//------------------------------// // One Step Forward, Two Steps Back // Story: Shadow of Twilight // by GreenS21 //------------------------------// After a few minutes of walking, the three ponies arrived at the front door of Lucian’s home. The light brown unicorn pushed the door open with his magic and walked in, Red Shield and Twilight following him inside. Lucian immediately headed for a set of stairs leading up in the foyer of his house. At the top of the stairs, he headed for a door and pulled it open while saying, “Grandma, Hugo, I’m home.” Stepping through the door, he saw his older brother, a dark blue unicorn with a short light brown mane and tail and a cube cutie mark, sitting next to a bed housing a pale yellow unicorn mare with a black mane and tail, though both appeared to be going gray. Her eyes were mostly closed, so it was hard to tell what color her eyes were. Lucian walked over to the older unicorn and asked, “Grandma, how are you feeling?” She looked at him and replied, “I am all right today. There hasn’t been a great deal of pain.” At the sound of hoofsteps, she asked, “Is that Red Shield with you?” The gray pegasus stepped through the door and moved to Lucian’s right side. He then said, “Yes it is, ma’am. And another guest.” He then gestured towards the door as Twilight stepped through it, the lavender unicorn moving to Lucian’s left side but staying back. The dark blue unicorn, Hugo, looked at her and said, “Wow, I’ve never seen her before.” Lucian replied, “We met her in the square. She’s looking for somepony.” He then looked back at Twilight and asked, “That’s what you said, right?” Twilight nodded, “Mm-hmm. That sounds about right.” The older mare in the bed said, “My, your friend’s voice reminds me of how your mother sounded when she was a young mare.” Lucian turned to look at her, his expression showing a bit of intrigue, and asked, “You really think so? Where is mother anyway?” Hugo gestured to the floor as he said, “Closed up down there again. She won’t come up, even with grandma like this…” He turned to look at his grandmother as she said, “It’s all right, Hugo. One of the reasons I love my daughter so much is because she does what she believes in.” Hugo murmured, “Is that how it is…?” The elderly mare asked, “Hugo, you’ll carry on after your mother someday, won’t you?” Hugo muttered, “I… I don’t know yet.” He then looked away, looking between the wall and the floor. After a moment of silence, Lucian said, “I think I’ll go down and check on her.” He then turned and headed for the door, murmuring, “I hope mother didn’t forget to eat dinner again.” After he left, Twilight let her eyes wander around the room. The basic appearance of the room reminded her of her time. It all looked a little simpler, not quite as fancy as her Canterlot, but otherwise very similar. “I guess some things never change,” she thought. She was brought out of her thoughts when Red Shield said, “You can take your saddlebags off if you want, Twilight. It’s going to be at least a minute before Lucian comes back.” Twilight replied, “That’s okay, Red. I don’t mind leaving them on.” Red moved to her side, saying, “Ah, don’t be like that. Here, I’ll help you.” He lowered his muzzle and brought it up under her right saddlebag. Twilight immediately began to fidget at this, saying, “Really, that’s not necessary.” But Red remained insistent and she continued to squirm. Suddenly, something fell out of her saddlebag and clattered noisily on the floor. She looked down and gasped, “Oh!” It was the Z-pad; she quickly moved to where it had fallen, going down to the floor and grabbing it between her forelegs. While she was down, she examined the device. Its sudden trip to the ground didn’t seem to have damaged it. At the very least, it didn’t appear to be scratched, so she let out a sigh of relief at that. She then realized everypony was staring at her, so she quickly stood up, holding the Z-pad with her magic, and smiled sheepishly. Hugo was the first to break the silence, “What is that?” Twilight shakily replied, “Ah, it’s, uh… a machine. A really… complicated machine. It… well, it’s kind of hard to explain what it does.” Hugo stood up, saying, “Let me guess.” He walked over to Twilight and examined the device floating in the air for a moment before starting, “It… it… makes whatever dish you want appear?” Twilight held back a smile as she said, “No.” Red Shield grinned, “That’s a silly idea, Hugo.” The blue unicorn shrugged, “Well, that was just wishful thinking anyway…” He then gave it a little more thought before asking, “Does it map the skies?” Twilight used her magic to place the Z-pad back inside her bag as she said, “No, doesn’t do that.” Hugo turned around and took a few steps away from Twilight as he said, “All right then, it…” He then whirled around as he said, “I know! It lets you travel through time! And you’re from the future, am I right?” Red Shield was all set to comment on Hugo’s idea, but Twilight’s response silenced him. “Um, actually… well, uh…” she stammered out as she fidgeted nervously. She could feel a light sweat on her forehead as she thought, “How did he come to that conclusion so quickly?!” Hugo gasped, “What? I’m right? How can that be…? How is that possible?” He approached her as he asked, “Is that what your cutie mark represents? Flashing in and out of different times?” Twilight stammered, “N-no, t-that’s not… My talent is magic. I…” She trailed off at that point. Hugo’s grandmother started, “Hugo… Hugo…” Her sentence was interrupted by a short series of coughs. Hugo immediately went to her side, “Grandma! Are you all right?” The mare soon stopped coughing and sat up before saying, “Hugo, you shouldn’t bother our guest so.” She then looked over at Twilight and said, “I am sorry. He’s very curious about everything, just like his mother. I’m sure he’ll become a scientist as well someday. It does seem like something a pony with a cutie mark like his would become.” Hugo’s eyes moved in the direction of his flank and then back to his grandma before he said, “I’m not interested in alchemy, grandma. At least, not right now. How can I be when it can’t even produce a medicine to make you well again?” His grandmother replied, “Perhaps not yet, but with time and effort, one never knows… I’m sure that’s what your mother believes, dear.” Twilight asked, “So, your mother’s an alchemist, huh?” Hugo turned to her and said, “Well, something like that. She makes medicine for ponies, and does stuff like mixing and grinding strange stones and metals. She’s always doing that sort of thing. And I mean always, like all the time.” His grandmother started, “Hugo, dear…” She was interrupted by another series of coughs, Hugo immediately turning to her and looking worried. Red Shield looked over at Twilight and said, “Well, it does seem like his mother is down there all the time. I think in all the time I’ve known Hugo and Lucian, I’ve only met her once. I don’t know what she does down there, but…” He trailed off as Lucian opened the door and entered the room. He sighed, “Mother’s completely wrapped up in her experiments or whatever it is she’s doing right now. I couldn’t get even get her to look at me.” Hugo turned to him and said, “That’s no surprise. She’s always staring at the kiln. After father left, it’s like she stopped paying attention to any world but her own.” Lucian gave him a slightly irritated look, “Hugo, you know that’s not true.” He then looked over at Twilight, his red eyes locking with her violet eyes. For a minute, nothing was said; the two ponies remained fixated on each other and both Hugo and Red Shield noticed this. Lucian finally broke the silence, “You were looking for somepony, weren’t you? Tell me, what does he look like?” Red Shield stepped closer to Twilight, the unicorn taking a few steps back at how close he got, and asked, “Is this other stallion your… you know?” Twilight merely blinked, confused, so he clarified, “Is he your coltfriend?” Twilight replied, “What? N-no, I just met him today. He’s not anything like that.” As she spoke, Twilight failed to notice Lucian look at her carefully for a moment before casting his gaze down at the floor. “I’m pretty sure he had a yellow mane and tail and a red coat. And I think he was wearing a black vest…” Lucian murmured, “A red unicorn, huh? Doesn’t sound familiar.” Hugo, Red Shield, and Twilight looked over at him at that, all of them noticing a slight edge to his voice. Twilight spoke, “I see. Well, I guess I’ll go look around then, see if I can find him. Thank you for everything, everypony.” She turned and headed for the door, using her magic to open and then close it behind her. As she was about to start down the stairs, the door opened again and Red Shield walked out. He said, “Hey, hold on. If you’re going to go looking anyway, I’ll come with you. I might not be able to see very far in the dark, but I’m sure having an eye in the sky will help.” Twilight looked at him and said, “Oh, well… I suppose it would, Red, but I couldn’t ask you to do that.” The pegasus replied, “You don’t have to because I’m offering. After all, I’m going to the academy here in Canterlot to join the ranks of Princess Celestia’s royal guards. Helping you search could help me out later on.” Twilight could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer, so she relented, “Okay.” The pegasus trotted over to her, a small smile on his face. Lucian poked his head out of the room and said, “Be careful, you two. Let me know if you guys find him. I’ll keep an eye out too.” Before either of them could respond, Hugo poked his head out as well and said to his younger brother, “Tough luck, bro. I guess you’re just not her type.” Lucian’s face flushed with embarrassment, “What are you talking about?!” Missing what the older unicorn was implying completely, Twilight said, “Well… good-bye. Thanks for your help.” She then started down the stairs, Red Shield following her after a moment. Lucian called after her, “Oh no, I’m sorry I couldn’t help much. Come back and visit soon, all right?” Twilight called back, “I’ll try to.” As she stepped outside, she thought to herself, “He seemed like a nice stallion. I wonder why my heart started beating faster around him.” She then turned to look at Red Shield as he used his tail to pull the door shut behind them and asked, “Where do you think we should look?” Red Shield looked back at her and replied, “We should probably start back at the square. If your friend was with you earlier, somepony there might’ve seen him.” Twilight nodded and followed him into a nearby alley that led straight to the Canterlot square. When they got there, they noticed a yellow earth pony mare with a pink mane and tail that had flowers for a cutie mark doing something in the middle of the square. The pony’s appearance caused Twilight to think of Fluttershy. When they reached the mare, Red Shield said, “Hey there.” The earth pony looked up, visibly startled but relaxed at the sight of the pegasus. “Oh, hello Red Shield. How are things going at the academy?” Red replied, “Fine. Listen, can you help out my new friend here?” He gestured to Twilight as he spoke. The yellow pony murmured, “Um, okay. W-what does she need?” Twilight spoke, “I was just wondering if you’ve seen a red unicorn stallion with a yellow mane and tail. Have you seen anypony like that?” The yellow pony shook her head, “Oh no, I haven’t. I’m sorry, but I’ve been a little busy with my little baby here.” She gestured down at the ground, where she was planting a seedling. Red Shield asked, “You’re planting a tree? Here?” The yellow pony nodded, “Yes. You see, the squire purchased this seedling and asked me to plant it for him. I thought maybe I could plant it here. I mean, if I can’t, that’s okay. I’ll just find another place to plant it. I don’t want to make the squire upset.” Red Shield nodded, “I see. Well, thanks anyway.” He then trotted out of the square, Twilight following a moment later. As they walked, Twilight looked back at the seedling the earth pony was planting, realizing it had to be the fully grown tree that her killer was hiding in back in her time. She needed to find a way to keep the pony from planting it, and to do that she was going to need something relating to either Princess Celestia or the squire, like a seal. Red Shield noticed that Twilight was thinking and came to a stop, asking, “What’s on your mind, Twilight?” The lavender mare came to a stop and turned to look at him. She spoke, “The squire… I’ve read about the Canterlot squire. Isn’t he a part of Princess Celestia’s court?” Red Shield shrugged, “Something like that. His manor is near the outskirts of the city, but it’s closer than the castle is if you’ve got something urgent to bring up. I’ve heard he can send scrolls directly to the princess. Why?” Twilight replied, “Just making sure I’ve got my facts straight. Anyway, maybe we could search a lot faster if we split up.” Red Shield replied, “Sounds okay to me. You sure you’re going to be okay?” Twilight nodded, “I think I’ll be fine. I don’t think I’ll need to cause another spectacle to protect myself, anyway.” Red Shield grinned, “Heh, it would be pretty cool if you did do that. Meet you back in the square in ten minutes?” Twilight nodded and he extended his wings, taking off into the night sky while Twilight began to walk through the city. Eventually, after several minutes of walking around and looking at an old map of the city, she found what she was looking for. It was one of the old city gates, which had been taken down at some point in the past when Canterlot grew. When she reached it, she found a white pegasus with a brown mane and tail standing nearby. She asked him, “Excuse me, can you tell me what’s past this point?” The pegasus looked at her and replied, “Beyond here? The squire’s manor house. What, are you new here?” Twilight said, “Sort of. I just got here earlier and I was hoping I could get a look at the squire’s crest.” Truth be told, she did want to see what the crest looked like, to see if it looked like the prop they used in the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant for Equestria’s flag. “Too bad this opportunity had to appear under circumstances such as this,” she thought to herself. The pegasus replied, “The crest, eh? Now that you mention it, the seal on the manor house looks like it’s going to fall off. Everypony’s been saying that it should be repaired.” Twilight asked, “You’ve been on the manor grounds before?” At the pegasus’ nod, she asked, “Do you suppose I could get a look inside?” The pony held a hoof up to his face in contemplation. A moment later, he said, “Well, I do have the key for the entrance gate… Of course, I can’t just give it to you. Do you have anything you’d be willing to trade for it?” Twilight levitated her saddlebags off and began to root through them after setting them on the ground. “Uh, hang on a second…” she murmured as she examined everything she had. She eventually pulled out the postcard she had picked up of Canterlot, the picture on it displaying a view of the city. She floated it over to the pegasus, asking, “How about this?” The white pony examined it for a moment before nodding, “Hm… Okay, seems fair.” He held out a foreleg, his hoof wrapped around the key, and said, “Just follow the path on the other side of the gate. It’ll take you straight to the manor. Just remember, the squire has an anti-magic ward up around the house, so you won’t be able to use your magic past the gate.” Twilight took the key in her hoof and said, “Thank you.” She then put her saddlebags back on and pushed open the city gate, galloping down the path. As she ran, she tried to look for Dante in the darkness, but she didn’t see anypony as she ran. “I hope Dante reappeared somewhere in Canterlot. There’s no telling where he could’ve ended up if he didn’t.” After a few minutes of running, Twilight arrived at the gates in front of the manor house and inserted the key she was given. The doors unlocked and she used a hoof to pull one open. Stepping inside, she looked up at the manor house. There, hanging high above the front doors was a medallion displaying the seal that the pegasus had mentioned. “Now, how am I going to get it without wings or magic?” the unicorn wondered. She walked back and forth a few times as she thought, looking up at the medallion all the while. “Maybe I can find something that could help me back in the city,” she sighed, walking back towards the gate. Outside, rather than walk the whole way back, she used her magic to teleport herself to the front of Lucian’s house. She then began walking along the streets and through the alleyways, searching for both something she could use and Dante. Eventually, she found a ladder leaning against a shop and examined it. “Looks tall enough,” she murmured. She then glanced up at the sky, remembering what she was supposed to be doing, and muttered, “You’ve got time, there’s time to do this. Just get it done quickly!” Taking the ladder in both of her hooves, she used her magic to teleport back to the gates of the manor house and pushed the unlocked gate open. Dragging the ladder inside, she held it up and began adjusting it until it rested against the front of the manor house, right next to the medallion. After taking a quick look around to make sure there was no one around, she climbed up the ladder until she was next to the medallion, raising her left hoof and grabbing it. She then pulled it several times before it came loose, coming off the manor house. The sudden release caused her to lean back suddenly, almost causing her to fall off the ladder! She managed to regain a sense of balance after flailing her hooves for several moments, clutching the ladder with her forelegs. Once she was sure she had stopped moving, she climbed down the ladder and slid the medallion into her saddlebag. She then murmured, “Okay, first I’ll put the ladder back. Then I’ll see if I can convince that gardener to plant the tree somewhere else. And then I’ll leave the seal here on the front step so it can be put back on the manor house. Yes, I can do all that before I have to meet up with Red. It’s perfect!” Nodding in satisfaction, she grabbed the ladder and pulled it down, accidentally bumping it against the ground and making a noise. She squeaked and grabbed it with both of her front hooves, quickly backing up towards the gate. As soon as she was outside, she teleported back outside the Canterlot square and walked away, dragging the ladder behind her. A few minutes later, she returned with one less ladder and walked up to the yellow earth pony, the medallion floating in front of her. The mare looked up at it, noticing it displayed the sun and the moon and the royal pony sisters. She gasped, “Oh my! This is the squire’s.” She looked up at Twilight and asked, “What’s this now?” The unicorn answered, “I have a message for you. The squire doesn’t want you to plant this tree here.” At the pony’s confused look, she explained, “He still wants you to plant it, just not here. Instead, he would like…” She stopped for a moment, thinking of what would look good in a town square. Glancing at the earth pony’s flank, she nodded to herself and said, “The squire would like you to plant flowers here.” The earth pony smiled, “Flowers? Oh, I like that idea better. I have some nice flower seeds at home that will look nice when they’re fully grown.” She reached down with a hoof and pulled the tree seedling out of the hole before standing up and looking at Twilight and said, “I’ll take this little one home with me. Please tell the squire that for me, okay?” Twilight nodded, so the earth pony nodded back and trotted out of the square, heading home. Once she was out of sight, Twilight dropped the medallion back in her bag and used her magic to teleport to the front gates of the squire’s manor house. Before walking through the front gates, she summoned a blank scroll, an inkpot, and a writing quill and quickly wrote a note to the squire, delivering the earth pony’s message. She then went through the front gates and left the scroll and the medallion on the front step. She then left and used her magic to once again teleport back to outside the city gate, where she returned the key to the manor house gates to the white pegasus, telling him he could keep the picture. She then hurried back to the square to find Red Shield waiting for her. As soon as he saw her, he spoke, “There you are! Did you find him?” Twilight shook her head, “No, I didn’t have any luck.” Red clicked his tongue, “Tch! I didn’t either, and I flew through Canterlot several times. And since most ponies are already indoors, I doubt anypony has seen him.” He then looked back at Twilight and said, “I don’t think there’s much else we can do tonight. We’ll have to wait until morning to resume the search.” Twilight sighed, “I’m really worried, but I guess you’re right. I thought I might have a chance of finding him, considering I’ve read several pieces on finding missing ponies.” Red Shield laughed and said, “You’re going to have to do better than read about it, you know. I hope you know you need more than book smarts for… well, a lot of things.” Twilight shot him an annoyed look and said, “I know that, and I’ve been learning that. I just feel better if I’ve read up on the subject beforehand.” Red Shield cocked an eye and smirked, “Is that right?” Twilight replied, “Yes, that’s-” She was cut off by a sudden pulsing in her bag and turned to look at it. She knew it was the Z-pad, but it sounded different, like it was trying to warn her of something. She recalled what she was told when she received the device and realized it was telling her to return to her time immediately! Red Shield noticed Twilight had been staring at her saddlebag for longer than he would think was necessary and asked, “Is something wrong?” Twilight looked back up at him, having almost forgotten about him, and said, “Uh, no. I mean… Oh, never mind! I’ve got to go!” She then ran past him before he could react, disappearing down a nearby alley. Red saw her tail disappear into the darkness as he turned around and flew after her, but when he looked down the alley, she was gone. ________________________________________ Twilight reappeared in the Canterlot square of her time, landing in the same spot where she had been standing when she and Dante disappeared. Her thoughts turned to the red unicorn, “So Dante is… somewhere back there, in the past… What have I done? Why did I get him involved?” She murmured to herself, “I promise I’ll find you. Please hang in there until then…” She then remembered what was supposed to happen to her and spun around to look at the tree, uttering, “I… I don’t want to die…” But instead of a tree, she saw an arrangement of flowers where the tree was supposed to be. In her mind, she silently thanked the yellow mare she had met, both for saving her life and for planting the beautiful flowers she was now looking at.