Whatever You Do, Don't Follow Your Destiny

by Nerdie Pie

Welcome to Westrock

I, Starscribe, have lived my entire (short) life in the small, quaint town of Westrock, where nothing ever really happens. Like, at all. The only type of excitement we ever get here is when a Canterlot pegasi flies by with the newspapers, which tell us about important events and occurrences. But as you can guess, reading about all these things is hardly equal to experiencing them.

Due to the abundance of boredom here, I have always been on the lookout for adventure and mystery. Whenever the slightest thing happened, I would think of some grand journey or quest that could be embarked on in order to answer the important questions these events posed. Questions like, "Where did those flowers come from?" "Who owns the new clothing store?" and of course, "Who ate my cupcakes?" (The answer to that last one was my sister, Cleartouch. Just want to point that out.)

And so it was while walking downtown one Saturday afternoon that I noticed the sign on the front of Bubbler's Bakery was gone. Instantly, my mind raced into action, thinking of everything I knew about this shop. I knew it was owned by Bubbler, an nice pony with an unfortunate name. I also knew that this was where I always stopped by when I forgot my breakfast on a school day, so I cringed a little when I saw the "Out of Business" sign when I got closer.

Determined to solve the case of the closed shop, I investigated the scene. Scouting around, I saw a sign that had seemingly been put up a few days ago, saying the bakery was going out of business. That's strange. I thought. How did I miss that?

Shrugging my shoulders, I wandered further down the street, contemplating why the store might have gone out of business. They seemed to have been doing really well, as there wasn't a pony in town who hadn't eaten (and thoroughly enjoyed) one of Bubbler's cakes or pastries. I found it hard to focus on this, however, because I couldn't stop thinking about the nest day.

The next day, the first Sunday of the summer season, was going to be my thirteenth Ceremony. My coming-of-age ceremony. The day I would get my cutie mark. The day I would get my job. The day I would decide my future.

The day I would learn my destiny.