//------------------------------// // Regrets: Part 2 // Story: Rouge Flame: Legend of the Elemental Warrior // by Steel Heart //------------------------------// "Are you sure he would be here?. . . I mean. . His parents where killed here. Remember?" "Think about it RD. He wasn't on Clover hill, or the at the pond, or at the hollow. So..." Applejack paused as she turned to face Dash who hovered over the wrought iron gate that led up to an old house, which was supposedly Eclipses place when he was younger, "He must be here, if not anywhere else." Twilight was still wondering why she was being dragged along, she didn't want to see this. . . This murderer. But nonetheless, Celestia, Luna and her friends had dragged her every hoof-step of the way, right up to the front door of this old house up on oak hill. Applejack knocked on the old wooden door. No response. She decided to go in anyway. The old door creaked on it's hinges, and in the doorway stood Applejack. "Sugar cube? Are ya here?" Nothing could be heard, except for faint sobbing coming up from the hall. Celestia entered the home, and proceeded towards the noise, the old floorboards creaking as she went. When she had reached Eclipses room she found a sight that left her baffled, yet sad. On the old bed at the far side of the room, sat Eclipse clutching an old photo frame while he sobbed and fought back tears. She saw the photo frame, and knew what the photo in question was. Celestia went and lay down on the old creaky bed and saw the photo. It was Eclipse, back then Jacob. With his mother and father, just after he had learned to fly. He was seven years old. Jacob sat on a sky blue Pegasus with a white mane and tail, with a cloud being blown along by wind gusts as her cutie mark. It was His mother, Prevailing Winds. Standing next to them, tall, strong and proud, was Cameron. His father. Eighteen years. Eighteen years since he had first learned how to fly. Fifteen since he had vanished. Fifteen years she hadn't seen this innocent boys gleeful, infectious smile. "I shouldn't have come back," Eclipse said without looking away from the photo. His cracking voice barely in check. "If you hadn't of come back, Lulu wouldn't be here. If you hadn't come back, Ponyville and I would be dead. Yes you killed, but you saved us," Celestia said as she soothingly rubbed a hoof on his shoulder. A short blast of air escaped Eclipses nose, "You don't get it do you? Did you see me even flinch as I took those lives with my bare hands? The rage in my eyes? The hatred with every move? I'm a killer, and nothing will change that." "A killer, yes. But y'all fought to defend, and killin' them was just the undesired side effect," Applejack interrupted from the doorway. "No AJ. It was the desired effect. I wanted them dead for threatening my friends," Eclipse said as he shot a glance at Applejack. Leaving her stunned. "Yes. Out of love," said Celestia, causing Eclipse to turn and look at his oldest friend in the eye. "It's because you love your friends like you do that caused you to kill them in hatred. Or to be more exact, fear. Fear of losing the ones that you love." Eclipse let out a weak chuckle, "Oh Cel. I don't feel fear anymore. Only anger and hatred against those who dare fight me. I learned a long time ago that fear makes you venerable to mistakes. Makes you weak!" and with that last statement, he threw the photo frame at the nearest wall. Causing it to shatter. Then Eclipse began to cry openly. ------ "You mean to tell me, that one being decimated your entire squad?" "Y...yes your excellency. H...he fought like nothing I have ever seen. A force of nature, with the fury of a thousand hurricanes," the desecrated warrior said as he continued to kneel before The Shadow. "I do not care how he fought. All I care about is why you have failed to kill that weakling Celestia, and find the body of Luna. And why the best warriors in the known world have failed to kill one being?" "In all honesty, we think that this being was the same one who rescued the night princess when Lok'l shot her down. Another team claims to have shot down a creature of similar discription at roughly the same time at a different location near the edge of the forest." Although the ghostly apparition lacked any appendages, Tric'co could feel the living shadow almost scratch it's chin in thought. "Describe this creature to me. Every detail." "He was tall, with large, black and silver wings. He had scars that covered his entire torso and face. His dark eyes oozed anger and hatred. His hands glowed with dark flames. His voice betrayed no fear or emotion. Each of his breaths was like that of a giant serpent. He had the strength of ten of my men. And the speed to rival even light itself," then Tric'co shuddered uncontrollably as he recalled the most frightening memory, "And his roar could rival even the dragon kings, for ferocity and volume." "Thank you Tric'co for this information. Now leave while I ponder." "Yes excellency," and with that, Tric'co scurried out of the tent. ------ "Me? Magic? What are the royals smoking these days, and how strong is it? Why would I have magic? I can't even land on clouds and I'm a creature of flight Cel." "Well, my best guess is that your magic is brought on by fits of rage or defensiveness. Either way, you've got magic, and you've never tried to land on a cloud before." "Well... You do have a point about me not tying to land on a cloud before. But magic? You've gone bananas ol girl," Eclipse said as he leaned against the wall out on the veranda they were all sitting on. "It's true," Twilight interrupted. "You had a fully functioning magic field around your hands." Eclipse scoffed at this, "I'm twenty five years old. You'd think I'd know by now if I had any magic." Now it was Rarity's turn to try and convince him, "Darling could you at least try to use magic? Just so you can see for yourself?" "Ugh, fine," and Eclipse stuck out one of his arms, and pointed his hand with fingers splayed, at a small nut lying on the floorboards. "Now. Concentrate on whatever object your thinking about. Clear your head, and grasp the object with your mind," Celestia coached. Eclipse did exactly that. He cleared his mind of all irrelevant things, except for the lonely nut, and concentrated on it. Then he 'saw' the nut in his minds eye. What had originally started out as a blur in the back of his mind, morphed into the nut he saw on the floor. He tried to grab it with his mind, but he failed. "Concentrate. Feel it," Celestia whispered in his thoughts. Eclipse tried again, concentrating with every ounce of will power he had, and slowly, he began to feel the nut in his 'grasp'. Eclipse opened his eyes to see a floating nut, suspended in a glowing black aura, and his hand covered in black, magical flames that danced around his hand, licking at the air like the flames on a campfire. And the strange thing was that his hand felt... Warm... Cozy... Like it was in an actual fire. And as soon as he thought this, the nut burst into flame, and turned to ash. Eclipse recoiled at this and looked at his hand in shock and awe. No bloody way... I have magic? "That... Was cool. But why did it suddenly catch fire? I just noted the fact that my hand felt warm then "poof"," Eclipse said as he flexed his fingers experimentally. The others just stood there, mouths agape at what they just saw. With the exception of Fluttershy, who had dived into the nearest bush and was peaking out from it. Luna, with mouth still agape from what she had just seen, turned to look at her sister who had the same look on her face. "Celie? Was that... What I think it was? Was that... Elemental magic?" Celestia just looked at the pile of ashes on the floor, "Impossible... The only beings to posses elemental magic were the guardians and-"  "Yes but the guardians needed to be trained to use it, and they needed to use a special combination of moves to activate what spell they wanted to use," Luna interrupted before Celestia could finish. "Yes Lulu, but the legends told of a being, a warrior, who could use elemental magic WITHOUT training or a combination of moves." "The only ones known capable of doing such a feat were our ancestors Gia, and Anshar... Surely you are not considering this? They were legends." "Legends, yes. True? Yes, for they were our ancestors, living and breathing, like you and I. So Eclipse must be a warrior of the elements. The Elemental Warrior. The most powerful creature in the known world," and as Celestia finished this she looked over to Eclipse, who had the most dumbstruck look on his face. Eclipse then pointed a finger into his ear, then shook his head around while making rattling sounds, before pointing his other finger out the other. Now Luna was the one who was dumbstruck by this odd gesture, "Lemme clarify it for ya Lu". Eclipse then waved an open hand over his head while making a 'NNNNNNEOW' noise to accompany his hand. Luna was STILL confused by these VERY odd gestures, "Bah never mind, you'll get it eventually."