Eclipse regarded the night sky in the direction of the badlands with a mixture of anger, worry, and solemn acceptance. What had happened... She didn't need to go there to know what had transpired so many miles away. The Changelings would all be dead now, the spell that she had used would've destroyed them, using their hive mind to cause a chain reaction...
It was hard to forget a spell of such magnitude, capable of committing genocide of an entire species, even more so when you created it yourself. Eclipse fell to her haunches, sorrow replacing solemnity. She lowered her heads and looked at her hooves. "I shouldn't have come here..." she whispered. She sat in silence for several seconds before it was broken by a flash of light, and a snapping sound. She jerked her head upwards and to the right to regard the new arrival.
"Discord..." Eclipse's voice was barely audible.
"I take it you felt that too?" he asked as he slithered through the air, landing beside her.
Eclipse merely nodded weakly.
"I take it you also know what transpired?"
"Yes..." she whispered.
"Well." Discord rose to his feet, then brought his paw to his beard and stroked it. "Normally I would be de-lighted in the chaos this is sure to cause..." Discord slumped down. "But-"
"I killed them-" Eclipse's voice was barely a whisper, yet conveyed a certain firmness, that took the draconequus by surprise. "-before... I know that spell because I personally used it once..."
"Hmm... You didn't mention that before." Discord's voice wasn't accusatory, rather it was conversational.
Eclipse snorted, "No. I didn't, did I."
"It's not your fault." Discord laid his arm around Eclipse's neck, surprising her.
Eclipse opened her mouth, then closed it. She repeated that process several times before deciding what to say, "If I hadn't come back here-"
"Oh, pft, nonsense!" Discord batted his hand at the air, dismissing her words. "If you hadn't come back to this timeline, it would've been another, and another you would've come back here."
"You can't know that." Eclipse stated.
"Oh? And why not? I'm the spirit of chaos, after all."
"Because you told me so." she deadpanned. Discord frowned. Eclipse sighed, "I should tell them everything... They need to know." She looked at Discord, almost pleading for an answer, "But if I tell them everything, they won't trust me, and I won't be able to help them... But if I don't tell them everything, the other me could tell them everything, and they would trust me even less... Some of them could die... What do I do?"
"Eclipse, I'm not the right being to ask about that. And besides, I'm sure whatever it is you did wasn't that bad." Discord paused and looked off in the distance, "Well, at least compared to me." he mused.
"You never killed anypony though! I ki... I..." Eclipse sighed and let her head fall downwards. After a few seconds, she looked up, her eyes glistened slightly in the moonlight, and she was smiling. "I guess it really doesn't matter, does it? No matter what you do, history is doomed to repeat itself." she laughed weakly. "I've lived long enough to see it happen. Heck, I'm living proof history's doomed to repeat itself..."
"I believe you were the one who told Luna to stop torturing herself over her own choices, correct?" Discord smirked.
"I... Wh... Yes, how do you... Wait... You..." Eclipse blinked. "You were watching my dreams?"
"Mmm not exactly." Discord slithered through the air and curled around her, "You see, I was actually watching Princess Luna's dreams. And it just so happened she managed to break that nifty little spell of yours that blocks her out... Quite clever by the way. Of course, she had help, little does she realize..."
"Well that explains that..."
"Yes. It does." Discord snapped his talons and reappeared sitting beside Eclipse. "Although I must say, I'm impressed. I could only break through your spell because Luna was trying to do so at the same time." Discord shook his head, "What were we talking about again?"
"I believe you were trying to convince me to not blame myself." she replied in monotone.
"You took the words right out of my mouth!" As he spoke, words fell out of his mouth. Eclipse smiled and laughed lightly.
After a few seconds, silence returned. Eclipse looked out at the sky, her eyes fell upon the moon, words echoed in the back of her mind, 'Twilight, please...'
'No!'
She clenched her eyes, then opened them, and shook her head. "I need to go talk to Celestia and Luna, and make sure Luna's okay." Eclipse stood and looked at Discord, "Can you give me a-"
There was a flash of light, and both of them reappeared in the deserted Canterlot Castle Throne Room, followed seconds later by the arrival of Luna and Celestia.
"-lift." she cleared her throat, "Thanks..."
Discord bowed, "No problem, my dear." he rose, and suddenly was wearing a conductor's uniform. "And thank you for choosing the Draconequuis Express!" A second later he disappeared in a flash of white light.
Eclipse turned to regard the two other alicorns in the room with her. Luna looked slightly dazed, and Celestia was asleep. Eclipse starred at Celestia for a few seconds, just blinking. Luna slowly followed her line of sight until her gaze fell upon Celestia also. Eclipse raised a hoof and opened her mouth to say something, then shut it and lowered her hoof.
"Perhaps this could wait until morning... When we can get the others here." Luna suggested.
"Yeah... Maybe..."
"Twilight!"
Sleep was peaceful, except when it wasn't. Sleep being peaceful was something that everypony knows, will know, and had known. It was such a widely known fact that sleep was peaceful that it went without saying that you had a good night. Unless of course the rare instance when you did not have a good night's rest.
"Twilight!"
Thunk
"Oww..."
Twilight shifted under the covers of her bed, carefully rolling over onto her side, laying upon her folded wing. Her mind was not fully asleep, nor was it awake yet. She was in a state of half conscious bliss, having been stirred ever so slightly by some sound that wasn't noteworthy.
Creek
The sound of rapid clawsteps falling on crystal had no immediate affect upon the slumbering alicorn, save for causing her to snuggle further into her bed. She felt a quick ripple of air, and soon her source of warmth had been stolen from her, most likely by some foul creature, at least according to her mind. She groaned and clenched her eyes tighter.
"Twilight!" Spike called out, holding a scroll in one claw and pointing at it with another. "Princess Celestia sent you a letter!"
'Princess Celestia sent me a letter, and it's urgent. Oh, that's nice.' Twilight's still half conscious mind didn't register the importance of it until she felt a sharp claw poke her stomach. 'Princess Celestia sent me a letter, and it's urgent!' Her eyes fully opened, and she shot up, throwing Spike off the bed and towards the wall.
Twilight's eyes were assaulted by light the moment she opened them, and her ears were assaulted by a scream of sudden shock coming from her dragon assistant. her head immediately shot towards the source of the sound, and she reached out with her magic, catching him just before he hit the wall.
Upon feeling the sensation of flying through the air halting, and the sensation of being held in magic, Spike removed his claws from in front of his eyes, and peeked out. He breathed a sigh of relief as Twilight sat him down, and rather forcefully pulled the scroll from his claw. Spike still held onto the letter as Twilight pulled on it, her magic won out after a brief half second, sending Spike falling face first onto the floor.
"Uggh..."
Twilight paid her assistant's plight no mind as the scroll shot forth to her muzzle, filling her view. Her eyes quickly ran over the words, taking them in once. Then another time. And then a final time. She teleported the scroll away and looked at Spike, who was rubbing his side, "The Princess wants me to bring the girls to Canterlot at once... Eclipse is already there..."
"Uh Twilight?"
"I need to hurry and get the girls and get to Canterlot." Twilight ran over to the door, opening it with her magic, and ran out.
"Twilight."
"Come on, Spike, we need to hurry!" Twilight shouted as she pulled the small dragon to her side with her magic.
"TWILIGHT!"
Twilight came to a stop, and looked at the dragon quizzically.
"You just woke up." Spike deadpanned.
"Oh..." Twilight blushed lightly. "Right..."
A few hours later, the doors to the Canterlot Throne Room were thrown open as Twilight and her friends stormed in. Princess Celestia looked away from her sister to regard the sudden arrivals, then nodded towards the guards, who preceded to leave. Twilight and company slowed as they approached the trio of alicorns, and they fell into a hasty bow, then quickly rose.
"Princess... We came as fast as we could." Twilight's voice carried a subtle worry, one which Princess Celestia easily caught on to. She gave Twilight a reassuring smile. For a few seconds before it became solemn.
"Thank you all for coming so quickly... I'm afraid I'm not the bearer of good news..." Princess Celestia turned towards Eclipse, "Eclipse? Would you tell them what you told us?"
Eclipse slowly took a step forwards, her eyes were downcast, not quite meeting their eyes. She carried herself forwards, radiating despondence, each hoofstep fell silently upon the floor. Even as she spoke, she could not meet their gazes, "Last night... She... She destroyed the Changelings." She paused and looked up, taking the time to look each of the six mares before her in the eye, taking in their expressions, ranging from confused to horrified. The next words would not have been audible if there was not dead silence in the throne room, "All of them..."
A few seconds passed, and Fluttershy started sobbing. Applejack quietly walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, comforting her. Even if the Changelings were horrible monsters, ones that had attacked them before, and tried to take over Equestria... They still did not deserve that. At least in Fluttershy's eyes.
Rarity merely lifted a hoof to her mouth at the revelation, stifling a gasp. If that wasn't enough for one to realize her shock, her eyes had widened to the size of hooves, horror clearly evident in them.
Rainbow Dash slowed down beating her wings, and slowly landed on the floor without making a sound, then folded her wings to her sides. She looked absent, uncomprehending of how a single pony could destroy an entire species, let alone in a single night.
Pinkie's hair deflated, and straightened out. Her head fell downwards. After a few seconds tears could be seen falling from her eyes.
Twilight ruffled her wings in apprehension, the knowledge that it was her, even if it was a future version of her that had just committed genocide did not bode well for her. She blinked rapidly several times, and lowered her head. Her ears fell to the sides of her head, then she looked at Eclipse, her wide eyes, and horrified look asking the unspoken question, 'Why?'
Or, more accurately, 'Why would I do something like that.' Eclipse's muzzle drew into a line, answering her younger self's question... Would damage her more than she already was. Though Eclipse was merely a older, wiser through trial and error version of Twilight, she could not imagine having to deal with knowledge like that. A young, innocent pony such as she was, knowing that she had the potential to exterminate an entire species.
With a single spell. In an instance.
Luna stepped forwards, recognizing the anguish of Eclipse, "This... Unfortunate turn of events... Has however provided us with a few... Clues... As to her plans, and why she is here."
Twilight looked up at Princess Luna, and opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but Eclipse cut her off.
Eclipse slowly looked up as Luna spoke, then as Twilight opened her mouth, she answered the question before it was asked, "She just exterminated an entire species, with a single spell, in a single night." Eclipse paused, and took a step forwards. "She took their power using that spell, and added it to her own." Another step, "She destroyed them by using the hive mind against them." Another step, "A species that, at the moment, was no threat."
She lowered her gaze downwards, "Why, you ask, would she take the raw magic of the changelings, and kill them in the process?"
A long silence, nopony made a sound, save for Fluttershy's sobbing into Applejack's side, which had died down significantly.
Eclipse's muzzle once again drew into a line, she lit her horn, and prevented Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie from hearing her next words with a spell. She spoke so quietly, so full of surety, and so solemn, that her words sent shivers down everypony's backs. "It's a simple question, really... A simple question with an even simpler answer..." A pause, she looked Twilight in the eye, "She intends to end it all."