Shadow of Twilight

by GreenS21

Alternate Ending 1

Hey everybody. I’d like to extend a warm ‘thank you’ to everyone who read and enjoyed this story. It really means a lot to me.

Now, this chapter is not part of the storyline for ‘Shadow of Twilight’. As you probably already figured out from the title, it’s merely an alternate ending, exploring how a single decision can have such a big effect on things.

In this ending, it follows the story up until about the halfway point of Chapter 20 (Twists). Twilight has just returned to her time after finding Homunculus in the past and learning the truth about Dante and Lucian. Instead of visiting the fortuneteller’s house, she decides to return to the Canterlot square and confront Hugo. That will be the point where this ending begins.

Now, on with the story!

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Twilight stood across from Hugo and Lucian, looking directly at Hugo with a stern look on her face. “Hugo…” she began.

The green-blue unicorn cut her off, asking, “Where’s the Homunculus? Come on! Get a move on, Twilight!”

Lucian pleaded, “Hugo, stop this…”

Hugo looked at him for a moment and then turned back to Twilight, growling, “Hurry up. Or would you rather I leave him here in this age?”

Twilight took a step towards him and challengingly asked, “Why don’t you?”

Hugo blinked, “Huh?!”

Twilight said, “He’s the only family you’ve got now. Do you really want to leave him behind, after all that talk about needing to be a family?”

Hugo yelled, “Shut up!” He tried to sound strong, but Twilight could already tell that his resolve to leave Lucian behind was beginning to waver as he looked down at the ground.

Suddenly, a blue aura surrounded Hugo and roughly pulled him back, away from Lucian! “What the-?!” Hugo exclaimed as the aura faded and a pair of dark brown legs wrapped around him.

Twilight looked and saw Princess Luna standing beside Hugo, who was being restrained by Eckart. “That will be quite enough of that,” the lunar princess sternly said.

“Princess Luna?! Mr. Brum?!” Twilight exclaimed.

Hugo struggled in the older stallion’s grip, saying, “You…!”

Eckart, while holding onto his struggling captive, said, “I was worried, so I followed you after you left.”

Hugo yelled, “Let go of me!”

Eckart tightened his grip, saying, “Fat chance.”

Lucian looked away and ran over to Twilight as she did the same. “Twilight,” he breathed as they came into contact and nuzzled each other.

“Are you okay, Lucian?” she asked, worried. The stallion gave her a small nuzzle to reassure her. Twilight looked up as Luna came over and asked, “Princess Luna, what are you and Mr. Brum doing here?”

Luna replied, “My sister, your friends, and I were becoming worried about you, Twilight Sparkle. So I offered to come looking for you and overheard what that colt was planning to do. I was going to return to the castle and tell everypony about this, but I ran into Eckart instead. As he has said, he was also worried about you.”

All three of them looked over at Eckart and Hugo as Hugo shouted, “Hey! Come on! Let go… let go of me!!” They continued struggling for a few moments before Hugo suddenly lurched forward, throwing Eckart over him and on the ground. The dark brown stallion grunted in pain as he rolled and hit his right foreleg against a bench in front of the flower arrangement.

Twilight gasped, “Mr. Brum!”

Lucian asked, “Are you all right?”

Luna said nothing; she merely glared at Hugo, who was beginning to stand up straight, and ran over to him, extending her wings. As soon as she got close enough, she slapped him right across the face with her right wing. “Thy behavior is most barbaric,” she angrily said.

Hugo held a hoof to his cheek, “What the-?!” While he was distracted, Eckart stood up and charged him, knocking him onto his back and pinning him down. “Hey! Stop it…!” Hugo cried while struggling.

Eckart, while holding the younger unicorn down, said, “No way… You won’t get away from me or Princess Luna as long as you’re after Twilight…”

Hugo looked to his left towards Lucian and called, “H-help… Bro…!”

Luna moved to the side and looked over at Twilight and Lucian as the latter said, “Hugo, that’s enough. Please, I’m begging you to stop this…”

Eckart glared down at Hugo, “See that? You’ve got family of your own, and you don’t treat family that way. And Twilight… she has ponies she cares about too, and they all care about her. Not just because she’s helped protect Equestria, but because she cares for them too. She doesn’t like hurting them, but they’re the ones who will really be hurt if you try to take her away from them.”

Hugo looked off to the side, but he was paying attention as Eckart went on, “Don’t you ever forget it. I feel the same way about my family. Do you think there’s a parent worth his salt out there who doesn’t care about his children? Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m somepony’s parent and you’re somepony’s child. So I’m telling you, end this right here, right now. Even if you keep trying, I won’t let you do it. Do you understand? Now promise me you’ll end this…”

Hugo looked up at him and nodded, “Okay…”

As they watched Eckart get up off of Hugo, both Twilight and Lucian muttered, “Hugo…”

Hugo rolled onto his side and propped himself up with his hooves. He looked down at the ground for a second before looking at Lucian and saying, “Bro… I’m sorry. Can we go home?” Turning to Twilight, he added, “I’m sorry about everything. Forget the Philosopher’s Stone… it’s okay now.” He then pressed his hooves against the ground and stood up.

Lucian sighed, “Hugo…” He then walked over to his older brother with Twilight a short distance behind.

Once they were standing in front of each other, Hugo looked at Lucian and said, “C’mon, bro, let’s go home. When we get there, I promise I’ll destroy the time traveling device.”

Lucian asked, “What?! But that seems a shame…”

Hugo replied, “It’s my way of making amends and turning over a new leaf. I left the machine outside of Canterlot. I’m ready to go.” He then turned and started to walk away.

Lucian looked at Luna and then at Eckart before turning to Twilight and saying, “Well, then, I guess… this is goodbye.”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah… Oh, hang on a second, Lucian.” She used her magic to reach into her left saddlebag and pulled out the patch Red Shield had given her. Holding it out towards Lucian, she said, “Here, Red wanted me to give this to you.”

Lucian looked at it for a second and then said, “No, you can keep it, Twilight. It’s not much, but…” He looked down as he trailed off.

Twilight caught on after a moment and said, “I see. Well, you and Hugo take care of yourselves, then.” Lucian nodded and then nodded to both Eckart and Luna before running to catch up with Hugo.

As the two unicorns disappeared down an alley, Eckart called, “Good luck.”

After they were out of sight, Luna turned to Twilight and Eckart and asked, “Are you both sure you just want to let them go?”

Eckart nodded, “Yes, your highness. I’ve done enough things I regret today. I’m grateful for you agreeing to help, of course. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off on my own.” He then looked at Twilight and asked, “What did you think? How was my performance as the righteous parent?”

Twilight replied, “Don’t say that… It wasn’t a performance.”

Eckart said, “Really… You know, that colt just now… I guess my little colt, Dante, would have sort of looked like him if he’d had the chance to grow up.” Turning to look at the alley Lucian and Hugo went down, he added, “It’s funny; I got this strange feeling looking at him…”

Twilight quietly gasped, “Oh…?”

Luna turned to look at her and asked, “Hm? What is the matter, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight shook her head and said, “Oh, uh… Well, Hugo’s lucky to have somepony that close to him. It should make getting over all this easier.” She then looked at Eckart and asked, “By the way, Mr. Brum, how‘s your leg?”

Eckart glanced down at it and said, “Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s nowhere near the punishment I deserve…” He looked back up at her and sighed, “I just hope you can forgive me for…”

Twilight replied, “Ah, look, I’m not mad at you. I…” Suddenly, she noticed a blue light being cast over the tops of some of the buildings and looked up. “Oh?” she asked, Eckart and Luna both turning to look as well. Blue rays of light were shooting up towards the sky from the outskirts of Canterlot, no doubt from Hugo’s time traveling device. They faded away after a minute, Hugo and Lucian returning to the past.

Eckart spoke, “Well, anyway… I don’t exactly know who they were, but I hope those two colts have a good life.”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah… I hope so too.”

Eckart turned to look at her and Luna, saying, “Well, I guess I’ll be going now. Will you two be all right?” When they both nodded, he said, “All right. If either of you ever get the time, feel free to drop by again. I’ll be looking forward to it. Take it easy until then, okay?”

Twilight said, “We will.” Both she and Luna then watched as Eckart left the square, returning to the art museum.

Twilight and Luna then looked at each other, Luna extending a wing and wrapping it around Twilight’s back. Both of their gazes went down to the ground, but they shot up again when a familiar voice asked, “Well, looks like it’s over, doesn’t it?” Both of them looked towards the other side of the square and saw Homunculus standing a short distance away. Luna retracted her wing as the black pony said, “Good job, Twilight.”

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

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

Twilight asked, “But… was it all for you? You used me… To make sure that you would be created, that nopony would rewrite that part.”

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’d 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 as he approached her. He took it with his own hoof and said, “Farewell, then… I’ve managed to preserve my own life. But…”

Twilight asked, “But what?”

Homunculus looked off to the side for a moment before saying, “Oh, well… I suppose it was your decision and all.” He looked back at her as he said, “And I suppose we won’t be seeing each other again. So I’m afraid your fate’s back to being in your own hooves, Twilight. …Goodbye.” He then placed the Z-pad in his mouth and started to walk away.

Both Luna and Twilight looked after him, Twilight calling, “Hey!” But the black pony didn’t stop. He kept walking and quickly disappeared in a flash of red light.

Luna turned to Twilight and asked, “Twilight Sparkle… what was that all about?”

Twilight turned to look at the lunar princess and then looked down as she said, “Oh Princess Luna… It’s a long story.”

Luna replied, “We are… I mean, I am willing to listen to thou, Twilight. Because… I am thy friend, am I not?”

Twilight looked up at her and nodded, “Yeah… you are.” She then looked around and asked, “But can we maybe talk about this somewhere else?”

Luna asked, “Dost thou know a better place?”

Twilight thought for a moment before saying, “Actually, I do. I just think it might be better to sit down and maybe grab something to eat. I mean, as long as that’s okay with you, princess.”

Luna replied, “Of course it is. And I’ve told you before, you of all ponies can call me Luna.” Twilight giggled nervously at that before she started to lead the way out of the square. Just before they started walking down the street, Luna stopped and said, “Oh, hold up, Twilight. I promised my sister I wouldn’t make her worry about me. I should really send her a note.”

Twilight’s horn lit up and she brought out a quill, an inkpot, and a scroll from her saddlebags. “Here, you can use these… Luna.” The lunar princess smiled at her and took the quill with her magic, dipping it in the inkpot as she unrolled the scroll. She then proceeded to write down her message and sent it off to her older sister with her magic. She then dried off the quill and gave it back to Twilight, who put it back in her saddlebags with her inkpot. They then started walking down the street.

A short while later…

Twilight and Luna sat at the front counter at Pony Joe’s, Twilight having just finished telling her tale. Finishing off her doughnut, Luna said, “That is quite a tale, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight nodded, “I know. But I swear, Luna, it’s the truth.”

Pony Joe said, “She never said she didn’t believe you, Twilight. Hay, even I believe your story, and I haven’t seen you all day.”

Twilight smiled, “Thank you, Pony Joe.” Her smile then eased off as she said, “I just hope Princess Celestia and my friends will be as understanding…”

Luna replied, “They will be, Twilight. And don’t worry; I will be there when you tell them.” She gave Twilight a friendly nuzzle and then said, “Come to think of it, we should probably get back to the castle.”

Twilight nodded, “Right.” She and Luna then stood up off of their stools.

Before they could make a step towards the doors, Pony Joe said, “Wait a second.” When both mares turned to look at him, he set a box down on the counter and told them, “Take these back with you. Princess Celestia and your friends sure seemed to like my doughnuts the last time you were all here, Twilight.”

The lavender mare took the box with her magic and said, “Thanks, Pony Joe. How much will this be?”

Pony Joe replied, “The usual price, plus the ‘regular customer’ discount I gave you when you still lived here.”

Twilight set the payment down on the counter and said, “Thanks again, Pony Joe. I’ll try to visit when I can.” The stallion nodded and then waved to her and Luna as they stepped outside.

As the two mares started to walk back to the castle, Twilight thought to herself, “Things will be fine… I hope. Hugo seemed to understand, even if it came a little quickly. Lucian doesn’t come from that time, but he’s pretty much family to Hugo and will be able to help him get past all this. Even Luna agreed with me on that. And my friends and Princess Celestia will hopefully understand as well. This experience is over; I know it is.”

“So why don’t I feel like it’s over?”

Comments

[GreenS21]

Yeah, this ending is kind of... lackluster, to say the least. I didn't really like it in the actual game, to be honest. Still, I guess it's okay. If the normal ending could be considered the "happy" ending, I guess this could be considered the "neutral" ending. Twilight didn't get to be with Lucian, but Hugo is still alive. I guess anything could happen after this ending.

Well, anyway, I hope all of you at least liked this alternate ending. I've got another alternate ending planned that I think will be much better than this one (at least in terms of what happens, if you catch my drift).

[Super]

Seems like a happier overall ending, since nopony else died. I get the feeling that this won't hold true for the next Alt Endings, though...

[M_D_Quill]

A very different ending... but it also feels hollow. I doubt that Hugo would have been so easily swayed by their talking if he took it as far as he did. I mean, he ignored all his friends and family in his own time because he didn't like what they were saying, why would he do it now...

Just does not feel right.

I much prefer the first to this!