//------------------------------// // Questions and Concerns // Story: Revisions of Past Mistakes // by SC_Orion //------------------------------// Shortly after Eclipse had finished, she strode out of the room, head downcast, and made her way to her temporary quarters for the duration of her stay in Canterlot. No sooner had Eclipse made it halfway down the hallway when Twilight threw open the Throne Room doors with her magic and rushed out after Eclipse. The sudden sound of doors being thrown open, and rapid hoofsteps caused her to turn towards the source of the noise. Twilight was galloping towards her, her face carried an amalgamation of confusion, concern, and fear. Her eyes looked to be on the verge of tears. Eclipse turned around as Twilight slowed her pace, finally stopping a few hoofsteps in front of her. Her mind had finally recovered from it's earlier shock, and now was racing a million miles a second. She wanted- no, needed answers from Eclipse. Her mind suddenly caught up to the fact she had been standing there for several seconds without saying anything. Eclipse waited expectantly. Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it, sighing. Eclipse regarded her for a moment, unable to make up her mind as to what course of action to take. She lightly bit her lip and lit her horn, taking them both in her magic, and teleporting them to her room. Twilight was momentarily taken by surprise at the sudden change in scenery, but rapidly recovered. Eclipse shook her head and slowly made her way over to the alicorn sized bed. She rested a hoof on the indigo bed sheets, then ran her hoof across the edge of the bed. Twilight finally found her words, "I don't-" Eclipse cut her off, "I am over thirteen hundred years your senior..." She turned around. Her eyes were heavy with grief, and seemed dull, almost lifeless, advertising many lifetimes of experiences of the pain and regret of mistakes. She smiled weakly, "Although most of that time was wasted, I still have perhaps three hundred years of experience that's useful." "I don't understand... How could you have wasted a thousand years of your life?" Twilight couldn't comprehend such a long period of time, nor wasting it, every single second of it. Surely it was impossible, how does one let one thousand years pass them by? Eclipse sat down on her haunches, then looked Twilight in the eye. "We have to stop her." "I know, but-" Eclipse spoke more firmly, punctuating each word with a gently tap of a hoof, "We. Have. To. Stop. Her." "Eclipse... We will." "No. I will." Eclipse stood up, and turned her head towards the balcony. She slowly started walking towards the balcony, followed by Twilight beside her. Twilight turned her head towards Eclipse, a gnawing worry was forming in the pit of her stomach, "You said she had the power of all the changelings... How do you plan on stopping her?" "We have several advantages over her. Ones that she has... Forgot, or not factored into her plans." Eclipse looked out across Canterlot, taking in the view of the majestic city on the mountain. Twilight frowned, "You said... That you knew what her plan would be... How... How did you know? Or how do you know with such... Certainty?" Eclipse frowned at the question, face contorting into uncertainty at how to best answer the question. A few seconds later she huffed, "If I had planned to... Destroy the world, I..." Eclipse paused. "That's not actually what you asked, is it?" Twilight shook her head. 'Well, that's an easier question to answer.' "The spell I used to come back would have, from my understanding, had the affect of syncing this timeline to another, one different from mine, in which her motives would be the opposite of mine." Twilight pondered the concept for a few moments before speaking again, "How do you plan on stopping her? I mean... She's killed an entire... Species..." "I have a few plans... And contingencies planned." 'Well, I suppose I should bring myself up to speed on the ones involving myself...' "My main plan is to try to talk her down. To try to convince her to stop-" Twilight interrupted her, "What if that doesn't work? She could kill you..." She shuddered at that thought, and slowly started shaking. Eclipse draped a wing around her, "Okay..." Eclipse looked around, then lit her horn. The lavender aura of her magic brightened as she channeled more magic into it. Seconds later, a beam of magic shot out from Eclipse's horn, and created a lavender, opaque barrier around the balcony. They couldn't see out, and nopony could see in, but it still let light through. Eclipse looked at Twilight, her expression was one of seriousness, "I need you to Pinkie Promise that you will not tell anypony at all. Not Celestia, nor Luna, nor any of our friends about what I'm going to tell you and show you. They. Can't. Know." "Eclipse?" "Twilight, I need you to promise." Twilight nodded, "Okay... I Pinkie Promise... Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." she went through the motions. Eclipse smiled, genuinely. Eclipse turned her head back forwards, and her horn glowed brightly. A second later, six gems appeared, having been retrieved by Eclipse. The six gems, the Elements of Harmony, slowly levitated down to Twilight's eye level. Twilight's eyes widened. "Ecl... Eclipse..." "I had to take them. I couldn't let her have them... The Tree will be fine..." Eclipse lifted a hoof and lowered the Element of Magic over it, still holding it off her hoof with magic, preventing the gem from making contact. She then picked up Twilight's hoof and pressed the gem into it. "I imagine she already knows I took the Elements. So I need you to hold onto them for me, keep them safe, that way if something happens to me..." Twilight turned her head downwards, and looked at the Element of Magic, then at Eclipse, "She won't be able to get them..." Twilight finished Eclipse's statement. Eclipse solemnly nodded. Twilight turned her head towards Eclipse, "Would she be able to use them? The Elements?" "No, she couldn't use them. It would kill her. She could try corrupt them, however..." Eclipse's muzzle drew into a line. "The Elements... Can be corrupted?" Twilight's mouth suddenly felt dry. "I'm not entirely sure." Eclipse's eyes fell on the Element in Twilight's hoof. She smiled solemnly, then looked at Twilight, "Put the Elements in a pocket dimension, that will keep them safe. When the time is right, withdraw them. And remember, tell nopony." Twilight nodded vigorously, and grasped the Elements in her magic, her horn glowed brighter and the Elements disappeared in a flash of light. "Do you plan on having us use the Elements against her if you can't get through to her?" "Yes." she lied in a heartbeat, thankful Applejack was not with them. Eclipse's tone became more sober, "When the time comes, I'm going to tell you something. Something very important. You have to listen to me when I tell you. The fate of Equestria depends upon it." Twilight's jaw tightened. A few seconds of solemn silence later, Twilight spoke once more, "Can you use the Elements? Er, are you capable of wielding the Element of Magic?" Eclipse opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, sighing. "It's complicated." Twilight, having spent enough time with Eclipse to know when she did not want to talk, and knew what 'It's complicated' meant. Eclipse would generally either say 'it's complicated', or 'I don't want to talk about it' whenever Twilight asked about a touchy subject. "Right... Anything else I should know?" "I remember when I was as young as you are. I remember how much I cared... Care for my... Our friends." Eclipse looked at Twilight, "I know you're willing to die for them." Eclipse paused and looked down. Twilight swallowed. "I'm not going to let them or you come to harm. I will give my life if necessary, to preserve yours." Eclipse felt a wave of relief wash over her at having said that, feeling a calm happiness about the thought of dying in the place of her friends. Twilight bit her lip, "That's... It's not going to come to that, right?" Eclipse sighed, "I don't honestly know..." 'But I have my suspicions...' Eclipse shook her head. "Princess Celestia wouldn't let that happen-" "Luna and the others are here." Eclipse sighed, and looked at Twilight. "Remember what I said." She lit her horn, and a beam of pink magic shot out towards the top of the dome. When the beam impacted the barrier, it shattered. Eclipse withdrew her wing from Twilight and turned just in time to see the door open and Celestia striding in. "Are we interrupting anything?" Celestia asked as Eclipse and Twilight walked back inside from the balcony. Eclipse shook her head, "No, it's fine." For a brief second, Celestia thought she saw Twilight look like she was about to panic, but it passed too quickly for her to be sure. "I want you both to stay in Canterlot for the time being, until we catch her." Celestia nodded at Luna. Luna took her cue from her sister and stepped forwards, "It will be safer for you to stay here, under our watch." Twilight's gaze fell behind Luna, on her friends, "What about my friends?" she asked. "I wouldn't feel safe if they weren't here with us..." "Fear not, Twilight, they will be staying here too." Celestia's motherly tone helped sooth Twilight's fears. "I will send a chariot to bring Spike here as well, so you will not have to worry about him." Twilight smiled. "Celestia, can I talk to you in private?" Celestia turned towards Eclipse and nodded. Eclipse walked back towards the balcony, followed by Celestia a few seconds later. Eclipse sat down on her haunches and looked across Canterlot, and shut the door with her magic. After a short pause, Celestia sat down beside her. "I don't think having us all stay here is a good idea." Eclipse stated bluntly. "She will come for you and Luna." Eclipse turned towards Celestia, "That. Is a fact." Celestia smiled weakly, "And why would she come for me and my sister? Does she hold something against us?" Eclipse sighed and turned her head back towards Canterlot. Seconds passed, and still Eclipse gave no answer. Celestia furrowed her brow in understanding that the silence was the answer. "I see." Celestia turned towards Eclipse, "And what about you?" Eclipse turned towards Celestia, and opened her mouth to reply, but Celestia continued, "You have said before that we had a falling out before. Am I to assume that she will come for us as a result of this?" "My two guesses would be... She will try to kill you and Luna both because you're a threat to her... Or just out of spite." Eclipse mused. "And what about you, Eclipse?" Celestia asked. Eclipse briefly met Celestia's eyes, but averted her gaze immediately. "I don't hold what happened against you... I can't, not after what I did. We all need second chances... You were just doing what you thought was best at the time... And I was being a foal throwing a tantrum." She shook her head. "I forgave you years ago... And I'm sorry I snapped at you and Luna back when I first arrived..." 'What are you hiding, Eclipse... It pains me to see you like this...' "Twilight..." she spoke in the same motherly tone she used to talk to her when she was a filly. Eclipse looked back to Celestia, her eyes had widened. She almost looked like that filly she had taken under her wing, gone were all her attempts to suppress her emotions. Gone was the mare Eclipse, she had been replaced by Twilight. Her eyes started to tear up, Celestia smiled sadly, and draped a wing over her back. She gently coaxed her to lean on her with her wing, and then nuzzled her comfortingly. Celestia lit her horn and teleported them both back to her bedchambers, Eclipse neither noticed nor cared about the sudden teleport. Tears silently fell from Eclipse's eyes, down her muzzle, and onto Celestia. Celestia merely held her more tightly against her, letting her let it out. "It's okay, Twilight." "I'm sorry..." Eclipse shuddered. "Shh... It's okay, Twilight." she cooed. "I'm so sorry..." "It wasn't your fault, Twilight. Whatever happened, I'm sure-" "It was though... I-I... Princess, I'm so sorry..." Eclipse silently cried out her heart over the next few minutes, rarely heaving or making any sound except apologizing. Slowly, the tears dried up, and eventually her apologies became quieter, and then stopped altogether. They sat there in silence for several minutes after that while Eclipse recovered. Eventually Eclipse slowly pulled away from Celestia, but she kept her wing around her. "You know we all love you, right? Even Luna cares about you, though she may not show it. You are still one of her best friends, one of the mares that saved her from Nightmare Moon, just a little older." Eclipse replied after a few seconds, "I... Thank you. I needed to hear that..." "I'm worried about you both, Twilight." At hearing her name, Eclipse lowered her head in shame. "Twilight... You need to remember who you are. Nopony expects you to save the world all on your own. Your friends will be there for you." "I have to stop her though... I can't let any of you die again. I just... I can't. I can't go through that again." Eclipse shook her head. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Celestia asked. Eclipse opened her mouth, then closed it. "No..." "You would feel better if you did." she prodded. "I know, but I just... I can't. Not yet." 'Gah! Come on, there has to be a time spell here somewhere...' Starlight looked back to the sign reading 'Starswirl the Bearded Section: Advanced Spells' and grit her teeth. It was simply amazing how pitiful Equestrian security was. She had been in here for hours upon hours, and not a single guard had payed her any notice. Starlight found herself wondering how Equestria managed to remain to peaceful, so free from evil or violence, considering that the Royal Guard were more incompetent than Princess Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes glanced over the titles of books and a multitude of sealed scrolls, then they settled on an empty space. Her eyes narrowed. 'Not so incompetent after all...' The screech of the metal doors opening alerted Starlight to the arrival of somepony new. She would have payed the arrival no mind had it been a guard or anypony else, but something about the way the pink maned, white unicorn carried herself gave her pause. She looked at the unicorn quizzically, something about her was off, and there was a growing pang of worry in the back of her mind. The white unicorn slowly approached her, Starlight did her best to look inconspicuous. The unicorn approached, and then came to a stop beside her. Her cutie mark was a black circle surrounded by a ring of orange, and yellow rays protruded from the circle. "Starlight Glimmer." Her eyes widened slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off. "Alert the guards, and I will kill you." She promptly shut her mouth. This was the second time in a short period of time her life had been threatened. It was starting to get annoying. Granted, this time it was a unicorn, rather than an alicorn threatening her. But still, this unicorn seemed more likely to follow through. "I have a proposition for you. One where you can get revenge on Twilight Sparkle and her friends." "What kind of proposition?" Starlight finally asked after several seconds of silence. "If you're interested, come to the abandoned castle in the Everfree Forest. The Castle of the Two Sisters." The unicorn turned and began walking back the same way she came in. "Wait. Who are you?" Starlight asked. The unicorn ignored her and continued on her path. She walked out the door and rounded the corner, leaving a confused Starlight with a choice. Starlight ran to the gate, and turned the corner to catch up with the unicorn, but the hallway was empty.