The Wandering Soldier

The ponies gasped after hearing these words come from the stallion's  mouth. Twilight felt her heart slowly breaking. How could this be true. Her teacher and mentor would never betray her duties. Especially not one that invloved ponies lives. Twilight looked back at the pegasus.

"And just how did she betray her duties" Twilight asked not really wanting to hear the response.

"She ordered her soldiers to take the lives of unarmed griffons. Griffons who had surrendered after I defeated their best soldier in one on one combat. She was supposed to let them live. Instead she had them slaughtered. I stood there and did nothing. I then banished myself to wander the wastlelands until I could atone for all the lives that were lost because I did not dare to speak against the princess" Eclipse said. The ponies stared at him once more unable to believe what they had heard. Tears had started to flow down Twilight's cheeks now.

"I don't believe you" she cried at the pegasus."It's all lies". Her friends ran over to console her."Celestia would never do that. She is a merciful ruler who loves all" she said between sobs. The pegasus scoffed at her last statement. After Twilight had calmed down the stallion looked her dead in the eye.

"Do you know how many" he spoke softly.

Twilight looked at him puzzled."How many what" she asked rubbing the last of the tears away.

"How many lives were lost that day" he said. The ponies just stared at him."Ten thousand. Ten thousand lives gone in just one day. And that was only pony casualties. The griffons losses were horrendous" Eclipse said.

"I'm sorry" Twilight said."I didn't know".

"The worst part is" Eclipse said, now it being his turn to hold back tears."I can still hear the screams off every single soul lost that day" he said crumbling to the floor."So now you know why I seek an audience with Celestia. I must atone for the sins of the past. The first sin being not speaking out against my princess when she failed to uphold her duty" he said getting back to his hooves.

"I see now why you must go to Celestia. You wish to call her out on her crimes and the all the wrongs she has commited. After thinking about it with a calm head I might have thought of a reason why Celestia did what she did" Twilight said as she went to grab a book off a nearby shelf. "It says here that Celestia's parents were killed in a war against the draconequii. They lost their lives as the griffons were meant to send reinforcements, but they never came" she said closing the book."That could explain her hatred for the griffons" she said.

"Even if that is the true cause behind her actions she should have known better than to take her anger out on innocent lives" Eclipse said with a stern face."A princess should never put personal feelings above her duty" he said.

"That's strange you say that" Twilight said to the pegasus."The first thing Celestia taught me about being a princess was to never let my personal feelings get the better of me" the alicorn said. The ponies sat in silence for a moment. Then Rarity spoke.

"Well I do suppose we should all get ready for a trip to Canterlot" she said. The others looked at her and nodded.

"Meet back outside the castle in fifteen minutes and then we shall head for Canterlot" Twilight said to her friends. They all left the library leaving Twilight alone with Eclipse. They stood in silence." I should probably go get ready" Twilight said breaking the silence. She left the library now leaving Eclipse all alone. He trotted over to the books on the table. He looked at the one that had mentioned his unit. In the book he saw a picture of an old friend of his. Divine Light. A pure black stallion with a white mane. A sword of light as his cutie mark. Eclipse smiled at the memories he had of them together as youths. He turned the page to see another familiar face. The third in command of the Eclipse Centuria. Boulder Smash, or as he was more commonly know as, Earthquake. He had a brown coat and dark green mane. His cutie mark was a large boulder with cracks in it. He thought about the two stallions he had known so long ago. Eclipse was interuppted from his thoughts by Twilight.

"Are you ready to go see Princess Celestia" she asked him.

"Yes, I am ready" he said. He grabbed the book."Is it alright if I bring this" he asked the alicorn.

"Of course, just as long as you return it" she smiled."And if you don't return it there will be dire consequences" she said turning very serious. The stallion nodded to show he understood and the two ponies left the library. When they arrived outside eveypony was waiting for them. The two guards accompanied the princess to the station then returned to the castle. The ponies boarded the train which then took off in the direction of Canterlot. Eclipse took out the book he brought and began to read it. Twilight noticed him reading and sat down beside him.

"So what was it like, all those years ago" she asked him, curiosity getting the better of her.

The stallion looked at her and smiled."Where to begin" he said.

"How about when you first joined the Eclispe soldiers and how you became first commander" Twilight suggested to the stallion.

"Very well. It all started over 1500 years ago" he said as the rest of the ponies gathered around.