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// Ghosts Of The Past 
// Story: AlwaysDressesInStyle's Ponyville CiderFest '23 Interactive App Stories 
// by AlwaysDressesInStyle 
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Hook: Flitterheart enlists the aid of Starbeam Twinkle to visit the past and see her little sister one last time.

Story #261
Title: Ghosts Of The Past
Keyword: TimeTravel
Characters: Flitterheart, Starbeam Twinkle
Hero/Villain





Starbeam Twinkle is an archmage.  While not the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, she’s in the top 1% in terms of talent and raw magical power.

It’s taken years of saving up, but Flitterheart has finally managed to accrue the requisite number of bits to get an audience with one of the few unicorns powerful enough to give her the thing she desires most: a trip to the past to say goodbye to her little sister… and maybe, just maybe, alter the past so her sister can still be with her today, alive and well.  But she’ll settle for seeing her treasured little sibling one last time.

“State your business.” Starbeam is not what would anypony would call a ‘herd pony’.  She’s cold, distant, and somewhat abrasive.  If one could scratch the surface to see beneath the façade, one would discover that this unicorn has experienced trauma in her past.  Even with her vast reserves of mana, she keeps everypony at leg’s length to prevent herself from being hurt ever again.  To the rest of the world, she’s business-only. 

The pegasus in front of her is unremarkable in every way.  Pinkish-purple, her coat color is one of the most common in Equestria. Two-toned teal and purple hair matches the pair of hearts on flank perfectly.  She could blend into any crowd in Equestria with ease.  From her demeanor, Starbeam deduces that she probably uses that to her advantage frequently.  This is a mare that’s hiding something.  As for what, Starbeam doesn’t particularly care.  As long as her fee is paid, and her client doesn’t ask for anything she considers unethical, anything goes… even if a few laws get broken in the process.  Her fee buys anonymity.

Flitterheart dumps a bag of bits on the archmage’s desk.  “I want to go back to the past.”

“That’s a service I can provide, depending on what your intentions are.”

“I want to see my little sister one last time.  Also, I want to see if I can convince my younger self to stop what happens.”

“What did your sister do?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Starbeam shrugs. “It’s not my business.  I just need to determine your intentions.  If you’re lying to me, there will be consequences. I don’t allow ponies to give their younger selves financial advice.”

“I’m not lying.  My sister has been lost to us for many years now. She’s probably dead by now.”

“Do you have a specific location and point in time to travel to?”

“Yes,” Flitterheart nods, sliding an old photo of a filly’s room to her.  “My foalhood home, specifically in the middle of the night on this date.”  She hoofs over a well-worn calendar from twenty years ago.  “That was when I had the feather flu, so I was quarantining in my room, away from the rest of my family.  Most nights my sister would crawl into my bed to snuggle with me. I’d rather see my younger self alone.”

Starbeam has some reservations about what the mare isn’t telling her, but her bits are as good as anypony else’s.  She’s also confident that there’s no way the timid pegasus could overpower her.  So she grants the request.

With both a photo of the destination and a point in time to reference, Starbeam doesn’t need anything else to get there.  With a flash and a pop, they’re gone, twenty years into the past.

Once they’re in the past, it becomes perfectly clear exactly what Flitterheart had been hiding. Starbeam recognizes her younger sister instantly, as would nearly anypony else.  It’s Cozy Glow.

Starbeam really can’t blame Flitterheart from hiding this from her, though she would’ve preferred the mare be up front with her.  She still would’ve taken the job, even if she’d known.





[CHOICE]

>Flitterheart’s sister is Cozy Glow.  If ever a mare needed emotional support, it’s Flitterheart.  Starbeam lets her say her goodbyes, then comforts her. (hero)

>Flitterheart’s sister is Cozy Glow.  While Flitterheart is busy convincing her younger self to not allow Cozy to attend the School of Friendship, you have the perfect chance to snuff the life out of the little brat, now, before she can become a threat to Equestria. (villain)