerted her. Several other persons started to surround the being that pretended to be my little sister. They were probably friends with my mommy. As the intruder retreated in fetal position, I started to feel bad about what was happening. Still, it was its own fault that it got in this situation.

Then an evil voice resonated in the air, "Heh heh heh, just what I needed, a little dash of fear!" Everypony was confused by the strange voice and started to look around for the source of its origin. They suddenly froze in place. The stranger managed to reach me thanks to the confusion the voice provoked. I didn't trust it at this point.

A horn echoed out from across the water. It warned us that we should be transported to the most terrible imaginable; the otherworld. Everypony, except that stranger, had left me to fend for myself. I was so terrified that I hoped I hadn't soiled my underwear. Mother would be mad if I did.

What followed was even worse; the familiar mist from the town of Silent Hill started to roll over the surface of the beach. The world itself started to change. The ground of the peaceful beach slowly started to flake apart; leaving a floor of the most evil color ever discovered; Pink. The fog then darkened to that same color and started to become heavier.

I couldn't take it anymore. The omnipresent of the color reminded me too much of what happened to me daily at the school. At that moment, I only wanted to disappear, to go away. It was at that moment that the whispers started and my world was turned over.

“Aren't you a cute boy, wanting to be princess.”
“You are in the wrong castle.”
“Only girls are scardey cats, oh wait you are one, Alexia”
"Why do you wear pink? It's a girl color!"
"What are you, gay?"
"I can't believe you dressed up as a girl!"

A single shout worthy of Gandalf put an end to my nightmare, "Enough!" The world around me started to break down leaving only darkness. But, more importantly, the voices had stopped.

It took me a few moments to take my bearings, only to figure out that I was in a black void. Somehow, I knew that it meant I wasn't presently awake and it surprised me how familiar this place was. But that was impossible, right? I would remember a place like this.

Taking some time to look around, I noticed a familiar little girl nearby. Thinking back on my time on the beach, I recalled that I had mistaken her for Luna. One thing was certain; she had an unusual obsession over the pony I was becoming, Celestia. This was weird, unless it was a manifestation of John from my mind. Well, I might as well have some fun, it was my dream after all, "That's a nice dress."

The sound of a sigh reached my ears. Well, the simulacrum was acting close enough to real deal. The girl in question started to approach me, preparing her herself to ask me a question, "So, do you know this is a dream now?"

That girly voice was too cute. I could imagine all too well how badly John would react if she was stuck with that voice. The question was weird considering I needed to know it was a dream for my mind to ask it. Well, if my mind wanted to play, it was a game we could both play, "That would explain your lack of any pony features." This reminded me that my dream had turned into a nightmare quite suddenly. Maybe, my mind servant knew what happened. Also, I'd like to know how much worse my vision of John became. "So...What just happened? Or, more importantly, is it really you John?"

"Well, first off, yeah, it's really me. Secondly, just because I'm a young girl right now doesn't mean I can't kick your ass into next week if I needed. And lastly, I believe I just dispelled a nightmare forced upon you by the Nightmare." Yep, that temper confirmed that it was John, not that my little sister Luna wa- Okay, that was weird. I'll need to try to figure out how the mental changes worked once I'm up tomorrow...

Dream John should know better then threaten me when I had access to the ultimate weapon, "You know, I can probably summon that frying pan to me in this dream." I also stuck out my tongue at her. It wasn't the most mature action I had done lately, but I was a young boy presently, so, why not?

What did she mean by the Nightmare? It probably had something to do with whatever source the changes used as a model. I should question the dream entity about it; it might be information that the real John could use. "But more seriously, the Nightmare? I don't think you're talking about Soul Edge here."

"Yeah, you got that right. It may be a little like Soul Edge, but this one seems to me to be more like a second personality than the real thing." For a moment, I was surprised that she finally understood one of my references. Until I remembered that she was a fragment of my mind. At that point, I was finding the void depressing so I decided to shift it back to the beach from earlier.

I didn't like the meaning of that news. If the same is true for my John, it was urgent that I told her without delay. Oh, also for some stupid reason, I decided to ask the construct about its well-being, "Will you be fine?" It was ridiculous to be worried about something that only existed in my dream.

"Yeah, I will be. Anyways, what was with all the pink earlier?"

Right... My subconscious wasn't exactly subtle in telling me I should confess the truth to the real John. I might as well practice now for later, "The Otherworld... I guess that I no longer have any reason to keep this secret." Considering the look that my otherworld took, it was clear how much of a problem that event had been for me. "It all started with the costume I chose to wear while I was still in first grade. It was Halloween, so I decided to disguise as a certain Mario character that I'll let you guess."

A rather unexpected question interrupted my monologue, "Mario?"

What? I knew that John rarely understood my references, but my mind had pushed a little too far. Why, even my grandmother knows who Mario is! "You know, the plumber who keeps saving the same princess from the scaly guy?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. Please continue." Before I could do so, the dream construct decided to make a comment à la Luna, "Oh! I know who it is! Toad!" Great, my own mind was trolling me. This was a too perfect version of John.

"So, like I was saying, I decided to dress as a certain PINK PRINCESS. I think I don't need to explain what happened during the next day."

I felt the need to sit before continuing with my story. The memories of what I had endured all those years still haunted me on some nights... "As you probably suspect, they didn't stop with their fun afterward. At first it was about the disguise, but it quickly evolved around the color pink." It wasn't easy to tell so much to a mental projection, I had no idea how I'd manage to tell the same to my sister. "To be honest, it lasted until I graduated from High School."

I was still angry about the way I reacted to the constant harassment, I should had known better... "But it wasn't the worst that happened. I eventually had enough of the whole thing, so I got into a fight with a boy a year older than me." The rest was much harder to tell... "The poor guy was lucky that others managed to stop me."

I recognized the same fury that had taken over me when John tried to kill me. My hope was that telling her of my greatest error would lead her to open herself to me. Her anger issue wasn't something she could solve alone; I knew at least that much...

"Alex, the dream is collapsing, so I'll be pulled out soon. I'll talk to you in the waking world." Huh? That was yet another weird reaction from my dream companion.

That reminded me that my project was still unfinished, "Oh shoot. I didn't get to finish my sand castle."

And the world became black.

++C++

I slowly opened my eyes, waking from my strange slumber. The first thing I saw was the floor, again... I really shouldn't make a habit of this. I slowly forced myself to stand, more sloppily then usual; I blamed the lateness of which I have fallen asleep last night.

Dragging my feet along, I directed myself toward the kitchen, where the holy relic of the morning should be. Once I arrived in the room, a quick glance around was enough to locate the container for the coffee. Setting the new destination in my internal GPS, I progressed toward my objective; only to end on the floor with a loud BANG!

Great! I just slipped on the floor, landed of my tail again and found myself back to the same spot as yesterday. My name is Alex Mercier and this is my favorite spot in the kitchen. The familiar pain brought more serious concerns; how do ponies manage not to step on their tail so often? Sitting down was a real health hazard now!

I briefly tried to get back on my feet, but they lacked the necessary adherence thanks to the tiling of floor. This morning was getting better and better... Considering that I wasn't going anywhere alone, I finally abandoned my attempts and waited for my sister to check on me. I hoped that the bang would have woken her up.

After a moment, a sudden loud voice literally made me jump out in the air, "Alex! Wake up! We are going to make breakfast and you're in the way!"

I was surprised that my little sister had managed to sneak up on me from the front. "Ah! Luna, when did you-" Oh right, morning... I almost forgot that my awareness in the morning was legendary for the wrong reasons. "Never mind. I seem to be unable to stand."

Luna was about to reach down to help me when she proceeded to copy my earlier fall to the letter. I knew all too well how you’re feeling at the moment sister. For some reason, she was fumbling with her rather flat looking foot. Why was she removing her sock? I'd prefer not to smell her foot being so close up.

Oh, that was unexpected. The sock revealed a blue hoof and some fur of the same color up to her ankle. I stared at her hoof absentmindedly while she removed the other sock and managed to stand back up easily. This gave me the idea to look at my own feet, as they might be the source of my immobility. "That might just be the reason why I can't seem to stand again."

Pulling my own socks away, a new set of pure white hooves and fur was predictably revealed. The oddness of such an extremity captured my attention for while. It would also explain why I didn't feel my toes this morning. A distinctive clip clop sound broke me out of my trance. I noticed Luna was moving towards my previous objective. I wasn't going to try to stop her if she wanted to make some coffee.

I wouldn't want to be in her way either so I might as well wait at the table until she is done with her coffee. This time, I managed to stand back up easily, which was weird considering the smaller surface of contact that my hooves held with the floor. Even weirder was feeling the ground through thickness of the hooves.

I quickly reached the nearest chair, my own hooves' noise resonating through the room. I'll admit that it was annoying, but I suppose we would eventually get used to it. At least, I hoped we would for the sake of our own sanity.

A new set of clip clop brought my attention back to Luna. Stealth was out of the window now; neither of us was going to mimic Snake anytime soon. I was so surprised when she handed me a cup of coffee that I wasn't attentive enough about what I told her, "I'm sorry. I don't normally have that much of a problem with preparing coffee." Sometimes I could be very stupid; I should have thanked her for the coffee.

My little sister placed her own cup on the opposite side of me on the table before addressing herself to me. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's my pleasure to cook for a guest." Before I could correct my previous mistake, she quickly added, "Hey, I'll be right back."

I didn't mind that she needed to go somewhere, probably the bathroom, considering that I finally had my coffee. As long as she came back once I'm done with drinking it. There were a few things I needed to ask her. I should also tell her about my current situation with my friend Michael, though I wasn't sure how well she would take being indirectly responsible for our current fall-out.

I quickly smelt the liquid essence of the dawn before finally thanking her for the brew, "Thanks for the coffee Luna." Once I was done, she quickly left the kitchen. I took a first sip of the liquid aphrodisiac and I was highly surprised. Luna had prepared my coffee exactly to my preferences without my help! Though it wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened in the last few days.

A few more sips quickly cleared my mind. I quickly came to regret that clarity. I had a few awkward moments in the past in my pre-coffee state but nothing equivalent to what happened this morning in the kitchen. Hopefully, Lu- John won't have noticed how out of it I was. Who was I kidding; she was going to remind me of this for the years to come...

Now that I think about it, didn't I refer her as Luna the whole time? This was just perfect... The changes had progressed further during the night. I really didn't ne- “AAAAAAAAAAAH!” The rather high-pitched shout that interrupted my thoughts came from the bathroom. It was so unnerving that I almost spilled my cup, but I managed to stabilize it with both my hands. John soon came running back into the kitchen. Oh, come on! This was starting to be ridiculous, what change did she notice this time...

I don't know which irritated me the most, John habit of storming out of the bathroom or the fact that I almost spill my precious, "What is it this time?"

"Well, ma'am, I would suggest going to the bathroom and checking below the border, much like how you got here." Eh... Why did she just call me ma'am? I wouldn't have been surprised if I made that error considering it had been a while since I started to consider her to be female. But it didn't seem to be an error on her part... And what was it with those Americans and their weird expressions?

"Ma'am? South of the border?" Wait. Didn't Luna’s face look a bit different? More round and feminine... A quick glance at her clothes revealed another disturbing fact; they were loose on her body. How did I manage to miss those details earlier? Oh, right... Probably for the same reasons I missed the hooves...

Wait, if she was officially female now, it must mean that... A quick glance at my own clothes revealed a similar conclusion then earlier. Well, this morning will definitely end as one of the most interesting I have ever had. The good part was that I no longer needed to worry to address her as a female on accident. "Why do I have the feeling that going to the bathroom is much different now Luna?"

Okay... What did I say to freeze her in place this time? I only confirmed what she weirdly said earlier. Wait; did I actually call her Luna without noticing the slip this time around? This was starting to get ridiculous! I had stopped to worry about every small slip, as long as the name one stayed contained to her. But if she was going to be reacting badly every time I did call her by the name that came much more naturally to me, we were going to be disputing often. We'll need to discuss that later. "I meant to say John…"

"Suuuuure you did. Now get going and see for yourself before I call you Celestia." I'm neither confirming nor denying the implied claim. The name on the other hoof didn't bother me as I thought it would, but I was still partial to Alexia if I had to adjust my name to fit my probable new gender. It would be more fitting considering our situation. It was too bad that Jona didn't sound as feminine.

In any case, I should probably do as my grumpy sister says and have a look at my body even if I wasn't a sex bomb. She was obviously having a terrible morning. Maybe it was that time of the month for her. Na, she was just being moody as usual. Still, I wasn't looking forward to experiencing that first hand myself; women can be very scary when that time comes around. And there was no telling how badly ponies reacted during that period...

I finished my cup before getting ready to use the bathroom. As I was about to leave, I turned to face Luna, still amused by her attempt to get me with my pony name, "I'm not going to stop you if you want to use that name, but it is slightly longer then my own."

She rolled her eyes at my flawless logic only to take a jab at me, "Whatever Celly." Great, now I was a vegetable. I almost replied with my own nickname for her that had made her go crazy last time, but I thought better of it and turned my back on her; making my way towards the porcelain throne room. Besides, I was starting to get used to her temperament, yay me. As I entered the bathroom, I heard a girly squeak coming from the living room. I did not want to know what caused that cute sound to escape from her mouth...

My first priority was to do my usual business. Well, as usual as it could be considering that something was obviously missing once I removed my underwear. After using the toilet like a mare, I simply flushed it. A few clip-clops later, I found myself in front of the sink and the mirror above it. A flat-chested woman wearing a shirt too short for her stared back at me. She seemed to be cos-playing for some kind of anime, pink hair flowing from her head with two cute white pony ears sticking out on top. I had in fact changed sides during the night and had apparently also had a growth spurt.

Once I had washed my hands, I proceeded to do my now routine analysis. There was only one new change worth mentioning. My cutie mark was now covered by the same type of fur as that of my hooves. I wonder how effective this fur is at protecting us from the cold. Or how bad it will be for the upcoming summer.

Having finally finished with the bathroom for the moment, I decided to join back with my sister. Oddly enough, despite the major changes I suffered during the night, I was feeling just fine. Who wouldn't with such a sunny day? Once I arrived in the kitchen, I found it empty. Luna had probably moved to the living room while I was away.

As soon as saw her sitting next to her computer, I felt more cheerful than usual, "I'm back little sister! Any idea on what you want for breakfast?" Wha-What! Please tell me that I didn't just call her little sister right to her face. I know I told her how I felt about her yesterday, but I doubt that she'll be too happy about being called that so openly if her sigh was of any indication of her feelings.

Apparently, I was up for another surprise today, "Yeesh sis, we didn't think you should be this happy in the morning." Her own blank face told me that she didn't intend to reciprocate the sisterhood feeling. I'm sorry sister, but once the conversion have begun, resistance is futile.

Before I could ask her why I should be in as bad mood as her, she moved back to the nearby kitchen to open a cupboard door containing a few cereal boxes and directed me to another cupboard, probably where I'll find the tools necessary to eat breakfast. "That's where you can find stuff for breakfast. I have something I need to go do in town. Oh, there is one other thing." she pointed to the shelf on the wall next to the T.V, where a big colorful pastel box was particularity standing out. "You may want to start watching those while I'm gone. It'll explain a lot."

I was guessing that those must be the tapes of the famous cartoon about the ponies we were becoming, but it wasn't the most important point at the moment. Why must she go out so early? We still hadn't talked about the cause of our changes; or anything really. All I knew so far was that she was temperamental and loved video games, some more than others. The accident with Halo 2 was still fresh in my mind.

What truly worried me was how she would react when everypony would start to treat her like the woman she now was. Considering her freak out from earlier, I was fairly certain that she wouldn't like that. I should probably test her before she leave, "Are you sure you should go out considering your current state miss John?"

The glare she gave me the only answer that I needed to my little test. I hoped that I had helped her to prepare for further situations like that at least. There was no way for us to know how long we would be stuck with that gender so she should get used to it.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Now, I should be back by this afternoon." As she spoke, Luna started to put on various items to either hide her pony features or be more at ease in the case of the cargo pant she put on. Considering the sensibility of our tail, I couldn't help but agree with her choice.

On the other hoof, it worried me that she didn't make any witty come backs on that one. I felt the need to make my intentions clear at the very least, "Okay…just promise me you won't react that badly if somepony treats you like a woman."

"Yeah yeah, don't worry about it. See ya later!" A quick wave and she was gone.

Great... First I cannot accompany my best friend for his birthday, and I manage to greatly irritate him thanks to this pony problem. Now, I'll be spending most of the day alone watching a show for little girls. This wasn't how I imagined I would spend the day when I left home three days ago.

"Great, all alone now…could this day get any worse?"

Wait, did I just tempt Murphy?

Author's Note:

I'm sorry that it took me this long to publish this chapter. I made the error of starting to read the Blue Angel fic (Those who are reading that fic will understand what I mean )

In any cases, the chapter will cover at least the time while John was away, hopefully helping to explain what happened in the newest chapter of Lunar Phases.

Also, feel free to leave any comments or ideas. One cannot improve without feedback. Oh, and Buck, please keep the trolling at a minimum

Comments

[Buckshot2825]

*clicks chapter to get rid of the notification that i have new favourite chapter update*
*at the last moment sees this*

Editor : We are the Meta and Buckshot2825

Well then, i guess i now have 4 jobs... editing 2 stories, writing my own AND a real life job.
And i didn't even volunteer for the editing I WAS INDUCTED! DRAFTED CONSCRIPTED HELP! AHGHGAHGIHWAHNEIWNINVWEIVIANPVNEIWNVPANVIEPANPOJAPONEWVPNINVEPWANVIEWN

*ehem*
*straightens tie*
I don't have a tie...
oh god 3:40 in the morning, i'd better wrap this up b4 i get out of control...
Yeah so anyways apparently i've been drafted as an editor yet again. That's what i get for helping *shrug*
No good deed goes unpunished. - My Dad

[ShadeJak]

"Great, all alone now…could this day get any worse?"

Wait, did I just tempt Murphy?

Yes, and yes you did. And given fate's the biggest troll when tempted, be very afraid.

Another enjoyable chapter!

[fuckyoudeletemyaccount]

2804554

Bah hah! You got called out in the author's notes.

[Buckshot2825]

2806106 i did did i? well let me check...
Keep trolling to a minimum? Bah it's all or nothing. Some people just can't take the heat >:(

[Sarikano]

2806131 Knowing you, I'm guessing that I'll be stuck with the all part

[Menelaus Redz]

I made the error of starting to read the Blue Angel fic

At 70 chapters with 755,100 words it is understandable. Oh and it's not an error for starting to read that fic. It is a pretty decent fic afterall.

[Sarikano]

2806633 It was only a mistake in the sense that it gobbled my time

[Buckshot2825]

2806708>>2806633
I'm proud to say that this would be my fault
Wait, that isn't good thing is it?

[Sarikano]

2809080 Of course it was

[kwr2k13]

I cannot wait to see if Celestia and Luna discover there are other ponies out there and seek them out.

Perhaps the Royal Pony Sisters see the Video from Harmony Trebleheart and Little Horn in On Our Own, Chapter 4 and respond with a video Message once their changes are complete?

Maybe the Princesses visit with Harmony, Little Horn, and run into Crankshaft and Midnight Blossom, who are instructed to make their way to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada?

Hay, it could happen!

[NandatmosNightLurker]

Haven't even read the full description, but THAT F*CKING NAME. Alex Mercier? Jeez, I'm flashing back to Prototype sooo much right now. Will read. Will comment. You automatically get a thumb up for that name.

[Pinklestia]

Yes Tia, you just did.