"So, then you came to the future?" Dr. Zimmermare asked, returning to his seat after bussing my broken cup. "And ended up here?"
"Yes, but not quite so. I first had to do some...searching. And it's this searching which ruined my life (as if that were even possible) and got the TMS after me."
"I'd love to hear more, Ms. Sparkle."
"It all started when I jumped from the year 1,849,292 to the year 1,849,300: just eight years later. I wanted to see what would become of Equestria in a few years' time after Cadence's rise to power, to see if she was right about everyone's evacuation."
"And? What did you find?"
I shook my head.
Darkness surrounded me. Not literally, but I was burdened with a sense of fear and despair. Equestria was in ruins. All the homes and buildings I saw were vacant and decomposing. And all the local landmarks were in pieces and barely recognizable. I traveled around Ponyville. My Library was barren of leaves, the interior empty, all my furniture and books gone. At that moment, I wondered where I was...my self of that timeline, I mean. Two Twilight Sparkles existed now: the me that was visiting, and the me who perceived that world as her reality. To prevent myself from getting a headache from all this complicated time-travel shenanigans, I diverted my attention to the fallen ruins of Equestria. I checked in with every home of my friends: Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy's cottage, Carousel Bouqtiue, Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow Dash's cloud house: all of them were vacant, and except Rainbow Dash's place, they looked like they were not only deserted, but they almost looked as if they had endured an attack of some sort. Because of its cloudiness, Rainbow's home was fine.
Sweet Apple Acres was perhaps the most devastated-looking place I checked. It was horrible! All the trees were chopped down, and nothing made up all that farming space except miles and miles of stumps. The barn was gone, as well as any other indication of the Apple Family's presence. It was as if a huge tornado just swept through Ponyville, killed everyone, and pulverized everything. Until that moment, I still had doubts about Princess Cadence's remark, about how she felt responsible for the departure of everypony, and later, the vacancy of Equestria. I went to the future to prove whether she was right or wrong. Now I was certain. But, I had not yet checked any other place of Equestria. And where better than Canterlot Tower? So that's where I went. At least...until I reached Canterlot.
After trudging on my own along the tracks of the Friendship Express for what felt like hours, I reached Canterlot, only to find it was in ruins, too. Canterlot Castle had crumbled to dust. No one was around. It was in the exact same condition as Ponyville, and everywhere else I looked. Where had everypony gone? And was this all due to Princess Cadence? What had happened? I was desperate for some answers. I would've visited a library, but since everything was in ruins, I had no choice but to keep going further into the future. I ended up in the year 1,849,500: two hundred years later.
By then, Equestria seemed different. Especially in Canterlot. Since I was using a simple time-travel spell, I was only moving forward through time, not space. So, no matter how far I went into the future, I was still in Canterlot. Or, at least, what was Canterlot. However, this future did not look too different from my present time. Canterlot got a makeover, but the land was populated this time. I looked around for someone to talk to who didn't look busy. It was weird. Normally everyone in Canterlot looked like they were just out for a stroll. And they hardly wore clothing. But everyone was wearing shirts and vests and even shoes on their hooves, which, I will admit, was a bit awkward at first.
"Um, excuse me," I said, nudging one pony who did not look like he was in a hurry. "What's this era of Equestria like?"
"Era of Equestria?" he asked in a panicked tone. "What in the hay is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm-"
"Are you a time-traveler pony? That might explain why you're out of dress, ma'am. Either that, or you're a nudist. I don't care which you are."
"I'm a time-traveler."
"Hmm. Interesting." This stallion was an earth pony, which probably explained why he gave no care to my magical prowess. "Anywho, a few hundred years ago, there was this pony named Princess Celestia who died. Her sister, Princess Luna resigned, and a close friend of theirs who also happened to be another heir to the Royal Canterlot Throne, Princess Cadence, took power. Well, it went downhill since. But, just a few years ago, a bunch of settler-ponies came by Equestria, and started repopulating and rebuilding society, in an attempt to recapture what we had lost some time ago. I didn't even know anythin' was wrong! Anyway, now a new matriarch runs the country, Princess Ellistar, and if I were you, I'd head down to a tailor and get yourself some clothes from this century, or else you'd be exposing yourself as a time-traveler. Not everyone's gonna be as easy-going as me, I can tell you that. There's been talk of some temporal disturbances or somethin', I dunno. Just be careful, and get yourself some clothes. Here," he reached into his red jacket. "Have a few bits for the road. Won't help ya in any era but this one."
"Thank you," I said, outstretching my hoof for the eight bits he planted into my grasp.
"Pleasure's mine, miss."
I made sure not to give my name, and I was thankful he did not ask me for it.
I did what he said and found a tailor-shop nearby in Canterlot. I bought some nice-looking clothes for myself to wear, as to disguise my identity. I was also sure to get some clothes which covered my cutie mark, just in case anyone who happened to be staring at my flank would not recognize me. I knew this was going to be a long journey.
After I picked out my new clothes, I headed to the Friendship Express station at the entrance of Canterlot. But instead of finding the Friendship Express or a run-down railway, I instead found a bullet train. It was shiny. It was fast. And it made the Friendship Express look like a wooden sled. I climbed aboard, found myself a seat, and nearly lost my lunch on the way back to Ponyville, since I was not used to traveling at such a fast speed. Luckily we had only traveled for maybe forty-five seconds before the train came to a screeching halt.
The other passengers and I hopped off, and I hurried to the Library, where I expected to find the me of that time residing. I found the Library - newly restored - but it was just a regular old library now. It never even looked like I had been living there. All my stuff was gone, and even all the damage Spike and I did to it over time was repaired. Those were precious memories I beheld, you know! Anyway, there was a fellow librarian pony working there when I showed my face inside.
"May I help you?" she asked kindly.
"Yes; do you know what this building was like before it was a library?" I asked.
The librarian looked confused. "I was told it was a library. That's why I stockpiled it with books and turned it from the ruins it was into a library."
"Well, it was a library before it was ruins, too, but it also belonged to a very special pony I know."
"Oh? You mean somepony lived here? B-before it was in ruins?"
I nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh! Her name is Twilight Sparkle. I think she'd love to have a shrine dedicated to her, since this place was her home for quite a long time."
"I suppose that could be arranged," the librarian replied. "But, doesn't a pony have to be dead in order to have a shrine dedicated to them?"
"Wha- you- you mean I- she's still alive?"
The librarian nodded. "Last time I heard. She doesn't live in Equestria anymore. Not since the Great Disaster. Ironic, isn't it? It was a disaster which led her to travel through time. And then a real disaster happens, and even though she has mastered the art of time-travel, she refused to travel through time even once to prevent it. 'Equestria's annihilation was inevitable,' she claimed. 'If I were to manipulate the fabric of time with my magic, I'd only be ruining someone else's future.' And...come to think of it..." she scrutinized me as she adjusted the frames of her glasses. "You look a lot like her."
"Oh? Me? Her? Oh, no! My name's, uh, Twinkle. And, uh, I'm no time-traveler, I'm just a fan of Twilight Sparkle. In fact, I- I wasn't even here!"
I bolted from the library, without even letting the librarian respond. I knew it was abrupt, but I needed to beat a hasty retreat in order to not draw suspicion (of course, running for my life through Ponyville was pretty conspicuous in retrospect).
When I finally believe I lost her, I began to wonder: she said that the me of that time was still alive. And that could only mean that I was probably nearing my three hundredth birthday. How could I possibly still be alive? And, more importantly, when the heck would I finally croak, anyway? What could possibly have kept me from killing myself? I mean, having nothing to live for anymore is what drove me to time-travel in the first place. And that Twilight Sparkle also knew time-travel, but refused to use it, for fear it would cause devastating consequences.
My mind began to race as these question whirled through my mind like a tornado. I guess there was only one direction to go in order to get the answers I sought: forward...through time.