To New Horizons

After an hour or so of cleaning, both your armor and Star's practically shined. Eclipse was relatively silent most of the time, though you just attributed that to him either focusing on cleaning your armor or trying to keep you off the whole dream topic. Nevertheless, your time spent cleaning Starfires armor finally allowed you to better inspect the damaged plates. As advertised, some plates were damaged beyond repair with the four obvious dents around where a pony's spinal column would be, not to mention the twelve or so small dents that lined the sides of the armor, spreading across three separate metal plates.

You cringe at the sight as you use your right forehoof to lift up and detach one of the plates, allowing yourself to better examine the damaged metal. "The timberwolf that bit down on Star was millimeters away from breaking through the armor, and from where it bit her and taking into account how the Timberwolves attacked the lot of us. I'd say that when Timberwolves attack multiple targets, they separate and immobilize their prey unless their prey puts up a fight, then they might go straight for the kill." You think out loud as you continue to examine the damaged plate, though you were more fascinated by the result of Timberwolf nature than the steel plate itself.

"What?" Eclipse asks, giving you a confused look as he was dumping out the soapy water from the washtub, his cheeks still held a faint hint of a blush, though it was fading rather quickly. "Huh? Oh! I was just thinking back on last night and realized that." You quickly say as you drop the steel plate out from embarrassment. "Why did I say that out loud? Why would anypony say anything like that out loud!?" You mentally chastise yourself as you return back to removing the damaged plates from Stars armor. Eclipse quietly hums to himself as he seemingly ponders what you said for a few seconds before levitating the plate you dropped and begins examining it.

After a while longer, his eyes fall onto where the plate came from. From there, his tongue slowly peaked its way out the side of his muzzle as he trots over to the armor set and began to examine it closely. "Goddesses. He's cute when he gets into the zone like that." You think to yourself as your cheeks warm up a little and a small smile crosses your muzzle. He proceeds to levitate the damaged plate back onto the armor set, seemingly examining where the Timberwolf bit down.

After a few more minutes of his examination, he used his magic to remove the damaged plate once more and looks you dead in the eyes. "You know what? I think you're onto something." Eclipse says as he levitates the damaged plate over to where you placed the other two ruined plates. "Has anypony studied the nature of Timberwolves before?" You ask as you reach over to the basket of unused steel plates, and start to sort through it for the pieces you need. "I'm not sure. Why?" Eclipse asks as his horn lights up and he levitates each individual steel plate up in front of you.

"Cheers, and well. All I'm saying is if nopony's done it before... Perhaps that's one way we can start making a name for ourselves. You know?" You say with a shrug as you inspect the steel plates floating in front of you. In total there were about eighteen separate plates in front of you, all surrounded with Eclipses dark purple aura. Four of which were shoulder plates to protect the foreleg joint of a pony. Six were mid guard plates to protect the barrel of a pony. four were rear guard plates for the section of armor just above a ponies tail, and finally, you have four hind guard plates. Specifically made to protect the upper hind leg of its wearer.

The blacksmith that sold you and Starfire your armor called it a light calvary set, allowing the wearer to have greater mobility without the fear of being too weighed down by heavy armor. Each calvary set consisted of two shoulder plates, nine mid guard plates, (Three plates on each side of the wearer and three to guard the back). Two rearguard plates, and two hind guard plates. Both of said hind guard plates tended to have the wearer's cutie mark painted on it. Although, you've heard rumors that some sets of armor have magical enchantments in their hind guard plates to magically project the wearer's cutie mark. Although rumors like that on a caravan route weren't uncommon.

Most of those rumors tended to be untrue. Nothing more than lies to trick rival caravaners off on a fool's errand to obtain such fictional items for sale. Unfortunately, in Starfire's case, her armor had two left mid guard plates damaged, and one right mid guard plate absolutely ruined. Suggesting most of the force in a Timberwolves bite comes from its lower jaw. No matter the case, you carefully collect three spare mid guard plates from Eclipses magical aura and assemble them into a small pile on your right before beginning to attach the spare plates onto Starfires armor with relative ease.

"I think that's all I need, thanks." You say with a smile, prompting Eclipse to return the gesture and magically levitate the remaining spare plates and its carrying basket into the wooden tub. "Anytime, and I'll do my research into whether or not we can pioneer some scientific observations." Eclipse teases as he gives your shoulder a playful shove. "Yea, yea." You reply with a hearty chuckle and a dismissive wave of your hoof before returning to the task at hoof. It only takes a few seconds to attach the new plates onto the leather fitting.

"Hopefully this will be a good enough reason for her not to kill us for entering her room." You say as you carefully push the armor aside and lay back against the grass to stare up into the morning sky. "Here's hoping, I really don't want to get on the wrathful side of THAT mare." Eclipse said with a sigh, earning a small chuckle from you. As you lay there you close your eyes and allow yourself to really enjoy the gentle warmth of the sun on your fur, it felt nice. Like a loving hug from a caring mother. The loud chirping of birds sorta ruined the moment, but you could easily ignore them. The two of you laid there, enjoying the moment, as the sun's warmth was persistently attempting to lull you to sleep.

In an attempt to not fall asleep by the river, you decide its best to strike up a conversation. "You know... You never answered my question." You say as you continue to enjoy the sun's warmth. "What question?" Eclipse asks cooly as you could hear the gentle taps of hooves on cobble walk to and fro across the small town. "Mare or Stallion?" You gently ask, earning a small groan from the unicorn and the sound of shifting to your right. You open your eyes and look over to see Eclipse sitting up a little and giving you an annoyed look. "You're not going to drop that are you?" He asks with a small hint of anger in his voice.

"Honestly... At this point, I'm more curious about your preference." You say with a shrug as a gentle breeze blows past the two of you. Eclipse gives you a hard stare for what feels like forever until he eventually lays back down with a loud sigh. "Promise not to tell anypony?" He asks, giving you a concerned look. "Only my journal." You say honestly, earning a soft smile from the unicorn stallion. "Least you're honest... Fine." He sighs before leaning in a little closer. "It was a stallion... In my dream I mean." He carefully whispers in your ear.

"I'm sensing a but coming along." You gently say as you return your gaze back up toward the sky. "I just... I don't know what I want anymore, you know? I mean... Yea, I catch myself staring at stallions and all, but I don't know if that's what I want. I know my family wouldn't approve of their son being a stallion bucker." Eclipse says with a sigh as he sits up and stares at the calm river below. "They don't seem to accept a lot of decisions you make." You try to say diplomatically as you sit up and follow his gaze.

"No... They don't... And they're still expecting that letter containing the date I return to my boring life Canterlot permanently or a letter where I give that up forever... and this... this is THE LAST thing I need right now... To question everything about myself." He says with a sigh as he buries his head in his forehooves. "I don't know what to do." He continues to say as you let out a sigh and scoot a little closer to him before draping your right wing and forehoof around him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Look... I don't claim to know what the whole parent issue entails. But I can at least give you a little bit of advice." You say as you gently slide your left forehoof under Eclipses chin and gently move his head so his eyes meet yours. "Don't be afraid to change aspects of your life that are making you miserable. If you decide to leave whatever life you had before us behind, great. Me and Starfire will have your back till the very end. If you decide families more important, great. Just... send a letter every once and a while... Alright?... Don't sacrifice who you are to make others happy. Family or not. ok?" You gently say, earning a careful nod and a gentle smile from the teary-eyed unicorn before he pulls you into a warm embrace and buries his face into your neck. You gently wrap your forelegs around the stallion's neck, deepening the hug.

"I'm here for you Clipsy... Me and Star will always be here for you, no matter what you choose. You know that right?" You quietly ask as you hold him a little tighter, earning a careful nod from the stallion. You let out a sigh and give his cheek an affectionate nuzzle before pulling away from the embrace. "But this is a decision that you and you alone can make." You gently begin before looking Eclipse in the eyes, stopping as you notice the small tear rolling down his left cheek. You've seen a lot of ponies cry throughout your life, and when it was your friends it always felt as though somepony was plunging a dagger into your very soul. But for some reason, when it was Eclipse crying. It felt as though a pack of timberwolves were tearing you apart.

"Hey... Smile will ya? There's no need to cry about anything." You say quietly as you gently wipe the tears from his eyes with your right forehoof. As you do so, Eclipse gently leans into the brief contact and gives you a gentle smile, his cheeks were as soft as a cloud yet warm like a nice day in spring. You decide to keep this brief. "Now... I need to go down to go see Twilight. So we should probably get our equipment sorted." You gently say as you pull your hoof away from Eclipses cheek and start to stand up.

"It's fine... Go and see Twilight about whatever it is you need to get done. I.. I think I need to be alone for awhile." Eclipse says as he gives you a gentle smile. "Are you sure? I can at least take my armor if you..." You start, only to be quickly cut off by Eclipse once more. "No. You're not carrying anything else on that leg. Now go do what you need to do." Eclipse says with a sniffle before carefully wiping his eyes with a forehoof. "Well... Alright... See you at the guild hall later?" You ask as you slowly start to shuffle away from Eclipse.

"Yea... And if not, then I'll see you at work tomorrow afternoon... Now go or else you'll be late." Eclipse says with a dismissive wave of his forehoof, prompting you to look up at the sky for the time. The Sun was nearly at its peak in the sky. "Buck your right... I'll make my leave then." You say as you give your wings a few good flaps and take to the sky. You give Eclipse one last concerned look, earning a small wave from the teary-eyed stallion as you fly off in the general direction of the Golden Oak Library.