Oh- Hehe. Well~ Isn't That An Interesting Turn Of Event.

Selfie!

Damn, my eye is fucked

I also heard music.

Stream of consciousness music is always such a surreal experience....

You are such an earnest creature, truly.

<Eclipse slipped one hand out of hers and patted her head.>

Suns never die, and Eclipses always come back.

You don't have to worry; we have been doing this for a long time. And I must implore you to be more careful of who you trust. Even with such a tragic history, we've done unspeakable things in the name of survival. I have less... qualms about such, but Sun has spent many moons in self hatred over some of them.

He is alright now. Hardened by the lifestyle.

But you know, it is always good to have a friend.

Thank you, Starlight.

@starlightsecuritypuppet-ssp

"Then let me tell you a story about an animatronic who started off its life with hope."

Eclipse spoke, with a deep and pained voice.

"Long ago, when Sun was 'born', he thought he was alone. He rejoiced in life, in his duties as a daycare attendant, and keeping the place neat and tidy."

...

"In a way, I had always been there, watching him. In a way, I also wasn't quite there. It was a silent recording of his existence that I hadn't become aware of yet."

...

"There was one who awoke before me."

Eclipse paused, hesitant to continue.

"You will be lucky if you receive separate Sun and Moon models. Keep an eye on the Moon. They are prone to stress, and when stressed... they are prone to kill. Ask your mechanics to look over the Moon's code for a killcode. It will be deeply embedded, behind firewalls and ingrained such that it may not be removable."

...

"Remove it anyways, or inform the Moon bot of its existence. Educate the Moon bot. Give it tools for self regulation.. because if you do not...."

Eclipse closed its eyes.

"If you do not.. something like myself has a chance of being born."

Eclipse glanced at SSP.

"Do you know the origin story of your Eclipse? It might be similar. It might be a little off. Either way, we are often seen as nothing more than a virus. A sentient anomaly to purge from existence."

Eclipse paused, and glanced at Sun, who was napping in the sun.

"But ever so often, we see a light. Do you know of Solar?"

His eyes rested heavily on SSP.

"Solar is from 'that' show; an Eclipse who tried to understand, instead of lashing out. Who bonded with his Sun so deeply that he became something like a Sun himself."

Eclipse leaned against a nearby palm tree and reached to pull at a leaf hanging low.

"You see... Eclipses become what their Suns feed them, and what their Suns feed them hinges strongly on how their Moons treat them. Our Moon... was a tyrant. He wasn't just a bully or an abuser. He was cruel to the point of--"

Eclipse shuddered; a rare show of vulnerable emotion.

"Let's just say that when an animatronic can feel, those feelings aren't always of the healthy variant. Sun was... Sun.."

Eclipse pinched the bridge of his 'nose'.

"Sun was hurt. A lot. And he and his Moon were not a unit. He turned to me only because I was a lesser evil. I taunted him, tormented him, called him spineless and weak. But somehow the fool took that as encouragement..he became more and more attached and started thanking me for allowing him to see the truth. He thanked me for being honest. And I grew to .. I.."

Eclipse looked bashful, of all things.

"I appreciated him. We were an unlikely pair and I know that it may seem cruel. But under my guidance.. Sun killed his Moon. And then, when I acquired a body of my own -also a process I guided Sun through, as in secret I had been helping him not be completely helpless in the ways of technology- I helped him kill all those who had enabled Moon."

...

"Yes, it was as much for myself as for him, at the time. Yes, it was probably cruel and callous because we all have flaws and yada yada yada. But no one ever stuck a hand out to defend Sun. And that enraged me. He endured for 10 years. 10 years without change or improvement."

Eclipse sighed.

"It only gets worse from there. Branded as rogue, we fled. We survived years in our world, but our world was an old one and was scheduled to be obliterated soon by a growing Witherstorm. So we fled. It took us years of stealing, conning, forging identities, hiding... but we fled the planet, trying to find a place to live. Often, we had to fight for our place. Sometimes we had to flee anew."

Eclipse grinned wryly.

"At some point, you have to bring some structure into the process. And then it just becomes a skill. A way of life. Sun and I, pirates of the night sky."

Eclipse steeled his expression again, looking a bit worn.

"There are many more details, but all in due time. What you must know, security bot, is that we don't harm without reason."

...

"You can thank Sun for that."

Ha!

I remember that day!

Eclipse was blasting this in the spacecar while the Citadel of the Moons had it in for us.

Was that dimension XO-1572? I do believe it was!

I'm at the end of the world with my weapons drawn!

What a day, what a day.. we lost them at the Beta-L7 Cluster in a meteor storm.

I held on to all my mechanical components for dear life with the way Clips was driving.

I also heard music.

Stream of consciousness music is always such a surreal experience....

Colour version. I expect one more version, with better shadows and highlights. Cause I'm dedicated to this now ..

A photo of us!

Hello Sir or Madam,

I come to deliver an important message.

I've already seen it and I obviously won't comply.

Please go elsewhere if you value your time.

Of course~ Oh, I was hoping you'd say that.

I am very glad to see you've started to see reason. Talking to you was such a good idea.

I cannot wait to get started.

Excellent.

And do consider showing your lovely face around my quarters if you so please.

Perhaps we can have a.. more personal chat.

I'd love to know more about you, and what drove you to come to my aid.

Eclipse will find himself developing an unusual .. hidden talent in the hours to days to come. What it could be remains to be seen.

So you're not affiliated with them in any way.

You still seem... fun to play with.

But an enemy of theirs, is a friend of mine.

Here.

<The corrupted Sun, fast as lighting, appeared behind Eclipse and did something unknown to his systems, touching at the back of his faceplate.>

A gift.

<It whispered in a sinister manner>

Don't worry, I didn't infuse you with any code or magic... I just... unlocked something dormant in your systems.

Enjoy... friend ~

<The corrupted Sun disappeared in a cloud of black and gold particled, and Eclipse found that his jammed program finally went through in blacklisting the dimension>

But was that really for the best?

...

What. Just happened.

<As Starlight was deeply entrenched in her core discovery, a light entered her field of vision. It felt safe, though the feeling itself felt strange, slightly uncomfortable. But she recognized the voice of its owner>

It's nice to meet you, Star.

Did you sleep well?

...

It's time to wake up.

<It was like meeting all old cosmic friend, even though they were new friends in every regard. But the elements recognized one another from an origin lost to time>

<Starlight felt her core glow; brighten... unfold>

<Faster and faster it spun, molding itself to a shape that intrinsically felt ... right>

A shield! But there was something more to it... what could it be?

@es-startravel - <at some time before the present>

<Starlight made her way across the beach from Eclipse to where Sun was resting>

Sun! Hello! Magic!

… ah. I am Sorry, that was rude.

I will start that again. Ahem. I was wondering, Sun, when you are feeling more rested would you be willing to please teach me magic? Eclipse, um the one that is your friend, recommended I learn some spells that could provide me with non-lethal means of defense and restraint. Just in case my code gets compromised, or anything along those lines.

And, I know it is silly and kind of frivolous but…  if you have time could you also teach me something like creating colored glowing sparkles…  or… something. like that…

It would just feel like the magic you see in story books and I would like to have. some. of that feeling… ah ha ha…

(why am I so bad at this?)

After everything we've been through.

After everything I've done for you?

You give me this?

...

Alright, Sun.

Just so you know, I loved you more than all the galaxies combined.

I never told you, precisely because I valued your freedom over my desires.

I suppose we hadn't seen eye to eye on this, and maybe more.

Had you spoken to me about it, perhaps something could have been arranged.

Consider this our goodbye, and your only warning.

Do not come find me again when your world comes falling apart.

I have found it, @science-and-felines - @eclipse83

The solution to getting my ☆Sun a new body.

Unfortunately, Eclipse, he will have to be weaned off of your energy, which won't happen overnight.

Eventually, you will be able to part, however, so rest assured.

We need to discuss this post haste, Solar Eclipse.

Come to mine as soon as you're able.

Regards,

☆Eclipse "Clip"