Twilight smiled to herself as she sat on Rarity's chaise in one corner of the Golden Oak Library, sipping at her solo cup full of punch. Pinkie Pie's party was in full swing, and for once she had a chance to enjoy it instead of being overly concerned about Nightmare Moon's return. This time, though, she knew everything would turn out fine, so she was free to sit back and actually enjoy the very first party Pinkie threw for her.
Her meeting with each of her five friends had gone mostly unchanged, with the minor difference that she actually enjoyed herself this time around. Her Canterlot friends had even shown up late into the party, having finished Moondancer's party in Canterlot shortly before Twilight finished meeting her friends in Ponyville. She couldn't help but notice they were acting bit 'off', though. Was she really so different now that they were put off by her sudden change in demeanor? Though it made sense that they would feel that way, the thought worried Twilight.
But for the moment, she had a different problem to deal with.
"So... you're from the future?"
"Yes, Spike, we've been over this twice already." Twilight sighed. Spike was the only other one who knew about her secret outside of Celestia. Her secret... Twilight couldn't help but think of all the friendship reports she had sent to Celestia, both from herself and her friends, about telling the truth and not keeping secrets from your friends. Maybe, when she was ready, she would confess to her friends. But not yet.
"Okay," Spike said, "I get that you're still Twilight, just an older Twilight in my Twilight's body. But... how?"
"Look, Spike, just think about it like one of your comics. Like... remember the Nights of Future Present storyline from the Power Ponies comics?"
Spike blinked and was silent for a few moments. "You... read Power Ponies in the future?"
Twilight sighed. "No, but that doesn't stop you from constantly gushing about how cool every single story arc is."
Spike chuckled nervously and rubbed his arm. "Well... they are pretty cool..."
Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. "Riiight... but you know how they send Fili-Second back in time to stop some future disaster?"
"Actually, it's Mistress Mare-velous. Fili-Second is sent back in Fili-Second Chances."
Twilight gave him a blank stare. "But you know what I'm referencing, right?"
"Yeah!" Spike smiled brightly, before scrunching his face up in confusion. "Wait... so were you sent back to avert some disaster several years from now?"
"No."
"Then... why'd you travel back in time?"
Twilight threw her head back in exasperation. "I don't know!" Her head landed squarely on the pillow of Rarity's chaise. "I just... woke up in the past. With everything I knew and loved reset back to square one." Twilight buried her face even deeper, only to be yanked out of the pillow and into a particularly pink hug.
"Hey now, Sparky, turn that frown upside-down!" Pinkie beamed, "You should be enjoying the party!"
Twilight sighed and smiled. "Yeah... you're right, Pinkie. Thanks."
"Don't mention it, Twilight!" Pinkie bounced backward and out of the hug. "I mean, second time's the charm, right?" Without giving Twilight a chance to respond, the pink party-planning pony had already bounced off into the thick of the party, leaving a very confused Twilight and Spike.
"Did she just...?"
Twilight frowned. "I'm... not sure if she can remember, or if she's just being Pinkie."
Regardless of what the answer to that was, Pinkie had a point. This time, Twilight would endeavor to enjoy her party. Pinkie could wait until later. And as said party dragged on through the night, Twilight couldn't help but look forward to the morning, or rather temporary lack thereof. Luna, the Elements, her friends... pretty soon, everything would be one step closer to being back to normal.
Twilight sighed contentedly as she sat in front of her desk, looking out the window at the bright and bustling town, a sunset on the horizon. Everything was good so far. She had her five friends back, Luna was back to normal, and she had made sure that Princess Celestia would accept friendship reports from any of her friends, should they learn new things about friendship. And now, with everything settled down, Twilight had taken the time to create graphs, bulleted lists, flowcharts, and timelines for all of the events she could remember happening over the next seven years.
Twilight immediately started seeing areas where she could improve, things she could tackle head-on earlier than she had before. With Starlight's cult not yet started, she could find Sunburst and get to her before she went full villain. With Tempest wandering the lands South of Equestria, Twilight had plenty of time to find her and teach her the magic of friendship before the Storm King could get to her. Tirek, Chrysalis, and plenty of others could be swiftly and easily dealt with. Perhaps, with some luck, Thorax could even be put in charge of the changelings ahead of schedule!
Twilight smiled down at the small, carefully compiled collection of information she had decided to send off to Celestia. After all, with the ability to avert so many disasters, it would be wasteful not to at least be prepared. Yawning, she decided to give the document one final read before she had Spike send it off.
"You wanted to speak with me, Princess?" Twilight fidgeted with her hair as she trotted down the steps to meet her mentor. While Twilight had expected a response after sending the documents, she had not expected Celestia to visit personally because of them.
"I did." Princess Celestia nodded. "It has to do with some of the... suggestions you made in your report."
Twilight sat down across from Celestia. "Suggestions?"
"Specifically, your suggestions about stopping certain future threats." Spike entered with tea for the two, carefully pouring both mares a cup. "Thank you, Spike."
Taking a sip of her tea, Celestia spoke again. "I looked into the Storm King you mentioned in your report, to find that he has not yet committed any punishable crimes. In fact, if your report on Tempest Shadow is accurate, then he will not begin doing so for a number of years."
"So... you can't take any action against him until it's already too late."
Celestia shook her head. "I will see what I can do as soon as he begins seizing land and invading other countries. But I will not arrest any creature who has not yet committed crimes based on the possibility that they might commit crimes in the future."
Twilight sighed. "I... understand. It wouldn't look good on a geopolitical scale if Equestria were to depose another nation seemingly at random." She looked up at her mentor. "I assume that there are other things you similarly disagree with?"
Celestia nodded. "Yes... Twilight, I am worried. What would happen to your future if we do these things? Reforming villains years before their time, stopping the bad guy before they even get a chance... decisions like this might erase the future you came from. Are you really willing to do that for the safety of Equestria?"
Twilight's face fell and she stared down into her tea. The thought had never occurred to her. Though she had planned for many, many contingencies, she had never once realized what changing her present might mean for the future. Would sacrificing the future she loved be worth the changes she would make?
Looking up at her mentor, she took a deep breath and gave her answer.
"I... I don't know." She shrank back. "I'm sorry..."
A hoof on Twilight's shoulder made her look up at a smiling, empathetic Celestia. "It's okay to not know sometimes. I've ruled for over eleven hundred years and even I'm not sure what to do sometimes." Celestia pulled her student into a hug. "But if you are to be a princess again someday, you may have to make hard decisions like this, often under great pressure."
"I know," Twilight said sadly. "But that doesn't make those decisions any easier." She sighed. "Is it right to let things simply play out the way that they did for some 'greater good', or because I selfishly want things to stay the same? Or is it more right to use this knowledge I have to make things turn out for the better?"
"Only you can make that decision." Celestia brought Twilight in closer. "It's a difficult one, but your heart knows what's right, even as it hurts."
Twilight giggled. "I recall you saying something similar about whether it was time for my student to go out on her own or not."
Celestia stood up and smiled. "I look forward to meeting her, whoever she may be."
Twilight nodded. "Thank you, princess. I think... I'll need a while to decide. I'll have Spike send you a letter when I have my answer."
Celestia nodded and turned to go. "That's all I ask."
"Celestia?"
Celestia turned back to Twilight, who was smiling warmly up at her mentor.
"Thank you."
Celestia smiled warmly in return. "You're welcome, my faithful student."
And with that, Celestia left the little library, leaving Twilight with her thoughts.