Shadow of Twilight

by GreenS21

Research

Twilight’s father looked out the window in the kitchen and smiled at the fact that it had stopped raining. He then turned to his wife and said, “Looks like we won’t have to worry about getting wet again on the way to the castle. I’m sure Twilight and her friends will like that, especially after being cooped up inside for so long.”

Twilight’s mother nodded, “It seems about the right time to start thinking about dinner too. I’ll go round up the girls.” She walked into the living room and looked around.

Applejack was leaning back in a chair, her hat tilted down over her face as she closed her eyes. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both using the coffee table, Pinkie Pie writing something (most likely either plans for a big ‘going back to Ponyville’ party or a list of pranks) in a notebook she pulled out of thin air while Rarity was having tea, Spike standing nearby with a teapot ready to refill her cup at any time. Fluttershy was flying around the room with an adorable feather duster in her mouth, dusting all the nooks and crannies that would normally be overlooked.

Twilight’s mother spoke, getting the attention of everypony in the room, “How is everypony doing? Starting to get hungry?”

Applejack tilted her hat up and said, “Ah sure am!”

Pinkie Pie grinned, “Me too! My stomach’s started making all these grumbly noises! It wants to be fed!”

Fluttershy smiled, “Dinner sounds like a wonderful idea, Mrs. Sparkle.”

Rarity nodded, “Oh, I most certainly agree!”

Twilight’s mother looked around the room again and asked, “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”

Spike said, “Upstairs with Twilight. She got bored quickly, so I think she went to go bother Twilight for fun.”

Rarity turned to him and asked, “Spike, would you be a dear and go ask them if they’re hungry? We most certainly do not want to keep the princesses waiting after they made such a generous offer!”

Spike stood up straight and said, “Absolutely, Rarity!” He then ran towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the house, heading for Twilight’s room.

As Spike had said, Rainbow Dash was with Twilight in her room, but she wasn’t teasing the lavender unicorn. Instead, she was lying on Twilight’s bed, reading one of the many books that Twilight had in her old library. She was rather focused on what she was reading, only occasionally looking up and/or talking to Twilight. The aforementioned lavender unicorn was over by her desk, Eckart’s book resting on the desk in front of her. Her eyes skimmed over the pages, taking in all the information the book had to offer.

“The science of Alchemy has two central projects of great importance. One is the synthesis of the ‘elixir of life’, that which would free ponykind from all ills of the body. The other is an amalgam purely scientific in nature – the creation of a ‘Homunculus’ – an Artificial Life. Both require as their central ingredient a red stone known as the Philosopher’s Stone…”

Twilight looked up from the book for a moment, remembering Dante and the last time she had seen him. She remembered the red stone he had been trying to return, a stone that didn’t belong to anypony who had been at the café during his shift. Twilight muttered to herself, “The Philosopher’s Stone? That couldn’t be… could it? But I always thought…” She shook her head and looked back down at the book, taking a moment to find her place before continuing.

“…Here we shall briefly examine the life of Lenore Wagner, whose alchemical prowess was known throughout Equestria. Though born in impoverished conditions, she became the ward of wealthy kin after her prodigious intellect was recognized, and eventually pursued studies in Medicine and Theology at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Following this period, she is said to have turned down an offer to study under the Princess herself and instead made her living as an apothecary while pursuing the science of Alchemy.”

“However, what secured her lasting fame was no doubt the manner in which she met her end. Amid rumors of her engagement in an experiment of great magnitude and duration, Dr. Wagner’s house was shaken by a thunderous explosion, and the alchemist herself was never seen again. It is often said that a no more fitting end could have been imagined for a magus such as she.”

Twilight looked up from the book and murmured, “Hmm… That sounds kind of suspicious.”

Suddenly she heard a knock on her door, followed by Spike calling, “Twilight! Rainbow Dash!”

Both Twilight and Rainbow looked over at the door, Rainbow flying over to open it while Twilight closed her book. She then walked over to Rainbow Dash’s side as she said, “Hey Spike! What’s up?”

The baby dragon replied, “Twilight’s mom sent me to check up on you two. Are either of you starting to get hungry?”

Rainbow Dash grinned, “You bet! I’m starved!”

Twilight glanced back over her shoulder, looking out the window to see that the sun would be setting in an hour or two, then back at Spike and said, “I could use a little food myself.” She then smiled to herself, “I guess that’s a good sign.”

Rainbow Dash, having overheard what Twilight said, looked over at the unicorn funny and asked, “What’s a good sign?”

Twilight looked back at her in surprise, not realizing that she had said that loud enough for the pegasus to hear, and then down at Spike, who was raising an eyebrow at her. She stuttered, “Oh, uh, you know, being hungry. That’s a sign that I didn’t… get lost in my studying like I usually do. That’s good, right?”

The two of them continued to look at her oddly for a moment, Spike eventually saying, “Uh, okay then. Maybe you can try to do that more often?”

Twilight giggled, “I’ll try, Spike.” Seemingly satisfied with that response, Spike and Rainbow Dash dropped the issue and headed for the stairs, Twilight following them after returning the book to her saddlebags and putting them on. As she went down the stairs, she sighed to herself.

Twilight soon caught up with Rainbow Dash and Spike, everypony meeting in the living room. Twilight’s mother noticed her daughter’s saddlebags and asked, “Twilight, do you really need to bring your saddlebags with you? We’re just going to have dinner with the princesses, after all.”

Twilight replied, “I know, mom. I just… want to be ready in case I need anything.”

Her father said, “All right, if you say so, dear. Let’s get going, then. We’re a ways away from the castle, so we’d better get going.”

Before anypony could move, there was a knock at the front door. Twilight said, “I’ll get it.” She walked to the front door and used her magic to open it. As soon as it swung open, she gasped, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” She immediately stepped back far enough for the royal sisters to enter before dropping into a bow, everypony else doing the same as they entered.

Princess Celestia spoke, “Rise, my little ponies. There is no need for such formalities.”

As she rose, Fluttershy meekly asked, “Why are you and Luna here, Princess? Are we having dinner here?”

Celestia replied, “Not unless you want to. Luna was actually hoping we could eat at one of the local restaurants for a change of pace. How does that sound?”

Pinkie Pie cheered, “That sounds super, Princess! I bet Lunie will TOTALLY love the food they offer around Canterlot!”

Princess Luna smiled, “Is that so? We… I certainly look forward to finding out for myself.”

Princess Celestia looked back towards the front door and said, “Guards, you may return to your posts now.” The pegasus guards outside the door protested a bit, but they eventually agreed to the sun princess’ order and returned to the castle. Everypony stepped out of Twilight’s parents’ house afterwards, beginning to walk through the streets of Canterlot.

After walking around for a short while, they decided to go to the restaurant that had been on fire earlier in the day at Applejack’s suggestion. Of course, the waitress got a bit panicky when the princesses and their entourage walked in, but managed to calm down and show them to a table big enough for all of them, giving them their menus before walking away. After looking over their menus for a minute, everypony decided what they were getting. Twilight decided to try the special while everypony else got something else. Several minutes after the waitress took their order, she came back with a large tray holding their food. Everypony immediately began to dig in while talking to each other, none of them aware that something extra had been sprinkled onto Twilight’s food…

As the meal and conversation continued, Pinkie Pie accidentally spilled a drink on Rarity, the fashionable pony complaining about getting her mane and coat wet before walking out of the restaurant, heading for the little filly’s room to wash up. She returned some time later and rejoined the conversation. Later, as they were finishing up with their meal, Twilight excused herself so she could use the bathroom herself.

She stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later and started walking for the front doors of the restaurant to rejoin everypony. Just as she was about to round the corner, she heard a voice coming from her right, “Hello Twilight, how are things going? Have you found anything out?” She turned to see Homunculus sitting with his back up against the side of the restaurant. He stood up and turned to face her, saying, “That’s an interesting book you have there.”

Twilight glanced back at her saddlebag and levitated the black book out. After looking at it for a moment, she looked at Homunculus and said, “It certainly is. Do you want to look at it?”

The black earth pony took a step back while saying, “Ugh, no! Please keep it away from me. I… I don’t like that symbol on the cover.”

Twilight brought the book down in front of her and examined it, asking, “What, this? You don’t like this pentagram design?” She looked back at him and said, “You’re kind of strange.”

Homunculus replied, “Well, of course I am. In any case, I’m familiar with the contents of that book. Dr. Wagner, who is mentioned in the book, had two children, and the younger of the two is a very significant figure to you.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, asking, “Significant figure? You mean like an ancestor or something?”

Homunculus gave a short chuckle and said, “But you see, the Z-pad is drawn to that age because of the link, whatever it is.” He then turned around and glanced back at her over his shoulder as he said, “Please, don’t forget the red stone. I’m looking for it too, but I believe you are the one who is fated to acquire it. Getting your hooves on it will be a step towards avoiding your own death as well.” Twilight looked down at the ground at that, and Homunculus took the opportunity to disappear, adding, “Remember that, Twilight…”

The mysterious pony was already gone by the time Twilight looked up again. She looked around in confusion before muttering, “Great, he gives me another hint and then he’s gone. He’s really making this a one-sided kind of relationship.” She then looked back at the book as she murmured, “Me, and the age this book talks about… what’s the connection?”

Before she could ponder this further, her magic suddenly cut off and the book fell to the ground as her knees buckled under her. She remained standing, but she couldn’t seem to muster up enough strength to stand up straight, feeling unusually weak at the moment. She raised her right front hoof and pressed it to her forehead as she murmured, “What the…? Ooh, am I… tired or something…?” She lowered her hoof to the ground a moment later as she tried to get her bearings, but it was like the world was out of focus for her. All of her senses seemed to be going numb.

As Twilight began to wobble, Rarity walked out of the restaurant and spotted her friend. “Twilight, what are you doing? Were you talking to somepony just now?” she asked. Twilight heard the white unicorn and turned to face her. Rarity immediately looked concerned at the way Twilight’s body was swaying and her half-closed eyes. “Twilight…?” she ventured. Twilight tried to take a step towards her, but her knees gave out and she fell forward. “TWILIGHT!” Rarity screamed, rushing forward and catching her friend in her forelegs, the unicorn twitching slightly before going still as the others rushed out at the sound of Rarity’s scream.

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Twilight once again sat with her back up against the pony statue head, looking down at the floorboards with a melancholy expression. All this dying was really depressing, and she didn’t even know what killed her this time. Homunculus, who was sitting on top of the door frame, seemed to sense her thoughts and asked, “Do you know what you died of?”

Twilight seemed to perk up somewhat at the sound of his voice and turned her head to look up at him, asking, “No, what?”

Homunculus replied, “It was poison. Probably from the sea hare. It uses the female of a type of sea slug as the basic raw material… you can control the rapidity of the effect and the intensity of symptoms by how you blend it. I’d say that was the culprit, but you‘ll need to look into the details yourself. Celestia’s guards would likely get suspicious if came anywhere near the castle without her; why don’t you try the local library? Oops, I guess it’s the art museum now…” He then disappeared as he said, “See you around.”

Twilight looked down at the floor again as she murmured, “‘I guess it’s the art museum now’? What does that mean?”

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“OH! Pinkie Pie!” Rarity screamed after the party pony lost her grip on her drink and it got into her coat and mane. Twilight looked over at her friend and then down at her plate, realizing she had eaten more than half of her food and most likely ingested the poison as well.

“Oops! Sorry, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie said while trying to put on an innocent smile.

“Oh, for crying out loud in the morning…” Rarity muttered under her breath as she excused herself, walking out of the restaurant to get to the bathroom.

Princess Luna said, “My, I didn’t know Lady Rarity could get so upset.”

Applejack turned to her and grinned, “Oh, that’s nothin’, yer highness. Y’all shoulda seen her when her hair got wet earlier!”

Twilight stood up from the table and said, “Now that you mention it, Applejack, I think I’ll go see if she needs any help. You remember how long it took her to dry and restyle her hair after getting it wet.”

Pinkie Pie nodded, “Oh yeah, I thought she’d NEVER leave the bathroom! I was hopping up and down on two hooves waiting for her to get done!”

As Twilight grabbed her saddlebags with her magic, Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie and said, “Uh, Pinkie Pie, you hop up and down on two hooves, like, all the time. What’s the big deal?” Twilight quickly left the table before the pink earth pony could start babbling about what she normally did and didn’t do. Spike watched her as she left the restaurant, wondering about earlier.

When Twilight reached the bathroom, she found Rarity standing over the sink, trying to get the hairs in her mane to go back to the way she liked them. From the look of things, she’d already dried both her coat and her mane. Twilight glanced back at her saddlebags, knowing that the Z-pad was flashing at her, before turning back to Rarity and asking, “Uh, Rarity? Do you need any help?”

Rarity finally seemed to notice her fellow unicorn when she spoke and placed her hooves on her head, groaning, “Oh, Twilight! Do you have a brush I could borrow?! I’ve dried it, but my hair simply will not cooperate with me! Of all the things that could happen…!”

Twilight held up a hoof, saying, “Hey, calm down, Rarity! I remembered to pack my brush. You can use it if you want.” She then glanced back at her right saddlebag and opened it, quickly feeling around and grabbing the brush with her magic, closing it before Rarity could notice the glowing coming from inside. She then held the brush out towards the white unicorn.

Rarity graciously took the brush with her own magic and said, “Oh, thank you so much, Twilight! This should only take a moment.” She then turned back to the sink and started running the brush through her mane. A minute passed before Rarity finally moved the brush away from her mane, now back to its normal, fashionable look. “Much better,” Rarity nodded in satisfaction. She then floated the brush back over to Twilight, who took it and put it back in her saddlebag. Twilight then stepped to the side as Rarity walked over to the door; before stepping out, she turned to Twilight and asked, “Coming?”

Twilight replied a moment later, “Uh, in a little bit. I have to, uh…” She trailed off, not quite sure how to finish that sentence.

Rarity seemed to guess what her friend was getting at, though, for she said, “Of course, darling. I’ll leave you to your business.” She then stepped out, leaving Twilight alone in the bathroom.

After she left, Twilight pulled the Z-pad out of her saddlebag and looked at it. It seemed to be directing her to the time period she most recently visited. Deciding to listen to it, she pressed it up against her horn, thinking, “I’m going to go see Alfred and the others again.” Seconds later, she was lifted off the ground and disappeared after her time travel bubble formed.

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Twilight appeared at the base of the hill leading up to Alfred’s house, landing hooves down on the pavement. She then turned and trotted up the hill towards the house, finding Alfred and Photo Shoot standing along the path leading to the tower, looking up at the house. Curious, Twilight walked over to them and asked, “What’s going on?”

Alfred looked over at her and said, “I’m still not sure, you see.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, “What, you don’t want to turn it into a museum after all?”

Alfred looked down at the ground as she said, “Well, I thought about that, but I’ve got a lot of books too.” He then looked back up at the house and then back at Twilight as he continued, “A library wouldn’t be a bad idea either. What do you think?”

As Twilight listened to him, she realized this was what Homunculus had been talking about. An art museum is what the house became in her time, but evidently Alfred had put some thought into making it into a library as well. If he really did have a lot of books, perhaps she could find one in the present about sea hares. Deciding to go with it, she said, “I guess a library is better.”

Alfred nodded, “Okay, you’ve helped me make up my mind. A library it is!” Twilight nodded back and, after Alfred looked away, decided to visit Sibylla before returning to her time, walking up the front steps and going inside.

As Twilight stepped into the family room, Sibylla looked up from where she was sitting on the couch and, upon seeing it was Twilight, asked, “What is it?”

The lavender unicorn replied, “Oh, nothing. Just came to talk, that’s all.”

Sibylla said, “Oh… you can go anywhere you like. That’s nice.” She looked down as she said, “I always have to mind the baby, so I can’t go outside to play. Besides, Father will be busy changing the house around from now on.”

Twilight asked, “Is it pretty boring for you here, Sibylla?”

The younger filly replied, “Yeah, just a little.” She then looked up at Twilight and said, “Oh, don’t tell Father. He’ll worry, you see.”

Twilight nodded, “It’s okay. I won’t tell.” She then had a thought and looked back at Sibylla, asking, “Hey Sibylla, do you like cats? Kittens?”

Sibylla nodded, “Yeah! I love kittens! Oh, are you going to get me one?!”

Twilight replied, “I know somepony who might happen to have one. I can ask him, if you’d like.”

Sibylla gasped, “Really? A kitty?”

Twilight nodded, “Okay, I’ll bring you one soon.” She smiled and then left the room, exiting the house and going partway down the hill outside. She then summoned the Z-pad and set it to take her back to the present.

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Twilight reappeared outside the restaurant’s bathroom. She looked around upon landing, sighing in relief when she didn’t see any other ponies around. Not willing to risk being spotted by either of the princesses, her friends, or family, she lit her horn up and vanished in a flash of purple light, reappearing underneath the arch in front of the Brum Museum, now the Brum Library. As she stepped inside, she noticed that the anti-magic ward was still at its reduced strength. Outside, probably even at the top of the tower, magic could be used, but no magic could be used inside.

Twilight walked into the room near the front doors and found shelves full of books inside. She nearly squealed in delight; the museum really had become a library! So many tomes she may not have read before, so much recorded knowledge waiting for somepony to learn it, so… She forced herself to take a deep breath. She came here for information on sea hares and she was going to find it. With her excitement barely restrained, she walked over to one of the shelves and began to pull books off the shelves, reading their titles before putting them back.

Without Spike around and being not the least bit familiar with the Brum Library, Twilight found herself trotting back and forth between the various rooms looking for some kind of clue. It was starting to frustrate her, but she resolved not to mess up Eckart’s library. If she really wanted to mess up a library, she could do it at home. At last, she found a book on poisons in the room she started out in. She levitated it off the shelf and, after checking the table of contents, flipped to the section on sea hares.

“Sea Hare Poison: The female sea hare is very poisonous. The only way to survive poisoning is by taking the antidote. The pony poisoned can only survive the number of days that the sea hare from where the poison was extracted from had survived. After that time period has elapsed, the pony poisoned will die instantaneously.”

“Among the various antidotes, the best one is that derived from the male sea hare. If this is used when one starts feeling the effects of the poison, he will soon start feeling the curing effects.”

“However, this poison no longer exists in our time. It is unfortunate that we can no longer feel the effects of this antidote…”

Twilight closed the book and put it back on the shelf. She had something to go off of now, and it seemed as though the Z-pad knew that as well, for it was once again glowing. Before using it, Twilight headed for Eckart’s office, remembering her promise to Sibylla. She knocked on the door and the brown unicorn soon called, “Come in.” When Twilight stepped in, he spoke, “Hi Twilight. What can I do for you?”

Twilight replied, “Well, I need a kitten.”

Eckart smiled, “You can take one? Great! Oh, that’s just wonderful.” He then gestured to a black and white kitten sleeping in a basket next to the table by the window, saying, “There, take the one sleeping in that basket. She’s a nice cat.”

Twilight nodded, “I appreciate it.” She walked over to the basket and ever so carefully picked the kitten up in her hooves, Fluttershy having given her some tips on how to handle cats one time when she came over while the yellow pegasus had been tending to Opal. She thanked Eckart again and walked out of his office, going outside before summoning the Z-pad from her saddlebag and using it to travel to 100 years ago.

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Sibylla looked up as Twilight stepped into the room, something resting on the crook of her leg. She gasped, “Oh! You’ve got a kitten, haven’t you?!” She leapt off the couch and said, “Show me! Please?” Twilight nodded and slowly lowered herself closer to the ground, letting the kitten resting on top of her leg walk down to the floor and over to Sibylla. The young filly nuzzled the kitten, saying, “She’s so soft…! Can I really have her?”

Twilight smiled, “I promised, didn’t I? Make sure you give her lots of love.”

Sibylla replied, “Oh, I will! Thank you!” She then nuzzled the kitten again as Twilight smiled. She decided to let the two of them get to know each other better and stepped out of the house.

As she stood on the front step of the house, she looked over at Alfred, remembering what she had changed about the future. As much as she had been excited at the sight of there being a library in place of an art museum, something about it didn’t feel right. She didn’t have any memories of the library; she still had all of her foalhood memories of the art museum. Sooner or later, that was going to catch up to her, and she knew all too well that her friends wouldn’t want to visit a library, no matter how big, since they already had one in Ponyville.

So, with some reluctance, she told Alfred that she thought the art museum idea was better. Thankfully, he still seemed to be unsure about his decision, so he easily listened to her. She then walked back down the hill and consulted the Z-pad. It was showing her a new time period that she could visit. It was familiar, but probably the most likely time period that she could find out more about the sea hare antidote in. So she set it to take her to that time, vanishing soon afterwards

Her research was done; now it was time to see what she could find with what she knew.