//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Shadow of Twilight 
// by GreenS21 
//------------------------------//

Twilight climbed to her hooves, standing up straight and looking at Homunculus with a worried expression. The black pony merely turned his head away from her and Lucian as he asked, “Well, looks like it’s over, doesn’t it?” Looking back at them, he added, “Good job, Twilight.”

The lavender unicorn hesitantly said, “I… I thought I was changing my destiny…”

Homunculus replied, “Mm-hmm. And you did.”

Twilight looked down and asked, “But… was it all for you?” Looking back up at him, she said, “You used me… To ensure you would exist, that nopony would rewrite the script… Is that the real reason you helped me…?”

Homunculus shook his head, “Now, now, let’s not have all this unpleasant talk about ‘using’, Twilight. I mean, who cares, really? You get to stay with your friends and Equestria is safe. And me? Yes, yes, you managed to preserve my destiny. If you had been killed, I would never have been born. Immortality has its perks, but you have to be given life first.”

Twilight said, “I see. So I was just being used… All your talk about an ancestor – was that just to get me to go back to that time?”

Homunculus looked away and nonchalantly replied, “Well… How should I know?” He then looked back at Twilight and said, “Oh, by the way, I need the Z-pad back…”

Twilight looked at him for a moment and then reached her head into her right saddlebag, grabbing the device with her mouth and pulling it out. Dropping it in her right hoof, she held it out towards him, saying, “Here, it’s yours.”

Homunculus merely said, “Oh…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, “What?”

The black pony gestured to Lucian and asked, “Well, why don’t you take him back to his own time?”

Lucian, having stayed on the side during the whole conversation, was surprised by the subject shifting to him and could only ask, “Huh? Who…? Me?”

Twilight looked down, remembering what Red Shield had said and what she had realized about Lucian. Looking up at the light brown unicorn, she asked, “Lucian, what do you want to do? Do you want to go home, or would you rather stay in this time?”

Lucian asked, “Don’t I have to go home anyway? I mean, I am your ancestor, right?”

Twilight shook her head and said, “Lucian, I was completely wrong about that. I know that now.”

The light brown unicorn asked, “What? You mean…”

Twilight nodded, “You’re not my ancestor. In fact, I don’t think you’re anypony’s ancestor. So nothing is going to change if you decide to stay here. That being said, what would you rather do?”

Lucian looked down for a minute and then looked back up at her and said, “I… I’ll stay here. I want to stay in this time and make a new start here.”

Twilight asked, “Are you sure that’s want you to do? I mean, what about Red?”

Lucian looked down and sighed, “Red… Of course… He’s always been there for me, always holding my hoof when nopony else would… He must be somepony’s ancestor; he can’t come here. But…” Looking back up at Twilight, he said, “Lately, I’ve started to think that I’m relying on him too much. I’ve never seen him turn away when I needed help, but he can’t look after me forever. I need to learn how to stand on my own four hooves. Besides…” He looked down and said, “You know that… you know my mother’s not coming back, right?

Twilight replied, “That’s what I read in a book. So if that’s one thing I’ve read today that’s true…”

Lucian looked up and said, “Then I won’t go back. It’s too lonely by myself and I’m not going to turn myself into a charity case just because I’ve got nopony around all the time. Besides…” He looked up and around before looking back at Twilight and saying, “I feel good here… like I belong. I’m sure that sounds like a strange thing to feel… But I think I should go with it.”

Twilight regarded him for a moment and then said, “Okay. Then that settles that.” Looking back at Homunculus, she held the Z-pad out towards him and said, “Here, you can have it back. I don’t need it anymore, and I don’t think I’ll be feeling the urge to time travel again for a good long time.”

Homunculus began to walk over to her, saying, “Good. Then hoof it over.”

Before he could reach her, everypony in the square suddenly heard Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie scream, “TWILIGHT!!!”

Homunculus came to a stop and both Twilight and Lucian started to turn around, Twilight uttering, “What the…?” That’s as far as she got before a cyan blur slammed into her and a pink blur slammed into Lucian, sending them all down to the ground. As she fell, Twilight realized her grip had eased up and she couldn’t feel the Z-pad anymore. Grunting after she landed, she looked up to see the device sailing through the air, almost in slow-motion. “The Z-pad!” she exclaimed, Lucian, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie looking up as well.

Homunculus reached down with his mouth to catch it, but his eyes widened when he closed his mouth around nothing. The Z-pad hit the ground beneath him and exploded, forcing Homunculus to look away as several shards of it went flying. One of the shards cut across his neck and a gooey, steamy, red substance spilled out of the cut. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike arrived on the scene and, upon seeing the red land on the ground, Applejack exclaimed, “What in tarnation?!”

More of the strange substance began to leak out of Homunculus’s neck, Twilight, Lucian, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie watching as he sat down and tried to cover his cut. It did nothing to stop the flow and the three mares and one stallion quickly picked themselves up off the ground and backed away in shock. “Oh no!” Homunculus moaned, his body’s strength beginning to waver.

The six mares, one stallion, and one baby dragon all watched wide-eyed and open-mouthed as Homunculus’s body fell forward, landing in his own… substance. He started to scream as his body began to shrivel up, getting thinner and thinner until he finally stopped screaming. “What the hay?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as Homunculus’s body melted into the same goo.

Lucian looked over at Twilight and asked, “Was that supposed to happen?”

Twilight looked back at him and said, “Uh, maybe?” Looking back at the red puddle, she thought, “Everything’s the way it’s supposed to be. Dante’s in the past, Lucian is in the present, and nopony’s out to get me anymore. Did fate decide that this would happen too…?”

She was jerked out of her thoughts when everypony heard Princess Celestia’s voice, “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Everypony flinched and turned to see the princesses of the sun and the moon standing a short distance away. “What is going on here?” Celestia demanded.

Pinkie Pie spoke up, “Ooh! There was this black pony here just now, but after Rainbow Dash and I crashed into Twilight and this guy, something blew up and he got cut or something and now he’s that puddle of goo!” For once, Twilight was glad for Pinkie’s ability to spout out things whenever she wanted. She knew she would’ve stumbled if she had to explain what had happened to her mentor.

Celestia and Luna walked past the gathering and stared down at the red, steaming puddle on the ground. Looking back at the group, Luna asked, “A black pony? I do not recall seeing a black pony here. Who was it?”

Twilight spoke, “H-Homunculus. I-it was Homunculus.”

Celestia looked down at the puddle for a moment before saying, “Well, it would appear he is no more. The same goes for the Philosopher’s Stone that created him.” She then stood up straight and said, “Now then…” She turned around and walked over to Twilight, the lavender unicorn beginning to shiver as everypony else backed away slightly. She then looked down at her student and asked, “I believe you have quite a report to give, don’t you, my faithful student?”

Twilight looked down and whimpered, “Yes I do, Princess…”

Celestia gestured back to Luna and then looked back down at Twilight, saying, “Then you will give us it back at the castle. And we are going to listen.”

Spike said, “Yeah, we want to know too!”

Celestia looked over at him and the other ponies and sternly said, “No. This will be a private report between me, my sister, and Twilight. Nopony else is allowed to be present.”

Rainbow Dash protested, “But Princess Celestia…” She was silenced when the Sun Princess raised an eyebrow questioningly. The cyan pegasus immediately shut her mouth.

Luna walked past Twilight and Celestia followed after her, saying, “Come. We’re going now.” Twilight turned and started to walk after them.

She stopped when she felt a hoof touch her back and looked back to see Lucian wearing a determined stare. He spoke, “Not without me.”

Celestia and Luna stopped and looked back at him, Luna asking, “You are the one called Lucian, correct? Twilight Sparkle’s ancestor?”

Lucian replied, “I’m not her ancestor. She said she made a mistake about that.”

Celestia asked, “And why do you wish to be present for Twilight’s report?”

Lucian answered, “Because my brother had the wrong idea about her. What he tried to do was unforgivable. And I know that Twilight wouldn’t try to trick my mother. That being said, I want to hear everything from her perspective, to know what she’s gone through and learned during her time traveling. I want to have a better idea of what to think, just as both of you do, and to contribute what I myself know.”

Everypony looked at him, Twilight and her friends with different expressions of surprise on their faces. Celestia eventually said, “As you wish. You may accompany us.” She then turned and started walking again, Luna soon doing the same. Twilight and Lucian looked at each other and Lucian nuzzled her before they both followed the royal pony sisters out of the square.

Back in the square, Spike said, “Great. So what, we’re just supposed to be left in the dark about what happened?”

Fluttershy asked, “Twilight wouldn’t do something so horrible that somepony would want to kill her, would she?”

Rainbow Dash said, “No way, Fluttershy! That Hugo jerk was wrong about her! He had to have been!”

Rarity wailed, “But the princesses won’t even let us come with to hear her out! Are they even going to listen to her?! Are they going to take her away anyway?! Of all the worst things that could happen!”

Pinkie Pie cried, “They can’t take her away! I don’t want Twilight to go away!”

Applejack spoke up loudly, getting everypony’s attention, “Now calm down, y’all. Just because we can’t be in the same room as them doesn’t mean we have ta be left in the dark. At the very least, maybe Rainbow and Fluttershy can fly up and listen in on ‘em. One way or the other, we’ll find out about all this.” Everypony nodded and ran out of the square, heading for the castle.

________________________________________

Dr. Wagner stood in front of the Homunculus device, staring at a black pony that had been growing inside for the past few days. “Today is the tenth day. The Homunculus should be ready soon, very soon,” she thought to herself. As she watched, the device began to shake and she took a step back. Suddenly, the glass burst and the liquid inside spilled out, Dr. Wagner covering her face as the liquid and glass shards flew.

When she looked backed at the machine, she found the black pony sitting calmly on his haunches atop it. “Well… how long has it been since I last saw the light of day?” he asked as he shook the liquid off of his coat. Looking down at Dr. Wagner, he asked, “Are you my so-called master this time around?”

Dr. Wagner muttered, “What the…?”

Homunculus snorted, “‘What’ yourself… you’re the one who broke the seal.” He then asked, “So… what do you desire most? Immortality…? Eternal youth? To be filthy rich? Name it and it’s yours.”

Dr. Wagner shook her head, “What is this…? This is insane…!”

Homunculus leapt down to the floor and turned back to face the mare and said, “But of course, your soul is mine when your futile existence ends… Until then, you can do whatever you like. Come on, name your wish.”

Dr. Wagner looked down and muttered, “For what… for this, I…”

Homunculus leaned over to her and asked, “Hm? What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

Dr. Wagner looked up for a moment and then looked back down. “Was my research in vain? Was I wrong, after all these years devoted to my task…?” she murmured. Looking up, she spoke, “Mother… Forgive me…”

Homunculus rolled his eyes, “Oh great. Old ponies are always spacing out, I swear. Hello, snap out of it, granny.”

Looking back at Homunculus, Dr. Wagner said, “…Begone, then! Begone! Miserable, cursed creature! Begone from my sight, forever! You asked me my wish and here it is! I have much work to do to make up for all this lost time! I don’t need something like you interfering with my new research!”

Homunculus asked, “Oh, so you want to be remembered too, do you? Well, that’s a tricky combination, but I think I can manage for you. If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get!”  He reared back and then thrust forward, his eyes glowing red as he said, “There!”

Dr. Wagner looked down and noticed smoke beginning to rise up from beneath her. “Aah! What… what is this?” she asked.

Homunculus replied, “Simple. I’m making it so you’ll be immortalized AND you’ll never have to see me again. Get it? Good.” He raised a hoof and waved, “Have fun, now.”

Dr. Wagner gasped as a layer of stone began to climb up her hind legs and her tail. “You…!” she growled, trying to move her petrifying parts, only to find that they wouldn’t respond. The stone began to creep up the rest of her body, her forelegs being encased in stone as her neck started to go solid as well. She groaned, “Mother… the children… Forgive me, Mother…” The stone finished creeping up over her head, her face frozen in an expression of terror.

Homunculus turned and used his tail to push her over, the stone-cold unicorn falling soundlessly onto her side. “Huh, amateur… Did you really think you could pull that on me? Not in a thousand years, you old coot,” he mocked. As she was, Dr. Wagner was in no position to do anything. She merely lay on the floor in her stone shell, unable to even blink as Homunculus destroyed her house, her body disappearing under all the objects thrown around the basement…

________________________________________

Twilight stood across the street from a school in Canterlot, patiently waiting. She smiled as ponies began to pour out of the front of the school; she’d timed it perfectly. After a few minutes, she saw a light brown unicorn stallion with a dark brown mane and tail, both of which were slightly long and ruffled, a green saddlebag with Red Shield’s patch on it, and an artist’s palette and brush for a cutie mark step out. Twilight called, “Lucian! Over here!”

The light brown stallion looked in her direction when he heard her and smiled, trotting over to her. He placed his head atop hers and nuzzled her softly, saying, “Twilight! You came!”

Twilight nuzzled him back, saying, “Of course I did. I told you I would, didn’t I?”

Lucian stepped back and smiled at her, “That you did.”

Twilight asked, “So are you busy with a project this afternoon or can we hang out for a while?” She knew he didn’t, but she intentionally acted like she wasn’t aware of his work schedule. She needed to distract him for a little while, after all.

Lucian replied, “Nah, I just finished and handed one into my teacher today. Besides, I can always find some time to spend with you.”

Twilight giggled, “Okay, if you say so. How does a walk sound?”

Lucian replied, “Sounds great. All I’ve got is my sketchpad and some charcoal, so I won’t need to stop by home and drop them off.” Twilight inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at that. If he had had too much with him and needed to drop it off, it would’ve complicated matters. She nodded and they started walking down the street.

As they walked, Twilight asked, “So how are your mom and dad doing?”

Lucian replied, “Oh, they’re doing great. Though it sounded like they were both going to be kind of busy today, so it’s a good thing you came up to visit.”

Twilight nodded, “I see.” She smiled to herself, remembering everything that happened that day and the more significant events in the last three months. Talking to the princesses about what happened had been nerve-wracking, but Lucian was there to help her the whole way. She was sure she was going to be banished or imprisoned or worse for what had happened, but both Celestia and Luna showed her understanding and forgiveness. They understood that the whole situation was not intentionally Twilight’s own doing and agreed that Hugo could have found a better way to resolve the situation. Her friends showed the same understanding and forgave her for not telling them.

Following the report, Twilight talked to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna alone and mentioned Homunculus’s plan to switch the babies in case Hugo tried to strand Lucian in the future, saying that was when she realized the Lucian she knew wasn’t her ancestor. She was afraid of mentioning this to the stallion, due to the fact that he had spent about ten years of his life growing up in the past and was afraid of what he would do if he knew. Both princesses understood and took Lucian over to the art museum the following day, asking Eckart and Miriam if they would like to adopt the stallion as their son. They both agreed, both of them noting how familiar he looked, and Lucian quickly settled in with his real family.

Lucian noticed the way Twilight was looking off in the distance and asked, “Are you okay?”

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts, “Huh?” She looked back at Lucian and giggled nervously, “Heh, sorry Lucian. I was kind of lost in my thoughts.”

Lucian smiled, “I should’ve guessed.” Twilight nudged him playfully and they continued walking. That was another thing that had happened over the last three months. Eckart and his family had come down to Ponyville to pay a visit for a few days one time. During their stay, Lucian took Twilight out to dinner. It was just for fun, of course, but it led to Twilight’s friends thinking that they were dating, caused in no small part by Rainbow Dash teasing them about it. Both Twilight and Lucian were quick to deny that it was a date, but lately, what with communicating often with scrolls, they were starting to consider dating for real.

As the two unicorns continued to walk and talk, they eventually arrived in the Canterlot square. “I had some time a few days ago, so I went looking for records on royal guards who have served Equestria over the years. It turns out Red Shield eventually rose to the status of captain of the guard. The records say he was one of the youngest captains ever and he diligently kept the peace,” Twilight was saying.

Lucian smiled, “Really? I’m glad he got to live his dream.”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah. But I’ll bet he never forgot you or all the times you spent together.”

Lucian said nothing; he merely smiled at her before turning his gaze forward. He soon came to an abrupt stop and Twilight did too, following his gaze. “That tree… Has it always been there?” Lucian asked.

The two of them walked towards the center of the square, where a fully grown tree now replaced the arrangement of flowers that Twilight had changed it to. She said, “I don’t think so… At least not… Could the stone have done this…?” She and Lucian looked at each other for a moment before looking back up at the tree. Twilight climbed onto the stone planter around the tree’s base a second later, moving over to its trunk while asking, “Is the tree here because the Philosopher’s Stone gave up its energy…?” Her horn lit up as she began to probe the tree with her magic. Suddenly, it came into contact with something inside a hole in the tree. “What’s this…?” she wondered while moving over to the hole.

Lucian climbed up onto the planter and came over to her. “What is it?” he asked. Twilight soon pulled the object out of the tree and they both looked at it in wonder. It was a small red stone.

“Is this the Philosopher’s Stone…?” Twilight wondered.

Lucian looked at her and asked, “Do you think the princesses should be informed?”

Twilight replied, “Yes. I’m sure they’d like to know about this before anything happens.”

Lucian said, “In that case, maybe we should head for your parents’ house.”

Twilight looked up at the sky and noted the position of the sun. “I should’ve given them more than enough time to set everything up,” she thought. Looking back at Lucian, she said, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Shall we?” Lucian nodded and they climbed down off of the planter, walking down the street towards Twilight’s parents’ house.

A short while later, they turned a corner and started walking down the street to Twilight’s parents’ house. As they walked up to the front of it, Twilight looked at Lucian and asked, “Say Lucian, you haven’t forgotten anything, have you?”

Lucian looked back at her and said, “No…”

They reached the front door and Twilight asked again, “Are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything?”

Lucian replied, “Yes, I’m sure I haven’t forgotten anything. What’s with you?”

Twilight coyly replied, “Oh, nothing.” She used her magic to insert her key into the front door and unlocked it. After opening it, she said, “After you.”

Lucian eyed her suspiciously and then peered inside. Deciding to humor her, he stepped inside and…

“SURPRISE!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUCIAN!”

The light brown stallion reeled back in shock for a second as Twilight’s friends, her parents, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and Eckart and Miriam all popped out of their hiding places and confetti and streamers rained down from the ceiling. He then smiled, “It’s my birthday? Really?”

Twilight walked alongside him and nudged him, saying, “You told us what day it was, remember?”

Pinkie Pie bounced up to Lucian and said, “Yeah, you totally did! Both Twilight and your dad saw that it was coming up, so Mr. Brum asked Twilight to ask me if we could have a party for you and of course I said yes! So we started planning for it last week and decided to set it up here because it would be faster than you coming to Ponyville and possibly finding out about it! Speaking of which, we asked Twilight to keep you busy after you got out of school so you wouldn’t go home and find nopony there or find out before we were all ready!”

Lucian looked back at Twilight and said, “So that’s why you wanted to go for a walk.”

Twilight looked off to the side and said, “Yeah…” She then proceeded to use her magic to close the front door.

Lucian walked over to Eckart and Miriam, both of them giving him a hug. While hugging him, Eckart said, “Sorry about piling all that work on you this week, Lucian. I was hoping that if the date slipped your mind, it would make the surprise that much better.”

Stepping back, Lucian replied, “That’s okay, dad. And you were right; you really got me.”

Miriam said, “We wanted your first birthday as part of this family to be really special, son. And we learned during our time in Ponyville that Pinkie Pie arranges the best parties in Equestria.”

The pink pony suddenly popped up between them and happily said, “I sure do!”

Although startled, Lucian said, “Well, I really appreciate this. I love it, in fact!” He then looked around the living room and asked, “What happened to all the furniture in here anyway?”

Twilight’s mother said, “Most of it is upstairs right now. That way there’s more room in here and it’ll be easier to clean up.”

Lucian asked, “How’d you get it all up there?”

Pinkie Pie giggled and said, “Oh, there are ways.” Lucian smiled weakly at that; just like Twilight, he had learned not to question Pinkie Pie’s ‘ways’ over the last three months.

Applejack spoke, “Come on, y’all. This here’s Lucian’s first Pinkie Pie birthday party. So what do ya say we get it rolling?” Everypony agreed, so she walked over to a phonograph and set the needle on the record. After some initial scratching, a New Age song, the kind of music Lucian enjoyed nowadays, began to drone out.

A short while later, Twilight walked over to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who were both standing around one of the folding tables set up in the living room. Luna noticed her coming over and said, “Ah, hello Twilight Sparkle. Are you having fun? I for one am pleased to finally get to experience a Pinkie Pie party.”

Twilight smiled, “Oh yes, Princess Luna. Pinkie really knows how to plan a party.”

Celestia asked, “Is there anything on your mind, my faithful student?”

Twilight’s smiled eased off and she said, “Actually, there is.” She levitated up the red stone and set it down in the middle of the table. She explained, “Lucian and I found this before we came here. It looks just like the Philosopher’s Stone I gave Dr. Wagner.”

Celestia looked up at Twilight and asked, “Where did you find it?”

Twilight answered, “It was in the Canterlot square, in the tree in the center of the square.”

Luna raised an eyebrow, “A tree? I thought you changed it to a flower arrangement?”

Twilight nodded, “I did. But it’s not there anymore. Instead, there’s a fully grown tree. I was thinking maybe it had something to do with what happened to Homunculus. Like maybe the stone’s energy was released or something…”

Celestia looked back down at the stone, murmuring, “Interesting…” Looking back up at Twilight, she said, “Don’t worry about the tree or this stone, Twilight. I will hold onto it and have somepony look at it, somepony who specializes in this sort of thing.”

Twilight asked, “Like Zecora?”

Celestia replied, “Yes, but maybe we should wait to ask her. As an herbalist, I’m sure she’s very busy as it is. We’ll ask around before we consider disturbing her. But one way or another, we’ll figure out what the meaning for this is.”

Twilight nodded, “Okay, I understand, Princess.”

Celestia smiled, “Good. Now run along; it looks like Lucian wants to start a conga line.”

Twilight whirled around, “Really?!” Remembering her courtesies, she turned back around and bowed, “Thank you, princesses.” She then turned and walked away.

While they both watched Twilight join the line, Luna leaned over to her sister and asked, “Your personal student has changed so much, hasn’t she?”

Celestia nodded, “Indeed. I could name all the ways she has changed, but I’ll settle for simply saying that she’s grown so much since she decided to stay in Ponyville.”

Luna looked at her and said, “It seems more like the kind of place somepony like her would rather live in than in Canterlot. She seems like somepony who prefers the simpler things in life, dost she not?”

Celestia turned to her and said, “I would have to agree, Luna. Maybe that’s the reason she never opened up when she lived here, maybe it isn’t. But honestly, with her learning from her mistakes and putting her knowledge to good use, I’ve never been prouder of her.” They then turned and looked back at the line snaking around the room as the phonograph continued to play in the background.



It’s either this or that way

It’s one way or the other

It should be one direction

It could be on reflection

The turn I have just taken

The turn that I was making

I might be just beginning

I might be near the end

-Anywhere Is by Enya