Here in the silent darkness, Abacus Cinch stood alone. As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, a being of pure darkness, about the size of a statue and covered in a dark black cloak coming, like a mist along the ground, towards her.
The Phantom slowly and silently approached. This Spirit seemed to scatter gloom and mystery in the air. It's deep black garment, which concealed it's head, it's face, it's form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand.
Cinch felt that the ghost was tall and stately when it came close to her. It's mysterious presence filled her with solemn dread and the spirit neither spoke or moved.
"I-I am i-in the presence of the G-Ghost of Christmas F-Future?" Cinch nervously asked.
The spirit said nothing, but it gave her a nod.
"Y-You are about t-to show me the s-shadows of the things that h-have not happened, but will happen in the future?" Cinch asked again.
The spirit nodded once again. It's silence only made Cinch more nervous than before.
"Ghost of the Future, I know your purpose is to do me good and I hope to live to be a better woman from what I was," Cinch said as bent down on her knees. "Because of that, I am prepared to accompany you with a thankful heart."
The ghost raised it's arm as an purple aura began surrounding it. In the blink of an eye, the two found themselves inside of Crystal Prep Academy.
Future stopped beside a little group of the students of Crystal Prep. Observing that it's hand was pointed at them, Cinch walked up to the group to listen their talk.
"I don't know much about it," Trenderhoof said. "I only know she's dead."
"When did she die?" Frosty Orange inquired.
"I think last night,"
"I thought she'd never die," Fleur Dis Lee said.
Trenderhoof let out a yawn. "Well, who knows."
"Honestly, I don't feel bad for the woman," Fleur said with a flick of her hair.
Frosty nodded. "Me neither. Not after what she did to Twilight at the Friendship Games."
"The only think I can say is Principal Cadence is doing a better job than her," Trenderhoof said.
Both girls nodded in agreement before the bell of the school rang. With nothing left to said, the trio went to their respective classes.
Cinch turned to look at Future with a look of fear.
"Spirit, who's that woman they are talking about?" she fearfully asked.
The ghost didn't gave her a reply, but rather changed the environment again with it's magic.
The two were now in a dark room, too dark to be observed with accuracy, though Cinch looked around to a secret impulse.
Future pointed at a lonely, curtained bed. Beneath the ragged sheet, there lay something.
"Spirit, what is that?" Cinch asked, feeling a sense of utter dread.
Again, it gave her no reply, but the spirit still pointed at the bed.
Cinch looked at the bed which the cover was so carelessly adjusted that the slightest raising of it would have uncover the unknown face. Cinch felt how easy it would be to do it, but she didn't have the power to withdraw the veil.
"Spirit, remove me from this place," Cinch begged, looking at Future.
The ghost still pointed with an unmoved finger.
She knew what the ghost meant. "I understand and I would do it if I could, but I don't have the strength. Please."
This time, Future lowered it's arm down.
"There is any person in this city who feels emotion caused by the death of this woman?" Cinch softly asked.
Future spread it's dark robe before her like a giant wing and withdrawing it, revealed a living room bathed in dawn's light.
The spirit pointed at a woman on her early thirties a look of worry. She was pacing back and forth nervously, as if she was expecting someone. A man about the same age as the woman, and presumably her husband, entered the room.
The woman approached the man.
"What happened?" she asked with hope in her eyes. "Is it good or bad?"
"Good," the man replied. "Very good."
The woman was mildly amazed. "Then she will hire you?"
"I don't she will hire me," her husband replied. "Because she's dead."
His wife gasped in horror with a panicked look on her face.
"The secretary was right the last time when I tried to get the job," the man continued. "I thought she told her that to avoid me, but it was true."
"But what about your job?" the woman asked worriedly. "What about our future?"
"Relax, dear," he gave her a reassuring smile. "Another woman already took the position of Principal when I went for the interview. Not only that, she hired me! And she will pay me twice of what I could get as a salary!"
The woman was thankful in her soul to hear the notice and clasped her hands.
"We are going to sleep tonight with light hearts!" the woman happily said before they shared a hug of joy.
The only emotion that Future could show her caused by this event was one of pleasure and happiness.
Cinch looked at future with a sad look. "Let me see some tenderness connected with a death, spirit."
Future slowly nodded and using it's magic again, the spirit changed the scenery. The two found themselves in a churchyard...
Here, the wretched man lay underneath the ground with a stone tablet above. It was a worthy place overrun by grass and weeds choked up with too much burying with the growth of vegetation's death.
A cold sweat of fear saturated her forehead.
"What are we doing here?" she asked.
The ghost stood among the graves and pointed at a hill. There, Cinch spotted some people gathered in front of a single grave.
What shocked Cinch it was who was doing the grieving.
Dean Cadence was standing in front of the grave with tears streaming down her face. She wasn't alone, because she was accompanied by the Twilight family. Their expression was of pure sad melancholy.
Silently, Cadence bent down on one knee and put a bouquet of flowers in front of the grave.
A look of disbelief crept across Cinch's face. "The Ghost of the Present was right..."
"We love you Skyla," Cadence whispered with a small smile.
With that, Cadence got up and the family slowly walked out of the cemetery.
"Spirit, something tells me that this is the end of our journey. I know it, but I don't know how," Cinch said, finally realizing the error of her ways. "Tell me, who was that dead woman?"
In reply, the ghost pointed at a single tombstone, completely isolated from any other, on the other side of the graveyard.
"Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you are pointing, are these the shadows of the things that will be or are the shadows of things that will happen in the future?" Cinch asked.
The ghost still pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.
Knowing that it will be useless to ask again, Cinch walked towards the tombstone, trembling as she went and following the finger.
Once she got there, Cinch read the stone of the neglected grave.
Her eyes widened.
Abacus Cinch
"Am I that woman who lay on the bed!?" she cried, upon her knees.
The finger pointed from the grave to her, and back again.
Cinch kneeled before the ghost. "No, Spirit! Oh no, no!"
The finger still was there.
"Good spirit!" Cinch began, hugging tighly it's robe. "Hear me! I will not be the creature of this intercourse!"
Her only reply was silence.
At this point, tears began to fall down her face. "I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it every year! I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future! I will not forget the teachings of the three spirits! Please!"
However, an evil laugh was heard.
"I don't think so," a very familiar voice said.
Cinch looked up and saw that the spirit wasn't there anymore, but rather a very disturbing sight.
There flying above her was noneother than Midnight Sparkle with a evil smirk on her face.
Cinch screamed in horror as blasted Midnight fired an energy blast at the ground, revealing a pit of fire.
"Now, it's time for your punishment!!" Midnight said with a twisted smile before firing another blast at Cinch, which enveloped her in a magic bubble.
Midnight slowly levitated Cinch to the pit of fire.
"No! Stop! Please! I will change!" Cinch begged, fearing for her life. "I WILL CHANGE!!!"
Midnight Sparkle laughed maniacally at this. "Don't worry, I'll be quick."
The magical aura around Cinch vanished completely, causing her to fall.
"NO!!!!!!!" Cinch screamed as she fell right into the fiery abyss...
And soon, she was surrounded by darkness...