Eckart sat behind his desk in his office, looking out through the window at Luna’s moon. Miriam had just gone back to sleep while he opted to stay up in case Twilight needed any help. He intended to make good on his promise of leaving the young mare alone, only helping if she needed it. He knew she was willing to forgive him for attempting to kill her, but he didn’t want to force himself on her in any way and risk pushing her further away.
He tore his gaze away from the window when the door to his office opened and Twilight stepped inside. Looking at her as she approached him, he asked, “What is it? Is there anything else you need?”
Moving over to the right side of the desk, Twilight replied, “No, nothing in particular. Just wanted to, well, see how you were doing.”
Eckart raised an eyebrow at her, “Oh… Are you watching out for me…? Afraid I might kill myself or something if I’m left alone?”
Twilight shook her head frantically, “N-no, of course not! You wouldn’t…” Looking back at him, she said, “Anyway, I wanted to return that book you lent me.” She then reached her muzzle into her right saddlebag, having put the book in there after reading it earlier.
Eckart asked, “Done already? Are you sure?”
As she rooted through her saddlebag, Twilight replied, “Mm-hmm. It really helped.” She soon gripped the top of the book with her mouth and began to pull it out. As she did, though, the bottom caught on the pocket watch Oleg had given her and pulled it out too. It then fell on the floor, landing next to Eckart. “Oops,” Twilight mumbled around the book.
Eckart looked down at the watch and picked it up with a hoof, saying, “…Oh? This watch…”
After setting the book down on Eckart’s desk, the black-and-white photo and tower key both tucked inside its pages, Twilight asked, “What’s the matter?”
While looking at the watch, Eckart said, “It’s nothing. It’s just that I’ve seen a watch a lot like it.” He then hoofed it back to Twilight as he continued, “This strange earth pony in one of my classes gave me one that looked just like it. He said it was a ‘symbol of our friendship’ or something like that.”
Twilight looked down at the watch for a moment and then back up at Eckart, asking, “Was he maybe… did he say his father made watches as a hobby?”
Eckart asked, “Oh, you know him too? I hear he’s a bit of celebrity these days. A film producer, I think.”
Twilight nodded as she put the watch away, “That’s what I’ve heard.”
Eckart chuckled, “Well, it’s a small world.”
Twilight asked, “So Mr. Brum, you went to school with him?”
Eckart nodded, “Yes. He seemed pretty weird at the time. Always mumbling what he said were incantations under his breath. Said he was channeling his psychic energy and all that stuff…” He shook his head, “Sorry, I’m rambling on, and you’re trying to find out who’s got it in for you. If there’s anything else I can do to help, just give me a yell, okay?”
Twilight replied, “Okay. I’ll come back when all this is over.”
Eckart nodded, “Please do. And don’t do anything too risky. Watch yourself out there.”
Twilight nodded and left the room again, closing the door behind her. She then went downstairs to the first floor and headed for the front doors, stepping out into the night. Now that she was out of the museum, she summoned the Z-pad from her saddlebags. It had started glowing after she had seen the picture, but she wanted to return the book to Eckart before she forgot. Now that she had a chance to look at it, she saw that it was directing her back to 400 years ago, four years after her first appearance. As she pressed it up against her horn, she thought, “Will I see the red stone… and Dante?”
________________________________________
Twilight once again found herself in the Canterlot square of old, landing softly on her hooves. Looking around, she saw that it was early afternoon and the only ponies in the square were too busy talking to each other to have witnessed her sudden appearance. Looking down, she thought about what to do next. She then looked up and muttered, “Oh yeah, I should ask about that picture.” Nodding to herself, she left the square and pulled her map out of her saddlebag, looking at it as she walked.
After wandering around for a little while, she located the local artist’s studio. After looking at the front door for a moment, she began to approach it. Before she could reach it, the door opened and a red unicorn stallion with a yellow mane and tail stepped out, stopping and looking at her when he noticed her. He was dressed in a traditional servant outfit and had the gong of Agyin for a cutie mark, but she knew who he was. Coming to a stop, she gasped, “Dante?!”
The stallion’s eyes widened and he breathed, “You’re the mare from… Twilight?”
Twilight spoke, “Dante, I was so worried about you.”
The red unicorn nodded, “Yeah… I was pretty shook up too, after I got separated from you.”
Twilight walked up to him and said, “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. I’m really sorry about getting you mixed up in all this.” She looked down in shame after saying that.
Dante replied, “It’s all right, Twilight. It wasn’t your fault, and you can see I managed to get by okay. I will admit I was pretty scared, though. It was so dark out… But it only took me a bit to figure out that I was still in Canterlot, so I started thinking that maybe I was just in a different time.” Glancing up, he continued, “It’s a lot more humble, but the buildings and streets are a lot like the Canterlot I know, so…”
Twilight asked, “Wow, you figured all that and didn’t freak out?” She smiled, “I would have for sure.”
Dante said, “Yeah, well, that’s the only thing that kept me from screaming like a lunatic and waking everypony up. It still took a while to get used to everything. Things only fell into place recently… I looked for you for a long time, you know.”
Twilight looked down as she sighed, “I’m sorry. I-I looked for you too, but I didn’t have any luck.”
Dante replied, “Well, there’s no point in worrying about what’s done. It’s been four years, after all.”
Twilight looked up at him in confusion before remembering what the Z-pad had told her and said, “Four years? Oh, yeah, I guess it really has been that long. You know, you do look more… mature, I guess, now that I think about it.”
Dante asked, “What do you mean?”
Twilight giggled, “Oh, it’s nothing. Maybe I could’ve worded that a little better.”
Dante smiled at her and said, “An off-duty guard helped me that first day, and since then I’ve done a lot of different things. I even worked in a mill for a while…” He then turned slightly profile to display his flank and continued, “But now, I’m a servant at the squire’s manor house.” He then looked back at Twilight and said, “I feel so relaxed these days. It feels like I should be thanking you for all of this.”
Twilight asked, “Why are you modeling for a picture?”
Dante explained, “The squire’s a patron of this painter, and that’s how I met him, originally. He said he really wanted to use me as a model, and frankly I couldn’t say no.”
Twilight nodded, “I see.”
Dante added, “Actually, the squire’s son was supposed to be the model, but he didn’t want to do it. So I ended up taking his place.”
Twilight said, “So the stallion in the picture is you…”
Dante cocked his head, “Huh? Oh, I don’t even start posing until tomorrow. I just came over today to work out the schedule and all that stuff.”
Twilight quickly replied, “Yes, but the picture will eventually be painted. I mean… you know what I mean.”
Dante asked, “Hey, why did you come here today? Are you… here to take me back? You can do that, right?”
Twilight replied, “Yes. Do you want to go back?”
Dante answered, “I did, you know. Of course I wanted to. But that’s not what I want anymore.”
Twilight carefully asked, “Not… anymore?”
Dante nodded softly and then said, “It’s okay. I have no one there – no parents, no family…” He turned and took a few steps away from Twilight before saying, “So I’ll be okay here. Nopony will worry about me.” Bowing his head, he said, “Besides, it’s like I said. Nopony expected anything of me back there… Nopony was watching, no matter how hard I worked. So… there really is nothing for me to go back to.”
Twilight looked at him with concern, “Dante…?”
The red unicorn turned to look at her and said, “Don’t worry about me, Twilight. I’m grateful to you, you know. This world, this age – it feels like I’ve come home after a really long trip. That’s how right it feels, and I mean that. So of course I’m grateful to know that you were worried about me all this time, but it’s okay now. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. This is where I’m going to spend my life; I’ve already decided.”
Twilight softly said, “Dante…”
Dante’s eye shot up for a second and he asked, “Hey, remember this…?” He used his magic to reach into a small pouch around his neck and pulled something out. He then walked up to Twilight, the object floating next to his head, and showed it to her. “It’s the red stone from that day,” he said.
Twilight looked at it carefully through the yellow aura of Dante’s magic. It was true; it really was the same stone he had been trying to return earlier that day. “That stone is…” she murmured. Looking back at Dante, she asked, “Dante, do you need that stone?”
Dante blinked and looked between her and the stone for a second before replying, “No, not really. Do you want it?” At Twilight’s nod, he smiled, “Then of course you can have it. If it weren’t for this stone, I never would’ve met you, never would have ended up right here right now, talking to you like this.”
Twilight asked, “Oh? Do you mean that it’s important to you, that you want to keep it?”
Dante shook his head, “No. Okay, I’ve always thought that there was something very special about this stone. Something important… That’s the reason I thought about having it included in my portrait. But that’s okay; after all, I got to see you again.” He then levitated it over to Twilight’s right saddlebag, saying, “Here you go. It’s all yours.”
Twilight used her magic to open the flap on her saddlebag, allowing Dante to drop the stone inside of it. She then looked back at him and said, “Thank you, Dante.” A moment of silence passed between them before she asked, “So what are you going to do now?”
Dante looked down at the ground as he murmured, “I… I, um…” He gave a short, nervous laugh, his cheeks turning redder than his coat. Turning and taking a few steps, he said, “Well, you see… There’s this chambermaid… At the manor house where I’m being looked after. She and I…” He paused, his cheeks getting a little redder, and then said, “Well, we’re planning to start a life together someday. So I’m kind of stuck here anyway.” He then looked back at Twilight and said, “I’m really sorry, Twilight. I mean, you’re a nice mare too, one that any stallion would be lucky to have. And like I said, I’m glad you were so worried about somepony you had only just met all this time. But…”
Twilight cut him off, “Don’t worry, Dante. I get it. And I’m fine with your decision to stay here, as long as you’re sure you won’t regret it.”
Dante replied, “No, I won’t. I’m sure of it.”
Twilight said, “Okay. Well, I hope you and your… partner have a happy life together. You take care, then.”
Dante nodded, “Thanks. You take care too, Twilight.” He then turned and walked away, heading back to the manor house. Before turning the corner, he took one last look over his shoulder at Twilight, knowing it would probably be the last time he would ever see the lavender unicorn again.
Twilight smiled at him as she watched him go. All through this conversation, her brain had been screaming at her to take him back to their proper time, to prevent any serious changes being made to the future. But for once, she decided to listen to her heart and not her brain.
Obviously, her brain had gotten her out of trouble before, but her time in Ponyville had taught her that it was also important to listen to her heart sometimes. It allowed her to accept Pinkie Pie’s Pinkie Sense for what it was, even though her brain refused to admit it meant something. It worked with her brain to help Luna become accepted when the lunar princess came to Ponyville on Nightmare Night. And it made her open up to the idea of having friends in the first place. It had been right almost as much as her brain usually was, so she decided to trust it again and let Dante live the life he wanted. If she helped him find a better life than the one he left behind, then that was another good thing that had come out of her efforts to prevent her death.
After the red unicorn left her sight, she turned and started making her way to Lucian’s house. She had kept her promise to find Dante, now she had a delivery to make.