Shadow of Twilight

by GreenS21

Taking the Fall

Twilight returned to her proper time after sneaking back down the stairs to the base of the tower and stepping outside, Eckart’s conversation with his mystery talker having finished. The Z-pad deposited her inside the tower, right in front of the door leading outside. Knowing there was no way around it, she hurried up the winding staircase to the top, hoping that her plan would work.

Reaching the top of the ladder, she stepped out onto the turret and quickly hurried over to the other side of the tower. Thankfully, the rope she had tied to the railing was still there. Silently thanking Alfred for not restoring the anti-magic ward to its full strength from the museum’s days as a squire house, she lit up her horn and sent some of her magic into the rope. The rope lit up the same magenta color for a moment before it faded; Twilight then looked at the rope and raised her forelegs over the railing, gripping the rope between them and pulling up. She then released it and put her forelegs back up on the railing, thinking, “It’s not going anywhere. It’s time to see if this works or not.”

Almost immediately afterwards, she felt the hooves touch her and give her a hard push, sending her over the railing! Eckart stood behind where she had been standing, hearing her scream before all went silent again. He sighed, “I-is it over? I’ve g-got to clean it up before anypony sees her…” He then turned and walked over to the hatch, climbing down the ladder.

Unbeknownst to him, Twilight was still alive. When she was falling, she allowed her horn to light up its magenta color, sending out her magic signal. The enchantment in the rope immediately responded to it and it lashed out, grabbing and tying around her back left leg. Thankfully, it went beyond just grabbing her and worked to cushion her fall by swinging her after grabbing her, saving her from dying by a sudden whiplash stop.

After the swinging stopped, Twilight hung there, suspended by the rope. She was panting heavily and sure she was going to die any second now, either from the rope snapping or because the rope hadn’t cushioned her fall enough and it hadn’t caught up to her yet. When neither happened, she calmed down enough to look behind her and up at her rope. It didn’t seem to be falling apart on her and it still had a firm grip on her. Not wanting to test her luck again, her horn quickly lit up and, after a few seconds, she disappeared in a flash of purple.

She reappeared in the air next to the gazebo on top of the tower, falling on her stomach between it and the railing. After landing, she immediately raised her head and looked around the turret. There was nopony there; she was all alone. Her ears drooped and she lowered her gaze to the ground as she crawled into the center of the gazebo, the loneliness complimenting how she felt quite well.

Once she was in the middle of the gazebo, she curled up on her side and started crying. She didn’t know what specifically she was crying about, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She just started outright sobbing, not caring who heard her. She wasn’t going crazy, she knew that much, but that wasn’t much of a comfort. “Whatever I did, whoever I hurt, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so tired of all this! I just want to know what I did! I want this to be over with, one way or the other!” she screamed in her head. After several minutes of crying, she managed to gather herself enough to rise to her hooves. She had some questions for Eckart.

Inside the tower, Twilight descended the stairs until she reached the door to Eckart’s office. It was slightly ajar, allowing her to see inside. She could see Eckart sitting at his desk, his head bowed low. He looked up when she pushed the door, causing it to creak, and noticed her red-rimmed eyes. “Oh, hi…” he murmured softly.

Twilight stepped into the room and turned to look at him. She meant to sound firm with him, but when she spoke, she sounded weary instead. “Mr. Brum, you…” she started.

Eckart interrupted her, “Is this… yours?” In his hoof was the antique comb from Lucian. It must’ve fallen out of her saddlebag when she was grabbed by the rope.

Twilight looked at it before looking back up at Eckart and saying, “Mr. Brum…”

Eckart said, “I asked you whether this was yours.”

Twilight nodded slowly, “Yes… somepony gave it to me. But we need to…”

Eckart stopped her by saying, “I see…” He then set the hoof holding the comb on his desk and looked away from the lavender unicorn.

Twilight spoke, “Mr. Brum, there’s something I need to ask you.”

Eckart raised his other hoof to his eyes and, while wiping his eyes, sighed, “…I’m sorry, Twilight. Truly, truly sorry…” Lowering his hoof, he explained, “I was… blackmailed. Our son… went missing ten years ago. It was Dante’s return for… for your life.”

Twilight looked at him in shock, then she narrowed her eyes and asked, “So were you the one who tried to stab me too?”

Eckart looked over at her and, a moment later, said, “No, I don’t know anything about that.” Looking down, he added, “You have no reason to believe me, but that’s the truth.”

Twilight’s lifted her eyes and asked, “What? So a lot of what’s happened today is because of another pony…? Who? Who’s doing all this?”

Eckart shook his head, “I honestly don’t know. It… it might be the pony who contacted me last night. I don’t know who he was, but he had to be a unicorn because he sent a long-distance communication spell to my window. He sounded like a young stallion. …He said he’d contact me again once you were dead…” Twilight took a nervous step back at that. Eckart looked up at her and said, “Don’t worry. After all, I told you all this, didn’t I? I won’t make any more attempts on your life and I plan to give myself up.” He looked down as he murmured, “I can’t ask for your forgiveness, but I am sorry…”

Twilight’s expression softened at Eckart’s confession and she looked down as she said, “No, it’s all right. I don’t even know why somepony wants me dead, but I might be a step closer to figuring that out now.” She looked back up at Eckart and pleaded, “Please don’t blame yourself, Mr. Brum.”

Eckart raised his head and looked at the comb he was still clutching in his hoof. He spoke, “This comb… it somehow made me sane again. When I look at it, I feel like he’s safe – when I hold it in my hoof, I can believe that the blackmail was nothing but a piece of fiction, and that my son is out there somewhere, happy and safe… It’s as though… I’m stroking his little head again, reassuring.” He shook his head, “I don’t know quite how to express it. I must be getting old…”

Twilight looked at Eckart in a new light as he said those words. She no longer saw a victim forced into doing something he didn’t want; she saw a father who cared deeply for his family, somepony who would do anything to prevent harm from coming to those he loved. She smiled softly, “No, I think I understand. That comb… I’d like you to have it.”

Eckart looked up at her in surprise, “Are you sure? Isn’t it a keepsake?”

Before Twilight could answer him, they both heard the sound of a door opening and turned to look. A dark orange unicorn mare with an auburn mane and tail stepped into the room. She spoke, “Sweetheart…”

Eckart set the comb down and stood up, walking around his desk as he said, “Miriam. I woke you.”

Twilight looked on in surprise. “Miriam? She’s…?” she thought.

Eckart walked over to the mare and said, “Everything’s all right. You should go back to bed.”

Miriam shook her head, “No.”

Eckart backed off, realizing what this meant. “My darling… you heard?”

Miriam nodded, “Yes. Your voice rather carries, you know. I didn’t mean to listen, but you sounded so agitated that I…”

Eckart looked away, saying, “Oh, Miriam… Miriam, I’m so sorry.”

The dark orange mare smiled, “Everything’s going to be all right. You have me, don’t you know that? I’ve always been on your side, always.”

Eckart looked back up at her and said, “Thank you, my dear. Thank you so much…”

Miriam replied, “Don’t be silly, dear. We’ve been together for ten years, you know, and…” She trailed off when she noticed Twilight standing next to Eckart’s desk. Taking a closer look at her, Miriam spoke, “Oh my… You’re… aren’t you…?”

Twilight looked back at her and stuttered, “Oh, um, hello?”

Eckart looked between the two mares for a second before looking back at Miriam and asking, “What’s the matter? This is Twilight Sparkle, remember? Her parents used to bring her here a lot when she was a little filly.”

Miriam replied, “I know, but… Looking at her now, she looks so much like somepony I knew a long time ago, that’s all.”

Twilight raised a hoof and ran it through the back of her mane as she muttered, “I, um…”

Miriam spoke, “It’s all right; you don’t have to say anything.” She looked away as she said, “Some memories are best left as they are, after all. The truth may only disappoint, and I’d rather not be told.”

Twilight nodded, “I understand.”

Eckart asked, “Hold on a minute, what is all this? You make it sound like you two went to school together or something. But that can’t be; Twilight hadn’t even been born the first time we met her parents. How come all this is coming up just now? It seems a little too strange for my-”

Miriam chuckled, cutting him off, and then said, “Now, don’t worry, dear. It’s just an unusual coincidence and that’s what it should be left as. And I am a one-stallion mare and you know very well that you are that stallion.” She then noticed the comb on Eckart’s desk and walked over to it. Looking down at the comb, she breathed, “It’s so… alike.”

Eckart walked over to her, asking, “Hm? What’s alike?”

Picking up the comb in her hoof and examining it, Miriam explained, “This comb and the one I gave the baby – Dante – to hold. I don’t remember exactly what it looked like anymore, but I think it looked like this. It had that sort of antique feel to it, you know…”

Eckart looked between her and the comb before saying, “That’s why – I see it now. That’s why I feel so peculiar about this thing. It makes sense…”

Miriam looked at him and asked, “You too? But I didn’t think you would have noticed something like a comb?”

Eckart looked back at her and said, “I didn’t think so either and that’s why it’s so odd.” He looked over at the lavender mare standing next to the desk and asked, “Twilight, is it… are you really sure it’s all right if I keep this?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, it’s perfectly fine. You should have it. Uh, I should probably get going…”

Eckart asked, “Already?”

Twilight replied, “Sorry, but I have to find out who’s doing this. I think it would be easier to sleep tonight if I knew who’s behind all this and why they’re doing it.”

Eckart said, “Of course. And if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I’ll do everything in my power.” Twilight nodded and then nodded at Miriam, silently wishing her a good night. She then headed for the door to the museum, looking back at Eckart and his wife as she pushed it open.

As she stepped out into the museum, she used a hind leg to close the door behind her. She started heading for the stairs, but then she noticed something on the wall across from her. Turning to look at it, she saw that it was a painting. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. It was a painting of a young unicorn stallion holding a red stone up in the air with telekinesis.

Looking at the painting carefully, she muttered, “I don’t remember seeing this picture before…? …the red stone! And that’s…! Is that Dante?”

Comments

[GreenS21]

Ugh, I don't like how fast I handled this chapter and the previous one. They both just went so fast. I'm amazed that I managed to break 1,500 words with both of them. Please don't be angry with me for how they turned out.

That whole thing with the rope is, I think, the worst part of this chapter. I had to find a way to make it work for a pony that would be believable, and even though I manged it, it still sounds ridiculous. The part about Twilight dying by a whiplash stop was meant to reference the accidental death of Gwen Stacey in "The Amazing Spider-Man" comics. It just kind of struck me. Also, Twilight finally has a breakdown... that sucked.

Yes, Miriam is still alive thanks to Twilight's actions. I figured that if everything happened the same in the ten years that passed between Twilight saving her and the present, Miriam would know Twilight from her younger days, but wouldn't connect the little filly to the mare that saved her until she had grown up. Again, farfetched and bad.

We're coming up on the end soon and I'll do my best to make it good while hopefully sticking to my usual 2,000-3,000 words per chapter. Just give me a chance to redeem myself. Please?

[Ignis Infinitus]

Huh, twi knows a pony named Dante and a baby got foalnapped who's name is Dante, hmm... They couldn't have anything to do with each other.

[GreenS21]

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The game is called "Shadow of Memories" ("Shadow of Destiny" in North America). It was released by Konami in 2002 for the Playstation 2 and later re-released for the PSP a few years ago.