Irreversible

by Trick Question

Eclipse after Twilight

A scintillating cascade of color and light filtered in through the windows of the vaulted room. Twilight Sparkle discourteously trotted through an abstract, colorful shadow of herself as the light outside began to dim from cloud cover. The image that briefly refracted upon her hooves illustrated one of the many times she and her companions had saved Equestria through the magic of friendship.

"Hello, Princess! You called for me?" asked Twilight. She slowed her pace to a walk as she approached to a comfortable speaking distance.

Princess Celestia's glowing alicorn mantle billowed gently through her mane as she smiled down at her former student. "I heard you were visiting friends in Canterlot, so I thought the time was right. I have somepony very special for you to meet," she said, in a tone of voice Twilight found unusually soft. "Please say hello to my new personal student, Amethyst Eclipse."

Twilight looked around the empty throne room. "Has she mastered invisibility magic already?" she joked, wearing a grin.

Celestia laughed. "Not that I'm aware of, no. He is just a little shy." She craned her neck first behind her, then beneath her. "You can come out, Amethyst. Twilight's a good friend. She was my previous student."

A tiny little colt with a dusty rose coat and a short, messy mane of dark violet curls poked his head out from between Celestia's front legs. He stared up at her like a deer caught in a flashlight, and Celestia pushed him forward a little with a wing.

"Hello there Amethyst Eclipse! My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm very pleased to meet you." Twilight reached out her hoof.

Amethyst shuddered as though somepony had pressed the reset button on his brain, then he slowly stepped out from beneath Celestia. His haunch was still blank, which came as no surprise to Twilight given how young he looked. "You're Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship," he said in a matter-of-fact voice, then extended a tiny hoof. "You were Princess Celestia's student too?"

"Yes! And it was a lot of fun. Lots of hard work, but very rewarding," said Twilight. She raised her gaze to meet Celestia's. "I think it's a great idea to take on a colt. He might not be able to reach apotheosis, but that shouldn't be an obstacle. Star Swirl the Bearded is an incredible wizard, and he's a stallion."

"Be careful, Twilight. He knows some pretty large words," Celestia whispered to her former student. "Probably not that one, but still."

Twilight Sparkle nodded and grimaced. "Sorry," she whispered back.

"What are you two talking about?" asked the colt.

"Oh, just boring adult stuff. About the far future," said Twilight, blushing as she idly fiddled at the floor with a rear hoof.

"Eclipse has remarkable potential, Twilight. We should discuss his abilities in more depth soon, one-on-one," said Celestia. "As for the far future? Just because something hasn't been done doesn't mean it can't be done. One never knows what destiny has in store," she added, staring directly into Eclipse's eyes as she emphasized the last sentence.

Twilight Sparkle recognized that Celestial behavior as a teaching. Eclipse had a mildly sour expression on his face, and Twilight could feel tension hanging in the air.

"You know Eclipse, I think I've seen you once before," said Twilight, trying to her best to redirect the conversation. "Wait, I remember—you're from Ponyville! You're Amethyst Star's foal, right?"

The colt nodded but kept his mouth shut.

"Your mother is an expert organizer! She used to do most of the organization before I came to Ponyville. I'm not surprised she had such a talented foal," she said, then whispered to Celestia again. "You chose a colt and a Ponyville pony from the working class? Wow, that's really neat! I hope it works out."

"I realize I'm crossing several barriers at once, but I should have been more open to this long ago. Besides, I'm not exaggerating. Much like a certain purple filly I recently took under my wing, Eclipse is gifted enough that it would be dangerous not to mentor him," she whispered back. Twilight's face blanched for a moment.

"You guys are doin' it again," said Eclipse, punctuating the complaint with a sigh.

"I'm very sorry, Eclipse," said Celestia. "I was just telling Twilight about how talented you are, and I didn't want it to go to your head. We're done whispering now."

"Oh. Okay," he said. "But, I know I'm good already, so you can say it out loud."

Twilight giggled. "I'd love to see what you can do, Eclipse! If that's okay?" she said, looking back up to Celestia.

Celestia nodded, causing an extra ripple to flow through her gently undulating mane. "I'd like that, but I'll leave it up to him. Do you mind taking Eclipse back to his quarters, Twilight? You two can get to know each other on the way. He's staying with his mother in the guest room Rarity used last year."

Twilight Sparkle nodded eagerly and the pair walked out into the castle hallway.

"Oh, I have so many questions!" said Twilight Sparkle, a silly grin slowly crossing her muzzle. "I mean, if that's okay with you?"

Eclipse nodded and smiled. It looked painfully forced.

Twilight skipped a step in glee. "Okay. First and foremost, how did Princess Celestia discover your abilities?" said Twilight.

"Not s'poseda say," said the colt.

Twilight's cheeks burned from sheer interest. "Oh, I see. Um, that must be an amazing story, then..."

"Not really," said the colt, "but I'm not s'poseda say."

Twilight nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Right, right, I'm sorry. Curiosity getting the better of me there."

'Not amazing' somehow makes not knowing even worse! thought Twilight.

The pair of ponies exited the castle and walked toward the building holding Eclipse's guest quarters. Cloudsdale had planned a thunderstorm for Canterlot later today. Several pegasi were busy setting dark clouds into place.

"Well, you have a lot to look forward too. You're going to learn so much about magic!" Twilight bubbled.

"I guess how to use it and stuff? Not really magic, like, itself," he said with a shrug. "I already know what magic is, I mean."

Twilight chuckled. "Right, of course. There's still a lot to learn about magic theory, though, and to be technically accurate, nopony really knows what magic is. That's one of the reasons it's so difficult to study. Except, of course, we know that friendship is magic," she said. "You know, I have a friend in town here named Moondancer. I should put her in touch with you. She's a mare my age, but she's very interested in magic, so with Celestia's permission she might be able to help you with your studies. You should probably make friends your own age, though. The one thing I wish I'd done when I was Celestia's student was make some friends..."

The colt stopped on the sidewalk and stared into the distance.

"Um... Eclipse? Do you see something? We should probably get there before it rains." Twilight clenched her jaw muscles a couple of times. Even for his age, Celestia's newest student was proving abnormally difficult to read. Internally, Twilight wondered why. He might have mild autism, or recent psychological trauma, or maybe he's just... well, for lack of a better word, 'weird'?

"It can rain. I can make an umber-ella," said Eclipse. Twilight's jaw muscles released, causing her mouth to hang open momentarily.

A foal this young, intentionally forming a shield? Princess Celestia wasn't kidding—he truly does have potential, she thought.

Twilight Sparkle promptly forgot why they'd stopped in the middle of the street, her mind buzzing with the need to discover whether or not his claim was actually true. "Could... could I see? Just for a moment," she asked, trying in vain to hide the skepticism from her face.

Eclipse said nothing as he closed his eyes in concentration. His aura coalesced around his horn, sputtering with the intermittent static common to young foals attempting magic. His horn glowed silvery-gray, a rare aura color Twilight was fairly certain she'd never seen before. After some squinting and grunting from the colt, she was about to let him off the hook—but just then, a loud burst of magic energy filled the air. Hovering above their heads was a shimmering silver aura, given substance in the shape of a narrow spherical cap.

Twilight was stunned. The amazing thing was how large the shield was. It covered Twilight and Eclipse, with room enough to spare for another two adult ponies... a remarkable feat for most unicorns, let alone a young foal.

"Wow, I'm really impressed!" said Twilight Sparkle. "You've developed an amazing degree of skill for your age, Eclipse."

"Thanks," said Eclipse, and he started walking again. The shield moved with them as they walked. "Anyway, I was thinkin'. I might be able to tell you, 'cause you're a princess. If you're like Celestia, I mean," he said.

"Oh! Well, I don't think I'm half the princess that Celestia is, but I try to measure up to her as well as I can." A touch of smugness lifted Twilight's words.

"You're a hero and all, you know? You've saved Equestria a bunch of times, so, thanks," he said. "That's good, 'cause it means I can grow up and learn magic."

"You're welcome! So... do you think I qualify to hear a secret or two?" said Twilight, the eagerness in her voice apparent as they walked up the steps to the building.

When they reached the doorway, Amethyst Eclipse cancelled the shield and turned to look at Twilight, starting at the neck and slowly craning his head upward until their eyes locked. "So, Princess Twilight, um, I don't like you? But that don't matter. I just gotta ask you somethin' first," he said.

"Oh... Y-yeah, go for it," said Twilight. She tried to smile as she felt her heart breaking. What?! He just called me a hero! Was it something I said? How in Equestria could a magically talented foal like this one not 'like' the Princess of Friendship?

The colt looked nervously left and right, then motioned for Twilight to lower her head. "Do you remember Quifons?" he whispered in her ear.

Twilight paused in thought, then spoke quietly, but a little above a whisper so she didn't need to lean down. "That intonation sounds familiar... do you mean 'qui fons'? That's Lopin, I'm certain. It means... Huh. I guess I'm not sure," she admitted, wrinkling her nose. "I mean, the word 'qui' is highly contextual in Lopin. It can mean dozens of things, just for a few examples: 'at any price', 'something', or 'how'. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what 'fons' means, offhoof, so I can't even tell you what the 'qui' means. I'm afraid my Lopin is a little rusty."

"That's right, but I mean the place."

Twilight Sparkle paused in thought. "I've never even heard of it. I guess I've never been there," said Twilight. She bit at one side of her lip, bracing for him to like her even less.

"No, you have. Long time ago," he said. He grabbed the door handle behind him with his magic without even looking at it, and opened the door.

"So, where is this 'Quifons' place, Eclipse?" asked Twilight, the uncertainty in her voice unmistakeable. Is this just the overactive imagination of a foal? Is he tormenting me because he doesn't like me? Beads of perspiration began to appear on her forehead.

"Ah, nuts. I guess it's just Celestia and Luna," said Eclipse, ignoring the question. "Prob'ly 'cause they're real old. I'm not s'posed to talk about it since you don't know." He sighed and drooped his head. "Sorry. Just forget I said anything."

Twilight only half-listened, searching in her mind for something—anything—that might elevate her in the eyes of the gifted little pony. "Well, Celestia will probably tell me anyway, I mean, she's never hidden anything from me before," she said, her voice cracking. "Okay, well, um... I suppose she has for my own good once or twice, b-but still, I'm sure if I question her directly—"

"Mom's not here now, but you shouldn't come in," said Amethyst Eclipse, stepping through the threshold and turning around again to face Twilight. "Princess Celestia won't believe me, but I know something that's gonna happen soon. You're gonna ruin Quifons," he predicted. "You'll wreck it, and you don't even know what it is. It's... sad." He stared at the floor and shook his head dismissively. Before Twilight could say anything in response, Eclipse slammed the door in her face. With perfect timing, the downpour began.

Twilight Sparkle stood in the rain for a minute or two, just staring at the closed door. She forgot to put up her own umbrella, but this way nopony else caught in the downpour would know if she was crying.

Even Twilight herself wasn't certain whether tears were falling, but that was okay. In very rare cases, some things are better left unknown, she thought to herself as she turned toward the train station. Afraid to approach Celestia or Luna without knowing more, there was only one pony she could think of who might be able to help her.

One zebra, to be precise.

Comments

[Misty Spell]

 "You were Princess Celestia's student too?"

"Yyyyess....I literally just said that."
"Truly your best and brightest student ever."

Eclipse has unparalleled potential, Twilight—excluding Flurry Heart, of course, whose abilities we don't yet fully understand. 

Cue the butthurt from oc haters screaming about ocs being more powerful than canon characters.

pony from the working class?

"Oh hoh, what piddle poddle! Now I must be off in my golden money car to throw diamond studded mansions at the lower class, dohohoho" So classist :)

The truly amazing thing was how large the shield was. It covered Twilight and Eclipse, with room enough to spare for another two adult ponies.

Okay, it's a shock enough that he can do it at all at this stage. It's okay to make him a prodigy, but watch your balancing a bit.

Celestia or Luna without knowing more, there was only one pony she could think of who might be able to help her.

Why? If you're going to ask about something like that you should ask your mentor. Unless this has something specifically to do with potions or zebras there's little to no reason to consult her over the princesses.

[deleted404]

A good start.

A few issues though:
Celestial behavior sounds wierd, but that could just be me.
then whispered to Celestia again. You chose a colt You missed a quotation mark.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.

[Trick Question]

8273541
Thanks for the typo catch!

[Kowhaifan]

"Oh. Okay," he said. "But, I know I'm good already, so you can say it out loud."

Celestia seems to be making another sunset.....
Guess you really can't teach an old horse new tricks.